Chapter Text
A mismatched ex-phighter rests on his side, trying to maintain his earthly tether after a grueling slumber. Coil shuffles in his makeshift nest, nose runny and face still pallid from the horrors within zir mind. Xe had tried to shove it down his conscience but wasn’t able to disregard the horrors xe experienced only a few months ago. His time in Blackrock clung to him to this day, even as xe rotted in the back of an alleyway, vulnerable and insignificant.
The inphernal has the scars to prove it, arms now two stumps, a fraction of what they used to be, not impossible to survive with in Playground, but a burden. The wicked Blackrockian scientist’s parting gift to his arch nemesis, the escapee. Both Coil and T. Mine knew this was unnecessary, yet the scientist wanted to fuck with zir one last time before throwing him to the wolves.
Coil stretches their stumps, struggling to arch their back and wag their tail in a comfortable manner. Xe rights houndself, picking up his hoodie in which he’d been resting upon. Playground, despite being airborne islands, found a way to be inexplicably hot especially during midday. Aside from his trashed tangerine hoodie, xe has no other coverings for zir torso, so the sun took its time beating down its waves on about half of his body. Another alteration that resulted from zir imprisonment was the loss of a breast; however, Coil was not completely opposed to this modification in particular. Metal replaced the teat instead where a subspace crystal previously lay to poison zir upon a betrayal, now removed.
As Coil shuffles into zir clothing, the sun hides itself behind the few remaining clouds of the day. Playground has officially transferred into sunset, and it is time for Coil to get moving. Unlike the other factions, staying out after dark could get you jumped or killed even, and Coil isn’t one to mess around with death after his recent experiences. It had taken zir forever to arrive within the faction, so xe won’t let petty gang violence cut zir journey short. His eye bags and sore limbs could wait, xe needed to make it to someone’s house. Anyone’s. He needed shelter.
Coil summoned his speed coil around his thighs, enabling its use uncomfortably, and set off toward colorful vandalized buildings in the sunset. Within his fuzzy memory, Coil knew xe had friends here—Skateboard to be exact. The two lived together with Steampunk popping in before Coil’s incident, surely they’d welcome him back with open arms? The Inphernal scratches zir head to make sure xe is remembering correctly where they all lived. Xe is losing daylight and as the streets become more lively, crime and violence follow suit.
Coil trails along the colorful paved roads and sidewalks covered in chalk and beautiful colors containing the joyous memories of those who congregated to illustrate them. Dancehall tunes blast from balconies and lights within homes begin sparking like little fireflies ready to celebrate its beauty. The tall apartment buildings soaring up above filled with inphernals upon inphernals become bustling traffic centers, neighbors greeting each other from their balconies or windows. Reflecting the sidewalk, the colors in the sky also begin to show an elegant violet dancing along with hues of tangerine and blues, signifying the transition to night, when Playground culture was its liveliest. The smiles, the music, the Inphernals, all tied together in a colorful cycle that only this faction could replicate. It is truly a sight for Coil’s sore eyes to see what he has missed during all those days locked up within zir own mind in a dreary Blackrock cell.
Further into the streets, xe feels the hair on zir neck rise when he begins entering darker territory. There was the lone song of nocturnal bugs that is the only thing to be heard, and light within homes remaining dim. The orange and cyan horned inphernal ducks into an alleyway behind the dump on instinct. Coil’s eyes widen as he watches expensive sneakers beat the floor in a rush and hears the cock of a pistol.
“Shit,” Coil spat. He struggled to speak due to zir dry throat and chapped lips. Xe knew zir was not in trouble, but getting past the commotion was the main issue. One wrong move and he’d find a bullet through zir skull.
He feels close to home too, his instinct telling him not to let up now. Coil scans for a way past the commotion by peeking his head from behind the dumpster, and xe witnesses a scenario xe’d regard as pure fiction before being abducted by Blackrock. Steampunk talking to gang members.
Coil looks on with fascination of zir old friend. Her talk and imposing figure insisting she would not be caught dead doing dirty business after dark flash across Coil’s mind, confusing zir further. The weight on her brows and the fear in her eyes give Coil all the information he needs to know. Skate and Steam are in trouble. Very deep trouble with the wrong people.
Xe watches as an inphernal matching Steampunk herself in height sizes her up with deep scrutiny. They hold a pistol at their side branded with the logo of their gang. Coil knows who it is and can finally piece together the danger he and zir ex-roommates are in. The hostile inphernal fiddles with their gun as they open their mouth to speak.
“Tell yo’ damn friend to stop phucking with my goons fo’ money. Pay yo’ damn rent like everybody else.” They growled.
Steampunk flinches, something Coil has never seen faer do. What the hell is going on? Xe wants to ponder, but all daylight was fleeting and the threatening inphernal already turned to leave. The ex-phighter takes the chance to approach zir old friend’s disturbed form. Steampunk is shaking, terrified and Coil takes the opportunity to hug her.
“What the— COIL?” She nearly jumped out of her skin, summoning her gear by instinct—high strung from faer previous encounter. Faer gear dissipates upon the recognition of her old friend. And her arms find their way around zir scarred body. “Coil… you’re real…” he hears the sobs in her broken voice. Coil nuzzles into her chest and lets his tears flow too.
“Can we go home? Please…” He begs, voice raspy. “Everything hurts.”
Steampunk nods, and they cling together in silence while trudging the dark tangled path homeward. The stars meet them as they arrive at the doorstep, and Steampunk takes out the key from her pocket, unlocking the door. Fae helps Coil inside and rests him on the couch to stroke his hair. “You hungry?” She asks, carding her hand through his matted coils.
“Mmm, yeah.” Xe rolls around with the little strength they currently have. During T. Mine’s experimentation, he had lost most of his weight, including his muscle, to zir devastation. T. Mine only fed zir enough to stay functioning to prevent any thought of rebellion. Food trumps will, and Blackrock knew that well. Steampunk microwaves some broth from the previous day and settles beside Coil on the couch. Coil leans on Steampunk’s shoulder as she spoon feeds him.
“Where’s Skate?” Coil mumbles between swallows.
Steampunk’s face darkened at the mention, agitated from earlier. She continues feeding Coil in silence, the ex-phighter silently soaking it in. Xe figures doesn’t want to talk about Skate due to her encounter earlier, but is caught by surprise when faer opened fae mouth.
“That guy earlier. You remember Luger?” She asks this, placing the spoon in the bowl as Coil has finished eating. The grey inphernal stretches and rights houndself using zir forearms. Xe gazes at Steampunk worriedly.
Coil’s memory remained slightly fuzzy on the inphernal In particular. Xe knew they were their neighbor at one point then something… happened. The weaker’s mind races in circles as xe tries to recall the occurrence but comes up short, only nodding in response to the other hoping she’ll tell him more. Steampunk fiddles with faer drawstring pants.
“Skateboard got ‘im mad. We’ve been short on money lately without you participating in the phights.” Steam looks utterly ashamed. She hangs her head low and continues. “I work with Sling but I can only make so much money y’know?”
Coil nods, proud she found something other than messy street fights and betting. He can recall their messy relationship with a proper job together and flushed at their past stupidity. Xe and Steam had good times. Skate too, but she hung out with Sling and Boombox more often. Despite that, Coil knew damn well she was jobless too.
Coil rolls over onto zir back, yawing as he finishes his bowl. Steampunk takes the bowl to the kitchen and clears the dishes within the sink. The singular light shining above the kitchen and the living room flickers as it highlights the contours of the two’s faces and the tension in the air. Still, buzzing plays from the appliances around the rooms along with the troubled thoughts of the ex-phighter, intensifying them. Steampunk retrieves a blanket and rests it upon Coil’s frail body to warm him. Fae sneaks a pillow beneath zir head and props him against it. But before xe could rest, xe had to ask. “What’s Skate doing right now?”
“I don’t know.” Steampunk muttered in an almost apologetic manner as she tucked the drifting off Coil into the couch delicately. Fae slips a bonnet over zir curls to protect them and brushes a thumb across stray food on his cheek. She trails away toward the end of the hall but speaks before disappearing. “She’ll be home by morning, always is.”
As Coil’s eyes became droopy, xe hoped that was true.