Here's part 27 of Into the Hellmouth! If you like it, give it a bump, and I'll get the next part out soon! Here's Part [url=https://www.bungie.net/en/Forums/Post/207212393?sort=0&page=0]26[/url] if you missed it! Stay classy, Guardians! Sai was breathing heavily as she ran through the Temple. Her feet thudded against the ground, her legs pumping, muscle contracting and expanding. Her lungs filled, and then emptied. Filled, emptied. Filed, emptied. But she didn’t think about any of this as she ran. All of it was automated. Robotic. She didn’t have time to think about these bodily functions as she ran. Because there was only room for a single thought in her head as she ran through the Hive’s catacombs. Revenge. She fell upon the procession swiftly, catching the rearmost of the Blades off-guard. She cut them down without mercy, slashing through their thick armor as though it was paper. The Hive had clearly not anticipated their own art being turned on them. The next two Blades were better prepared, but Sai still had the advantage. She cleaved through the chest of the first knight, killing it, and, using the momentum from that strike, cut through the leg of the second Blade. It howled, dropping it’s sword to clutch it’s wounded limb, falling to it’s knee. Sai slashed again, and it’s head toppled to the ground a second later. She had already almost reached Sardon, but by now, the surprise had worn off. The remaining Blades formed a defensive line in front of their General, while the shrieking wizards rained down arc energy on the ground in front of them, forcing Sai to temporarily retreat. She nearly bumped into the rest of her Fireteam as she took cover behind a metal barrier. Eriana grabbed her by the shoulders, and slammed her against a nearby wall. “Are you crazy!” she shouted. “You almost got yourself killed!” “Only myself, though,” Sai said dispassionately. “Well, good for you!” Eriana retorted. “But thanks to your little escapade, we’ve lost the element of surprise! If you’d waited for us, we could’ve overwhelmed them! Destroyed the Soul Crystal! But not anymore!” Sai looked on blankly. Eriana shook the hunter. “DO YOU UNDERSTAND ME?” she shouted. “YOU MAY HAVE JUST COMPROMISED THIS WHOLE DAMN MISSION!” That seemed to get Sai’s attention. She looked at Eriana strangely. Then, Eris brushed Eriana aside with an annoyed expression. She turned to Sai, and spoke gently to her. “Sai,” she said, “you only wanted to risk yourself, right?” Sai looked up at her, and nodded. “Here’s the thing,” Eris said. “We’re supposed to be doing this as a team. We work as a team. We fight as a team. And we take risks,” she continued, “as a team.” She looked into Sai’s helm. “Do you understand me?” she asked. Toland cleared his throat. “Sorry to interrupt your little conversation,” he said, “but we have a problem.” “What’s that?” Vell asked, clutching the sword. “They’re retreating,” Toland said, “and they’re taking Crota’s soul with them.” Sai looked around the corner. The blades were still holding the line, but the wizards had ceased fire. The Guardians could glimpse them retreating deeper into the fortress, Crota’s soul in tow. The Swarm Princes had long since fled. Sai gritted her teeth, her conversation with Eris and Eriana forgotten. “No they aren’t,” she said. She ran out from behind cover, and advanced on the Blades. “Sai!” Vell shouted. But she was already gone. Vell sighed. “Dammit,” he said. Then, he ran out after her. Sai had already reached the Blades, and began swinging with her sword. Vell arrived a second later, and the two began to create a gap in the column of knights. But then, Acolytes rushed to fill the gap, taking aim with their shredders and boomers. But Eriana, Toland, Omar, and Eris rushed forward, took a knee, and began laying down cover fire, shredding the Hive spawn as they rushed forward. As they cut down Blade after Blade, Sai noticed that Sardon appeared to have grown impatient with his minions. He was charging forward, sword in hand - and heading straight for Vell, who was busy dueling with one of the Blades. Sai gritted her teeth, and quickly dispatched the Blade that she was dueling. Then, she ran towards Vell, ignoring the shredders and boomer blasts as they splattered against her shields. Sardon lifted up his sword, and prepared to bring it down on Vell’s exposed back. But Sai roared defiantly, and raised her sword to block the blow. The swords connected in the air, and locked in place. The clang of bone-on-bone sent such a sound through the air that everyone - Hive and Guardian alike - stopped fighting to examine the source of the noise. Despite the fact that Sardon was five or six times the size of his opponent, he could not move the sword. Nor could Sai manage to force her opponent back, and neither of them showed any desire to disengage. However, Sai slowly began to lose ground as Sardon pushed his blade down towards her helm. Seeing his advantage, Sardon seemed to grin. He pressed down further, until his cursed sword was mere inches away from Sai’s head. Then Sai took a deep, shuddering breath, as beads of sweat rolled off her forehead and trickled down into her armor. And slowly but surely, she pushed Sardon back. The Hive General’s grin faltered. He pushed down on the blade with even greater strength than before, but Sai refused to give in. She pushed the blade up further and further, and then looked up at her foe, and let out a war cry. “RAAAAAAAAAHHHHHHHH!!!!!!” There was a flash of light, and then the blades shattered, sending out a blast that sent everything in the hallway flying. Acolytes collided with the ceiling, and knights were sent down the hall like tumbleweeds. Even the Guardians found themselves flung backwards by an invisible fore that tossed them aside like rag dolls. Even the might Sardon went flying backwards, nearly bowling over his Swarm Princes in the process. Sai was also flung backward, landing against a wall with a deft thud. Eris was the first to pick herself up off the ground. Groaning, she put a hand on her helmet. She looked around her. “Everybody breathing?” she asked. Eriana grunted. “In a manner of speaking,” the exo said. She stood up off the ground, dusting off her robes. Toland groaned. “I’m alive,” he said. “Same,” replied Omar. Vell stood up, and began thrusting his sword through any Blade that dared move. No mercy for servants of the Darkness. Eris looked around. “Where’s Sai?” The answer came from her ghost. “Over here!” it said. The Guardians rushed over, and found the ghost hovering over Sai’s body. Eris gulped. “Is she -“ she began, her voice dropping to a whisper. “Is she dead?” “No,” her ghost said. It sounded like it was panicking. “But her vitals are all over the place! I can’t figure out what’s wrong!” The Guardians turned around as the cries of thralls and acolytes, along with the bellow of knights, emanated from the tunnels. Omar looked down at Sai. “We can’t stay here,” he said, “we have to move.” Vell nodded, scooping Sai up and throwing her limp body over his shoulder. Sai was thin, but with her armor on, she weighed in at 250 pounds. Vell didn’t even notice the extra weight. “Let’s go,” he said. And with that, the Guardians ran deeper into the Hive fortress, attempting to escape the incoming Hive. Edit: [url=https://www.bungie.net/en/Forums/Post/207602052]Part 28[/url]