Inside Azibo's, or "BugKing's" treasure chest, was an array of gems and minerals. Each a relic once stolen from his land and people from over a decade.
Of course, the vendors at Stygian Tower wouldn't willingly give back their property, so he took it back. His plan: 'The area my village presides is rich with mineral. I came here to take back what's mine and destroy every person and record who knows that I or that place exists.'
"A shame." His voice echoed from inside his woven helmet. "You saw me at the worst time…" The spiders that had erupted from his arms relentlessly scrambled toward Zoe. "No one can know I exist."
As they closed in on her, the corridor erupted in a resounding BOOM!
In surprise, BugKing braced himself. 'Where'd that come from? That looked like an explosion from a grenade. Is someone else here?' Inside his helmet, his neck craned, trying to see if anyone was around, though there was no one he could see or sense.
A warm, peachy aura flared, dispersing the dust and smoke. Four glowing cards floated in the air above Zoe's head.
'It's like she's looking right into my eyes,' Azibo thought. That's when he glanced down, seeing the hole in the wood floor of the hallway, exposing the thick metal and infrastructure underneath. 'They're all gone.' He stared into her bright blue eyes, seeing her energy explode outward, almost taking up half the width of the hallway, causing several windows on Zoe's left to explode. The rainy wind whipped her hair into a frenzy.
BugKing's cape flailed wildly. The fast wind caused the rain to go sideways, pinging lightly against his helmet.
Zoe's energy went back to its normal size, though Azibo still had a feeling that it wasn't just a random burst of energy.
"Oh goodness," an annoyed look crossed her face. "I can't concentrate like this!"
Azibo watched, confused but curious as Zoe grabbed the Queen of Diamonds above her head, stretching it as thin as possible. She was barely able to cover the shattered windows, but the card had completely blocked the wind and rain, holding tightly.
From under his cape flew about a dozen butterflies; their neon green wings released dust with every flap. Each was covered in his red aura. Zoe squinted, studying them as they ascended to the ceiling. The golden particles falling from their wings made the hallway look like it was snowing.
'No!' She covered her mouth and nose with her sleeve, stopping herself from breathing anything in. However, it was too late. 'I'm an idiot! I should've known what that is just based on the color of the wings!'
As Azibo stomped forward, the walls and floor began to breath, moving and swirling.
'I barely breathed any of it in, but I'm already starting to hallucinate.' She tried to steady her breathing, feeling as if there was an ice-cube stuck at the bottom of her throat. 'I require accuracy, and with my surroundings shifting around, it's gonna be hard.' The three cards she had above her head were a Four of Diamonds, a Two of Hearts, and a Five of Clubs.
She took a deep breath into her sleeve. From her pocket, she took out a random card, flinging it at his chest.
"Easy!" He put his arms down to block it. Last second, the card angled upward, stabbing deep into his helmet. The sharp object stopped less than an inch from his eyes. He didn't have a moment to process as Zoe started throwing cards rapidly, two at a time. Dodging most, several sliced through his clothes, leaving several cuts in his torso and legs, with a couple of more sticking into his helm. 'Damn, how the hell is this kid so strong?' He stopped several yards away from her, leaning a hand against the right wall of the hallway, a brief lull in Zoe's projectiles. 'The hell is she smiling about?' he said, noticing her odd expression. "Ah!" He screamed. Another explosion detonated from under his right hand, engulfing him.
When the smoke cleared, Zoe watched a tired Azibo stumble back from the wall. His knees shook under him. His dense red energy all collected to the right side of his body, flickering slightly. Sweat poured down inside his mask. He tried to blink it away from his eyes. Panting, barely able to stand up right. 'I was fast enough. In that brief moment, I noticed. Right where I placed my hand, the wall felt different. Though it looked like any normal part of the wall, it felt almost…plastic.' As he tried to get his bearings his mind continued to race. 'That's right! A milisecond before the explosion, it appeared under my hand. It was a card stuck to the wall! If I didn't literally shift all my energy to the right side of my body, and make it as dense as possible, it would've been all over. So her cards can stretch, be thrown, turn invisible, and explode. For some reason, the ones stuck in my helmet haven't detonated. Though these cards were from her pocket, not the ones floating above her head. There's most likely a difference there. The one that exploded was most likely thrown during her little toy-card barrage and I didn't notice. Okay, nothing I can't deal with!' His energy began to flow back around his full frame.
During this time, Zoe's lungs were screaming at her. This was the longest she has ever had to hold her breath. The butterflies had grabbed onto the ceiling, still slowly flapping their wings, a continuous golden snow rained down in the hallway. Her clothes were covered in a thin lair; it was impossible to sneak another breath in.
Taking a card from the box in her pocket, she flung it at one of the butterflies, missing by a mile. The room still shifted and swirled around her, her mind finding it impossible to concentrate with the lack of oxygen being delivered to her brain. 'If I breathe I'm done. If I don't I'm going to pass out in about fifteen seconds. Most likely in half that time, since muscles use oxygen when moving.'
Azibo looked above her head, now only seeing two cards. A Four of Diamonds and a Two of Hearts.
Zoe reached above, snatching the Two of Hearts, and throwing it toward BugKing, though not at him, making sure it landed at his feet.
He looked down, this time he was ready. Jumping high enough to avoid any explosive damage. "You didn't even try that time! You're done!" He stared at the card waiting for it to detonate.
He felt himself being flung back toward the ground; as if there were an invisible rope around his waist, and someone was yanking him down.
He landed on his hands and knees, seeing the butterflies flap around the air in confusion. Being pulled by an invisible force toward what he just now realized was the card.
Zoe was able to finally gasp for air. The dust flowing away from her down the hallway. She stood, taking several deep breaths. 'I'm still under its influence, but at least I can breathe,' feeling her lungs expand. 'Since the number on the card was only a two, the "pull" won't be strong enough to harm BugKing.'
"Ow!" She looked down at her leg. It didn't hurt too bad, but she felt a pinching. She cocked her head, staring. A small trickle of blood ran down her calf and into her shoes. Reaching down, Zoe attempted to remove the painful black dot on her leg. It held tight. Whatever it was, digging in deeper the harder she pulled.
Noticing movement, she looked at the floor around her. Several dozen more of the small things scurried toward her. Their powerful legs sticking to the floor, unaffected by the pull of her card.
One by one with impossible speed they jumped on her. Covering her. Eating small holes through her clothes, biting into her skin. "AAAHHH!" Zoe screeched, the feeling of the insects small hands and mouths making her skin crawl. Realizing what they were, she attempted to tighten her energy around her, hoping it would crush them.
'They're ticks! Disease-ridden ticks!' She was breathing heavily, 'I don't have as much control over my energy, and I'm getting really tired all of a sudden. They're slowly draining my energy!' Another card materialized in the air above her. 'No! That wasn't the card I wanted!' The bugs didn't hurt her too much. The sensation was a light tickling and small pinching, though blood poured down her body. 'Since the card that appears over me is random in both number and suit, I have to improvise. An unfortunate and cruel limitation for me, as I always feel like I need things to be planned out in advance, but this was the only way an ability like this would work at my level.' Attempting to manifest another card, she failed, coughing blood into her open palm.
Azibo watched as his butterflies all fell onto the card under him. Its force crushing them all against each other on impact. With all his might, he slammed a heavy fist on the card, denting the floor.
He got to his feet, panting. The two of hearts, destroyed. A breathy laugh escaped his dry lips. Echoing inside his helmet.
Zoe watched as he doubled over, coughing uncontrollably. Her mind imagining his body twisting and undulating rhythmically as the hallway stretched, putting them miles apart. She reached into the card box in her pocket, taking two cards.
Azibo reared his head back, his back arching, and he stuck his tongue out. Forcing itself from deep within his maw, its sharp spindly legs scratching the inside of his throat as it climbed toward the light.
The arachnid fell out of his mouth, climbing down, squeezing itself from the base of the helmet.
Her vision swam as she tried to focus on the insect as it scrambled toward her. The hallucinogens made it look as if the spider was submerged, swimming halfway into the floor, bobbing in and out of the wooden water. She guessed the thing was about the size of a rat. If it wanted to, it could eat a dog. Her two cards missed uselessly, stabbing into the floor. Before she had a chance to cry out, it bit her.
It felt like cold water was rushing up her left leg. Taking out another card, she had it sharpened, and cut the insect in half. Its red energy dissipating as the two halves gurgled.
"Wha-" Zoe fell to the ground. Her energy flickered as she looked at her leg. Even through her altered reality, she could see the wound was bad. Two small puncture holes on her ankle. 'The veins in my leg are turning black! It's just numb. It feels like I don't even have a leg!' She punched herself as hard as she could in the leg, attempting to get blood recirculating.
Azibo rose. He rolled his shoulders back, stretching.
It was no use. She felt so tired, and she lay forward. The ticks had been eating away, draining Zoe's energy this whole time.
Casually, he strolled toward the girl. "Whatever your name is…I'm impressed. Truly." He stood over her. "Just…no one can know I exist. But you do. So you can't exist."
Zoe lied on the ground, and as the pool of blood grew larger around her, her aura shrank. The ticks now radiating a similar evening orange aura to hers as they continued to consume her. She reached her hand out, pointing to the windows, specifically to the stretched Queen of Diamonds that covered the broken ones.
"Hm?" He glanced over.
He was dazzled. The inside of his helmet seemed to reflect the light. An overwhelming dizziness beset him. It felt like he was point blank staring into the bright lights of a car, but times one hundred. Completely disoriented, he had no idea where he was. His vision was white. Did he fall over? Did he bump into a wall? He reached out, trying to grasp anything tangible, trying to bring himself back to reality.
The card disappeared, and the wind returned, blowing rain into the hallway.
"AHHHH! I'M BLIND! WHAT DID YOU DO?" Azibo screeched, his red hot energy raging around him. He unscrewed his golden helmet, and rubbed his eyes, desperately blinking and looking around. "I STILL CAN'T SEE. YOU BITCH! WHAT THE FUCK DID YOU DO?" He had fallen to his knees, staring forward with wide eyes, hoping that he would be able to make anything out about his surroundings.
He felt himself being yanked to the ground, and something sharp press against his neck. "Stop fighting me!" Zoe yelled. Holding a glowing card to his neck. She blinked in surprise, watching his energy dissipate. As it did so, the ticks that were covering her let go, falling to the ground and scurrying away. The last bit of energy yet to be absorbed by them, returned to Zoe, giving her a second wind. She jumped to her feet. Looking down, the venom in her leg was leaking back out through the bite on her ankle.
Looking around the hallway, 'Yeah, the butterfly dust effect is still active, though I think I'll just have to wait that out.' Still suspicious of BugKing, she warned, "I can kill you right now."
Though she didn't need to kill him, as he had lost the will to live as he would never be able to the faces of his people ever again.
Zoe reached up, grabbing a newly generated card. An Eight of Spades. "Perfect." She lifted up her shirt, pressing the card against her side. Despite gaining some of her siphoned energy, the wounds still persisted. The card stuck to her skin, slowly melting into it. After five minutes, it will have been absorbed into her.
Zoe's Gambit:
Zoe can conjure random cards hovering above her head, each displaying its face forward, revealing the suit and number for everyone to see. The energy cost to manifest additional cards increases exponentially with each one added. The effectiveness of the cards is contingent on the number; the higher the number, the more effective it is.
Diamond: When a card with the diamond suit is thrown and impacts a surface, it releases energy transmuted into light, causing a dazzling surge that can impair vision upon direct eye contact. Opponents may choose to avoid looking at a thrown diamond card to prevent blindness, risking the unknown if it wasn't a diamond.
Spade: Cards with the spade suit are imbued with healing energy. If placed on Zoe, they gradually heal her exclusively.
Heart: A card with a heart suit generates a pulling force, drawing anything in its vicinity closer. The force isn't powerful enough to destroy the environment but can pull enemies towards it. When combined with a queen (explained later), it sets the stage for deadly traps.
Club: Clubs trigger a small explosion upon contact with another object, such as a wall. A simple yet devastating attack.
Joker: The joker has no effect, making it perfect for bluffs or intimidation.
Kings, queens, and jacks have the same suit-based effects but with variations:
King: If a card is a king, its effect becomes more potent. The light emitted from a diamond is stronger, club explosions are larger, spade healing is faster, and hearts exert a more forceful pull.
Queen: A queen card's effect can be remotely detonated through manipulation. Once a queen card hits a surface, it remains stationary until the user triggers its effect. While stationary, it still counts as one of Zoe's three allotted cards.
Jack: A jack card has the opposite effect. Diamonds create an area of mirage which bends light in almost the exact same way as all the objects around her in a certain radius, making her almost impossible to see, bending visual reality in any way she sees fit. Hearts generate a pushing force, spades can heal others but at a higher energy cost and reduced effectiveness, and clubs create a temporary black hole that draws in nearby objects, crushing them.
"Okay," Zoe breathed, finishing setting the stretched card over the window once more. Shuffling through the deck in her hands, the rhythmic motions keeping her mind occupied on what to do next. Despite having been healed by her Eight of Spades, her blood still remained in a pool on the floor. She looked down into her reflection. Her large dilated eyes peered at her from behind her bloody strands of white hair. The lower part of her face was a crimson mask. 'I can't walk around looking like this. A girl walking around covered in blood is just going to bring unwanted attention…' She found a nearby custodial door, and sliced through the handle, seeing a clothes rack inside. She held up the only thing that would fit her. "It is clean…but…ewwww. It smells so weird," she whined.
Several minutes later, she walked from the room, wearing a low black-and-red bucket hat, her hair pushed up inside it, and a green boiler suit. She'd washed most of the blood off her body. "I look like a boy…" she stared into the reflection. She picked up the yellow duffle and walked briskly down the hallway.
As Zoe walked toward the stairs and elevator she heard several voices and footsteps descending from the stairway, just a few feet away. 'Mafia guards? I just need to act normal if they walk on this floor. I'll hit the elevator, so by the time they see the hallway, I'll be long gone.' She hurried toward the silver doors. She pulled her hat as low as possible, and even changed her walking posture as the footsteps hit her floor. They were only a couple yards behind her. She slapped the elevator button. 'It's only a few floors away. It'll be here in a few seconds.'
"Yo, Kholwa, look at 'dat." A female voice said. "Look at that dude's bag, bruh. You recognize that?"
'Did she just say Kholwa?' Zoe thought.
She felt the presence behind her grow closer, and all the hair on her body stood on end as if she were about to get hit by a lightning bolt.
Zoe turned around. She kept her eyes low, staring at the ground.
She saw two pairs of shoes and someone wearing some type of dress.
The elevator dinged behind her. The doors slid open. Several voices inside, all drunk.
"My bad," the man in front of her said to them in a chipper tone. "Y'all can close the door. Accidentally hit the button."
As the elevator doors slid shut, Zoe slowly raised her gaze.
The first thing she noticed was the KTA tattoo sprawled across two of their faces.
"Hey, lil' bro," Zheanni grinned at Zoe. Her diamond teeth were stained with blood. "Where'd you get that bag from?"