Friday; one day until the Guardian Assault The last few Cabal on the battlefield were finally killed off. Every Guardian hid for cover and reloaded their weapons. There was peace in the canyon again, albeit short lived. The canyon became a graveyard. Cabal and Guardians alike lay across the field. Weapons and ammo, armor and limbs scattered the ground. So many beings, never to see the light of day again. Ghosts tried to revive their Guardians, but it was no use. The Darkness was too dense. Too much bloodshed. "We still have the Primus in the back," Victor stated as the Goliath moved into position. Guardians, both hurting or unscathed, stood up and looked to the Cabal fortress. How could a Primus watch all of its troops die, and still stand proudly? "Moving in, Sir!" Said a Guardian driving an interceptor. The miniature tank drove up the canyon and prepared to shoot. [i]BANG!![/i] Every Guardian looked toward the interceptor. But, there was no interceptor. Just a burning scrap heap with a poor soul crushed somewhere in the mix. "What the f*** is that thing?!!" Shouted another Guardian. A massive Cabal yanked an orange hot battering ram-- which was attached to its arm-- out of the ground! It looked to the army of Guardians and charged. Other Guardians on interceptors rushed to meet the beast head on, but the Valus destroyed one just by slamming it with the hulking piece of destruction built onto its armor. It lifted another one in the air, then slammed it back down onto the Guardian rider! Many Guardians gathered around the beast and opened fire. However, even rockets barely dented the fiery orange and yellow armor. Huge jetpack wings hoisted the Cabal into the sky. As the beast came back down, it jabbed the ground with its arm. The shockwave killed several Guardians, and knocked back the rest. "Spin this thing around, Laurel!!" Victor shouted as he aimed the solar cannon at the new threat. He began warming up the massive weapon as the tank spun around. Matson began shooting the Cabal to keep it distracted. The cannon was almost warmed up! "Arc cannon! Arc cannon!! Arc cannon!!" Yelled a Guardian that was riding the outside of the Cabal tank. Victor looked out of the viewport and watched the massive arc mortar coming straight for him in horror! "Get back here!!" He yelled. The behemoth tank exploded, sending a wave of energy all through the canyon, and a wall of smoke high into the sky! Now, a raging bonfire occupied the space where the Goliath once hovered. Guardians were thrown yards from the tank, their bodies still discharging with excess arc energy. Laurel was curled up into a ball and crying uncontrollably. Matson held her head against him and rubbed her shoulder. Victor, a striker and defender, had channeled void Light around him into a ward of dawn, saving them from the explosion. The warlock hid her face in her arms, shielding herself from the death that awaited outside. Matson looked up to Victor. He wasn't crying yet, but his face was getting contorted as he fought the urge. "You were right, Victor... We weren't prepared for this... We weren't prepared for this..." The hunter's voice was beginning to break as he held the Awoken. "None of us were," Victor said. He had crouched to one knee so he was eye level with the other two Guardians. "I've never seen these Cabal before... I didn't... I, I... I've failed. I can't protect you two anymore..." Even he was getting emotional. "Don't worry, Cap... We signed up for this..." Matson said to the dishonored titan. "I don't wanna die!!" Laurel cried loudly, despite already accepting her fate. Matson hugged her tightly. He was going to stay with her until the end. Victor dropped his head. One more thought came into mind, one more thing he could do. "Crimson, Panoptes... You two know what to do..." He said to the ghosts. Matson looked up. "Victor, what do you mean?... Panoptes, what is he talking about?!" The ghost turned to his hunter. "Do you remember? At the Tower, when Victor needed to talk to us?..." "I got this," Victor interupted. "I was always afraid that Mars would be too much for you. I was always afraid the Cabal would overwhelm us... And I was always afraid I might lose you two... So, I told Crimson and Panoptes to transmat both of you to your ships if I ever gave the word..." Laurel lifted her teary head up and stared at the titan. "Wha... what... do you mean?..." she asked. Victor could not convince himself to look at the young Guardians in the eyes. "I can't protect you two anymore... but I won't let you die..." Matson stood up, "No, Victor... You can't be serious! We're not going-- we're going to stay and fight! We're staying right here, with you!" The hunter shouted furiously. "No, you're not!" Victor shouted back. "Ghosts, do it..." "Victor, don't do this! Don't do--" Matson and Laurel were transmatted out of the ward of dawn. The bright light of their departure faded away, leaving Victor and Nathaniel alone. "No!! No!! No!!" Laurel screamed as she slapped the control panel of her ship. Crimson flew over to the warlock that curled up in a ball again. "I'm sorry, Raisin..." she said. "Victor did this for you... This is what he wanted," the ghost said after spawning a blanket around the Awoken. In the neighboring ship, Matson tried to disengage the autopilot, flipping switches and typing commands into the computer. "Panoptes, take me back!! Take me back!! We can't leave him!!" WE HAVE TO GO BACK!!" Instead, both Laurel's and Matson's ships spun around and jumped into warp. They were no longer above Mars. Back on Mars, the ward of dawn around Victor was about to evaporate. The titan stood up and took his Fourth Horseman from off his back. Time slowed down around him as he took in everything he saw. The Valus in orange armor flung an interceptor into the canyon wall. Arc mortars pelted the ground and turned the sand into glass. And lastly, the Primus. The Primus had massive spikes on its armor, and a massive heavy slug thrower. It warmed up the motors of the gun, then sprayed the battlefield with death! Guardians were ripped to shreds. The micro rockets obliterated arms, tore through chestplates and punched holes right through skulls. Many Guardians died before they even hit the ground, others were stranded in the open, barely clinging to life, screaming and crying for mercy or for the killing blow. The Valus ran around the bowl like a nimble boulder. It stepped on and crushed many Guardians that were unable to reach cover. Pax tried to fight the beast, but he was carried to a wall, then had his head "sliced" off by the thing on the Cabal's arm. The beast flew into the air again, and destroyed sparrows that tried to zoom away. "I have their names," Nathaniel said somberly. "Primus Ta'aun. Valus Mau'ual. And the cannon must be manned by the third bond brother, Valus Tlu'urn..." The ghost turned to the titan. "It was an honor to be your ghost..." Victor looked to Nathaniel. "It was an honor to be your Guardian, bud..." Victor rushed into battle and shot at the Cabal. He hid behind cover as the Primus aimed the mini gun at him. The titan rushed back out, building momentum. Valus Mau'ual ran towards him. The two warriors punched each other's knuckles, breaking Victor's hand. Once again, the titan hid behind a rock as Primus Ta'aun shot at him. He had to take out that gun. He pulled out a flash-bang and threw it. He heard it pop, blinding the Primus. Victor rushed out to attack the Valus once more. Instead, Mau'ual backhanded the Guardian, causing him to fly through the air and roll around in the sand. Victor slowly pushed himself up, but his broken helmet still lay; the reflective visor showed Victor his gashed up, bleeding face. The titan got on one knee and took out a sidearm. He lined up the sights with the Cabal's head; it was hard to do, his eye was swollen and covered with blood. [i]BANG!![/i] An arc mortar crashed into Victor.