SEASON 2 EPISODE 2 Episode 27 Part 1 CARDINAL By SmartAurum75, A_Q_Y, Daltec Xeno, and HOB Satyr Daltec shanked his 413th dreg, when the blade snapped in half. He ran up to another and drove it deep into its upper torso. He used his Cocytus as a club, smashing the skulls of the Vandals, until that also broke. Daltec rose, tired and almost dead from high light usage. He leaned upon a nearby generator, catching his breath, getting ready for the fi- hey was that a generator? Daltec looked, and found that it indeed was. He ripped off an external plate, and rewired some circuitry, causing the Bunker Generator doors to open. Daltec took the chance and jumped down, not to open doors for his friends, but to take every single iota of Arc energy from Rasputin. By the time the platform rose to the surface, to the awaiting Splicers, it was not Daltec who was standing before them, but a monster. It smiled, and a row of teeth, sharpened to a point, gleamed in the darkness. “Take that, Aion. You lucky SoB.” A dreg, young and foolish, ran up to the beast. In an instant, it's head was flying through the air, ether spewing from the neck. Daltec had punched the head right off, and had assumed a Muay Thai fighting stance. He was ready for a slaughter. Meanwhile it was a disaster and terror in the other room. The generator had unlocked ALL doors. Including the ones that held back Splicers. “What the bloody Dreadnaught?” Hemera said as even more NOBLE ELDER REAVER CAPTAINS AND VANDALS poured into the room. Erax tried to reload his scout rifle. Only to find that he was out of ammo on all weapons and out of ammo Synthesis. As it turns out, the fallen weren't attacking, but fleeing from whatever was behind the door. “Advance slowly, guys.” Hemera called out, slightly bewildered by the Devils’ escape attempt. The team indeed advanced to find a muscled, screaming giant beating the SIVA out of a Perfected Captain. “HAAAAAGH, ARGH. HWROOOOOOOOGH!” It shouted, scaring away the observing Splicers. It stood up, and the fireteam trained their guns on the creature. It turned it's head in confusion, then realising they were afraid of it. It grinned, and asked, “Erax. Would you like another kiss?” Click click click. Erax tried to fire his scout rifle, but Hemera fired for him. It hit Daltec in the chest, but steam simply poured out of the wound as it healed. “Heh, heh, heh. Not the only Psi-enhanced now, Aion.” Aion stared at Daltec. “Holy… You’re almost twice my size! All I get is a floaty thing!” Daltec smiled, and nodded to Hemera. “Path’s clear. Let's get crackalackin’.” They made it to Rasputin’s central AI core. It was being powered by SIVA. There was a large, man-sized cooling chamber in the middle. Hemera jumped onto the console, gave it a couple of passwords and many more kicks before she nodded and said. “Get the batteries out.” Aion, Erax and Liber were struggling with one of them, whilst Daltec had already smashed the glass containers and the SIVA clusters within. The temperature dropped quickly, and rose again. The coolant door opened, and out stepped an Exo, with the alias ‘Cardinal-1’. It attempted to wind Daltec and went for Liber. Daltec recognised the markings from his young guardian-hood. He shouted. “YAMATE!” Cardinal stood up, surprised towards the large creature. “English?” The Exo nodded as he said the word. “Yes. You have infiltrated Bunker RAS-5. Prepare to die.” Daltec initiated his Muay Thai stance and sweeped the Exo off of the floor into the ground. “We are not your enemies!” Hemera shouted. “We need your help!” “My systems don't compute. Releasing weaponized test subjects.” Cardinal said. The walls opened. 4 Cryo Chambers rolled out. Then they opened. A weaponized Quinn walked from one of them. From another was Duros. From the other a Guardian named Aurigentum. And from the last Cryochamber came a frame designated as Aurus. The Weaponized Guardians raised their weapons. “You're not authorized. You will be terminated.” They said in unison. Daltec stretched his arms around the team as the Rogue Guardians fired, taking shots that would have killed his team. Aion blinked in and blasted the floor with Arc. They were stunned for a time. Liber and Daltec simply put them back into their Cryo-Cells. “Problem solved…” Daltec murmured, “Now what about this Fool of an Exo?” The Bunker went into shutdown mode. Red lights flashed on. “What now?” Aion asked reluctantly. The walls started to close in. The core fell into the ground. The team looked around. This was their end. Until the red Exo walked in.