[quote]Check out all other Brave Light episodes [url=https://www.bungie.net/en/Forum/Post/176320409/0/0]right here[/url]![/quote] [i]Blurred vision. Bright lights everywhere. Liz slowly opens her eyes, squinting to make out the scene before her.[/i] [b]Janus[/b]: Well look who just woke up... [i]Liz widened her eyes, now remembering what had happened. She looked up at the New Monarchy rep standing before her. In his hands were the two pairing beacons. The young Warlock tried to get up and lung at him, but her arms were locked in. She tried wiggling out of her restraints, but to no avail. Liz took a look around the room. Half of it was dilapidated by the explosion when the other side of the building collapsed on itself. It was a miracle that this side was still standing. At the center of it all was Liz, who was now clasped within a large metal sphere. Held around the chamber were two metal rings, as large as the chamber itself.[/i] [b]Janus[/b]: For a moment, I thought you might be dead. [b]Liz[/b]: Like you'd give a shit... [i]The Guardian looked at the metal structure she was held within. At the center of the system, just below her feet, were two cylindrical slots and a terminal.[/i] [b]Liz[/b]: And I'm willing to bet this thing has something to do with it. [b]Janus[/b]: Ah. I see you noticed... It's called a Merger. It harnesses the power of two times and ruptures the space-time continuum. Imagine that little display of destruction from before, but on a planetary scale. [b]Liz[/b]: Two times.... The beacons.... [b]Janus[/b]: Yes. The rep held up the first beacon. [b]Janus[/b]: One from the present. [i]The rep held up the second beacon.[/i] [b]Janus[/b]: And one from the past. [b]Liz[/b]: But how? How did you even get one from the past? [i]The room was silent. Janus' lips were sealed. The only gesture he made in response was a smile. It seemed that Liz wasn't going to get any more information out of him...[/i] [b]Liz[/b]: You're insane... [b]Janus[/b]: And you're redundant. [b]Liz[/b]: You're also evil, and cruel, and– [b]Janus[/b]: Oh, why my dear Elizabeth Roh! [i]Janus stepped up to the chamber. His face was less than a couple feet away from her.[/i] [b]Janus[/b] [i](touching his hand to her face)[/i]: Despite what you might think of me, I am not such a bad person. I only seek that which is crucial to our survival! As guardians, of course... [b]Liz[/b]: Oh really? [i]Liz pulled her face away from his hand.[/i] [b]Liz[/b]: Because the last time I checked, it looked a lot like you trying to destroy the planet. [i]Janus shrugged.[/i] [b]Janus[/b]: It'll be worth it in the end. [i]Liz lowered her eyes to the ground. In all her life, she was never one to despair. Yet in that moment, she was all but hopeful.[/i] [b][i]-------------------[/i][/b] [b]Zale[/b]: I never realized it before... [i]A small clump of concrete fell from the ceiling, landing on the ground next to him. A cracking sound echoed in the silence when it fell.[/i] [b]Zale[/b]: ....You hate me.... [i]The two guardians were laying down on their backs, staring up at the ceiling. All around them was five floor's-worth of rubble, gathered in a pile where they had fallen through the ceiling.[/i] [b]Hayden[/b]: I don't hate you, Zale.... I just wish I was you. [i]Zale grunted in pain as he sat up, holding the wounds on his side.[/i] [b]Zale[/b]: Me? Why on earth would YOU wanna be ME? [b]Hayden[/b]: Because... You don't know what it's like to not have any family. [i]The Hunter quietly listened.[/i] [b]Hayden[/b]: You were always "that Fallen kid". Everyone in school knew who you were. But I hated the way you used to always go from class to class, acting as if it was such a terrible thing that you lost your dad... I never had a father, as far as I've heard. I woke up feeling the ice cold breeze on my back without even the slightest clue as to where I came from... Let alone who my FAMILY was! [i]Hayden punched his fist into the ground in anger, sparks of arclight flying outward from the impact. Zale leaned forward.[/i] [b]Zale[/b]: You wanted to be me... Because you wanted a past? [i]The Titan silently nodded.[/i] [b]Zale[/b]: I'm sorry to hear that. [i]Hayden kept his gaze at the ground.[/i] [b]Zale[/b]: I'm sorry that you never realized what it's like to have everything you loved taken from you. [i]The Titan turned away from him.[/i] [b]Zale[/b]: And you're right, I was "the Fallen kid". That's all I was, though. My whole life, I've been treated like a freak of nature who was "raised by the enemy". No one ever considered the fact that a Fallen captain was my [i]dad[/i]... [i]Zale held a knife in his hand as he spoke, balancing a spark of arc energy on the surface of the blade.[/i] [b]Zale[/b]: From my point of view, losing a past without knowing why is just as bad as not having one at all. [i]Hayden was about to speak up, but the Hunter's words stopped him.[/i] [b]Zale[/b]: Because the truth is... I always wanted to be YOU. [i]Hayden's eyes widened as he looked up at the Hunter.[/i] [b]Zale[/b]: I held on to my past, and it hurt... It hurt bad... It hurt knowing that I lost everything I cared about without even knowing why... But you showed me something different. You moved on from your past, and you never let any of it hold you down. [i]The two guardians looked at each other, somewhat understanding one another for the first time. On one hand, they couldn't be more different. Yet at the same time, their feelings were exactly alike.[/i] [b]Zale[/b] [i](pointing up at the ceiling)[/i]: Now there's a freaking NUTJOB up there with a plan to blow up the moon. OUR moon... More importantly, he's got a friend. [i]Zale grunted again as he slowly stood up, keeping himself steady.[/i] [b]Zale[/b]: OUR friend. [i]The Hunter held out his hand in front of the Titan.[/i] [b]Zale[/b]: And we can't let her past hold [i]her[/i] down either. [i]Hayden looked up at him for a moment, pondering the Hunter's words. It would be dangerous, and they may never return, but he knew what they had to do. For the first time, he did something he never would've done before: Hayden took the Hunter's hand. Zale pulled the Titan up from the ground. After he stood up, the two of them were side by side; as equals. Hayden put his hand on the Hunter's shoulder.[/i] [b]Hayden[/b]: Alright, twinkle-toes.... What do we do? [i]Zale smiled.[/i] [b]Zale[/b]: I have a plan. [b][i]------------------[/i][/b] Had to split this into two episodes, so episode 10 will definitely be out tomorrow. Gonna really try to release them more often as well. Especially since midterms are over :P