From Dusk to Dust (Destiny Fan Fiction)

26-Battle of the Lost

AN: THIS STORY WON SECOND PLACE IN THE AUGUST ELIMINATION AWARDS! I am so happy :D Tanis' Arc aesthetic is at the bottom; I've gotten way better at making these since I made this one. Enjoy this particularly long chapter!

The pale colored sands of Mercury emanated blazing heat. The sky was a rich blue, almost overshadowed by the close red sun rays. The guardians positioned themselves across the way from a giant temple. The building was full of different rectangular parts and machinery underneath the sandstone. Behind them was half the city of Ralok, which was in the early stages of evacuation. Echo's army of Exos were there aiding the civilians.

A large number of Vex stood in front of the temple. The robots stared at the guardians with their illuminated red eyes. They held their guns in front of them, ready to strike if anybody made a move. Since there were no Hive in the area, the Vex were complacent with their territory. The guardians stared right back, and waited patiently.

Echo IX stood his ground, spreading his legs apart a bit to gain a better stance. He raised his pulse rifle, pausing to gain accuracy. His finger hovered over the trigger, ready to blow one of those bastard's heads off.

Tanis IV put his hand on the edge of Echo's gun and lowered it. "Don't. They aren't moving."

Echo snorted, "All the more reason to shoot them."

"As much as I'd like to agree with you on that, the Vex aren't attacking." Malachi watched the enemies with the binoculars he had found in the city. The Vex were standing still, as if they were statues. He dropped the binoculars and put his helmet back on. "I'd rather not be thrown into a shit storm if we can avoid it."

"Look at you, all grown up and acting mature," Alaura teased as she checked her gun. She counted the clips she had on her, making sure they were easy to access in case of a battle started.

"Yeah, yeah, yeah, whatever." Malachi brushed it off and peered out onto the terrain. The land was sand, sand, and more sand for miles after the temple.

Alaura prompted Jarvis to tune into a military frequency through communications. Static erupted within her ears. She questioned in a strong voice, "Is the city completely evacuated?" She was met with nothing but silence and static. "Can anyone hear me? This is Fireteam Riptide reporting in. Is the city completely evacuated?"

Tanis looked back, but had to do a double take. He blinked a few times, unsure of what he just witnessed. "I don't think you need to worry about that."

All of them turned around, and were nearly blinded by light. The city that was once there vanished into thin air, if that were possible. Half of the sun appeared on the horizon, allowing the guardians to see the red flairs and flames it contained. They raised their hands to shield their eyes, and stared out at what was there. Nothing but odd columns and electricity they emitted sat in the ocean of boiling liquid.

Echo ran forward, then immediately stopped. He kicked sand around angrily and yelled at the top of his voice box, "Where did they go? My family was there, my brethren, everyone! They were here to defend the city, and now they're all gone!"

Tanis' mind ran wild with possibilities on what could've happened. All of them frightened, yet intrigued him. Was Vex technology that powerful? "They couldn't have teleported a whole city...could they?"

Dinklebot answered instantly, "We don't know a lot about Vex technology, so it could be possible."

Echo IX halted and stood there, mouth hung open in shock. He whispered softly, mostly to himself, "H-how did they...?" His fingers coiled tighter around the handle of his pulse rifle. Echo attempted to contort his face in anger, but nothing worked. The steel gray plating never moved. He screamed out brokenly and made a mad dash towards the Vex, shooting the entire way. "That was my family! Hundreds of years together and you bastards took them from me!" The Vex screeched mechanically and teleported closer to the guardians.