Chapter Text
Zanka knew he had fucked up.
Really.
But he didn't have much time to think about it, not when he could feel the danger emanating from his adversary. Not when he saw the manic eyes staring at him starting to glow, leaving him a split second to activate Assistaff before the raider was jumping straight to him, claws aiming directly to his face. For some reason, his clouded mind felt at ease seeing how Jabber still wanted to fight him and marveled at the sight.
Luckily for him, his body reacted on instinct, quickly
swinging Assistaff with both hands, just barely avoiding getting sliced and blocking the attack. Not so luckily for him, he still hadn't full control of his body. He felt unstable and the quick reaction only helped to disorientate him more, leaving him with the only option to jump back. Putting some distance to try to assess the situation.
Fuck, where Jabber's eyes always this pink?
He felt like he couldn't concentrate in the fight. His mind was straying away, his grip on Assistaff was firm, but the weightless sensation of his body upsettled him. He didn't know how to move without the traits he knew to the core and he swayed a little, trying to adjust while keeping a fighting stance.
He didn't like how Jabber giggled, smile getting wider. Of course the fucker had noticed. It got on his nerves and he didn't feel any better when Jabber didn't try to get to him again. Just stood there looking at him as he deactivated Mankira on his left hand, wait, what?, and crouched down to pick something small from the ground. Something reallyyy small.
Shit. He ha had dropped his cigarette earlier. Well, he could always light another one later. No. It was just once, why was he thinking about repeating it? Why was Jabber picking it up and not fighting him?-
"Aww maaan, you've practically already smoked it all." Jabber said, taking his eyes off of Zanka to stare at the butt he held between two fingers, touching slightly with his other hand the still lit part.
Jabber was right, Zanka had been possibly one more puff away from leaving only the filter tip. It didn't feel like that much, he had thought he still had at least half more, and he didn't know if he was glad or not at that realisation. Jabber being the one to point it out only made it worse.
"The hell do you-"
"Must have been reallyyy good right, Zan-zan?" Jabber interrupted him as his attention went back to Zanka. His shoulders shook a bit from laughter, probably from seeing Zanka's furious face, as he continued saying with mockery. "Well, only one way to find out!"
His eyes went big from amusement before they closed as he finished the cigarette with a long drag.
It was the hottest thing Zanka had ever seen.
And he damned himself from thinking that, from not being able to stop looking at the part Jabber's lips where touching. Where Zanka's own lips where just a moment ago. His current state of mind made it really easy to just focus on the man before him, blurring everything else.
Damn, he was sure he hadn't looked like that when he smoked. How could that fucker have talent even in this? It made Zanka want to become an addict just to be better than him on that too. He kind of already was becoming one, tough, with all the poisons and shit...
"Yeah.. that's it." Jabber burst out laughing, having finished. "I knew you had it in you Zanka! Shit, you even got this at grannies didn't you? You really are just like me, heh.. I would recognise that old woman's..."
Zanka wasn't listening anymore.
He didn't understand why he was feeling so enraged but he knew one thing, he was NOTHING like that man. Zanka wasn't responding to logic, he was in no condition to fight. But even if he knew that, his body was screaming for blood.
He lunged at Jabber.
Even if the raider was clearly distracted rambling about who knew what, Zanka was as fast as he could when he slammed his feet to support himself and swung Assistaff into the others shoulder, sending him flying to the wall.
He had aimed for the ribcage. He didn't liked that, nor seeing Jabber completely unscratched, Mankira's right claws over his shoulder. He changed from a defensive position to an attack one with an impossibly large grin on his face. How could have Zanka confused smacking bone with hitting Mankira?
"That's the attitude i like man! Although you should have hit me harder..." Jabber eyes shone with amusement as he activated Mankira on his left hand again and jumped straight for Zanka. "Be sure to do so now! Don't get me all worked up for nothing!"
"Fuckass freak!" The sound of metal echoed as Mankira hit Assitaff and then retreated for a moment before clashing again. They got into a rhythm of exchanging blow after blow, Jabber's claw coming from above in a smooth swish before being blocked by Assistaff. Zanka then responding by sending a kick to Jabber's stomach that didn't reach his target as Jabber jumped using his grip on Assistaff as support and landing behind the other, just to attack this time from below and get blocked again...
Zanka was able to follow with it, but he knew something was wrong. His stance wasn't steady, his movements weren't precise, his mind wasn't centered...It was getting harder and harder to predict Jabber's moves and react accordingly. It didn't help that Jabber, being the freak he is, instead of retracting like a normal person when he got hit he just pushed further. And Zanka wasn't going to step back either.
They kept fighting like that, neither of them backing down when something changed. Mankira scratched Zanka's neck. He gritted his teeth, only noticing it by the blood that now tainted Jabber's claws. Strangely, he didn't feel the pain, like it was muffed out and he wasn't sure to be grateful or not. For now it kept him fighting.
But that scratch was just the first of mamy, like it had invited all the others. As Zanka striked less and less, the scratches on his body only grew. They were minor, yes, but they injected poison into him. Or did they? Zanka wasn't entirely sure, even if he felt a bit weirder now, his body was on a lot of different substances and hadn't felt normal for a long while now.
Jabber was pushing him back.
It was obvious that Zanka was having a hard time keeping up, but the worst part wasn't that. No, the worst part was Jabber hadn't even activated Mankiras real form and, somehow, he could see the excitement of his eyes starting to fade away. Like he was realising Zanka wasn't all that after all.
That was the most terrifying thing.
A crippling sensation overcame him, leading him to act. He jumped back, not planning to run away but to get more impulse to strike. When he landed,he heard a scream that could only come for a cat and quickly lifted his feet. Zanka looked down fast enough to see he had stepped on the cat's tail. Wait, why was the cat still here? No, wait, he had stepped on it. He felt a wave of remorse, before hearing the sound of metal. When he turned his head he was faced with long bloody claws aiming straight to his eyes.
Oh, no. He was going to die. He was going to die because he wasn't fast enough to block that. Because he had let himself be distracted, because he had indulged in what he shouldn't have. He was going to-
Mankira disappeared.
Jabber's face was full of delight as he crouched down with his now completely harmless arms extended to grab the cat.
"KIRA!! My girl, what're you doing here? uh?"
His face was almost that of a child's and his tone had completely changed, turning higher and softer than what Zanka expected of Jabber as he held the cat. Kira as it seemed.
Zanka was completely shocked. So much he couldn't hide the expression on his face , eyes wide and mouth open. He just stared in a fighting stance as the man that had been about to kill him petted and held a cat like it was the most precious thing in the world. There were no words to describe what he was feeling right now, seeing such a dangerous maniac so peaceful. He could say it was kind of cute, though...
His mind strayed away as he took the full picture in, before he got waken up by Jabber's voice.
"Where you looking for me??" He said with excitement "Well, so sorry girl but I've got no goods todays."
"What!?"
Zanka couldn't keep himself from screaming. The fuck he meant about goods!? Was he poisoning the cat? And he said it while laughing! Was he really that fucked up? And here he was thinking he looked cute...
Jabber turned to look at him with confusion and arched a brow at him, still holding Kira as he responded. "Uh? Why so mad Zan-Zan? I..." His voice slowly stopped as he seemed to realise something and his expression completely changed, now looking at him with a mischievous grin and amused eyes.
"Yeah, this my spot, man. I always come here to do my shit and she's always around so I share something with her."
Zanka saw red.
"I knew you were a twisted fuck, but to reach that extent!? You're more than that, damned psychopath, how can you do that to a cat!?"
"Aww, but she loves it! Always screams for more."
"Screams for more or screams of pain!? Are you that fucking stupid to not distinguish the two? Or is it that you choose to be blind because you're the one loving it?"
"Ay! Someone's getting feisty. Living up to your name, huh? Or are you jealous of Kira, Mr. Bad attitude~?"
"WHY WOULD I BE JEALOUS!?"
Zanka felt like he was going to break his teeth from how hard he was gritting them. There was no point in arguing with Jabber, he knew just the right way to get under his nerves and he was just getting louder. He didn't know why he couldn't keep his cool against him, that never happened with anyone else. His hatred towards him only grew.
"You sure have been looking for my stuff on your own, eh? To me it's pretty clear you wanna have a taste of me."
Zanka was thrown off guard. How the fuck did he know about that? Was that a supposition based on the cigarette? And, above all, why did he word it like that!?? He truly didn't have any filters, wich left Zanka embarrassed and not knowing what to say. If he cussed him now he would look too childish and would certainly be more mocked for that. Wait, why did he felt embarrassed because of that? He really had to stop indulging this man.
"Well I've got no problem with that, you know? Though I certainly didn't expect you liking catnip."
What.
"Maan, don't you wanna try anything else? I thought you would be into much stronger shit..." Jabber stopped talking just to burst out laughing. That maniac was having the time of his life while Zanka just got completely red, this time not because of anger.
Shit. Of course it was catnip. Of course Jabber would talk about it like it was a drug. How could he have been so foolish? Being around drugs so much had fucked him more than he thought. Wait, not drugs, poison. Oh, fuck it.
Even if the vials were poisons he couldn't keep calling that "cigarette" a cigarette. Not after feeling so much it's effects. But he could worry about that later, had to keep a clear mind now. Even if it definitely wasn't clean and all he could feel was humiliation. He couldn't let his feelings take the better of him. And he mostly couldn't keep fighting like that, he had to look for another way.
"What? Cat got your ton-"
Zanka threw Assistaff at Jabber, who released the cat from his arms so he was the only one sent flying and slammed against the red wall. Assitsaff digging into the stone, with it's curve around Jabber's neck, keeping him in place.
Zanka gripped Assistaff, having run there, and digged her more deeply into the wall, its spikes sinking into Jabber's neck. "Shut your fucking mouth."
Jabber took a rugged breath that sounded like angels to Zanka but didn't feel that good because he kept smiling. The bastards a masochist, right, must be enjoying it. At least Zanka had the upper hand now. "Shit...you were... aching to do that weren't you, Zan-zan?" Or maybe not. Of course he couldn't keep himself from talking even with dragged breaths, couldn't keep himself from dragging Zanka to his sick delusions. Though he had really wanted to do that, but no.
"Not that... I'm complaining, ts shit's good but..." Jabber's eyes shone again with excitement as he activated Mankira and aimed to slice Zanka with no fear of being strangled. Zanka released Assistaff from the wall to jump back, barely evading the claws, when Jabber gripped Assistaff with his other hand and pushed forward, sending them to the ground.
They rolled around a bit before stopping with Zanka on top of Jabber. The other was still gripping Assistaff with one hand and while Zanka might be weak on some aspects, his hold on his vital instrument was far from being one. Assistaff was horizontal to both of them, Zanka was grasping her with both hands while Jabber's only hand was in the middle. It was very easy for Zanka to win this test of strength before Jabber suddenly remembered he had another hand and dug Mankira in Zanka's left side.
This time, he did feel the poison entering through him.
He left out a pained scream that was instantly regretted as he fell to his right side, preventing Mankira from sinking in too deeply but allowing Jabber to take Assistaff from him and place himself on top, sitting on Zanka's stomach and trapping one of Zanka's hands between his thigh and his side.
Jabber threw Assistaff aside and in the same motion aimed his claws at Zanka's face. Purely on instinct, Zanka stretched his neck to its limits ,leaving Mankira to dig into the ground.
Jabber wasted no time as he tried the same move with his other hand, releasing Zanka's side, just to be stopped as Zanka grabbed his wrist with the only free hand he had. They struggled, Jabber pushing his claws down and Zanka pushing the other way. It seemed like Jabber either wanted to know how far he could go or his other hand was stuck.
"What's wrong Zan-zan? Show me something like what you did before! Show me your real strength!"
That got under his skin, he hadn't been hiding anything. Zanka knew how this was going to end. Even if he could have won before now, with a fresh wound and gravity against him, he was certain he was about to die. At least the poison wasn't as strong as last time, that or he didn't notice, anyway he was finally grateful for the decision to start poisoning himself.
If only to be able to fight a bit more and take Jabber down with him. Jabber was laughing. Zanka wanted nothing more than to make him scream instead, or at least be the one laughing. He wasn't sure of many things now but as he turned to look from Mankira to Jabber face he saw the railing of the cliff.
An idea invaded his mind. He was sure of what to do now.
His until now confused mind seemed to be cleared by an (not so incredible) incredible idea. Even if he knew he would regret it later, right now he only wanted to see that guy dead. Zanka didn't know which one of the substances was amplifying his feelings, but he could deeply feel every ounce of hatred and fury he had. He didn't hesitate.
He stopped pushing upwards. Instead in a quick motion he brought his and Jabber's arms just on top of his head. Mankira scratching his eyebrows and forehead, not reaching his eye by a millimetre. As Jabber's body lost stability and instinctively reached forwards, Zanka upped his head and slammed it right at the raider's.
Jabber let out a surprised gasp, his body weakening just enough to let Zanka's arm break free. Jabber had also let free his other hand from the ground but Zanka already knew that would happen, so he kept going. Moving fast, grabbing the raider by the collar with both his hands.
"I ALREADY TOLD YOU I HAVE NO HIDDEN STRENGTH. WHAT I DO HAVE IS ONE HELL OF A TRAINING"
He took only a second to savour Jabber's surprised expression and laugh before he lifted him, leaving his legs space to retract. With the strength of all his limbs he pushed Jabber upwards and backwards.
Straight over the railing and into a very long fall.
He catched just a glimpse of Jabber's face before he went down. He was smiling. It didn't take long before he heard a laugh getting further. A reflection of his own.
Zanka stopped laughing.
Shit. The bastard would climb up again, wouldn't he?
With that thought in mind and not the one of the possible death he could have just caused, Zanka got up. His body protested immediately, his head spun like crazy, he started to feel heavy instead of light and the wound on his side started to burn. Whatever was happening to him wasn't good, he knew he couldn't put up a fight right now.
Jabber had stopped laughing.
. If it was because he was climbing or dead on the ground he didn't dare check. He needed to get out of there. He had partially won this fight, getting a lot of information out of it, but it would only be useful if he survived.
He started to walk towards HQ, Kira was nowhere to be seen. He had been pretty reckless attacking Jabber while he held her. The raider had done a pretty good job protecting her, tho. The picture of Jabber holding her came to his mind, almost cute. Then followed the imagination of Jabber's body dead on the ground.
Ughh, he really didn't have the strength to think now. He would only end up believing his own imagination.
He passed through different streets, avoiding people as much as he could. Their faces were just a blurr, the streets only recognizable through seer muscle memory. When he was about to take a turn he stumbled down, his body not responding anymore.
Fuck, he didn't wanna have to resort to this.
With all the strength left on his body he reached out for the choker on his wrist and thought of the only person he would allow to see him so beaten.
"Zanka? I'm in the middle of cleaning, it better be something important."
Riyo's voice sounded agitated and exhausted, it was clear she was fighting a troubling beast. Still, it calmed Zanka to hear her and to know that she had responded even busy.
"Riyo..." Shit, his voice was weaker than he thought. "I'm probably...seven streets southeast from HQ... I need ya to come pick me up...got into trouble...Sorry"
There was an audible silence from the other end, Riyo was probably processing what he just said and what he sounded like. Thankfully it didn't take long for her to respond.
"I'll be there in five, don't die."
He left out an exhausted sigh before the connection was cut. His mind started to drift off as he relaxed. He knew it wasn't ideal, Jabber could still find him, but he trusted in Riyo. Maybe more than he trusted in himself sometimes.
Zanka was really thankful to have a plausible excuse for all the substances in his body when Eishia treated him