A/N: Long time no see guys. Thought I was dead, right? Nah, I've taken a holiday from everything and trying to get my writing mojo back. Can't say updates will be frequent but I haven't abandoned this story yet!
Also, if you see a *hive language, the translation will be near it in order to save you the trouble of scrolling to the bottom page for it!
Lead plum – bullet
Cultus – despicable, worthless, stupid
Lickspittle – insult, a very low person, dishonest, no good
Go to Halifax = a mild oath for "go to hell."
Tarnation – Damnation
Sam hills - euphemism for the devil
Circle of War
"Understanding is not an end, but a beginning from which new truths are born"
CHAPTER NINETEEN –Expiration date.
"To-morrow, and to-morrow, and to-morrow, creeps in this petty pace from day to day" spoke a voice that sounded so familiar and yet so unacquainted stirred Riley from his slumber.
Accompanied by the dull sounds of a whistling engine, the man slowly opened his eyes to embrace a world bathed in a powerful warm light. Golden yellow skies parted by growing fluffy grey clouds were among the first things Riley saw. It took him a few seconds to register what was so familiar about this certain inviting sky.
Venus.
A golden paradise filled with wild and uncharted terrains. Peaks of green and blue hues were creeping up over the horizon signifying the call of a night-time transition. The young man groans, rising from his spot at the back of a jeep, surrounded by duffle bags, two other sleeping men and the cool of a breeze sweeping in through the winded down windows. On a dusty pebbled road, lined with rows of feral overgrown trees and greenery, Riley attempted to decipher what he doing before he awoken.
It didn't take long however for the man to finally recall what was going on. That's right! He was on duty on Venus working with his brother's squad. They had just returned from an expedition in uncharted areas not too long ago too.
He must have fallen asleep as soon as they all piled into the jeep before dusk had come.
"To the last syllable of recorded time—and all our yesterdays have lighted fools" continued the voice catching Riley's attention. At the front of the jeep sat four other occupants, all listening intently to what the voice was saying.
"The way to dusty death. Out, out, brief candle!" the owner of the voice spoke, a tall and confident looking man with short ashen brown hair and deep green eyes that reminded one of springtime ferns. The corners of his mouth were pulled up into this boyish grin that radiated pride and mischief. His grin was what connected the odd pieces in Riley's mind as he recalled instantly that this man was his older brother Zachery. Reaching out, Riley grabbing his brother by the shoulder and caused the man to peel his eyes from the page he had been glued to.
At first there was confusion and his next line of words was lost as he silently evaluated the perplexed look on Riley's face. But his quizzical stare was replaced with glee and he brushed Riley off with a smile and scoff, his eyes buried back to the paragraph he had been reading. Riley slumped back in his position, brows knotted together.
Something at the back of Riley's head was nagging him but the young man couldn't quite put a finger on it. At the same time, he also felt this hollow space in his chest that made his heart flutter uneasily.
"Life's but a walking shadow, a poor player that struts and frets his hour upon the stage. And then is heard no more" Zachery said again, catching Riley's confounded stare. There is an odd glint in Zachery's eyes but the older man did not waver in his tone of voice as he finished the passage. "It is a tale told by an idiot, full of sound and fury—signifying nothing."
The other three men who were awake all made a noise of acknowledgement to his words but the driver, a brute of a man grunted and was clearly not at all following what the man had been saying. He glances up through the rear-view mirror at Zachery with clear confusion written all over his face. Riley knew him as Pete, the heavy lifting man of their squad, strong and reliable but had a nasty quick temper and not at all well-reserved in anything as old as one thousand years ago.
"What the fuck is that, Picasso?"
"Hey, Picasso was a painter you uncultured fuck!" spat a lanky and dark-skinned man named Raj with a heavy foreign accent. The group knew the tanned-skinned man as an insane realist with a horrid habit of correcting everyone's faults. Riley could mildly recall Zachery had once called him a Grammar Nazi only more excessive—whatever that was.
Pete glared hard at him but quickly turned back to the road, growling in protest to his outburst. "Shut it, Raj. No one asked for your opinion."
Raj made a face and was about to berate the man until Zachery's voice cut the tense atmosphere.
"It's a quote from Macbeth by William Shakespeare? Do you not read, Pete?" he said curtly in order to lighten the mood. Still retaining that smirk, the soldier turned his eyes to a dazed Riley and winked playfully.
"Isn't that eons old? How the hell did you even find that?" huffed Pete again.
"At the dig site we just left? It was found in that old hidden chamber with those old human bones" Zachery explained as he turned back to his book, flipping the old worn pages carefully. "You should really take up some reading—could learn a thing or two about the old civilization."
"Who wants to know what happens 100 of years ago?" Pete mutters over his shoulder.
"I do" Riley admits and earns a strange look from Pete to whom he ignores as he scoots closer to Zachery. His brother merely chuckles and lifts the book up to give him a better visual of its crumbled pages. Barely legible, Riley could make out a few faded paragraphs that seemed to speak nothing but poetic nonsense. Well poetry was never his strong suit when it came to English even if he tried to comprehend its crafty scripts. He did admit that poetry was a beautifully written piece however, he just wasn't keen on trying to understand it.
"Oh of course!" Pete sighs. "The bond brothers at it again, sharing hobbies like twins!"
"No need to be jealous" laughs Zachery which only made the other man snort.
"Why would I need to be jealous when you lot of kids are like the six brothers I never had!"
"Pete, please." Cooed another voice, Tigon, the silent passenger to Pete's left at the front. All eyes were on the rather stoic cluster of metal and hard steel. A strange but impressive robotic machine built to assist in the battles ahead. They called him an EXO, an extraordinary product built to progress mankind in their endeavours. There was something uncanny with Tigon's appearance that made Riley's inside stir uncomfortably once again.
Tigon eventually paid the stares no mind as he continued to watch the road ahead, his eyes always scanning for the first signs of trouble as he had been programed to. "I rather call my gun my brother than you."
"What's that, scrapheap?" whirled Pete as he abruptly pulls the jeep to a screeching halt. The motion was so sudden that if Riley had not been clinging to his seat, he would have toppled over into his brother lap. The two front seaters exchanged heated glares to one another sparking a long growing battle the pair had for one another. It wasn't a given that since Tigon had been assigned to their team, that Pete was all over it. At one point, Zachery mused aloud that Pete might have a hatred for things not organic, but that was only his speculation. However, Riley was starting to see some truths to his wild accusation and eventually everyone joined in.
To stop the pair from engaging in another round of heated dispute, Raj reached up and snapped his fingers between the two. Snapping them out of their daze, he pointed ahead, signalling for them to stop their childish games to what was up ahead. The road seemed to end right at the gates of a large fortified complex not a mile away.
"Come on guys, stop fighting. We're almost there." Raj insists with a roll of his eyes. "Let's just go. I could do with a warm bath about now."
Pete makes a noise to acknowledge his words but says nothing as he ignites the engines. With a roll of his eyes, the occupants settle back into complete silence, listening to the jeep roar with life. As they got closer, Pete slowed the Jeep down just as some guards armed with guns and some imposing suits of armour stopped them. One of them remained in the small boom barrier booth to the left, watching them warily as Pete winded his window down.
"Credentials?" spoke one of the guards who intercepted them. The other remained alert and ready to engage them should they attack.
Quickly, Pete handed him a small silver tag fashioned in a necklace around his neck. The guard quickly produced a small scanner that beeped and flashed some lights upon analysing the tag's identification code. Once Pete was cleared, the guard moved on to the other occupants of the jeep until everyone had been scanned and read. He eventually nodded his head and hailed the third guard in the booth to allow them to pass. The dirty red and white boom bar rose with a loud snap and Pete drove through.
As Pete pulled into the complex, Riley took a moment to immerse himself in the familiar atmosphere of their old army bunker. Since their deployment two years ago, the Kempfr brothers had called this old bunker their home. It wasn't most homey kind of place, but it was home nonetheless for the siblings and its residences.
"Home sweet home" Zachery sighs as a small exchange of nods were received.
More than half the tenants residing within the wall were actively still working, running to and from places without so much as a concern of the returnees. Diligently patrolling its boundaries were several small groups of men armed to the teeth with weapons and stoic expressions. The occupants of the jeep slowly but surely begun filtering out into the humid air of the descending day as Pete parked it. By now, large scales of purple, blue and ethereal greens were covering majority of the once bright yellow sky. Darkness casted large shadows, blackening the world around them as they unloaded the jeep of their belongings and quickly hobbled towards a large grey building covered in old ivy vines. Lights from lamp posts begun flickering on, illuminating the way for them.
The guards at the front greeted them with a curt nod, resuming his guard duty without so much as battering an eye. The group shuffled in, sleep deprived and sore from the long journey home.
"It's good to be back" Sighed Zachery as he adjusted the two duffle bags in each arm.
"Yeah? We won't be here for long" grumbled Raj as he shuffled pass the man. "Give it a day and we'll be back out on the field, patrolling sector T11 again."
Zachery gave him one of his famed smirks and shook his head, "you sure you're not related to Pete?"
Raj's response was flipping the finger at him but quickly shoved his hand into his pocket as his eyes locked onto someone approaching the group from down the hallway.
"Captain Kempfr!" bellowed a large gutted man decorated in an ugly crinkled olive coloured suit. Under one arm was a beaten black and green hat whilst the other was dabbing a grey handkerchief across his sweaty bald head. It almost seemed the brisk walk was the root to his sweating but the squad knew that the rather large man would never admit such an outlandish thing. The squad of men rallied up and stood rigidly still as Zachery took a step forward, hand raised to salute Colonel Milford in respect. The rest followed suit, keeping their salutes raised and eyes hardened.
"Sir!" Zachery replied.
"Get your men ready and sorted and meet in the briefing room for further instructions in 30 minutes" hissed the bald colonel with narrowed eyes. He gave them all a once over with his scrawny small eyes then turned on his heels to leave. Once he rounded the corner and was out of sight, the group all sighed in unison.
"30 minutes only?" Pete cried rather dejectedly, "we only just got back!"
"Orders are orders" Rajs grumbles but is quick to come to terms with the sudden arrangements. He figured as much that it wouldn't be long before they were back out there in the heat, doing whatever the colonel wanted them to do. This was pretty much the norm for the small group and as much as they hated it, it was their duty.
"30 minutes tops..." said a husky voice behind the group. Riley turned, eyes locking onto a short raven haired man. With a rather loud yawn, the man, the second last member of their team that had been sleeping at the back of the jeep for the majority of the ride—smiled reassuringly at them. "It's longer than last time, that's for sure."
"Oh please, Francis, 30 minutes is nothing!" snapped the other sleepy male beside him. A slightly chubbier man named Norman who would valiantly defend himself if someone called him fat. Riley recalled minutely the first moment Pete had seen Norman. He outright called the man a fat sack of shit just to rile him up. Norman retaliated with a firm punch to Pete's face and screamed that he wasn't fat but big boned and that it 'ran' in the family. Of course that was shattered when Raj told him rather bluntly, 'No one ran in your family!'
The memory brought a smirk to his face as the two pair of sleepyheads continued to glare at one another, eager to pounce on one another. Zachery noted his rather strange smirk and craned his head to one side, silently questioning him with his eyes. Riley quickly snapped out of his trance and shook his head, mentally telling his brother that it was nothing. Though he was hesitant, Zachery accepted his brother's pitiful eyes and turned back to the brewing argument underway. Before it could reach its peak, Raj stepped in swiping a hand between the two again. For some reason, Raj was on a roll today.
"28 minutes now and it'll just keep deceasing if we don't use it wisely." He muttered then turned on his heels and waltzed down the hallway. "Now unlike you buffoons, that warm shower is calling me."
"He's right" Pete muttered with a bit of resent. As much as he hated to admit it, Raj was correct—for once, in his book. "I'll see you guys in a bit."
With a wave and a few exchange of words, the group dispersed for their rooms, leaving Zachery and Riley to themselves. Zachery gave Riley a charming wink and strolled off down the hallway without a care in the world.
Riley watched him go for a moment and then willed himself to press follow—forgetting the sickening twists in his stomach not too long ago.
"I oughta pump a lead plum into ya, you cultus lickspittle" Dredgen Yor's snarled lowly in the warlock's ear piece as he treaded nonchalantly over a rotting corpse of mangle limbs, skin and bones. Akvar had almost forgotten his channel to the hunter's COMMLINKs was still active and this had brought a rather frighteningly large grin upon the warlock's face. He had not expected Dredgen Yor's voice at all, that day which only put him in a chipper mode.
"Ah, my friend" he replied in an overly fake zealous tone. Something he knew would aggravate the hunter further. "How goes the sightseeing? Found anything interesting on Mars yet?"
"Go to Halifax! You set me up!"
"Now, now, that's not a very nice thing to say" laughed the warlock, drawing one of his handcannons free from its holsters and pulling the trigger. The echo of his gun followed by a bloodcurdling scream unsettled the hunter for a moment. "Accusing me of something so dastardly like that—how could you?"
"What in tarnation was that?" demanded the hunter, suddenly frantic. "What are you doing?"
The warlock's smirk grew an inch larger and he moved forward, disregarding the corpse of tattered bones and robes beneath his boots. Following closely beside him were two large Praetorians and two glowing harpies. His Ghost hovers just above his shoulder, its single eye concentrating on commanding every single unit under its control all at once. Glowing sparks of violent purple and black light, his Ghost manages to summons another horde of Vex from thin air. A small group of armed Goblins and Hobgoblins joined the fray of battle.
"I'm simply exterminating some rodents" the warlock replies, not caring so much as he steps over another dead corpse.
In all honesty he was surprise the hunter was so affected by his betrayal. Was it not evident enough of each other's hostility to one another? The warlock was sure the hunter had more brains than that and was almost disappointed. This betrayal was more than long overdue but a part of him was more than delighted in the fact that he had been the first to strike.
"Hmm, I have to say, the Hive have really constructed some impressive architectures. Such intricate designs—for something so old." Akvar mutters, pausing long enough to inspect an intricately carved piece of pillar.
However his interests were quickly washed away as the screams from the Hive catches his attention and he is turning almost instantly on his heels with his weapon drawn. Two large knights producing jaggedly sharp crafted swords of stone were quick to approach him. The warlock merely sighs as his Ghost springs the Vex into action.
The Harpies were quick to open fire whilst one of the Praetorians steps in to intervene. With a powerful punch, the Praetorians stagger one of the Knights in the face and twisted the sword free from its hands. Two Hobgoblins are quick to fill the space between the two and open fire, beating the Knight back and blowing holes into its chest. It screams and succumbs to its injuries whilst the last Knight is quickly defeated as well by the second Praetorian.
"Don't ya dare—" Dredgen Yor begins, suddenly very aware what the warlock was doing.
"I'm afraid it's already too late, my friend." Replies the warlock and watches as more than a dozen dirty grey Thralls shriek and scramble out from holes between the walls. Shrilling in such high pitched voices, venting their frustration and anger out, the Thralls stormed forward but are met with a powerful punch from one of the Praetorians. With his two guards ploughing through the on-slaughter of Thralls and Hive alike, the warlock calmly descended on deeper into one of many large tunnels made by the unique and ancient race. "Also, consider our alliance officially terminated."
"Why you little—"
"—Goodbye Yor, it's sad to see you go" the warlock weeps; faking his sorrow as he quickly shuts the connection off and allows himself a moment to relax. Finally at peace with himself once more, the warlock pushes forward, gliding down a set of roughly cut stairs to the floor below. He was greeted by the sight of a large spacious room decorated in dusty old chains and black sleek structures reaching the top of the ceiling. In the centre of the room was a large circular platform with a single large levitating crystal. A low hum pulses through the room while lime green light leaks from between the cracks of the stone, inviting the warlock to step closer.
This was what he had been searching for.
A shard of the almighty light—a shard of the Traveller.
Ever since learning the Hive had managed to detain such a powerful shard, the Vex were quite curious of the fragment. However due to the resistance on the Moon, that curiosity was eventually forgotten—another more important scheme was prioritised. Whether it was by fate or Akvar's inquisitiveness or maybe even the greater designs of the Vex—here the warlock was, eager to snatch such a prize away.
He takes several steps forward, his eyes lighting up for a moment but is instantly disappointed when several Hive enter the room from various openings. Their intent was to stop him from stealing their prize possession and that only ticked the warlock off.
"And here I thought they'd just simply let me walk out with it" he sighs with a deep shake of his head.
"Ehm j'harai thuu, leslaj hb drei khalesoi."
*How dare you, Child of the machine.
Akvar glanced up, spotting the source of the voice belonging to Xyor, the Unwed Wizard. As she entered through a side door, the ground shook a moment later, revealing a large and mangy Ogre following in after her. Several other Hive filtered into the room, creeping up from the shadows and surrounding them. Xyor was a majestic and wicked creature adored with rotting bones and flesh of what was once living. She levitated a fraction off the ground, her robes sliding across the stone floors as she greeted the warlock with a low snarl. The warlock frowned, not at all pleased at the sight of the army of Hive.
"There you are, Xyor" he said loudly, watching as his Ghost Sigma was quick to utilize a translation program. When he was given the confirmation that the program was up and running, the warlock continued, "I was beginning to think I'd never see you again."
"Mraidr'leij leslaj, thuu mslala j'si ei'rai."
*Wretched child, you will die here.
"Now, now, that's no way to treat your allies" spoke the warlock condescendingly. He took a step forward that put the entire occupants in the room on edge, earning a satisfied smirk. Oh how he'd love to see the Hive squirm.
"Mi mslala bihaadr ho thuura Lasvedr, jin'huura inirat'dresov thuu ehans!"
*We will feast on your Light, devour everything you have!
The warlock paused and cocked his head to one side, amused. "My Light? That was extinguished long ago."
"Bhhlasae leslaj, thuu harai adr'slala msdre Lasvedr" laughed Xyor, cracking her long clawed fingers and hover inches higher into the air. She was above them now, circling around her swarm of minions before stopping to land besides the Ogre, grazing a hand across its large throbbing head. Akvar grimaced and narrowed his eyes at her. "Oh Lasvedr kihaoa lasdr'drlai bhra drei mh'raka drh bii'j uur'ho haoj thuu, leslaj—eh'ani rlai'odrt."
*Foolish child, you are still with Light
*No light means little for the worms to feed upon and you, child—have plenty.
It was then that a sudden pain bloomed in the warlock's chest and he grunted, collapsing on his knees. Something alien wiggled within him, confirming his suspicions from long ago. Sigma made a strange strangled noise and almost dropped to the floor as well but quickly pushed in a few commands that made the Vex spring into action. All at once, an all-out battle ensured. Almost immediately the Ogre charged for the downed warlock but Sigma had anticipated the movement and fluttered his shell, relaying commands to the Vex.
Promptly, the Praetorians moved to engage the Ogre, blasting purple plasma into its eye and staggering it. The Ogre growled and stumbled back a few inches just as the Harpies followed up with an on slaughter of secondary blasts. Growing irritated with the assault, the Ogre fired off a heated purple ray of void from its eye.
To protect Akvar from the deadly impact, two powerful white and silver Harpies materialized from a cloud of smoke and stood in the way. With their wings outstretched and a shriek, a wall of semi-translucent light was woven together to form an impregnable shield. The Ogre's attack hardly left a scratch as the beam diminished over time. With its eye-beam on recharge, the Vex moved in to finish off the now vulnerable Ogre.
Akvar attempted to collect himself but ended up doubling over again, coughing blood out violently. He could feel it wiggling about inside him, attempting to consume him from the inside out. With bated breath, the warlock wiped the blood from his mouth and glared at the wizard rising into the air to avoid a few stray bullets. Xyor had planned this from the start; he knew the 'gift' he received was too good to be true. He was right to doubt the Hive's total obedience.
They were going to pay.
Akvar would make sure of it.
The wicked twins were at it once again.
Dominating the battlefield with whatever their hands could grasp, Hayden watched from a distance as a huge purple blast of flesh-shredding void tore a Fallen in half. It's once grey suit of armour adorn with the ragged red banners of the Devils was disintegrated into ashes. The wielder of such destructive magic, the warlock Adelia landed perfectly on her feet and laughed obnoxiously aloud as she inspected her handy work. When she spotted the red glare of Hayden's sniper rifle, she turned and waved her arms to grab his attention. The Hayden grimaced, eyeing the overly jolly woman and remained planted firmly in his spot. The pair were high above the dusty canyon, overlooking the world below. At Adelia's side, her twin sister—the titan Tetra was already putting in some work punching the living daylights out of a few disorientated dregs.
The more Hayden observed their destructive dance on the battlefield, abolishing at least two squads of Fallen reinforcements, the more he became expectantly nervous. Even with his consort, Yizuel the Hive Wizard was at his side, there was no denying the small drop of doubt in the pits of his mind. How was he to tackle these two crazy ex-guardians who had a love for battle?
He had thought him a sadist but after witnessing their last 'experiment' on the previous Fallen Captain, the hunter had begun to doubt himself.
If he ever were to take the two head on, he was convinced he would fail miserably. He would have a better chance doing it when they were separated and unaware. As the cogs and gears in his mind continued to whirl with several ideas, Yizuel grew restless and stroked his shoulders. The hunter glanced up, adjusting his footing and realized he had been sitting in the same spot for too long, without allowing blood to circulate through his legs.
He gave her a wary but curious tilt of his head.
She muttered something under her breath but then pointed with one slender long talon towards the battlefield. Hayden followed her gaze over to the mayhem and paused when the wizard urged him to look further beyond the blooded scene. So he raised his eyes an inch more and spotted in the sky, yards away—three large aircrafts accelerating their way.
With the red Banner of the Devils flapping wildly in the wind, Hayden quickly pressed a button on his helmet to establish an open channel between his comrades through their COMMs.
"Heads up, three more Skiffs heading your way."
"Oooh, more play things!" came Adelia's gleeful reply. Down below the hunter spotted the warlock already skipping casually towards an injured dreg attempting to crawl away. He flinched when she practically stepped all over his broken legs and knelt down on his back, producing a Fallen Shock Dagger.
"What's the ETA on them?" Tetra deadpanned, briskly hurling the corpse of a dreg into a stunned Vandal.
Hayden forced his eyes away from the gruesome scene and up at the incoming wave of ships. Quickly he estimated the proximity and climbed to a stand, holstering his sniper rifle over his shoulders and surveying his surroundings.
"Less than three minutes" he replied and nodded to Yizuel who was crackling her clawed hands eagerly for battle. This time the pair decided to engage in the fun. With a firm nod of his head, the hunter scurried higher for another vantage point. They would intercept the Skiffs first. "We'll strike them from above."
"Sounds good, Hivie!" Adelia chirps delightedly.
"Watch our backs too, Hayden."
"Loud and clear" The hunter assured as he jumped from one point to the next. As he timed each of his jumps and footing, his ears buzzed with a strange static noise. The noise caught the hunter by surprise and he almost lost his balance had Yizuel not reached out to steady him.
Thanking the wizard profusely, Hayden allowed his Ghost to intercept the static message forcing its way into his receivers.
"It's a message…from Dredgen Yor" his Ghost confirms, already bringing up the menu in his HUD.
"Open it" came his immediate reply as he continued to scale the rocky cliff.
"An audio message—only a couple of seconds long?" replied his Ghost and played the recorded message a second later.
At first there was a crumble of noises as if someone was fidgeting with the recording then Dredgen Yor's voice broke through the silence, loud and alert.
"Hayden, listen to me" he howls, speaking in the native tongue of the Hive. The sudden transition from languages perplexed the Hunter as he halted in his tracks, retracting his arm from the ledge he was gripping on. His eyes landed to Yizuel who was listening intently to the message in silence. A moment later, in between Dredgen Yor's winded gasps, the pair could make out the disturbing sounds of gunfire and an almost robotic screech.
Was that…the Vex? "Akvar has betrayed us. He has gone to the Moon. Don't let them live."
The audio was quickly followed by a loud explosion and then an abrupt silence. The pair froze in their spot, Hayden's mouth dropping open. Instantly his eyes diverted from Yizuel's towards the approaching Skiffs and then the twins below them. His eyes finally locked onto the wizard's and he could see the wicked flames of anger exploding in her eyes. She pulled her lips back, revealing jagged sharp teeth and a ferocious snarl escaped her throat.
Hayden felt his blood run cold but was quickly returned his consort's sentiment. Mirroring his consort's expression, Hayden released the ledge he had been clinging onto and dropped to the canyon below. A second later, Yizuel followed and the pair landed smoothly to the ground in a shallow stream.
By now, the Fallen's Skiffs were above them and deploying its reinforcements to the ground. Several full units of Fallen led by a Servitor and Captain each landed in the space between the guardians. Adelia twirled, alarmed to see Hayden and Yizuel joining them. But the shock only lasted a second as she dropped to a roll to dodge an incoming swipe from a stealth vandal. Tetra had relinquished a dead dreg in her hands and was already drawing her gun, shooting down a row of charging Fallen with her pulse rifle.
"C'slala!" shrieked Yizuel as a surge of Arc light coursed through her palms towards Tetra.
*Kill!
The titan however had managed to evade the attack by rolling right. She craned her head over, a look of disbelief hidden beneath her dark green helmet. Not too far from her, Adelia had seen the attack with the corner of her eyes as she swiped a concentrated kick into a Captain's sides—sending him sprawling across the ground not too far. However the warlock had no time to react to the assault as a shank rose above her, showering her with bullets which she barely dodged.
"What are you doing?!" Tetra's usual calm deposition was rattled by Yizuel's frontal attack.
Hayden however reinforced Yizuel's actions by drawing his auto-rifle and pressing down on the trigger. Tetra darted right, shoving an approaching vandal into the relentless rain of bullets to shield her. When the clip was emptied all into the poor vandal, Tetra was immediately drawing her pulse rifle against Hayden, tapping the trigger as three consecutive burst of blue plasma bullets soared at them. Yizuel slinked behind a large tree whilst Hayden jumped left—both dodging the bullets with relative ease.
By now, Adelia had stomped a squad of Fallen and was moving to aid her sister until Hayden flanked left, sparking Arc light from his body. Two of his hunting knives found his hands and he was skipping over to her, slashing Fallen out of his way to reach her. Adelia spun around and ducked under his first swipe, then slammed a flaming palm of Solar magic into his chest and sent him rearing backwards. As he skidded to a halt, Hayden grimaced and had briefly forgotten about Adelia's excellent talents.
If there was one thing Hayden had forgotten, it was the fact that the warlock was one of the few rare gifted guardians to be ample enough to wield two types of light. Solar and Void. It was a shame however that the female warlock wouldn't be able to pass on her teachings to another guardian. The twins would die here, Hayden swore upon his blades and the Hive craved revenge would be completed.
"You little shits!" Adelia screamed, whipping up a storm of Solar Light into the palms of her hands.
One by one she hurled it at the Hunter who danced around each flame frantically. As he approached her, he shot out a pulse of Arc that travelled along the ground towards her. She jumped into the air to evade and he followed, closing the distances swiftly. His blade came up to meet her tender stomach just as she brought her arm up to block it. The impact of their touch sent tremors of light in the air and exploded, launching them back. Adelia screamed as she was sent hurling backwards into a prickly bush. Hayden landed into a Servitor's head and quickly scrambled to impale his blade into its hard surfaces. It squealed in pain and attempted to slam Hayden into a wall, however the hunter was nimble enough to slip away.
As he got to his feet, he spotted the warlock climbing back to a stand with a hiss. Blood oozed out from the wound in her arm where his blade had cut deeply into. She glared at him, her eyes filled with a menacing glint he was mirroring only a few minutes ago. She wanted blood and he could tell as she hunched forward, her head angled to one side. With a growl, the warlock tore a strip of cloth from her robes and fastened a quick bandage to stem the bleeding. Once done, she drew her shotgun out and blew the head of a dreg off as it attempted to sneak up on her.
The hunter reacted with indifference and drew his own gun, ready to meet hers.
At first, the Fallen found it odd how the guardians were pitted against one another but were quick to recover as they took advantage of the situation. Quickly they stormed forward, attempting to pick at any openings the guardians had.
There was a sudden scream that made Hayden's head turn. Turning in time, Hayden witnessed Yizuel crashing to the ground as sparks of Arc light shot up to the sky. Immediately he attempted to run to her side but was met with a solid kick to the head that sent him rolling in the dust. As he recovered from the blow, Adelia pounced at him and unloaded a round from her shotgun. Hayden hastily scrambled out of the way and retaliated with a spray of bullets from his own auto rifle. The warlock was quick as well and dropped behind a conveniently placed boulder to the right. When he stopped, she rounded the corner and attempted to ignite him with a blast of Solar fire. The blow hit him in the shoulder and he was thrown off his own feet as she followed up with a shot from her shotgun. The hunter shifted right, scrambling to stand as the pellets of bullets missed his head and snagged his cloak instead.
Staring down the warlock with a harden glare, Hayden patting out the flames where her blow had scorched his armour lightly.
It seemed Adelia wasn't an easy target as he had assumed and that only made things more troublesome. Hayden eventually spotted Yizuel hovering back into the air and pelting Tetra with blast of dark magic. For a second he was concerned for the wizard but relief filled him upon seeing her recover easily. Suddenly, a Captain's Shrapnel launcher blasted the ground between the hunter and warlock. The pair leapt back just out of reach from the blast radius but quickly united with each other for another exchange of attacks.
Sometime during the skirmish against the twins and the Fallen, Hayden had returned to Yizuel's side and was back to back with the wizard. Both were panting heavily, having sustained injuries from the fight and were severely low on stamina. It wouldn't be too long until one of them would slip fatally and that was the least outcome they agreed upon.
"We have to end this…" Hayden muttered as he drew his weapon at the ready. Behind him, Yizuel made a noise to agree and he craned his head over his shoulders. "What should we do?"
Again the Wizard made a strange noise, deciding on their next course of action. But before she could come to a conclusion, the pair leapt out of the way from a blast of Solar light. Adelia advanced through the thick of dead Fallen she had burned but was stopped. A large Servitor rammed into her sides, throwing the warlock off course.
Nearest to Hayden, Tetra sent a shockwave of Arc light that struck him in the legs. He yelped in pain and dropped to the floor, holding the spot where it stung. Yizuel was at his side almost immediately and she growled harshly at Tetra, rising to meet the titan. She pressed the titan, tossing bolts of Arc and poisonous black smogs that suffocated everything it touched. Tetra smoothly jumped out of the way, throwing a grenade at the Wizard. With a loud bang, Yizuel was left temporarily blinded as the flashbang stunned her.
Hayden climbed to his feet and threw his hunting knife at Tetra, delaying her advancement on the staggering Wizard. Quickly he pitched his own grenade at the titan, watching as it hit the ground and sent small Arc laced projectiles honing into the titan. Tetra weaved out of the way but was hit in the arm by one stray piece, causing her to hiss.
At that moment, Hayden came at her, kicking her in the chest. She was thrown back and he un-holstered another hidden knife from his boot. In with swift motion he slashed at her as she attempted to catch his wrist. However he managed to slice her fingers off and she screamed in pain. Blood gushed out from her wound and Hayden then delivered a fatal blow to her neck which froze the titan into place. A fountain of warm crimson blood splashed to the floor as she gasped and clutched her neck. Stumbling back, her knees caved in and she plummeted to the ground, wheezing desperately for respite.
Hayden watched with twisted satisfaction as Tetra clung to life, her surprise replaced with a seething anger at the last moment. As the last of her breaths caught up with her and she begun spewing blood from her lips, Hayden heard Adelia scream from behind him. Eventually the light in Tetra's eyes faded and her breathing ceased, signifying her end. It was a pity that things had turned out this way but the hunter knew that their alliance was never meant to be.
Turning around to finish off the last twin, Hayden was shocked to see Yizuel's body launching into him, causing the Hunter to topple over.
"I'll fucken murder you, you piece of shit trash!" Adelia shrieked as she launched at them.
A large flaming ball of Solar light rushed up to meet them. The pair managed to spring out of the way but Yizuel was struck once again by Adelia's spinning kick. Hayden attempted to return the favour but received a solid punch in the head that knocked him over. Ignoring the downed wizard, the warlock stormed the hunter, her posture screaming warning bells. Getting to his feet rather shakily, the hunter was saved as a Fallen Captain leapt into action between them.
Adelia was taken by surprise by the Captain's shrapnel blast from his large cannon that sent her into a patch of grass with a shrilling scream. She gripped her left arm that had taken the full brute force of the explosive bullet; hot flames burning her armour and melting through her flesh. Adelia attempted to pat the fire out but only screamed in agony further as she rolled about.
Hayden too was thrown back off his feet not too far away but was otherwise undamaged directly from the blast. Yizuel was quick to appear at his side, helping him up as Fallen Stealth Vandals dropped in, rushing them from all sides. Yizuel kept the Fallen at bay with a cloud of poisonous smoke as Hayden collected himself. Surveying his surroundings quickly, Hayden spotted the twin's Ghost, Cortes sneakily reviving the fallen Titan. If there was one good thing about the twins was that they both shared a single Ghost. Cortes, a cowardly little entity had attempted to do her job without their knowledge but the hunter was smart and observant. If Adelia wasn't there directly to shield the Ghost, than their last resort and immortality were good as dead.
Hayden felt his adrenaline rush back up and his heart beating rapidly in his ear as he sprinted towards the Ghost with an elated expression.
He would end this, once and for all!
"No!" Adelia screamed, attempting to intercept him but was slashed by a shock blade from behind.
She screamed, shaking the cut off and kicking the Stealth Vandal in the face. But by the time she turned to stop the hunter, it was already too late. Hayden had nabbed the Ghost from the air, clenching it tightly in his hand and smirking smugly at the warlock. Anger flared in the warlock's face as she channelled magic into her palms but before she could release hell at the Hive affiliated man, Hayden had taken his hunting blade and stabbed the Ghost. The Ghost screamed a final time, its eye blinking rapidly as the blade penetrated its delicate body. Slice in half, Hayden scattered its piece to the ground like ashes, smirking pleasantly at his achievements. Adelia paled as she collapsed to the ground, her only hope for reviving her sister now extinguished.
"Hayden, mi kuuadr vh!" Yizuel suddenly screamed as she pointed to the sky. Several more Skiffs had arrived and were already dropping more Fallen. It seemed like the Devils were not content with their actions and in order to ensure their victory, an army was called in. Feeling like they would be overrun at this rate, Hayden nodded his head and turned.
*Hayden, we must go!
"You won't get away with this, you fuckers!" Adelia cursed, followed by a string of colour swears that Hayden had a hard time keeping up with.
With a final look over his shoulder at the now barely standing warlock, Hayden bid her farewell with a mocking bow he knew would throw her into another violent fit of rage. But as much as he loved to watch the warlock continued to scream and give chase after him, the hunter was more eager to escape. Besides, Adelia was without her Ghost, alone, surrounded by the Fallen and injured. There was no escaping her evitable fate.
He was simply doing her justice by not ending her himself.
As he scaled over a large cluster of rock, the last Hayden heard of the warlock was an anguish fuming scream.
A/N: I realized I can reply to reviews directly! Guess I'll do that and only put footnotes for guest reviews here next chapter!
DinoGuy2000 – This chapter pretty much sums up their broken alliance, haha! Thanks a lot, but it's not over! Khallis can still spread the news, once she's scot-free from danger!
Countess of Monleigh – Hahaha! Khallis an old football? That's an interesting way to put it! Oh, you have an idea who picked up our little warlock huh? Now I wonder who you think it is! We shall see!
DeltaAgent – Hey, hey! The guardians have been stomping Akvar's poor little Vex, the Fallen and the Hive! They're bad too! Hopefully things have clarified for you in this chapter!
Some fan – thanks so much for the reviews! Glad you're enjoying the read!
Maria – I tried with the cowboy lingo! Had to read up on it but I'm not proud of how it sounds in my head! Evan is a good friend's OC that I adore! He's so much fun to write so I can't take any credit for his creation!
Bladed Raptor – Raptorrrrr! You're not the only one late to review things! Things are good! I know you're busy, hopefully you're doing well too! Riley's sanity will be questionable after all of this! I hope I can portray him right! Glad you like Dredgen Yor's nifty cowboy habits! I wanted to give him a bit more depth! Who do you think saved Khallis? I'm pretty much very curious on everyone's thoughts! Thank you! See you soon, hopefully!
CT-Jesse – thank you!