[u]Chapter Eleven: One Small Step for William, a Giant Tumble for Drew[/u] Part Two "Alright, where's the next one go?" I asked, looking up from the beacon to Sierra and Drew. They just stood there, looking towards the facility. I followed their gazes and met the four bright eyes of a Vandal standing on top of one of the small structures in front of the facility. Drew began raising his auto rifle to aim at the Vandal, and that spurred it to raise its Shock Rifle in return and start chittering. Several Dreg peered out from the doorways to the two small structures and from behind the crates on top of them. "Um, the next beacon is supposed to be placed next to facility; just past all those Fallen," Rush answered me, clearly not wanting to be the one to break it to us. Drew began taking a step forward, but stopped and looked back to Sierra and I. At least he was waiting for an okay this time. "We need the area cleared," I told him, nodding with consent. "Give 'em hell," Sierra chuckled. The Titan was rushing forward before the words even finished coming out of my mouth, becoming a purple arrow of death sprinting across the space between us and the buildings. Blue Arc bolts shot past Drew as he ran, only a few of them managing to hit their target. A couple Dreg made the mistake of rushing out to meet him, and began stumbling backwards too late to avoid the large Exo. The first was flying through the air before it could even try reaching for its Shock Dagger, having had Drew slam his shoulder into it at high speeds with his Shoulder Charge. The second was flat on the ground almost immediately after. its face and mask caved in and Ether leaking out with a hiss. Drew then leapt up onto the top of the small building that the first Vandal had been standing on. To its misfortune, the Vandal was still standing there and took a punch to the gut as Drew shot up to its level using a midair jump. The several Dreg and few Vandals on the two connected roof all converged on Drew as he landed, the Dreg on ground level jumping up to join in the fight. It was honestly difficult to keep myself from looking away as Drew took down each one with his bare hands, launching each one through the air as his powerful punches collided. Sierra and I had began jogging after him by this point to place the beacon, and we had to dodge a couple of Dreg bodies as Drew discarded them. As we came around the left side of the small buildings, we found more Fallen bunkered down behind the crates and columns at the front of the facility. They looked like they wanted to go join in the fight, but were held back by the fear of facing Drew's wrath. We stopped, hoping we hadn't been noticed, but the flicker of movement caught the eye of a Vandal and it turned to us, Shock Rifle raised. Before we could raise our weapons in return, a small glowing projectile flew into the side of the Vandal's head with enough force to knock it to the ground, where it lay either unconscious or dead. The orb that had been thrown then bounced to the ground between a few Dreg and detonated in a bright flash. Drew had just taken down a Vandal by chucking a grenade into its face, and now rushed at the dazed Dreg as they stumbled around blindly. One by one they fell as I followed Rush's directions through pieces of broken satellite bits to a small domed object. I raised my hand and willed a beacon to appear in it, then slammed the device down into the ground solidly, the green light blinking to life after a moment. Then I heard a growl and looked up. A captain stood on a platform that lay before me, brandishing it's Shrapnel Launcher. I glanced to the side. Sierra was shooting at the Fallen outside of Drew's punching range, and as I looked, Drew took notice of the Captain standing over me. Looking back to the Captain, I pointed a finger at Drew before it could try taking a shot at me. It stood there for a moment, a confused look in its eyes, before finally giving in and turning to see what I was pointing at. But even if it had turned soon enough to notice Drew coming, it wouldn't have stood a chance. The first punch hit the Captain in the upper ribs, and the second jabbed into its gut. Arms clutching its stomach in pain, the Captain stumbled backwards with its shields gone from the attack. Drew just stood there as the Fallen recovered, and remained still as it swung a two-armed punch at his side, barely even budging on impact. The Captain shook its hands out since punching metal obviously hurt, and as Drew raised his right arm, its eyes widened in realization that it couldn't have won. Before it could use its short-ranged teleporter to try getting away, Drew hit it backwards into a crate, then pulled out his shotgun and pumped a few rounds into the Captain's chest. "Uh, thanks Drew," I said uncomfortably as I looked away from the brutal scene. "No problem," he replied happily. "Next beacon goes on the opposite side of the area, so just follow the electric line," Rush told us over the coms. Drew and I then summoned our Sparrows and climbed on, Sierra getting on hers and riding up to us after she finished off a few more Fallen. As more Fallen rushed out from inside the facility, we shot away underneath the electric line, Arc bolts zipping by over our heads. We went past the first beacon we had placed and came upon a large hill. The blue streak of a Wire Rifle shot whistled past me, the molten bar of metal embedding into the ground behind us. A line of Fallen had gathered up around the rocks at the top of the hill and now shot down at us. Sierra and I slowed and started using our Sparrows' evasive mechanisms, dodging to the left and right, but Drew just sped up, little pieces getting knocked off of his brightly colored Sparrow with each shot it took. Upon reaching the top, Drew twisted his Sparrow around so the side of it crashed into a Vandal and slammed it up against one of the larger rocks. Before the other Fallen move in on him, Drew leaped off of his Sparrow with his fists raised and coursing with glowing blue Arc Light. As the Exo slammed his fists into the ground in a Fist of Havoc, a spherical blue pulse of Arc energy shot out and enveloped all the Fallen in the hilltop, their bodies dissolving with the crackle of electricity. "How can you be so reckless yet succeed so well in combat?" I asked incredulously as Sierra and I got off of our Sparrows and walked up the slope to meet him. "I dunno," Drew shrugged. "Don't be modest, Drew," Sally encouraged quietly, "You excel at overpowering and disabling enemies." "Yeah, I'm pretty good at overpowering," Drew boasted. Sierra sighed and shook her head condescendingly. Drew noticed and willed his helmet to disappear, then winked at Sierra suggestively. The next second there was a loud clang of armored gauntlets hitting a metal frame and Drew stumbled backwards. Sierra merely shook her hand out a little and turned her back on Drew as he recovered. "And you call me a flirt," she huffed. "I think I just found the one thing that can defeat Drew," I said, choking back laughter, "Angry women." "Please, just because she can't keep her hands off me doesn't mean she can beat me," Drew said as he walked back up to Sierra, seeing if she'd take that challenge. When she whirled around again with arm outstretched, Drew braced for another blow to the face, so was completely caught off guard when he felt her leg hook his feet out from under him. The Exo fell to the ground with a metallic thud, but stopped shortly after starting to push himself up at the sight of Sierra's knife point floating between his eyes. Watching Drew try to cross his eyes to see the blade while Sierra stood over him was a rather amusing sight. "You may be right, Will," Drew told me cautiously, not taking his eyes off of Sierra's weapon. "A woman can do anything and defeat anything if she sets her mind on it," Sierra said matter-of-factly, sheathing her blade and stepping away from Drew. I walked up to the defeated Titan and helped him up. "Thanks for having my back," Drew muttered. "Hey, I already knew that she could take me and you out," I defended, "I'm not gonna go challenging a her like you did." "Remember this next time you think about messing with girls," Sally chided, not seeming shy for once, "I have Sierra on speed dial." "Alright alright, I get it," Drew sulked, "Respect the ladies." _____________________________________ Link to Chpt 11 Pt 1:https://www.bungie.net/en/Forum/Post/219174219/0/0 Link to Chpt 11 Pt 3:https://www.bungie.net/en/Forum/Post/219174502/0/0 Link to ToC:https://www.bungie.net/en/Forum/Post/212710816/0/0