Tac reached for her left gauntlet, unclasping the buckle and adjusting the fit as she studied Mursor’s body language. [i]<Stop that!>[/i] Lumen’s admonishment sounded harsher than he’d meant it. [i]<Of all your tells, that one is the most obvious.>[/i] The Exo tightened the buckle again and folded her arms over her chest. She watched as the Awoken attempted to stare her down, and although he maintained his combat stance, he made no move to engage her. He finally spoke. “You’re lucky your Ghost saved you, or I’d have-” “Killed me?” Mursor scoffed. “So you’re a know-it-all, too, huh? You’ve been hanging around that Warlock too long.” “And [i]you’ve[/i] hidden in the City for too long. You treat other Guardians like-” “Can it, Exo,” Mursor snapped, “I’ve heard it from Shaxx already. I didn’t come to talk about the honor of being a Guardian, or the responsibility of standing against the Darkness, or the importance of defending the City. I came to-” “I’m not going to fight you, Mursor.” “Wouldn’t make much difference if you did.” Tac laughed. “That ‘know-it-all Warlock’ would say exactly the same thing.” Mursor snarled and leapt forward. His right hand was curled into a flame-shrouded fist that arced toward Tac’s head, but the Striker leaned back to avoid the blow, spread her arms for balance, and duck-rolled behind the Awoken. She resisted to urge to retaliate; instead, she backpedaled to put distance between herself and Mursor, and to give herself time to react to his next attack. [i]<Lumen, contact Shaxx and Zavala.>[/i] Tac ducked another Sunstrike and tripped Mursor, once again moving away from him. The Titan grumbled angrily and picked himself up. [i]<Do you have a specific message in mind?>[/i] [i]<No. Tell them what you want.>[/i] She thought for a moment more. [i]<But apologize for waking them.>[/i] As Tac waited for Mursor to close with her again, she took a moment to study her surroundings and realized she’d made it almost halfway through Haven Park before the Sunbreaker attacked her. Lumen’s route followed the park’s most popular thoroughfare: a gently-curving sidewalk paralleled by an immense concrete wall, which was decorated with murals and artwork depicting the history of Earth and the Last Safe City. The imagery was consistently updated with the names and accomplishments - there were even epitaphs for some - of the Guardians who fought beyond the City. During the night, lights kept the mural illuminated for those who visited after sundown. Tac couldn’t help but feel a perverse sense of satisfaction at the knowledge that Mursor’s renown in the Crucible would never be part of that mural. The feeling passed as she refocused her attention on the Awoken. The Sunbreaker had closed the gap and was chambering his left leg for a front kick. Tac crossed her forearms in a guard and took the blow. She shifted her weight and twisted her torso as Mursor’s boot impacted with her arm. His foot slipped off of her guard, and as he stumbled past her, she planted her palm on his upper back and shoved him forward. He rounded on her again, angrier than ever. “Grah! Get over here!” Again, he swung a fist and again, Tac danced out of reach. “I told you. I’m not going to fight you.” “Like hell you’re not.” Tac could hear a grin in the Titan’s voice, and though she couldn’t see his face, she was certain he wore a malevolent smile. Someone landed on the ground behind her. [i]<Tac!>[/i] But the warning came too late. The newcomer seized her in a choke hold, and Tac reflexively brought her hands up to grab the offender’s forearm. [i]<Thanks for the heads up,>[/i] she shot at Lumen. [i]<I’m sorry,>[/i] the Ghost replied, [i]<he was there before I could say anything.>[/i] Tac berated herself for being careless. [i]‘I should have guessed he’d bring a friend.’[/i] Confident that his target wouldn’t escape, Mursor strode forward and drove a fist into Tac’s stomach, but the Striker refused to allow him a second blow. She flexed her knees and hopped, kicking her feet outward at the same time. The soles of her boots slammed into Mursor’s chest and sent him reeling as he struggled to remain on his feet. The Guardian behind was also thrown off-balance as the resistance from Tac’s kick was transferred backward. He staggered, and the pressure on Tac’s neck eased; she twisted and jabbed an elbow at his ribcage, then shoved him backward, briefly noting that he, too, was a Titan. She turned to confront Mursor, but was met with a blow to the face. The backhanded strike broke her jaw and sent a fragment of her facial plating spinning off into the dark. The park was momentarily veiled in static as her visual systems realigned, but by the time she could bring the world back into focus, Mursor had grabbed the top of her breastplate and was hauling her closer for another strike. Tac reached for the Sunbreaker’s wrist, but the mysterious third Guardian seized her arms and twisted them behind her back. She felt pressure build in her shoulders, and knew the Titan could easily break an arm, if he so desired. [i]<Lumen, any suggestions?>[/i] Mursor curled his hand into a fist. [i]<I have two.> <Those would be?>[/i] Tac watched as the Sunbreaker cocked his arm back, knuckles aglow with another Sunstrike. [i]<You could apologize.> <No.>[/i] Mursor punched Tac in the face. Her right eye flickered and went dark. [i]<Well, then,>[/i] Lumen replied, [i]<the second suggestion is pointless. You know the Vanguard’s policy regarding the use of Light inside the City.>[/i] Another backhanded blow. [i]<And just whose side are you on?>[/i] [i]<You asked for solutions, and I offered. I don’t want to apologize any more than you do,>[/i] Tac suspected the Ghost winced as Mursor delivered a particularly vicious blow to the Exo’s left side, but he continued, [i]<but it’s just as viable as defending yourself.>[/i] Tac was loathe to turn the park into a battleground, but Lumen wouldn’t be able to make his repairs in the middle of combat, not with Mursor and his mysterious friend constantly raining blows on her. She could wait for Shaxx and Zavala to arrive, but there was no telling just when that would be. Not the least of which, her immobilized arms prevented her from striking back. Which left her with one option: [i]she[/i] would have to break the rules first. ~~~~~ [b]Alright, so I've changed some of my formatting in this piece. Dialogue between a Guardian and his/her Ghost is now denoted with "<" and ">", as well as being in italics, but only while that Ghost is not in physical form. Simple internal thought is in italics with single quotes. Just to make it a little easier to visually distinguish between the different types of dialogues. I'd go back and fix previous chapters, but those were edited by a mod, and it seemed silly to contact them for such paltry edits. So please bear with me on those changes. :) And yes, I'm using the ever-so-cliche "disgruntled bar patron tags along for revenge, and he also brought a friend" trope. I'll do my best to avoid such cliche tropes in the future. :D [/b]