Author's Note: If you hadn't sensed it, this arc is ending soon. Reviews and comments are very much welcome, I hope you've enjoyed the ride. Remember to visit the poll still up on my bio.
Chapter 21: Burning Tears
Once it became clear to Dorian, it didn't take long for the others to realize something was afoot. Perhaps, Dorian reflected, the entire mission had the same dreadful effect on the whole team. Taxon-4, reacted by commanding everyone to return to their jumpships and leave immediately. Dorian was surprised that the Vanguards immediately followed the command, even more surprised that Taxon-4 had the nerve to issue the order to the two Vanguards who outranked him.
"What's wrong?" Cayde-6 demanded as they ran up the Dunes.
"I'll explain on," Dorian yelled out. "But we have to get to the Tower. FAST!"
Tax followed up. "Elsynn take the Wyvern, you're the best pilot and she's the fastest ship." She acknowledged with and affirmative. "I still have space on my Jumpship, if needed."
"No need, I'll ride with Cayde." Ikora said.
As soon as they were in range of the ships teleport, the vanished off the dunes. Dorian even managed to catch sight of the Goliaths in the distance—kicking up dust in their wake.
"Dorian, explain." Ikora commanded once they had strapped into their Jumpships and began their flight.
"Thane isn't here," Dorian said.
"Well, that's pretty obvious." Cayde said, a hint of sass in his voice.
"He's not on Mars. He doesn't even place the bulk of his force where two Guardian Vanguards is going to be. That fight was too easy for someone who's manage to deceive and evade us for this long. Thane maybe a bastard, but he's smart. He has to be when he's fighting an entire army."
"Get to the point, Dorian." Elsynn said.
"Think about it, Thane isn't stupid. Irrational perhaps but not stupid. He created one big mess; an obvious trail that we can follow. So we've throw our heaviest punch into this, and Thane didn't even fight that hard. He's not fighting on his front, if Thane has enough fighters, which he probably does. Why fight on this front, with two Vanguards, when the Tower only has one Vanguard. And a whole lot of unwary Guardians."
"Oh shit..." Dorian heard Elsynn mutter.
"He's evaded us this long, and then he takes a Cabal commander hostage in broad daylight? That Cabal force was waiting there. He sent a team of Vex to pose for the team we were expecting to see. There are exactly three people on Earth who have any idea about Thane."
"They're going to just walk in there and no one would be the wiser." Elsynn finished,. Once past the stratosphere, the Wyvern banked sharply in the Earth's direction.
"Thane walking in unnoticed, is the least of our worries." Dorian emphasized.
"You think they have something planned." Tax asked.
"I wouldn't miss a chance like this to hit two birds with one stone." Cayde-6 added. "How did you figure it out?"
"Books. The list of books we recovered from our little wild goose chase on Venus. I don't know how I missed it earlier, but every copy we recovered corresponds to the Speaker's collection in Tower North. The books in there, you can't find anywhere else." Dorian felt a pang of guilt, this was one instance of stupidity that would cost him. It would cost others so much more. Damn it!
Don't beat yourself up so much. His interface voiced, this time actually sounding genuine. Thane is a sharp one—as far as we know he was an excellent Guardian. Don't blame yourself, you could not have foreseen this, Dorian.
No matter who I blame, Dorian thought to himself, it falls on me. I should have realized it but I did not. There's nothing I can do to fix it.
If you don't stop sulking, the situation is definitely not going to get better. You need to keep your head straight, the fight is not over.
Dorian gathered himself together, the interface was right. If Thane was indeed on the Tower the fight was far from over. "Elsynn. How long till we arrive?" Dorian said.
"At least thirty minutes. I'm pushing the NLS drive as far as it's willing to go—without this ship breaking apart. It's going to seriously drain the fuel cells however."
"That's the least of our worries. Ghost! What's the status of our armaments?"
"Both point defense weapons are locked and loaded."
"No missiles?" asked Elsynn.
"None, unfortunately. The Wyvern was built more for fleeing than fighting. Dog fights are a rarity these days."
"I don't think a Guardian, even in full armor, could stand 3000 mile-an-hour tungsten round, would it?"
"Not unless they've got a Ward of Dawn." Tax added. "And a five to six man fireteam, there's bound to be a Titan amongst them." It was true, no splinter fireteam was stupid enough to face the frontiers alone and without at least one Titan in their midst. "We should… be careful… Thane might… be... prepared." Elsynn swore moments later as the words began to lag on. Wishing that she had brought the Dashline along for the mission.
"What is it?"
"The time lag, the Wyvern is significantly faster than the Marauder or the Siren—Cayde-6's ship." she began to explain, "Mars and Earth is a long ways apart and we don't have the tech to travel in warp and communicate long distances, both at the same time. We're going to arrive early, by several minutes at least." The Wyvern NLS drive took them from Mars to Earth in under 45 minutes, which was good considering that pre-Golden Age ships took six to eight months. To Elsynn and Dorian both, the excruciating wait felt very nearly like six to eight months. With not much to say in between, than what they were to immediately do once they got there. If Thane's plans on the Tower had stuck to a clandestine agenda, they would seek out both Zavala or the Speaker first. If he hadn't, then they were probably the most well-equipped to handle Thane's threat.
When they arrived, it became clear that they had seriously underestimated Thane's intentions. Waves of anxiety and horror began to hit him immediately after he laid his eyes on the Tower, smoke issuing from multiple sides. Elsynn threw care into the wind as her aircraft banked at frightening angle to get to the Hangar. The courtyard that was Tower Watch was littered with dead or dying husks from both sides. Fighting still raged. Not even between Thane and the Traveler's Guardians, but Fallen and Vex who had somehow gained access to the Tower.
"Ghost, land this thing, we're going down there." Elsynn said but her Ghost replied a negative.
"No one in the Hangar are responding, the landing mechanics are not responding." The two of them threw a look at the Hangar, smoke was rising from the opening—not as thick as everywhere else on the tower. "Wait—I can't make contact but there are multiple Ghosts in there! The Speaker's and Bell-17's and—"
"What? Who?"
"Both you to the Hangar, NOW!" Ghosts rarely used forceful voice, almost always using calm indoor voices. Elsynn wasted no time, listening to the Ghost's anxious voice, she hovered over to the Hangar doors.
"I see five—no six people in there." The Wyvern's lights switched on. It was Lucius and… "ZAVALA!" Elsynn made her way dangerously deep into the ruins of the Hangar. Dorian activated the ship's point defense guns and aimed them at Thane and his fireteam. Catching him, as he was cornering the Speaker and Bell-17. Zavala lay in pool of his own blood, surrounded of by two more bodies. No blood on them, however.
"KILL HIM!" Elsynn shouted from her pilot's seat, however before Dorian could pull the trigger a Ward of Dawn activated around Lucius. The rounds pinged off, cracked the surface—but none when through. It gave Lucius the precious few seconds to blink himself and his teammates to cover behind some wreckage. "Ghost, keep this thing in the air!" Dorian and Elsynn phased unto the Hangar floor, she moved to cover the Speaker and Bell. Dorian raised his weapon and showered Lucius with shots.
"Well, well, well. That was fast."
"Shut up, Lucius. I'm going to kill you, you bastard."
Lucius laughed cheerily, he seemed genuinely amused. "Look at you, so ready to kill your fellow brother in arms."
"You're no brother of mine. You sick excuse for a human being. I'm going to make you regret the day you left the Light." Dorian let out another burst from his pulse rifle, making sure Lucius would not make any moves as Dorian slowly approached him.
"Such venomous words. Ah… Ted would reel in horror if he were still here."
Dorian froze with fear and surprise. "What did you say?" Lucius laughed again, his chuckles fraying Dorian's every nerve. "WHAT THE FUCK DID YOU SAY!"
"Little Dorian… still thinks he knows better than his fellow man. I applaud your ability to fake humility around people. For one who houses such a big ego inside."
Dorian's mind began to shatter into pieces, each shard thought differently.
Kill him!
Lucius knew Ted?
A big ego? Me?
"Thane!" Someone called from above. A Titan, who was running inside with two hunter behind him. Like Lucius and his fireteam they had their helmets donned. Wait—
"Thane?"
"Hmm my dear Dorian, still lagging far… far behind. Yet he Still thinks he knows better than his fellow man."
Lucius is Thane? Had Dorian really been deceived once more?
"DORIAN!" Yelled Elsynn as one of the hunters raised her rifle and an ear shattering bang resounded. Dorian felt his Pain explode across his chest and he flew backwards, he felt his entire left arm go numb. Something warm began to fill the inside of his armor. What happened next skipped like a blur across the pages of him memories. Elsynn and Bell both yelled his name repeatedly. Thane laughed, again before vanishing in a burst of blue.
Then as oblivion invaded, he felt his entire being revolt against death. His sinews rejoined, the blood returned to his needy veins. A renewed vigor travelled throughout his entire being. His eyes snapped open to a myriad of faces. Bell, Elsynn, Tax, the Speaker, then—standing straight up and emitting Solar Light—Ikora Rey. Elsynn and Tax both embraced him with relieved voices, Dorian's mind was still too muddled to make sense what the words were. Ikora returned as if from Trance and smiled, "Good to know it worked." Then her face returned to a deep state of sorrow. When Dorian followed her gaze, he came upon the corpse of the Titan Vanguard.
Dorian, felt his mind sharpen, "What do I do?"
"Slow down, there." Elsynn said. "You nearly died, you would have lost an arm if not for Rey's Radiance."
"I don't care. Where is Thane?"
"Gone," Bell-17 said. "But that's not the important thing. In the Hall, there is a ritual. It's some sort of field that nullifies the Light. The Vex and Fallen are coming out of it like ants out of their hill. If that thing stays open, they'll exhaust and execute every last person on this tower."
Dorian's ears had perked up at the word 'ritual'. Could it have been identical with the one they encountered on the Moon.
"Call every Warlock we have, we need to suppress that field!" Dorian announced.
"Yes we know Dorian—" Ikora tried to explain.
"It's a hive ritual, uses the Darkness to cancel out Light. He's used it before. We saw it remember," Dorian turned to Elsynn and Tax, "Never thought it was actually rehearsal for this."
Tax rose all of a sudden, from next to Zavala's body. "Then we need to clear a path to that place." He turned to his ghost and commanded, "To all Guardians, get to Tower Watch. We have to push the Vex and the Fallen back to their origin. If we can't patch up the leak than we have to do our best to stem the flow."
Then flowed in a series of affirmatives from various Fireteams, "Titan Defenders I want a line set up. Have Strikers push the enemy as far back as they can. Then I want Defenders to set up a line and then maintain it as best we can. Hunters will continually keep the enemy at a distance. I'll join you momentarily." He spoke with the authority and surety that Dorian was sure would have made Zavala proud.
Dorian rose to his feet, "What do we do?" he asked the Titan
"Follow Ikora's lead. She should know what to do. We're ending this fight today."
-x-x-x-
The initial push lasted for an hour, the following five hours was spent pushing the Vex and the Fallen as far back as possible. The most difficult part being the stairway that was the only connection between Tower Watch and the Hall of Guardians. The enemy's forces had set up around the convenient choke point. But Tax came up with another ambitious plan.
"I want Striker's, to give it your all, Push down into the corridor with your Fists of Havoc."
"My Warlocks will provide Nova-Bombs at the right times, but our priority will remain the ritual. We'll need covering fire."
"The Defenders can give you that." A Titan spoke up, a chorus of voices assured the same thing.
Dorian only listened from a distance. He had had couple of chances to throw a Nova Bomb, take out clustered enemies during the fight. The rest of the time he resorted to his pulse rifle, which he was sure was as worn out as he felt. He had been excused after an large number of faulty shots. A recently arrived hunter tapped his shoulder and suggested he take a break to look over his weapons. He crawled a ways back, sank against into the makeshift wall of debris, and then looked over his pulse rifle. It was worn out. This morning, the rifle did not have as much scratches as it did then. The barrel had overheated and warped multiple times. With a series of jams to accompany Luckily, none of the occurrences happened in life-or-death situations.
"How long did you wait for the rifle to cool off after each jam?" Bell-17 asked. Hobbling along behind the low wall, which a bring a resupply of ammunition.
"No idea. several seconds perhaps?" Dorian admitted, he did not really pay much attention to it. Most his time was spent taking cover and aiming down the rifle.
The exo extended his hand and Dorian gave him the rifle. After several minutes of examination, the exo gave his kind's approximation of a click and said, "You should have cooled it off more. It's way overheated and some components have fused together with the rest of the build. Did the number of jams rise exponentially?"
"Yes."
"Drop it." Bell-17 threw over his own rifle. "She's called Lump Distribution. And she's one of the finest things I have." Dorian looked it over. It did look beautiful, albeit the barrel which was lengthier than his previous rifle. It looked much akin to Elsynn's own Fair and Square pulse rifle. He stared down the sight. "Don't worry, that was the rifle that shredded nearly all of Lucius's armor."
"Thane."
"What?"
"That wasn't Lucius. There never was a Lucius, just an alias he used to confuse us about his identity and his numbers. Bastard." He spat, "Anyway, thanks for the rifle. I'll take good care of it."
"That's what you said when I gave you this," he waved the PSI tempus Dorian gave over, "Just be careful to let her rest when she's tired. And she's got a much more powerful kick, than this old bugger."
"Alright."
"They're starting." Dorian stood up and looked over to the hunters who had begun to intensify their sniping. The Strikers formed three man teams, with Tax at the lead.
"Dorian! With me." Elsynn called out, she motioned him over to where she was standing. Also there was a number of other Warlock-Hunter duos, Ikora and Cayde stood at the head of them. "What's happening?"
"The Titans are leading a charge down the enemy's throat. Warlocks and Hunters are going to slip into the Hall of Guardians in the confusion. They're going to try and stop the ritual."
"Good." Dorian moved to follow the throng of his fellow Warlocks who were moving behind the Strikers.
"Wait, we weren't picked." Elsynn said holding him back
"What?"
"Ikora is not confident you can handle it, and thinks I'm too tired. They're charging in with fresh troops."
"That's bullocks." Dorian stopped and watched as the team began their charge. Chaos began to erupt. Elsynn pulled him back as he was about to leave.
"Exactly, which is why you're coming with me. We're going to drop over the edge of the Traveler's Watch, Bell-17 said Zavala managed to carve a hole small enough for us to slip through. And I think I saw it on our way down." She let a large huff of air, "Can I trust you, Dorian?"
"I will give it my all." He donned on his helmet.
Elsynn smiled, seeing a glimpse of Soren in his devotion. "Nice rifle." She commented, before looking up to the stars and muttered under her breath. "Wherever you are, we could use your help." She allowed her thoughts of Soren pass then donned over her helmet.
They walked forward seeing bodies of nearly every species known to them. She walked to the furthest point of the Defenders, they pretended to be Guardians hoping to join the fight on the front lines. Before she had the chance to charge over cover, Dorian took her hand and they blinked quickly across the gap. They made it over to the Traveler's walk. Which strangely been ignored most of the fight. Dorian figured because it was because of the debris blocking the path. And because it provided little tactical advantage.
He found another reason which proved an equally effective deterrent if not more. The place that had once been green and filled with life and cheer, was torn asunder. Flowing with the blood of Guardians. Where the Haven bar had stood, now lay tattered cloth and fused bars of metal. He could barely make out the Frame underneath. Bombs. That was how they managed to throw all of the Tower into such disarray so very quickly. Charges to cause death, panic, and chaos. When Dorian found it too much, he found some comfort in watching Elsynn's cloak flutter in the wind. He pushed his surroundings out of his focus.
Upon reaching the edge Elsynn nimble vaulted over and hung low over the edge. She hung on the tips of her fingers, then jumped back up. And pulled a rope from under her cloak. "Let's go!" she said, tying off the rope on a railing.
"What do you see?" She asked once they had rappelled down.
"It's a lot like the one we saw on the Moon."
"Those Warlocks on the other side have broken through, but they don't look very confident." Elsynn switched the comm channels, which was just a blunder of yelling and gunfire. "They really aren't making much progress."
"Should we just charge in?"
"Most of their attention is still drawn to the forward charge, let's use that to our advantage." She pulled out her knife and rolled across the floor. Coming up behind a Fallen, she slit's throat then threw her knife into the Vandal next to it. Dorian stayed in cover, leaving the stealthiest of routes to his stealthy friend. He heard another Fallen gurgle and collapse, then continued on. But just as Elsynn neared the table she lost her concentration and stumbled. A Vex noticed but he received a knife in the eye almost instantly.
However it was too late. The Vex were a hive mind, the other noticed it all the same. They all turned on Dorian who raised his rifle and dropped them. He curled up behind the table, next to Elsynn who efficiently took out her targets. He prepared himself.
Dorian I know what you're thinking. Don't do it.
"And risk all hell bursting out of this room and into the City?"
There must be another way.
Dorian's memories flashed to the sight of the Traveler's walk, the former beauty and current horror. "I'm not letting another Guardian die." Dorian then entered the Void, just like Bell taught him to. He saw the Void all around him, he felt the Light in the distance. However it was far away, here he was standing underneath the frigid waterfall of energy. The Darkness was like a toxic spring, pushing out water and replacing it with this dark cesspool. No choice, Dorian reminded himself. He touched the power and let it rush through him. It pushed all the Light out of him, violently washing him clean of Light. Once it happened, the picture became clear. Side-by-side with the Darkness, the Void was forming an intricate mechanic. It no longer struck him like the mysterious and ominous ritual its appearance inspired. Rather, it was like a massive clock. Rotating on ethereal gears, winding under quantum energy.
It was not nearly as large as the one he had felt on the Moon, not as complex either. The Ritual on the Moon was not only complex, it has certain defense mechanisms in place. Dorian, even as he was under the influence of the Darkness could barely glimpse at the powers that controlled it's behavior. This one lay open, and like a massive clock Dorian could very easily jam something in between the gears. He pooled the Void energy into the form of a spear, then put the power of Darkness behind it. It jettisoned with an subtle whoosh, but it landed in with a distinct whump. Dorian formed another and then threw it in. Then another and another. Until the massive mechanism collapsed on with self and all the energy, both the Darkness and the Void, dissipated.
Dorian! You've done it! Now let go.
Why? It surely wasn't comfortable here but there was more energy in letting in one split second of Darkness that there was in an hour of Light. Power like this was would not only kill Guardians. In the presence of this power, Hive Wizards, Vex Minotaur, Fallen Priests would run and hide. Their own cards played against them. Dorian exited the Void, breaking the surface from the ethereal ocean back to reality. He turned and saw the figure of Elsynn. She fought with the grace of dancer, and the tenacity of a lioness. But she was getting cornered, she had had to defend him while he sabotaged Thane's ritual.
Dorian… let go. There's no need. You can hold them back on your own—
A Vex attack blindsided Elsynn, then a Minotaur backhanded her across her head. She saw class glinting as her helmet and visor both crumpled. Her limp body flew through the air for a second and before she hit the ground Dorian had already made up his mind.
With weak blast of Void, Dorian slowly softened her flight. Then he formed another spear and threw the direction of a Minotaur. It crumpled, with one hit. With two more it had broken into pieces. The throng of Vandals behind him? Dorian summoned a Nova Bomb then sent it over. They were vaporized in a split second.
Dorian let go! This isn't what the Traveler brought you back for! DORIAN, LET GO NOW!
Dorian took in another deep breath of Darkness and then looked to the Vex Goblins still defending the corridor. He crafted a grenade, two in quick succession. Each one split into five or six pieces which clung unto the Goblins. He could hear them screeching confusion, as they melted and burst. He felt his veins bursting in the sheer force of all that Power. He could leave now! He would chase after Thane and his ilk, lay waste to his fireteam. He would tear them apart—
Like those Guardians up on the Traveler's Walk? The interface said, tone dripping with venom.
The memories surged then and there. The mangled corpses, the flow of blood. He felt the rush of battle retreat. He felt a sickness behind his eyes. Throbbing nausea. His chest felt like collapsing from some revolting sensation. He felt like melting away from his burning tears.
Dorian let go! The interface said with a calm voice; pity and emotion loaded into three words. Asking him to relent the very force that would obliterate him. What's the use of too much power if he had no control over it. Dorian felt his grip on the Darkness loosen, then go away entirely. The Light rushed in, then pulled its nemesis out of Dorian like poison from a wound.
Dorian took deep breaths of cold air, every fibre of his being demanded to rest. They laid down to rest, and Dorian's mind could not object. It just had a torrent of power run through it, it agreed. Finally it was time to rest. He was not sure if it had been the shock of battle that left him numb, or whether there really was no sound. He didn't know until he felt a hand over his chest. It pressed down on him and then shook him.
"Dorian? Dorian?" She thumbed the helmet's release button, and lifted it off of his head.
He fluttered his eyes weakly at Elsynn, the faint smile that followed took all of his power to create. She smiled, relief flooding her face. She too on her backside and took a seat next to him. Dorian felt fatigue arrive like reaper and take him into sleep.
A deep, deep sleep.