Location: Dreadnaught, Savathun's throne Third Person POV Sara's heart raced as she ran through the Dreadnaught's corridors. She couldn't slow for a moment, because every second she wasted gave her pursuer time to catch her, and he didn't have to contend with a crippled arm. Even as she sped through the massive halls, her mind reeled from the sheer shock of betrayal. Ian had been warm and friendly one second, the next he was stabbing her with a knife! Sara swore that if she survived, she would find out why he turned on her, and then, she would make him suffer. The thought drove her onward. That was until Ian stepped into her path, with his knife bared. Sara skidded to a halt. She didn't kid herself. Ian gave Para, the strongest Walker in their ranks a good fight, and she had almost lost with all of her limbs intact and one of the most powerful Dark weapons in existence at her side. The odds weren't in her favor. But she had an ace up her sleeve, so there was hope. Ian broke the silence. "Sara, you know what's about to happen." "You'll never succeed." She spat. "When this is over, I will go to the City, and I will tear it apart, stone by stone. And I will make. You. Watch." Every word she spoke dripped with barely suppressed hatred. She was almost ready to unleash her surprise on him. Just a bit more time. "Well, now you're just asking to be put down." Said Ian, sheathing his blade. "By the way, I was going to return this, but now I'm thinking of keeping it." As Ian spoke, he unslung the Dark shotgun Damnation from his back. It had been Sara's weapon of choice as a Walker, and seeing it in his hands only further incensed her. "Perhaps I'll hang it on the wall as a trophy, right next to the weapons of your friends after I've ended their tortured lives. Right after I end yours." "We'll see, you treacherous piece of shit." Summoning what power she had, Sara called to herself her most loyal servant. @%$+BETRAYED#%&# $¿¡∆-(RAVENOUS #×¶Π ¥[℅}¢MUST FEAST~£®° And with a sound akin to reality itself screaming, a monstrous [i]thing[/i] was torn from its home to serve at the behest of a greater power. The beast was indescribable in appearance, so much that Ian took a step back. "Oh, now this is just splendid." He muttered. "Is this your friend #$*=^% the worm?" "No, he sacrificed himself to help me escape the City, all those years ago. This is his successor, and he will consume you." As the worm coiled around Sara, she hissed a single command. "[i]Kill.[/i]" No longer bound by its master's will, the worm lunged at Ian, hungering for the Hunter's Light. Ian rolled to the side, barely dodging the Dark creatures's attack. As the worm charged by, he pulled Damnation's trigger-and immediately regretted it. Conflicting with his Light, the weapon detonated in his hand like a grenade, blasting the Exo head over heels. By the time he was back on his feet, the worm's jaws were closing around him. "Ah, you have got to be-" [b]CRASH!!![/b] As the creature snapped its jaws closed, Sara felt a mixture of vengeful glee and sorrow over Ian's fate. Yes, he had severly wounded her, but prior to that, he had been a good friend and teammate. But she had bigger problems. If the bleeding couldn't be staunched, she would die. Suddenly, an inhuman scream of pain burst out from the worm. Sara backed up slowly as the unmoving beast began to tremble. The worm's flesh began to rip and tear from the inside, and Ian's blade became visible. "No, NO NO!" As Ian cut his way out of the carcass, Sara turned and fled. She didn't get far, as Ian's thrown knife carved a bloody laceration into her leg, causing her to stumble. She tried to crawl away, but she was too weak from blood loss to move far. Ian's increasingly loud footfalls caused what little blood she still had in her veins to run cold. Sara began to weep in fear. Ian's voice rang out like a requiem bell. "What's this? A Walker crying? Did I really beat you that badly?" Normally, his words and sardonic tone would have cut as deep as his knife, but Sara was too terrified to care. "Ian... Please... Don't kill me... Please..." Ian's voice took on a dark, heartless tone. "And why should I do that? Why should I let you live after your attempt to feed me to a worm?" Sara's sobs grew in intensity. "I'm sorry... I'm so sorry... I was scared... I didn't want to die... Will you please forgive me?" Ian's harsh mechanical voice grew cold as ice. "I could forgive the attempt to kill me, but not the deaths of every helpless innocent you killed in your escape from the City. Do you think that they wanted to die?" "But... You participated... You killed as many... If not more..." "You don't think I know that?" Somehow, Ian's voice managed to grow colder with each word. "I know what crimes I committed. I'm just doing my best to atone." Sara's voice cracked in panic. "But... I'm your friend..." "One time, that might have true. This isn't that time." Sara realized there was no way out. So, sobbing, she gave up trying, and waited for the end. She felt a slight pinch across her throat, and then she felt nothing else. Ian's POV It was done. Sara... She was dead. And I had been the one to kill her. I had killed one of my friends in cold blood, after physically and mentally torturing her. The thought disturbed me, almost as much as how completely and utterly callous I had been throughout the final exchange. I had willfully and systematically crushed her spirit, so much so that she had given up and provided no resistance to my slicing of her throat. The least I could do was to dispose of her remains with dignity, but even that small honor would have to be denied. As I knelt down to pay my respects, I felt compelled to say one last thing. "I'm sorry." I whispered. "Please, I hope you can forgive me." With those last words, I went to close Sara's eyes, but the second my hand touched her, her spine arched as if the body had been struck by a nolt of Arc Light. A cloud of black energy issued from from the corpse. It was immediately siphoned into my body through the hand. It happened so quickly that I could barely process what had happened. During the height of the event, I was sure I heard Sara's voice. It sounded like she said, "It's okay. I forgive you.". Afterwards, I realized that it must have been wishful thinking. Once the event was complete, I studied the arm that had been an unwitting conduit of the energy very closely. After minutes of looking it up and down, there seemed to be no visible changes, but that didn't mean that changes weren't present. Pushing the thought out of my mind, I gingerly touched Sara's forehead, and there was no strange emissions of black energy. Being reasonably confident that whatever had happened was over, Sara's eyes were closed for the last time. As I left the room, I wondered how pissed off the other Walkers would be.