Rising Friction

— Get away!! — Juice ordered.

In the meantime, blue balls coated in gastric juices continued to destroy many floating bookshelves. That is indeed what was happening, in another corner of the dimension. Juice and Imperium were severely impaired by this development. The spheres thrown by Slots were resilient enough to pass throught the golden sauce that Meatball oozed, and coated in the acid, continued to bounce around. The fatality of the situation just increased, with the shimmering acid being spilled everywhere.

Like the boys, Evangelist was hiding around any bookshelf she could find. Seeing one of the spheres that landed near her, she found a Thread she deemed useful and decided to cut it. That fabric of reality stated, “Slots’ Hyperspheres can Move.” Cutting it made that fact no longer apply and all the balls stop in the air, ceasing all movement.

— He can’t move them anymore!

— Nice Thread! — Juice reloaded.

— Thank you for your support! — Imperium got out of cover.

Snapping his fingers, he twisted Slots’ arm to the point of snapping it like a tensioned rope. Juice also got out and aimed at Meatball, who unfortunately went behind a bookshelf on the last second, causing Juice to miss.

— Oh dear. — Slots reacted. — If only I could move this.

The balls that were in Slots’ body shinned a flashier blue. Slots’ VSS was the ability to rearrange himself in a near molecular manner. The spheres were also part of himself, like the toes of his feet. Reassembling himself, the damage that Imperium caused was nullified.

Not only that, but the spheres in and outside of himself were remade. That’s why you should read the fine print. There’s always something, hidden in the details. Because Slots changed the spheres, they were no longer the same spheres that Evangelist had affected with her threads. The situation was still the same. Slots then floated down and, twisting himself, launched a ball towards Evangelist.

The impact against her now shattered ribs was similar to that of a bowling ball, thrown very violently against her unprotected sides. By a miracle, her lungs were not punctured. At that time of danger, Juice did not blame Evangelist for her miserable Thread. He knew her power wasn’t the easiest to apply, and that in the same vein, he could be blamed by missing his shots.

But Juice couldn’t help but think that Evangelist was not the best person to wield her own power. That there was a great application to her Threads that she had not taught of yet. He could not think for her. But leaving such a tide-turning ability to her was, difficult, to say the least. And because of that, they were not getting any time of advantage over their enemies.

— Imperium —

— I got him!!

Imperium attacked Slots without discourse.

— Keep your eye on her!

Juice thought that was a very proactive move from the kid of kids. And he hoped that it was all that there was to it. That maybe Imperium was just growing more accustomed. Nothing more. Blasting Slots away into a ball of flesh, he kneels next to Evangelist.

— Are you okay?

— I need a Thread for myself…

— I’ll cover you!

Barely getting those words out, she searches for Threads over herself. Imperium stood over her and watches as Slots reformed himself. He doesn’t not allow the man rest, and snaps over and over again, sending him deeper into a bookshelf. Until Meatball ran in front of the trajectory and her acid served as a shield, allowing Slots to reform. Juice also couldn’t fire at her, because the waves of acid that emanated from her melted his bullets before the impact.

The acid woman was confident in her approach. Or rather, she was confident in the idea that Slots was smarter than her. That the spheres he control would never harm her and that she would seen be free to go on the offensive. Scattering the acid was just the first step and if they could pull of an easy kill like that, all the better. Knowing where to search, Evangelist finds a Thread that stated, “Irina Donovan is injured”. Snapping it with her scissors took her back to prime health.

And this was more or less fine, until Epicenter decided to put an end to the fights. As tasked by Limbo, she opened a portal to check the status of her friends. And seeing how Useless, Meatball and Slots were doing, decided to merge the battles. She expanded her portal, allowing both corners of the dimension to unify, in a three-dimensional space the size of a football stadium.

The Draught was already superior to any other squadron, now with her and Teacher aiding in the team fight, Epicenter had no doubt that they would emerge victorious. And in that instance, where everyone became aware of the change, both teams decided to retreat and regroup. Teacher and Juice managed to see each other for a brief second, before looking back at their own teams.

— You guys made it! — Imperium spoke, carelessly.

None could really blame Imperium from speaking, giving Useless even more time to revert. Not even the ones with experience knew how she operated at first. Annoyed to wait and rely on his captain’s indecisiveness, Franchise took the calculated risk of speaking, in order to relay important information to the rest of the team.

— DO NOT SPEAK!! — Franchise yelled.

Killerkill was frustrated, but all the members could feel even more irritation coming from Franchise. He who was so quiet and collected, was now screaming and the expression on his face carried just the right amount of anger, to solidify the weight of his message. Talking, for unknown reasons, was not allowed at the moment.

It was at times of complexity and turmoil, where simplicity shined throught.

— Everyone!!!

Evangelist shouted, getting all the eyes on her.

— Going dark. — She spoke with her hands.

The Heavy Draught members could have accounted for such a small detail, given their intellect and knowledge. But they did not. The truth was that these specific Searchers, Franchise, Ragnarok, Imperium, Juice, Killerkill and Evangelist, had a Captain once, who refused to use his voice. A Captain who was as qualified as he was stubborn. That man was Luscious Liver. As per his rules, and as per the need to communicate with him respectfully. All members of the Ballada knew ASL and could speak without words through sign language.

— WHAT IS THAT?! — Useless yelled.

Having countered one of five opponents, the Ballada moved proficiently. With that single call out from Evangelist, they regained their focus. It was made obvious that they could and would come out victorious. Should they maintain their composure, their attention, and the intelligence behind their attacks. In terms of VSS, it wasn’t about weaker or stronger. It was about being smarter.