Forsaken Light

Ikora and Zavala

"The Rider? I thought Cayde beat her in a race or something like that, way back when?" Ikora asked as she and Zavala left the Spider, their new intel in hand. Zavala shrugged, it was a story that the hunter told over and over again. Maybe he should have been paying more attention.

"Do you remember how he beat her?" Zavala questioned as they walked out of the cave, and summoned their sparrows. Ikora huffed a breath before glancing around the area, and mounting up her bike.

"If I remembered, I would have told you Zavala." Ikora snapped as she ran a hand over her face. This was becoming a lot, and they weren't used to it. The two had been cooped up in the tower for years, with little to no excursions from their posts. Cayde had a trip out once every year, mainly to keep him from literally making them all go mad with his constant talking. Maybe they should have joined him on a few of his excursions out of the tower, he always offered before taking off with Cassidy. He always returned with a new story about something he did that was idiotic, but it always made Ikora smile. Cassidy would often come back, with a few more bruises than normal and a grin on her face that wouldn't disappear until she had another mission.

"I just want to get to Cadye fast and this seems to be an endless task." Zavala admitted as he mounted his own sparrow. Ikora nodded, she wanted that too. She wanted to grab Cayde and get him back to the tower as soon as possible so they could make sure this never happened again. What were they supposed to do now that he had no ghost, he could never leave the tower let alone do anything stupid again. That would probably kill the Exo more than anything and it burned at Ikora's being.

"I found something!" Ophiuchus yelled as he appeared, his optic glowing brighter than normal. Zavala's ghost flashed into existence beside the other, its silver coloring almost plain in comparison to the others.

"Correction, we found something." Zavala's ghost tried to only to be quieted by Ophiuchus.

"Why can't you just agree we did it together?"

"Because you said 'I' found something, that's why." Zavala's ghost replied as the titan pinched the bridge of his nose.

"Crusader, please just tell us what you found."  Zavala asked as his ghost snapped her attention to him.

"Yes, sir. We went through our archives, searching for any information that Cayde may have said about the Rider. Turns out he modified a pike and used that to beat her not only in a race, but also to break her own bike before taking her to the prison." Crusader informed as Zavala nodded.

"Where are we going to find a pike?" Ikora asked as a hum filled the area. "Well Zavala it seems to be our lucky day." Ikora stated as she got off her sparrow before glancing at Zavala as he grabbed the pulse rifle off his back.

The two pike riders swung around the corner and were met with a bullet in their heads, causing their lifeless bodies to fall and their pikes to come to a halt. Ikora recalled her sparrow as she leapt onto the first pike as Ophiuchus set to upgrading it and Crusader started as well. Zavala returned the gun to its place and mounted up the pike as it seemed to almost growl with the new weight. Grabbing the handle, the pike jerked forward nearly throwing Zavala over the front of the machine as Ikora laughed. Her hand quickly covered her mouth as she tried to hide the laugh, but it didn't conceal much. The titan sent a glare at her, but it held little heat behind it before a small smirk crossed the titan's lips.

Ikora doesn't remember the last time she laughed that hard as her sides began to hurt. The titan repositioned himself on the pike before soaring over towards the warlock and kicking the side of the machine. It sputtered for a moment before suddenly zooming forward, throwing the Vanguard off the back of it, a small yelp escaping the woman. The pike roared forward, hitting a rock, that caused it to stop as Zavala smiled down at the warlock. Grumbling, Ikora pushed herself to her feet, brushing her robe off before storming over to the pike. A small smile, attempting to break through the fake anger she was forcing up.

"Children behave." Crusader stated as she finished the last of the upgrades.

"Finished." Ophiuchus informed as Ikora leapt onto the pike once again before the ghost disappeared.

"Let's go find this Rider." They flew forward, the terrain flying past them in shades of purple and gray as they followed the directions from the intel they had. A laugh broke the silence as it resounded through the expanse of the area. Zavala pulled on the brakes as Ikora slowed beside him and they looked around the area trying to figure out where it was coming from.

"Keep up!" The laugh echoed as the two yanked on the gas, sending them flying forward as they chased after the voice. Three pike riders rushed up beside them, as Ikora grabbed the shotgun off her shoulder. Leveling the shotgun over her right arm, she took aim at the Scorn rider as she fired. The scorn screamed before falling from the pike and the machine veered ramming into the one beside it, causing them both to crash. Zavala swung out his fist connecting with the scorns jaw as the creature toppled off the pike, a cry following it's fall.

"Guardians. I know why here." The voice called as Zavala and Ikora raced around a bend into a large open area, yellow liquid pooled below them. Scorn soldiers lined the banks, guns pointed at them as the Rider smiled from the middle of the zone. Six scorn riders on each side of her as she leaned back, her hand hooking something that the two Vanguard couldn't quite see. The Rider pulled Cayde from the seat, holding him off the ground by his vest and forcing him to see the two Vanguard on the other side of the area. Cayde struggled against the binds on his wrists and the gag in his mouth.

"This a sight!" The Rider laughed as her glowing eyes trailed the others, but their focus was solely on their fireteam member. He looked like hell, the blue and white paint on his face was ripped away in patches exposing the material and wires underneath. Oil and sparks came from his shoulder where a large claw mark was torn into it and a bullet hole was visible. His side sparked as the black oil coated the armor and circuits. In his left leg was another bullet entrance, but even with all the injuries it didn't stop the Exo's struggle as he tried desperately to escape the claw that held him. Ikora tried to keep her calm, she needed to be rational about this. They couldn't put Cayde's life on the line anymore than it already was. Ikora gave a quick glance to the Awoken beside her. Zavala's eyes were like fire, his teeth gritted as he kept stopping himself from slamming on the gas. Void energy whirled around, his hands, showing the titan's anger as the power danced up his arms. 

Cayde struggled against the gag doing anything he could think of to try to force the piece of cloth from his mouth but it was no use. The Rider smiled up at him before tossing the Exo to a pike rider beside her, who quickly grabbed him pulling the Vanguard on the back of his bike.

"Fire!" The Rider shouted as the guns roared, the bullets ripping through the air. Zavala thought fast as he called up the void shield, the purple dome surrounding the two guardians and effectively stopping the bullets. The pike rider who had Cayde quickly turned and zoomed out of the area, to where the two didn't know. 

"How long can you keep it up?" Ikora asked as she quickly got off her pike grabbing a grenade from her belt and throwing it out of the shield. The vortex flies open sucking in whoever is nearby and killing them off.

"Long enough for you." Zavala answers as Ikora nods. Leaping into the air, she summons the nova bomb firing it right where the Rider sits only for the Scorn to swerve away from the super. Everything else that remained was destroyed on contact. Landing back on the pike, Zavala drops the shield as the two set to killing off anyone who stands in their way. They knew they wouldn't get to Cayde this time.