Sacrificial Exo

Lilli just finished stealing the World's Grave when she heard Max screaming in pain. "Max!" she cried out as she ran through the Circle of Bones, one of the lower rings of the Hellmouth and the center of the Hive Fortress, before reaching the Chamber of the Sword. Max laid his back perpendicular to the floor, his knees up to his crying eyes, and his hands were working endlessly to wipe tears away. The Hunter rushed to the Warlock, "What's wrong?"

Max didn't shift an inch, "It's nothing," he sobbed, "nothing to be concerned about."

"You screamed in anguish! It reverberated throughout the Fortress!"

Max shook his head, "I don't want you to be burdened..."

"How so?" she asked.

"Remember that false alarm? Or how I suggested that we save Leviathan?"

Lilli knelt close to the Warlock, "You only wanted to do the right thing, and no one can blame you for wanting to stay alive. It's just human nature." The Hunter let out a sigh and said with a small laugh, "Besides, I like a challenge, and you still owe me."

Max sighed, "I saw the end of the world, the skies ablaze, and an endless war consuming all!" He broke down in tears.

Lilli rested a hand on his shoulder, "It's okay, it's just a dream."

Max shook, "No, it wasn't! It was real! It felt so real!" He broke down and cried again, "Is this my future? Or my past?"

Max's Ghost came out of his backpack and said, "Hold on, I'm restoring your Light." With 3 pulses, the Ghost restored Max's Light, and the Warlock wiped away his tears. "Feeling better?"

"A little bit, but what did I see?"

"I don't know, and I don't like it."

The Hunter stood, "This is ridiculous, Ghost."

Max's Ghost looked at Lilli dead in the eyes, "No, it's not. I healed him when-"

"DON'T YOU DARE SAY IT! I've had it up to here with the lies! First Leviathan, and now you!?"

"You don't know what you're talking about!"

"Guys!" Max shouted, "Stop fighting!" Then he settled down, "Ghost, Lilli was trying her best. There's no shame in that."

"But I-"

"We know, but I think that you should compliment her for trying."

"Aren't you going to teach her something?" The Ghost quipped.

Max looked over at her and said, "No, she doesn't need lessons now."

The Ghost sighed, "Fine, I'm sorry Lilli."

The Hunter bowed gratefully, then crouched down and picked up the Sword's Core. Surprisingly, it didn't affect her as it did to Max. "Well," she said, "Looks like we're done here." She turned on the comms, "Eris, we're coming home!"

Just then, a loud growl emanated throughout the Fortress. I LIVE AS I WAS EXILED.

Max and Lilli shivered, "Crota!" They rushed out of the room and back into the Circle of Bones, listening for another growl similar to the first. I AM THE REAPER OF WORLDS! ALL WILL BOW TO ME! The growl came from the direction of the World's Grave, and from there, the two Guardians ran through tunnels infested with Thrall and Cursed Thrall, through rooms guarded by lesser Knights and Acolytes, before reaching a darkened hallway, which resembled a large tunnel more than a hallway. The dark hallway had a squiggly path leading to the Chamber of Night at the end, and was only lit by eerie green lanterns on both sides every 5 sharp pillars. Like in the tunnels of the World's Grave, this hallway was infested with Hive Thrall, Acolytes, and Knights. Max and Lilli fired into the Hive hoard, then marched on through the hallway. As they progressed, the hallway gained structure and looked less like a large tunnel, but the dark ambiance remained.

At long last, they reached the Chamber of Night, the largest and darkest chamber of the Hive Fortress on normal days, but today, green flames danced along the walls, the giant dragon rib bones that lined the Chamber were set ablaze. In the center was a giant green crystal with the Face of Crota set inside it, surrounding the crystal was Omnigul and 3 other wizards dressed like her, and behind the crystal, stabbed into the top of a small cliff, was an obsidian slab with a certain restrained Exo Titan. Max and Lilli gasped at the sight of it all. "Leviathan!" they whispered.

The 4 Wizards turned their heads to Max and Lilli. "Looks like we have guests, girls!" Omnigul grinned, "Let's give them a warm welcome!" The green flames grew larger, even spreading to the Chamber's entrance, sealing the Guardians in. "OH MIGHTY CROTA! WE OFFER YOU THESE SACRIFICES OF LIGHT IN YOUR NAME! RISE FROM YOUR THRONE AND CLAIM THE SOL SYSTEM AS YOURS!"

The giant crystal began sapping the remaining Light out of Leviathan, the Titan weakly convulsed, Max rushed forward and threw a Vortex Grenade at the crystal, draining one of the Wizards out of existence. He closed it with a fist, and accidentally broke a piece of the crystal off, causing the small shard to fall. The Wizards gasped, "He took a bite out of Crota's soul!?" They rallied in anger against the Warlock, "SACRIFICE HIM! OUR LORD MUST HAVE HIS POWER!!"

Max shot down 2 Wizards, then tried to launch a Nova Bomb at Omnigul, only to be stopped midway by a sniper on the sidelines. The bullet punctured his stomach, Max fell to his knees, Dredgen Yor grimaced but reloaded, this time, my aim won't be terrible. Lilli caught on him quickly, and fired 5 shots in his direction from her hand cannon, 2 of which punctured Yor's sniper rifle, 1 tore through Yor's thigh, and 2 more missed his head. Yor turned and hissed at Lilli, "Time to die!" He drew his own wicked hand cannon, a gun drawn by and firing bullets shaped like metal thorns. He fired with accuracy, but Lilli was quicker to avoid each bullet. She fired 5 more bullets at Yor, but even he was agile enough. The two Hunters dueled with their guns, each side evenly matched. Lilli then tossed a grenade at Yor, distracting him before she shot his shoulders and knees. "AAAAAUUUUUUUGGGGHHHH!!!" he screamed as he fell without function or grace.

Max was busy dodging Omnigul's deadly electrical spells, too occupied to cast his own. He then drew his rifle and shot at the Will of Crota, but missed her head every time. Then he thought, The crystal! If I attack it, then this Wizard will make a mistake in rage! He shifted his focus and dashed to the soul gem, floating up to the recent gash, and shot into it. Damn! It's not enough! He dodged another one of Omnigul's spells, making it hit the gash in the crystal. Crota's soul gem began to crack and creak, magical electricity crackling on the inside. "YOW!" Crota screamed from the crystal, "WATCH WHERE YOUR AIMING, WITCH!"

"Sorry, my lord. The Warlock-" Before she could finish, Max threw another Nova Bomb at the crystal, its hard exterior fractured upon impact and fell away.

The Hive Prince growled, "OMNIGUL! KILL HIM!" She tried, but Max fired another Nova Bomb at the crystal, shattering it. Crota howled, "NEVER SEND A WITCH OR A HUNTER TO DO A PRINCE'S JOB!" He attacked Omnigul with the crystal shards, she screamed for unattainable mercy as she died, the Dark Hunter also screamed as the shards tore through him, ringed around the Chamber, then dispersed into Leviathan and his Auto Rifle, filling the holes in the rifle and Exo. Leviathan screamed in agony, then howled and fell limp. Silence followed, long silence followed.

Max stood for a while, processing all that just happened, How did that happen? Just how!?

Lilli shouted, "Leviathan!" No response. "LEVIATHAN!" Still no response.

Then the Warlock remembered the Titan, Leviathan! We need to save him! He ran up to the sacrificial post and tried to bring it down, flailing his legs in the process. The Hunter ran to meet him, firing bullets and throwing knives at the Titan's bonds, breaking them. Leviathan fell without consciousness, feet first on the ledge, then down to the ground, leading with his head. The metal cranium fractured, Lilli hopped down to the ground, inspecting the Titan. Max took a good look at Leviathan's acidic rifle, now glowing with an eerie green light. "Strange," he said, "Why would Crota attack his minions, Leviathan, and this rifle?"

"What rifle?" Lilli asked, "The one Leviathan threatened us with?"

"Yeah."

"Wasn't that left on Earth?"

"Apparently not." Max touched the rifle, then the room changed. He fell back, scared of his surroundings. He saw the same images again, but not as the viewer; this time, he was IN the image, standing on the desolate Earth. The Warlock looked around, "Lilli!? Hello!?"

A dusty figure walked forward, his features became more defined with each incoming step. "Why did you betray us?" the figure asked in a raspy voice, "Why did you do this?"

Max was confused, "Do what?"

The figure was now in full view, he was taller than Max, bald, white, and his face had 2 long diagonal scars from top to bottom, one for each eye. "You betrayed us!" he shouted, wrapping his hands around Max's neck, "You killed us!"

Max screamed and fell, reality returning to normal. Lilli held him from the ground, "Max, are you alright?"

He panted, "Did you see that!?"

"See what?"

Max stammered, "A scarred man! He...h-h-he..."

"Max, it's ok. It was all a vision."

Then he realized, "The rifle! Crota's soul attacked it, right?"

Lilli looked confused, "Yes? Why is this important?"

"Because the Hive feed off of hope, leaving only sorrow and despair," He pointed to the rifle, "First the Sword, and now the auto rifle, both gave me apocalyptic images...."

Lilli nervously laughed, "Ok, now you're freaking me out."

"...but when Leviathan wielded the rifle, it only amplified his hatred for the Fallen and us. And you still have Sword Core, but feel nothing different."

"So, what you're saying is?"

"These weapons are fueling negative emotions, especially among Ghouls!"

Lilli's eyes widened, "Oh! That might explain the Dark Hunter's thorny hand cannon!"

"We need to get Leviathan and the guns back to the City, keep them under lock and key. Eris needs to know this."

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Crota laughed from inside his Throneworld, "Now, I wait for phase 2!"