Red Snow

I always come back

The battle is yours to win. Or Lose

Snow blew sideways across Hellas Basin. Oliver-7 pushed through the entrance of the abandoned Bray facility with his shotgun raised. Clover hovered behind him.

"There was a door."

Oliver looked at the hole he had made in the wall.

"There still is."

"That is not what that means."

The first Thrall came from beneath the ice. Then another. Then twenty. Oliver fired until the corridor filled with smoke, shattered chitin, and melting snow. Clover disappeared behind cover.

"You know, most Guardians retreat when their armor starts falling apart."

Oliver slammed a fresh shell into the shotgun.

"Most Guardians aren't Titans."

"That is not the defense you think it is."

They kept moving. The Hive had nested deep beneath the facility, carving tunnels through frozen maintenance shafts and old Warmind infrastructure.

By the time Oliver reached the final chamber, one pauldron was cracked and his ammunition was nearly gone. A Knight waited inside. The fight did not last long. It only felt like it did.

The Knight hit the ground hard. Oliver stood over it. One shell remained. The shotgun pressed against its face. Clover drifted closer. The Knight rasped something in its own tongue. Clover translated.

"Another will rise."

Oliver chambered the final round.

"Let them come."

The shot echoed through the facility.

Hours later, Oliver-7 emerged into the storm. Fresh snow had already begun covering his tracks. The red took longer.

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