Chapter 23
Tobias felt his stomach drop after hearing Sheryl's question through the comm line.
"What's a Guardian doing down here?!"
She didn't bother to describe this Guardian, but based on the way she posed the question, Tobias could assume that it was someone besides the raid teams present in the palace. And Tobias had sinking feeling in his gut that he knew this person. The man...no, Tobias wasn't really sure what to call him. But that, person, that he had met below the surface of the Moon, Titus. It had to be him.
"Tobias!" Diana screamed, finally snapping him out of his thoughts. Tobias blinked once before he finally got a grasp on the situation. The Taken Archon they had been fighting loomed over him, its shrapnel launcher poised and ready pelt him with projectiles.
'Crap!' Tobias exclaimed to himself. This was no time to be getting distracted by his thoughts. But it was too late already; there was no way he could move fast enough to escape being hit at point blank range. All he could do was stare down the barrel of this weapon which glowed blue. But a bulky body came to his rescue, tackling him as the Archon fired its weapon.
Tobias was sent tumbling across the floor from this sudden hit, but otherwise he was completely unharmed. With a groan he shook his head a bit before noticing that someone had extended a hand toward him, offering to help him back to his feet. It was Shaxx!
"Did you fall asleep out there Tobias?" Niko hollered as Shaxx pulled him up, but Tobias ignored the slight jab as he set his sights on the Taken Archon.
"There's no time to waste, we have to go back up Zeke's team now!" Tobias declared, surprising all of them.
"I don't know if you've noticed Tobias, but we have our hands full at the moment!" Carmen called out to him as she dove to her left to avoid being hit by the azure projectiles from the Archon's weapon. The six of them had been fighting this Archon for a little while now, making quick work of the Taken forces that had accompanied it. Now it was just a duel between them and the Taken Archon who was proving to be more persistent and durable than any of them would've thought.
Setting his sights on the Archon, Tobias could see that it was struggling to keep up trying to fight six different opponents. It's back was currently turned to him as it fired at Carmen who had gained its full attention. Raising his right hand, Tobias ignited it with Void Light which quickly expanded as he dashed toward the Archon. As he neared the Archon, Tobias jumped at it and thrusted his hand into its back, unleashing a swirling mass of Void Light onto its back. With a yelp Carmen dove out of the way as the Archon was suddenly thrown toward her. She barely escaped being clipped by the Archon as it flew by her, crashing into the wall with a howl of pain.
Once it was back on its feet, the Archon stumbled around for a few moments, clearly shaken from being hit by a Nova Bomb. But the Archon then roared at them as it spun around to face the team.
"We've been hammering this thing for a while now; if we attack all at once, there's no way it'll get back up!" Tobias declared as his hands became ignited with Void Light once again. "Come on, let's finish this!"
Niko quickly took the lead on this attack as he summoned his Void Bow and notched in an arrow. Firing it at the feet of the Archon, the arrow became an anchor on the floor from which a purple rope latched onto the Archon, leaving it as an easy target for everyone else. Struggling to break free from the Tether, the Archon only had a moment to look up to see the full arsenal of a Guardians abilities flying towards it. Everything from flaming hammers to shockwaves of Arc Light. With shouts of approval the Guardians watched as the Archon vanished within a thick cloud of smoke after the impact, forcing them to wait anxiously to see the results.
It didn't take long before the smoke cleared away, revealing to them that throwing out all their attacks at once was clearly overkill with the amount of damage they did to the surrounding corridor. But the Taken Archon was no where to be found. They had succeeded.
"Al-right!" Carmen exclaimed as she gave Niko a high five.
"Come on guys, let's get on the move." Tobias declared as he took the lead.
"Hold on Tobias, what's the rush?" Saladin asked, halting Tobias before he could get too far from the rest of them.
"Didn't you guys hear Sheryl, something's going on down there." Tobias replied as he looked around at the rest of the team who didn't have the urgency that he had at the moment.
"I didn't hear anything." Niko noted.
"Yeah, same here." Diana added.
"But...I definitely heard Sheryl." Tobias trailed off, unsure of if he was just hearing things now. No, he was positive that he had heard Sheryl.
"You didn't hear her Tobias. I replayed that for you to hear." His Ghost stated through a private channel between the two of them. "Her Ghost sent out a distress signal while trying to pull up any information on a rogue Guardian. But the person they're fighting down there matches the description of a certain someone we met in the Moon."
"You think its him?"
"Most definitely. He's back and I have to tell them."
"What, no!" Tobias exclaimed.
"Tobias, I already gave you my one and only warning. The moment he establishes himself as an enemy, I was going to speak to the highest authority. This Titus guy, he's clearly down there attacking the other raid team. I can't sit here any longer and act like I don't know anything." His Ghost declared, causing Tobias to sigh deeply.
"Alright, alright. Just leave this to me." Tobias said softly.
"What exactly are you planning?"
"I'm going to go down there, and if Titus really is an enemy...then I'll take care of him myself." Tobias stated.
"Alright, I'll leave this for you for now. But if things begin to escalate, I'm going to go directly to Lord Saladin and Lord Shaxx." His Ghost replied before closing the private channel between them for Tobias to speak with the rest of the team.
"Tobias?" Diana hollered at him, waving her hands in front of his helmet to finally receive his attention.
"What? What happened?" He asked as he looked around, noticing that everyone was looking at him.
"Are you sure you you're okay? You've zoned out twice in like the last three minutes." She noted, causing him to shake his head.
"Don't worry, I'm fine." Tobias said quickly before stepping toward his teammates. "Axel's Ghost left us the coordinates to the location where they jumped down. I think we should head over there and lock down the entrance."
Tobias had read the reports about Undaunted's missions into the Black Garden and the Hellmouth. The entrances to both of these areas were well protected by their respective inhabitants, requiring that the Guardians station clear out the enemies and station themselves there while Undaunted went in to complete their mission. They would likely have to do the same thing here.
Saladin gave him a nod. Perhaps he was caught up in the past thinking that everyone should handle their own business on their own, or perhaps Ikora's suspicions were weighing on his mind more than he thought.
"While they've done nothing to even suggest that they could be conspiring, I want you to keep a close eye on them." Ikora said as she went over the task she was giving to Saladin and Shaxx. "They're an impressive team, like nothing we've seen in quite some time. This is just a precaution."
"We'll go then." Saladin said as he motioned for them all to get moving.
"Alright, I'm locking in the coordinates now." Tobias' Ghost declared. "I'll guide you there."
"Take us away then!" Niko hollered as the small drone zipped down the corridor.
"Oh my God!" Carmen exclaimed as she and the rest of her teammates found themselves completely pinned down behind several columns. Hundreds of Taken and Hive flooded the corridor that led to the coordinates Axel's Ghost had left them. And being in an enclosed space, it gave them little room to take cover from the onslaught of attacks that they were being pelted with. "It's going to take us forever to get past these guys!"
"That's not all, there's even more of them further down. I don't think their numbers will start dwindling any time soon!" Her Ghost informed them.
"We're close to those coordinates. If we coordinate we can make a push for it and then hold our ground there." Shaxx suggested as he eyed the corridor. Not too far from them he could see the doorway to the chamber that they were searching for. They couldn't back away now. "I'll switch to Defender, but we're going to need more than one Ward of Dawn with how high the enemy count is."
"I'm on it." Tobias declared as he jumped out into the center of the corridor and threw down a protective dome that blocked off the spray of small energy bolts from the Taken. Shaxx then joined him in the bubble, placing his own so that they were now stacking the benefits.
"Diana, take the lead!" Saladin called out as he summoned his hammer, becoming ignited in flames. "I'm right behind you."
"You got it!" She said as she leapt into the air where she curled up as electricity became to crackle around her body. She then thrusted her hands downward, hurling a large lightning bolt at the floor which took a number of the Taken that had gotten to close to them. Diana then descended to the floor with her arms outstretched, chaining lightning outward at surrounding horde. They were blasted away by the dozens as Diana pressed forward with Saladin right behind her, hurling his hammer at any of the remaining foes as they made a hard push forward.
"Great work!" Saladin declared as Diana's Stormtrance came to an end. He quickly dove in front of her to block the return fire from the Taken before a Ward of Dawn was placed over them, shielding them.
"Now it's our turn!" Niko declared as he and Carmen pulled out their tantos. Both of them gained a blue hue as they entered Arc Blade before they darted out of the safety of the Ward of Dawn and into the enemies ahead of them. Charging from one enemy to the next, the two of them tore through the Taken and Hive, cutting them down with their blades and unleashing shockwaves to knock them out in greater numbers.
"Good work, just one more push!" Shaxx called out as Diana and Saladin returned having collected the Orbs that had been left from the Ward of Dawns.
"Leave it to us!" Diana and Saladin said together as Carmen and Niko retreated to the bubbles Tobias and Shaxx had placed together.
Once again Diana and Saladin bombarded the Taken with their combination of the Hammer of Sol and Stormtrance, beating back their forces until the Guardians had gotten to the doorway leading to the chamber that matched the coordinates they received. Tobias and Shaxx each placed a Ward of Dawn down in front of the doorway in an attempt to seal it off from the Taken, but trying to hold their ground in this room didn't seem like a great idea.
"If we get pinned in here its all over!" Shaxx hollered as he emptied a full clip of his machine gun into the Taken that were rapidly closing up around them.
"I'll cut them off completely." Diana declared as her Ghost dropped her Gjallerhorn into her hands. Diana quickly loaded the weapon and them jumped out into the corridor where she took aim at the ceiling. As soon as she pulled the trigger, Diana dove back into the safety of the Ward of Dawns where she could watch as the shell rushed up to the ceiling. They all stumbled a bit as the force of the explosion shook the entire corridor, causing the ceiling to come crashing down.
Just as Diana had planned, the roof caved in, sealing off the corridor from the majority of the Taken forces who had been trying to advance. All they had to do was clean up those that had been on the opposite side which was quick and easy. They had successfully put this area on lock down.
"That should by us some time." Diana said as she stepped into the small chamber now where everyone was peering down into the pit at the center of the room.
"This is it." Tobias' Ghost said to him.
"I'm going in." Tobias stated as he shocked the entire time by jumping over the edge, beginning to descend into the pit.
"Tobias!" Diana shouted as she jumped in after him without the slightest hesitation.
"What are you two doing?!" Saladin hollered before two more figures leaped into the pit in pursuit of Diana and Tobias. Looking up, Saladin only had a moment to spot Shaxx as he got a running start to dive into the pit just like everyone else, leaving the Iron Lord to sigh deeply. He didnt have much of a choice at this point.
"Ghost, have been able to contact anyone?!" Zeke asked sharply as he, Axel and Sheryl stood around Eris, their eyes darting around the room in search of Titus.
"No, this Guardian or whatever it is we're fighting is creating some heavy interference. I can't get through to anyone." His Ghost replied.
"Well damn." Zeke muttered. This situation had already gone from bad to worse. Now it was head from worse to hopeless.
They had been fighting Titus for a fair amount of time now, and he was steadily eliminating their team. He had already consumed Sander, Mira and Archer in the Darkness. Their Ghosts were gone with no hope of ever returning, cutting their raid team in half. The chance of success was becoming minuscule as this fight progressed.
"Is now a bad time to say I love you guys?" Axel asked, catching both Sheryl and Zeke off guard.
"What the heck are you talking about?" Zeke exclaimed.
"It was something I've never told the two of you. I've really come to cherish the time I've spent working with the two of you." Axel continued.
"Axel will you shut it?" Zeke snapped at him. "Talking like that makes it sound like you already gave up."
Axel shook his head a bit at this. Even though it looked like there was no chance of them beating Titus, Zeke was still the same. Ready to fight even though he was in way over his head. And Axel was more than prepared to fight beside this man to his last breath.
"But just for the record, I love you guys too." Zeke said softly as he turned his back to the two of them to check their blind spot.
"Aww, I knew you'd say it!" Axel exclaimed, earning a snort from Zeke. Axel then looked toward Sheryl who had yet to say anything. "Come on Sheryl."
"Yeah, I love you all too." Sheryl muttered under her breath.
"What, I didn't catch that?" Axel said, but before he could attempt to tease Sheryl his radar flashed. Titus was on the offensive again.
"Focus guys." Zeke said as each of them tightened their grip on their weapons, scanning the room for anything that could give away Titus' location. He was too quick and dangerous for them to rely on their radar. It was up their instincts if they were going to fight him.
"6 o'clock!" Sheryl called out after seeing a small splash in the water in front of her. All of them began to spray bullets into that direction, hoping to keep Titus at bay, but they hit nothing but air.
Titus frowned a bit as he observed them from the far wall of the room, completely invisible as he blended in with the darkness. He couldn't understand why these three were trying so hard. Three of their teammates had been killed off already, and Titus was in full control. It was up to him when he wanted to kill them. He could've killed Eris already, but he knew that killing her would bring their mission to an abrupt end. Tobias wouldn't come down here if they couldn't complete this mission.
Their fated showdown was going to take place. All he had to do was be patient. And these three Guardians standing before him would help him pass the time. Titus went on the attack again.
"11 o'clock!" Zeke called out this time causing all three of them to turn and shoot, but Titus was gone already.
"Gah!" Axel shouted as he took a blow to his stomach that threw him across the room. Crashing into the wall, he groaned as he dropped to the floor. That hit really hurt.
"Axel!" Sheryl shouted as she dashed over to him, but she was intercepted by Titus who crashed into her to send her tumbling away. Zeke licked his lips as he held his auto rifle, trying to find Titus but to no avail. As much as he wanted to run out to help his teammates, one of them had to remain with Eris as the last line of defense.
Sheryl quickly got back on her feet, deciding that she would try to match the speed that Titus possessed. Arc Blade would be her answer as she began channeling Arc Light through her body, heightening her senses and increasing her strength. Hopefully this would allow her to compete with Titus. Scanning the room with her improved vision, Sheryl spotted a blur that was raced around the perimeter of the flames, something that they had failed to notice the entire time. That must have been where Titus was hiding.
Titus suddenly burst out, making a beeline toward Axel who was finally back on his feet.
"Oh no you don't!" Sheryl declared as she sprung forward, moving to intercept Titus which she did successfully. Using her tanto to block his forearm, Titus came to a full stop as he stared at her in surprise, although this was hidden by his helmet.
'She was too slow to react before.' He noted as he examined her closely. Sheryl was prepared to attack with her blade from her current position, but Titus' forearm suddenly latched onto her tanto, preventing her from yanking it free. 'I see, she's channeling Arc Light through her body and using all of this frenetic energy to increase her speed and power. Interesting.'
Struggling to pull her tanto away, Sheryl then drew her hand cannon from the holster on her hip and pointed it at Titus, but his reaction was instantaneous. Before she could pull the trigger he was behind her with one hand outstretched which morphed into a length dark saber. As Sheryl began to turn around Titus pierced her torso from behind, putting the blade through her completely.
Sheryl froze, gasping a bit before she looked down to see the black sword protruding from her stomach. And on the tip of the sword was her Ghost who turned black as the Light was drained from it. It then crumbled away as dust, leaving Sheryl completely astonished at how fast all this had taken place. Looking down at the sword, she could a see a black aura beginning to expand outward from it that began to travel through her body. It was over for her…
"Sheryl!" Axel and Zeke roared as Titus removed his arm from her, allowing her body to drop to the ground in a heap.
"That's it, you're going to pay!" Axel declared as he began to draw out a large amount of Arc Light. Thrusting his hands at the floor, Axel unleashed a powerful shockwave that sent ripples through the water of the room as he entered Stormtrance.
'These Guardians, they really are interesting.' Titus noted as he studied how Axel was using Arc Light, using it as a weapon directly compared to Sheryl who had used Arc Light to improve both her weapons and her physical limits. Axel screamed as he went charging at Titus, his arms raised as he discharged numerous lightning bolts from them. In response though, Titus raised the arm which had become a saber and stared at it intently.
Zeke's eyes became wide as Titus gained a blue hue, signature to a Hunter activating Arc Blade! Was Titus seriously using Arc Blade!?
"Axel no!" Zeke shouted, but it was too late. Axel had already gotten within attacking range, and he began to cast his lightning bolts onto Titus. Titus raised his saber, drawing in the electricity which made him glow even brighter before he dashed at Axel. The Exo Warlock didn't even had a chance to react as Titus charged through his attack, deflecting the lightening bolts with his saber so that he could race right past him. Axel stifled a breath before he collapsed to the ground, his upper torso completely severed from his lower body.
Zeke froze as he stared at Titus who had stopped moving after delivering the finishing blow to Axel. He stood with his back turned to Zeke, electricity crackling around him and his saber raised for Zeke to see that Axel's Ghost was on it. The small drone turned black before it crumbled to dust, sending chills through Zeke as it finally sunk in. They weren't coming back.
Zeke roared as he threw his auto rifle at the floor, his rage bubbling over as his world turned red. Titus turned to face Zeke fell to his knees, pounding the floor with his fists which became enflamed. Slamming them onto the floor once more, Zeke became engulfed in fire for a few moments which quickly grew larger as the Titan returned to his feet. Suddenly the flames dispersed, revealing the Titan now had a fiery armor and hammer.
'Excellent!' Titus exclaimed at the sight of Zeke's using the Hammer of Sol. All of them had some tricks up their sleeve. Dashing at Zeke, Titus raised his saber and swung with all his might, but Zeke swung back with his hammer. The two weapons connected with a deafening clang, and to Titus' surprise, he was thrown back by Zeke's attack. Such power!
Spinning in the air, Titus adeptly landed on his feet and looked up, ready to engage Zeke in what would hopefully be an entertaining battle. But once again the Titan managed to catch him off guard. Titus took a shoulder to the face which sent him crashing into the wall of the room. Wincing a bit from the hit, Titus rose up once again but he was pinned against the wall by the hammer that Zeke had thrown which exploded on contact. With another shout Zeke came charging with his shoulder out, slamming himself into Titus, smashing him into the wall once again. His body left an imprint on the wall which he became stuck in, but Zeke was far from done.
His hammer returned to his hand, and Zeke used it to beat away Titus, burying him further and further into the wall. Titus had to admit that he was impressed by Zeke's relentless barrage.
'Every single one of them has the potential to become formidable, but this is still nothing compared to Tobias.' Titus said to himself as he took a hard blow to his head from Zeke's hammer which shattered his helmet. Noticing that Zeke's offense came to a stop, Titus looked up at the Titan who was now frozen in place as he saw Titus' face.
"Who-who are you?" Zeke asked as he took a step back. Why was he staring at Tobias?!
Titus gave a small smile in response.
"You're worst nightmare." Titus whispered to him as a new helmet took shape around his head. Zeke suddenly got a chill before he discovered that Titus was already behind him, pressing his saber against Zeke's neck. "It's over for you."
Zeke gulped as he stared at the crackling blade that was above to cut him down. Who was this man that stood behind him? Was this really Tobias, the same Guardian he had worked with in the Cosmodrome before they evacuated the Last City? It couldn't be…could it?
"Not if I have anything to say about it!" A new voice declared. Titus suddenly received a knee to his face, blasting him away from Zeke who sunk to his knees.
"Zeke, are you okay?" A familiar voice asked him as Zeke, tilted his head to look at the person that had rushed to his side. It was Diana. "Where's the rest of your team?"
"I'm…the only one." Zeke replied as he now saw the rest of their raid team gathering in the room. "That guy killed all of them."
This was a bone chilling statement as the six new arrivals stared at Titus. He had already killed five Guardians. He was definitely a threat. Titus observed the newest team to enter the chamber, a smile forming on his face as he recognized the Guardian that had just attacked him.
"So you've finally arrived." Titus stated, pleased that his battle with Tobias was finally going to take place.
"Is that a, Guardian?!" Niko exclaimed as they all stared at their opponent. Shaxx and Saladin felt their heart skip a beat as they eyed Titus. Was he a rogue Guardian? Was a Guardian really working with Oryx?
"Don't let this affect your performance. He's taken lives already. He's the enemy." Saladin said to rally his teammates, although he quickly found out this was unnecessary. Titus' helmet cracked suddenly as he was thrown off his feet, causing everyone's head to whirl around. Niko was kneeling down, his Stillpiercer in hand.
"You don't have to tell me twice." Niko said as he straightened up. Titus already killed five Guardians. Niko wasn't going to let him claim another life. And he was certain that this headshot had brought Titus to an end.
"Ouch." Titus said he got up from the ground, irritated that he had taken such a hit while he was distracted with Tobias. The damage done to his helmet closed up, as if he had never been shot, putting all of them on edge.
"He not some normal Guardian." Zeke stated. "I don't know what he is."
'It's clear that his teammates will interfere. I have to keep them busy as well.' Titus said to himself as he snapped his fingers. He would provide them with something else to focus on. The black water on the floor began to ripple and bubble before several bodies began to rise from it. All of the Guardians took a step back at the sight of their single glowing eye that really stood out in the dark room. The Taken had been summoned.
Dozens of Taken Acolytes, Thrall and Knights now filled the room, closing up around the Guardian who had quickly moved to Eris, forming a perimeter around her. The Taken quickly swarmed them, everyone but Tobias.
'Why aren't they attacking me?' Tobias asked himself before noticing that Titus was waiting for him a little farther out, away from the forces he had summoned. Titus raised his only hand a motioned for Tobias to join him out there. Saladin and Shaxx eyed Tobias curiously as they avoided enemy fire, watching as he walked out to meet Titus. The Taken paid him no mind whatsoever. What was going on?!
"It's time Tobias." Titus said as he raised his saber which crackled. "Our first showdown."
Tobias eyed him cautiously, trying to determine how he would fight Titus. He wasn't sure what to expect from him, but Tobias was certain that he was using something similar to Arc Blade currently. He would just have to test the waters at first and see where this goes. Drawing his tanto blade from the sheath on his waist, Tobias activated Arc Blade as well in order to combat Titus.
"I had feeling you would have this skill. I'm glad I copied it from that woman already." Titus noted before he burst forward, making the first move. Titus went on the offensive, swinging away at Tobias who began to weave and sway, avoiding his attacks.
'Even though he's moving so fast, I can still read all of his movements.' Tobias said to himself, pleased to see that he was making progress. Raising his tanto now, their blades clashed as they now fought to test each other's strength. Both of them were silent as their arms began to tremble, waiting for a break in the stalemate. Finally they decided to break apart seeing that their strength was even, but they quickly reengaged, swinging away at each other with their blades. Neither of the two were swordsman, but their reaction time was so fast that they were both masterfully evading being cut down by the other.
"It looks we're going to have to turn things up a notch Tobias." Titus stated as he took a wild swing at Tobias. His saber became even brighter as Tobias swayed backward to avoid it, but a shockwave was released from the blade as it passed by, blasting Tobias right in the face which sent him reeling.
Even after taking this surprise hit though, Tobias was still focused. Rolling in the air to land on his feet, Tobias only had a split second to barrel roll to his right to avoid Titus who had already closed the distance between them. Titus chopped down with his sword after closing in on Tobias, but he managed to escape this powerful blow which left a sizable indentation on the floor. Tobias gulped audibly at the sight of this; he probably would've been dead if he had been hit by that. Titus wasn't kidding when he said he'd turn things up a notch.
Tobias couldn't hold anything back either if he was going to fight this man.
"Open fire!" Diana commanded, and Titus found himself being sprayed with bullets as the other Guardians were now backing up Tobias again. They had made quick work of the Taken he had summoned.
'I see, this group is far superior to that first one.' Titus said as he called upon the Taken once again. Many more began to climb out of the water, far more than the first wave he had called in. But accompanying this wave was a large Taken Archon, just like the one they had fought above in the palace. 'This should keep them busy.'
"Tobias, are you okay?" Diana asked him as she and the other began to fire upon the steadily increasing enemy numbers.
"I'm fine, you can leave this guy to me." Tobias stated. He could tell Titus was singling him out, trying to make sure that his allies were busy as they fought. And so could the rest of the Guardians.
"Alright, we'll maintain our perimeter around Eris!" Shaxx called out as the group closed up around her once again, leaving Tobias to continue his battle with Titus.
Titus once again was the first to attack as the two of them began to combat each other again, but Tobias didn't sit back on defense this time. He couldn't allow these shockwaves that Titus was emitting to hit him. Using his tanto to block Titus' saber, the shockwaves were going out in all sorts of directions due to the early contact which allowed Tobias to stay at close range as he fought. Blocking a low swipe from Titus, Tobias was starting to get into a rhythm as he raised his leg and landed a kick to Titus' open chin.
Titus was caught off guard by this blow since Tobias had keep his attacking to a minimum, but it looked like he was finally ready to get going. Tobias was quick to take this opportunity with Titus floating in the air, clearly a little stunned from the kick. Blinking up to him, Tobias raised his tanto and dropped it down onto Titus' abdomen which sent him crashing down into the ground.
"How'd you like that?" Tobias asked as he landed on the ground.
Titus only laughed as he rested on the ground, pleased that Tobias was going to make a match of this.
"Great Tobias, keep it up!" Titus shouted as he got back on his feet. "Let's see how strong you really are!"
The two of them charged at each other, entering another exchange of attacks, but Titus began to notice that Tobias was losing focus. Why?
"Crap man!" Niko mumbled as he gunned down a pair of Acolytes before diving to his left to avoid the flames that were spewed out by a nearby Knight. They were getting overwhelmed. Not only by the sheer number of Taken, but the Archon that was relentless attacking them.
"Gah!" Diana exclaimed in pain as she was blindsided by the Archon. She was hit by his forearm and thrown off her feet across the room, coming skidding to a halt in no man's land. She had been separated from the team and the Taken quickly closed up around her.
"Diana!" Tobias exclaimed as he ducked down to avoid Titus' swing and spun, sweeping Titus off his feet. Tobias then took off in a dash toward Diana, his hands becoming wrapped in Void Light. Tobias quickly swung his hand through the air, throwing a Shatter Nova Bomb down onto the forces surrounding Diana, clearing away a portion of them for her to get through.
"Tobias, that was unnecessary!" Saladin shouted at him. They were more than capable of clearing a path for Diana to return to them. Tobias doing this only put him in a bad spot now.
"He's right Tobias." Titus whispered to him as he now stood behind him. Tobias tried to get some distance from Titus, but it was too late. He became wrapped in pain as Titus' cut through him with his saber. Gasping, Tobias grasped his right shoulder in pain, but there was nothing there.
Titus had severed his right arm in an instant. Tobias collapsed to the ground in pain, his vision becoming hazy as Titus kneeled down beside him.
"You should never turn your back to your opponent Tobias. Especially when that opponent is me." Titus whispered to him.
"Tobias! Get away from him!" Diana screamed as she began channeling Arc Light, entering Stormtrance. She quickly began to advance toward Titus, ready to send him into an electrical oblivion for hurting Tobias. Titus only smiled at this.
He now understood why Tobias was losing focus. He was becoming preoccupied with thoughts of his teammates, and that would be his downfall.
"I'll make her suffer." Titus stated as he rose up. That statement echoed in Tobias's mind as his vision cleared up. He saw Titus step over him, raising his saber as he prepared to engage Diana as she approached him.
'No.' Tobias said as Titus burst forward, bypassing the lightning bolts Diana was spamming and attacking her from the side. Diana gasped as she was suddenly pinned against the wall with Titus' black saber pressed against her neck. Diana glared at him as Osiris' words echoed in her mind.
"With the creation of Tobias, a Vessel of the Light, I fear the thought of there being a creation of the Darkness that was born to be his equivalent..."
Was this what Osiris feared? Could this be the equivalent he was thinking off?
If he was, then Diana would do everything in her power to destroy him now. Summoning all her strength, Diana maximized the output of her Stormtrance. She began to glow brightly as a dense field of electricity began to expand from her, enveloping both of them.
"Rah!" Titus gave a roar as he raised his saber, using it as a lightning rod to take in Diana's attack with little damage done to himself. Diana was in shock that Titus was capable of such a feat. She had sacrificed a lot of her energy thinking she would be able to take care of them with this attack, but now she felt the drain as her arms dropped to her side. But Titus wasn't done with her.
He was more than impressed with the amount of power she could unleash. He was going to take all of it for himself. Placing his saber against her neck once again, Titus began to draw out the Light within Diana, draining it from her.
Tobias could see the black aura surrounding Titus take a hold of the white aura surrounding Diana, beginning to squeeze it. He was taking the Light straight out of her. She was going to die! He had to save her!
"No!" Tobias howled as forced himself to his feet.
Everyone in the room froze feeling as an enormous weight had been placed on them, even Titus and the Taken couldn't ignore it. They all turned to Tobias who was shining brilliantly. The room began to quake, sending ripples through the water as Tobias screamed to the heavens above. He wouldn't let Titus hurt anyone else!
Titus' eyes became wide as he released his hold on Diana, now focused solely on Tobias.
"Yes, this is it! What I've been waiting to see!" He declared as Tobias now vanished within the light completely.
"What's happening?!" Carmen exclaimed as she and the others stood in awe at the power Tobias was drawing out. It was like nothing they have ever seen before.
Soon enough the light surrounding Tobias died down enough for them to see him once again. Tobias was white now, his clothing, his armor, everything was white. He stood tall, his cloak flapping behind him. Then he looked down at his hands, noticing that his right hand was back. Examining his right arm, Tobias could see that it was fully intact. The Light had reconstructed it for him almost instantly, and now he was going to use it to bring Titus to his end.
Tobias burst across the room, closing in on Titus so fast that he couldn't even react to it. Tobias then palmed his helmet and rushed forward again, slamming him into the wall where Tobias began to pound away Titus using just his fists. The room shook with each blow as Tobias smashed further and further into the wall.
'Such…power!' Titus exclaimed in between gasps. This was too much for him to take, even with all of the power he had taken from Diana.
Recognizing the greater threat in Tobias, the Taken abandoned their attack on the Guardians and began to focus on Tobias. Taking a hit to his back, Tobias turned to see that the Taken had already gathered around him, but this was far from enough to beat him in his current state. Raising one hand as it became engulfed in light, Tobias swung it at the Taken behind them, unleashing three glowing spheres at them which collided with the floor in front of them.
The Guardians eyes became wide as the Taken who were hit directly by these orbs were blown backward just a few feet before they exploded, vaporizing the Taken behind them. It was like a chain effect as the Taken numbers rapidly dropped to zero from just this one attack.
'Incredible!' Titus exclaimed almost gleefully as he watched Tobias quickly dash over to Diana.
She gasped as she was suddenly swept off her feet by Tobias and taken over to the rest of the team where he left her in their care. Tobias then returned his attention to Titus who was back on his own two feet, ready to continue with their duel.
'Let's see just how far you can go with this Tobias.' Titus said as he extended his arms in opposite directions, began to draw out the power he had been granted from Oryx. The black water that had been resting on the floor of the room began to gather around him, rising the floor to surround his arms. Everyone could feel Titus' presence become much stronger as he continued to absorb the water.
"What's he doing?" Carmen asked.
"Like I should know." Niko responded as all of them except Tobias took a step backward instinctively. Even though they had experienced it a few times now, feeling Oryx's suffocating power still sent chills through all of them.
Seeing that Titus was feeding off of whatever power filled the water, Tobias knew that it would be best if he ended this as fast as possible. But he would need a weapon. Raising one hand, the light began to gather in his palm, becoming the handle of sword. The blade was long and thin, shining brightly as Tobias swung it through the air, checking its weight. It was like a feather in his hand, as if he wasn't even holding anything.
All of the Guardians were mesmerized by the Light that radiated off of Tobias, eliminating the ill filling that had been washing over them from Titus and the Blight above the fortress. Tobias was giving them the same warmth they could only feel from the Traveler.
"Hah!" Tobias roared as Titus finished draining the room of all of the water. His power had increased tenfold as a dark aura flared around him, but Titus didn't even have a chance to put this to use. The same sword Tobias had just created was now buried in his chest.
Titus gasped for a moment as he looked down. He didn't even see Tobias move and yet he had managed to skewer him already. Tobias then twisted the sword as it became brighter, causing Titus scream in pain. Cracks of light began to extend from the sword throughout his torso before Titus grabbed onto the blade, leaning closer to Tobias.
"This isn't the last you'll see of me. We will meet again." Titus whispered to him before Tobias ripped his sword out of Titus' body and raised his leg to kick him down to the floor. Tobias then raised up his sword, taking one last look at this man. There was so much he wanted to know about him, but he was still a threat, Tobias couldn't allow him to live.
Dropping down his sword onto Titus, Tobias smashed in down into the floor such tremendous force that the room shook violently from this, shocking the Guardians who fought to remain on their feet.
'Was Tobias always this strong?' Diana asked herself as Tobias lifted his weapon, looking down at the unmoving form of Titus. He then began to melt into the floor, leaving behind nothing but a puddle of black water.
"That should do it." Tobias said as he exhaled. The power that had been coursing through him waned, causing the Light that surrounded him to fade away along with the sword. Tobias reverted back to his usual appearance, leaving everyone awestruck as the room became dark once again.
"What the hell was that?!" Niko asked as he and Carmen swarmed Tobias. "All that glowing and crap."
"Teach me how to do it!" Carmen demanded, causing Tobias to shake his head.
"Tobias was once a legendary warrior because of the power he received from the Traveler."
"Even so, I think it's safe to say that his potential, far outclasses all of ours combined."
"I think you've got what it takes…to lead Undaunted."
"Tobias is the vessel of the Traveler. He holds the last of its strength and its will."
"That's why you were heralded as hero. You never turned from a battle, or passed on an opportunity to protect someone."
"I can't...that was, the Radiant Light." Tobias said softly as he looked up in awe.
He was now starting to understand why everyone was putting their trust in him. He had been a granted this power to be turn the tides. He was the difference maker, and it was up to him to change the course of this battle with the Darkness.
'I have the power to bring all of this to an end.' Tobias said to himself with a small nod.
Diana, Saladin and Shaxx watched as Tobias exchange words with the Hunters, still amazed by the display he had just put on. The two Titans could understand Ikora's suspicion surrounding Tobias and this team. With every battle they seemed to climb onto a higher plateau.
"It is done." Eris stated, gaining everyone attention. The small rock that floated above the pedestal at the center of the room crumbled away, causing the room to brighten considerably. Eris had done it. The incantation was gone, and their mission was a success.
"Excellent work Guardians!" Shaxx declared as he motioned for them to follow him out of the exit of the room so that they could make their journey back to the surface.
"This is raid team three calling in." Saladin said over the comms. "The shield over the Blight has been removed. You may order the attack on it."
"That's great news!" The operator exclaimed.
"Everyone this is Commander Zavala, our mission into the fortress has been a success. The particle cannon will be firing in few minutes, so you must evacuate immediately!" Zavala commanded.
"Zeke, come on!" Shaxx shouted at the Titan who was still standing in the chamber where they had fought Titus.
"It's useless. There's no way back up." Zeke stated. And just as he had said, there was no exit for them to return to the surface.
Niko and Carmen had jumped all the way to the top of the hill, but it ended there. There was no means to return to the palace. The pit they had jumped into was a one way trip to this chamber.
"Aww crap, you can't be serious!" Carmen complained as she and Niko slid back down the hill to the entrance of the chamber. They had completed their mission in epic fashion, but they wouldn't have a movie style getaway.
"What are we going to do?" Tobias asked as he looked around at the group.
"When that particle cannon fires, it's going to destroy the fortress above us and everything within a ten mile radius." Saladin noted. "Once it fires, we're going to die."
A/N
I've been dying to post this chapter. I've had it written for a little while now but when I was going to post it initially I noticed that I was approaching the one year mark since I published this story, so I figured I would wait. It's been quite an adventure so far and I have so much in store that I can't wait to get to work on.
I think I've said this before but I'm not certain, Taken King is like my springboard into this fic because I've been introducing a lot things that will be readdressed later on. I've been putting in lots of small little hints since starting this arc, and I'm telling you now that something you might have skimmed over will be HUGE later on. For example, there was just a small passage of Osiris speculating of an equivalent to Tobias a couple of chapters ago. Now we have Titus. I'm just saying that little things I might write in passing will probably be developed further in the future.
So until we meet again Guardians, good luck out there! And as always, thanks for the support!