Agoni, Agony

The two ransacked a leftover package in the fridge left by none other than Faloux himself, one that they had been lucky enough to snag before any other hungering souls managed to put their mitts on it.

A lot of people thought the man was just forgetful. This, however, was not the case.

He knew full well what he was doing; he just liked watching people scramble for it. He’d been doing it for so long that it wound up forming its own economy. People would trade and take other people’s shifts just for guarantees.

Faloux simply feigned ignorance and watched from afar, revelling in the petty discourse.

On today’s menu was an astonishingly varied deli sandwich between two slices of focaccia utterly glazed with pesto. Mochi was always cautious of his food, often hesitant when he struggled to pronounce the ingredients.

The squid was doubly hesitant now, having heard that someone previously named their dog ‘Pesto’, and putting two and two together he came up with an entirely new number.

Raian had already demolished his half of it, inhaling it before Unali had the chance to snag a piece.

The demon would do nothing less than tackle the man for even a single penny, sometimes they’d do it for a penny if offered, but the thought of stealing away even a crumb of Mochi’s grub didn’t sit well with them.

So, they sulked with a packet of soggy chips and resisted caving into their morbid curiosity to dunk one into that glass of pink milk that belonged to the squid.

“Don’t you have work to do?” Raian piped up.

“Yup.” Unali responded, continuing to stuff their face with chips.

Raian decided he couldn’t be bothered to question them. He was neck-deep in the warm jacuzzi of food bliss.

Unali’s pointed ears twitched, and the demon stood at full attention. Before either squid or handler could respond, the room shuddered with a familiar impact. Mochi dived for his strawberry milk, spilling more than he would if he had just left it there.

Aberrants made a lot of noise by nature; even merely walking was sometimes enough to make the ground shake.

This was different though. It wasn’t far off from what happens when two Aberrants clash, not unlike yesterday, and given the sudden commotion outside, that may just be the case.

Rifle-toting guards rushed past, and the Senrali was first to join them. Raian soon followed with caution, raising a hand for Mochi to stay put as he peered past the doorframe.

“What’s going on now?” the squid asked with a sip, leaning half-way off his seat.

Perhaps he was a bit too used to this, Raian thought. Threat assessment wasn’t Mochi’s strong suit. In any case, the culprit of this chaos became evident when a wall of black and white muscle came into view.

Most people did the smart thing and bolted, and the epicentre became crystal clear. With the floor crumpling like paper, a hulking Orca with his skull laden in bloodied bandages lurched over a prone Miss Evans. The monster had clearly been put through some kind of wringer many times over.

At this point, he was more scar tissue than anything else. His dorsal fins had been reduced to mere stubs battle after battle. With his functions as an Orca now redundant, Agoni embraced his intended nature.

“More! I need more!” Agoni howled with rage, slamming a fist into a supporting beam.

“You’ve had well enough, beast!” Miss Evans spat.

Many began to see just why Miss Evans sat comfortably at the top of the corporate food chain, having the gall to tell such a monster ‘no’ in her position. Such refusal, however, only raised the Orca’s blood pressure.

The creature tore at the bandages, tossing a clump of bloodied cloth to Miss Evan’s side. Deep, oozing lacerations running down to the bone plastered the Orca’s face.

As much as Unali held a little bit of a grudge against the Orca for cracking their skull open, they weren’t heartless enough to not feel a twinge of pity toward him. They knew how much morphine he was getting, and given the sheer size of the creature, it was nowhere near enough to be effective.

“I am in anguish, you ignorant bitch! I need it!” Agoni’s claws dug deeper into the floor.

Miss Evans propped herself up and looked her assailant dead in the eye.

“You will be given the same amount of morphine as any other Aberrant, Agoni! I made myself abundantly clear!” She matched the monster’s demanding tone.

A wall of armed guards separated the growing crowd, raising their rifles to the raging creature. It was a gamble whether the bullets would even do anything, but it was better than not acting at all.

Agoni eyed the onlooking crowd with glee; both handler and Aberrant alike watched the dispute.

“Let’s make an example out of you.” Agoni grumbled through the pain as he raised a heavy hand to the air, “Let my agony become yours.”

A blonde blur zipped past the horde with enough force to shove Unali flat against the wall. Not even the barrier of soldiers had enough time to brace for the rush as one hapless individual found his rifle snatched from his mitts before he could even realise it.

Like a harpoon readied in a whaler’s weathered palm, Grimsby’s eyes pierced through the rampaging beast’s own. The Orca felt a sudden stinging coldness against a single nostril, and while it was a momentary relief from pain, fury soon flooded back the moment he made out the rifle pressing firmly against him.

Despite everything, the elf stood firmly between Agoni and his target.

“Do you have the slightest clue who I am, boy? What I am?" The Orca’s gravelly voice shook the elf’s bones.

“I might, but more importantly, I know what you’re not.”

“Oh, enlighten me.” Agoni bared his teeth in a grim smile.

“You’re not valuable.” Grimsby lowered his voice, gripping the fore-stock of his rifle tightly, “Orcas like you are easily manufactured. You’re not like that Vampire Squid. Once you’re spent, you’ll be replaced.”

A handful of teeth cracked under the weight of Agoni’s jaw clenching. Mochi took slow, cautious steps back into the breakroom as, for the first time, Agoni laid eyes on him. Something about his hollow stare unnerved him in a way that made his skin crawl.

“I am still the strongest. I am still stronger than you will ever be. An ant like you could never hurt me in a way that matters.” Agoni’s molten frustration returned to Grimsby.

Not only did the Orca’s face get shredded in the last twenty-four hours, but his ego too. For such a puny wretch to stand before him and not immediately cower in fear was a first for him. The elf stood unwavering, and that drove Agoni to insanity.

“Maybe, but the thing is,” Grimsby blinked, watching dribbles of blood drip from the Orca’s head, “I’ve studied your anatomy enough to know exactly where that shrivelled up brain of yours is.” Grimsby gave a reassuring tap on his rifle.

“You insignificant whelp—” the Orca’s veins twitched, huffing like a rabid dog, “I could snap your fucking neck before you even pull that trigger.”

Grimsby’s finger teased the curve of the trigger, taking a deep breath as he carelessly stared down the bipedal weapon. Eventually, he doubled down.

“Want to find out?”

The halls were silent, and the air was utterly still.

It all came down to who folded first.

A guttural rumble emanated from the beast, which promptly turned to a horrific roar as Agoni created a new hole in the wall, punching through several inches of steel and bedrock.

Defeated by said insignificant whelp, the monster heaved around and parted the sea of workers with a series of heavy stomps. Grimsby could only hope he was making his way back to his chamber as Agoni muttered incomprehensible curses under his breath.

With the Orca out of sight around a corner, all eyes turned to Grimsby in a stunned silence.

Not a soul reacted, save for one handler coughing once every few seconds. The pale elf suddenly became overwhelmed with a searing redness as he spun around to scurry back the way he came. Shoving the gun flat in the chest of the guard he ripped it from, Grimsby disappeared into a nearby supply closet in a hurry, most likely to cry.

The commotion everyone was used to returned to normal as all went back to their regular duties.