Chapter 9: https://www.bungie.net/en/Forum/Post/179266354/0/0 Zebra's Fanfic: https://www.bungie.net/en/Forum/Post/157266003/0/0 |======================| “Zara, your cooking is terrible!” Sasha complained, chewing a bite of the steak cajolingly. [i]Holy shit, this isn’t shit! [/i] Zara gave a knowing sneer and crossed her arms. “I told you I was a good cook.” Jaik drummed his claws against the table. “*We need more people, Taikonaut. Even with…*” he looked at Zara with a hint of contempt. “*Even with Taken, we need one more.*” Sasha translated it for the group. Guardian shrugged. “Well, I know a few, but they’re out doing other stuff.” Sasha grunted. “I wouldn’t know; I don’t mix well with the people in the tower.” They looked at Zara, who was tapping her chin thoughtfully. “I know a guy.” ---------------- Ralph’s ghost appeared suddenly. “Ralph.” his ghost said, “You have a message from the moon. It is from a ‘Sasha Chu’. She requests you meet her at the abandoned mining colony.” Ralph frowned, standing up from their table. He looked at Sanders and Ayria. “It looks like I got to go, for whatever reason. Sanders, finish the story.” He went to orbit. I wonder who this ‘Sasha’ is. And why the heck is she on the moon? ---------------- “So, who exactly is this Ralph person?” Sasha asked, taking another bite of steak. Zara flipped her knife up in the air, and caught it expertly. “He’s one of my old fireteam. Trust me, he can be kind of an imbecile sometimes, but he can also be really badass.” Sasha frowned, watching a guardian drop in from her pod’s window. It was a warlock, with a Zhalo slung across his back. He walked out of her view, and there was a slight knock on the door. She scowled. “Well, he better be good.” she went through the airlock, and opened the door. The warlock stepped in. “You are a Sasha Chu, right?” he asked, seeming suspicious. “Yes. I think you better come in.” The warlock removed his helmet and stepped inside, shuffling his feet awkwardly. He saw Jaik and reflexively reached for his gun, and Guardian grabbed his arm. “It’s ok, man. He’s on our side.” Ralph nodded slowly. “O- Ok. So tell me, what brings me here? And what is that delicious smell?” He looked at the steaks, and gave a small frown. “Those look almost exactly like….” his voice trialed off, and his eyes went wide. Ralph whipped around and he spotted Zara, who was struggling to contain a grin. “ZARA!” he shouted, leaping over the table and effectively tackling her. He held her in a tight hug. “I missed you, I knew you were alive, I knew it I knew it I knew it!” “E- easy there big guy, nice to see you too.” She muttered, patting him on the back. Suddenly, he yelped and leapt backwards, faint wisps of smoke trailing from his arms and body. “Wh-what the..” he questioned, looking at Zara and then at the burns. She shrugged. “Sorry, it’s a side effect of being…” she glanced at her arms, watching the white and black phase from them. “Taken.” Ralph took a step back, now realizing what she was. “You still have your red eyes.” She smiled a bit. “Anyways, we plan to take down a Fallen house. We need some more fire on the scene.” He grinned. “Actually…” his hands crackled with lightning. “I can bring the thunder.” Zara’s jaw dropped. “Whoah!” she grabbed his hand, and Ralph blushed. “Congratulations,” she smirked, watching a flicker of electricity crawl up his arm. “You no longer suck.” He groaned. “Now I know for sure that it’s you.” Sasha tapped her foot impatiently. “Alright, break it up guys. We got a house to take down here.” She gave Ralph the briefing. -------------------------------------- Zara watched impatiently as Sasha gave her old friend the loadown. She hoped the attack would be soon; the yearning was back. The yearning to [i]kill.[/i] She clenched her fists, trying to rid it from her mind. She couldn’t understand where this urge was coming from. She bit her lip; had she always been like this? She closed her eyes, and for a second, the Red Death was back in her hands, bursts spraying down guardians and their ghosts. Yes. Yes she had. She’d just been too preoccupied to notice. Did that mean that when she [i]snapped[/i], she was going to murder again? Warm blood trickled into her mouth, and she realized she’d bitten open her lip from anxiety. Not the first time that had happened. She glanced at Ralph, who was nodding as Sasha rambled on about their strategy. She remembered trying to kill Sasha, but that hadn’t been her peak. Never was. And neither was the Red Death incident. [i]Dear Traveler,[/i] she thought. [i]Does this mean that if I snap….[/i] [i]Yessss…… yes, it doess…[/i] She slammed her hand into the back of the couch, denting and burning it. Sasha glared at her. “Look, I get it that my couch sucks, but could you please not destroy it?” She snapped. “You already burned a hole in it.” Zara quickly put the guise back on. “Sorry, just thinking.” She gave a harsh laugh for good measure, and Sasha shook her head and continued to brief Ralph. The voice was back. |======================| They began the long march towards the Scar encampment. Based on Jaik’s files (and memory), the camp was only a few miles north. Sasha was in the sky, soaring in her spaceship. “Any wounds, down there?” She said over her mic. “Wounds?” Zara questioned. “Yeah, Wounds. Like, Wolves, Devils, Kings, that stuff.” Sasha replied. “Why, ‘Wounds’ and not ‘Scars’?” Ralph also began to question. “Because calling them ‘Scars’ feels kinda stupid.” Sasha answered. “Like, you wouldn’t call house of winter ‘Winterers’.” “Okay, I see your point.” Zara shrugged. They continued on. |======================| Sasha’s ship roared back towards them. “I found the camp!” Sasha said, panicked. “You did? Then why are you coming back?” Guardian said with a height. “Because of that!” They all went over the crack that was hiding the base. There, they saw a lot more fallen than they anticipated. As in, over four hundred walkers. |======================| Sasha turned around and started a strafing run, taking out eleven walkers. She began to fade. She kept her chin up. “Taikonaut, let me down.” Jaik put a hand on the back of her seat. “Ghost, let em’ down.” “I will.” Ghost said as Jaik was transmatted out. He stood on the ridge, chin up, and all four hands wielding a hand cannon. He had two swords on his back, and a dagger on his belt. His banner was repainted a brillant blue. His idea. “*House of scar!*” Jaik yelled. [i]“*YOU WILL FALL!*”[/i] |======================| Sasha was getting shakier and shakier. She… couldn’t handle this. It was too similar. But none of that now. They have a job to do. That’s when she saw Zara kneeling down. |======================| “No, not now!” Zara whispered, kneeling over, feeling the dark part of herself take over. The red enclosed around her vision, and she thought she was done. [i]It’s over…[/i] Then, there was sudden clarity. Everything seemed to move into slow motion; and she was aware of black arc energy arcing through her veins. She laughed maniacally; so [i]this[/i] was what happened when she snapped. She never knew it would be so… enjoyable. She surveyed the scene, the hundreds of walkers pointing in her direction. She laughed. |======================| Sasha watched as Zara stood up from her kneeling position, darkness seeping…. [i]into her?[/i] Ralph and Guardian’s lightning was doing the same, although it was being converted into darkness. She was absorbing the energy? “Sorry, but I’ll have to borrow that,” Zara cackled, hands becoming claws. “I’m going to have to,” Zara blinked forward, and Sasha saw Zara rip a captain in half, entrails spewing everywhere. “Tear things. Limb,” she grabbed ahold of a walker’s leg. “From limb-” she tore the walker’s leg off, and threw it across the valley. “-from limb!” Sasha watched in awe as Zara dismembered the walker. A captain crept up behind her, but she whipped around. “BACK OFF, BITCH! I’M MURDERING THINGS HERE!” Zara screeched, turning around and going to tear a chunk of its brain out. “ZARA!” Jaik hissed. She backed off. “What the hell, Zara?” Guardian hit a shank with the butt of his rifle. “You nearly killed him!” Ralph said, shocked. Zara just snorted, and blinked toward another captain, who had crept up behind Ralph. She then proceeded to rip the captain’s neck out. With her teeth. Ralph made a choking noise, and threw up a bit. In his helmet. “Aww, nasty!” Guardian said, mowing down dregs. “You and Zara, rank!” Zara just grinned, and spat out the chunk. She blinked to a dreg and grabbed its head; there was a crunching sound as she twisted it 360 degrees. “I LOVE THIS!” Zara laughed, ripping out a vandal’s heart. She then blinked up to a walker, and sank her hand into the metal like a knife through butter. She ripped out a hunk of machinery that could only be the engine. Then she blinked, and disappeared. There was a slight clunking noise on Sasha’s ship. “Sup?” Zara gave a little wave, and dove from her spaceship. Darkness laced throughout her, and Sasha watched as she became a black bullet. “Hey! That’s my move!” Sasha yelled as she fell faster. She landed on one of the walker’s legs, then launched herself through another walker. And another and another. And another. Forty walkers exploded, machinery flying everywhere. A shot hit her in the back. Zara’s red eyes rolled upward, and she collapsed into the dirt of the moon, a grin plastered to her face. I================I Sorry, but this Chapter's part one was so big it needs a part 2! Ha. A part 1 with a part 1. Part 2: https://www.bungie.net/en/Forum/Post/180165893