High fives are weird because if you miss it or don’t hit it just right, it is one of the most disappointing feelings. You feel like you just failed on so many different levels. That’s why I only fist bump. I can’t afford to look that bad in front of others. I need friends. Anyway, on with the show! As always follow #Darklit to find out when a new chapter is released! [--------------------------------------------------------] Elly fired off 3 rounds into the Taken Thrall and followed it up with an expertly tossed grenade to clean up the rest. Elly turned back to Helios and Markus and said “I can’t believe you two ran from a bunch of Thrall. I might just recruit one of them if you two are gonna be cowards!” Elly let out a chuckle. Markus yelled at from behind a bush “Wasn’t running from them!” “Wasn’t what?” Elly muttered out before turning to see 5 Taken Minotaur moving towards her. “Oh for..“ Elly mumbled under her breath before running over to the bush Markus and Helios were hiding in. Elly began reloading her shotgun before angrily asking “So why exactly are we in a fight with Taken Minotaur now? Helios and Markus shot each other a look before Helios gave Markus a quick slug in the arm. “Ow! Fine…” Markus grumbled out. “So me and Helios were admiring the local wildlife and enjoying the scenery while patrolling the area so you could work peacefully when these Taken came out of no-where and we were overwhelmed even though we fought valiantly!” Elly nodded at Markus and turned to Helios. “So what really happened?” “Markus threw a stick at one of them.” Helios said bluntly. Elly sighed and poked around the edge of the bush. “Markus I’ll punch you later. Right now I need you two to help me take care of these Taken.” Helios and Markus both nodded and readied their weapons. “Move!” Elly jumped out from behind the bush and began firing off shots from her shotgun. Markus moved out on the other side of the bush and began unloading his Zhalo. Helios pulled out his hand cannon and popped off shots from behind the bush. The Minotaur didn’t hesitate in retaliating shots back at the Guardians. “So uh, looks like we aren’t making any progress on them.” Markus called out. “Clearly.” Elly snorted back. Helios fired off 3 rounds at the center Minotaur and it slowly stopped and fell to the ground. “At least there is only four now.” He said. Elly unloaded a full clip into the left most Minotaur and it quickly fell to the ground. “Three now.” Markus followed suit and brought the right most Minotaur down. “Two left!” The two remaining Taken Minotaur both readied their cannons and fired at Markus and Helios. Elly reacted quickly and jumped over just in time to activate a Ward of Dawn. The blasts from the Minotaur faded and Elly began to move into a flank position. As she moved she noticed something peculiar. Her Ward of Dawn was moving with her. “Woah what?!” Elly screamed in excitement. “Is this what Gobo meant?!” Helios shrugged it off and continued to fire at the Minotaur. Markus was struck with pure amazement at Elly’s new ability. “Elly you’re so cool!” He called out. “Heh. I was cool before!” Elly mocked back. “Now, I wonder what else I can do.” Elly focused her thoughts and her Ward of Dawn began to shrink. The shield around her moved towards her right arm as it shrank until it resembled a shield on her wrist. “Haha! No way! This is awesome!” Elly excitedly exclaimed. Elly smirked and began charging forward into one of the Minotaur. The Minotaur fired a blast at Elly who blocked it with her new shield. Elly ran into a slide and slid under the Minotaur unloading her shotgun the entire slide. She got up behind the Minotaur as it fell to its knees and collapsed. Markus began excitedly clapping and Helios stood in shock. “I think I might be a bit jealous of your new ability Elly.” Helios called out. “I guess we should try and find out mine.” Helios attempted to concentrate on his light. As he focused his arms began to slowly cloak themselves in fire. Helios opened his eyes to see this. The fire didn’t burn, but it felt strong. Helios stood up from behind the bush and held out an open palm to the Minotaur. From his palm erupted a forceful stream of pure fire. The Minotaur stood no chance against the stream of fire and was melted to a crisp. Markus and Elly ran over to Helios and began excitedly screaming nonsense. “Please, calm down you two.” Helios said. Markus began to whimper a bit. “Not cool guys. I don’t even know what my new ability even is!” Helios and Elly gave a quiet chuckle. “I’m serious! Elly is now a super cool SWAT agent and Helios is literally a fire fighter.” Helios placed a hand on Markus’ shoulder. “Hey don’t worry champ! You’ll know what your ability is soon enough.” Elly placed a hand on Markus’ other shoulder. “Yeah, you’ll find out someday.” Markus shrugged both their hands off his shoulders. “Don’t treat me like a child you guys.” Markus said as he began to pout. Elly started laughing. “Don’t worry Markus, I got something for ya.” Elly said. “Really?!” Markus energetically responded. “Yeah! Just close your eyes!” Elly replied. Markus smiled and closed his eyes. He was quickly met with a heavy punch to his arm. “Don’t instigate fights with Taken Minotaur anymore.” Elly stated flatly. Helios chuckled before turning to the blight. “Think we should destroy this?” Elly looked at Helios and said “I don’t see why not. My ghost got all the information we needed.” Helios nodded and placed a hand against the blight. “Let’s see if I can do anything else.” He said. Helios unleashed a large solar flare inside the blight effectively destroying it in only a matter of moments. “Nice one Helios!” Markus called out. “So what do we do now?” “We follow the signal of the Taken Guardian.” Elly replied. “That is what we came here to do anyway.” Helios interjected. “Where is the signal even coming from Elly?” “The Library.” Elly replied. “UGHHHHHH. Books. I hate books.” Markus drearily added. He summoned his sparrow and hoped on. “Race ya there!” With that he sped off. Helios laughed. “Like I will be last again.” He summoned his sparrow and raced quickly behind. Elly smiled and looked down at her shield. Something about it felt off, yet comforting. Somehow, it made her feel safe. She pulled out her sparrow and followed after Markus and Helios. [---To Be Continued------------------------] Thank you for reading and I hope to see you again in the next Chapter!