Chapter Text
Dust particles kicked up from the tower floor swirl in the air, caught in the flickering light. Jabber left each cleaner impaled and poisoned by his Mankira, they lie limp and twitching, barely holding on if not for Remlin’s art. Their wounds, though severe, were healed by the drawings, leaving only minor injuries and the faint hum of poison lingering in their heads.
Most of them remained unconscious, with Jabber and Zanka as the only exceptions. Zanka was hanging on by a mere thread, seconds away from losing consciousness entirely. His body was overwhelmed, having been subjected to Amo’s ‘addicting’ scent and Jabber’s unrestricted use of drugs. His vision was swimming; he saw five versions of the same Raider, cackling and jumping around in a grotesque, visible entertainment.
He could almost laugh, almost. The numbing sensation of Jabber’s neurotoxin coursed through his veins, as if his body wasn’t meant to absorb such a substance at all. It felt heavy, oppressive, dulling his senses and blurring reality.
Jabber’s voice echoed back and forth in Zanka’s mind, an off-tune and unsettling melody about the poisons he had injected into everyone’s flesh. They were in the same room, with the dreadhead standing right in front of Zanka, yet his voice sounded distant, muffled, buried deep in the back of his mind.
“Zan-zaaaan! Wake up, wake up! We haven’t even fought yet, but you’re already down!” Jabber called out, still grinning. His teeth were stained crimson, evidence of the numerous fights he’d had with cleaners and supporters alike; he was bound to take a hit somewhere.
“Uugh.. Shut yer mouth. M’head’s ringin’..” Zanka groaned, tightening his grip on Lovely Assistaff once more. His other hand pressed against his stomach, trying to ease the burning pain that radiated through him.
‘..Huh. His accent’s definitely thicker now,’ Jabber thought to himself, humming softly as he stepped back. Mankira retracted into its rings, and he bent down to sit on Delmon’s motionless body as if it were a chair, observing the chaos around him. ‘Must be because he isn’t focusing on his accent anymore. I mean, he is trying to stay conscious...’
“C’mon, you can’t die just yet! You’re not allowed to die until you beat me.” Jabber huffed, looming over Zanka and slapping his face back and forth, his movements laced with a cruel humour. His mankira swept across Zanka’s cheek; the touch burned in slow, creeping waves, sending new fatigue through his battered body and turning the world at the edges of his vision to static.
“Wha— Whoops. My bad.” He laughed, flicking his claws with a casual flourish, as if the whole ordeal was some harmless joke that only he understood.
“..Oh, you’re already passed out.” He rolls his eyes, a declaration of boredom. “Way to be a killjoy, hmph.”
When Jabber left, Tomme was the first to wake up.
She winced as she started to patch herself up, the pain a sharp reminder of what had happened. She limped over to the others, doing what she could to help while simultaneously calling for backup.
A few days later, most of the cleaners' injuries had healed, thanks to Eishia. Team Akuta was enjoying their downtime in Dan Dulse, digging into the delicious meals laid out before them. The conversation eventually drifted to Amo.
“Hey,” Enjin starts. “What did you guys see when that lady went mental, anyway?” His tone is lighthearted as he tries to ask without seeming insensitive to anyone.
Futile, though, as everyone bristled at the question. Rudo was the first to answer.
“I.. I just saw someone. She meant a lot to me, but we had a falling out before I fell to the ground.” A mumble, Rudo’s gaze is averted. “I hate her guts now, but something was making me feel more care than hatred.”
Zanka snorts, crossing his arms. “I bet we all saw someone. Someone important, definitely.” A beat. “..I guess I did too.”
Little did they know, their conversation was being eavesdropped on by the raiders, sitting just a few tables away.
Jabber's nails dug into his own thigh, drawing blood. He was practically vibrating with the urge to fight, anyone, anything. Cthoni had a firm grip on him, though.
Jabber's mind, however? It was a whirlwind.
‘Someone important?’
‘Who did he see?’
‘That better not distract him from fighting me.’
As Team Child arrived with cheerful greetings, Rudo wandered off and ran into the Raiders’ boss. In that instant, Cthoni activates her jinki, tearing open a swirling portal. With terrifying speed, Rudo is sucked in. Team Child, Team Akuta, and the raiders alike followed suit.