Sav and Celeste had disappeared from sight, warping to another position either inside or outside the factory within a 10 kilometer radius. That left only Cynthia and Garren in a place where we could see them.
"Their primary mode of both defense and offense are isolated on ground floor. Can you keep them there?" I asked Soho.
"I'm on it." Her feedback buzzed on the ear-piece. "Static."
I watched and observed as both Cynthia and Garren suddenly had their backs glued to the floor. Cynthia seemed to harden herself with her Fractal out of defense, while Garren looked around in confusion as to why he couldn't move again.
"Good. Now just watch your surroundings. Sav and Celeste could be in here somewhere."
I stood still for a moment, observing my surroundings. The darkness combined with the erratic layout of the factory made it hard to make out any figures at all. The danger of the situation was in the hands of Celeste, who could have been aiming an object at me in the moment without my knowledge. With a lack of properties to aid me with sight, I tuned into any other senses that could help. The air smelt barren, old and dusty. It was too overpowering to use my nose. I decided to use my ears, listening for anything around me that I might not have been aware of. In that moment, I heard a swivel of dust shift off the pivot of a foot from a point further up above me. Someone was just beginning to take action.
A pivot… A throw!
I dashed backwards as far as I could, as quickly as I could. Right in the spot I'd previously stood, something tiny struck the metal loudly.
Clang!
It was a pointy rusty screw. I'd just barely avoided what I assumed was Celeste's attack. Just as Ian had said in the past, my Flow State initiated quicker than an HP Fractal could. Had I not awakened prior to this fight, I would have died in that instant.
They're somewhere above me!
I glanced up and darted my eye around, tracking as quickly as I could for the sniper on the loose. Again, I heard the dusty pivot of a foot. My ear tracked the sound's whereabouts this time and I immediately went on the move.
Clang!
Once again I'd avoided the attack. I was running along platforms going from one to another, increasing in altitude along the way. I made sure my steps and landings were quiet and nimble so that they wouldn't hear me approaching, and within seconds, I'd reached the height where I heard the initial throw.
"What—!?" I found Celeste who stumbled backwards in shock. I couldn't waste time in letting him get another shot off, nor give him time to realize who I was. I dashed forwards faster than he could retract his arm to throw. He was on my 'no-kill' list, but keeping him around would make the matter troublesome for both me and Soho. I had to knock him out unconscious. With my speed, I'd appeared before his face.
"How did you—?"
I aimed for the back of his neck with my hand, and swung with precision. But my arm passed through nothing.
What?
He'd vanished out of thin air. He was suddenly nowhere to be seen.
Fuck! Did Sav warp him out?
My senses told me to duck, but quickly overwrote themselves, realizing that there was not enough time to evade the incoming nail aimed at my head. I only had one more option to react in time.
Clang—!!
I raised my hand, blocking Celeste's shot with my knife just in time. Looking from where it had been thrown from, I saw Celeste recovering alongside Sav. Turns out that he'd been watching from a distance, ready to activate Gateway and warp whenever necessary.
"Who the hell are ya?!" He called out from across the factory. "You ain't the Sin of Discrimination!"
I had no incentive to respond, or rather, I would expose my identity if I did. The last thing I could let happen was have them find out that I was Klyson Rainer.
This is problematic. Sav can keep both himself and Celeste distanced at all times, which would give them the advantage with Celeste's Fractal. Even if I close the gap between myself and them, Sav's reaction time is quick enough to warp them away before I can land an attack.
I thought about how I could incorporate Soho into my strategy. For one, I understood that Sav's Gateway countered her Coefficient of Friction. In the instance of Kinetic, Sav was able to warp himself and Celeste out of it. I assumed that he could do the same if he were stuck to a Static-studded floor.
This left us with only one option.
"Soho."
"Yeah? What's going on?"
"I'm up on high ground right now with Sav and Celeste. But I can't land a hit without either of them warping away. I need you to do something to help me out."
"What's up?"
"Are Cynthia and Garren still stuck to the floor?" I asked.
"Mhm. Paralyzed in place."
Those pieces in place made all the difference.
"Create a hostage situation. Produce a threat to their lives. It'll force Sav to warp the two of them away."
"I see… To create an opening, right?"
"Yeah. He can't warp himself and Celeste away if he's warping Cynthia and Garren away. I'm counting on the fact that he can only do a maximum of two people at once."
"Understood."
The whole time I spoke to Soho I also kept my eyes peeled on Sav and Celeste, who both watched me with worry in return. We were all at a standstill.
"Who is this person…? What is their Fractal…?" I heard Celeste ask Sav.
"Ain't a clue. But he's a threat. He's already dodged two of your Trajectory shots."
"Which shouldn't be possible. He's like J… Moves and reacts quicker than I can understand…"
"Status?" I said to Soho, impatient that I'd stood still for too long. That was quickly answered.
Shrrk—!!!
I heard a flurry of aggressive slashes unleash down below, echoing with the screeches of nails scratching against concrete flooring. All three of our attentions were shot down underneath, where a cloud of dust engulfed the entire bottom floor.
"Cynthia?! Garren!?" Sav shouted with worry. I stood by, ready to attack as soon as he used his two warps. But next to him was Celeste, ready with a screw in hand as if anticipating my approach.
I just have to act quicker.
"They're out!" Soho suddenly said over the mic. "Before I could even get close to threaten them, Garren suddenly sliced the flooring around him and Cynthia with his nails! He cut her and himself loose from the ground, from Static!"
I shot my gaze back down at the ground, seeing that they were no longer stuck in place. They were nowhere to be seen.
"Be careful!" Soho buzzed. "I think Sav warped them!"
I glanced back up, realizing my mistake.
Flow State.
Garren had warped right in front of me with his hands raised and his nails extended. He struck down with both arms. As I was about to block with my knife, I recalled that he'd slice right through it. I was in a position where I had no time left to evade the attack without getting slashed. I opted for the only option remaining.
I had no choice.
Slash—!!
In one serene step, I'd brought my blade from point A to point B, with Garren's knees intersected right in between. With razor serration, I'd cut cleanly through his legs, causing the upper-half of his body to fall flat on the floor while I avoided his nails' attack. Ahead of me, on a platform a distance away, I saw Sav, Celeste, and Cynthia's eyes all widen with shock.
"Garren!!"
I watched Sav disappear from the platform and appear right behind me, warping alongside the fallen Garren.
I'm sorry, Garren. You're too dangerous to have moving around the perimeter.
Images of the past—Garren's suffering, his break-outs, the entire Controllant situation—flashed through my mind. Guilt took hold of my heart in an instant. I had to justify my actions towards him, and level with myself that what I was doing was right.
Then, it struck me, in the most boldest manner.
If Garren is all healed, yet back in the field right now, then that could only mean…
I took a step back, dashing unexpectedly towards Sav and the fallen Garren. I raised my blade with my aim at Garren's nape. Sav was too distracted by his decapitated legs that he hadn't anticipated my immediate return, and therefore, could not manifest a wormhole to warp them out in time.
Shlrk—!
I sliced cleanly across the back of Garren's neck and blood sprayed everywhere.
"G-Garren—!!!"
The two of them immediately warped away, appearing back on the platform that Cynthia and Celeste waited. They all looked at me with shock as Garren bled profusely in their arms.
"Who the heck are you!? Why are you doing this?!" Cynthia screamed at me.
I pointed at Garren with my knife. "Check the neck." I made sure to change the tone of my voice to one that was unrecognizable.
I watched as Sav looked at where I'd cut, his eyebrows furrowing with confusion.
"What is this…?"
To the rest of their surprise, Sav dug into Garren's nape with his fingers and pulled out something small, covering his hands with blood. From my position, although it was as small as a chip, I could recognize that metallic glare from anywhere.
It was the Controllant.