Survivors of Alterna: Best for Last

Chapter 18: Lord of the Salmonids

"Hail! Hail! Hail! Hail!" The surrounding Salmonids chanted as their lord took an offensive stance.

It was here that Akikta questioned why a fish had claws. Even if it was a mutant, it was unrealistic. Then again, his lineup of enemies has been unrealistic thus far. There was the ink monster he called brother, an overgrown pirate crab, and those absurdly strong cephalopods. Sal shouldn't be much worse than those, right?

That's what Akikta told himself to get hyped for the battle, but things took a turn for the worse when he suddenly felt his legs give out on him. He tumbled to the floor, barely catching himself. Dammit! Not now!

Akikta grumbled as Sal shook his head in a disapproving manner. "Tsk, tsk. Can't even stand on your own two feet. It pains me to see you like this, Akikta." He taunted, only to suddenly kick Akikta across the platform. The teen painfully yelped as he rolled across the little arena.

The salmonids cheered at Sal's attack, whereas Nakji kept shouting profanities that were drowned out by the crowd.

Akikta groaned as his body throbbed with pain. He wasn't in any position to fight Sal. Those agents had taken a lot out of him; Embers and sparks were all he had left in the tank.

But if that's all he had left to give, then so be it.

"Come on, Akikta. Don't make this harder than it needs to be! Just give me your DNA." Sal yelled as he approached him.

"No!" Akikta yelled back. "I won't let you kill those people!"

Sal bared his teeth, snarling in agitation. "Why do you care what happens to them? Those creatures don't care about you! They only care about themselves!"

Akikta scoffed. "You're one to talk! You used me to get what you wanted!" He shouted, standing with a slight wobble. "And you're wrong. They do care about me. In fact, one of them is my sister!"

Sal suddenly stopped in his tracks, only to burst out laughing. "Sister? Please, don't say something so ridiculous! They're nothing like us."

"Stop saying that! There is no us!" Akikta pointed. "You and I are nothing alike!"

"Wrong. We are both apex predators of the highest order. We have more in common than you realize."

"No, we don't!" Akikta dashed and punched Sal directly in the stomach, using every ounce of strength he could muster. He then looked up, seeing his punch had no effect.

"You may be an apex, but you're still just a child," Sal commented before grabbing Akikta by the throat, raising him to his level, which started choking the teen. "That's what makes you weak." Sal's grip tightened, causing his nails to dig into Akikta's neck.

Akikta tried to pry Sal's hand off with no success, the pricking sensation growing worse by the second. "Go ahead then... kill me!" he choked out, figuring death was better than allowing Sal to achieve his goal.

"Kill you? I don't want to kill you. But you're making things very difficult." He brought Akikta closer to his face. "My patience for you hasn't run out. Listen to reason and join me already!" Sal's grip loosened, allowing Akikta to speak.

Before he responded, the spiky collar around Sal's neck slipped down a little, revealing a pair of gills. There were four slits on each side of his neck, with a large scar being gauged across the set on the left side.

"I already told you... IT'S NOT HAPPENING!" Akikta yanked Sal's collar off with one hand, then dug his fingers into the scarred slits with the other. Immediately, Sal roared and tossed him away. Akikta braced for impact, slamming into the platform and rolling across the ground.