~ Sanctuary ~

Chapter 7

"The dirt's giving me de ja vu," Cassidy said, walking next to me. The gravel and dirt moving beneath us gave us grounding, and of course, if Cassidy and her team were walking to go take down the Con Man, they'd remember the feeling. The feeling of the ground beneath them, determined to right the wrongs of their creator. And now we're in their shoes alongside them, only nothing is going to stop us.
Hopefully.
Naturally, our groups formed a triangle combined with the Scavengers regular triangle. Me and Cassidy in front, Blake and Banner on Cassidy's left, Flynn and Fraser on my right. Then on Blake and Banner's left was Felix and Finn, and then on Flynn and Fraser's right, Gunner and Griffin, with Seth in the middle and back of the triangle. He doesn't conform to groups much seemingly. But it kinda fits his brand so, not surprised.
"Well just shake it off, nothing like last time will happen again, especially since we have a whole squad ready to go," I assured her. She seemed to be uncomfortable with the whole situation, but seemed to keep composure. The way she walked was very confident, but in her shoulders and neck, they seemed weaker. Showing her intimidation and anxiety about it all.
A lot of the time, anxiety shows itself in odd places of the body. The neck and shoulders, and upper posture, show more anxiety in one's body. Even if it's only a slight difference or shift, it's still there if you're observant enough.
"We'll be okay," I relayed.
She turned to me as we walked, and quietly nodded before looking ahead as we walked down the road that was littered with trash, dust, and tiny pieces of cyborgs that varied in sizes and weight. The road seemed to still be busy, like it was a normal day, and our triangle cut through the crowd like a dagger, even though no one paid attention to our attentiveness in direction. I wouldn't expect them to, they have better things to do.
We just kept walking. We walked for what seemed like a day, but it really was only about an hour or two. And we finally came upon the intimidating building of the factory. We looked upon it and looked at one another, securing our fate in executing this fight that may be unwinnable, before we all walked as a unit right up to the front door.
"Alright, Blake and Banner, go with Fraser and Flynn to the left, and the other five of you to the right, right here is where me and Cassidy are going," I relayed, gesturing to the very front.
"Alright, what about the Puppet?" Flynn asked.
"They're guarding the back door, and I feel like if all of us go through the doors besides that one, it won't set them off and they'll remain docile until we arrive in our assigned quarters. Me and Morgan inspected the blueprints for the factory because that was also on file, and so the stairways to the upper levels, where the Con Man, I'm sure, works and keeps everything running, are guarded by the Puppet. So let's hop to it, let's go, let's go," I yelled, waving my arms upward and to my sides, sending off the nine members to their doors while I remained there with Cassidy.
"You ready for this?" Cassidy pressed, putting her hand in a balled fist and offered to fist bump me. I returned it quietly and plainly, with no enthusiasm, and took a deep breath.
"Is it okay if I call you Cass?" I asked sheepishly, smiling to myself about me just asking a random and out of nowhere question. Cassidy nodded, smiling from underneath her mask. I looked up toward the door that loomed over us.  "It's now or never," I said, before giving the door in front of me a big push, and it opened with ease. Cassidy put up a stance, and so did I. I held a block of circular dynamite in my hand, as we carefully walked through the door, suspicious of what was around us. The factory was quiet and we heard no movement, before we heard the whirring. It was behind and above us. I didn't take the time to look up because I automatically knew who it was.
"Forward!" I yelled as both me and Cassidy leaped and somersaulted against the ground as a big weight dropped down where we stood before. Both me and Cassidy gained our footing and turned to see Chloe behind us, in all her bloody gorey. Y'know, bloody glory, but gorey? Yeah? N...nevermind.
"I see you've found our dwelling," the broken voice of Chloe muttered. I'd never heard her voice, but it was piercingly painful to hear. Like chalk being dragged harshly across a chalkboard, or nails on marble or quartz countertops, or shoes sliding harshly against a slick floor. And along with that, it was robotic, something I actually expected. I at least expected a clean robotic tone, but it was broken and marbled.
"Yeah, kinda hard to miss the place we were both pushed out of, of course the little sister is always willing to protect her momma, even if it's a building," Cassidy growled at Chloe.
"Well, at least we know you're of her blood, you're just made out of metal and chemicals, which is what a factory's made out of isn't it?" I said sarcastically, chiming into Cass's sarcasm. Chloe started bounding toward us, and Cassidy pulled an upward half layout as I slid between Chloe's legs. Cassidy got a pretty good nick on her head mask in the process using her wires, but it just merely scratched the surface.
"Oh come back here you little beetles," Chloe whined harshly. Her whine wasn't of pleading, it was of manipulation. One you'd hear from a super villain in an action movie. But that worked on neither me or Cassidy.
"Alright, come and get me then," Cassidy yelled to her as I met up with her and stayed put, as she ran to the side and through a corridor. Chloe followed her, seemingly forgotten about me as she chased after Cassidy.
I'll give Cass the fact she's really quick actually. Shockingly quick. Even though her arms and hands have been dismantled and her legs, her arms would drag her behind, but she's strong, so she makes up for it there.
I saw them dash around nearby walkways and corridors, Chloe swinging her hands and arms relentlessly at Cassidy as she jumps and dodges Chloe's swings. Unfortunately, Chloe actually hit a swing, sending Cassidy to crash into a wall. And that set me off.
"Aw c'mon, my little hamster doesn't wanna be chased anymore?" Chloe whined pitifully as Cassidy tried to push herself off the ground and run more. I ran over and leaped on Chloe's back, latching onto her and wrapping my arm around her neck for dear life.
"Cass, get out!" Cassidy finally rose and dashed away, as Chloe struggled to get out of my hold.
Something I didn't expect, was my new feet that I was granted latched onto the back of Chloe's back, getting a piercing shriek out of her from pain. That's new.
"Now who's the one that's stuck?" Cass yelled and chuckled at Chloe before I had no more strength to hold on any longer, so I backflipped off Chloe's back, my feet unclenching her back, before she turned to me, glaring at me from above. She had a lot of height and size on me, and that was her disadvantage from a tactical standpoint. I sat there, before taking a bomb from my belt and lighting it, tossing it up in her face as it popped, making her stumble back.
"Cass, now!" Cassidy ran from where she was standing directly to Chloe, latching on her back, putting one arm around her neck, and another on her eyes, shielding her vision. I stood and dashed at Chloe as she wailed within Cass's grasp. I hopped and locked myself around Chloe's hips with my legs before lifting her bib, exposing the inside wiring.
I took a quick look, seeing that all the human pieces are there and functioning, the heart and most likely the brain being the only human part of the experiments, and chips that were behind the heart that led to the brain. The controlling module.
I took another explosive, a smaller one and lit it, before pushing it in her chest, lodging it between the heart and control chips and panel, and jumped back off, letting the bib fall back into place and covered the wiring.
"Cass, off!" I commanded, and she hopped off. In my mind, I mentally chuckled because it was like getting a dog off a new toy they'd just been given. But I kept that thought to myself.
"What the fuck did you do to me??" Chloe hollered, trying to get within and behind her bib and get the thing out, but it was by remote control. Cass joined me by my side as we stood, seeing Chloe being silhouetted by the outside light pouring in from the door we'd opened to get in.
Cass put her arm on my shoulder, leaning against me and grinning from ear to ear, I'm sure. Yeah, probably the best tag team ever.
"Easy peasy," I said, shrugged and smiling, before pressing a button on my arm, and the explosive, promptly, blew up within Chloe. Her parts flew everywhere, the only liquid spewing out from her limbs was the chemical pumping into her system to keep her alive. Some of the liquid splashed on our feet, but we were far enough away for it to not be too messy. It was gruesome, but rewarding. I walked over to the pieces that laid where Chloe once was standing, and inspected the building of it.
"C'mon, we gotta go meet the others," Cassidy pressed, but I bent down and inspected the construction. The construction of limbs and the threading of chemical pumping was impeccable, but of course, where the heart and chip panel remained, it was poorly guarded. Possibly to have better access to the core piece of how to control the creatures themselves.
"C'mon," Cassidy pressed further.
"Okay okay, let's go," I said, before leaping up and bounding into a trot leading further into the building. Cassidy joined me in my trot swiftly. We passed a bunch of hallways that led to separate portions of the building, and none of it was purely open. We just stuck with the straight leading hallway, knowing it'll lead to the back of the building. Both of us were bounding into a run before we found a big metal door that was hard to get past, with a label that said "Max" above it.
"You think that's the Puppet's actual name?" I asked Cassidy, gazing up at the nameplate. I heard nothing from Cassidy and I turned to her. She was looking above herself and all around her, probably astounded by the inside of this factory.
"I don't know, but I'd figure the Puppet is behind this door, for sure, where are the others?" Cassidy asked, as well as just letting her gaze explore her surroundings.
Right as those words left her mouth, we heard pounding footsteps from down the hallway we just ran through, and there were Fraser and Flynn. Flynn dashed to me and threw his arms around me, and I did the same for him.
"How'd it go dude?" I asked excitedly, pulling away from him to be able to talk to him directly and not into his chest or shoulder.
"Eh, piece of cake," Flynn shrugged.