trust me. // wraith x crypto

Chapter Seven // Attack and Dodge

"Keep it tighter," Crypto's voice bit at Renee's ears as she felt her body collide with the concrete sands of the firing range.

Despite facing his somewhat intrusive confrontation the day prior, Renee was resilient in continuing her training with him. Though she would never admit it explicitly, the overall valor of his need to analyze the emotional component of her demonstration gave her even greater reassurance that letting him train her was a wise decision. She needed someone to look past the physicality of her abilities; after all, the voices were in her head, phasing was all by her command, and portals were limited to her knowledge.

She had gone to sleep that night, exhausted from the labor of it all, yet unfathomably restless at the thought of meeting Crypto once more. He didn't require her to be vulnerable with him to any extent. He could see past the cold exterior of her actions and motives with an insistence to know her as she desired to learn about herself- the light in a dark world that only cared to stick needles in her neck and call her by the name of Voidwalker.

Chest rising as she inhaled and exhaled heavily, Renee allowed herself to rest in her position on the ground, her arm still captured in Crypto's firm grasp from the maneuver he had used to flip her over his shoulder. She gritted her teeth, tightening her eyes as she felt determination grow within her to transcend the pain traveling throughout her body. Balling her hand into a fist, Renee attempted to rip her hand away from his hold, yet his grip tightened.

"Listen to me," Crypto spoke to her through his own heavy breathing.

Though slightly annoyed, she complied to his request, keeping still in his grasp. The earth went silent, yet the winds remained ferocious, as her ears tensed with anticipation of his next words.

"I have you in the position already. What do you think you should do from here?"

Renee remained silent, her expression impossibly frozen in its apathetic state though the lethal glare in her eyes spoke volumes as to how deeply she was dissecting her options. Looking upon her resilience, Crypto couldn't help himself but to let the corner of his mouth pull into the tiniest smile of admiration. He allowed her a moment longer of silence to contemplate her next choice.

Quickly coming to a decision, Renee kicked up her left leg, aiming for his stomach. Though her speed was impeccable, Crypto's eyes followed every movement of her body, reacting swiftly to her attack. Wrapping his arm around her leg, he tightly held it between his arm and his chest, keeping now two limbs completely under his control.

"You can't keep fighting in this position," he told her, securing his hold on her forearm and leg, "Because you chose to act rather than to evade, you gave me complete control of your body. I have every opening to hurt you now. You were at a disadvantage the moment your back hit the ground. The floor acts the same as a wall in this sense- you're cornered. From this point, the enemy could melee you from all angles."

Renee squirmed to get out, rolling around in his clasp as she grunted out of her efforts, though Crypto didn't soften a bit.

"Worse comes to worse, the enemy could even pin you down and finish you off right there."

Renee glared at him, still struggling for a moment before lightly tapping the ground twice. Crypto immediately released her leg and arm from his hold, letting her limbs fall to the ground with deadweight, before offering his hand to help her up. She collected herself and regained her composure as she sat up from her position, staring at him with frustration through heavy breaths. Her eyes shot daggers at his hand before quickly analyzing the kind yet firm expression on his face.

"So what would you have done?" she asked him as she accepted his hand, letting him help pull her bodyweight off the ground.

Crypto thought for a moment, letting his hand linger holding hers, though she was standing firmly on her own at this point.