Rest of the story: https://docs.google.com/document/d/15ew1g89oxjEj5mZRFvv94Ht2Td6lVWkc-Lk7nwplUgg/edit# There is a tag as well. [b]Chapter 19[/b] Tivik cried for the first time in years. “I see. My failure to kill that titan…” He remembered now. Soon after he branched off from the Devils, a certain titan had interrupted one of his murders. The same titan that had now recently killed Darvahk and Miskor. He looked down at his right foot. “He is the one that took my leg off.” He ran his hand over the prosthetic. That was a time he thought turning back was possible, and his vague memory subconsciously held him back against the titan during his struggle in the European Dead Zone. “I can modify and reattach the block, and rid myself of these memories forever.” He shakily read a file. “Is this what I must do?” Silence filled his room as he contemplated. If he abandoned his memories, he would fail no longer, and failure was something he had grown to despise. “Tivik the guardian sympathizer is long dead, and he is a burden to the Guardian Killer.” He concluded, reaching for a button. “If I am to survive, it will be down this path.” His claws ran over the button that would erase his memories once more, but not leave a trace of anything that would hinder him. “I did not expect to encounter this guardian again, and the crew paid dearly for it. No more! I will continue down the path of bloodshed! Negotiation is not an option I should trouble myself with! I will kill! And kill! Until the Traveler has no choice but to accept me, and all other Eliksni!” He slammed his fist down, for he had convinced himself enough, and his avenue was sealed. All memories and feelings of his hope to ally himself with humanity vanished, and Tivik blacked out. - “You ready?” Lacer asked, as he put the ship into orbit above the Hellas Basin. “Yeah,” Eltanin replied quietly, “isn’t transmat impossible in the ice caves?” “Ah, that’s why we have this baby! We’ll make a transmat zone.” He hauled a charred, sputtering rocket launcher from a locker. “Dragon’s Breath,” he read, “Niiiice.” “Is it safe?” Ascella asked, approaching the titan cautiously. “Of course it’s safe! Ow.” A spark jumped onto his face. “Okay, alright. Hell if I know, but you won’t have to worry about that.” He patted the hunter’s shoulder and hauled the rocket launcher onto his back. “See you in a bit, El. We’re going spelunking. Prepare a speech for the man or something. I wanna shed tears.” Lacer and Ascella disappeared from the ship, leaving Eltanin alone with her thoughts. She let go of her crutches and slumped down onto a chair. “Oh god, Crucius. What am I gonna say?” She looked around. “Crucius?” “I’m here.” The ghost floated out of the -blam!-’s seat. “Truthfully, I don’t know if he’ll budge, and I’m sure you don’t want to force him out of hiding.” The ghost floated over to the ex-warlock, and the two shared a silent moment. “Shouldn’t you be down there?” “The only place in the ice caves he would hide is his rez spot, which I’ve flagged for those two.” “Ah.” “Are you still worried?” “Of course I am, but don’t worry. I’ll improvise.” “I guess I’ll have to trust you.” Crucius sighed. “Looks like they’ve already made contact with Hive. Lacer, how are you holding up down there?” “Damn it, man. Why does it have to get so dicey so quick?” Lacer pushed himself against a cover of ice. Hive shredders chipped away at the frozen wall. “Good thing we know Hive.” Ascella remarked from a ledge beside him, as a cursed thrall smothered her in chilling corpse parts. “Not these H-Hive, th-though.” She shivered. A large knight smashed its way through an ice wall to challenge the guardians, much to their dismay. “Damn it all!” Lacer’s palm lit up in void energy. “Yes! Do the thing! Do the thing!” Ascella cheered from above. “Hold that knight off! These small fries are mine.” He yelled, as his magnetic grenade flared to life. “Already on it!” Ascella drew a balanced, neon blue sword and approached the massive knight. Each step it took rumbled the snow powdered ground beneath them. Lacer slapped the grenade against his fist, leapt over cover, and moved toward a nearby acolyte. He punched it, and it crumbled into ice. He felt energy siphon from the acolyte to him, forming a protective barrier around him that shielded him from the now exploding grenade on his knuckles, which eliminated several thrall that had been fighting beside the long dead acolyte. He swung again, catching a thrall in the stomach and flinging the rest of the frozen horde away with another detonation of the grenade. “Worked flawlessly, as always.” Lacer shook his smoking hand as it regenerated, not entirely free from the effects of the explosions. “Ugh!” Ascella struggled against the knight, holding back a sword many times larger than hers. Her legs began to bend from the weight. “Hold it there, Ascella!” Lacer scrambled to grip his sniper rifle. He took aim at the knight and shot his entire magazine at its head. Each hit made a dent in its icy helmet, but none made it falter. “Lacer, you gotta hurry!” Ascella was pushed down to her knees, and her arms began to shake. “C’mon, you! Go down already!” He began to reload. Ascella was pushed onto her back. Her sword was pushed just above her chest. “Lacer!” “I gotcha!!” Lacer yelled, as he fired a round into the knight’s hand. “That’ll keep ya from- oh, come on.” The knight dropped its sword and reached for the hunter. Its claws slid easily around Ascella’s body. Lacer frantically shot at the knight, but its hide was too tough. “Ascella!” Lacer began to run to the knight, but stopped in his tracks as he saw a titan, enveloped in arc energy, rocket toward the massive Hive warrior. He struck its back, sending a shockwave through the cave that forced the knight to stumble forward and release the hunter. Lacer ran forward, and dived to catch Ascella on his back as she fell. The impact knocked his wind out as he continued to slide. “Did… we… do… it…?” She asked, heaving with each breath. “Yeah, you did great!” Lacer groaned, “now get off my back. I can’t breathe.” The two guardians sat up, regenerating, as Zahir wrestled Ascella’s sword out of the ground, standing to face the weakened knight. It sneered. A bright green glow emanated from its eyes, showing its gruesome face through its cracked helmet. “Kanthul, Claw of Nokris.” Jolt said, scanning the knight for Lacer. “He’s a really high ranking Hive warrior. No wonder he didn’t budge to your sniper rifle.” Zahir swung his arm forward, launching the sword into Kanthul’s upper eye. The knight roared in pain and rushed forward, brandishing his sword. Zahir tossed a pulse grenade forward, stopping the knight in his tracks. He readied his rocket launcher and called to the other two. “Don’t just stand there, hit him with everything you’ve got!” Lacer suddenly remembered. “Jolt! The rocket launcher! Give it here!” He held his hands out, and the menacing gun appeared. He took aim at the ice ceiling above the knight as Ascella began to shoot her scout rifle. Zahir was struck by Kanthul’s sword, forcing him downward. He groaned, as the cleaver’s hit had broken his helmet, and he had no ghost to heal him. “Get away!” Lacer yelled, as a molten frenzy of solar energy escaped the weapon. It festered and boiled as it hit the ice, and flames rained down upon its target. Kanthul shrieked as his armor was filed down to bone. He fell to his knees, melting to nothing. (Cont. in comments)