Chapter Text
Riyo really wasn’t feeling great after the whole Zanka rescue mission.
At first she tried ignoring it.
Which honestly wasn’t unusual for her.
Everything hurt, everybody was stressed out of their minds, and Zanka was currently half conscious after getting the absolute shit beaten out of him. Compared to that, feeling a little dizzy didn’t exactly seem important.
Still.
Something felt… off.
As she made her way back toward the car, her steps started getting unsteady. Her Jinki flickered strangely before fully deactivating on its own.
Riyo blinked.
That was weird.
Usually she had full control over that.
She frowned slightly but honestly her mind was somewhere else right now. The image of Zanka tied down and bloody kept replaying over and over in her head no matter how hard she tried pushing it away.
Seeing him like that…
God.
It scared the shit out of her.
Not that she’d ever admit it out loud.
So instead she stayed calm.
Or at least tried to.
Because if she freaked out, everybody else would freak out harder.
That’s how this worked.
Riyo kept walking toward the car, staring blankly ahead while the others moved farther in front of her carrying Zanka between them.
Then suddenly she stumbled.
Hard.
She caught herself awkwardly against the side of a ruined wall before fully falling.
“…The hell?”
Her breathing sounded uneven now.
Riyo slowly pressed a hand against her abdomen where a sharp pain had suddenly started twisting through her.
Her vision blurred slightly.
She looked down.
Red.
Her hand was covered in red.
For a second her brain genuinely stopped working.
Fuck.
No.
No no no—
Her hand immediately started shaking.
“This can’t be happening…”
The words came out barely above a whisper.
Then suddenly her legs gave out completely.
And Riyo collapsed.
…
Meanwhile the others had finally gotten Zanka back into the car.
Getting him buckled in was significantly harder than it should’ve been considering he kept leaning sideways, his body forgot how sitting upright worked.
Eventually they managed it anyway.
The reward for their efforts was Zanka suddenly laughing hysterically at absolutely nothing.
His eyes were still looking in two completely different directions.
“Damn,” Enjin muttered while climbing into the front seat. “That asshole got him GOOD.”
Follo sat beside Zanka trying to hold him upright while also attempting to keep his jaw closed because apparently the second somebody shut his mouth it immediately fell open again.
It was honestly starting to get disturbing.
“How long does this usually last??” Tomme asked nervously from the back. “It’s starting to freak me out!”
“Nobody knows,” Gris had spoken.
Zanka suddenly started trying to say something.
Or at least they thought he was.
It mostly came out sounding like complete gibberish.
“Riiiiichcktkdkfkt…”
Everybody stared at him.
“…What was that?” Gris asked cautiously.
Zanka blinked at him slowly.
Then immediately started mumbling again.
“Riiiiyoooktkfhh…”
“Maybe he’s hallucinating,” Tomme whispered.
“Honestly I hope so.”
Enjin sighed tiredly and rubbed at his face before instinctively counting everybody in the vehicle.
Follo.
Gris..
Tomme…
Zanka….
Rudo…..
…
Enjin froze.
Wait.
His head snapped around immediately.
“SHIT,” he shouted. “WHERE’S RIYO!?”
…
Riyo didn’t realize until now that one of Jabber’s god damn pig stickers had actually gotten her.
That asshole.
She let out a heavy shallow breath, trying to steady herself against the ground.
Her vision flashed with colors every time she blinked.
Bright.
Almost nauseating.
…Huh.
So this was what Zanka felt like.
Terrifying.
Riyo weakly tried pushing herself back upright only for her arms to nearly give out underneath her immediately. Her head hit the ground again with a grunt.
This shit SUCKED.
Actually tremendously.
Her thoughts were starting to blur together strangely now. Making every thought take too long to process before another one interrupted it halfway through.
She needed help.
The realization came slowly.
Riyo shakily reached toward her collar communicator, fingers twitching weakly against the ground.
Come on.
Move.
Her arm barely lifted.
Then suddenly it just…
Stopped responding.
Riyo stared blankly at her own hand.
Foam started gathering at the corner of her mouth.
Oh.
That probably wasn’t good.
Her entire vision spun violently enough to make her stomach twist. She could barely tell where the ground ended and the sky started anymore.
Everything felt numb.
Cold.
She just stared downward while her breathing turned uneven and shallow.
God.
She hated this.
…
Somewhere far away she heard somebody calling her name.
Once.
Then again.
Then louder.
But her brain couldn’t really process the words anymore.
Her eyelids felt unbelievably heavy.
The only thing she could really do was let them close.
Her body twitched weakly against the ground as numbness slowly spread through her limbs.
Why was she hearing things?
…
Meanwhile Enjin and Gris had doubled back to search for her while the others stayed with Zanka at the car.
Retracing their steps through No Man’s Land took longer than expected. Everything out there looked the damn same.
Ruins.
Dust.
Broken towers.
Then finally Gris spotted something bright against the brown terrain ahead.
Red hair.
“Riyo!”
He immediately broke into a run.
Enjin followed close behind while Gris dropped down beside her, crouching quickly to eye level.
“Riyo?” he called again, voice suddenly tight with panic. “Riyo, what’s wrong?”
No response.
Riyo’s eyes were barely even open.
Gris’s stomach immediately dropped.
He carefully grabbed her shoulders trying to sit her up properly, only for her body to go limp against him with a weak sound leaving her throat.
“I don’t like this,” Gris muttered instantly.
Riyo barely reacted when he lifted her into his arms.
That scared him more than anything else.
Normally she’d complain.
Or at least tell him to put her down.
Instead she just weakly shifted against his chest without fully waking up.
“I’ve never seen her like this…” Gris frowned while quickly carrying her back toward the others.
Enjin walked beside him, expression growing darker the longer he looked at her condition.
Then suddenly his eyes narrowed.
Foam.
His gaze immediately dropped toward the wound near her side.
And suddenly everything clicked together.
“…That….”
Gris looked over.
Enjin’s expression twisted immediately.
“Jabber got her too.”