Chapter 3: Who the Hell Are You?
"I swear, Enjin, if I fucking die, I'm gonna haunt your ass!"
The car seemed to speed up, as if Enjin was deliberately ignoring Shati. In no time at all, they arrived at the market—a bustling place indeed. From folks selling exotic pets to people hawking jewelry, anything a person wanted could be found here.
Enjin parked his car, and Shati got out, visibly shaking.
"Hope you enjoyed the ride," he said, laughing. "Wasn't free, though."
Shati looked at him coldly and started walking away.
"Oh, come on, don't cry." He caught up and ruffled her locs. "You'll feel better in no time once you get me a joint."
"You do know that drugs don't grow on trees readily rolled into a joint... do you?" She raised an eyebrow, stepping closer to him. "If you do, you're dumber than I thought."
Enjin took a big huff of his cigarette. "I'm not as dumb as you think I am—"
At that exact moment, Enjin's eyes rolled back and he fell flat to the ground,foaming at the mouth, completely passed out. Shati calmly retracted the needle from his neck.
"Ugh, finally. Shut up." Shati let out a heavy sigh of relief. "May have overdosed him a bit, though... but oh well."
She dragged his limp body to the nearest dumpster—which, luckily, wasn't very far—and hid him behind it.
This should buy me an hour, she thought.
She ruthlessly took every single valuable she could find off him. To finish the look, she tied Umbreaker to him, stood back a few meters, and examined her work.
She tilted her head. "How to make him look more homeless?..."
Her thoughts trailed off before inspiration struck. She grabbed a dirty rag nearby, draped it over him, and carefully placed a cigarette between his lips.
"There. Now he looks more pathetic."
Shati threw on her cloak, pulled the hood over her face, and turned away.
"Now the real fun begins."
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The market was a wonderful place to get anything you want, yes. But in every market, there is a place hidden from observing eyes—a piece of the land that provides anything you need... for the right price, of course. All of this made perfect sense to Shati as she neared the corner of a quiet cafe, slipped into a narrow alleyway, and came face-to-face with an old, rusted door.
She drew a small knife, muttered a few quiet words, and made a shallow cut across her palm.
She always hated this part. She watched her blood trickle onto the door, waiting for the surface to ripple and open a portal. Taking a deep breath, she stepped through.
The thing that always surprised Shati about the dark market was how quiet, yet incredibly loud, it was. It felt like hearing thousands of people whispering all at once. And the cold—it was always so bitterly cold. Still, she walked in looking calm and collected. She rushed straight to her favorite stall, and there she was: Mama Sage. Her favorite dealer.
As Shati approached, she noticed a boy—no, a young man—talking to Mama Sage. He turned and left just before Shati reached the counter.
"Hi, Mama Sage!" Shati said in a low, conspiratorial tone as she pulled back her hood. "Got the usual today?"
"Good evening, young one," Mama Sage said in her characteristically wise, deep tone. "It has been too long. And yes, I do have your belongings."
She materialized a large, heavy pouch. Shati took it in her hands, quickly counting out some coins from Enjin’s stolen wallet.
"I hope this will suffice, and there's a little extra in there for you."
Mama Sage smiled and nodded softly. "Just for your kindness, I actually have a few new goods I thought you might like to try."
Shati’s face lit up with excitement. But her excitement quickly died when Mama Sage walked to the back of her stall and emerged a moment later empty-handed.
"Oh, goodness me. I seem to have forgotten," Mama Sage said, stroking her beard thoughtfully. "A young man came by just before you and gave me an offer I couldn't refuse. You actually just missed him. Perhaps next time."
Shati’s smile dropped completely. She dramatically collapsed to the stone floor. "Whyyyyyy?!"
She bounced right back up, eyes wide. "Oh, Mama, why?! I've got to follow him before he gets away forever. Thank you, Mama!"
Waving frantically, Shati sprinted off into the crowd, chasing after the mysterious buyer.
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Shati raised her head, sniffing the air. She caught his scent—sweet moon-lotus cut with a sharp, chemical sting. Following it through the thick crowd, she skidded around a damp stone corner. The scent was much thicker here, making her nose tickle.
Up ahead, the man stopped and turned to face her.
"Oh, a sewer rat seems to have followed me," he said. He pulled off his cloak, revealing a pair of glowing pink eyes. "A pretty rat, I might add."
In the dimly lit passageway, Shati took a good look at him. He had a wild, crazy look in his eyes. As her gaze wandered down, she noticed every single digit on his hands had a silver ring around it. And there, dangling from his side, were the goods Mama Sage had promised her.
"Look, mister. Hand over that bag," Shati said, slouching over exhaustedly. "I had a terrible car ride here, I had to drag an ungrateful, heavy idiot's ass to a dumpster, and I am not going home empty-handed."
"Oh, pretty thing wants to take this from me?" He raised his hand, showcasing the pouch as his rings glinted in the light. "Let's see you try."
With a sharp flick of his hand, his rings transformed into lethal claws. He lunged forward with terrifying speed, his right hand aiming straight for her face. Shati felt the wind of the blade brush her skin and ducked just in time.
"Yo, pretty boy, mind telling me your name before you pass out?" she mocked. She slipped right under his guard, aiming a toxin-filled syringe directly at his stomach.
Before she could jab it into him, he executed a rapid double-jump into the air, landing roughly against the brick wall.
"It's Jabber, love." He wiped a smear of blood from his cheek. "How about you?"
"Call me Shati," she said, breathing heavily.
But suddenly, Shati’s legs buckled. She dropped straight to the hard ground, her limbs turning completely numb. "What the fu—"
Jabber stood up, a smug grin plastered on his face as he walked toward her. "That was fun, but I guess it's all gotta end the same, huh?"
As he turned his back to her to walk away, his knees suddenly locked up. He collapsed face-first onto the ground. "The fuck?!"
Now there they were, both of them flat on the ground, completely paralyzed.
"Haha... you do poisons too?" Shati wheezed, slowly forcing her muscles to cooperate as she dragged herself back up.
Jabber just giggled, pushing himself to his feet. "You're fun. I like you."
"So, I guess your claws put out the poison? That's genius. Way more efficient than these." Shati tossed her useless syringe aside and pulled a yellow plush pillow from her bag.
Jabber stared at it, blinking. "A pillow?"
She squeezed the plush, channeling her soul into her Vital Instrument. The yellow fabric tore open from the inside out, shifting and expanding with a heavy, metallic clank. In a flash of light, the cute toy transformed into a menacing, top-heavy hybrid weapon—a brutal, curved scythe blade on one side and a massive, heavy hammer on the other.
"Oh, a fun pillow," Jabber said, raising his claws as he prepared for what was to come.
"Come on, we can share the pouch. It's not like you need all that," Shati said, lunging toward him.
Jabber sprang forward, his claws clashing against the curved blade of Shati's scythe. Sparks flew in the dark alley. He was incredibly fast, his right hand darting in like a snake to find a gap in her defense.
But Shati wasn't just a physical fighter. She swung the heavy hammer-side of Banana Duck, deliberately slamming it against the stone ground right at his feet.
The impact shattered the cobblestones, and a thick, yellow cloud of toxic dust erupted from the hammer's vents, enveloping Jabber.
"Ack—!" Jabber coughed, stumbling backward as the hallucinogenic dust hit his eyes and lungs. For a second, the stone walls of the catacombs seemed to melt and twist around him.
Shati didn't waste a second. Spinning the shaft of Banana Duck, she swung the scythe-end, aiming a clean slice at his shoulder to inject her own liquid toxins into his system.
The blade grazed his shoulder, cutting through his clothes. Shati smirked. Got him!
But Jabber didn't fall. Instead, he let out a low, hysterical chuckle. He raised his left hand—the one designed to absorb and store poisons—and touched his own neck, using his right hand's paralyzing neurotoxins to completely numb the pain of her cut.
"Incredible," Jabber whispered, his eyes blown wide and manic as the hallucinogens swirled in his system. "That sting... that dust... you're full of surprises!"
He raised his claws, lunging at her one more time. Shati felt a cold dread sink into her stomach as those sharp blades came rushing toward her.
But before his claws could reach her, a loud, static-filled voice boomed from the collar around Shati’s neck.
"SHATI OCTAVEOUS RUBION!"
Gris’s voice, echoing, furious, and incredibly loud, vibrated through the entire alleyway.
Jabber looked at her, "you in trouble or somethin?'"
Shati froze, her eyes widening in pure terror. "Oh, shit. I gotta go."
She clutched Banana Duck tightly and smashed it against the wall, releasing a massive, blinding smoke screen.
"I'll be taking this!" she yelled into the fog.
With a swift, practiced motion, she snatched the pouch of goods right out of Jabber's grip and sprinted off into the darkness, leaving a very confused, very amused Jabber behind in the smoke.
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ohhhhhhh, she finna get an ass whopping
anyways gimme yalls opinion on this chapter . plus my requests are open so feel free to ask
