Blank Slate Ch.25: The Archon

Table of Contents https://www.bungie.net/en/Forum/Post/225386550/0/0 A third Skiff glided into the plaza, stopping to unload more Fallen. We were using the protective ledge that lined the edge of the rooftop to stay hidden. "There's too many Skiffs," I observed, "They'll make it impossible to get away." "No hit-n'-run," Yvan-8 summarized. "Can we destroy the Skiffs?" Paris inquired. I shrugged, "I could use a Nova Bomb on one of them." Keis held his hands out in front of him, and his hand cannon dematerialized. It was replaced by an ornate white and gold rocket launcher. "Is that a Gjallarhorn?" my Ghost asked. "Yes," Blanc answered. "Show off," Yvan muttered. I returned my gaze to the plaza in front of us. The Archon sent a pack of Fallen down one of the roads on the far end. There were still at least eighty in the courtyard. "Keis, take the Skiffs," I planned, "I'll handle the snipers. Yvan, you shoot first. Kill the Archon. After that-" "Light up the rest," he finished, "I know how that song and dance goes." Yvan leveled his sniper rifle at the Archon's head. My sniper rifle materialized in my hands and I picked my first target. Keis aimed at the nearest Skiff. Yvan's finger rested on the trigger as he took aim. "Bloody bugger won't stop movin' its pretty little head," Yvan muttered, "If it'd just-" An Arc bolt nailed him in the shoulder. As he began to reel back, he fired his weapon. I quickly looked down from my mark to see if the Archon had been shot. A Vandal crumpled to the ground behind the Archon, who roared up at us in rage, uninjured. I trained my sights on it. The Archon ran for the nearest Skiff as I fired, causing the bullet to bounce harmlessly off of its thickly-armored shoulder. I fired again, missing. Keis discharged a rocket from his Gjallarhorn. The Skiff went down in a series of explosions, crushing the Fallen unlucky enough to have been under it. The Archon stumbled back, away from the burning wreckage. Before I could try shooting it again, Yvan grabbed my arm and pulled me down. A spray of bolts from the snipers darted through the air where we had been standing. "What happened?!" Paris gasped. "One of the sentinels must have spotted us," my Ghost answered. "Noticed," Yvan growled, gesturing at the scorch mark on his shoulder. "We can't let that Archon get away," I insisted. "Thanks for stating the obvious, Captain," Yvan scoffed, "But, if you haven't noticed, we're in a bit of a tight spot. And there's still two-" Keis blasted another rocket, sending a second Skiff down in a fiery eruption. ".....Still one Skiff," Yvan grunted. Keis ducked behind the ledge as the snipers targeted him. His Gjallarhorn dematerialized, apparently out of rockets. I risked a glance over the barrier. Most of the Fallen were flooding out of the plaza, turning onto the street that led to the left side of our building. The third Skiff was gliding further into the plaza, towards the awaiting Archon. Another volley of Arc bolts filled the air and I crouched behind our makeshift shield. "There's too many," I informed, "We'll have to get through them before engaging the Archon." "And how do you reckon we do that?" Yvan questioned irritably. I thought for a moment, formulating a plan. "Yvan," I directed, "I'm going to destroy the last Skiff, then I'll distract the snipers. When I do, start shooting them. If we get rid of them, this will be a whole lot easier." "I'll do my job if you do yours," Yvan derided, hefting his firearm, "Try not to get your sorry butt killed." Assuming that meant he was ready, I bolted to the right edge of the building. Leaping into the air, I turned and raised my arm. I preferred Solar energy, but like most Guardians, was capable of using multiple forms of energy. Void Light channeled through my arm, and a well of power formed in my hand. I flung my arm forward, sending my Nova Bomb tearing across the sky. The Skiff was hit in its side, and dropped like a stone into the plaza. Barely taking the time to admire my handiwork, I landed on the neighboring structure and sprinted across its roof. The snipers turned their attention to me, and bolts streaked behind me. My auto rifle materialized in my hands, and I fired quick sprays of bullets in the Archon's general direction. As I leapt from building to building, keeping the Fallens' attention, I could hear the ring of Yvan's sniper rifle cutting through the air. Increasingly less bolts zipped past me. • • • The final sniper tumbled off of its perch, clutching at the hole in its chest. "That's the last of 'em," I informed Nulluj. "Great," Nulluj replied, "Now kill the Archon before he can hide. Keis and I will hold back the other-" He was cut off by a sonic boom as a new Skiff arrived, gliding near Nulluj's position on the right side of the plaza. Noticing us, it quickly turned and flew over the row of buildings between us and the plaza, firing its turrets along the rooftops. Nulluj leapt from his building to a further one as the Skiff's onslaught reached his structure, causing the already dilapidated roof to collapse. The Skiff continued towards Keis and I, decimating the already crumbling edifices it passed. Having nowhere else to go, I dived over the front edge of the building and plummeted down. Looking down and left, I saw the Fallen filling the neighboring street, beginning to enter the structure I had just abandoned. Half a dozen lurked in the alley I was about to land in, scrambling over the rubble that filled the thin space. I used the Light to jump in midair before I could hit the ground, then alighted between two surprised victims. Unsheathing my knife as my pulse rifle materialized in my right hand, I stabbed the Dreg on my left and shot the one on my right. As the remaining four began to react to the commotion, I shot the last Dreg that was blocking my escape to the right, then turned to look left. Keis landed on the nearest Vandal with a heavy thud and crunch, then shot the remaining two Dregs. [i]Way to put his weight to use[/i], I thought snidely. Several Fallen on the main street looked into the alley and cried out to their allies. Keis tossed a Void grenade at them, then we turned right and ran away. "How's it looking, Null?" Paris asked as Arc bolts whizzed around us. "Now there's two Skiffs," Nulluj answered, "The Archon is-" A Skiff drifted over the alley far ahead of us and its cannons blasted the building in front of it. Rubble sprayed out everywhere as the top floors were completely destroyed. "Coming down," Nulluj announced, "I saw the Archon boarding a Skiff before that one tried shooting me." Through the raining bits of the structure, I saw Nulluj falling. "We're on your left," Paris informed, "Heading your way." "There's a lot of Fallen behind us," Blanc observed. I glanced over my shoulder and, as if to prove Blanc's point, multiple bolts hit Keis in the back, causing him to stumble slightly. "Good thing I've got a living fortress blocking for me," I muttered under my breath. Nulluj jumped over a heap of debris and landed a few meters in front of us. "This alley leads into the plaza," he directed, pointing at a branch in the path next to him. We caught up and took in the charging Fallen squeezing through the pass. "We can't have them attacking us from behind," Nulluj's Ghost said. "Any ideas?" Paris inquired. We all studied the path, though I had trouble seeing over Keis' massive frame, and I assumed Nulluj was experiencing the same problem. The alley was too narrow to look around Keis, and I huffed irritably at the inconvenient timing of the annoyingly comical situation. Arc bolts continued to pepper the path as our pursuers drew nearer. Keis took a step forward and raised his arm. Purple wisps spiraled around his hand as energy built up, then he launched a Nova Bomb. It sailed into the base of an edifice between us and the Fallen. The weak and weathered supports were easily destroyed in the explosion, and the whole structure caved in on itself, closing up the path. "Show off," I grouched, pushing past Nulluj, "Quit gawkin'! They'll come around in a few minutes. Let's go." We ran out into the plaza in time to see the two Skiffs dart over the structures on the opposite side. "Patch us through to the Vanguard," Nulluj sighed as we slowed to a stop. The comms crackled to life and Zavala asked, "Status?" "Riksis, the Devil Archon, has escaped and is heading northeast," Nulluj reported, "Your orders?" ".... Return to the Tower for debriefing," Zavala ordered slowly. "Yes, sir," Nulluj replied, ending the transmission, "Ghosts, call in the ships." We stood in silence for a minute before our ships arrived. Just before we were transmatted, I groaned, "Well, today sucked."