3 of 5 She was going to kill the bastard. No matter what it took or however long it took her, Fália wouldn't rest until she saw a knife through his throat. That warlock had betrayed her twice only for his own personal gain and she was determined to get even. The growl sounded closer now and her wrist was stick attached to that infernal pipe. Fália had no choice but to wait and she knew that whatever she was waiting for was not going to be happy to see her. A sudden sound echoed through tunnel, it was the slow clack of what sounded like hooves on the frosty cold concrete of the floor. The huntress wasn't surprised in the least by the coupling of the two sounds and knew it could only mean one thing. The smell of rotting meat was palpable as the green glow filled the tunnel. The growling and clacking were unmistakably close as it revealed itself from the darkness of the tunnel and confirmed Fália's suspicions. The space zombie's drool formed a trail as it slowly made it's way toward the cornered guardian. She had no idea how it had gotten into Old Russia, let alone how it had came to be on Earth. The Hive was only supposed to be present on and around the outer bodies. It must have gone through a lot to get there though. The damn thing was starving. normal Hive are already skin and bones, but this creature was ROTTING. That solved the mystery of the smell, and the three small holes meant to be eyes drilled in its skull by some cruel world's evolution had been the source of the green glow in the tunnel. Fália stood up as far as the waist high pipe would allow and prepared to defend herself. Colin, being the asshole that he is, had taunted her by taking and placing her shock dagger right outside of her reach. The half dead Hive picked up speed now, getting a fresh whiff of her scent. It closed in and lunged with both arms, razor claws spread wide. She dodged to the right, tripping the bedraggled creature over the chain. It barked and hissed as she stood over it and efficiently stomped its head in with her boot. Her quick wits gave her a bright idea. Kneeling over the limp body of the zombie, with great force she ripped out one of its long razor sharp teeth and started cutting through the rusted iron of the pipe that trapped her. There was almost an irony in her escape; her use of her peril as a means of freedom was almost poetic in circumstance. Fália had no inclination to try and radio a return ship from the city as she made her way out of the wall and into the rusted husk of what used to be a powerful empire. She had a score to settle before she went back to her superiors. Being a huntress, she was especially adept at tracking and quickly found the warlock's trail. She would track him to the ends of the solar system if she had to. He seemed to have made shelter in the smaller housings and buildings and not any that the Fallen would bother to inspect. She had to remember that this wasn't any normal enemy. This was a fellow guardian, ruthless and cunning, willing to do whatever was needed to survive. He made that quite clear with the note he wrote her after he betrayed her in the wall. Not to mention, he also intended on taking her powers for himself before she had given him a good blast in the side from her hand cannon and was forced to jump ship. That was another thing to consider. Even though the Fallen had tended to his wound, it was bound to be bleeding again by now. He must have been weakening this entire time. That was also most likely the reason he left her to the Hive rather than finishing her off himself; either that, or he was just being nice...bastard. She spotted something in the distance. Crouching behind a rock, she used the binoculars programmed into her helmet to get a closer view. It was. It was him. He was a good three mile away, but he was struggling. "Not so tireless after all; huh, Exo?" She murmured under her breath as she continued to jog on after him. Colin made his way deeper into the city. She tracked him to a rusted office building on the outskirts of the once great city. He was really losing blood by this time. Fália could see the crimson fluid splattered all over the floors and walls. She silenced herself now, knowing she was drawing closer. Moving very slowly and very carefully, she saw the light of a fire in the centre of the floor. Taking cover behind a cubicle, Fália peered behind the corner and saw him. It didn't make sense. He was standing there with as much strength in himself as when she met him, poised and standing in a way that just gave off a sense of self control. He was also looking straight at her. She knew he had planned all of this now and strode out to face him. "Did you really think I was weakening that much? I didn't suck the power and souls out of 10 guardians for nothing Fália. It's going to take much more than that to kill-" He had to duck to avoid the knife launched at his chest. "Okay that's it you bitc-" The kick in the crotch was simple payback. Colin collapsed and narrowly missed being kicked in the face several times. He rolled to the left through the fire he created from several mouldy office chairs and came up arms ablaze and blind jabs flying. Fália was a huntress after all and her reflexes greatly outmatched his. She dodged his blows easily and kicked him to the ground again. "-blam!- you." was all she said before she planted her boot on the beaten warlock's chest, pulled the dagger out of the wall, and was blinded by a searing light. She sliced wildly and even hit her mark a few times, but something hit her head hard and the last thing she heard before she fell unconscious was Colin's voice saying: "Nice try. That hurt greatly, but this isn't the first time I've been beaten in hand to hand combat. A compressed nova bomb will normally shift the fight in my direction. The knee to the head doesn't hurt either. You almost got me but your powers are mine now."