He lacked the time to find the answer, Quandar’s shout of triumph announcing that his reprieve was at its end.

Grunting with displeasure, he jumped out of another window, his disguise unraveling in motes of darkness. Bullets chased him, punching through the walls like they were made of paper.

“You can’t hide from me, rat!” Quandar helpefully informed him of, his shrieking voice raising over the sounds of masonry being blasted to bits.

Gorren ignored him, throwing his perceptions around instead. To his chagrin, he found the snipers’ numbers increased. There were fifteen of the buggers around now. Still, fifteen wasn’t twenty. It probably meant that Quandar lacked the numbers to replenish them completely. He wasn’t surprised, considering how powerful those things seemed to be.

“Run! Run! But not fast enough! Never fast enough!”

Running? Umph!

Gorren channelled more Mana in his legs. As his speed increased, he felt the snipers chase him or reposition. Like before, they were trying to surround him.

Gorren was calm and focused. The newly formed skin over his wounds tugged, but the pain was gone and they didn’t hinder him anymore, and that was what it mattered.

He sharply moved his head aside, and felt the air beside his cheek being seared by a high-speed projectile.

I need to do something.

Running at that speed meant making sorrounding him a dodgy proposition, but it also made certain bullets difficult to avoid. Also, more Mana down the drain, energy that he wasn’t sure he could afford to expend. For all he knew, Quandar was just trying to tire him out before the real thing.

A bullet grazed his ankle, making him grimace. The continuous surges of Mana appeared before his mind’s eye like someone was flooding the area with flashes of red light while screaming in his ears at the same time. It confused his perceptions, making difficult to foresee where a bullet would come from. He could still perceive the snipers’ positions, but they moved continuously, and it was easy to lose them between the riot of energy. All in all, he was limited to the five mortal senses, with only the period of time between hearing or seeing a bullet and that bullet reaching him to dodge or parry. Considering the speed of those projectiles, if they sorrounded him, he would find himself once again in a very bad situation.

Gorren narrowed his eyes. He wasn’t going to be defeated by such a brutish tactic.

Think. What tools i have?

The answer came quickly.

Raising a barrier, he thrusted a hand inside his pocket, and extracted the Animus. With a small zap of Mana, he rebooted the object.

“What... ? Ah, eh?” Pip asked, startled.

“Wake up, now.” Gorren demanded, keeping an eye out for more attacks.

“Y-you!” Pip accused. “I-i hoped it was all a bad…. Aaaaaah!” A bullet smashed itself to pieces against the barrier, making her scream. “What? W-what? Where have you brought me?!?” Her voice became almost hysteric as she took in the sorroundings.

Another bullet exploded against the barrier, and she screamed again.

“We’re under attack.” Gorren informed her grimly. “Your friend is trying to kill us. I need your help.”

“My… y-you mean Quandar? No! No! No!” She started screaming out. “Quandar! I am not with him! He-he kidnapped me! Kill him! Save me!”

Gorren felt a smile tug at the corners of his lips. Smart girl…

Too bad that who she was calling to didn’t seem much prone to forgiving.

“Pip! You traitor!” Quandar thundered. “You dare to ask forgiveness now? After you led this intruder in my Kingdom! No no no NO! You’re going in the excruciator when all of this is over. And then i will recycle you for components!”

Pip squeaked in fright. Gorren could almost imagine the presence inside the sphere cower.

“So?” He asked, arching an eyebrow.

“Uuuuh…” The sound coming out of the Animus had to be the most pathetic, scared and pitiful he had ever heard.

He wasn’t going to say that he hadn’t even a smidge of pity for that unfortunate intelligence. But that wasn’t the time for mercy, and, well, she had tried to kill him.

“I said, so?” He repeated, zapping her with a small burst of Mana.

Pip yelped. “A-alright alright!” She replied. “I-i’ll help!”

She sounded close to panic, but that was good enough for him.

“You are good with perception. Keep an eye out for any incoming bullet.” He commanded. Pressing the sphere against his chest, he embedded it into the cloth of the cloak. When he retreated the hand, the Animus remained attached there, sustained by a circlet of iron.

“H-how did you know that i…”

Gorren snorted. “Animus lack any sensorial organs. So they have to rely on their magical perceptions to see the world around them. Consequently, their perception ability tends toward excellence.” He parried another bullet, pushing back the sparks from the explosion. “In layman terms, help me to perceive where these attacks are coming from or Quandar will kill you.”

“R-right.” Pip stammered. Gorren felt her presence tighten with focus. “T-this is…! It’s so chaotic! I-i can’t…”

“You can and you will.” Gorren stated. “I will help you. Just tell me what you feel.”

“I-i… i can feel where the golems are.”

“Good.” Gorren accelerated, bullets trailing after him. “Focus over five of them. Focus over them at the exclusion of everything else. I will think about keeping you safe. Don’t lose them even when they move and tell me when they are about to shoot and from where.”

“B-but…”

Gorren frowned. Not the time for doubts. “What is it? You think you can’t do it?”

“N-no! I-i can do better!”

Gorren’s frown deepened. “What do you mean?”

“I-i can distiguish them!” Pip’s voice acquired some steadiness. “I can distinguish the golems from Quandar’s mana!”

Gorren almost stumbled. “You can?”

“Yes!” The answer was a curious blend between enthusiasm and hysteria. “I-i passed a century with that lunatic! I know his mana signature! And it’s different from the one those golems have! I-i can distinguish it!”

Gorren took a moment to register the information. He had hoped to have the Animus carry some of the load, so that he could focus more on counterattacking, but that was huge. If she could pinpoint the golems’ precise positions…

A bullet punched a hole in his shoulder, making him grunt. He sneered. No time to argue. He needed to make use of that advantage.

He lacked only one thing…

Putting aside Mana expenditure concerns for a moment, he flooded his body with energy. Immediately, he accelerated, the walls around him turning into a blur.

With Quandar’s outraged shout echoing in the ears, he dashed down the darkened corridors. As he hoped, he soon found what he was searching for.

The back wall of the hall emerged from the gloom like a grim vision. It was a single, smooth landscape, not a single opening to interrupt it, not even a gap to show where the stones that formed it had been put together.

Gorren came to a stop before it. With a long sigh, he left any excessive Mana bleed out. He needed to be careful with those enhancements. Energy expenditure aside, repeated uses could put some burden on the body.

He turned to regard the maze. Hidden outside his circle of light, unseen in the darkness, he perceived the vague presences of the snipers.

A mechanical eye emerged from the gloom, followed by another, and another, and another, until he found himself under the cold scrutiny of dozens of the things. In each, he could see reflected the same manic, rage-maddened light.

He scoffed, unimpressed.

“No more running.” He exclaimed, his voice echoing in the darkness. “Let’s do this.”

Planting his feet, he spread his arms wide.

The mechanical eyes started trembling, like there was an earthquake hitting their supports. A growl echoed from them, a sound reeking of mad anger.

“You think you can take me now that you have a wall at your back?” Quandar sounded almost apoplectic with rage. “The only thing you managed to find is the place for your execution, rat!”

As one, the eyes retreated and disappeared. As they did, the darkness was filled with the unvisible flashes of red Mana.

Gorren narrowed his eyes, focusing to keep up with the moving presences of the snipers.

“Ready, Pip?” He murmured.

“I-i… don’t…” The Animus sounded everything but ready.

“Fight or die.” Gorren growled. “That’s all there is.”

Pip made a choked sound. “It’s gonna come quick.” She whispered fearfully. “How am i supposed to pass it to you quickly enough?”

In all answer, Gorren lowered a hand to touch the sphere on his chest. The physical contact brought mental contact. Gorren felt the Animus retract herself from it, scared, but then she jumped into it with a despairing determination. Instantly, Pip’s perceptions chained themselves to his.

“Die!” Quandar’s screech came with a rain of bullets.

Turned out that Pip hadn’t said the full truth. Through her, not only he could distinguish exactly between the snipers and the eyes, but he could also pinpoint their precise locations and even their bullets‘. Gorren was part surprised and part miffed. He wouldn’t have said the Animus to be the humble sort, it probably was a mistake of the moment. Also, that she was better than him when it came to perception was irritating.

But enough of that.

Gorren dodged the first bullets without effort, then parried and at the same time unleashed a flurry of dark spheres.

“What?!?” Quandar screamed, taken aback as four snipers went up in flames.

The rest of the golems tried to rally, quickly changing positions to avoid being blasted to bits.

Gorren hammered them with sphere after sphere, his precisions made lethal by the data that Pip kept on providing him with.

Three more snipers were destroyed, while two managed to get away in time. The others let loose with their rifles. Gorren sneered as bullets smashed against his shield, sending painful jolts through his arm. He dodged aside, more holes being punched in his cloak, and let loose another dark sphere.

The sniper he aimed to moved aside. He caught the sphere with a telekinetic grip and sent it in a chasing course. The golem disappeared in a cloud of flames and metal fragments.

A bullet pierced through his shield with a crack. It dug in his stomach, sending a spike of pain stabbing through him.

With a snarl, Gorren lashed out with his mind. He grabbed hold of three projectiles, and steered them against their owners. Two golems were hit in full, their chassis pierced straight through.

“Careful!”

Pip’s warning came with a stream of perceptions. Gorren dodged back, a bullet punching the air where his head had been a moment before. Whipping out with his hand, he threw a sphere. The golem that had flanked him went up in pieces.

He raised a shield, just in time to stop another fusillade.

He stood tall, his hand extended before him to sustain the shield while bullets rained over it. Four snipers remained. He took stock of their positions. Black fire engulfed his hand as he drew it back.

With a grunt, he unleashed a blade-like wave of black energy that scythed through the darkness. Busy letting loose, the four golems didn’t even try to dodge. They were hit in full, almost at the same time, and bisected like grass.

The sound of scrap metal hitting stone signaled the end of the skirmish.

Gorren exhaled, black flames flickering across his teeth. He couldn’t feel any more opponents. It was over.

“W-wow…” Pip breathed. “Y-you…”

Whatever the Animus wanted to say was lost, as the eyes re-emerged from the darkness.

Gorren felt disdain flicker in his chest. He lifted a hand, but no attack came. The eyes trembled like a gaggle of crazy choir-boys, a vibration like the deep-chested growl of a beast echong from them.

It rose, and then exploded into a primal screech of mad anger that shook the entire room. Gorren heard Pip whimper in fear.

No…

Gorren glanced over his shoulder. It wasn’t that screech to make the place tremble: a massive section of the wall was sliding open, revealing a slice of light beyond.

Gorren was ready, but the attack still came so swiftly that he was caught by surprise. A massive form suddenly emerged from the still opening door, accompanied by the burst of energy of a gigantic presence.

Gorren found himself caught and dragged inside. His vision whirled before him, and he was thrown bodily away.

He reacted quickly, seizing himself and sliding to a stop.

The doors thumped shut. The form that had dragged him inside straightened up.

Gorren did the same, ready to face this new opponent.

He didn’t expect Pip’s words.

“That’s… that’s Quandar!!!”