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…This was not ideal.
Enemies. Stuck together at a close proximity — so close Jaden swore he could almost hear… sadness in Wemmbu’s breaths. There was a slight shiver to each time he heaved but he convinced himself that the demon hybrid was simply fatigued from their continuous hunting and fighting.
He watched as Wemmbu tried to free himself from the cobwebs, all of his hands tangled up in its grip. Surprisingly enough, he couldn’t free himself, akin to Jaden who was stuck with him too. Wemmbu continued to thrash around, letting out noises of pent up frustration. His movements only made the webs attach to him more, as if they were live strings of mold clinging to its food.
“Wemmbu. You’re just going to make the situation worse.” He furrowed his eyebrows, annoyed by how childish he was being.
Wemmbu instantly came to a stop, his amethyst eyes darting right into Jaden’s. The pirate could already notice how his claws were starting to extend and retract with no resistance or control, the shifting noise killing his head.
”Stop? You want me to stop when I’m stuck with you?!” He attempted to move another limb as if to exaggerate his annoyance, but was held back again.
It made sense to Jaden that the demon hybrid, currently at his hands (even though he too was stuck), was pissed off. First of all, he trapped him on a set of islands for no apparent reason. Second, he hasn’t been easy to catch. Third, he killed his supposed friend, Rejoice — a guard of this underground civilisation they were both trapped in. Arguably, he didn’t really kill him, right? Rejoice should’ve just been stronger. Should’ve just avoided that situation when he could’ve; he didn’t need to enter that trap with a mass amount of wardens. But guess what?
“…You were the one who led him right into that trap, Wemmbu.” Jaden continued. Most notably, he didn’t feel any guilt for saying any of this. He shouldn’t. The pirate was simply leading him to the truth and for him to recognise his own mistake. That he is the mistake. That it was his fault and that if he hadn’t been so stubborn and determined to kill Jaden for merely trapping him, he would’ve saved a life.
Everything suddenly felt personally still. Even Wemmbu, the loudest person you could ever meet — someone usually so annoying — fell silent at his words. Maybe he’d finally realised—
His knees buckled.
Jaden’s eyes only traced him as he fell, barely held up by the cobwebs, as Wemmbu cried. Quiet, small tears that turned into rough sobs and raucous pleas.
”Shut up, shut—” He pathetically begged. He could hear how Wemmbu was starting to crumble under his own emotions, his hands roughly shoved into his own hair. And he didn’t feel a thing but annoyance at how dramatic he was being. “It’s not—“
”It is,” Jaden mocked, making his voice deafeningly soft with a false sense of caring. He crouched down to meet him face to face, his movements slightly sluggish due to the webs holding onto him too. “It’s always your fault, isn’t it? Maybe that’s why you’re so alone right now.” He stood back up, his hands gripping onto his sword harshly as a smirk appeared underneath his mask. Not like Wemmbu could see it anyways.
”Maybe that’s why your beloved Egg isn’t here either. You had to fend for yourself.” He continued as if they were having a casual conversation, speaking so gently he could watch how Wemmbu visibly sickened at it, now cutting through the strings of webs to free himself and slightly loosen it on Wemmbu too — an ounce of artificial empathy peeking through. “So sad, isn’t it? It’s always you. Always yourself.”
”How selfish.” He now fully stood up, completely free, as he finally had a full, clear view on how minuscule the demon hybrid appeared to him now. Kneeling right in front of him, sobbing his eyes out. For a brief moment, Jaden felt a pang in his heart from the disheveled appearance of his enemy. But did he truly care? Maybe. No, he didn’t. There was no need for him to even care when he had ruined everything for him. He could’ve just cooperated and given him what Jaden needed. There was no need to threaten his friend at all. But of course, he seemed to always want everything the hard way.
”It’s pathetic, you know?” He asked, his voice still mellow. “Maybe if you could think right for once, none of this would have happened.” Jaden let out a brief chuckle, bringing his hand to his mouth before dropping it. He took a step forward, observing how jumpy Wemmbu was now, face smeared in his own cries. There was a light pink starting to form around his eyelids. Jaden tilted his head, almost surprised by how Wemmbu seemed to be genuinely human now. Showing emotions that someone who usually seemed to have no regrets wouldn’t have.
”You’ve changed, haven’t you? In such a short amount of time, too, considering Rejoice only died a few minutes earlier.” He flat out reminded Wemmbu. He heard how his breath hitched.
“I would stay here longer, but…” Jaden hummed for a moment, crossing his arms. “You’re not worth my time. I doubt you’re worth anyone’s time." He kicked some rubble, spinning around to make his exit. "And, I need to get out of this soulless place. It almost disgusts me."
Just as much as you do, Jaden wanted to add on. But the damage was already done — he'd gotten his point across and gotten Wemmbu wallowing in his own dread. What more was there to say? He—
There was a presence behind him.
Jaden was quick to react, unsheathing his sword out of instinct as it clashed against Wemmbu's. A moment of tension was formed as metal screeched against metal, a spark forming before Jaden took a step back. There wasn't any time for him to sneak in a joke or two — the demon hybrid kept on attacking, leaving no space for any defence either. But, his movements were noticeably stagnant. He took time to hit another blow just for Jaden to parry it. But... if Jaden could barely parry these attacks, what would happen if he regained all his energy despite his current fatigue? What if he pushed beyond his current limits, and ended up winning over him? There was no way, right? Just for him to suddenly gain energy out of nowhere and starting attacking faster, better, harsher.
Jaden grunted as he dodged another one of his slashes, moving to the left. Which was a bad thing, he realised only after. His balance was off and just as he predicted, Wemmbu went for the opening with a piercing slash. The fabric of his clothes tore open with a satisfying rip, the edge of his blade reaching into his flesh and letting blood poor out. He let out a guttural screech at the sudden flash of white pain that stretched from his ribs to his stomach, clutching onto it momentarily as he staggered back before straightening himself. He stumbled again on himself, using his sword to support himself instead.
But he couldn't stay there for long. Wemmbu was already slowly approaching with what seemed like a thirst for blood, sword held tightly in his hands. He stopped a few steps away, heaving for a moment as the two stared at each other. Then, he let out a scoff.
"You know... I..." He smiled. "I'm not even going to kill you here. You can stay here, stuck in this damned place." He mockingly tapped his weapon against his neck, with enough force that it made it seem like he was going to slice his head right off. "I'll find a way out— before... before you can recover."
Slowly, he made his way past Jaden, the back of his heels hitting the concrete with sounds that were as fragile as glass. That were as fragile as him.
"...That's what Rejoice would've wanted anyways." Jaden heard him mumble quietly.
Once his footsteps were silenced and Jaden knew he was completely alone safe, he let out a breath that he didn't even know he was holding back. He wasn't scared, right? But the sting in his wound told otherwise; a reminder of how badly he'd been defeated. How easy it was for Wemmbu to waltz out of his frustration and instead vent it onto another being — which would usually be asshole behaviour — but Jaden deserved that. He deserved all of it, and he knew it, and he wanted to deny it simultaneously.
He let out a heavy breath. "Bullshit," He called it. "You— you aren't making it out here without me. I'll..." A gasp from another flash of pain. "—kill you. No matter how..."
Jaden almost smiled at how he was now. The tables had been turned, except it was turned onto him and he was crushed by it.
"I won't let you escape with them."