Chapter Text
Zanka sat in the back of the car, holding on for dear life— Enjin was driving today. They had a mission on the outskirts of Canvas town. It was expected to be a simple clean up.
Zanka gagged as the seat belt pressed against his neck as the car reered forward. He didn't have the gall to complain. Plus— his respect for the man behind the wheel was too great to ever think of complaining about something he was doing. This was the only thing he didn't like about Enjin. The man really couldn't drive.
It was just him, Enjin, Follo, and Tomme today. Semiu said there had been spottings of abnormally large trash beasts around, so she sent them. Most of the reports came from younger kids, so they were unsure if those accounts were even right. They were sent just in case. Enjin swerved into a trash valley to park the car before hopping out.
"Alright, come on, ya slow pokes!"
Enjin huffed light heartedly as he banged his fist against the top of the car. Follo crawled out of the car, greetful to not be in a car with Enjin's ass anymore. That man was crazy!
Zanka stepped out right behind Follo, holding Lovely Assistaff close. He made sure to polish her this morning as a little apology in advance. It was a ritual he did before and after each mission he took. It was an apology to Lovely for using her to kill trash beasts. Even though she was just a Jinki— just a stick— Zanka had a feeling she didn't like getting dirty.
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They all quickly fell into the rhythm of killing trash beasts. Zanka quite enjoyed this part. He enjoyed falling into the familiar rhythm of bashing in the skulls of trash beasts. Although, these ones were rather punny— nothing to write home around. They resembled large mutts, even having tails made out of wire that lashed around wildly. Zanka spun around, slamming the butt end of Lovely into the jaw of one of the trash-dogs as it lunged at him.
This was getting boring. Maybe those reports hadn't been of any use. As far as Zanka could tell, there weren't any crazy-large trash beasts looming around
"Tch—"
He huffed from behind his mask. He was hoping for a big trash beast to beat up— maybe doing that would impress Enjin. But no, just these tiny dogs that yowled when killed.
Follo and Tomme were over where Enjin was. Zanka always insisted on working without the help of Supporters. Not that he doubted their capability, but because he felt having help of any sorta made him weak.
Enjin was about fourty yards away, killing those same mutts with the assistance of the Supporters.
Enjin was so cool.
Zanka thought to himself. He was being reckless, getting distracted like this. He sighed
CRASH!
The ground under foot creaked threateningly— like sand when a snake pushed up against it. The tension snapped as a trash beast reared its ugly head, emerging right underneath Zanka's feet
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"Oh hey.. It's Mr. Bad Attitude."
Jabber murmured from afar. Zodyl told him to observe the behavior of one of his little experiments. He was perched in the distance atop a run-down building, awkwardly holding a pair of binoculars to his eyes. Cthoni made him wear a mask before heading out. That midget was always on his ass about something..
Jabber had been a little bummed out when Zodyl ordered him not to interact with his experiment less he "disrupt it", or whatever that meant. While Jabber almost always followed orders, he couldn't resist the prospect of fighting his favorite Cleaner again. He sighed, grinning behind that stupid mask as he stood up.
Boss's orders could wait— Jabber was bored, and that trash beast wasn't allowed to kill Mr. Bad Attitude before he did.
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Zanka screamed like a little girl
The ground under foot shook violently, and he couldn't even hold his footing. From this height, he'd probably die if he fell. Zanka plunged Lovely's spiked head into the trash beast, desperate to catch a hold as he slid down its sticky body. Zanka was sure he was covered in scratches by now. Zanka grunted once a spike on Lovely Assistaff's head caught a metal beam, stopping his long descent. Thank the Sphere! This was why Zanka adored Lovely— she was a complete life saver.
Zanka was clinging to Lovely Assistaff's shaft for dear life, refusing to look down. He was scared shittless.
This was pathetic.
The painful thought crossed his mind. He probably looked pathetic right now— Enjin was here too. What if Enjin was watching him right now? The thought alone made Zanka freeze up before he reminded himself he needed to hold on.
All of a sudden? He was snatched from his hold on the trash beast. At the same time? The feeling of metal claws digging into his shoulder.
"Zanka, my man, its been a while! I didn't expect you to get caught up like that!"
Much to his dread, he recognized that voice.
SMACK
Zanka lost consciousness as he landed flat on his back against the ground, breaking Jabber's fall as the young man laughed in amusement
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Jabber laughed.
Man, the look on Zanka's face was awesome! Seeing him look all surprised and enraged at the same time gave him a rush. Jabber had Mankira activated, her claws digging into Zanka's shoulders while he straddled the blond teen's waist.
Huh?
"Wait, no fair! You can't just die now, dude— I ain't have any fun yet!"
Jabber yelped in annoyance and mild distress when he noticed Zanka wasn't even moving. Not because of the neurotoxins in his veins. No, it was because he seemingly slapped the back of his head from almost a thirty foot fall against the dirt. There was already a little blood pooling around Zanka's head. Jabber figured that Zanka's back took most of the blow— right? Right?!
The trash beast exploded before Jabber could even process what was happening.
"Zanka! Are you alright? Zanka—!"
The Cleaner with the umbrella called out in a worried panic, having already destroyed the trash beast's Jinki-powered core. He seemingly spotted Jabber, given that pause. Shit. The boss was gonna be so mad with him! And not the fun type of mad where Jabber got a nice beating. No, the quiet, disappointment and disapproval from Zodyl hurt more than any other punishment Jabber could think of.
Jabber pulled away from Zanka a second too late.
Not because the Cleaner with the umbrella was about to attack him. No, it was because the unstable core of the trash beast exploded into white light.
The next thing Jabber knew, he woke up in a completely different area. A clean city alleyway. And an injured, unconscious Zanka beside him