The Crucible
"Get out there Guardian. You have potential." Lord Shaxx boomed through my comms, as I landed down on the area we were fighting.
The Crucible. The arena lead by Lord Shaxx, one of the survivors of the tragic Twilight Gap battle, many years ago. One of the gunposts that was overrun by the fallen was converted into an area where Guardians like me could fight each other to, somehow, become better Guardians.
My team consisted of two Warlocks, including me, two Hunters and two Titans. The other team didn't consist of anyone interesting except. Thalor. The renowned Titan, considered almost invincible in the Crucible.
"Ghost, could you look at Thalor's combat record?"
"Right away" it chirped. "I've got it! Their combat record is"
6.81 Kill to Death ratio
5.97 Kill to Assist ratio
240876 total kills
"Quite impressive" I remarked. "Let's see if what the Gunsmith said about this sniper is true"
IIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIII
The middle of the 'map' was filled with weapon crates and steel containers, separating the A-flag side from the C-flag side, with the B flag in the middle, off to the side. The Titan's name was the first to pop up in the kill feed, indicating that he had already killed one of my team.
"Thalor killed Shane" the feed stated.
"Already?" I spoke into the team communication, sounding exasperated.
One of the Titans on my team said "Yeah, he's the best around. I don't think he's ever been beaten!"
"I hope that will change" I spoke into my helmet, my mouth forming a sly grin as I ran to the B flag. As I captured the point, I materialised a combat axe from my inventory and aimed high above in the direction of the C flag, which was currently being taken by the other team. I threw the axe, and it flew through the air towards it's destination.
I was surprised to see it had killed someone. Even more surprised to see the kill feed stating:
"Kaizen killed Thalor"
My team went mad in the comms system, screaming my name as I captured B flag, gaining more points for my side. I then ran to C flag, where the enemy team were once again, trying to capture the point. I raised the scope of my Sniper rifle to where my eye would be, and pulled the trigger. The large round went through two of my opponent's chests. I pulled the bolt back and forth again, my fingers moving faster with each motion. Another round exited the long barrel of the rifle, the bullet piercing the helmet of two more enemies, preventing them from holding the flag.
I looked at my tracker and saw a bold red shape at the bottom, indicating that there was an enemy directly behind me. I turned on my heel, and saw the Titan looming over me. I looked up and smiled below my helmet, and, without aiming, pulled the trigger on my rifle. The bullet entered Thalor's waist, blasting his limp body backwards into the wall behind, the blood splattering onto the crates.
I scored the final points for my team, and looked at the scoreboard. I was top with 2340 points!
"Ghost, mark that down as my personal best. I'd like to see if I can beat it." I told it, as it made some electronical noises, and responded.
"Done. We should head back to the tower now." it spoke.
IIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIII
(Third-person POV)
How could this have happened? Thalor, a mighty champion of the Crucible, humiliated and shamed by a newborn Guardian, a Warlock of all!
"Come on Thalor, it isn't a big deal!" his teammate said, to try to calm him down, but nothing would calm him now.
"THIS IS A BIG DEAL!" Thalor bellowed. "I, an unbroken Titan in the Crucible, am beaten by a fucking Warlock? A newborn!" he finished, his team taking a step back, in fear of what he might do this Warlock.
His face was well and truly red when they returned to the Tower. He was going to find that Warlock.
IIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIII
(Kaizen POV)
I stood in the plaza, placing my weapons in the vault when I noticed Thalor walk down the stairs from the hangar, face completely red like he was embarrassed or angry. Most likely a mixture of both.
"Hey Thalor, I heard you lost!" was heard from across the plaza, followed by laughing and hooting from Guardians and Civilians alike. He paraded towards me, grumbling angrily as I turned to face him.
"What? I beat you, fair and square. Is that a problem?" I teased, a smirk appearing on my face as he looked down at the ground, his fists clenching, like he was about to punch something, or someone. Most likely, me.
"You have no idea what you've done" he whispered, to which my response was:
"Really? I beat you. Pretty sure I know. If anything, I know better than you! I'm the one who won!" I laughed. The Titan was at breaking point, about to burst with rage at my comments.
He raised his fists, and punched me hard in the nose, causing me to stumble back, clutching my face, trying to numb the pain.
"Now do you understand? No one beats me. Especially you." he boomed, seeming to aim his statement at everyone watching the event that had just occurred in front of their eyes. I felt blood gushing out of my nostrils, and pooling in my gloved hands as it ran down the white middle section of my robes. I could barely hear the gasps of the crowd that had gathered around the scene, some pointing at my blood-stained chest.
Thalor then grabbed me by the arms, and swung me into the wooden crates by the Eververse counter, my body smashing them, creating a loud crash, earning more gasps. Even the hardiest Guardians had turned up in the crowd, eager to watch me fight back.
I stood up, legs shaking as I struggled to regain my balance as Thalor kicked me in the nose, keeping me on the floor. The crowd gasped again. My ears were ringing, the painfully high pitched sound forced me to clench my teeth as I stood up again. Thalor had turned to face the crowd, failing to notice me grab a glass cylinder from the stock crate nearby. I stood behind him, arms raised, holding the glass as he turned to face me. He looked surprised, like I'd never be able to get up from his previous attacks.
"Pleased to see me?" I chided, as I brought down the glass onto his head. The tube broke instantly, the shards spreading all over the floor as he growled in pain, clutching his head. He looked up, and everyone in the crowd took a step back and gasped. His face was drenched in blood, the red fluid saturating his hands as he collapsed to the floor, knocked unconscious.
"Stop this at once!" the voice of the Titan vanguard boomed through the plaza as everyone left in a hurry, leaving me and Thalor in the middle of the area.
"What happened here?" The warlock vanguard exclaimed, her hand covering her mouth as I looked up at her, my nose still gushing blood from the punches and kicks to my face.
"Get these two to the infirmary now!" the Hunter vanguard yelled, and soon a team of six medics appeared. I dropped to the floor and blacked out.
IIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIII
Hey everyone! PashHanin here. I spent a while deciding what this chapter would be, and eventually this happened!
This fic does take place in an AU which assumes Thallor wasn't killed by Dredgen Yor, just so you know.
I hope you enjoyed! Please leave a review :^)
