I flew backwards, processing the fact that the blow really hadn't hurt at all, but had still somehow managed to send me flying. Then I focused on that word: flying. I was flying through the air! I didn't know where the words came from, but I began to sing as I flew. "I believe I can flyyyy-" my joyous solo was cut off as I collided with a wall. I felt nothing, no pain nor my own body, and when I tried to move I found that my limbs wouldn't respond. Then things got trippy, and I watched with surprise as my body fell out of me and flopped to the floor with a thud. But after a moment a felt a tingling sensation and found my vision moved back into my body as I pushed myself up off of the ground. "What the heck just happened?!" I exclaimed as I looked back at the damage to the wall then down at my body, "I watched my body fall and then all of a sudden I was back in it!" "You died, I'll explain later, but right now you need to fight!" Sally responded anxiously. The Phalanx that had launched me now approached with shield braced in front of it. It had made a huge mistake. "NO ONE KILLS THE DREW!" I bellowed, then sprinted at the Phalanx. As I came within range it began pulling back its shield to swing at me once more, but I grabbed the edge of it and yanked down hard. A sickening snap sounded as the Phalanx's arm was twisted down and it was dragged closer to me. Before it could even process the pain, my knee was slamming up into the space between its legs, carrying it up a few inches off the ground with the force of the blow. My right fist then smashed into its side, then my left into its stomach. As I unloaded a barrage of attacks on the Phalanx, pulling each hit so that it would survive long enough to feel some regret, sparks of electricity began to dance around my fists. Each blow brought to life another show of blue light until my hands were wreathed in lightning, and I felt energy building up inside me as I unleashed more attacks. With one more swift punch, I sent the Phalanx off of its feet, but before it could go back to ground it dissolved with a flash of electricity and the crackle of static. Before I could process this phenomenon, a Cabal's bellow sounded behind me and I turned around just in time to swat away the blow of yet another Phalanx. This one was ended with a quick shot to the chest as its shield was moved out of the way, and after it fell I swiftly moved on to the last Legionary in the room and brought it down with a single electrical punch. Now only the Centurion remained. My shotgun was emptied of the six shells it had started with, and as I reloaded the Centurion pounded its fist against its chest with an angry roar. Apparently it was unintimidated by my elimination of its underlings. "Stupid gorilla," I called as I finished loading and snapped the shotgun up and cocked it, "Don't mess with Tarzan." Moments later I was walking out the door with the Centurion laying behind me in a puddle of blood and the strange liquid from its armor. Unfortunately, I came out of the building to find at least a dozen enemies between me and the Harvester, all with their guns trained on me. Smaller creatures milled around the larger Legionaries and Phalanxes, only standing at around five feet in height. "Those small ones are Psions, the brains of the Cabal military," Sally told me as we took in the force of Cabal preparing to fire on us, "Drew...please don't die now." "Wouldn't dream of it," I replied with a small smile, then moved once more into the midst of battle. A few of the Cabal rushed to meet me, two Legionaries using some form of jet pack to fly past those in front of them, and I brought them down quickly, handling each enemy as they came. Some Psions rushed closer, but were easily dispatched with single shots and punches. They couldn't shoot past each other, so I only had to worry about a few at a time, but after a moment they realized that advancing on me wasn't working and a line of Phalanxes set up in an arc in front of me. The remaining Legionaries and Psions bunched up behind this wall of shields, helping their Phalanx comrades shoot at me as I worked to avoid the onslaught of fire that now came at me. No matter how many shots I dodged, some would always manage to catch me, and no matter how hard I tried to probe for a weakness in the barrier, I could not penetrate their line. My shield and vital readings went down low on my visor readout, and I honestly wasn't feeling too hot at the moment. Without thought I barreled at the Cabal line once more, not able to understand why I was letting myself move closer to the overwhelming cluster of enemies. As I came upon them, more guns from further back in the group found gaps in front of them to shoot me from and some Psions slipped between the Phalanxes' shields to stop me from reaching the line, but before any of them could take me down I leapt up into the air with fists raised above my head. Power coursed through my figurative veins, and a bright blue glow surrounded my body as more electricity sparked to life around me, concentrated around my hands just like earlier. But this time, as I slammed my fists down to meet the sand-coated ground, a streak of lightning shot down from a few feet above my head and hit the ground just as I did. A pulse of brilliant blue energy shot out around me and completely enveloped the Cabal that had gotten in my way, making them all disappear as the electricity consumed their bodies. Not a single enemy stood before me now, nor a single remnant of their armor, for they had all been gathered too close to escape my wrath. "That...was...EPIC!" I exclaimed as I stood up from my crouched position on the ground, looking at my hands in wonder, "What was that?!" "That," Sally began, "Was the Fist of Havoc; the signature ability of the Striker Class Titans." "I don't know what that stuff means, but it sounds awesome," I replied, the excitement of a child who just got a new toy still present in my voice. "You're a Titan," Sally told me with a small laugh, "And it suits you." I looked up from my hands to see the Harvester laying unguarded a ways in front of us, and began walking towards it. "Almost home, Sally," I commented, my pace picking up more the closer I got. "Drew! Cabal reinforcements coming from the building on the far side!" Sally reported, bringing my attention back to the fight. I cursed, then began running as fast as I could to reach the Harvester before the Cabal. The deployment hatches along the blocky ship's sides were all opened, and I hopped in unhindered. Sally directed me to a a panel that controlled the hatches, and I shut them just as I saw the Cabal getting ready to climb in after me. Next we went to the front of the ship and I sat down in the pilot's chair, having absolutely no idea what to do. Banging sounded on the hull of the ship, and it sounded like some of the Cabal were trying to bust in. Sally appeared at my shoulder and floated to the controls in front of me, shining a blue beam of light from her eye. After a moment, I heard the engines roar to life and we lifted up off of the ground, leaving the Cabal behind. Looking out the window as we flew, I saw the remnants of the once-great martian city grow small amongst the infinite sea of red sand. Eventually all I could see was a shrinking sphere of the consuming sands, and I honestly felt a little sad about leaving the only place I knew so soon after seeing it. "Goodbye, Sand Land," I whispered longingly to the planet on the other side of the glass. "It's Mars," Sally called from the control panel. _______________________________ Link to Pt 3: https://www.bungie.net/en/Forum/Post/221445667/0/0 Link to Pt 5: https://www.bungie.net/en/Forum/Post/221445857/0/0 Link to ToC: https://www.bungie.net/en/Forum/Post/212710816/0/0