Chapter 4
I followed behind him in the dark cave. Our mission was to investigate some Fallen activity. I saw another side of Jason back there at the entrance. I was frightened, broken. He comforted me, which was odd coming from a Titan such as him. Strong, brave, confident, handsome, charming… I mean, you get the idea. But still, I got the feeling that he's been there before. Been in my shoes. But it was so long ago that he doesn't remember anymore, yet the feeling stays in his heart. I don't blame him really. The strongest of guardians can succumb to fear and anxiety. Usually it's by witnessing something traumatizing or horrific. I feel like he's been through all that. Yet he still smiles, his light burning bright in him. I aim to be like him, one day.
We continued walking through the dark cave, our ghosts lighting the way. Every now and then he turns his head to look at me. His red chroma giving me a quick glance before turning back again. He would be intimidating if I didn't know what happened at the entrance. I start to reminisce about me first seeing Jason. Almost a week ago…
-Flashback-
My feet land on the marble foyer of the tower. Below me, in front of my feet, is the trifecta symbol with something written in Latin. Rose, my ghost, pops up on my shoulder to give me guidance. "Alright Leslie, my orders are to take you to your Vanguard." I sigh and reply, "But I don't even know what I am." Rose shakes her shell and responds, "That knife on your belt is dead giveaway honey." I look down at the sharp blade on my belt and blush. "Fine just take me to the Vanguard."
We start to walk down the foyer towards a set of stairs that lead deeper into the tower. I look to my sides and I see guardians socializing, chatting, and every other fun thing you can do in the midst of war. A couple of guardians were arguing with a blue man in a yellow hood saying they've been swindled out of their engrams or whatnot. Also to that side a guardian was putting an armor piece in a machine then typing something on the keypad before walking away towards the hangar. To my left I see a group of guardians in front of blue lady (who was very pretty by the way) exchanging silver coins for…patches? Upon receiving them they perform strange dances and gestures in celebration before showing them to each other. In that same building a couple of guardians were picking up stuff from a robot. I heard one of them say, "Wow, did I really miss all this? Gotta keep my eyes out next time." I look again to my right and see a robot and his shop tucked away in a corner. He was presenting boxes to a couple of guardians, each having a strange symbol on them. The guardians pulled out guns and examined them, then thanking the robot before walking off smiling.
When we reached the bottom of the stairs there was this lady in brown clothing mumbling something while looking into a rock encased in a green orb. She had a blindfold on and I saw three green dots on the cloth and I prayed those weren't her real eyes. Then we started to pass by this red-tinted room with a tall, burly man standing on my right and a robot typing away on the left. The man had orange and white colored armor with a horn protruding from his head. Above him was a TV showing guardians fighting on what looks like a base. I think it might have been Phobos because of its proximity to mars.
I was about to pass by when someone yelled, "Hey! He's been challenged!" Suddenly a flock of guardians rush over to the TV above the man and watch eagerly like children watching a magic trick. "Hey Rose, can you go get the Vanguard. I want to see this." She looks at him with her blue eye and responds, "Sure, have me do all the work." She then flies off and I step closer to the TV screen.
On the screen were two guardians. They were both standing near a cliff-like area with space next to them and a ramp on the other side. Considering it was a team death match game type, I wondered where their teammates were. When the cameras panned out, I saw that they were all watching from a distance. Half of them were glowing blue and the other half were glowing orange. They were all talking and betting on who would win. A hunter was writing things down on a notepad, recording other Hunters and Titans shouting. A small group of warlocks were standing aside leaning towards each other and pointing at the duo, perhaps talking about how the fight could go down.
The two fighters in the middle were a Titan and a Hunter. The hunter was dressed in Yellow Egyptian-like armor, but his boots had bones on them, running up and down his legs like scales. The Titan was far more intimidating. He donned armor adorned with wolves, with his chest piece having the imprint of a tree in the middle. His legs weren't armored well, with only his shins and left thigh having plating. Yet the cloth looks unreasonably strong, without a doubt. His helmet however was what made him look scary. A red glow seeped down from the forehead portion of the helmet, making it look like a red visor. Mixed with the solid black and white colorings of his armor, he pierced through any soul that lays eyes on him.
He was positioned with a sword in his hands, with the blade diagonal to him, looking like he's ready to strike. The Hunter simple stood valiantly with his back upright and his shoulders wide, with his sword 's blade touching the ground at the tip. The designs of the two blades were different. Although both equally sharp, the Hunter's sword had small rectangles near the base of the blade, appearing more futuristic. The Titan's blade had small points coming from the same area, appearing just as intimidating as he. The main difference was the crystals in each of their swords. The Titan's crustal was red, while the Hunter's was blue.
Suddenly the hunter began a monologue, "I see we finally get to meet! I have waited so long for a rematch. I have gotten stronger since our last fight!" The Titan simply replies, "Alright then, let's see you fight. And maybe you can win this time. Or not." Suddenly the Hunter twirled around and threw a disc sparking with electric energy at the Titan. The man with the broken horn suddenly decided to commentate, "Already the Hunter is on the offensive! Can he win with one shot?" The Titan simply stood there as the disc was rapidly closing in. Suddenly his crystal illuminated and he performed and uppercut, slashing the disc in two. The Hunter used this as a charging opportunity and bolted right at the Titan. The Titan simply looked up and blocked the Hunter's slash. While the Hunter was fast, the Titan was faster. He was sidestepping blindingly quick slashes as if they were nothing. Then during one slash the Titan parried the Hunter's attack, sending him reeling. The Titan used this opening and slashed across the upper chest/lower torso of the Hunter. The force of the attack was enough to push him back. The Hunter simply rolled back on his feet, but he was in a low stance, as if about to pounce.
The Hunter pulled out his knife and suddenly sparked with electrical light, igniting his knife to have extended range than usual. "Ahahah! Dirty tricks from a Hunter! Things now get interesting!" The man bellowed. The Titan responded to the situation with, "So that's how its gonna be eh? Very well, let's do this." Suddenly he burst into flames and a flaming hammer appeared on his left hand. The two charged at each other with insane speed, each person attacking, dodging, swinging, moving, blocking. Oohs and Aahs came from the crowd as the two fought. However I can tell the Hunter was getting agitated with his opponent by the way his attack style started to go from precise to brash. He was becoming more aggressive, thus getting a little sloppy. The Titan took advantage of this and when the Hunter swung with his knife, the Titan blocked it to stagger him. The Titan did this sweet kick to knock the knife close to the edge, but not over it. The Hunter, still shocked at the attack, was then sent flying by the swing of the flaming hammer that the Titan brought down, using the last ounce of solar light from that attack.. The Hunter struggled to stand up, thus using his sword as support. Whether it was from exhaustion or the damage he took from the Titans attacks, the Hunter was heavily breathing, which was made obvious by his chest huffing and puffing.
"Alright you…let's finish this!" The Hunter yelled. The Titan replied, "I couldn't agree with you more." Looking like it came from an action movie, the two charged at each other with extreme speed, clashing once with a loud boom. The camera panned out to get a view of both fighters. The entire room was quiet, even the man and the robot were staring intently at the screen. Everyone was on edge because neither of the fighters was moving. The Hunter, who was on the left, had his sword pointing towards his left foot, thus making me guess he swung diagonally, from his right shoulder down. The Titan, who was on the right, had his sword pointing behind him, holding it with one hand. So I guess he went for a half horizontal, half diagonal slash. Suddenly both blades simultaneously disintegrated, and still, no one moved a muscle. The Titan then straightens himself up, twirls the handle in his hand, and then slides it in a loop on his belt before securing yet. He then says, "Well, it looks like you need more training." The Hunter then collapses, with his ghost springing up and then through the speakers everyone hears, "Guardian Down."
The room erupts with a mixture of applause and groans. The camera shows some Hunters throwing down glimmer, coins, and some orbs of light and returning to orbit, while the scorekeeping Hunter and the Titans distribute the pool of rewards amongst themselves. The Warlocks were doing gestures trying to figure out both guardians fighting techniques, pretending to slash with an air sword. Suddenly the camera starts shaking and falling, then gets turned around to the Titan. He gives a thumbs up and says, "Keep fighting the good fight, Guardians!" Then the video slowly fades to another planet with a match starting.
"Uwahhh! That was so cool!" I yell out loud. A mysterious voice replies, "Sure was, wasn't it? But he stole my line." I turn to my right and see a robot with Rose floating above his shoulder. He walks up to me and holds out his hand, "Cayde-6, Hunter Vanguard, Exo, nice to meet you. And that Titan, he's gonna be your roommate."
"Hey Leslie, you okay?" I snap back to reality and notice that a red visor was staring into my eyes. I hadn't realized I was daydreaming so much that I stopped walking. "Yeah, yeah, I'm fine." We walk a little further and Jason stops. He turns to me and says, "Something doesn't feel right." I was about to open my mouth to reply when suddenly Fallen began to surround us. I got closer to Jason who was already in fighting mode. He had his Stolen Will in his right hand and his Imago Loop in his left. I pulled out my (His) Chaperone and did the same. Dregs were the only thing that surrounded us, so far. I hear him whisper, "You ready?" I swallow nervously and reply with a small, "Let's do it." We both aimed out hand cannons and slowly rotated in a circle back to back, killing dreg with ease. Any dregs that got to close either got a slug round in the head or were lying dead and full of holes.
Eventually, there were simply dead Fallen bodies laying around us, and a few Vandals that got too over confident. Jason sighed and said "Alright looks like we're done here." All of the sudden a Fallen voice is heard in the darkness and a Captain, armed with electric blades, walks up to us. He gives a gesture to challenge us to a sword fight. Jason chuckles and says, "Alright Malsik, we meet again. This time, I'm putting you down. No one is running away here." He holsters his Imago Loop and Stolen Will and pulls out his blade. They both charge at each other like savages. So much hate and pain with every clash. I feel some agony every time Jason strikes. There's a grudge to be settled here. Someone does not leave this cave alive.
"Agh! Leslie! Run!" I snap back from my thinking and see that Jason is pinned on the floor. The bottom two arms of the Captain hold down Jason while the upper two push down on Jason's sword. His energy is going to deplete and I don't think his ghost will be quick enough to revive him. I try to shoot the Fallen with my guns but all of them have depleted ammo with no reserves. I was completely empty and the Captain was going to kill him. The one who swore to protect me, and is yelling me to run as a last ditch effort. I didn't want to run but I knew that I would be his next target once he kills Jason. I started to cry as I held up my hand cannon and vainly pulled the trigger, hoping that a stray bullet would come out.
He's going to die. I can't let my mentor die like this. He's going to die. And there's nothing I can do about it. I keep pulling the trigger. He's going to die. I start to remember the warmness he gave me back at the snow. The point of my back where he shared his power. He's going to die. He will not die. I will be strong enough to fight this beast. The spot on my back gets warmer. He's going to die. I tear up more under my helmet and continue to pull the trigger. I imagine Jason's power coursing through my body like he does naturally. The spot on my back burns. He's going to die.
"HE WILL NOT DIE!" Suddenly the Down and Doubt fires a shot, but the shot leaves a tracer effect made of fire. The round hits the Captain in the shoulder, sending him back. I aim my second shot and shoot off his hand, disarming him. The shot pushed him into a wall, where he then proceeds to slump down to a sit. I aim the Golden flaming Gun at his helmet and say, "No one hurts him." And I pull the trigger, completely disintegrating the captain to ash.
I was about to bask in my victory when I hear groaning behind me. I quickly turn around run to Jason, who was still laying on the floor. I get on both knees to address his problem, only to find out that he's been wounded. I see a gash on his chest plate, with blood seeping from it. "Rose! Take us to orbit! And send a message to infirmary to have medical assistance ready!" Rose quickly responds in my ear, "Roger that, transmitting to orbit."
On my ship I help him to the cot in the back of the ship. I start to remove his chest piece, gauntlets, and helmet. I carefully tear of the bodysuit covering his upper body. The wound was bad, but nothing I couldn't fix. "Jason, this is going to hurt, okay?" He groans and replies, "Don't worry, I've gotten a blue item from a legendary engram. I can handle any pain." He always has a sense of humor even in dire times. I start to carefully pour alcohol on the wound and use gauze and apply pressure to stop the bleeding. After a while the bleeding stops and I wrap some fresh gauze above it. I sit back in my chair and exhale. Jason has knocked out from exhaustion, which is good.
I take one more look at Jason and I realize how built he is. His large shoulders and chest give him the towering appearance that every Titan has. His stomach wasn't clearly showing tone, but that would make sense since he needs muscle and fat to protect internal organs. I slowly ran my hand around his body to truly capture his definition. I felt like I was being hypnotized by his structure. Suddenly he says, "Shouldn't you be talking to the hangar right now?" I realize that we're preparing to dock and I also realize I'm blushing. Hard. I run to the pilot's seat and I respond to the call. "Yes this is Guardian Leslie; I have a guardian in need of medical attention. Permission to dock." A lady on the other side responds, "Alright Guardian, this is Amanda Holiday. Permission granted. You are docking at port 7. Welcome home."