Forsaken Light

Ikora and Zavala

   Ikora skidded beside Zavala as the titan chuckled at the warlock before tossing her more shotgun ammo. The Vanguard shook her head before she refilled the gun, and a whoosh came from behind their cover.

    "So you still upset you didn't go back to the tower?" Ikora asked as she turned the shotgun to the scorn soldier that came charging at them. A blast from the gun was enough to send it sprawling backwards, its blood staining the ground. A shield totem formed not too far away from them as the Mindbender came out of his portal.

    "No, you?" Zavala questioned as he rushed out from their cover, grabbing his magnetic grenade from his side. He threw it at the nearest opponent getting it to stick before exploding the first time killing all those around it. A few moments tick past before it explodes again, killing the next wave.

    "Nice throw." Ikora laughed as she killed a knight that charged her, bringing it down with a single shot to the head. A roar from the Mindbender breaks their attention from the weaker opponents. Zavala focuses the shield totems, destroying them in only a few hits before he dodges out of the way of the baron's blasts. Ikora waits for the shields to fall before she called upon the void, the nova bomb forming in her hands as the blast strikes the baron getting it to roar in pain, but it doesn't collapse. She rolls breaking her fall, her hand pulling the shotgun off her shoulder and firing into the nearest hive.

"Did you hear that Hawthorne is dating someone?" Ikora called across the field as she used her energy blast to throw a thrall off the edge of the area.

    "Really? Hawthorne is dating someone?" Zavala asked as he fired a few rounds at the Mindbender before he retreated back into his portal. "I feel bad for him."

    "That was rude, Zavala. Hawthorne is pretty nice when you get to know her." Ikora yelled as she dodged a few bullets before sliding behind a pillar.

    "To you, I don't think she likes me or Cayde."

    "You don't even like Cayde." Ikora countered, as her grenade hummed through the air pulling in a bunch of scorn soldiers.

    "I said I'll work on it!" Zavala shouted back as the portal opened again. "Let's finish this up and then we'll talk about this." Zavala called as he heard the warlock laugh from across the area.

    "Shut up!" The Mindbender yelled. "You not quiet. Don't stop talking." The Mindbender said as he turned the gun towards Zavala before firing off the laser. The titan easily dodged the attack before swerving into cover, and reloading his gun.

    "This conversation has nothing to do with you." Ikora yelled as she destroyed the first shield totem before she dove under the charging ogre's legs. The gun went off into the monster's left leg as it cried, falling over as it tried to swing out at the Vanguard with a clawed hand. Ikora was faster, as she spun out of the hive's grasp and the gun went off sending it's shot into the ogre's face killing it. A blast  from the Mindbender soared towards the warlock as she tried to shield herself before a void shield surrounded her, the explosions stopping just outside of Zavala's shield.

    "Work fast." Zavala stated as he struggled to hold the shield. Ikora nodded, as she grabbed for her grenade throwing it into the scorn soldiers that were trying to get to them. She absorbed the small motes of light that formed from the attack, before the nova bomb took shape in her hand. The bomb struck the Mindbender getting him to cry out as he collapsed to the ground, his magic seeping away from him. His form disappeared, being consumed by the darkness around them before the world started to shake.

    "It's collapsing, we need to get out of here." Ophiuchus said as he appeared. "Through the portal, quick." The two guardians rushed off. Leaping through the portal they crashed to the ground as it closed behind them, their breaths coming in pants.

    "So... that was fun..." Ikora smiled as she looked around the area they were in.

    "Fun... more like exhausting... but that should be one of the last ones." Zavala admitted as he pushed himself to his feet, and brushed some of the dirt from his gear. His ghost appeared suddenly before practically flying into her guardian's face.

    "We need to get to the Watchtower now!" Crusader shouted as Ophiuchus formed his panic evident as well.

    "Wait, what's going on?" Ikora asked as Ophiuchus started transmatting them as close as they could get to the tower.

    "Cassidy's ghost just sent out an alert. They need help." Crusader filled them in as the two Vanguard were transmatted in front of the Watchtower. Zavala took a deep breath, pulling the rifle from his back as Ikora filled the shotgun with ammo.

    "Ready for this?" Ikora asked as the Awoken started forward.

    "Yes. Let's go get our hunter back." An explosion echoed from the Watchtower. Glass and pieces of the building came crashing down not far away from them. A figure in black, leapt from the hole in the building. The hunter spun, her sniper aiming at the baron that was chasing her. The mad bomber tossed one of his purple bombs from his vest, as Cassidy's shot missed by mere inches. The bomb flew down towards her as she fired off another round exploding the item before the two crashed to the ground.

    The bomber pushed himself to his feet as Cassidy rushed out of the dust cloud her fall had created. Throwing herself onto the baron, the fallen roared as the guardian's knife found a hold in its neck.

    "Get up the tower!" Cassidy shouted as the mad bomber collapsed to the ground.

    "What about you?" Ikora asked as a roar rang from the hole and the Fanatic stepped forward.

    "Don't worry about me. Get Cayde! I'll deal with him." Cassidy said as she returned the knife to its sheath and pulled the power sword from her back. The Fanatic jumped down electricity surging off the baron's body as it pushed itself to his feet. The fallen growled leveling the spear at the Cassidy as she readied herself.

     Ikora knew Cassidy was unstable, she knew that she lacked a true loyalty to the traveler and to her fellow guardians. Yet, she stood there preparing herself to face off against a monster of a fallen alone, just for Cayde. Loyalty was a fickle thing wasn't it. To Ikora it was a duty to those under her and her place under the traveler as one of its most loyal followers. For Zavala it was the rules that he enforced and the protection of his people that he craved. For Cayde, it was his hunters and his fireteam. He trusted the traveler, but he didn't give everything for it like Ikora and Zavala.

     Cayde's focus was always his charges, his hunters, they were his everything. It was something Ikora wished she had with her warlocks, but they were in their own worlds, their minds not necessarily working the way hers did. So their conversations were light and fast before they were off again searching the universe for answers. Zavala was stern with his titans often chasing them off after getting what they needed from him, his somber demeanor always a deterrent. As for Cayde he always had a hunter around him if not he was always conversing with one over their comms. It was a bond that a Vanguard should have with his wards. Andal had a similar effect with his hunters and it was no surprise when Cayde took after his mentor in almost every sense of the word.

     Cassidy was a strange hunter originally, always making different calls than a guardian should. It irked Ikora a bit in the beginning that Cayde was so determined to help her, how he did so much for her. Then again, he did that for all his hunters. If they needed him, he was there. Now here she was giving her everything just for the possibility of getting to Cayde even if she knew he might not be here anymore.

     "Go!" Cassidy shouted as she charged the final baron, her blade making for the monster's legs. Zavala grabbed Ikora's arm breaking her from her thoughts as he dragged her away from the fight and into the Watchtower.

    "She's right we have to go." Zavala admitted as Ikora cast one final glance out the door before following after her fellow Vanguard.