KILL THEM BACK
"Prepare for transmat," Kain said only a second before he actually did it. Aro felt his ship dip low and his feet dropped onto metal with a loud echo. The other four dropped down behind him just seconds later.
The room they were in was circular, small and dimly lit. Surrounding the group were four large doors. Judging by the items kept close to each door and even the doors themselves, he could guess what or who was waiting for them on the other side.
Erek whistled, obviously impressed. "They've really changed this place up," he muttered.
"What do you know about it?" Kayla asked, doing a final check on her weapons.
"This place? Nothing. This is a completely new addition."
"Gaaaurdians. Welcome…to Prison of Elderzz," Variks' raspy voice echoed all over the chamber. The Vandal sounded excited, almost gleeful, "Due to our recent breakout, the Queen has decided it is time to start to start clearing the trash out of her Prison. Neither she nor I can think of anyone more qualified."
"Who do you keep here in the Prison, Erek?" Crona asked.
Erek barked out a humorless laugh, "Everyone."
"It is time the Queen and her kingdom witnessed the legendary might of the Guardians. You are being watched, children of Light. By me, by her Highness and her subjects. Do not disappoint."
"Ready yourselves," Daniel told them, cocking a Shotgun.
One of doors slowly opened, revealing what looked like hollowed out Servitor. Variks' guttural voice came from it, "Round One. You faced the disgraced. The lost. The FALLEN!"
"Fallen first?" Aro muttered, "House of Wolves, no doubt."
"No one else was dumb enough to attack the Reef," Kain pointed out.
"Your orders are simple. They will try to kill yoooou. Guardians…" Variks's paused to let out another rattling laugh, "KILL THEM BAAAAACK!"
The Servitor flashed and disappeared, leaving only a short tunnel. Aro looked back at the others before entering. The slow walk became a jog and the door opened when they got near. The area housing the Fallen was empty, though doors were in the walls all around. It had the familiar, violet, hazy glow of the Reef but Fallen tech and junk littered the ground.
"Anybody see anything?" Crona asked, gun at the ready.
Aro shook his head, "No, not-" A line of red appeared on his radar, "We've got movement!"
Aro fired purely off instinct. A single, navy blue Dreg crumbled to the ground, missing its head.
Aro released the breath he didn't know he had been holding.
"This is supposed to be training exercise," Crona muttered.
A crackle of static.
"Move!" Aro's warning came too late. A Stealth Vandal jumped at Kayla, striking her full on with its blades. She yelled out in pain and surprise, jumping away so her Ghost could heal any damage. More Stealth Vandals started to appear and attack. More Fallen started to enter the arena from where the first Dreg came out.
The team was forced to scattered. Aro ran at and jumped over a crowd of Fallen, dropping a Scatter grenade into the small group. Once in the ground again, he started to shoot down any survivors. More bladed Vandals were advancing on him, as well as bladed Captains. Aro's Auto roared as he switched from target to target, more focused on keeping them back. When the Auto ran dry, he switched to the Vestian Dynasty he had been giving without reloading the Auto. The unfamiliar weapon was as light weighted as it looked, and felt wild and uncontrollable. But it did its job and more fell with each pull of the trigger, leaving only one Captain.
The Captain kept to its head on charge, stepping over the bodies of its brethren. Aro took aim at its head and fired off the last shot.
The Captain ducked.
The surprise at being hit numbed the pain at first. But the Captain had broken through his defenses and managed to rend him across the chest.
In both pain and panic, Aro sent out a blast of Solar fire, causing the Captain to go reeling back. Aro took the precious few seconds to reload the Auto.
He let loose into the Captain. It's shields dropped and it reeled back again from the force of the bullets. It wasn't enough.
The gun ran empty a second time and the Captain recovered once again. The Fallen charged Aro a second time. This time it was Aro who ducked and sent a force palm into the side of the creature's head. The neck snapped back and the Fallen dropped to the ground mid charge, dying with a faint, wet gurgle.
Aro stopped to catch his breath. He swore, not caring who heard. Everything had happened so fast. The others seemed to be struggling as well. He saw a screaming Fallen Dreg go flying clear across the arena, probably thrown by one of the Titans.
"Have you thought of your strategy yet, Aro? This is getting boring."
Aro nearly jumped at Variks' sudden voice in his comms.
"You know your enemy. You've seen your battlefield. If you want to survive the Vault, take them into account." The transmission cut before Aro could respond.
"Alright," the Warlock muttered, taking in his surroundings. He glided up to one of the upper platforms near the center of the arena. He could see everyone and could tell they really were struggling. Erek had already resorted to using his Arc Blade. Daniel was trying to throw Dregs off of himself.
"The area. No good places for cover. Lots of tunnels and platforms," Aro thought to Kain, "Fallen…Fallen, they…they swarm!" Aro had lost count of the amount of times he had ran out of ammo when he took on a group of them. They took advantage of their massive numbers to overwhelm. Get them together and…
"Everyone, to the center of the arena!"
"Arrgh, get off of me!" Daniel roared at the Fallen hanging onto him, "And kind of busy at the moment!"
"Just do it! I've…I've got a plan," Aro said before running towards the open arena center. Kayla joined him first, followed closely by Erek and Crona. Daniel got there last.
"Kayla, block off that entranceway!" He ordered, pointing to the one behind their back. The Warlock turned around and crossed her arms over her chest. The amount of power the Exo was putting out could be felt in the air as she slowly spread them out. With a yell of exertion, she threw her arms up and a giant wall of fire shot up with them. Most of the Fallen stopped in their tracks and started to run the other way.
"Now?" Erek asked.
Aro dropped to one knee and took aim, "Now, let them come."
The Fallen were dropping like flies and Variks was cheering in their comms.
"Few left, Aro," Kain informed him, "These ones are strong."
Aro slammed his palm to the ground, causing a black sphere to appear near the incoming group of Fallen, using nothing but the sheer force of his will to forcefully draw them together.
Crona leapt forward and slammed down on top of the trapped group. The Fallen scattered in a blast of lightning and Light.
Nothing but Fallen corpses soon littered the arena ground. It was over. Aro dropped to one knee in order to ground his mind before it could start getting away from him. Toland's tricks required more mental interaction with the Void than he was used to. The last thing he needed was to start slipping. Behind him, he heard someone large and heavy drop to the ground with a grunt. Daniel, most likely. Aro smiled at the image.
"I had fun," Crona said, sarcastic and sounding like she was still trying to bring herself down, "You guys had fun? That was fun."
"Oh, shut up," Daniel bit out, sprawled out on the ground just as Aro had imagined him.
"Hey!" came a yell from Erek, followed by loud banging. He had walked back to the entrance and was banging on the door, which refused to open, "Open the damn door, Variks! We won. We're done here."
A few seconds of silence passed before the entire arena filled with guttural, barking laughter.
"What?" Erek yelled, this time at the sky itself, "What's so funny?!"
"Enemies come, Guardians. Thirst for your Light."
Erek's shoulders dropped in shock.
"They are dead," Variks laughed in his guttural, grating tone, "You are not!"
"Not for your lack of trying," Crona muttered as she roughly knocked off dust and ash from Cabal weapon fire.
"So four rounds, one with each race attacking the system, three waves each," Erek's Ghost recalled.
"Then there's all his stupid 'special objectives'," Erek grumbled, readjusting his cloak, "He could've told us to stand under the mines to dismantle them! Kept shooting like an idiot."
Kayla laughed tiredly.
"One more round, Guardians. The final round…awaits." The Vex door slowly slid open.
"Ah and then the fifth final round," Erek's Ghost added, "Of course."
Aro was already walking, "Let's just get this over with."
Vex body parts still littered the arena from Round Three. Unlike before, a giant metal dome had been raised to almost the height of the Vex time gate.
"So, Aro," Kain whispered in his head, "Who do you think is in-"
"Time stalker of the Vex. The Overmind Minotaur!" The done slowly opened, revealing a Vex Minotaur several stories tall, staring at them like a dog stared at meat.
"It's anybody's guess, Kain," Aro whispered back.
"Oh ha ha. Enjoy getting shot at."
Aro threw himself out of the way of an incoming blast. He ran away from the door, using a felled stone pillar as a ramp up to one of the higher walkways.
"Spread out!" He ordered, "It can't focus on all of us at once."
"We've got multiple Vex signatures moving into the area," Kain told everyone.
Aro felt the static before he heard it. He swiveled around and fired, blasting a Goblin to pieces in a shower of metal and white fluid. More were behind the first, appearing on the walkway with him.
A quick thought to his Ghost brought a Shotgun to his hand. Aro ran in close, ducking the Goblin's raised arm and firing. The droid flew off the walkway with a loud whine.
Aro released the first shell and fired at the next one. The gun kicked up higher than expected and the Hobgoblin's head went flying towards the back of the arena. Before the now berserk Vex could start tearing into him, Aro took the butt of his Shotgun and slammed it off the walkway, dropping a grenade after it for good measure.
All of a sudden, the entire walkway exploded and Aro was thrown from his perch. He righted himself in midair so he could land on his feet.
The Overmind Minotaur followed him, Torch Hammer firing energy blasts like it was on full auto. Aro jumped up and glided through the air, touching the ground only to boost himself up. The blasts trailed dangerously close.
A Line Rifle shot suddenly knocked him off balance and the Minotaur's attack hit him dead on. The blast knocked the gun from his hand and made him fall hard onto the sandy center of the arena. He could feel the Vex already advancing on him. Separate the group, then focus on one at a time. That's how they fought. He had been ready for only one Vex. Not this many.
Injuries still healing, Aro sent a wave from his palm, shattering a Goblin Vex before dropping to his knee again. The blood was roaring in his ears so loudly, it drowned out Daniel and Crona yelling his name as the Vex cut him off from them and bore down. It got to the point where he was surrounded by nothing but a sea of red eyes.
Red eyes.
His head started to throb. He screamed and fell over when a Hobgoblin shot a blast clean through his shoulder. The wound itched as Kain began to seal it. He brought his head up only to find himself face to face with a Hobgoblin's Line Rifle.
Wrath(A) holding a pistol to his head.
Aro ducked to the side to avoid a shot through the skull. He swept the legs out from under the robot and kicked it away. The throbbing in his head got even worse.
Wrath(K)'s cold, unnerving gaze locked on him.
The Overmind Minotaur's weapon knocked him several feet. He didn't feel any of it. The pain in his head made it impossible to feel anything else. And it continued to get worse and worse.
Until suddenly, everything stopped.
He felt and heard nothing. No gunshots, no Vex, not even his friends screaming his name.
The universe was silent. Until it filled with a horrible, piercing laugh and a sinister triumphant cry.
"HAHAHAHA! THERE HE IS!"
Then everything fell away.
Crona felt it before she heard it. The amount of power and Light flowing through the air skyrocketed. It felt just like before on the Moon. With Gluttony.
So it could only have one source.
A pillar of fire shot into the air at the center of the Vex arena, incinerating the Vex surrounding it. Even from so far away, waves of heat rolled over her.
"That's Aro, isn't it?" Erek asked quietly. Crona only nodded silently, never taking her eyes off the fire.
When the pillar finally fell, Aro stood at the center. Hunched over, shoulders heaving.
Just like on the Moon, Aro was staring down an enemy many times his size. Focused only on the Minotaur as if no one else was around.
Just like on the Moon, the monster screamed at him.
And just like on the Moon, Aro roared back.
The Warlock brought his hands sharply up, summoning two pillars of fire from under the Minotaur's feet. The giant Vex went teetering backwards, armor already blackened and fell against the back wall behind the time gate. The giant machine pushed itself off of the wall and charged Aro.
Aro's arms waved around, summoning roaring arcing streams of fire out of nothing but air, bringing them to slam into the Overmind Minotaur. The monster staggered and flinched with every hit. When it tried to shoot or step on Aro, the man had already Blinked elsewhere to continue his assault.
Crona doubted he could still be called a man right now. The enraged sounds he was making, the wild way he was fighting; it wasn't like him. He might as well have a different name.
Aro's onslaught continued. The other Vex began ignoring the others and teleporting towards Aro, the Minotaur calling on them. Aro simply twisted around and swing of one arm, nearly half of remaining Vex were destroyed.
The reinforcements that the giant Vex had called served as an adequate distraction. The Minotaur's blast caught Aro full in the head, shattering his helmet. Aro screamed in agony and grabbed his head and neck, the airless vacuum already pulling the oxygen out of his lungs. They could just barely see his eyes. The Radiant Light made him look even like a monster than he sounded. No pupils. Just bright, orange Light with angry wisps of flame jumping out from them.
"He'll die soon," Crona thought grimly, "Then we can pull him out of there and finish the Minotaur."
Then the Warlock did something she had never seen any Warlock or even any Guardian do before. Still helmetless, he scrambled around to face the giant damaged Vex and roared just like before. Only this time, a massive wave of fire blew forth from his mouth, smashing into the Minotaur and forcing it again against the back wall of the Vex Arena. It tried and failed to bring its arms up and block off the wave of fire coming from Aro's mouth.
Daniel recovered from his shock before the rest of them, "NOW! NOW! HIT IT NOW!"
Three Golden Gun shots came from Crona's left, a Nova Bomb from her right and the ground shook with the impact of Daniel and the lightning he carried with him traveled in a wave towards the Minotaur.
The stream of fire stopped. The Overmind Minotaur fell limply back against the wall and started to fall apart piece by piece, leaving only Aro, shoulders heaving and kneeling.
Crona got to him just as he fell backwards into her arms. The man's eyes were bloodshot and small streams of blood flowed from both corners of his mouth. Aro's eyes then fluttered closed and his breathing ceased, his Ghost appearing over his body.
"Victory. Well earned."
Aro trudged down the ramp of his ship, Crona following behind. She had elected to ride back on his ship to monitor him, much to Daniel's annoyance. His steps were clunky, loud and his eyes were tired and sunken. He hadn't spoken to anyone on the way back, despite attempts to talk to him.
Kain told them that Aro had died from going into shock, with the Ghost unable to bring him back down. Multiple vessels, including some in his brain, had ruptured. As far as the Ghost could tell, Aro had no memory of what had happened, which was troubling. He had remembered Gluttony rather well.
Petra and Variks were at the door out of the Hangar. Several Awoken soldiers had stopped what they were doing to whisper among themselves. Crona than remembered that their fight was broadcasted to most likely everyone in the Reef. A lot of people had seen what just happened.
Petra straightened up when they got closer, "Guardians, well. That was…"
Variks burst out in raucous laughter, making Crona flinch and Aro groan softly.
"I knew you would give us a good fight!" The Vandal chirped, still laughing. He hobbled closer to Aro, "At first I doubted. But you…you! You give me hope for this team. Dragon of Light!"
Aro scowled tiredly, "What of what?"
Variks laughed again, "Dragon of Light! I have you looked into your stories, Guardians. Your history. Across all cultures, your ancestors told of a beings with great power with the ability to inspire terror in all that cross it!"
"Plus the whole breathing fire thing," Erek interjected behind him.
Variks leaned even closer, "Now I know, Arochukwu. The Vex feel fear. You have made them afraid. For when they took your friend, they finally crossed you." The Fallen straightened up and started to walk back towards the door, "We will train you. Make you strong, quick! Soon, all your enemies will bow before the Will of the Light."
Variks left, the clanking of his staff echoing down the hall. Petra waited for the sound to quiet before speaking, "Theatrics aside, yes, we all saw what happened. For a lot of soldiers, this was the first time seeing a Guardian in action," she explained, "You five have already become quite the celebrities here."
"What Variks said," Kayla started, a gentle hand on Aro's shoulder, "Was our agreement in doubt?"
"Today was a test of your capabilities. And you more than passed, Guardians. In all my research, I never knew Warlocks could breathe fire."
"Neither did we," Kayla said.
"I still don't know," Aro muttered, talking for the first time in a while.
"And it was more of a scream," Erek finished.
"Whatever it was, Her Majesty is impressed. Your training will start in a few days. Get some rest, Guardians and Her Majesty has allowed you more freedom of the base. Do enjoy yourselves."
Daniel moved forward and nodded, "Thank you, Petra. We'll take our leave now." He put his hands on Aro's shoulders and helped him towards the door, Kayla and Crona behind them.
Erek stayed behind, "More freedom of the base? Why?" He asked, moving closer, "What's her game, Petra?"
The woman sighed and moved him towards the quietest part of the Hangar. "The Council has been expressing their qualms since your arrival and even more since the incident with your friend."
"They're still sticklers for tradition?"
"Naturally," she answered, "The Queen is hoping to use this to get you and your friends in good with the people. The positive reception of you may help change the Council's minds. Of course…your presence both helps and hinders."
"What do you mean?" He asked, crossing his arms.
"The estranged former Prince returning with no loyalty to anyone but the City. Your presence helps influence the minds of the citizens' but the Council look down on your being here."
Erek groaned, "The Council. The Council. It's always the damned Council!"
Petra let out the soft laugh, "The Queen is starting to agree."
The dark haired man sighed, "Thanks, Petra. We'll make sure to impress."
"See that you do," she started to leave, "I want to respect tradition. But we can't be left behind, Erek. Our enemies are getting stronger and the Reef Wars and Twilight Gap shows that we work best together. We can't continue to live in the past."
"Can't the two of you talk later? You need to rest," Daniel said.
"He might be right, Aro," Kayla agreed.
"Look, you said it's important," Aro argued, leaning against a wall out of the main hallway. He hoped he was coming off as capable but now he could barely stand.
"Yeah but-"
"Kayla."
She sighed, hands on her hips. She shook her hand, "Daniel, I'll make it quick."
He frowned and groaned, "Fine." He stalked back towards their room.
"I'll get to the point, Aro. It's Rasputin."
"It always is."
"Aro, I'm serious. He's been…acting strange for some time now. He moves into my mind more often than usual but then he forces himself out. It's weird!"
"Forces himself out?"
"Like he decided to come in but then runs out like someone forced him into my head. I don't understand it. I think it's-"
"Envy," Aro finished.
She looked away, "Yes. I think she's using Rasputin to force herself into my mind and he's trying to fight back."
She laughed bitterly, "Imagine if word got out, Aro. That Warminds can be influenced. Most likely by Exos."
"We never confirmed Envy was an Exo, Kayla."
"Won't stop anyone from blaming us, will it?"
Aro sighed, "You have a point."
She pushed up off the wall, "I'll keep on it. Maybe see what I can find out. You should get some rest. I can feel Danny burning a hole through the wall."
Aro laughed, "You're right. We still on for tomorrow?"
"Oh, uh...nah," Kayla decided, shaking her head, "You should rest for a few more days. I'll see you soon," she said, before disappearing down the hall.
Aro unlocked the door and let it slide half way before slipping in and locking it. Daniel was just getting out of the shower, running a towel through his hair. He paused to look at him, "You finish talking with Kayla?"
"Hmm? Oh! Yeah, yeah. Sure," Aro said, staring at his chest.
Daniel knew the look all too well. He sighed and looked away, trying to keep from smiling, "Go to bed, Aro. Nothing is happening." He took off the towel from his waist and put it over his shoulder, looking around for clean clothes.
" 'Nothing's happening,' he said, getting completely naked," Aro quipped, slowly heading for the bathroom.
"I've got nothing to be ashamed about," Daniel snarked back, "My body's a temple."
"Praised be the Traveler," Aro muttered, letting his hand run across Daniel's soft stomach as he walked past. Daniel flinched from the touch before laughing softly and pushing Aro's hand away.
Aro walked into the bathroom and closed the door, taking a look at himself in the mirror. He was a sight. Dark brown skin taking on an almost sickly pallor. Eyes sunken and bloodshot.
He sighed, "Kain. Was it as bad as everyone says?"
"You blasted the Overmind Minotaur apart."
"The last thing I remember was laughing and someone talking. Saying something to me."
"'There he is'," Kain recalled, "What do you think it meant? Who do you think it was?"
Aro leaned over the sink, "I couldn't begin to guess," he rubbed the side of his head, "Hurts just to think about it."
The Warlock let out another breath and turned on the shower, letting the steaming water wash away the turbulent thoughts in his head.
Sloth slowly walked down the hall, black hood up and head lowered.
He had no orders for the time being. But it left too much time to think. About his sister. His brother in law and his family. His nephew. Zavala. Ikora. Cayde. Crona.
Two Hive Acolytes stalked past him, going the opposite way. Even after this much time, he had to keep himself from striking them down, although he could. But he'd rather not draw attention. Pride was here.
He walked past the open walkway that led to Pride's area. A throne he had fashioned for himself that faced the door. The man was there, sitting in it. Legs stretched out and crossed, and hands clasped together. He didn't have to see Sloth to know he was there.
Even in the pitch black, Sloth could see him moving slightly as well as a dull white reflection. The sitting Herald's shoulders were shaking and the white flash was his teeth. It didn't take long for Sloth to put it all together.
Pride was laughing.
Daniel has a belly. It's canon. Its probably as hard as a rock but still
