Challenge Accepted
"Maybe he's just waiting for the right competition, sir. Perhaps you should make a more... direct request."
The words, spoken by Titan Claney Beamard on his way to the Hall of Guardians had rung in Lord Shaxx's ears for a while now. The Crucible Handler had long been trying to get his former brother-in-arms Commander Zavala to take on other Guardians in the Crucible, to show the newer generation how the real legends handled their business. Zavala had turned him down every time. Claney had said the words in an off-hand manner as he passed by, but the seeds had found fertile ground and grown roots.
Of course, Shaxx knew he had to wait for the right moment. There always seemed to be a new crisis, and recent events had not been any different. The Transmission epidemic had hit the Tower and then SIVA has reared its ugly head. Now, however, things were beginning to slow. The Devil Splicers were being pushed back into whatever hole they had crawled out of. Things were calmer than they had been in a number of years. The time had come to make his move. If he waited much longer, who knew what minion of the Darkness would come crashing through and consume Zavala's attention again. So, Lord Shaxx strode into the Vanguard's war-room and threw down the proverbial gauntlet.
"Shaxx? What can we do for you?" Ikora Rey, Warlock Vanguard greeted him as he entered.
"I've come to speak with Zavala."
The Awoken Titan Vanguard turned his gaze to Shaxx then. At one time, the two men had been as close as brothers. Both trained under the legendary Lord Saladin, former Titan Vanguard and last of the fabled Iron Lords. Something had split the two, something neither of them would admit to. There was a lot of whispered speculation among the Guardian ranks, with the most popular theory being Shaxx's aggressive action during the Battle of Twilight Gap. Others thought it was related to the Great Disaster, where Shaxx had become the voice of caution while Zavala agreed to the attack. Regardless of the reason, the two men rarely spoke to each other these days.
"Is there some sort of problem?" Zavala asked.
"No," Shaxx replied, "other than the fact that you have continued to turn down my request that you participate in Crucible matches."
"This again?" Zavala shook his head. "I've told you, Shaxx, I'm not going to battle Guardians in the Crucible. It would be a waste of time."
"Yes, you have. And that's why I'm presenting a different challenge," Shaxx told him. "Claney helped give me the idea. I want to challenge you directly. In a private match. The two of us pitted against each other would show them more than you wiping the floor with a group of Guardians could anyway. I want you to fight me, Zavala."
Ikora Rey, quirked an eyebrow in surprise, a response tantamount to anyone else gasping in shock. The Hunter Vanguard, Cayde-6, had a much more verbal reaction.
"Oh my. This Tower finally got interesting."
"You do realize that Claney's latest great idea was to crash his own ship on top of himself?" the Titan Vanguard responded dryly.
"He felt it was the only way to get the job done, and it worked." Shaxx retorted. "That is exactly what I'm doing here. I've wanted to get you into the Crucible for years, to show the new Guardians what they could be capable of if they hone their Light. You've refused every time. So I'm taking matters into my own hands now. You and me, one on one in a private Crucible match."
"I have more important things to do than play childish games, Shaxx."
"Well, actually," Cayde-6 chimed in, "you don't. Not right now anyway. The Guardians have things pretty much handled."
"I don't recall asking for your help, Cayde," Zavala warned.
"That's what's so great about me," the Hunter Vanguard replied. "I don't need to be asked, I just help."
"Especially when not asked," Ikora muttered under her breath, just loud enough for the Exo to hear.
"Ikora, you wound me," Cayde said, clasping his hands to his chest.
"The answer is no," Zavala stated finally. "I would appreciate it if you would not bring this up again."
Shaxx stood staring across the table at the other Titan, his annoyance palpable. His hands clenched into fists, then relaxed. He took in a deep breath as if he was about to say something, and then let it out.
"Fine," he spat eventually, and then turned to leave.
"I'll do it."
Shaxx spun around to see Cayde leaning with one hand on the table, the other twirling a hand-cannon around his index finger. His face was turned three-quarters of the way away from the big man, optics tilted up toward the ceiling as if studying something in the corner. Ikora and Zavala were both openly staring at the Exo.
"What?" Shaxx asked.
"I said," Cayde began, his gaze drifting to look directly at Shaxx's helmet, "I will do it. If the big, blue boy scout here won't, I'll take you on. Provided you let me choose the match type. We could even put a friendly wager on it."
"But I didn't issue the challenge to you," Shaxx intoned as if speaking to a child.
"True, true. But one Vanguard is as good as another, right? I mean, we both hang around in here all day. We're both bald. Sure, I'm a lot better looking than him, but... come on." Cayde gestured as if to indicate that the last statement would be a given regardless of who he was discussing.
Ikora just shook her head at that. Shaxx mulled it over for a moment.
"What match type did you have in mind?" the Titan asked finally.
"Rift."
"Absolutely not."
Cayde feigned a gasp, "Did you hear that, Ikora? Shaxx is afraid of a challenge."
"What did you just say?"
"I said," Cayde leaned forward, laying it on extra thick, "that Lord Shaxx, Crucible Handler, hero of the Battle of Twilight Gap, is afraid. Of me."
"I'm afraid of no one. Least of all you, Cayde," Shaxx gave a derisive snort.
"Prove me wrong then," Cayde continued, pressing his luck.
Shaxx stood silent, so Cayde kept talking. Like he always did.
"If you're worried about who will call the match while you're busy, Eris will do it." He looked past Shaxx to yell in the direction of Crota's Bane, who turned at the sound of her name, "Won't you, Eris?"
"What?" she called back.
"See, she'll do it."
"This is a waste of my time," the Titan shook his head.
"I knew it," Cayde said with a theatrical exhale, "Shaxx is afraid of me. Too scared to accept the challenge. What are Guardians coming to these days, Ikora?"
Shaxx's voice dropped to a register that neither Cayde nor Ikora had ever heard before. "You should be more careful of your words, Hunter. You're on. I'll see you in the Crucible."
The large Titan whirled on his heels and stalked out of the room, shoulders set in determination. Cayde tried to shake of a chill that went up his no-longer existent spine.
"Well, glad that is settled," Cayde-6 remarked.
"You do realize that he is going to kill you, right?" Ikora asked, the ghost of a smile on her lips.
"Oh yeah. Probably a lot," Cayde admitted before regaining his bravado. "But don't worry, I've got a trick or two up my sleeve. I've got this."
…
The match was set for the very next day with Bannerfall as the chosen location. Much to everyone's surprise, Cayde somehow managed to cajole Eris into calling the match. Every single viewer across the system was tuned to witness the unprecedented sight of these two figures battling it out. The two men met briefly before the match was set to begin.
"So, did you think about my other idea?" Cayde asked. "About putting a wager on this?"
"I can't believe I'm even considering this," Shaxx sighed. "What did you want to wager?"
"Oh, I've got a pretty good idea, but I want to keep it a secret for now," Cayde said with a wink.
"Not that you'll win," Shaxx responded. "I accept. I hope you enjoy Crucible clean-up detail, you'll be on it for a while after this."
"Hey, anything to get out of the Tower," came the retort.
The two went their separate ways then to make final preparations. Wagers were coming in from the Tower and the City, with Shaxx the heavy favorite among Titans, Warlocks, and civilians. The Hunters leaned much more heavily toward their representative.
Bannerfall is a location set in one of the many abandoned Towers that used to make up the fortifications of the Last City. This particular Tower was the location of a major battle in the Faction Wars as well, where New Monarchy had finally put an end to Concordant's uprising. It was a map with large, open areas, but also many small corridors that lead through the structure that a Rift runner could use to skirt around defenders.
The countdown began, and the two men transmatted into the arena.
"Team designations are unnecessary in this situation," Eris intoned. "We present to you Lord Shaxx and The Fool."
"You know I can hear you, right, Eris?" Cayde asked.
"Yes," she replied calmly.
"Oh."
"Fight as if your very soul depended on it! Run as if the dark forces of Oryx himself were behind you breathing vile incantations upon your necks!" Eris called out, and the match began.
In Rift, the orb did not appear immediately, giving both sides the opportunity to get in position and battle each other for control of the spawn point. Cayde skulked around the outside edge of the map, cutting through a hallway and approaching the courtyard from the open end. He figured Shaxx would expect him to approach from a direction with more cover. He figured wrong.
A flurry of rounds from a scout rifle slammed home in quick succession, scoring the first kill of the match.
"Lord Shaxx records first blood. The Fool trails," Eris reported.
Cayde dropped back into play just as the first orb materialized. The Hunter Vanguard began to sprint as soon as his feet touched the ground. He heard the report that Shaxx was now the runner and pushed himself to go faster. The respawn zones were directly behind the rifts, so Cayde knew Shaxx would have to take a round-about path to try to score. He hoped the Titan would expect Cayde to try to play defense and that he could catch him off guard by being aggressive.
This time, Cayde guessed right. Shaxx had opted to try to follow the same path Cayde had taken after the initial spawn. It was not a bad idea, but it gave Cayde time to close the gap and take Shaxx down from behind.
"The Fool stops the runner. Darkness descends as the spark is lost. Lord Shaxx still leads due to distance covered as the runner."
That gave Cayde-6 the opportunity to get into position to grab the next spark, but Shaxx stopped him before he was able to detonate. The rest of the match continued much in that same way. The Hunter's speed gave him the advantage over the bigger Titan, so Shaxx seemed to focus more of his energy scoring points by getting kills. Cayde managed several long carries before Shaxx dropped him, which kept the points very close leading up to the final minutes of the match.
Once more the spark spawned, and once more Cayde grabbed it and ran. He sprinted through a doorway and cut through the C control zone, trying to make his way quickly to the rift. Shaxx attempted to go through the upper level of the building and cut him off. Cayde appeared and Shaxx opened fire, scoring several hits. The next shot would score another kill, but Cayde suddenly dropped to his knees, sliding across the floor and causing the final round to sail over his head. He vanished from view, and Shaxx could no longer stop him from reaching his goal.
Detonation. Cayde took the lead with less than a minute left. Shaxx cursed himself for missing and turned to wait for the next spark. He would have to grab it and score a detonation to win.
The big man crouched and waited, keeping an eye out for the Hunter. A red blip crossed through his motion tracker, and he knew Cayde was running to get in position to cut him off. Seconds ticked by and it started to feel like the spark would fail to respawn before time ran out on him. Finally, the spark flashed into existence, and Shaxx scooped it up.
He took a step toward the A control zone, and there was Cayde. Somehow he had made it completely around the map and appeared in the doorway. It was almost impossible, but there was no time to consider that now. Shaxx cut to the right, having to take the more open route.
Shaxx took several steps and jumped. Channeling his Light, he propelled himself forward. Titans were capable of using their Lift ability in quick micro-bursts to push themselves forward at great speeds. The maneuver was colloquially referred to as "Titan Skating". A Titan skilled at this could actually outrun any other Guardian, and Shaxx was very, very good. He was closing rapidly on the rift, painfully aware of the seconds ticking by, when he heard something that filled him with dread. A Golden Gun activation.
Desperation forced Shaxx to push himself harder than he ever had. He would never live down a loss in his Crucible. Especially not to Cayde. He had to make it. He was going to make it.
He did not make it.
Fire bloomed in his chest at a shot from Cayde's Golden Gun tore through him. Shaxx burned away to nothing, the spark dropping to the floor. The timer clicked to zero.
"The Fool... won..."Eris was stunned.
Across the system, jaws hung open in shock while Hunters cheered their Vanguard's victory and the credits they were going to be getting because of it. Shaxx's Ghost resurrected him in the staging area, and Cayde transmatted in next to him.
"Good match," Shaxx grudgingly admitted, holding out his hand. Cayde shook it.
"You too," the Hunter replied. "And now, about our wager."
Shaxx stiffened, letting go of the Hunter's hand.
"Oh, don't worry about it, big man. It won't be too bad, I promise. You know that large field just outside the City?"
"Yes."
"Meet me there tomorrow. I've got a surprise for you."
…
AN
Thanks to Wasitora for the favorite and follow!
If you've seen the new Grimoire cards for the Age of Triumph, this is my interpretation of what leads up to the new Shaxx 1 and 2 cards.
If you enjoy these, be sure to check out my new story that I just started titled Down the Dark Staircase. It takes the ideas presented here in Before the Fall and One Disaster Breeds Another and expands them into a full narrative leading up to the ill-fated Crota Fireteam.
Amberstar of Thunderclan – Thanks. At this point it's been a few weeks and things are better, but every now and again I think I hear him moving around or open a door and expect to see him laying there.
Daydreamer B.A – Yeah, especially after Rise of Iron let us into Saladin's world a little more. Much more personable now whereas his two students are both still restricted in what we've seen from them.
FusRoDerp – I got choked up a little writing it. Not happy to make people cry, but good to know it is evoking a response.
Venture-Man 543 – Glad you enjoyed reading them. "Way better than anything I could ever write!"? Thanks, though I feel you're being too kind.