Chapter Text
Never, in your many years of life, did you ever expect to be in this situation.
Enjin gave you a gas mask which you obliged and put on. It relieved you from the horrid stench that you smelt earlier. Here you are, looking out at the vast, deserted stretch of the Ground, covered in piles upon piles of trash. The sun gleams a bright orange hue which you shield your eyes at.
You stand outside Cleaner HQ with 4 others. You briefly introduced yourself to them, and they did the same. You knew Enjin and Zanka already.
One of the unfamiliar faces was a girl with red hair. She has striking green eyes that almost unsettle you. Her eyelashes are thick and luscious which you kind of envy. You wonder if they help her block out some of the dust and dirt. What stands out the most about her is her hairstyle; it is completely unlike anything you’ve seen before. On the left side of the back of her head, her hair is tied into a bun with a few loose hairs sticking out. On the right, she has a ponytail-like thing sticking out that almost defies gravity. She looks like a talented cosplayer. However, after looking at her further, you almost worry for her. She’s very… skinny. Her hip bones stick out on her hips which is easily noticeable due to the crop-top style uniform she wears. She looks malnourished. However, has a sort of confident aura about her. Her name is Riyo.
The other unknown figure seems much younger. He’s a few inches taller than Riyo, but he looks and speaks with a younger tone. Both of them seem to be teenagers. This boy has short-ish white hair with black tips. Similarly to Riyo, he has big, striking eyes, although his are red. Despite his young(er) age, he has a certain presence that intimidates you. It’s almost like he has a dark aura surrounding him, one that radiates of vengeance and determination. He wears large gloves that stand out against his small frame. His name is Rudo.
Both of these teenagers, although they give off intimidating energy, seem like kind and welcoming people. Riyo greeted you with a smile, and Rudo peeped up to say hello as well. He doesn’t seem as confident as Riyo.
After the introductions, Enjin gave everyone the rundown.
“So, a trash beast was spotted not far from here. It won’t be too much of a threat, but I wanted to give our new recruit here a reference to what us cleaners do. So, be sure to set a good example, kid,” he says to Rudo as he pats him on the back. Rudo rolls his eyes at this and looks away, which makes you giggle to yourself a bit. You think their older/younger brother relationship is cute. Riyo gives Enjin a thumbs up and smiles, although you can’t really tell under her gas mask.
Earlier, Enjin explained to you why they wear gas masks. The air outside of the HQ is toxic to inhale for extended time. It also smells like shit, which you can vouch for. In some places, which they call “No Man’s Land”, they have to wear full face gas mass attached to an Oxygen tank. It makes you sympathize with them and understand their hatred for the Sphere. You haven’t seen any full face masks yet, but you bet they look cool. You feel thankful that you didn’t wake up too far from HQ.
Soon enough, the group begins their pilgrimage off across the country, which you follow behind. You don’t really know what to expect. You were lucky to not have ran into any of the “trash beasts” yet, but by the description some cleaners have given you, they sound scary.
Aside from just the four Givers you’ve met, there are three other people coming along. Apparently, they’re called Supporters. They are cleaners who are not givers, but they come along to provide support to the givers, hence the name. The three that are with you are named Gris, Follo, and Tomme. Gris appears to be the oldest and most mature of the bunch. He is tall and has chin-length blonde hair, along with a long scar that goes from his forehead down to his cheek, passing across his right eye. Much like the other people you’ve met, he’s a generally very welcoming person. When you explained your situation to him, he comforted you and promised to help do his job of helping to support you. The next supporter, Follo, is a younger man. Appearance wise, he’s a young adult. He has dark brown hair and lighter brown eyes. You think they suit him well. He has bangs that go down the middle of his face. The top of his head is covered by a hat, which all Supporters share. Actually, all supporters wear the same uniform. Follo wears goggles on top of his hat, though, which is kind of cute. The last one is a girl, named Tomme. She has long, black hair. She gives off a motherly presence. She also smells good. She has big, brown eyes.
The journey through the wasteland comes to an end soon. It relieves you that it won’t be too far off to run back to HQ in case something happens to go wrong. You shake your head to brush off the thought. Through a cloud of dust, you finally discover what a “trash beast” is.
Surrounded by lumps of trash, a giant blob of waste stands. It is topped off with a large animal skull-looking hat, which you assume to be its head. It is very, very tall. You remember the size of your apartment back in the city. It was tall, maybe about 70 floors. This trash beast… might be about 50 stories tall.
First, Riyo’s eyes light up. They grow bright green, in the same way that Semiu’s eyes glowed yellow. Riyo pulls out a pair of scissors. Suddenly, they began to grow.
This must be the true potential of vital instruments.
“Leave it to me. Watch my example, girl! I got you.” Riyo says. She grins at you before hopping over to the trash beast.
The method using her scissors is certainly… unique. She jumps high, over the leg of the trash beat, and swings her comically large scissors at it with her feet?? She pries the two sides of them apart and swings them around like a deadly fan, and it chops up a large chunk, sending scrap flying.
Gris notices your shocked expression and chuckles. “Unique, isn’t it? Even though she has an unconventional way of using her scissors, her Reaper, don’t doubt her skills. She’s one of our best cleaners.” Gris looks out to Riyo with a proud expression. It makes you smile, seeing him like this.
Riyo makes quick work of the beast. She swings her scissors methodically against the beast. They cut through the air and slash it against the heart of the beast. It cries out with a loud, deep screech, lunging towards the girl attacking her. However, she swiftly dodges, faster than your eyes can register. Her speed is incredible, faster than anything you’d seen before. For her final attack, she jumps high above the beast. Her hair comes loose from her ponytail and flows against the wind. She closes her scissors below her feet below she plunges them down into the beast’s skull, finishing it off.
I wonder, if Semiu said I have potential to be a Giver…
Could I reach the same level as her?
Riyo skips on back to you and the others, grinning cheekily. She stares at you, analyzing your expression to see just how impressed you are.
“How was that for your first display?”
“It was amazing. You’re so talented, Riyo!” She smiles at your compliment. She brushes her long, red hair behind her back and pulls it into a low ponytail, probably to keep it out of the dust. It begins to clear out now that the trash beast is down, making it easier for you to see further across the barren land.
“Hey, you still haven’t gotten a chance to see the skills of me and the others!” Enjin adds. He’s right; you are still curious to see what they’re capable of. Apparently, Enjin is the leader of their team, Akuta. If Riyo is supposed to be less powerful than him…
Just how powerful is this guy?
“Well, nothing we can do about it now. Don’t worry, I’m sure you’ll get an opportunity to see them soon. Next time,” Follo reassures. He adjusts the goggles on top of his hat. His golden eyes twinkle with inspiration which soothes you. It’s like he’s made of magic even though he isn’t even a giver.
“Well, it’s time to head back, right?” You ask.
“Yeah, I guess so.” Says Rudo. He’s been quiet this whole time. However, something about him doesn’t suggest he’s weak.
The walk back is interesting. You get to experience how the cleaners talk and act around each other outside of danger.
As you all walk through a particularly littered area, you hear the sound of metal crushed. You whip your head around and see Rudo falling in slow motion face first into Zanka’s back. They topple over onto the dirt like dominos, Zanka ending up with a mouth full of filth. Once they process their situation, Rudo jumps up first. His eyes widen and his pupils shrink, clearlty terrified. Zanka has yet to say anything. He slowly sits up, face covered in grime. The first thing you see is his darked expression. His face is now clouded by pure wrath. Then, he snaps. He sprints over to Rudo at lightning speed and grabs his collar, picking him up like nothing. Rudo squirms in his grip, but it’s useless.
“W-wait, Zanka!! It wasn’t my fault!”
Zanka chuckles before he starts yelling.
“Are you an idiot?! How are you a part of the cleaners when ya can’t even do the most basic stuff! You’ve got no sense of decency at all!”
Rudo’s expression shifts from apologetic to enraged.
“You think I meant to do that?? You can’t understand that people make mistakes sometimes! You’re the idiot, you’re such a hypocrite it’s insane! It’s okay for you to mess up but when anyone else does it you get all pissy!” Rudo screams. By now, their faces are inches apart, with Zanka still holding Rudo’s collar.
“Guys, stop it-“ Someone interjects, but it’s useless. Zanka drops Rudo. He stares dumbfounded up at blue eyed male. Zanka raises his hand and slaps him, hard. The smack echoes across the country.
“Don’t you dare talk about me like you know me. You don’t know the slightest thing about what I think,” Zanka says in a deep, emotionless voice. Gris and Enjin run over and grab each boy to restrain them.
“Asshole,” Rudo mumbles under his breath.
You’re walking next to Follo, trying not to stare at the situation but concerned at the same time. You whisper to him,
“Are they always like this?”
“They used to be worse when Rudo first came here. They don’t argue as much anymore, but it still happens from time to time.”
You hum in understanding.
“When did Rudo become a cleaner?”
Follo looks up, thinking.
“It wasn’t too long ago. He came down from the sphere. We were all shocked that he survived the fall, but Enjin saw him awaken as a giver so we took him in.”
Rudo is a sphereite?
“Oh, really? Don’t people hate sphereites, though?”
“They usually do, but with Rudo, they’ve been more openminded.” Follo pauses. “He’s a good kid, you know. He’s been through a lot. So has Zanka. I try to cut them some slack.” Follo smiles. You admire how accepting he is, both of you and apparently Rudo.
Rudo and Zanka stop arguing. Rudo actually seems to have a compassionate look on his face.
He looks up at Zanka.
“Zanka… I’m sorry. I didn’t mean to say that. It was unfair for you to get mad at me, but it was even more unfair of me to bring up something sensitive like that, that I knew would hurt you.”
Zanka stays silent for a second, before responding.
“Thank you, Rudo. I’m sorry for lashing out at you and slapping you.” At the reminder, Rudo touches the red outline on his cheek and winces. But, he nods up at Zanka.
“They seem to have come to an agreement,” you mumble to Follo.
“They always do. It’s just how they are.”
Enjin notices the lighter atmosphere and breaks the ice.
“Hey, what do y’all say we go out to eat after this! The bill’s on Zanka.” The group chuckles, excluding Zanka.
“Hey!” He shouts, which makes everyone laugh more.
“Nah, I’m kidding. I wanna have our new friend here get an opportunity to taste the delicious goods at our favorite place to eat!”
“Sounds like a plan,” you reply, amused.
For some reason, the walk back feels longer than the walk there. You aren’t necessarily bored, just anticipating your arrival back. A warm bath sounds nice…
“Hey, Enjin, how much longer ‘till we’re back?” You ask.
“Eh, I dunno. Probably around 10 minutes.”
Gris nods.
“Yeah, I recognize this area. Don’t worry, we’ll be home soon.”
Okay, maybe you are bored.
You watch your shoes make footprints in the dust. You kick up a bit which covers the bottom of your pants in a warm orangey brown. You hear the idle chit-chat of the cleaners around you.
For some reason, you can’t stop thinking about what Semiu said. You don’t even know, if you did become a giver, what your vital instrument might be.
As you stare at your feet, you notice something on the ground. You bend down to get a closer look at it, stopping your movement.
A… hairtie?
It looks… familiar.
Sharp.
The first and last thing in the 10 seconds that followed.
Where is it? Your back?
Shooting. Fleeting. Coming in waves.
Throbbing. Radiating across your veins.
A prick, and then a puncture.
A breath against your ear.
A whisper.
“Soorrryy…. Boss’s orders…”
A chuckle.
Screams.
Falling onto the ground.
Vision going black.
Huh…?
“Cthoni, put her on the couch.”
A deep, male voice.
You pry your dry, heavy eyes open. Above you, a dark roof looms down on you. The room is illuminated by a few dim lanterns glowing a faint yellow. Your gas mask is no longer on, exposing your nose to more aromas. Deep, brooding musk every inhale.
“Oo, oo, oo! Boss, she’s awake!” A jumpy, excited sounding voice calls. You turn your head and notice a tall man dressed in purple staring at you, wide-eyed, grinning. He has waist-length locs with golden accessories in them. His eyes are a bright, intimidating purple. It kind of scares you. He notices that you see him and skips over to you. He bends down to be at eye level, since you realize you’re lying on a couch. You also realize that your body hurts. You try to turn your head back, but you struggle and wince.
“Hello there… does it hurt?”
He moves his face to be inches away from yours, so that your noses are nearly touching. Noticing your discomfort, he smiles, exposing all teeth and curling his eyes.
“What’s your name, pretty?”
He pushes his face closer to yours, so that your noses are touching. He stares with his probing, frightening purple eyes as if he’s staring into you.
“Not much of a talker, huuuh? Well, I’ll tell you mine. Jabber Wonger.”
He keeps his proximity. It’s starting to make you shudder. His pungent, earthy smell overwhelms your senses. You try to sit up or move your face out of the way, but you… can’t. Your body seems to be frozen. You feel sore, sick, and tired, similar to how you felt when you first arrived here.
“Oh, yeah… that pain is from my poisons. Sorryyy…. Haha… I knew you wouldn’t willingly come with us, I had no choice.”
This jerk!!
“See, my boss wants to have a chit-chat with ya. Don’t worry, it’ll wear off in 20 minutes…”
He smiles, almost as if he’s proud of poisoning you.
This guy…
Is completely insane!
“Jabber, that’s enough.”
You recognize the deep voice from when you were regaining consciousness.
The crazy guy finally goes away and gives you personal space, but not before he gives you one more, cruel, disheartening grin.
Another man comes over to take his place, this one being much larger, both physically and in their presence. This man has black and grey hair, with small pieces falling in front of his forehead. His eyes are a dark, lifeless grey, likely from weather and wear over many, many years. Thankfully, this one lets you keep your own personal space bubble.
“I am sorry about him. My name is Zodyl Typhon, and I am the boss of the raiders. I brought you here to talk about something important.”