Thundering footsteps from a hallway to the right are the only response needed. All three guardians look over to see the wall separating, revealing the large beast from before. The black skin-suit highlights even more muscles in the new light. Clearing the doorway, it stands just inside the bridge and looks towards the group. Rezic notices that the movement of the beast’s mouth does not match what he hears.
“Enough is enough, Acolyte. You have completed the process, yet you still dawdle with these beings. Be done with them so that we may move on with His plans.”
On its chest, a small device blinks rapidly throughout its speech. Tissea moves to speak, however Gus steps forward first.
“What plans?” His grip on his shotgun tightens as he brings the weapon across his chest to a ready position. Rezic’s seen that look before, and he knows it will only lead to violence. He opens his mouth to say something.
The explosive response from the beast was not something he expected. Rezic isn’t sure if the sound came from its body hitting Gus, or Gus’s body hitting the far wall of the bridge, but within the blink of an eye the titan is laying, crumpled against the wall. The crack in the sheer black material is just as much of a surprise as the attack. Gus must have hit the wall like he fell out of orbit.
“Gus!” Tissea shouts. The beast looks over at her, anger written on his face.
“You still care for them!” it shouts, pointing at Gus. “You must separate yourself from your previous life. The Witness demands it!” It walks towards Tissea with its finger pointed. As it gets closer it raises its hand. “I knew you were too weak!”
Rezic tries to muster something from his Light, but his wounds are still too fresh. As hard as he tries, he can’t pull anything from within. All he can do is stand, and watch.
“NO!”
The heavy footsteps of Gus were masked by the beast’s own, but the punch landed by the big titan connected at full force mid-sprint. Rezic has only seen Gus punch something as hard as that a few times in his life, and they never got back up. The force from this punch echoed in his chest.
However, this beast is something else entirely.
It took a step back to steady itself, but quickly recovered and stared back at Gus, towering over him. Gus returns the stare, unwavering, with his visor cracked and his armor scratched down the side from where he hit the wall. The staredown lasts a few moments before Gus roars and unleashes a flurry of punches into the gut of the beast. The titan moves with a speed that’s hard for even Rezic to keep track of. Finally, he leaps towards the head of the beast and unleashes an uppercut to its chin that rocks it back again, this time forcing it to a knee.
“I’ve never seen Urnak falter…” Tissea whispers just loud enough for Rezci to hear. He looks over.
“This beast has a name?” he asks.
“Urnak. One of the earliest Disciples of the Witness.”
As she speaks, Gus launches another attack against his monstrous foe, kicking at its legs trying to damage the joints. Each low kick connects with the meat of Urnak’s tree-trunk legs creating a thundering crash that Rezic can feel in his chest. The flurry of kicks gets faster and faster, his left foot digging into the floor of the bridge pushing off to propel each kick harder. He ends it with a spinning back kick, extending his foot into the stomach of Urnak. The great beast falters once more, taking a step back to steady itself.
“I’ve never seen Gus move so quickly,” she says.
Gus doesn’t wait for Urnak to react. As soon as he takes a knee, Gus sprints and launches himself into the air. At the height of his jump, arc energy begins cracking the air around him. Rezic senses the thunderous slam about to happen and pulls Tissea back, shielding her from the blast.
The resounding explosion shakes the ship. Gus slams both fists into the ground in front of Urnak, shooting arc energy through the floor and across the space between them. Urnak raises his hands across his face successfully shielding himself from the worst of the blast, but he still slides backwards. A rippling energy shield with a green hue can be seen dancing across his forearms, a smile stretched across his face.
“You are strong. The beings here are weak, save for a few. It’s an honor to battle you.” Urnak finishes the statement by pounding his chest consecutively seven times, each strike louder than the last.
He steps forward with the same speed as before, striking Gus with one fist. The titan tries to turn away from the punch, moving with the momentum. It only works so much. He stumbles but maintains his balance, raising his arms to block the next attack. A small barrier forms around his forearms, mimicking the trick Urnak used. However, Urnak moves around Gus, fooling him into focusing on a frontal attack. He strikes the titan from behind, undefended, and launches him across the bridge again. Gus hits the wall just as hard as he did before. Urnak laughs.
“You can’t win. It doesn’t matter what machinery humanity built to give you life, you’re not strong enough. Yield, and your death will be quick.” Urnak walks forward. Each step pounds like nails in his coffin. The titan rises to a knee. A sense of defeat hangs in the air.
Gus looks down. Through a broken visor he can see his fingers spread wide, ready to push himself back up. The sensors across his body are screaming. Exo’s can still feel, to a certain extent, and his body feels as broken as it’s ever been. Warnings dance across his shattered HUD in cracked and crooked letters.
This might be it, Harker.
He looks over at Rezic standing between Tissea and this monstrosity, a protective arm across her chest. Gus knows that Rezic wants to fight but his Light is still broken. Harker told him that whatever poison those shots inflicted on his body is still there; not spreading, but persistent nonetheless.
One Guardian against a Disciple. He laughs. The thin line between bravery and stupidity is about to be tested.
He flexes his fingers, feeling the hard floor. The fibers in his forearm constrict, readying his upper arm for the eventual explosion of energy as he rises to face the beast again. His shoulder joint tenses. His back tightens.
This is it. I need to unleash it all at once. It’s not invincible; just strong. I’m strong, too. Strong enough to keep fighting against incredible odds.
He moves his leg into position.
I’m a Titan. Defender of the Last City, humanity, and all those the Vanguard has sworn to protect. My shoulders hold the foundation of our future. I am the protector of the Light. Traveler…please…give me strength…
Rezic sees the lightning spreading from Gus’s hand. As soon as the titan took a step to rise to his knee, he knew Gus wasn’t going to give up.
That stubborn bastard. Rezic didn’t have a chance to think about anything else. The explosion that erupts from the crouched titan is unlike anything he has ever seen his friend do. It’s no Thundercrash, or Fist of Havoc, but something else entirely. The combination of every spark of Light within his body was focused and unleashed towards Urnak. Gus waited until Urnak was close enough that he couldn’t miss. Rezic could only guess that the titan slammed into the center of his foe’s body.
As soon as the explosion occurred, something pulled him and Tissea out of the bridge and into a nearby room. He knew they were still close due to the rumbling of the ship around them. Rezic looks at Tissea and sees her arm raised.
“What happened?”
“I created a portal to pull us away. There’s no way Gus survived that.” Her new ghost appears before her, scanning the wall ahead of them.
“And Urnak?” Rezic asks.
Tissea opens her mouth to speak, but can’t find the words. How strong are these Disciples? Rezic thinks.
“If he’s still alive, we need to get in there and get Gus out. Open another portal!”
“I’m working on creating a door now.”
Rezic looks around the temporary room they’re in. Vats containing a gelatinous liquid fill up the space. The glass is murky, but Rezic can make out shapes floating in the goo. Only a few are humanoid, the rest are all shapes and sizes. There are three rows, ten containers in each. Ominous lights shine in a circle around each one, pointed up, giving each one a threatening look. Small consoles are in front of each, but with no screens, just buttons. Rezic reaches out and the console lights up for him as it senses his hand. The lights around the vat brighten, showing more detail of the beast inside. The warlock hasn’t seen anything like it before. It resembles a cephalopod, but this one has even more tiny appendages at the end of each “arm”. As the console brightens, the shape twists in its cage.
Does it sense me?
The arms inside the tank spread wide. Rezic isn’t sure if it’s a defense mechanism or something else. The width of the creature spans the vat and the thick arms curl around the edges past his view. Arms that look like they could crush Rezic easily. The light from below provides a glimpse at the green-hued skin of it. It reaches towards the glass. His hand gets closer.
Instantaneously, his vision is overcome with something else. A haunted scene of death. Fire raining from the heavens, burning the ground of a planet he’s never seen. Screams filling his ears. Thick smoke choking him as he tries to wave through it to see the sky and the source of whatever is laying waste to the planet. Something runs past him, momentarily knocking him off balance. He turns to see who, or what, it was, but the smoke is too thick. He turns back to see an opening in the sky. A fleet of Pyramid ships firing different munitions onto the planet’s surface, destroying everything. Thick arms grab at his shoulder, turning him away from it. He tries to pull away, to continue towards the ships, but he’s pulled back. He falls into a pool of liquid, shocking himself back to reality.
A noise behind him draws his attention away from the nightmare. He fights back a shudder and retracts his hand quickly.
The ghost finished its scan and the wall split open to reveal a smoke-filled room. Rezic runs back and steps through the doorway, eyes rapidly scanning his left and right. A cough. He turns his head in the direction of it and sees the giant outline of Urnak against a flickering light. He’s not at full height, but his outline is unmistakable. He must be leaning against something. Come on, Gus. Where are you?
Tissea approaches his side.
“You didn’t touch anything in there, did you? We shouldn’t have been there.”
“You didn’t know where you took us?”
“I’m still getting used to this power. I panicked. Did you touch anything?”
He shakes his head. His hand was close enough to the console that it lit up, but he doesn’t think that’s worth mentioning.
And what would I say about some space Octopus flaunting its size to me?
“I didn’t touch anything.”
“Good.” She turns her attention back to the smoke. The familiar sound of concern in her voice reminds Rezic that she’s still in there, buried under the indoctrination. She was genuinely frightened for a moment.
He looks back at the smoke-filled room, but doesn’t dare venture past the door in case he and Tissea need to duck away again. However, his concern for his friend forces him to take a step into the smoke. A footstep echoes through the room, opposite of where he saw Urnak. Faintly, he can see the glow of another light.
A form of arc energy, unlike anything Rezic has ever seen, begins to appear.
Gus walks through the smoke, towards Urnak. Lightning jumping across his armor, wrapping him in a cloak of brilliant blue light. The energy flashes and snaps in the air, creating popping noises alongside his echoing footsteps. The titan’s body is pure energy.
“Rezic, is that Gus?” Tissea asks.
“I think so…”
Gus steps through the smoke, fully revealing himself. His helmet is gone, and his face has a tear through the side from the cheek up through his forehead, exposing frayed wires. His chest armor is mostly gone as well. A strap holds part of it up around his left shoulder, but his right arm is exposed and hanging at his side. It all goes unnoticed by the titan as he continues to walk towards his foe. He hasn’t taken his eyes off Urnak, and a fire is burning deep behind his red-lit eyes. If Rezic didn’t know it was his friend, he isn’t completely sure which of the two he’d be more frightened of.
A bolt of lightning cracks through the air towards the ceiling and illuminates the kneeling Disciple. The look of indifference on his face surprises Rezic. A walking embodiment of lightning is approaching him and he appears to be unsure on whether or not he cares enough to fight back. Gus doesn’t give him long to decide as he leaps into action. A footprint of arc energy is left where the titan pushed off the floor. His arm glows brighter by the second as he launches himself through the air towards Urnak. The resounding crash of the strike vibrates the very ship itself. Urnak doesn’t respond quick enough and Gus unloads blow after blow on the beast whose face is now in perfect punching position. The grunts coming from Urnak give Rezic hope that Gus might be able to pull off a miracle and single-handedly defeat a Disciple of the Witness. Each blow echoes a thunderous roar through the pyramid ship. The raw power of Gus is something Rezic has never seen before, and this new transformation is the cause of it. Even a super casted by the strongest guardians dwindles after some time. Gus seems to be in some new state of being, showing no sign of slowing down.
“I’ve never seen this before,” Rezic says as Gus grabs Urnak and tosses him into a nearby wall. The beast crashes into the monitors, destroying them and the stations in front of them. Gus doesn’t give him any time to think as he leaps over to Urnak and greets him with even more thunderous punches to his face. “Gus is almost toying with Urnak.”
“Hopefully he finishes him. I have a bad feeling about this,” Tissea replies.
Rezic glances over and sees the concern on her face. Something’s up, and he’s not sure he wants to find out. Gus repeatedly knees Urnak in the midsection before swinging a powerful kick that sends him flying across the room again. Urnak lays on the floor motionless. Gus continues his attack.
“Oh no…he’s waiting Gus out. He knows this power won’t last,” Rezic whispers in horror.
Gus lifts up Urnak by the front of his skin suit. Blood drips across the beast’s face from a wide cut on its cheek. His mouth is painted with it as well. A grisly smile, and then a laugh from deep within his gut rises, escaping his lips. The fury on Gus’s face has not faded, and now the indifference of his enemy in the face of his attack angers him even more.
Urnak turns his head slightly and spits blood on the floor then looks back at Gus.
“I have waited for a challenge for so long. I am glad to once again find an opponent worthy of my effort. I thank you for this. Your name will be written, and remembered, in the book of Urnak, The First Disciple of the Witness.”
Gus can’t take it. He screams and the lightning around him explodes, destroying all the stations and monitors around him; Rezic and Tissea instinctively flinch behind cover until the yell subsides. They don’t peek out again until they hear the thumping of Gus’s fists on Urnak’s body. Gus throws Urnak against the wall again, but this time the up and down of Gus’s chest and shoulders can’t be ignored as he stares down Urnak.
Urnak looks up from the floor.
“Now, let’s see what you’re made of.”.
He pushes himself up and slowly raises his arms out to his sides. He stands tall, waiting, but the guardians don’t know what for. Suddenly, pieces of black metal are torn from the very walls of the Pyramid ship around them. Rezic watches in horror as the pieces cling to the skin suit of Urnak, wrapping around his joints and muscles, forming another layer of protection.
He’s been treating this like a sparring session this whole time, Rezic thinks.
He looks to Gus, hoping his friend still has some energy left in the tank, but his stance is not as confident as it was moments before. Pieces continue snapping into place, creating an even more imposing silhouette than before. The sleek-black metal giving Urnak a demonic look is only amplified by the angular helmet that falls into place, hissing and clicking to the rest of it. A small, angular visor glows softly white.
Gus steps forward without a word, walking towards the newly-armored enemy that stands before him. The arc energy dancing around him snaps towards Urnak, illuminating the enemy at odd angles, creating an even more sinister look to the alien, as he readies himself in an attack position.
The titan doesn’t hesitate for a moment. He reaches striking distance and pulls back his right fist for an enormous haymaker. Urnak sees the movement and moves to block it, only to be taken by surprise by the left-handed jab that Gus throws, intending to do just that. Urnak stumbles, more from shock than the actual force of the punch, but just enough to give Gus time to close the distance and unleash a flurry of punches to his midsection again.
Urnak’s armor proves too strong, and he grabs Gus mid punch. Rezic sees the slow realization in Gus’s eyes as the Disciple grabs his other arm and spreads him out wide while lifting him off the ground. Gus doesn’t make a noise as his body is stretched to its limits. Urnak’s helmet slides open, revealing his cruel smile beneath.
“You fought well, but you are nowhere near my strength. I haven’t needed more armor for battle in a very long time. Thank you for providing me a reason to wear it again. It feels like home to me.”
Urnak continues pulling Gus apart from the shoulders. The titan strains to break free, but the hold on him is unlike anything he’s ever felt before. Slowly, his power fades away, and the arc energy around him dissipates. He does everything he can to avoid being torn apart, but soon the realization hits him.
This is it.
The flurry of movement that dances across his vision reminds him of a flock of birds spooked from a tree in the forest.
And now I’m hallucinating. Great.
He doesn’t hear anything, but more shadows dance behind Urnak, and he can’t tell if his vision is going or if the room really is getting darker for whatever reason. Harker moves to appear, to possibly distract Urnak or create some opening for Gus, but once again Gus keeps him hidden.
There’s no reason for you to be destroyed as well.
Gus turns his head towards Rezic, hoping his best friend is safe from the monstrosity, when suddenly a bright green flash blinds him, forcing him to close his eyes. At the same time, an instant relief of pressure spreads throughout his body. He hits the ground, feeling both arms slap on the hard floor. Rolling over to his side, he checks his body over and realizes he’s still in one piece. The source of the flash that freed him is still unknown, but he can see Urnak struggling with something. As if his armor is on fire, but the flames look…green?
The flurry of movement against the darkness again.
What is that?
“Gus! Get up and help her!”
Was that Rezic? Who is he talking about?
Suddenly, it dawns on him. That, and the same spinning pirouette he’s seen Tissea perform countless times before in battle. What confuses him is the power she’s using to attack Urnak. It’s unlike anything he’s ever seen. She leaps into the air, flipping over Urnak, and flinging small dark green daggers. They embed themselves in his armor, inflicting little damage. Gus silently curses at the strength of the armor, but then notices the daggers moving slowly deeper. It’s at that point he realizes the effect this magic is having on it. The daggers are somehow poisoning the armor. On cue, Urnak screams in pain, lashing out towards the dancing shadow of Tissea.
“ACOLYTE! HOW DARE YOU USE YOUR GIFT AGAINST THE ONE THAT PROVIDED IT TO YOU!”
Tissea appears for a moment to Gus’s right.
“My ‘gift’ is for me to choose how I use it. The Witness said as much. If you’re unhappy with that, come and tell me.”
And then she disappears in a puff of green and black smoke, just as quickly as she appeared. Urnak roars to his feet, whipping around trying to find her.
“You ungrateful witch! Do you think you understand a power given to you, only moments ago, enough to fight me?! One who has trained with it for centuries?!” Urnak leaps towards a spot in the room with surprising speed, striking out at open space. Gus isn’t sure what he aimed to achieve, until he sees Tissea go flying into the wall. She lays, fully visible, coughing from the impact. “You, who is barely a novice, with so many years of training before you. I hope you remember this day, and the demise of your friends, to let it fuel your anger. The Witness will harness that power and use it for his will.”
He moves to unleash another blow to the fallen hunter, but Gus has other plans. He charges Urnak, unleashing a shoulder charge into his back, knocking him off-balance enough to leave him open for another attack. Gus plants his foot and spins into a low sweep hoping to upend him, but the beast doesn’t fall. Urnak turns on him, raising his fists to unleash a blow, until Tissea leaps into action throwing an object into Urnak’s unprotected face. It explodes in a puff of smoke, forcing Urnak’s hands to his face, while he coughs his lungs free of the poison. The maneuver buys Tissea enough time to lead Gus away.
“We can’t win,” she says while gasping for air.
“I’m not so sure,” Gus says. “These new powers of yours work well. There’s still a chance.”
“No, Gus. You haven’t heard the stories. Urnak is one of the most powerful fighters to ever exist. All of this up to now has been a game to him; a sparring match. He’s only been testing you. You and Rezic have to get out!”
Urnak lumbers towards them, still partially blinded by the smoke, but no less dangerous. He swings his massive arms towards the two guardians, missing by only so much. Tissea and Gus roll away towards Rezic. The warlock steps out from the doorway to help usher the two of them into the separate room.
“The effects are wearing off. You two have to leave – now!”
“Tissea, you have to come with us,” Rezic pleads. “We can’t leave you here. We’re a fireteam. We stick together.”
Tissea looks at Rezic, really looks at him for the first time since they’ve been reunited. The emotion behind her eyes speaks volumes. Rezic knows that she’s still there. All that talk earlier was just a facade. Just part of the job for her. He’s just frightened that she doesn’t realize how far under she really is.
“I can’t, Rez, and you know that. I can’t leave this unfinished. There’s so much more for us to learn if we’re going to have a chance at winning. We need someone on the inside.”
Rezic opens his mouth to argue, but he knows she can be just as stubborn as Gus. She made up her mind. She won’t be leaving. Rezic nods and sighs.
“How are we getting out of here?” He looks over at Gus, half broken, doing his best to stand up. The loud footsteps of Urnak drawing ever closer.
“The same way I brought you here.”
Tissea moves her hands in a motion, and her ghost follows along in a similar path. Behind the group a circular portal opens, black and smoky just the same as before, with no idea where the other side leads. Rezic looks back at his oldest friend; his Awoken kin. The one he was willing to fight the Vanguard, a Cabal fleet, and hordes of Taken and Hive. He grabs her shoulder and pulls her into a hug, squeezing her.
“We found you once,” he says, breaking free of the hug. “We can find you again.” Rezic smiles, doing his best to hide the tears threatening to break through. Every fiber in his body telling him not to leave, but the one logical piece of his brain reminding him that the beast on the other side of that door is way too powerful for one, valiantly-stubborn titan, and a warlock without his Light.
“I know you will,” Tissea says. Rezic looks at Gus. His face hides his emotions behind his exo-wall, but Rezic knows he’s having the same internal arguments he is. Before he can say anything, Tissea shoves the two of them, and they go tumbling through the portal, the inky blackness enveloping their vision.
Writing by Adam 