Chapter Text
The car stopped abruptly with a screech of tires, jolting everyone forward. Enjin, blissfully unaware of the judging stares his teammates were sending his way, turned down the music and looked behind.
"What are you looking at me for? Go on Rudo, those trash won't pick themselves!" Enjin exclaimed with a wide smile.
"I will actually force you to take driving lessons from me." Gris commented with an unimpressed look on his face.
"I don't want to put everyone to sleep with my driving like you do." He answered and quickly left the car. Zanka and Rudo followed right after while Tomme stayed behind with the other supporter.
Before the three of them even got to the pile of trash, Rudo's eyes lit up at a sight of something only he could be amazed by. He dove headfirst into the stack before them.
"Ugh, we'll be here for a while…" Enjin sighed.
Zanka's gaze shifted to the wastelands, the inherent part of the Ground's landscape. The vast emptiness, broken only by the piles of garbage, stretched forever. In the distance he could see the outskirts of a No Man's Land, overlooked by the dark sky. He sighed and leaned onto the remaining part of a wall.
Ordinary people dared not come near the ominous area, so the trash found nearby was more often than not a better fit to be turned into a useful weapon by Rudo. No one was truly safe right next to the Mono, but thanks to their expertise, the cleaners were able to estimate how close they could get while staying relatively safe.
No dangerous Trash Beasts should be in this area, only pests they could defeat with their eyes closed. Regardless, Zanka stayed on the lookout for potential threats. Although, it was hard to focus with all the hustle Rudo was making by rummaging through the trash. A frown appeared on his face.
"Rudo, just how much longer!?" Enjin whined while resting his head on the wall, or at least what was left of it. "I wanna go get some lunch already."
"I gotta think what will be useful, don't rush me!" Rudo whined back while throwing useless items behind him.
'Can't you keep it quiet at least?" Zanka barked out.
"Why? The Trash Beasts won't hear us here." Rudo answered without even looking up.
"Relax Zan-Zan, we're far away from-"
Before Enjin could finish his sentence, a harsh wind picked up. It was unlike a normal breeze. Its rapidly increasing strength soon knocked both Enjin and Zanka off their feet. At the same time Rudo got thrown in the air and landed in the pile of garbage.
"What the hell was that?!" He asked while trying to escape from underneath the trash. "Was it a beast?"
The older team members were already up on their feet, looking around for whatever creature might have caused that. It wasn't a trash-storm, nor a naturally occurring breeze, so the only option left was a Trash Beast. However, it didn't change the fact that it couldn't be any of the regular ones.
A blurred bulk of trash dashed before them, creating a powerful gust of wind which threatened to make them lose their balance again. They could barely see the outline of its form because of the unnatural speed it moved with.
"So the motherfucker's fast…" Enjin scoffed and pulled out his vital instrument, Zanka immediately following suit.
"But it doesn't seem to be attacking directly. Not yet at least." Zanka shared his observation.
Yet again, a black shadow of the form flew before their eyes. It was the beast's tail slamming into the ground right before them. The sheer impact of the hit sent the three of them flying. The Trash Beast turned around and before the cleaners could even think it's tail was already swinging their way. Not to hit, but to create another wind current.
They flew through the air with no control over the direction, like dolls thrown around after a child's tantrum. Merely one swing from the beast got them to the outskirts of Mono. The creature shifted from one place to another in a blink of an eye, creating twisted wind currents that scattered the three cleaners further into the No Man's Land.
Suddenly, the unpleasant breeze started to lose its force and the noise caused by the raging currents ceased, leaving only a ringing sound in their ears. Just as they begun to fall down, Enjin managed to grab Rudo by the back of his jacket and the two of them flew down gracefully on the Umbreaker.
Not even second after their feet touched the ground, the two of them heard a loud bang from above. It was Zanka's body slamming right on the top of a trash-hill. A bunch of garbage fell down upon the impact, along with Zanka's mask.
"Shit, that's not good!" Enjin cursed under his breath and immediately started climbing the hill.
Zanka pushed his upper body from the ground using his arms. He would let out a groan from the sharp pain in his chest, but the abrupt coughing fit didn't let him. The sudden realisation of not wearing a mask in one of the most polluted zones dawned at him. He frantically started searching where it should have been attached, while also fighting to breathe. All to no avail.
All of a sudden Zanka felt something being pressed over his mouth and he could finally take a deep breath. He raised his head and was met with Enjin's face who immediately helped the teen stand up.
"You're holding up?" He asked.
"Yeah, I'm alright." Zanka answered despite his raspy voice that betrayed the real condition he was in. But it couldn't be helped either way.
"That thing is way too fast. How can a trash beast even achieve that speed?" Enjin threw the question in the air.
"Maybe it's the same type that Riyo fought?" Zanka struggled to talk because of the sore throat. "You know, the imitation. She said it was stronger than regular beasts."
"That only complicates things…" The man looked around the unending hills made of piled up trash. He pondered for a while before asking. "The cores in those "special" Trash Beasts were near their heads, right?"
Before Zanka could even open his mouth, a terrifying roar reverberated through the whole area. That screechy, yet resounding noise made their faces twist with terror. The terror only grew when the pair saw the trash beast's tail being swung at them with full force.
Their eyes widened at the realisation - it was too late. The shock paralysed them for a second too long to release the Umbreaker's power and shield them from the impending attack.
Enjin reached out to grab Zanka, to get him away. He had to at least save the boy who had given everything to surpass all his expectations. The potential hidden within him was worth any price.
But Zanka wanted to save the other as well. He preferred to put himself in danger if it meant that the older cleaner would come out of this uninjured. He owed him at least that much after everything Enjin did for him.
In that very last second, working on instincts alone, Zanka grabbed the untransformed assistaff and pushed Enjin away instead. Purely by a coincidence the teenager managed to be faster. The wooden staff bruised Enjin's ribs and caused him to fall down the hill.
Then he heard the terrifying sound as the tail struck Zanka's body.
Enjin looked at the scene before him blankly as he could not comprehend the events unfolding before his very eyes. His gaze followed Zanka's silhouette flying into the distance. Yet another disgusting sound hit his ears, the noise from the impact of a body hitting the ground hundreds of meters away.
His gaze couldn't even reach there. Perhaps, it was for the better as the adult was already fighting the urge to throw up.
"Is he-" Rudo started but Enjin barely let him get the words out before cutting in.
"He's strong, he will be fine!" His voice came out harsher than intended.
Enjin didn't know whether he tried to reassure Rudo, or himself. The boy only gave him a nod in response and clenched the item he was holding. He could barely contain his anger. The rage he must not forget threatened to overtake him.
"I've found a fishing net, I figured I could transform it and catch the beast. If it reacts to sound like the others, we could use it to lure it out." He said with determination written all over his face.
"And then I blow the shithead to pieces. Hopefully we'll break that core on the first try." Said Enjin as he activated his vital instrument.
They quickly figured out a plan and got down to work. With Zanka's state being unknown they could not afford to lose any time on deliberate plan making. They had to act now.
Enjin stood on top of a hill while Rudo was tying one end of the net to the sturdiest element they could find in this literal dumping site. The boy gave a thumbs up in the others direction as a sign that everything was covered on his end.
"Let's get the party rolling!" Enjin screamed with a playful smirk on his face.
The cleaner started to make as much noise as possible, throwing trash or sending blows into the air. All was met with no reaction from the Trash Beast.
"Oh come on! You hide only now?!" He shouted from frustration.
As if on cue, the monster let out that terrifyingly loud roar. But this time Enjin would not let the shock paralyse him. The enormous body was flying straight at him as fiercely as it possibly could, but not fiercely enough to match his determination. He didn't move even an inch, ready to face the beast before him.
"NOW!" Enjin screamed and Rudo surged ahead while using 3R, spreading the net as far as he could.
Not even a second later the Trash Beast made first contact with the net and Rudo instantly activated it's function. The web of strings wrapped itself around the monster. Its large body begun to wriggle, trying to find a way out but the net only tightened, causing the scowling sounds to increase.
The beast tossed itself in all directions. The sudden jolts threatened to tear the sturdy pole, that the net was tied to, from the ground. However, Enjin already had his weapon aimed at the Trash Beast. He breathed in, waiting for the perfect moment to strike and then-
"Bang."
A blinding streak shot out from the Umbreaker. Immediate hit to the monster's body created a shockwave strong enough to blow both of the cleaners few meters away.
When the dust that rose because of the impact started to slowly settle, Enjin walked up to the crater left by the explosion. He had to make sure that nothing was left, that the core was destroyed. Rudo followed right after him.
They stared at the bare land for a while before Enjin broke the silence.
"Nothing to be seen here. Let's move, we gotta find Zanka quickly!" He tried to keep using his usual witty tone, but he could not stop the worry from creeping in.
They set off for the hike with no enthusiasm whatsoever. But who could blame them? Traversing the endless hills of Mono doesn't count as a pleasant experience. It was perpetual going up and down. At a time where every minute counts, there is no worse place to be in.
The only solace was a successful attempt at contacting Tomme and Gris. After a quick debrief on what has happened, the pair said they would drive up near the area that Enjin claimed Zanka had been thrown to and look closer to the outskirts.
With every step taken the frustration grew and the atmosphere thickened. Their gaze was shifting from one place to another, searching for a tiniest sign of Zanka, but there was nothing as far as the eye could see.
The indistinguishable piles of garbage covered every inch of their vision. Everything was becoming one massive blur. There were no distinctive shapes, nothing that would stand out or guide them to where Zanka was. Enjin started to see the downside of their uniforms, that is blending way too well with the surroundings.
"I swear I'm gonna change all your uniforms to the brightest, most vivid hot pink I will find. August has to think about some changes because I can't recognize y'all among all those shitty trash."
"I'd rather you don't-" Once again Rudo was interrupted. This time by a hectic but at the same time relieved voice from their chokers.
"We found him! He is alive! Not really well but he'll get through it."
Enjin felt relief flooding his body, the anxiety still lingered, however the simple confirmation that Zanka would recover worked wonders. He released a long sigh before speaking.
"Tomme I was never so happy to hear your voice before. We're getting out of this dump right this moment!"
The man smiled at Rudo and encouraged him to move with a wave of a hand. Enjin could almost see how the anger was slowly leaving the boy's body, the sour expression changing to something more hopeful.
Suddenly going through the range of hills didn't seem tiring at all. The two cleaners managed to escape Mono in no time and before long they heard the familiar throb of their car.
However, the pair couldn't have their nerves smoothed just yet. Their hearts begun beating faster at the uncertainty of Zanka's state. They didn't know how bad he would look, couldn't prepare themselves mentally. Enjin took a deep breath and rested his hand on Rudo's shoulder in a reassuring manner.
When the car finally stopped before them, Enjin went to the back door instantly. His hand hovered over the handle for a fraction of a moment before he could get over the fear and violently tear the door open.
The dread returned immediately with twice the force it had before.
Zanka looked so small and hurt, his whole body was limply leaning against Tomme. Enjin felt a sharp pain in his heart at the sight before him.
The teen's face was covered in blood oozing from underneath the bandage wrapped around his head. His jacket was unzipped and shirt teared off, replaced by a white bandage with crimson stains.
Tomme had to have noticed the terror that immobilized his body reflected in his eyes because she gave him a reassuring smile before speaking.
"He suffered a head wound so it looks much worse than it actually is."
The giver's gaze was still locked of the feeble form beside her, almost like he was in a trance.
"Enjin." Gris' firm voice manage to snap him back to the real world. "There is no time to lose, get in."
The man in question let out a breath he didn't know he was holding in and complied with the command. He sat next to Zanka and carefully shifted the teenager's fragile frame onto his own shoulder, thus freeing Tomme.
Straight away, she begun writing down information that correlated with the unexpected attack. At the same time, Rudo and Gris started recounting what happened to each of them while they were separated.
Enjin couldn't force himself to actually pay attention to what was being said, he didn't even consider joining in on the discussion. He turned his head towards the window and looked at the shifting landscape with a solemn face. Only the weight of Zanka's head kept him grounded in reality.
It's going to be a long road back.