Act V - The Dark Below
Chapter 21 - Crota's End: Bathe in Light
[? | Ascendant Realm | ?]
"Why is it we're always running away from problems we cause!?" Zane cried out, rocket clusters dancing above the narrow corridor, shattering chains and raining void and hardened chitin down atop us while I took the time to run and reload, Thrall scratching at my back as Morbin injected slugs into their weak frames
Dimitri leapt onto the left wall, dashing across it with untold speed, once she was near the doorway her body bound over us, using the momentum to latch onto a chain and fling herself forward without missing a beat, crossing the gap she dove through a narrow slit in two doors that slammed shut behind her, the five of us finally stopping just before a large pitfall as muffled cheering came from within.
"...There!" Ray's voice squeaked through the gap, the doors reopening to reveal the ever-so-smug huntress atop a Hive chest, posing mockingly at our entry
"You may begin you applause for my elegant entry," She boasted, Zane scratching his helmet
"But you dove headfirst into the wall before the doors shut..." His remark earned him an arrow between his legs, causing him to yelp and hide behind me as I held back my laugh for the sake of not wanting to be shot, however, she did point the bow our way, kicking the chest open
"Why me?" I whimpered, her aim lowered as engrams poured from within, having been left by John, otherwise, I had no bloody idea how they even got here and in a Hive chest of all things. Actually, now that I think of it, why did the enemies we fought drop them? I mean, they could be carrying them but it seems like some sort of loot system from a game? "Questions for the Universe left unanswered I suppose," "I'll take that." I snagged me a Legendary alongside some Ascendant Shards and Energy
"Exotic baby, woot!" Dimitri fist-pumped, spinning the shiny object on her finger while all of us jumped back at the large pile of Heavy Ammo Synths piled beside me, Zane's head popping out from underneath
"Huh, suddenly my ammo reserves are miraculously rejuvenated!" He sprouted from the pile, grabbing a bunch for Rika to sigh and digitally store them for later use
"Everyone ready to go?" After a small collection of nods or hums, I led the team down into the pit, landing in some dark water where a corridor piled with bones of God knows how many lining the way forward, the edge of the Oversoul creeping in through the archway. The air grew thick, and my steps felt heavy, he was waiting for us. "They're up ahead."
"Lock and load." Morbin chimed and we stormed into the Oversoul Throne, coming out between two large platforms branching across to an observation room behind us while connected to bridges leading toward the throne itself, but there was no Crota, only that large mass of his very soul residing in the sky like a burning, emerald sun
Hollowed Knights howled at our entry, charging down with swords in-hand, we quickly took charge, our weapons powerful enough to mow down a number of Knights that came barreling from the corners, while ones armed with Boomers and Wizards kept us behind the walls, Dimitri jumped up and over the wall, her arrows exploding from above us.
Taking the right with Reiner and Taka, us three Titans stormed the stairway, knocking the Knight down for Verdict to cave its skull in with only two shells, I spun around, firing buckshot up the steps to dispel the Wizard's shield for a dual shoulder charge to knock it's corpse flying into a nearby wall. Gliding up the stairway I floated around to face the throne, stunning another Knight as its blade missed my forearm, the barrel of Verdict lined to its neck for a clean kill.
"Path's clear!" Taka called me over, having dealt with a Shrieker while the others entered from their side too, in only a short time we had made our foothold on the throne, but I felt it, Crota was watching almost humorously, he wanted us to feel as though we had him, but he's a Knight capable of slaughtering countless Guardians, while we knew his weakness, it didn't make him any less of a threat
"Fancy meeting you here?" Zane joked, the second he entered a barrier temporarily boxed us into a large observation room alongside a crystal similar in size and shape to Crota's soul, was this how he anchored it between worlds? Must be, the room was big enough for a Hive of his supposed size. "I think we stand around the crystal..."
"Then let us prepare," I declared, my eyes drifting to the windows facing the Oversoul, a lingering notion of doubt in my mind. This would be just as it was with Atheon, we're at the end and once it all broke loose there would be no do-overs. But most importantly, no one else will die here, I'll make sure of it
．．． Ｃｏｍｅ Ｃｌｏｓｅｒ．．． Ｗａｒｒｉｏｒ．．． Ｏｆ Ｌｉｇｈｔ．．．．
Steeling my resolve I slowly stepped back and onto the circle, the rest, noticing my action did the same, all standing beside me while facing the Oversoul, a green aura clouded my vision for a moment, but with a quake through the ground followed by a flash of light, the Oversoul's center drummed like a heart, the mass of light expanding to engulf ruins that dotted the pathway.
The ruins came to life, gathering in mass to erect two brass horns either side of the throne, while a large bonfire of cursed flames rose, forming into a demonic visage of eyes and horns facing us directly. From within the fires stepped forth a large Knight, far greater than even a Darkblade, body cursed in constant blue flames with blackish chitin underneath, horns netting the flames into a mane of fire. The Knight stepped forward, planting his Ascendant Blade into the ground, clutching it in both hands as the fires died down, leaving on him at the center of it all, no longer did I feel his gaze in the back of my mind, He was right here.
Crota, Son of Oryx
The walls came down and gunfire flooded the hallways, forcing our team to divide in order to counter the Hive's assault. We knew the plan, grab an Ascendant Sword and bring Crota to his knees by lowering that shield of his, if we could end this quickly we'll not tempt fate, but since when has it ever been on our side? The siblings were with me, Dimitri tethering the doorway to snag a number of Acolytes and two Knights for me and Zane to mow down, her own explosive bow rupturing the Shadowshot into exploding outward in a sea of purple as we ran.
Crota turned his head our way, raising a hand to fire a number of electric volleys that forced us to the curved end of the bridge, hiding behind a wall as Acolytes flanked from the stairs, Cursed Thrall exploding along the length of the bridge thanks to Dimitri. We needed a Swordbearer and fast, otherwise, the Hive would dry up our ammo reserves, and while Zane had plenty of Heavy Ammo that wouldn't matter in the long run if he eventually ran out himself.
"Down here!" I bent over the edge, seeing Taka shove a Knight back before slamming down to disintegrate the group, Reiner shoving a recognizable Knight into the nova of bolts, followed by a hellfire of molten slag spewing from behind as Morbin lowered Lord of Wolves, kicking the sword up into Taka's hands. "Take it, Ceres!" She tossed it, returning to aid in thinning Crota's spawn as my fingers hooked the hilt and pulled it up into my hand again
Zane hid from another chain of bolts, Dimitri silencing a Wizard while throwing a grenade down the steps to hold the line. "Go get 'em, Titan Lady!" With that and an encouraging thumbs up from Dimitri I holstered my rifle and ran out onto the bridge. That got his attention
"Ready, Ghost?" I couldn't contain a nervous smile as I shoved aside a few Thrall, Crota slowly raising his sword to challenge my own, despite the torment he's subjugated me to, he was meeting me on equal footing now. I would happily oblige
"I've got your back, now eyes up, Guardian!" "Right! Hyyyah!"
I dove forward with a downward strike, swords clashed but his continued to fall, stepping forward once I swung back upright, clashing again with a quick twirl to bring my blade down again, finally locking with Crota's as his imposing shadow crept over me, my arm struggling to hold against his weight, but he too was struggling to push me down.
"I can't damage him, not while that shield of his from that Oversoul protects him!" I was relying on the others, and hopefully, Dimitri wouldn't have a problem using a rocket launcher, I know she hated using them but this was necessary
My eyes flashed with fear, something started to overpower my grip, the sudden force of Crota's flames burned into my sockets, burrowing deep into my mind as though his very will was being forced down atop my own. Was this his strength, the raw malice of his soul? I ground my teeth, sparks flew to fan the flames I struggled more and more with each second to resist.
"But I also... I also..." Bowing my head, I felt every fight and encounter with his generals, the resolve I built against Sardon, the uphill battle with Omnigul, the might of my Light against Ir Yût, the feeling of near-death and the memories that came with that harrowing experience. All of this built me a path toward Crota, and I... "I can't afford to lose here!"
*Fwoosh! Boom-Boom-Boom-Boom-Boom!*
Crota lost his footing completely, shield shattering in my eyes from the several kinds of elemental rockets that collided with his back, they did it! Free of his hold I shoved his sword away, slamming mine down over his head, followed by two slashes across his chest while turning, grasping the blade in both arms while the white light bubbled over the edge, the powerful corkscrew motion tore a torrent of energy through his chest, forcing back the Knight-God.
His blade tore into the ground, the other hand firing a few key bolts my way so I blocked, the energy ricocheting as his arms brought his sword down atop mine, creating a large burst of flames to erupt around us. I winced, sliding under his own sword to strike at his knee, spinning around to slice his lower back while a hand grabbed my leg, throwing me quickly back down the bridge.
"Come on, Boss!" Two hands grabbed mine, as I saw the siblings pull me back to my feet before kicking me toward Crota's stomp toward us. "Get back in there!" Doing as she said my sword poised itself, thrusting forward to skate across Crota's
I bent down, hand stopping my slide to dive back with my body low to the floor. Crota swung down with his sword, so I pushed back on my right foot, blade drawn backward before I lunged with a left slant, parrying his blow. Stumbling back I ignited my very own soul, a contrast in our flaming bodies becoming apparent while my own sun-stricken body infected the Ascendant Sword, turning the white energy into a bright golden flame.
The Knight-God lifted his blade, posing the tip downward at my attack, I yelped, having found my attack to deflect off his revitalized shield, but also due to a wave of green flames sprouting forward, throwing me over the edge as the blade shattered, Crota himself returning to his throne to continue his Arc bolt assault on my allies, themselves forced into hiding from multiple sources of attack.
"Get up!" Morbin helped me back up, myself drawing Verdict fast enough to drop a Knight's attempt, Morbin pressed his back to mine, both of us fending off an Ogre that stomped into view. I had lost the sword, but a new Bearer would appear hopefully for us, for now, we regrouped with Reiner and Taka stationed on the stairs, using the pillars as cover against Acolytes and Knights while Taka killed any Cursed Thrall above
"He's planning something!" Reiner snapped, our eyes drawn to his sword raised toward the Oversoul, he said nothing, invoking the light caged in the globe as the Oversoul's circumference expanded several times over, drowning us in a hue of emerald light that threatened to consume us
"EVERYONE SHOOT THE SPHERE!" I cried out as best I could over the roar of the Oversoul. Our bullets and rockets flew through the tainted sky, the light building with unstable radiance with each pull of my trigger. This was all over if we didn't disrupt the energy and fast!
[No-One's POV]
"Huh... talk about the sun falling from the sky...?" Zane blinked, shoving a Knight off the bridge as he looked to his sister, her bow practically shaking in her hands, guess this wasn't what she expected, he couldn't blame her, the sight was amazing and terrifying. And so, he put a hand on her shoulder comfortingly, snapping her out of a stupor. "Come on, Dimi, let's put on a show."
Taking one look at her hands, she bit back the urge to curse at how she trembled like a little girl, and here her brother was still standing as optimistic as he's always been. She had so much more she wanted to see and do by his side, and she'd be damned if she never got to hear about his little secret.
"Alright..." Her body ruptured with Void, though the piercing glare of green diluted it completely. "Ready!" A bow conjured between her fingertips, while a warmth struck her armor, a molten handcannon housed in her brother's hands. He wrapped his right arm around her waist, lining his barrel with the tip of Dimitri's arrowhead, both overclocking their abilities to the max, the light of the Oversoul grew intensely
"Golden-Shadow Flashbang!" The pluck and crack of their Supers tore through the globe at lightspeed, demolishing the spell and leaving Crota and his spawn in a state of shock over the siblings combined attack. Both of them bumped fists. "Pound it."
[Ceres' POV]
Okay, that was too close for my liking, but with that tremendous light show over the Hive continued their assault, my eyes locking to the far right of the throne, seeing a shimmer of orange shamble near the stairway. I took off, Taka following closely while we gunned our way through the Acolytes. I grabbed one and used it as a shield against a blow from the Swordbreaker, the body turned to dust, the barrel of my shotgun poked through with a concussive blast, a grenade lodging itself in its back while I jumped up and over its sword, feet pressed to the bottom of the bridge.
With a flip I brought a heel crashing down, pulverizing the neck while leaving an indent in the helmet. Taka finished it off with another point-blank shot of her grenade launcher, the sword dropping between us as we hid from the gaze of an Ogre. Taking out our CLGs we lobbed them over the wall and heard the cries of agony soon follow.
When we looked the doorways from a tower opened, sending forth a Wizard and several Acolytes, I drew the Ascendant Blade only for a hand to push me back, flicking into a wave. "I can handle them, you play your part."
"... Alright, be safe!" I waved, gliding back onto the bridge while Crota's gaze focused solely on Reiner and Morbin's position, conjuring a spire of cursed flames to cut off their view of him while the Knight-God switched to effectively using Arc blasts to catch them by surprise, luckily I had a decent sprint before he'd notice my arrival
Keep quiet I used my momentum to glide faster, running up the length of a brass horn, diving downward the crash of metal screamed, white sparks flying from Crota's own sword risen to meet mine, head slowly panning back while lifting his off-hand, I reacted, tossing a lesser Hammer of Sol to deflect off his shield, effectively throwing me back onto the ground but I got away from his hand this time. Picking up the hammer I flicked it back into the ether, bringing the Ascendant Sword eye-level to my right cheek, arm folded.
*Clang-Crack*
Once more our blades crossed, locked in a stalemate that broke apart immediately, pushing for the vantage I struck left to his right slant, then back again in succession, both edges scorched the ground with bursts of white-hot sparks, but neither blade made contact, not that mine would with his shield still up.
．．． Ｙｏｕｒ Ｗｉｌｌ．．． Ｉｓ Ｗｅａｋ．．．
I bit back a curse, feeling blood trickle down my right arm, he didn't cut me with the sword, thankfully, but a sudden shock rattled my body, sending me flying backward as I twitched, static snapping across my armor as I stood back up almost immediately. Crota wasn't going to let up, not now.
"I don't care what you say..." I drew the sword low to the ground, my Light lighting an inferno over my body. "I will end 'IT', and I will stop you, so come and stop me!"
Perfectly timing the small distraction, I had lost myself in anger and hadn't realized the several sources of rockets that pelted Crota's shield, shattering his impregnatable defense while making the Knight-God growl uncomfortably. In a roar of flames, my blade swooped down, guarding against his right slant, spinning I drove my sword across to the left, slicing through Crota's chest.
His sword drove up, forcing me back alongside another thrust that I had no choice but to deflect, having superior mass his body moved further so with a large, lumbering swing his sword nearly tore mine from my palm, I swerved out of its path, sliding under his legs with a quick cross slash to his ankles. Pushing back up I held my sword downward, locking it with his for a second before I pushed back far enough to pull my blade up and leave a large gash across his forearm, chitin cracked and burned, making him flinch.
A single slam of the sword and Crota fell to his knee, his Oversoul looked to dim a little from the cuts I had made, despite not being as fatal yet they were directly attacking his soul. Again I slammed my sword down, pushing the Prince back toward his throne, he roared, hand reaching out to grab my arms and throw me against one of the brass horns, I yelped, rolling to narrowly evade his powerful lunge that scorched the ground between us, again I went to deflecting Arc blasts with quick swipes, seeing the bolts strike the ground and even some of his own Hive.
Wincing, I bounced to my feet and quickly stopped a sudden wave of white fire from incinerating my soul, my own golden flames struggling to battle the increasing wave of heat produced by Crota and his blade. I can't lose, if I even get scratched once its over, I won't die, I'll make my own promise. My eyes dilated, anger rose like bile in my throat. No one will ever hurt anyone of my friends again!
My flames grew exceedingly hotter, brushing up against his own. "Grrrrraaaaaahhhhh!" The fire grew so hot my own lungs filled with nothing but embers, my eyes searing with rage. The sparks turned to molten slag that burned into the ground, our blades snaked with cracks of overwhelming energy
*Snap-Ting!*
The world crawled, my own dilated eyes twitched at the sight of my Ascendant Sword, the blade felling away, and only a deep white light filled the void of blue fire. "No... the sword..."
Lights danced in my vision, as blue streaked across my body, however, the hue wasn't as bright as Crota's flaming body, these lights were royal blue, with a streak of green. Zane drew his sword across the length of Crota's sword, diverting the path into landing next to my shoulder, I blinked, still frozen even while Zane countered another swing of the cleaver, he was... deflecting it with just Quickfang? How? How is he?
"Morbin hit him now!" From above, the silver trenchcoat flapped to the push of gravity. Balled in his fist was a large Nova Bomb that went off directly in Crota's face, lilac smoke blanketing the area as a pair of hands lifted me off the ground, pulling me away in time for the mist to clear from a single, enraged slam of Crota's cleaver. "I gotcha back, we both do."
My head lifted off Zane's chest to see his helmet, a thankful smile hidden under my own. "I threw everything but-?" His finger tapped the spot my lips were, setting back on my feet as the world was converted to a bright flash of green and white, Crota had started to envoke his Oversoul.
"We can do this! Everyone strike that Oversoul with every ounce of Light you have left!" Zane cried out, summoning his Golden Gun alongside Morbin's Nova Bomb and Dimitri's Shadowshot
"Guys..." I blinked
"We haven't lost yet ~BURN. MAIM. KILL THEM ALL!~!" Morbin/Krieg bellowed, earning a round of warcries from the others, their Supers or Heavy Weapons at the ready
My smile flooded back over my anger, a Hammer of Sol conjured between my fingers. Without a word an array of lights filled the blinding sky, crashing all and everything against the weight of Crota's soul, the fires replicated and grew, Void pulled it all into a singular point while Arc disrupted the connection between it and Crota. In a blind flash, the Oversoul's size shrunk massively, Crota howling while summoning a number of flaming circles, his brood swarming the throne.
"Find a sword, hurry!" I cried out
"Got one - Gah!" Taka winced from across to our left, under the bridge she held back a Knight's sword with her bare hand, throwing the sword along to Reiner who punched a Thrall, kicked the next then elbowed the third, grabbing the blade between his two fingers, giving it a powerful flick to the sky
"Destroy this guy!" He demanded, now buried between a large collection of Thrall that he had no issue beating to death with just his fists
"Get going!" Zane nudged me ahead, pointing to the enraged Crota that continued to summon pillars of fire to periodically spurt up at random locations, making it harder to stand still on the elevated platforms. Morbin grabbed the sword as I ran, fingers hooked to the wall of the hallway behind us as he threw the blade downward
"Take him down, Red!" As he said this the sword landed between the siblings, both running in a curve, jumping simultaneously with their leg folded even while the Acolytes continued their attacks in desperation to stop them, and my eyes never left them
"Stop him, Boss!" With a sharp 'clang' their shins launched the sword like an arrow, my hand slowly reached back, the speed of the blade dragging me up and around once, using their combined boost I flew even higher than Crota, my body bathed in golden light
．．． Ｉ．．． Ｃａｎｎｏｔ．．． Ｄｉｅ．．．
That was the last he spoke, the rockets colliding with his body even as he tried desperately to block the ceaseless barrage, the shield of his broke down, and my hands held on tightly this time, pouring large amounts of my Light into this attack. The blade cracked apart, the splinters and embers searing a blade of white fire through Crota's center, straight down the middle, the blade made contact with the ground and tore it asunder, Crota's own sword along with it.
A final time, Crota unleashed a deathly howl while falling to his knees, body extinguishing as the cursed flames ate away at his power, the Oversoul too, felt this killing blow, the cracks, and flickers of light tore into the sky, blasting forth the rock and leaving a burning score in the eternal night, Crota, for a final time, looked up at me, my body was ragged and I had to savor every breath I took in, but in that last moment of death, I saw him look back with acknowledgment, his head slowly turned to dust.
Ahead of me, even as the others cheered and the Hive ran, the Oversoul, I watched as the last of its light faded away, the air rose and sank with grace as the remains of the Ascendant Sword crumbed in my hand. Our Light is strong, and it will only continue to grow... but I have to admit, the Sword Logic is pretty powerful.
"It's over..." Does someone sound relived? "Why can't we just go on patrols like normal Guardians, honestly."
"Hehehe, maybe next time, I promise it will be an info grab."
"Deal. Still, we beat a Hive-God, let's see anyone top that." Ghost's voice lifted a little and I took away the rewards left by the once Breaker of Worlds, and strolled to the edge of the throne, looking down at my Raid Team who waved to me, say for Reiner who sat on a wall and waited in silence
"Everyone!" I called their attention, sitting with my legs dangling over the lip, fist raised to the sky. "Let's go home!"
"AND CELEBRATE!"
Hahaha, okay, that was fair, maybe just one drink. On me of course.
[? | Ascendant Realm | ?]
"Thanks to this Sword Logic, that's how you beat Crota?" Dimitri pondered while waving Zane's sword around, himself trying desperately to take it back but her hand kept him at bay. Her head turned to the sword, then swung it a few times, then threw it back to him, hearing the Hunter sigh happily. "The Hive are weeeeird, guess having unlimited power to create all of 'THIS', really isn't as it's cracked up to be."
She was motioning to the Keep we slowly strolled out of, the Hive had all but fled after Crota's defeat so this was a good time to relax and gather our strength, since getting out of The Stills would be a pain if the Hive were waiting for us, hopefully, they got the memo their boss is dead.
"In the end, our Light wasn't enough to stop him alone, without his own Sword Logic we had no viable way in beating him," I laid down the hard truth of the matter, while the bridge ahead of us conjured itself without any hassle. "Hmm, anyway, let's save all the history and briefings for later, I owe you all a drink."
Dimitri happily slung her arm around my neck. "Ahh, you're the bestest Boss I've ever, slash only, had!" Her swaying almost toppled me over, guess I was still a little sore from the fight
Overall, I did it, everyone was - Huh? My eyes were drifting down onto the bridge, and I winced alongside Dimitri who fell with me, the two of us looking back at Zane who had shoved us across the bridge, Hard Luck rang once, startling everyone as another gunshot mingled horribly with his. My blood ran cold.
Zane gasped sharply, a red laser shattered Hard Luck, his prised Handcannon was torn to pieces alongside the entire right arm of his Wolf Pelt, blood flew through the darkened air, but he didn't fall, instead, his left grabbed his rifle and fired back at one of the towers.
"Son of a - Grah!" He bit his tongue as I scrambled to my feet, the rest joining us while Zane and Reiner stood by. "So you were here, heh, this could be bad."
"Zane! A-Are you-" I dared not speak. The attacker sat atop the Keep, a weapon of brass with a red glare fixed to us, while their armor glinted in the twilight sky. No... no-no-no not him. This was some sick game, wasn't it? I was being toyed with over-and-over, now this!?
The hollow chassis that had haunted me for months, an aura of paracausal energy weaving across space with each motion. Revenant twisted Its neck, another build-up of particles and plasma drilling down into the sync plate, causing a disruption in the bridge itself. "That maniac shot the plate!"
"The bridge is dissipating, run!" Taka ordered us, shoving myself forward with the others in-toe, gaps in the platforms forming as the bridge behind us started to vanish from reality, I almost lost my footing along the way as the cracks grew wider. Taka dove off the bridge at the last second, landing in our waiting arms as we scrambled away from the edge, now far enough away from Revenant. "That was... wait, four?"
"Zane! Reiner! You idiots!" Dimitri snapped, rushing to the edge as I did the same, to our horror, the two stood back on the other end, Revenant still taking shots at the two as the echoes of screams and roars howled through the air. The Hive too, no, this can't be happening again! "Get out of there, run!"
~Ehehe, guess we kind of got caught up in the moment, sorry, sis~ Zane's static voice filled my ears, and I smiled, fighting back a few tears
"Come on, you have to use your Light or the towers to cross, don't-"
~You don't think we thought of that before?~ Reiner spoke coldly. ~The only way across is the bridge, and it's not working right now. We're not coming~
What? "No... no, don't you... don't you dare say that!" I growled, my fists trembling at the lip of the bridge, begging for the bridge to form again, but the magic wouldn't activate, nothing was working
Neither spoke up, only flashes of red and white gave us any indication they were still there. "Reiner, Zane, you have to come back with us! You... you can't just stay when we already had plans, you idiots!"
. . .
I was trembling, Morbin's hand holding onto my forearm with a strange amount of care, something I never whiteness, Taka's posture shared his own, and I and Dimitri nearly leapt out in some desperate attempt to reach them. I can't let them go! Not like Harrow, I can't go through that again!
"Dammit, you dummy, please... please don't go!" Dimitri screamed to them, Taka holding her back from going any further, just a single squeeze from Morbin had me falling to my knees, head shaking low. "Zane! Reiner! Come back!"
~Go already, otherwise, the Hive will find you bastards~ Was all Reiner said
~I haven't broken my promise, yet~ Our heads snapped up, despite the gunfire, Zane stood at the edge himself, clutching his bleeding arm while gazing down from afar. If I could just reach him... I could save them, I have to save them. ~Titan Lady, we'll be back shortly, just you wait... after all, we're stronger together!~ He pointed a bloodied index finger our way
~Hmph, hurry up and kill him!~ Reiner cut in, and my tears finally fell, a broken smile on my face. I hated this, I didn't want to leave, I had to...
"Don't make me... I... I can't leave you too..." My words fell from my mouth in a mess of tears, Morbin forcing me to my feet while Taka held onto the almost silent Dimitri, keeping her head close to her chest
~But you're not, so don't worry, and Dimi, you can punch me later, I... know I deserve it~ Zane, even now, joked as Hive Boomers screeched and Wizard funneled into the Keep. ~Guess I'll roll the dice next~ Why does this always happen. Why do we always lose despite the ground we make?
Morbin dragged me out with Taka and Dimitri, neither saying a word as I finally broke, I beat a Hive God and slaughtered his legions, but this... was by far the hardest choice I've made. Leaving those that I could save, just beyond my reach, I wanted to go back but it would do no good, my heart and my head fought over logic and emotions that tore into me, pounding thoughts into my mind like hooks.
I was acting like a child, my hand reaching out as we stumbled toward the rift that would pull us back into our reality. "No, Zane! Reiner!" I finally let out a desperate cry, feeling the muscles in my hand almost tear from how hard my body locked my hand in place. "ZANE!"
I wanted to become the kind of Guardian who would protect everybody. That day... I didn't feel like anything at all.
To Be Continued...
I am a heartless monster, you think I'd let them get through a Raid unscathed? Ha! Still though, loved writing a real match of swords against the Eater of Hope. I hope you also enjoyed, seeya in the next chapter!
Next Chapter: Trust
The Raid was at an end, the Tower and the City know nothing of it yet, not until Zane and Reiner returned. For three whole days, that fleeting hope burned as a lingering spark. Ceres wouldn't lose to sorrow ever again. After all, the enemy of fear... is trust.
A/N: Sadly, they didn't have an ethernet cable to unplug to beat Crota easily.