Denying the Truth (A Destiny Fanfiction)

Chapter 14: Follow the Screams

They dismissed it at first, but the further down they marched, the more clear it became. A loud, gurgled, painful screaming that only paused for breath, before continuing again, louder and more painful every time.

"Is it just me or does that scream almost sound..." The group turned to face Alpha, all with the same thought in their mind.

"Human." Jaeger finished.

"We're not alone then." Talos sighed. "We need to pick up the pace. Put an end to whatever is going on down here."

They eventually arrived in a large chamber, where they once again came across a large pressure plate. Only this one had a crystal sitting upon it, emanating a dark, evil aura about it.

Everyone knew what to do at this point. One by one, they stepped onto the plate as the crystal began to let a loud, vibrant hum.

The screaming suddenly stopped.

A roar was heard this time.

The four readied their weapons and made their way out of the chamber, facing the son of Oryx.

Zero quickly set up his shield as Crota sent his sword onto them. The team retaliated as the sword bounced off the purple bubble, though to little avail.

"He has his own shields up." Talos grunted. "We have to lower them before we can do any real damage."

"Let's use our primary weapons for now." Jaeger ordered. "We need to save our stronger attacks for when he's vulnerable."

"And let's try to keep our distance." Alpha warned as he hopped onto another platform. "I can't believe he brought a knife to a gunfight." He added with a small chuckle.

Between the four of them, it wasn't difficult to maintain consistent fire upon the Hive Prince, bringing his shield down without much difficulty.

Talos was quick to activate his special attack, hurling an endless barrage of Hammer of Sols towards the temporarily weakened Hive Prince. It stood back up before long, and the fight soon became a routine.

As the fight drew on, Zero began to grow more concerned about the screams. Where did they come from? Who else was down here? He found his thoughts lingering to his sister; the thought of those wretched screams belonging to her terrified him. And the way they ceased just as Crota was summoned...

A fierce energy suddenly appeared before him, forcing him to activate his bubble before the colossal sword could split him apart.

"Don't tell me you're dreaming at a time like this!" His Ghost exclaimed impatiently.

"Ghost, I need you to change my subclass again." Zero gulped, suddenly anxious to finish the fight and find whatever was making that noise.

"Just promise you won't fall asleep on me."

"Now."

Zero jumped out of the way as his protective bubble dissolved, Arc energy beginning take form once again. The team managed to lower the shields, bringing Crota to his knees one more time.

Jaeger and Alpha nodded towards each other quickly, both summoning their Shadowshot abilities and shooting directly at the Prince. The enormous void nearly consumed his entire form, dealing considerable damage to the Hive boss.

"We can finish this now." Jaeger shouted quickly.

"Let's do it." Alpha cheered back.

Talos spared no expense emptying his rocket launcher onto Crota as the Void held on to him.

Zero began to activate his Fists of Havoc, but his mind was still clouded. The screams continued to haunt his thoughts long after they had been silenced. He wasn't focused when he made the leap.

His teammates called out, but not in time to stop him.

Crota had regained his strength, rebuilt his shield, and readied to return on the offensive.

Zero was prepared to unleash hell onto the Hive Prince.

But everything went still. He was wide awake now, even as his arms fell limp at his sides.

His gaze slowly shifted downwards, the glow in his eyes beginning to dim. His vision became blurred, but there was one thing he was able to make out.

Armor, flesh, and bone.

The sword had pierced through them all with ease.

Crota tilted his sword downwards, watching as the Titan slowly slid onto the ground. Through the dark aura surrounding the sword, the blade itself was visibly tainted with Awoken blood. Zero fell with a light thunk.

Wordlessly, Jaeger, Alpha and Talos lowered his shield for the final time. His last bit of health was reduced to nothing in a matter of seconds.

Dead.

The son of Oryx was finally dead.

The room went eerily silent, except for a familiar screaming that made its sudden reappearance.

What remained of the team slowly made their way over to Zero's body. Still, lifeless, but not unaccompanied.

A Huntress sat beside him, kneeling in his blood.

They finally found the source of the screams.