Chapter 38
"Help's on the way," Torch said.
Not fast enough, Toothless cursed. The headbutt and tailslap combo from the Alpha sent him rolling down the street. He struggled to get back on his feet, only to be interrupted by the General's uppercut, knocking the Fury into a building and burying him in rubble.
Toothless couldn't move, his energy and Light sapped by the Alpha and a wedge being driven into his heart.
Gunfire suddenly erupted, the rata-ta-ta-ta-ta of auto rifles unloading into the Taken leaders, no doubt.
The rocks and concrete on top of him shifted, and an unknown sinuous-like sound followed. "Leave him to me," he heard from the Taken Fury.
"The others will be here soon. Go!" Flapping wings beat and faded.
"RAAAUURGH!" Dmitri cried. A quick thunder paved the way for an explosive blast, blowing the rubble off Toothless' body—and him subsequently into it.
Toothless immediately felt a burden lift, and getting back in the game proved itself much easier.
Outside, on the street, the General and Dmitri were locked in combat, the Titan's fists and legs against the poisoned blade of the Taken. Unfortunately, while one had strength and speed, the other was stronger, faster, and had the longer reach. The General pushed Dmitri back with Hel, the swinging blade traveling close enough that anyone could see the Titan was being toyed with.
Toothless shot a plasma bolt at the Taken, who saw it and dodged. Dmitri took the opportunity and swung an armored fist, wreathed in Arc energy. It connected, launching the General down the street. Dust kicked up behind him as he rolled, covering him when he finally stabilized. In one fluid movement, the General went from uncontrolled movement to a crouch, Willtaker aimed and a finger on its trigger.
Krayt's shield slammed in front of Dmitri, saving him from the shot. The Titan saw Toothless on the rubble. "Stop staring at us and get after the Alpha! Go!"
"We got him covered," Dmitri said. "Go find the Alpha!"
Toothless spread his wings and was gone within four seconds.
"Move!" Krayt yelled, tackling his leader away from an Axion Dart. The tracking projectile detonated though, weakening the Titans' shields. "Where-?"
"Above you!" The air cracked with the formation of a Golden Gun, followed by a trio of thunders and streaks of flaming energy. The shots beat the General away from Dmitri and Krayt, who were still getting up, their heavy armor now betraying them at the worst moments.
The glowing weapon dissipated, but was instantly replaced with a shotgun. The General charged in spite of the storm of bullets, their impacts dealing no damage. He was on them in seconds. A Darkness-infused fist swung for Hurricane, who jumped over the strike and landed behind him, sending a knife into the Taken's back.
Dmitri and Krayt attacked in tandem, meeting the fistfight challenge with reinforced fists. Unfortunately, they were now dealing with an entity that inherited the reflexes of the Hunters; the General weaved between the two, quickly bringing Hurricane back into the fold, dodging punches and knives while giving blows of his own. Krayt grunted at a hit to his chest, and was knocked back by Dmitri's redirected cross.
Arc energy began jumping around the General's body, speeding up with every movement. The lightning coalesced over the Taken's fists, now raising above his head.
The Guardians' eyes widened. "RUN!"
Even though it was only a minute, the difference was frightening. Smoke and fire now perforated holes all over the city, the sky polluted and covered. Flashes of gunfire and energy lanced through the dark clouds, thunder of all forms echoing like a broken chorus.
A ear-shattering roar muted all of it for a few seconds.
Toothless decided getting above the smoke was the best way to find the Alpha, so he ascended. Once he entered the mass of blackened wisps, however, his determination crumbled. Voices entered his head, mocking and challenging him.
In his hesitance, something charged him from below, knocking the air out of him. Whatever it was was still carrying him upward through the clouds. Once they breached, the opponent struck again, this time with a painful headbutt. Toothless knew it had to be the Alpha; there wasn't anything else in the area. The tearing of a surge broke his search, the dangerous beam of sickly energy forcing him to break off.
The Alpha blasted into him again, revealing itself this time. Its skin was charged, pulsing, and its star-bright eyes shone malevolently. "Know that it was you who ended this," it said. In the blink of an eye, it was racing towards the Tower, far faster than Toothless could ever fly.
Why would it head there? What is—Uni! At that realization, Toothless blinked forward, giving his speed a short boost. He did it again and again, chasing after the Alpha, but the Taken Fury had already begun its attack.
A large bolt of energy slammed into the body of the Tower, forming a large hole visible even from this distance. AA fire tracked the Fury, but couldn't counter its speed. A second shot followed, aimed this time through the smoke.
"It's bringing down the Tower!" Torch shouted in fear.
"We can't let it do that, now can we?"
Toothless flew upwards, quickly achieving a bird's-eye view of the Tower plaza. Any Guardians there were already beating off Taken forces, more than likely summoned by the Alpha. He dove, the air screaming his arrival. A duo of Void-infused plasma bolts slammed into the Taken ranks, giving the others an edge.
He noticed the remaining purple wisps flow away from the fight, but before he could act, the Fury pounced. It landed on a Warlock, crushing him, then charged a Huntress, snatching her in its jaws and shaking her before tossing her off the Tower. Another Hunter flourished his Golden Gun and beat back the Alpha with a trio of Solar shots. A light Darkness shot forced him into what little cover there was.
Toothless took his chance and let loose a Nova Bomb, coating the plaza in dangerous energy. While the physical impact wounded the Alpha, the Void Light healed it, and it slunk over the railing and into the Tower. He quickly followed suit, intent on ending the fight here and now.
A Taken blast halted Toothless' run as he passed the stairs, and when he poked his head out, the hall was in flames. Fighting through them, he reached the command center.
The room was chaos. Patches of pale green fire flickered all over, one or two consuming dead bodies. Technicians and frames laid scattered about, Ikora's own body among them, her dying Ghost at her side. Cayde went through Ace of Spades' magazines faster than anyone Toothless had seen before, keeping as much fire as he could on the Alpha. Zavala was pinned against the center window, a heavy paw beginning to crack his chestplate. And lying on the table, feeding the Taken Fury with Void Light, was an unconscious Uni.
Toothless ran towards the hatchling and pulled him off, covering him with his body and wings. The Alpha noticed the interruption and was rewarded with a heavy strike by Zavala. The Titan commander broke free and forced the Taken Fury to the center of the room. A flash of Light brought Ikora to her feet, courtesy of Cayde. Everyone opened fire once more on the dragon, causing it to shout in pain.
A sweep of the wings threw the Guardians back, the force blowing out the windows. "It doesn't matter," it said in a psychotic tone, one that oozed certainty. "You can't stop me."
The screech of another Taken beam flooded in through the windows. Everyone had the same foreboding feeling.
"You can't stop your own end."
"Get out! Jump!"
Toothless held Uni close to his chest and followed after the Vanguard, but was knocked back by the Alpha. Uni fell to the floor in a heap, laying between the Furies. Void flowed once again, and when Toothless moved to the Ahamkara, the Alpha grabbed Uni in its jaws. Toothless froze, afraid of what his rival would do.
A paw pressed on Uni's neck, and Toothless acted. "NOOO!" With a defiant cry, he blinked into the Alpha, knocking Uni out of the way, plasma ready to release. He exhaled with all his might and all his energy with intent to truly burn the dragon into oblivion.
It was the wrong one.
In the face of all reflex and nature, the Alpha, the young Ahamkara still hanging from its mouth, moved its head into Toothless' flame. The fire set Uni alight, burning his scales and feathers to ash. The putrid smell of burning flesh filled the room, the little dragon's body turning black. There were screams or cries of pain, only the roars of fire.
Toothless, to his horror, could not stop himself, no matter how hard he tried. When the flame finally died, he could see the results of his actions: Uni's flesh was gone, leaving behind blackened, crumbling bones. "No," Toothless rasped, "No, no, no." He tried to walk back, but his strength left him, dropping him to the scorched ground.
He couldn't handle it anymore. First 20 and the others, then Hiccup, and now... this. He had just killed an innocent, a hatchling. Toothless' head dropped onto the floor, and he wept. Oh, how he wept. Dragons couldn't make tears, and so the only signs of their suffering were spasms and their voice.
Ever since his resurrection at the hands of Torch and the Traveler, Toothless had been thrust into a never-ending war, one where death was not an obstacle. But upon seeing so many Guardians die for the final time, little questions had popped up, doubting his role in this.
So lost in his mind was Toothless that he didn't feel being picked up. He saw Uni's burnt carcass move farther and farther away as he was taken to the plaza. An armored leg lay still at the edge of his vision. He began to fly, his body limp and his empty eyes staring at the destruction below. A flash and roar, and the Tower was falling, debris crashing towards the ground. He descended through the smoke, ghostly voices mocking and doubting him. They stopped as soon as the Furies returned to free air.
Then the world became dark.
A heavy throw landed Toothless' back against a hard metal beam. He laid there as the pain woke him back up into reality. He was obviously inside something; even with the lack of a visible light source, Toothless could clearly see beams all around him, crossing and connecting with each other. A black orb, dark as the darkest piece of space, was suspended in the center, cradled by the beams. A closer look, and the black surface was a mass of oily tendrils, twitching and pulsing in pure Taken form.
"Now you see what you fight for," a voice echoed. Toothless found the Taken Fury perched across from him. "A machine."
The Taken held something in its grasp, and Toothless recognized it immediately. It was Torch, his shell dark and inactive. "This is what you died to protect." The paw closed, and the Ghost was no more.
Toothless felt some strength leave him. "The Traveler," he breathed.
"Yes. A so-called paragon. A god," it spat. The Taken glared at the core. "I see it for what it is: a deceiver. A robber, and a murderer."
"Like you're any better," Toothless chided, now unsteadily on his feet.
The Alpha snorted, "My Liege leaves the dead to rot in peace; this Traveler keeps them from rest. You died, but I had lived."
A quick plasma bolt shot the Alpha off its perch, stopping whatever it was going to say next. It smacked against a beam before it caught itself, now hovering in midair. Toothless stretched his wings, adrenaline and anger fueling his stiff body. "I live as an Alpha, not a servant."
"Such hypocrisy," the Taken Fury hissed, star-bright eyes burning into Toothless' body. A vicious smile emerged. "No matter. I have done my Liege's Will, and we will meet him together!"
The world above the City shook, and the Traveler flashed dark.
A/N - Two more chapters to go, everyone. And if you're wondering, no, I did not plan for Uni's demise. It was on the spot, but served as a better segue than what I originally had planned. I felt the ending could have been a bit better, but I didn't know how to write it out.
thearizona - Thank you SO much for your review. It got me back on track, and your reaction was what I wrote for it to be.
Guest - Not yet, man. It's just procrastination on my end.
Thank you all for staying with me this far. By the end, I hope to have made this an exciting read.