"Cayde and Ikora have it all wrong. It's not that Strikers have a death wish. They throw their bodies at incoming fire so others won't have to. It's also the most direct line to a target."
—Lord Shaxx


"Stand right there." The Warlock ordered.

Armored up, Ralis strode reluctantly to the spot designated in the training area. Steel was leaning up against the far wall and watched, their planned weapons training postponed for now.

Solar Light exploded into his mentor's outstretched hand and took the shape of a fiery orb. She held it idly, floating. "You've seen the power of the Light. Felt it. Used it. But can you control it?"

Perplexed, he was hesitant to answer. "I've used it, so doesn't that mean I control it?"

She answered by throwing the orb at him.

Before the Titan could react, it struck him and expanded into a larger sphere of bright burning fire. It was blinding, causing the helmet visor in his screen to polarize. Ralis expected to be consumed by the Light, to awake once more to the sharp breath of life. Instead, the fire harmlessly surrounded him. He stood in awe of the brilliant flame. It did feel warm, even through his armor.

"How?"

"Control." She answered. "Guardians all carry a spark of Light. Ghosts are charged with it. I willed my Light to not harm yours, and so it did not. Those without Light are not so fortunate."

He stepped backwards and held his hand out to the orb. It passed through with only a warm tingle. "Why are you showing me this?"

"You'll need to be able to control it in the Crucible. You'll fight other Guardians in there as if they were the Darkness itself. Knowing this will stop your fists from harming those on your team, or the Ghosts who revive them. You're not allowed to compete otherwise." The orb extinguished out slowly and she stood still, hands on her hips. "Your turn."

The idea of not hurting his mentor was rather hard to turn off in his mind's eye. She did keep on saying, "Hit me." Instead, he imagined her Light. It surrounding her, flowing through, making her the Guardian that she was. Just like him. He called for his Light into has hand as he had done many times before and rolled the unstable charge right to her feet. The blast was blinding, even for his already polarized visor. Slowly his vision began to clear to reveal the Warlock unmoving as if nothing had happened.

"Good." She clapped once. "You can see that method doesn't work in protecting yourself. Try not to be a bigger fool than you already are and that shouldn't be a problem."

"You keep talking about the Crucible like I'm going to compete in it."

She nodded. "Yes, that's what we agreed upon last night."

"I told you, I don't remember anything. You just stormed into my room and brought me here, not a word, all brooding and ominous as usual. I don't even want to compete in the Crucible."

"You said differently." She crossed her arms. "In fact you seemed eager for it."

He sighed. "Well I don't know about you, but last night I was rather under the influence."

"Oh I could smell it on you." She mocked. "Nice to see you handle yourself responsibly."

His mentor had gotten good at pressing his buttons, but he had also learned to hit hers. "And it's nice to see that you have faith in your student. Walking out just as I finally passed the timed run. Really inspiring. So much, in fact, I felt like celebrating because you couldn't be bothered."

She shrugged. "You're full of surprises, newborn. Don't try to blame me as the cause of last night. You're a Guardian, act like one. Burn it out if you have too much. You can hurt people with the power that you have if you misuse it."

"Look," he held his hands up. "I don't know how to use my Light like you. I was already too far gone before anyone even bothered to tell me about that trick. That was my fault, yes. Won't happen again. But what I do in my personal time is none of your business."

"Anything you do is my business." She said firmly. "You must be on the right path to stand against what's out there. Don't be distracted by base temptations."

The heat Ralis felt rising inside himself far surpassed the warmth of Warlocks fire. "You don't control me."

"You don't even control yourself. Especially like that. I know this isn't the only time you've done it, I've watched you. With those you rescued. Why?"

He let out laugh. "They're the closest thing I have to a family now. Is that unacceptable? Having people you care about?"

"No." She said seriously. "Controlling yourself. Why are you behaving so irresponsibly?"

Ralis threw his hands up. "You know, I'm not quite sure how to put it all into words."

"If you'd rather put it into song, be my guest."

Fumming, the Titan slowly took steps towards her. "Saying it's because of you would be too easy. Sure you could probably make the Darkness blush and say, 'Yes, Ma'am.', but that's not why I drown my sorrows. I remember."

"Yes, I know-"

"-No, you don't. My life has holes that move. Sometimes I recall certain things, sometimes I don't. It comes and goes. Sometimes it doesn't come back. Memories of my family, my life as I knew it. Being a helpless cripple and listening to everyone I ever cared about being murdered not more than a hundred feet from me. And the kicker? That was all happening while I was slowly being beaten to death by a Vandal that loved every second of it. My last image of the world that I thought I was leaving forever!"

She remained silent as he approached and loomed over her. "I can't be like every other Guardian. I don't know how to deal with these memories, but until I don't remember a damn thing from before, I can't start fresh like you did. I can't control anything happening to me already, so I might occasionally want to be able to forget things on my own terms. Things I really wish I didn't remember. Even if just for a little while."

The Warlock stood unmoving, impossible to read. "Fine."

"Now with that out of the way, I won't be competing in the Crucible."

"Oh, but I think you'll want to."

He shook his head. "It's crude, killing isn't some sport that should be viewed for entertainment, even if we have our Ghosts. What could I possibly want so bad that I'd fight in something as barbaric as a gladiator pit?"

"Our wager. If you win, I step down as your mentor and the Vanguard will find a replacement. My reward? Getting to see you in the Crucible. Maybe then you'll appreciate my teachings."

Ralis froze. There's no way she would risk something like that normally. She must be certain he wouldn't win. Doubting him once again. She was more than likely right, and it was a safe gamble on her end. The Crucible would be fitting punishment in her eyes for whatever unpleasant things he might have said. Not having her as a mentor, however, sounded like a gift from the Traveler.

Slowly he offered his hand. "Did we shake on it?"

She grasped it. "We have now."

Afterwards, Steel quickly went over the mechanical use the Double Nickel. Reloading, magazine size, two shots per trigger pull, effective range. In application he kept it simple: "Get close and blow 'em away."

Rather than walking, they boarded a transport for the Tower to save on time. On board, still struggling with flight, he read the manual for the Crucible.

/

-Weapons will not be supplied for Crucible bouts. Ammunition will be in limited synthesized rations depending on the scenario variant.

-Armor will not be supplied for Crucible bouts. Lord Shaxx is not responsible for any damage caused to your equipment during combat.

-Unnecessary suffering or pain intentionally inflicted on enemy combatants is strictly prohibited. You will fight to put your targets down quickly as if on the battlefield.

-Once the bout is called, all fighting is to cease immediately. Any Guardians refusing to stop combat will be subdued by present Red Jacks.

-The destruction of another Guardian's Ghost is strictly prohibited. All combatants must know how to control their Light to ensure the Ghosts are in no danger.

\\\

Ralis continued to read through the expectations and variant bout rules. Control, Skirmish, Rumble.

Bishop spoke up from inside his helmet. "Was all that you said back there true? About the wanting to forget?"

Ralis tapped the side of his helmet and Bishop took the que to turn off the speakers. "Yeah."

"I'm sorry, Ral. I had no idea you were struggling so much with that."

"And I'm sorry you had to ferry my ass back to the tower. Won't happen again."

Bishop paused. "Are you sure you're okay? Do you want to talk about it?"

"Nothing to talk about." Ralis slumped a bit in his seat to steady himself for the shaking of the shuttle. "I'm just having a hard time adjusting."

"Is there anything I can do?" His Ghost asked.

"Let me listen to what happened that night after all this is over."

"Will do. I'll leave you to the rules then. I just read up on the manual for Ghosts. There's so much on transmating and revival zones. It seems that since the Dredgen Yor, Crucible safety has been a much larger priority."

Hopefully no mad man would be waiting for him. They exited the shuttle via an extending loading platform into the stem of the Tower. Ralis finished the reading on the elevator ride up. Soon they were in the plaza, heading down towards where the Vanguard dwelled. Instead of continuing down the hallway, his mentor stopped at the station to their right. The one with all those trophies. Behind the desk was an assortment of furniture. A leather couch and arm chair were pressed against the wall bellow the trophies, behind a table stationed on an orange rub with embroiled yellow edges. Weapons leaned against contained scattered to the sides. Siting on the couch was a massive Titan. He had heard stories of Lord Shaxx and they all did him injustice.

Ralis was taller than most he encountered, bigger too. Shaxx stood as they approached and loomed some amount of inches over him. Even an amount so little was imposing to look up at. His armor didn't help. A pair of horns once adorned his visor-less helmet, one of which still remained while the other had been broken off in some past conflict. Lining his distinctive white, orange, and black colored plate were thick patches of brown fur along the shoulders and neck.

"So, this is the one?" Shaxx asked his mentor.

She nodded. "Still ever so disgusted by the Crucible, but willing to compete in it."

Both their stares seemed to bore into him. Ralis felt compelled to speak. "Is there something wrong with that?" he stammered.

"It's training," The Warlock asserted. "It'd be killing if Ghosts didn't bring you back."

"But you do kill, even if only temporarily…and others watch it."

"The Crucible isn't just training and spectacle," Shaxx started, "We use live rounds. Winning a match is winning a battle in the truest sense."

It was one thing to be confrontational with his mentor. Standing up to this Titan was another story. "But fighting each other? Isn't our foe the Darkness? It seems like a distraction from the real threat."

"A distraction?" Shaxx scoffed. "The Crucible challenges our best. It is the finest training the City could ask for."

"I'm not here to argue," Ralis sighed, "I'm just here to compete."

"So you are, pup. Guardians judge the fights harshly before competing. You'll soon learn the Crucible teaches harsh lessons. They aren't easy, but you will appreciate them." Shaxx gestured to the Warlock. "I've allowed her to pick the scenario."

"You'll be fighting your first match in the Rumble Pit," his mentor stated. "All alone, free-for-all, fight till there is a winner or time runs out. Top score, and you're rid of me."

Ralis said nothing to her and just nodded. "When does it begin?" he asked Shaxx.

"Soon."

The Crucible Master wasn't wrong. It wasn't long before the roster of combatants filled up for the arena designated as 'Bannerfall.' The names were displayed at one of the terminals Shaxx's desk:

-Ralis Beckard.
-Jec Landers
-Zakhar Delov
-Iris-9
-Qiu Yuán
-Crimson-14

Shortly after the system had randomly selected the combatants, Ralis had a ping on his personal I.D. with a message not be late. It contained coordinates to the arena and a countdown timer.

His mentor studied the list of names for a moment and chuckled. "Oh this is just too good. Isn't Landers in line to become another Victor?" She asked Shaxx.

The Titan nodded. "That hunter's got a big mouth. Guess he can back it up though."

The Warlock looked to Ralis. "I'll be watching. Try not to lose too badly."

Ralis didn't like the sound of that. He left without a word, trying to calmly climb up the stairs to hail a shuttle. "This doesn't bode well." The Titan told his Ghost.

"No, no it does not."

"What did she mean by a 'Victor'?

Bishop paused as if reading something. "It appears to be a status given to those Shaxx has deemed worthy of the Crucible bounties. Challenges he issues and rewards greatly when accomplished. In short: they're the best of the best. So he's almost one of them."

Was he set up? His mentor did seem on good terms with Shaxx. Was she a Victor? His anxiety only got worse as the shuttle approached the arena. Ralis recognized it as where he had been sparring. Being familiar with the surroundings was encouraging, but that was drastically outweighed by how severely outmatched he was. Of all the combatants, he was the first to arrive. The others still had less than an hour before the start. Ralis spent most of the wait alone, pacing around Bannerfall trying to calm himself and study the layout. It had been sectioned off in such a way that the arena was symmetrical on both sides, with an open courtyard in the middle and two market districts on opposite sides. Both districts were connected to a building that gave another route towards the courtyard via the bridge in the markets, or the hallway in the back. The buildings looked like areas for storage, holding symbols for factions. One he knew as the New Monarchy. The other he didn't recognize.

"So this whole tower was abandoned? Ralis asked his Ghost.

"Yes, as were many others. During the Twilight Gap, Fallen scaled the outer walls and targeted the Towers along the way first. Many were destroyed and the City hasn't devoted the resources to rebuild them. This particular tower had history, which is partially why they repurposed it for the Crucible."

"Pull it up for me." He read for the remainder of the wait, learning about the attempted coup attempted by the Concordat to overthrow the Speaker and their defeat by Guardians supporting New Monarchy. Soon the others began to arrive. Most had personal ships fly by and transmatted down, their Ghosts remote piloting the crafts to the Tower hanger.

Ralis took a head count as they arrived. Crimson-14, a Warlock wearing no hue as his namesake. Clad in green robes and a gauntlet that looked to be encased in fire around the arms. Zakhar Delov, a Titan covered in bulky plasteel and relic iron. Similar to his own suit but different in design. The mark he wore was of the Stoneborn. Iris-9, a hunter draped completely in red with a strange seeing lens helmet. She had the air of a deadly Guardian. Qiu Yuán, a warlock wearing black so dark she looked two dimensional at times. The band around her arm marked her as a Thanatonaut. Lastly, Jec Landers. A Hunter sporting flamboyantly bright yellow and blue cloak and armor, reeking of confidence in his stride. His helmet had no visor. In its place was a red circular holographic display. His hands held a rather large hand cannon. They all began to prepare in their own way and Ralis felt horribly inept by comparison. How could he force himself to kill these Guardians like they were the enemy? What had he gotten himself into?

"Well looky here." A voice said. Ralis looked up from his data pad to see Jec standing over him, lines of text and images scrolling by on his helmets display. "A newborn coming to play their first match in the Crucible. But not just any newborn, no. The one that stole a skiff! I hear the Vanguard has high expectations from you."

The man's tone was patronizing. Ralis was in no mood already as it was and decided to ignore the comment, going back to reading.

Jec laughed, "I see, the silent type, eh? It's a shame you won't live up to those expectations today. Not after I'm through with you."

"You see, that's the thing." Ralis said, still not looking away from his reading. "I don't expect much from myself, never have. I don't care what others think either. I'm just here to learn a lesson."

"Oh I'll definitely teach you something."

"Is it how to be an asshole? You're off to a good start."

Jec's mocking demeanor evaporated. "You wanna say that again?"

"I don't need to, I'm sure more than half the people you've met would say it for me."

The hammer of the hunters hand cannon clicked. Ralis looked up to find his hand resting atop the weapon on its holster. "I'm going to enjoy this match much more now."

Bishop transmatted his data pad as he stood up to tower over the hunter. "So am I. It's win-win for me really. You win the match? Congratulations! You managed to beat a newcomer with no experience! You should display that on your crest with pride. If I win, you get humiliated and likely won't become a Victor for a long time." Ralis was prepared to lose and be stuck with his mentor. At least if Jec won, it'd be bitter sweet now.

Jec scoffed at the notion of Ralis winning and turned, his cloak whipping behind him as he stormed off. Not only was Ralis outclassed, the most skilled Guardian in the match now wanted to tear his head off. Today was just getting better and better. The countdown timer was at two minutes. The Titan tried to shake off the nerves, but he felt ominous about how this match was about to go. In Rumble, six Guardians were pitted against each other in a battle royal. It ended when someone reached twenty-five hundred points, or when the time ran out. Each kill was worth one hundred points that various factors of performance would add bonuses to. Thinking about actually killing people and being awarded arbitrary points for the task was something he still was struggling to process and time was running out. Everyone assembled in the courtyard, Ghosts out and ready to transmat.

Lord Shaxx's voice sounded in their helmets. "Prepare yourselves, Guardians! Rumble starts in ten seconds. Watch your back. No one else will."

The Guardians all readied their weapons and waited to be transmatted into their starting points. Ralis took a few deep breaths and put a fresh clip into his Galahad-E. He caught Jec looking over at him. As the two stared each other down through their helmets, the Hunter rose two fingers together with his thumb standing up to mimic a gun and 'shot' him. Before the transmat took them, Ralis could only think of one finger to raise up in return. The sensation of transmatting was still strange. After a few moments, he materialized on one of the bridges in the market districts with the New Monarchy logos and banners. The match had begun.

The tracker immediately picked up movement. Up above to his left on a ledge of a building. The hunter in red, Iris-9, had a scout rifle leveled across the gap into the other market district and opened fire. She didn't notice him behind her. Slowly he rose his rifle and placed the sight center mass but hesitated. Just as he thought he wouldn't be able to do it, she turned to avoid incoming fire and noticed him. She shot and instincts kicked in. The pair traded bullets and he seemed to be landing more shots than her. The Exo leapt into the air and vanished with a bright flash, reappearing almost above him. Ralis tried to compensate for the sudden change but missed the remainder of his magazine. She had drawn a small silenced side arm and began to spray him during her descent. His fall was not far behind.

Darkness.

The Titan sharply inhaled as life flooded into him and he touched back down onto solid ground. The score was listed on the corner of his display hud. Iris-9 was leading at two-hundred and fifty over his zero. It was only the start of the match. Perhaps he could still make an admirable effort to compete. Ralis stepped out onto a ledge and was now at the Concordat market district. There was a ping of red to his left and Ralis turned. Down in the center of the bridge stood Jec, a sniper rifle already on him.

Darkness.

This wasn't going so well. Ralis ground his teeth and ran towards that bridge Jec had been on to get vengeance. This time, he'd approach from behind, coming from the back hallway that led towards to end of the district. The Titan peeked out from the doorway up towards the bridge. Jec was still there, firing a few shots at those that dared enter his line of fire. The hunter turned to face him, lowering his rifle and giving him a wave.

That cocky son of a-

Something beeped on the wall next to him. Suddenly smoke was everywhere. Not just normal smoke though. It felt heavy, like the gas itself was weighing him down and hard to move in. The fumes somehow penetrated his armors filtration system and he began to cough as his lungs burned. There was flash of Light, followed by purple fire engulfing him.

Darkness.

Ralis slammed his fist into a nearby wall. How did he know he was coming to set that trap? It appeared Jec was a Nightstalker. Hunters that managed to touch the void were said to be rare so he knew little about them besides the brief mentions in text. He hit the wall again.

"Calm down, Ral. You can do better than this." Bishop said through his helmet.

He took a few moments to regain his composure. He didn't have the skill to match some of these Guardians. He'd have to fight smarter. He was once again on the New Monarch section, in the cargo room. A ping of red soon showed up above him, on the balcony overlooking the courtyard. Ralis ran outside and Lifted up to meet the threat. Zakhar had his weapon trained on a distant foe and noticed too late as Ralis rose up and pulled the trigger on his Double Nickel. The other Titan's body flew a few feet back, causing his Ghost appeared and tended to the corpse. Ralis had a place on the board now, even if it was last place. Jec had that district on lock down, challenging him was too risky. He'd need to find the others. At that thought his shields flickered. Crimson-14 fired in bursts from the tree at the end of the plaza.

The Titan ducked and switched to his Galahad. Calling forth his Light, he hurled it towards the tree to soften his foe before engaging. As he emerged from cover to return fire, the Light exploded. Crimson was blinded, but so was another foe. Iris-9 emerged from out of thin air, knife in hands as she stumbled from the blast towards his target. Ralis opened up, taking out both Exos in a hail of bullet. Battle fever began to take over, the thrill you get in combat that almost makes you enjoy it. As he ejected the magazine, motion appeared behind him. He darted to the side out of the doorway on the ledge and avoided a spray of energy from a familiar sounding weapon. The Double Nickel found its way into his hands and he waited for his foe to approach. Instead a purple orb of Light landed on the ledge and seemed to implode in on itself before launching towards him.

Darkness.

The match continued on, chaotic and desperate. At worst Ralis took one down with him before being killed, slowly increasing his score. He began to learn quickly how to adapt to the storm of the Crucible, put himself in advantageous positions, mop up or engage others already fighting. Iris and Jec battled for the lead continuously. Jec with insults and taunts, Iris with deadly determination. She wrapped herself up in her Light to hide from his gaze and killed Jec from behind, which Ralis then promptly also did to her. Then he waited for Jec to try and reclaim his bridge. Sure enough, the cocky Hunter came running back. Ralis rushed him, Double Nickel ready to blast the bastard away. Shadows suddenly encompassed his form and he became a blur as Ralis fired. Jec lurched low to the ground and the shot went wide. In an instant the hunter was suddenly at his side with a hand canon leveled at his head.

Darkness.

Ralis was doing better than he started, even caught Jec in some crossfire, but it didn't seemed like enough. The match was drawing to a close with Jec close to victory at twenty-four-hundred points. Iris and Oiu were both tied for second and behind a few hundred points. His own score totaled nineteen-hundred. Engaging the others was where he had gained the most points. It hasn't been enough. Fourth place wasn't bad, but the thought of having to endure Jec after this match, as well as his mentor, made Ralis angry. The caution the others seemed to have before went out the window near the end of the match, recklessly charging and trying to gain as much score as possible. Zakhar surrounded himself in a Ward of Dawn near the tree on the plaza balcony. Ralis stopped trying to shoot down at him and reloaded, but the others seemed to appear at all sides and took the Ward as a challenge. Crimson-14 rushed in and brawled with the Titan, using his fiery Light to create a protective shield like his mentor had. Oiu hurled a large purple orb of Light from her hands. The nova bomb crashed into the Ward and the two negated each other. Iris-9 rushed in, ablaze with Arc Light coursing through her and the knife she had drawn.

Then a strange twang sounded in the distance. A streak of Voidlight soared through the air and struck the tree. Tendrils shot out from the orb and bound the four combatants, draining them of their Light and holding them in place. Slowly the trapped Guardians began to be pulled up in the air towards epicenter of the Light, dangling from the tendrils on the tree. Jec walked towards them, hand canon raised like an executioner making his way towards the gallows. Ralis took cover in the upstairs cargo hallway and fumbled with putting the magazine into his rifle.

"Well, it's been fun. Some of you put up quite a fight!" Jec said cheerfully. "Shame you aren't down here, newborn. I'm not sure if you've learnt your lesson yet."

"Just end it," Oiu said defeated, "You've won."

"Oh no-no-no. I know he can hear me. You hiding newborn?" Jec called out. "Come on out, let's give this match a fitting end, eh?"

The seconds dragged as Ralis thought of what to do. If he did go out to challenge him, the bastard would probably put a bullet between his eyes before the terms were set. The hunter probably just wanted to humiliate him. If he charged out, the outcome would be the same. Ralis would be out in the open, running at an excellent marksmen with nothing but time.

"Damn shame. I thought Titans were fearless." The sound of Jec dumping the hand canons spent shells echoed as he began to load it.

It was now or never. Ralis slung is rifle and sprinted out the doorway. Leaping off the ledge, he Lifted into the air and sought his target. Jec was standing close to the others bound to the tree, turning to see him in the air. The hunter raised his weapon and fired. Ralis let loose the torrent of Light in him and preformed the same maneuver he had done here once before. The Titan shot forward like a missile made of Light, metal, and man. He landed right at the tree, passing over Jec's head and letting loose the unstable Arc Light that consumed him. Those bound to the tree disappeared in his Light while Jec was knocked back from the blast to the floor. With fury, the Titan rose and advanced on him downed opponent who began to stumble to his feet. Shadows surrounded Jec like before and he lurched away from the Titan, but Ralis wasn't letting him get away. The hunter's long flamboyant cloak whipped out in the maneuver and Ralis yanked it. The pull whipped Jec backwards harshly onto the floor. Ralis reached down and grabbed the downed man by the neck, lifting him up and disarming him of his weapon. Jec drew his knife and stabbed, but it bounced off the Titans Light charged armor and almost broke the shield. In response, Ralis slammed the man hard into the metal divider in the middle of the plaza and tightened his grip. The knife clattered to the floor.

"You did teach me something, Jec. I'm in awe of everyone's skill." The hunter struggled and Ralis slammed him against the wall again and threw him towards the railing. "I think you also need to be taught a lesson: humility."

The hunter rose slowly and started to laugh. "Talk all you want, newborn. The others are already back. We'll revive once they kill us, and then I'll win." It was true, the four others were back. All with guns pointed at them from different sides of the plaza. None of them fired.

Iris-9 lowered hers. "Actually, I want to see how this plays out. Kick his ass."

"What!?" Jec yelled.

"Yeah. In all sincerity, from the bottom of my heart," Oiu began as she lowered her weapon too. "Fuck you, Jec."

Zakhar spoke something in Russian with a chuckle.

"This is Rumble!" Jec bellowed, "You don't pick sides!"

"We haven't. We're just going to watch you lose." Iris mocked.

Ralis hadn't noticed it, but the Exo was right. His score was now tied with Jec's. The hunter had no weapon and couldn't hope to compete with a Titan's might. He advanced on the Hunter and grabbed him once more and raised a fist. "I'll try not to enjoy this too much."

"You'll be disqualified for causing unnecessary pain!" Jec stammered. "So do it, slowly break my bones, and cave my skull in. See how fast they end this match."

"I'm not going to do that." Ralis said as he whipped the Hunter around and pushed him towards the edge. He forcefully grabbed Jec by the shoulder and bent the man over the railing.

"What the hell are you doing!?" Jec yelled.

Smack.

The plaza seemed to echo as his open hand connected with the man's armored bottom.

Smack.

Jec struggled "Are you fucking kidding me? This doesn't even hurt!"

Smack.

The others started to laugh.

"I'm better than all you!"

Smack.

"Dammit, I'm not a child!"

"Then stop acting like one." Ralis said calmly.

Smack.

The hunter really started to struggle. "You fucking enjoy this?"

"Yes." Ralis said. Smack. "Because right now, the City is watching this. Watching you." Smack. "Here you are, literally being spanked by a newborn in the Crucible." Smack.

"Stop!" Jec pleaded.

Smack.

"It'll be all over the tower. Maybe once you have a taste of your own medicine, you won't be such an asshole."

Smack.

This continued for a little longer. Between what Ralis had said, and the others laughing, Jec actually started crying soft. "Just stop, please! I'm sorry!"

With that, the Titan raised up his hand into a fist now, aglow with Arc Light to end the match.

"Wait!" Iris called out. Ralis paused and watched as the Exo walked over to Oiu. "Just wanted to say that was well fought." Iris extended her hand to the Warlock. They shook, but a glowing blue orb appeared in between the two and stuck to Oiu's hand. Iris jumped and Blinked away as the flux grenade detonated and scattered Oiu into Light. The tie the two had ceased, and the Exo took third place.

"Now you can end it, Titan." She said casually.

Turning Jec around, Ralis punched the Hunter right in the helmet.


((It's been a while. I managed to get some free time and get another sizable update out. With some luck, i'll be able to get a few more out in a timely manner. As always, enjoy!))