Enjoy! [b]Five Years Ago [/b] A cold whisper hushed the battlefield. Its razor teeth gnawing at the backs of the guardians’ minds. Shadows climbed along the Rocketyard as the sun set, crimson and gold streaks melting across the sky. The chill kissed the guardians through their armor, sending shivers down their spines. Voriks pulled his cutlass from the ground. With each step, the Baron’s shadow grew longer. Like its master, the shadow possessed the unmistakable grin of insatiable bloodlust. Equidistant from the pair, Voriks roared. “Trash!” the Baron hissed. “Thieves not worthy.” Drake raised his blade defensively against every instinct in his body. His mind and heart raced, the verge of losing control. Lorelei was petrified, Voriks shadow mercilessly strangling her. She trembled, unable to think. She tried to raise her weapon but could not. All she could see was the Baron. A Fallen monster, a demon. Drake cautiously adjusted his footing. He slowly positioned himself next to Lorelei. Even despite the erratic vitals showing on his HUD, he could see the physical effect Voriks imposed on her. Drake gently placed his hand on her shoulder. “Everything will be okay,” Drake’s whispered promise snapped her out of the trance of fear. She looked back at him, a warm comfort pushing away the icy whisper in the Rocketyard. Nodding silently, she drew her weapon. Voriks roared, and charged the guardians. Lorelei threw a magnetic grenade while Drake stuck the Baron with a pair of fusion grenades. A flurry of explosions sent up a plume of mud and dirt. Lorelei emptied Cocytus’ magazine into the Baron while the dust began to settle. Drake focused his energy into Raze-Lighter, the blade igniting with solar light. The fiery energy glowed a bright white. He unleashed a devastating uppercut into the haze but met no resistance. The Baron dove at Lorelei, slashing down with its humming blades. As she dodged the crackle of the electricity snapped in the air mere inches from her face. She lost her footing, focusing more on the blades than her stance. Voriks took hold of the guardian by the neck. Squeezing the air out of her lungs, Voriks snickered as Lorelei struggled to gasp for air. She scratched and pulled at the overwhelming strength of the Baron’s grasp. Drake floated into the air, raising his blade. Swinging down, the momentum carried him toward Voriks. Growling in disdain, Voriks raised his blade and stopped Drake in his tracks. The crackle and spark of the opposing energies filled the air. Voriks pushed down, driving Drake back into the dirt and snow. In a final breath, Lorelei shoved a magnetic grenade into the space between the neck and shoulder of Voriks, a softer spot in his armor. Realizing she still had Cocytus in her hand, she pulled the trigger as many times as she could into the demon’s abdomen. The grenade exploded once loosening his grip, and the second time releasing her completely. Lorelei fell to the ground, disoriented and gulping air into her lungs. Her vision darkened as she stood quickly, the blood rushing from her upper body to the lower. She felt an immense burst of heat as Drake swung Raze-Lighter upward, cutting into the armor of the Baron, but barely scratching the surface. The infuriated Baron roared in retaliation. The brief period of vulnerability left Drake completely exposed. Voriks kicked him down into the ground, snapping ribs through his armor. Lorelei watched as the Baron clenched its fist around the hilt of its blade. It pummeled Drake with blow after blow to the head. His helmet cracked and broke apart. “No!” Lorelei shouted holding her hand out. Her heart fell into her stomach as an emotional train crashed. Voriks grunted, unsatisfied, turning its gaze to the remaining guardian. It threw its sword, unrestrained and without remorse. The electric blade penetrated her abdomen just below the left ribs. Tears filled her eyes as the pain buckled her knees. She hit the ground still holding her hand out to Drake. Voriks kicked her over and removed the blade, the blood evaporating from the heat of the electric hum. Blood pooled in the snow as the sky grew a dark red, the yellow and orange streaks melting into a single color. Beautiful, she thought as she closed her eyes. A brilliant, dazzling light exploded into a pillar of fire. Drake climbed to his feet, ripped off his helmet, and spat blood from his mouth. Raze-Lighter shook in his hand, his glove pooling with blood from his palm. Voriks reeled covering his eyes, blinded by the light. An intense heat connected with his chest as tempered steel melted away a part of the Baron’s armor. Drake uppercut the Baron melting a laceration into the armor that stopped just below the sigil. He kicked the confused Baron away, rushing to Lorelei. “Drake,” spawned Atlas. “We have to go now!” There was a howl of Vandal reinforcements as Devils began to file into the battlefield. Drake holstered Raze-Lighter and cradled Lorelei in his arms. The familiar sizzle of wire rifle rounds buzzed passed his head. “I’ll prepare the ships,” Echo said joining Atlas behind the guardians. “And I’ll notify the Van –” Atlas stopped, as a trio of arc rounds hit him nearly simultaneously. His body sparked, eye cracked down the middle, and voice faded. Drake immediately turned around, scooping Atlas into his hand just as the howl of Fallen summoned reinforcements. [b]Present Day [/b] The Baron Guard circled the Guardians. The Barbarian drooled through its helmet, its eyes glowing with rage. The Civilized reloaded his weapon and stood straight, prepared and calculating. Its eyes analyzed each of the Guardians, identifying weaknesses. Lance Rolled his eyes. He pulled Truth from its magnetic holster. Charlemagne produced a blue brick of heavy ammunition. Lorelei readied her blade, taking a defensive stance. The flames of Raze-Lighter engulfed the blade, the flames dancing in a brilliant waltz. As the blade grew to a white hot, Lance placed a hand on her shoulder. She felt a spark of familiarity, the same strength Drake possessed. He shook his head, the laughing grin showing through his visor. The Barbarian lunged first and was met with a rocket blowing a deep crater into the metal floor of the bridge. The Civilized held back, furrowing its brow at the sudden assault. Lance fired another rocket and missed as The Civilized dove behind cover. Lance shook his head and laughed silently. The third and final rocket set off a void explosion between a navigation enclosure. The Civilized flew into the air disappearing into a dribble of void remains. Voirks shook his head in irritation, rubbing his forehead with its hands. Lance raised an eyebrow, what the hell, he thought. He reloaded while Voriks was immersed in frustration. He fired the three rockets in the tube in a fan like motion. The Baron looked up at the sound of the first rocket that was fired, holding a hand out. He knocked the rocket aside, the explosion just a few feet to his right. The other rockets whiffed the target. “What good are guards,” Voriks began. “If they die so dishonorably.” “You,” Lorelei responded. “You killed him?” “What did you say trash?” Voriks spat. “A Warlock, five years ago.” “I have killed many of you thieves,” Voriks reached for his Shrapnel Launcher. “Gave you that mark.” Voriks stopped. A sinister smile creased his lips. A darkness shadowed the bridge as the Baron slowly turned. His shadow cast longer, deeper, with a grin of its own. “Him?” Voriks cackled. “Tell me, is that the same blade? I hope it is. This time, I will add it to my collection.”