[b] Here is Chapter 6! Of course, give it a bump of you liked it, and constructive criticism is always welcome. If you're new to this series and need to catch up, my chapter index will be linked below. [/b] https://www.bungie.net/en/Forum/Post/116093772/0/0 [i]Three years ago...[/i] Jadis sat slumped in a cold, metal chair, her gaze cast downward at her feet, yet she stared at nothing. She heard the whine and clunk of a door opening and closing, and looked up to see an Exo adorned with gold and white armor. His helmet was off, allowing her to view his black skin, and ice blue eyes. "You look like crap," noted Itami, not one to focus on pleasantries, and especially not one for wasteful and time consuming human emotions She did look like crap though. Her hair was a matted, raggedy mess. There were dark parches ringing her bloodshot eyes. Her light blue skin had a sallow, greasy complexion to it, and she smelled like hot garbage. She was like a hot mess. Itami sighed. "You're still not upset about HIM, are you? Hasn't it been almost two months?" Jadis looked straight into Itami's eyes, attempting to portray her sense of grief, of betrayal, of loss, of anger, of frustration, of devastation, and a number of other emotions that she had been cursed to endure. She had even tried suicide in order to rid herself of the pain, four times, but each and every time, her Ghost had brought her back. Each and every time she had tried to pry open her Ghost's shell like a walnut and smash open it's innards. Each and every time, she relived through that same moment, and felt the same excruciating pain pass through her veins then as it did now, throbbing with the beat of her heart. For two long months, she had tried to make Geyser understand. She had tried to make ANYONE understand what she was feeling. No one did though. Her comrades mourned with her, but they did not mourn the way she did. She could see it in their eyes; they did not, could not, understand, and thus her suffering was further worsened by a feeling of perpetual loneliness. Jadis buried her head in her hands, and she cried. Not the silent tears that she wept day by day, but the wracking sobs that erupted whenever she lay in bed at night, the same tears that dried up on her cheeks as she cried herself to sleep each night. Itami simply watched Jadis's shaking form in disbelief. It was times at these that humans and Awoken alike disgusted him when they were distraught like this. Even though Itami chose to avoid concern for others, he always took advantage at what emotions were weakest to: manipulation. "So, who do you think is to blame for his death?" The Hunter's cries died out. Her shaking stopped. Without warning, she jumped up, and wrapped her hands around Geyser's throat. "THAT BASTARD!!! I'LL KILL HIM!!! I'LL CUT OUT HIS DAMN THROAT!!! I'LL SPLIT OPEN HIS F*CKING SKULL!!!!" From her mouth spat profanities and insults, curses and blasphemies, at the person who had caused her so much grief, all while she tried to emulate the feeling of killing him by attempting to wring the Titan's neck. Her burst of unbridled rage and bloodlust was short lived though. Soon she was slumped back into her chair, staring downward at nothing, her tears pattering on the floor. Itami kneeled in front of Truth, and roughly grabbed her chin, jerking it so that her tear-stained, snot-stricken face was aimed at him. "You think too small. You have to look at the big picture. HE may have caused his destruction, but who assigned them that mission? Who knew the true danger they would be in, and who knew exactly what was waiting for them in their?" A devilish grin slowly formed on his face, as he watched Jadis's eyes widen from her own self realization. "Now, tell me? Which member of the Vanguard do you hate the most?" [i]Present...[/i] "The bastard manipulated me well, I'll give him that. Then we spent the next two years planning, training, gathering our forces. You obviously know the rest." Jadis looked upon her companions after she told her tale, but she got nothing. Lazarus seemed to view her with a guise of solemn pity. Whatever Tempest was feeling, if he felt anything at all, was unable to be seen through the hardened mask that he had set up as she had spoke her tale. "Jadis..." whispered Lazarus. "I never even knew. I'm sorry." He tried to set his hand against her leg, but she brushed it off. She had rejected sympathy a long time ago, and had just accepted that no one would ever be able to understand. "It doesn't matter anyway. Once this is all over, I plan to track down who I should have killed in the first place. Before I kill him I'm going to torture him in the most brutal ways I know how, then throw is his carcass into the darkest depths of space." She glanced at Tempest for only a moment before standing up, brushing the grass off her pants. "So, you geniuses have a plan?" "You mock me my dear," said Lazarus. "The plan is to remove Geyser from power. Obviously." Jadis nodded. "Simple and to the point. I like it." "Hold on," replied Tempest as he stood up. "First of all, we need a genuine plan. I don't feel like going toe-to-toe with Geyser again. Second of all, how do the two of you even know each other? You seem to have a tendency to stray away from people, especially Warlocks." "Ha," chuckled Lazarus. "That my friend is a lo-" Apparently the story wasn't long enough, because at that moment, the Sunsinger's chest exploded. ... It hadn't been easy for Yamishtin to track down his prey through this whacked out forest, but his trusty MIDA Mulit-Tool had led him to nice little spot in the crook of a thick branch, where he could see all of his targets sitting in one spot. Setting the scout rifle down, he pulled out his second favorite toy: the Devil's Corkscrew. It was a one of kind sniper rifle, a weapon, said to be designed by the same man who built the Gjallarhorn rocket launcher after the Battle of Twilight Gap. It had range and power to rival Icebreaker and Efrideet's Spear, respectively, but what made the rifle so powerful were the unique rounds it fired. Propelled by a micro rocket similar to the ones used by the Cabal, the drill shaped rounds spun at speeds comparable to 300,000 RPM before it even left the barrel of the gun. These special rounds were designed to overpenetrate the defensive barriers of shielded enemies like Fallen Captains and Vex Minotaurs, and still be able to pierce through the enemy's body. Once the round passed through any part of the body, the microrocket would detonate, usually causing irreparable amounts of damage to the target. The weapon was a powerful, accurate, devastating killing machine. "And I can't kill ANYBODY with it!!" he quietly whined. Yamishtin checked his targets through the scope of the sniper rifle again, and noticed a third person sitting among them. He was human. He didn't know him, and Geyser hadn't specified his capture. The Hunter smiled. He took aim, and pulled the trigger. ... Lazarus's entire chest was gone, sprayed across the ground in tiny bits. Blood dripped down his chin, while it gushed from his open chest cavity. Two more shots suddenly rang out, and his body shattered, raining gore upon the lush, green grass. Without even pausing to think, Tempest and Jadis drew their handcannons and fired in the direction of the shots. A startled yelp could be heard in the treetops beyond, followed by the muffled thump of a body hitting the forest floor. "Shit." whispered Jadis. "I didn't even think we could be tracked in this forest. Tempest, let's--WHAT ARE YOU DOING!!??" The Warlock had produced a large sack made of sapphire wire mesh from the inside of his cloak, and was proceeding to move across the clearing and drop the larger chunks of Lazarus's remains into it. "I'm pretty sure his final wish wouldn't be TO TAKE OUT THE TRASH!!" "I don't even have time to explain why I don't have time to explain..." muttered Tempest. "Fine then! Pick up what you can and let's go!" Deciding he had gotten most of the larger pieces, the Warlock tied the bag closed. The two Guardians then proceeded to haul ass out of the forest, Tempest carrying the remains of Lazarus over his shoulder.