[i]Chapter Twenty: The Master[/i] Part Three “I’ve got it!” Drew declared, “Keep running!” “What a great lesson,” Rush faked amazement. “You’re gonna learn how to Shoulder Charge!” Drew elaborated, “Fuel your movement with Arc!” “Okay, well how do-?” I began to ask. “FUEL!” Drew interrupted. Realizing I would get nowhere with asking Drew questions, I tried channeling my Light through my legs as I did to jump in midair, but only ended up making myself stumble as a couple putters of energy tried launching me upwards. Muttering under my breath about Drew’s bad teaching, I focused more on how my blood pumped through my body than how my legs pumped up and down. Invigoration surged through me and I picked up speed in a way very similar to how I enhanced my strength with my Light sometimes. But there were no more than a couple white wisps trailing behind me, making it clear I wasn’t ready for a Shoulder Charge. Now sure of what to do, I converted my Light into Arc as I had done in the last exercise. Sure enough, sparks and streaks of light blue began to stream out around me. But how did I do the actual strike? Now right on Drew’s heels, I decided to use him as a target. I was sure he wouldn’t mind. Figuring it was similar to propelling myself in a jump, all it took was pressuring all the Light swirling through and around me to shove me forward with lightning wreathing my body. But to my misfortune, I hadn’t remembered to lower my shoulder to hit Drew and the large Titan had decided to stop at that exact moment. I smashed into his back and bounced back a few feet before landing flat on my back in the sand. After a moment, Sierra’s face leaned in over me as I stared at the sky. “You were supposed to launch him, not the other way around,” she pulled the most emotionless, factual voice she could. Cheeks hot with embarrassment, I got up to my feet and found Drew watching. “You’re ready,” he nodded in affirmation, then began running again, but at a different angle than before. “Ready to embarrass yourself some more,” Sierra teased as we began to follow. “Hey, it’s my first time, okay?” I defended. “Hope I didn’t look as foolish as you when I tried learning to be a Bladedancer,” Sierra shook her head ruefully at the thought. “I’ve never seen you do anything with Arc besides throw a couple grenades,” I criticized. “That was really all I could ever do with it,” Sierra explained, “Never liked it. Gunslinger is much more my speed.” “So you probably did look as foolish as me,” I grinned. “Where in the Traveler’s name is that moron leading us?” the Huntress changed the subject, “I feel like we’re just going deeper into this stupid desert when all the action is around the city.” “Sand Land is not stupid! You’ll see where we’re going!” Drew yelled back cryptically. “That’s ominous,” I commented. “Drew…er, Master Drew, asked me to find our next location,” Sally spoke up timidly, “I assure you we are heading towards an active area.” “That’s even more ominous,” I grumbled. “Did you actually just call him that, Sally?” Sierra scoffed. “He asked me to,” Sally replied. “He doesn’t deserve you,” Sierra sighed. “Drew,” I began. “Master Drew!” the Titan corrected. “I don’t see the point in all this running around when I can clearly learn in one spot with you,” I reasoned. “But then you’d only be learning the moves!” Drew protested, “Not how to be a Striker!” I opened my mouth to argue, but closed it when I couldn’t think of anything. “That…that actually makes perfect sense,” I mused. “Don’t doubt the Master!” Drew cheered. Moments later, the purple-clad warrior came to a screeching halt, almost making Sierra and I crash into him again. This area was a lot more rocky than the others we had seen today, and visibility was cut off by several ridges of stone. Before I could ask why we had stopped, Drew put a silencing finger to his mouth and began creeping up some rocks. He kept slipping and scuffing his feet, sending pebbles and sand tumbling around. “How did he put it before?” Sierra reminisced, “Master of stealth?” “I’m a master of a lot of things,” Drew boasted, not understanding that she was being sarcastic. Rolling our eyes at Drew, the both of us climbed after him to find that on the other side of this particular row of rocks there was a large drop. Below the cliff we lay prone atop we could see more stretches of the earthy maze winding through the desert in front of us. But the important parts were the Vex structures built into the stone walls and the dozens of Vex units wandering through them. “They’re not all in the nerd city,” Drew chuckled, clearly referring to Freehold. “Let me guess, I have to fight all those Vex?” I asked rhetorically. “Nope,” Drew answered, “We’re gonna go down into the middle of all those Vex, and you’re gonna fight ME.” “What?! But they’ll be attacking us!” I gaped. “If they’re a problem, then kill ‘em. If you’re really a Striker then they’ll just die from exposure,” Drew waved off my argument. “You know what exposure means?” I asked incredulously. “Yeah,” Drew nodded, “It means awesomeness, right?” “Close enough,” I sighed. “C’mon, kinder-Guardian!” Drew summoned his Sparrow and mounted it. “Sierra, I’m trusting you to intervene if anything goes wrong,” I told the Huntress, then got on my own Sparrow. “You can count on me, mom,” Sierra seemed amused by the prospects of what messes Drew could get me into. “The mom thing still? Really?” I huffed. “If the boot fits,” Sierra shrugged. “LET’S GO!” Drew blared, then shot over the side of the rock face. “For once I would like to have the element of surprise,” I grumbled, then followed behind the lunatic. Beams of energy scarred the stone around us as we sailed downwards, as the Vex were unable to hit us while we were moving so fast. Drew leapt off of his Sparrow at full speed, as usual, and flopped straight onto a Goblin as his Sparrow smashed into the ground and bounced into a Hobgoblin. I took the more sensible option and slowed, pulling out a sidearm as I swerved into a halt right in front of some Vex and then mowing them down quickly. But as I was reloading and looking for my next target, Drew was suddenly up in my space. He punched me straight in the face, launching me up and off of my Sparrow. My back hit the ground hard, and I sat up quickly. “OW!” I complained. “You’re fighting ME!” Drew pointed at himself with one hand and backhanded a Goblin that got too close with the other. “Right…” I muttered, getting up and taking a fighting stance. To my surprise, Drew turned and ran. “Not making it easy on ya!” Drew laughed, shouldering past Vex. “Light above,” I sighed, then pursued. Luckily I was still faster than the big Exo, and as I approached began mustering Arc energy in my body. At the last second before I was close enough, Drew stopped and swung his arm out to catch me, but I got low and slid under his attack, turning myself around in the action and launching myself at him in a Shoulder Charge. My shoulder dug into his stomach, making him bend over with a surprised grunt, but he tanked the powerful blow and wrapped his arms around me. “SUPLEX!” he bellowed as he hefted me up high and then fell backwards, smashing my head and shoulders into the ground. Pt2: https://www.bungie.net/en/Forum/Post/246287583/0/0 Pt4: https://www.bungie.net/en/Forum/Post/246287732/0/0 ToC: https://www.bungie.net/en/Forum/Post/212710816/0/0