A/N: This is fanfiction for a game I have never played, so pardon any errors. I was watching Stupe's commentary video on how they made Slide Into The Void, and they mentioned something about the funky little chant that intrigued me.

Oh, but this might have spoilers for Control. I genuinely don't know. Since, y'know, never played it.

Deci paused as they passed an open door. His eyes slid over to the unfortunate person levitating inside, who was rambling nonsensically, just like all the rest. Yet, for some reason, this one seemed to catch his attention.

Yuri frowned and tugged on the mysterious man's arm. "Deci," he whispered. "We need to continue. Quickly, before they find us."

Those striking golden eyes found him again. "You go on ahead," he said softly. "I need to check something. I'll catch up with you." Then he pulled away from Yuri and walked towards the Hiss-corrupted person.

He wanted to scream, but he wasn't willing to risk it. Instead he just stepped into the room as well; regardless of what Deci said, he wasn't going to let them get separated.

And he had to admit he was curious. He was a scientist, after all. So Yuri stood back and watched as Deci... did his thing.

The black-haired man sat down on the floor and looked up at the person who was speaking. His brow furrowed; he seemed to be listening to the chant, trying to parse out meaning from it.

After the third time the Hiss-corrupted had repeated the chant, Yuri was beginning to get exasperated. He was about to speak up, try and convince him to leave, when-

Deci spoke. Well, maybe spoke wasn't quite the right word for it. The sound that came from his mouth was disjointed and inhuman, glitching and skipping, pitch varying wildly between each 'syllable.' Yuri cringed as Deci continued, and he probably would have just left if not for what happened next.

The Hiss-corrupted person stopped levitating and dropped to the floor in front of Deci. They also stopped chanting, looking down at him with that same eerily blank expression as before.

Everything was quiet for a long moment. Then, the person—or the Hiss, speaking through them—responded in kind.

Yuri felt like he was going to explode. The fact that they had gone silent and stopped floating was incredible enough, but now it seemed like Deci could communicate with them. Which was... unbelievably exciting and completely unheard of.

Also pretty much confirmed that he wasn't human. Yuri had suspected it for a while, but he hadn't gotten the chance to ask. But that wasn't relevant right now.

His fingers twitched longingly. He really wished he had a clipboard or notebook or something. Even a camera or DVR would do. Anything to document one of the most extraordinary things he'd ever witnessed.

He just had to hope his memory was adequate.

Yuri watched closely as Deci approached the Hiss-corrupted person, raising his hands non-threateningly. He made a short, choppy sound, which the Hiss responded to with a low, drawn-out buzz, intermixed with higher-pitched screeches.

Whatever that meant, it seemed to upset Deci. Deci shook his head and pointed at Yuri, then made another, harsher sound. He crossed his arms across his chest forcefully.

The Hiss let out a string of sharp, glitchy noises. Deci nodded, some of that constant tension draining from his shoulders. He repeated the sound back to them, offering a loose salute.

Then the Hiss-corrupted person vanished. Deci turned to Yuri, looking weary but proud. "It's been a while since I talked-communicated like that... but I think I've just made-convinced the Hiss to stop attacking us," he said with a small smile.

"How?"

The mystery man shrugged. "I'm just that charismatic?"

Yuri stared at him.

"...Okay, and I may have threatened them. Just a little." At the panicked look on Yuri's face, Deci quickly added, "Nothing I couldn't follow through on! Obviously. And they know that, I think, so they won't even try it. Saves me the trouble!"

"That is not what concerns me," he muttered. "But- How did you threaten them? What can you even do to a force like that?"

Deci's expression turned more serious. "I'd rather not get into that. But I know what they are and how to deal with them now."

Yuri wanted to ask questions. So many questions. What are you? What are the Hiss? Why are they here? Is there anything we can do to protect ourselves?

But now was not the time. Even if the Hiss really weren't a problem any more, there were other threats here. And Yuri still had work to do. They had to keep moving.

He was going to interview this man. That much, he vowed.