toxic spa room (sfw)

[devil_or_angle]

*a new door has opened, this time leading to a fancy, futuristic spa straight out of a sci-fi movie. past a waiting room filled with comfy chairs looms a sauna with a sign touting its advanced restorative properties, which, unbeknownst to those who enter, will zap out whatever they consider their most toxic traits and send them to a goopy hellscape.

killua is the first to enter, gawking as his clothes are replaced with a fluffy bathrobe, cinched around his waist by a tie. intrigued, he ventures further in, drawn toward the large sauna in the center of the space. the sign beside it catches his eye, and though he's wary of what the airship might think is "restorative," he decides that after nearly dying and coming back to life, he could use a little relaxation.

he heaves open the thick metal door and steps inside, finding the room comfortably warm and filled with a strange but pleasant, sanitized smell. he sits down on the bench toward the back of it, breathing it in and wondering when, if at all, he'll notice its effects.*

Comments

[galacticgroovin]

Upon spotting Killua, Pitou bounded closer before skidding to a stop in the slime. Her back arched with tail standing straight, hair on end. Only forty feet separated them.

She growled as he claws dig into the terrain. You know what I mean, Killua! She spat out his name like it was poison in her mouth.

You took Gon from me. The only good thing I had! She prowled around him. The only one who showed me any care. The only one who showed me affection.

She grinned, bearing her sharp teeth. I’ve killed you once, I can do it again. I will rip and tear your flesh. Gon will be all for me. And when I find a way off this cursed thing, I will present your head to my king!

[devil_or_angle]

*killua's heart drops as the answer he'd been fearing spits from her tongue, his stance faltering for a moment before his shoulders seize up in defiance.*

i took him from you? *he can't even find it in him to laugh, tone biting with bitterness as he shouts back,* i had him first!

*he doesn't move to attack her, however, frozen to the spot by his brother's command -- never fight an enemy greater than yourself. but he can't really assess how powerful she is with his nen bogged down by all the slime, unable to seep from his pores. did she say she'd killed him before? what did that mean?*

[galacticgroovin]

Then why did he come to me? Pitou hisses in response. She rises to her full height and continues to prowl around him.

He wanted me! But then you, you decided to take him away. You found out he wanted me, so you forced him to break away from me, didn’t you? She accuses.

She eyed him cautiously. She never sensed much nen coming from him before. But now it was like it was hidden. As if not even there. Her own nen strength felt off.

And all that time, you pretended to act as friendly as you could manage. Acting as though you were innocent!

[devil_or_angle]

*killua's heart, already submerged, sinks deep into the pit of tar at his core.*

b-because...

*he'd gone to her because he's too beautiful, too brilliant and whole to be with someone as broken as him. he'd gone to her because he wasn't enough. these thoughts bubble up in his heart's stead, choking him until a desperate protest breaks through.*

n-no! i didn't -- i didn't know you two had been together until he'd already broken it off...

*...and then immediately got with someone else. killua's eyes are dull, globs of slime building at their corners and threatening to leak over.*

[galacticgroovin]

Pitou creeps forward, inching closer to the boy. I don’t believe you. I know you humans. It’s in your very nature to lie, steal and cheat till you get what you want!

This sentence gives her pause. “But what if Gon is just like those humans? Did he never want me? Did he just want to use me for his own gain?”

She shook her head viciously, slime flying from her hair. It doesn’t matter if you’re lying or not. I just want you gone!

[devil_or_angle]

*killua's lips twist in a pout, unable not to think of gon when she says all humans do is lie and cheat. hadn't gon done just that? to both of them? it seems she might have thought the same thing, given her quick change of subject. stewing in his hurt feelings, all he can retort is:*

it's not like i want to be here! where the hell even are we?

[galacticgroovin]

Pitou blinked at him. She prepared to call him a liar when she remembered the Killua she killed. “He didn’t take me to some different place. He had turned his nen into electricity..”

She clenched her teeth. “Killing him now won’t do me any favors if I don’t know where I am.” She let out an annoyed Tsk and took a step back. Neither of us asked to be here. She mumbled under her breath. Turning away slightly.

She returned her focus to him. If you’re asking me, you mean to tell me you didn’t cause…whatever this is?

[devil_or_angle]

*relieved to see her backing down somewhat, he lowers his voice in turn.*

of course i didn't. and i guess that means... you didn't, either.

*he clutches his arms to his body, wincing when he comes in contact with the slime that is now him.*

it's like... we weren't just warped to this place, we became a part of it...

[galacticgroovin]

_Pitou looked at the ground and her shoes. They almost seemed to be fused together. She lifted her left leg, which separated from the ground with a wet pop. It seemed to drip without end.

She frowned and tried to rub the slime off of her arm again. When nothing changed she came to another possibility. As absurd as I’d like to call that, it may not be that far off. Not so much in became part of it..but we are it.

She took a claw on her right hand and swiftly cut off a finger from her left. She didn’t feel it. Even as the finger splattered on the ground. Within moments she watched the goo around her hand move and replace the finger in seconds.

Are we..made of this slime?

[devil_or_angle]

*killua's eyes stretch in shock as pitou lances off one of her own fingers, shuddering as it immediately begins to melt into the sludge on the ground like it was always part of it.*

seems like it...

*he takes a squelching step back, away from the reabsorbed finger, before it becomes part of him, too. looking around at the waste of their surroundings, he slowly recalls,*

didn't that sauna say... that it would detoxify us?

[galacticgroovin]

It did..Pitou paced trying to make sense of what Killua could be implying. Her tail, rather than remaining lifted behind her, seemed to be weighed down and dragged in the sludge.

Detox..to remove toxins…if they were to be collected..are we the toxin?

[devil_or_angle]

*he didn't think that sinking feeling could get any worse than it already was, but when pitou voices aloud what he's already dreading he feels like he could just melt into the ground like her finger did and reconstitute as part of the swamp. with increasing horror, he realizes there's no other explanation. they must be the toxins the sauna was meant to remove.*

does that mean... the rest of us are still back there in the sauna?

[galacticgroovin]

Pitou groaned. The situation was growing more confusing and irritating by the second. It’s either that or it pulled us completely into…whatever this place is. That’s if this isn’t some shared hallucination.

How can we be classified as toxins? We are a part of our body. Not some..foreign material.

She knelt down and prodded the ground. “A toxin is something foreign, dangerous or unwanted.” She thinks, pressing a glob between her fingers. “I’ve felt completely hostile and ready to kill since I’ve arrived. I haven’t had a desire to do that for quite a while.”

Brat, I need you to think a moment. If there was something you wanted to change or remove of yourself, what might it be?

[devil_or_angle]

*just as pitou is putting together the pieces, they start falling into place in his own head. if they can think of themselves as the embodiments of their own "toxicity," it's no wonder they wanted to bite each other's heads off. he curls and uncurls his fists at his sides, watching the slime between his fingers stretch and break and rejoin again.*

my... bitterness. the jealousy that makes me... hate you.

*now that he's dwelling on it, he realizes he can't feel anything else at all.*

[galacticgroovin]

Pitou scratches at her chin. It only confirmed her suspicions. Here she was admitting the things she’s done and what she is, as well as the open hatred and violence she had been suppressing.

If that’s the case..we are what got removed. We are the toxin…She growled and punched her fist to the sludge. Rather than feel despair she felt angrier.

Our bodies are probably still sitting in the sauna, getting along better than ever…

[devil_or_angle]

*killa stands staring blankly down at his dripping feet, the despair of the situation weighing him into the muck. if that's true, then... the ache in his heart he feels when he thinks about gon's betrayal... the proof that he loves him... if that's with him, then...*

...we have to get back to them.

[galacticgroovin]

And how do you think we manage that? There is nothing for miles it seems. Far as I know, if we find a way, you’ll just leave me here. Leave me stranded then go and spread the truth of what I am.

Pitou sighs, reflecting on the self she is in the toxic wasteland. A hateful violent creature, obsessed with Gon, loyal to the king. You’d probably do that even if we both escaped. Simply because it seems we both hate each other.

Would we not be better off here, fighting eternally while our bodies go live a “healthy” life without us?

[devil_or_angle]

would you really be okay with that? with never seeing gon again?

*killua clenches his fists, slime oozing out between his knuckles.*

even if i'm angry with him for what he did -- i can't just leave him. *he looks back up at her through globby tears, his brow firm with resolve.* i bet you feel the same way, too.

[galacticgroovin]

I’m not okay with it! But what are we supposed to do? Pitou asked. Her fury and irritation turning upset. Goopy tears pricked at her eyes.

If he didn’t choose either of us, what do we do? Our own BODIES didn’t even want us!

We both trusted him and he betrayed it. This wasn’t the first time he had chosen someone else other than me. Her most hated memory of Bisky coming in and stealing him away. He went with her without complaint.

She hung her head, with a slight nod. But you are right. I still don’t want to leave him. Think it means something that our feelings for him were brought with us?

[devil_or_angle]

there... were more?

*her words crash against him like an ocean wave against a stone, threatening to send it to the depths. he wishes he could say he's surprised, but after all gon's confessed already, how could he be? his hurt feelings boil and bubble until they pop, his eyes squeezing shut around oozing tears.*

e-even despite everything he's done... we still... love him. *he gulps, his throat clogged with muck.* the us we left behind... they won't be happy losing him either.

[galacticgroovin]

Pitou looked at him with narrowed eyes. She hated him. Even before knowing he took Killua from her, she wasn’t fond of Killua. She was beginning to understand why.

”We are birds of a feather. Caring deeply for someone that has hurt both of us.” She sighed.

We…will need to have a discussion about him or with him when we get out of here.

She stood up. Getting out of here will be the hard part. If we were intended to be removed, I’d imagine it’s going to try and keep us removed. I’d guess our own bodies may even try to reject us.

[devil_or_angle]

it may be up to them entirely.

*killua tries to wipe his eyes, but the slime on his arms just mixes with the tears running down his face, making a sticky mess that he has to shake himself out of. he gives a shuddering sigh, trying to imagine the him left behind in the sauna, drained of all the pain he's feeling now.*

we have to hope they realize what they've lost... and want it back, even though it hurts.

[galacticgroovin]

Pitou stood quietly a moment. Wondering if she would feel like she would want the pain that was taken, to return. Would she jump at that chance? She couldn’t be sure.

If that’s the case, I have a feeling we may be stuck here..in the meantime, we should figure out what we are made from. What toxicity did they consider us to be? Did it include certain memories?

~~~~~~~

Meanwhile outside of the toxicity chamber in the sauna Pitou felt calm. More relaxed than ever. Is this why people like saunas? It feels magical.

Like all my worries just..left with the steam. She sighs happily. All of its seeping from my pores. Have you ever been in a sauna before, Killua? She asks looking towards him.

[devil_or_angle]

*as soon as the flash recedes, killua knows something has changed. his anxiety from before has faded, but left in its wake is... nothing. he feels strangely bereft, staring blankly down at his fists as they squeeze the fluffy bathrobe draped over his knees.*

...never.

[galacticgroovin]

It’s strange. I never thought I would feel like this. I haven’t felt this care free since I was younger. Pitou stretched her arms over her head but remembered the bathrobe again. Quickly adjusting it so she wasn’t indecent.

She did hum in question. You don’t see very pleased. Maybe you need to take some more time with the detox.

As she said this, she was trying to ignore some nagging sense in her instincts. Something was missing. But she couldn’t figure out what it would be.