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The pain spreads through Zanka like wildfire, unforgiving and relentless, impossible to ignore. Begrudgingly, he takes a look at his hand, and recoils at the gruesome sight that greets him— his fingers bend in ways they shouldn't, and the broken skin from taking the impact is painted with the red of his blood. Part of his hand's skin has peeled, exposing muscle and bone. It will scar, he realizes, but the numbness of his thoughts is roughly pulled away at Rudo's cry.
"WHAT IS YOUR PROBLEM, YOU BIG TURD?!" The boy is angry, Zanka can tell, cannot begin to blame him when the Trash Beast they are facing seems sturdier than many others they've faced, far more quick to react and learn than any other.
Zanka forces his body to move, to overlook the shock of the sight and the pain, but the air is knocked out of him before he manages to stand up. He grits his teeth and his eyes roam the ground until they see Lovely Assistaff, no more than a few feet away from him— she lays there on her base form, worn staff awaiting for his grip. He wants to call her, but he hesitates, unsure of how out of it he truly is after being swatted away with such tremendous force. How his arm is not entirely broken is a miracle.
The Trash Beast roars, something shrill and mighty that echoes through Zanka's bones, makes his head throb in pain. It makes him realize his hair sticks to his forehead, blood running down his face. Not the best situation to be in, considering back up might still be twenty minutes away. And Rudo only has one more use from 3R, his current weapon unaccounted. Zanka tries to think, tries to figure out a way to help out Rudo without further putting strain on his current wounds.
The boy's pained yell catches his attention, and the next thing he knows, Rudo's laying next to him, splayed out in the ground while his grip on the crumbling angle grinder tightens. Before Zanka can check on him, the boy stands up, huffing, teeth gritted in anger. He was always quick to provoke, but his hold on his temper had gotten better in the past months. Rudo paused, now, did not dive in head-first recklessly. The boy rummages through his pockets, and he holds a multi-tool Swiss knife when his hand comes out of it.
"Rudo." Zanka curls a bit onto himself at the pain, and Rudo's eyes, red and wild look back at him. He is angry, clearly expresses it so, yet his eyes remain lucid, collected even though they are both cornered. "This is your last use of 3R, don't waste it."
"Gah! You don't need to remind me!" Rudo says, pocketing the knife back. He walks forward, and Zanka is baffled by the lack of limping, by the fact Rudo does not wince on the slightest. He could take a beating, alright. "I will just buy us time, then!" He stops next to Lovely Assistaff, and he bends down to pick it up. "Don't ya worry about it, I will—"
His eyes widen, much as Zanka's do. Surprise and disbelief etched in both their face, silence falling as the tension is cut by what happens. They both exchange looks between them.
Lovely Assistaff, now in Rudo's grasp, has activated.
Surprise gives way to panic for Rudo, and the boy turns to Zanka, babbling and stumbling over his words. "Z-Zanka! I swear I didn't— I just—!" He looks mortified, truly does, and Zanka feels bad for him.
They both remember Gris' amulet, how Rudo's powers had brought out the potential in it, how Rudo took Gris' sentiments, clearly engraved into it, and made use of it until the end. Until the amulet's end. A crumbling, vanishing thing once Rudo thought the battle was over.
Zanka would be lying if he said he was not concerned. He would be lying if he said seeing Lovely Assistaff react to Rudo's touch did not spark fear within him, so cold and numbing yet a hot emotion through his body. If he were to say this was okay, that he could live with it the way Gris had done... he would be lying.
"I did not use my powers..." Rudo says, a quiet voice, something pleading and desperate. "I promise..." Zanka takes in the truth in his words, in the open expression that is so apologetic and guilt-ridden.
Zanka's eyes move to his Vital Instrument, and he pauses. Forces the panic in his head to the back, tries to think clearly through the pain and the anxiety. He believes Rudo, in spite of the sight before him.
"Lovely Assistaff?" He knows his voice trembles, a hitch from the tightness in his throat. He takes a quivering breath and he feels the burn on his abdomen, is reminded of the indisposition in which he finds himself.
But as Rudo looks at him, clearly in a panic, Zanka understands.
He breathes a sigh of relief, and he smiles up at Rudo. "Don't worry, Rudo." Zanka reassures him, "She will help you out in my place."
"B-But... It won't disintegrate, right?!"
Vital Instruments were such a funny thing, and Lovely Assistaff had always had a knack for reading Zanka better than he could understand himself.
"No, she won't. We both want to help you out here, but..." He laughs dryly, glances at his mangled hand, "Only one of us can help you out right now."
Rudo seems taken aback, before realization dawns on him. He smirks at Zanka, even through the nerves that clearly linger, "Oh, alright." His grip on Assistaff adjust, and Rudo turns back to the Trash Beast that slowly angles towards them. "You stay here, I will deal with the Trash Beast."
"You better keep up with her." Zanka jokes, and Rudo looks over his shoulder, nods at him solemnly.
"We will be done in no time."
Zanka watches as Rudo and Lovely Assistaff take off, and his chest swells with the emotions caused by the fierce determination they both hold— so ready to defend him. They both have grown so much.