As Sienna fired round after round at the Chieftain, she could see Narvuk and Poppy holding their own against the Wizards out of the corner of her eye. The Scorn took cover behind one of the statues, and Sienna cursed as her shot pinged off the obstacle. She held the sight line for a moment more before darting towards another outcropping with a better angle. Halfway there, however, the ground beneath her erupted and she was thrown off her feet, losing her grip on the rifle as she flew.
She hit the ground and rolled for several feet, the breath forced from her lungs by the impact onto the rocks and gravel. The Hunter scrambled to her feet and was greeted by two of the Abominations they had seen earlier advancing on her, Arc energies gathering in their outstretched palms. Sienna tensed, then leapt out towards her weapon as bolts of Arc lanced out to where she had crouched. She scooped up her rifle, whirled to aim, and fired two rounds into one of the Abominations' chests, staggering it back into its companion. It did not fall, however, and recovered quickly, blasting again and again at its prey. She dodged as many as she could, but one bolt found its mark in her shoulder. "Gah! Son of a bitch, that hurt! Let's see if you handle fire like you handle lead, asshole!," Sienna barked as she tossed an incendiary grenade between her assailants.
For a moment, the grenade did nothing, and the Abominations moved ever closer towards the Hunter. Then it detonated, and the Abominations staggered again as they caught fire. They swayed and flailed for a few moments before falling to ashes. "Yeah, didn't think so," Sienna panted, the adrenaline wearing off. "Alright, back to work."
Narvuk spun as a volley of Arc balls raced past, one of the monoliths providing cover. He struggled to catch his breath, the barrage continuing past his head. Poppy fell in beside him, also out of breath, and reloaded her Jade Rabbit. "Any... bright ideas... big guy?," the Warlock asked as her wounds slowly sealed. The Knight shook his head slightly, then ducked down as another Arc blast came dangerously close to taking a piece of his shoulder off. He looked back to his friend and saw an Abomination coming around behind her.
"Down!," he shouted, and Poppy instinctively dropped to the ground as Narvuk let off a bolt of Arc lightning that vaporized his target instantly. She stood and nodded to Narvuk, a gesture that did not go unnoticed by one of the Wizards, who exchanged looks with its partner before turning and gliding away. The other raised its claws and uttered a shrieking cry, the pitch and intensity driving Poppy and Narvuk to their knees. As they clutched at their heads, Thrall began burrowing up around them.
Narvuk was the first to recover and saw close to two dozen of them surrounding him and Poppy, but not attacking. "Poppy? Poppy, get up. Up, Warlock!," he ordered, shaking her with one hand, his eyes never leaving the Thrall around them. She groaned, propped herself up on her hands, then jerked back when she noticed the Thrall. "Easy, easy!" Narvuk grabbed her arm as it shot out for her weapon. "There must be a good rreason they haven't killed us already."
"Yeah, well, I'm not planning on waiting to find out what that reason is," she whispered harshly, still grasping for the rifle. Her fingers brushed its grip and the Thrall tensed and hissed. "Okay then, change of plans," she grumbled. Before them, the Thrall stepped to each side, opening a walkway for the Chieftain, who stomped toward them, snarling at any Thrall that was too close. "You got a plan, big guy?," Poppy muttered out of the corner of her mouth.
"Sienna is still out there, remember. The advantagge is still ours," the Knight whispered back before a Thrall shrieked at him, cutting him off. The Chieftain came to stand in front of the Guardians and roared in their faces, spittle flying and speckling their faces. "Any second now..." Narvuk's eyes flicked in all directions for any sign of their friend. But there was nothing to be seen.
The remaining Wizard glided over and signaled Narvuk and Poppy to stand. The pair glanced at each other, then complied, leaving their weapons where they lay. Shepherded by the Thrall, they were marched back to the remaining cages, still full of Cabal. The Chieftain trudged back into the rune circle as the Wizard resumed its chant, the symbols beginning to glow brighter. Poppy groaned as the magic started taking effect, her Light seeming to shrink away from the runes.
As the Wizard's chanting grew louder and more feverish, Narvuk and Poppy had to shield their eyes from the intense glow of the circle, was burning with soulfire. The Chieftain began roaring, its skin bubbling and shifting, and it dropped its Mine Launcher as it began writhing and clawing at itself. The pair of Guardians watched in horror as it began to grow taller.
Its armor cracked and broke at the joints, falling away and thudding to the ground. The arms on either side of its body fused as its torso rearranged itself, bones breaking and fusing audibly. Its chest expanded and its helmet went the same way as the rest of the armor. At this point, Narvuk and Poppy were doubled over in pain from their proximity to the ritual. Narvuk glanced behind him at the cages to see that the Cabal inside were being drained of life, becoming withered husks before his eyes.
The Wizard's chant reached its final crescendo, and the glow of the runes faded. The Guardians looked up, and what they beheld could only be described as obscene. The Chieftain had become almost Ogre-sized, its misshapen face made more grotesque by the fusion of two if its four eyes. The armor that had not fallen from its body had become lodged in its overdeveloped muscles. "Any time now, Hunter...," Narvuk muttered, claws flexing in preparation.
The thing that used to be a Chieftain roared to the sky, the Thrall around it backing away in fear. The Wizard hovered before the not-Chieftain, inspecting its work, occasionally poking or simply running its claws over the hardened skin. As it continued its inspection, the monster's hand shot out and latched onto the Wizard's head. The Wizard struggled for a moment, but its resistance ended as its creation crushed its skull, the crunching noise making Poppy cringe. The Thrall shifted, uncertain of their next move. One edged closer and was knocked aside like a bowling pin. The rest of the swarm immediately leapt at their comrade's murderer. The first few were batted down like the first, but as more swarmed the not-Chieftain, it fell back under their weight.
"Narvuk, let's move!" Poppy jumped to her feet and darted past the circle to take cover behind the farthest monolith, keeping an eye on the struggling Thrall. The Knight bolted up and followed her as quickly as he could manage. As the pair prepared to charge back in, a voice laughed at them from above.
"Y'all Guardians look kinda empty-handed." When the pair looked up, they were happy to see Sienna kneeling on the cliff, head cocked with what Narvuk assumed to be a smug grin. "Here, you might need these," she called, reaching back and tossing down Narvuk's sword and Poppy's rifle.
"Smartass," Poppy chuckled as she reloaded. Beside her, Narvuk caught his Cleaver with a small flourish. "Now, let's finish this." Sienna nodded and jumped down from her perch, landing without a sound. She slung her sniper over her shoulder and drew the hand cannon on her thigh, checking the sights as she joined her companions. The trio turned back to the circle and instantly ducked, a Thrall flying past them, disintegrating as it went. The not-Chieftain stood upright in front of the Guardians, its claws and chest covered in chitin and ash. It bellowed at the three, who stood shoulder to shoulder. "Sienna, you think you can hold its attention for a sec?"
"Do I even wanna know?"
"Just a small experiment, I swear. This time," Poppy added, a grin in her voice. Sienna shook her head, but nodded as she stepped forward and flipped a knife in her free hand. "Big guy, you up for a shock?" Narvuk glanced sideways at the Warlock, worry creeping into his eyes for a moment.
As gunfire rang out not 20 meters from them, the Knight and the Warlock faced each other. Poppy stood almost perfectly still, her face turned to the sky and her hands open as if in prayer. After a moment, Narvuk felt a tingling along his skin and looked up. He could have sworn he saw something darting between the stars as the tingle became a throb, then a surge. Suddenly, a massive bolt of Arc lightning struck Poppy and she was lifted a foot off the ground as she entered the Stormtrance. "Ready?" Narvuk braced himself and nodded, his Cleaver raised in front of him. Arc began flowing from Poppy's hands into the blade and over Narvuk's stony skin, the Knight's eyes glowing brighter every second. The lightning crackled between the Guardians, and from them to the rocks around them. When Poppy's current finally subsided, Narvuk inhaled deeply to center himself.
"Sso much power... from so little. Let's see what it can do." He turned back to where Sienna had gone to fight the monster and saw her crawling away from the thing, bleeding from cracks in her armor. It raised its claws to crush her as her friends watched. "NO!," Narvuk roared, flipping his sword and throwing it like a javelin. As it flew, the Arc energy around it burned white-hot, taking the shape of a spear. The monster had time to turn its head, but that was all. The Arc javelin punched through the beast, disintegrating it entirely.
"Nnh... thanks for the save. Timing still needs... work thooooOW sonuvabitch!" Poppy raced to Sienna's side, helped her stand, and retrieved Sienna's cannon. "C'mon, let's get you back to the cave so Harrier can patch you up, yeah?"
"You two go on ahhead. These statues... I want to see what I can learn from them. I will join you when I'm ffinished," Narvuk interjected, looking up at the crude face carved into one of the monoliths.
"Alright, big guy. Don't take too long, y'hear?" With that, Poppy helped Sienna onto her Sparrow, grabbed the handlebars around her friend, and zoomed away, leaving the Knight alone with only his Ghost for company.
A/N: Hey, guys! Sorry for the wait, finishing this chapter was just really difficult for some reason. But! It's here now, and I hope y'all enjoyed it! :D