AN:
It has been officially confirmed that Cayde and his Fireteam were part of the mission to retake the moon as canon so please don't act so surprise.
Also, I have been getting some complaints over my bad grammar in the story. I would like to tell you guys that I actually write out most of the chapters on my phone since I can't use my laptop at my part-time job or during class (my teachers have a strict no gadgets policy). I'm sure you know the pains of writing documents on a smartphone while trying to not make any grammatical mistakes even with auto-correct supposedly helping you out.
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Chapter 25
"I don't know who you belong to but you are my new best friend," Summer Rose said in a cutesy tone as she held a black and white small dog to her face, "Yes, you are! Yes, you are!"
The dog was a black-headed, tricolored Pembroke Welsh Corgi with grey eyes and a short stubby tail that wagged excitedly at its owner's new friend.
Said corgi barked twice in excitement and proceeded to lick the Guardian's face. She giggled a bit and hugged the adorable dog closer to her chest as she gleefully rubbed his belly.
The small dog reminded Summer of the pack of wolves that always followed Lord Saladin around. Even though wolves were known for their xenophobic nature, that particular wolf pack was quite welcoming and playful to those of the Light most likely due to their close proximity to the legendary Iron Lord.
For those of the Darkness, not so much.
Summer wasn't sure if the reason for the wolves being so deadly in battle was because they had greatly evolved to poise a threat after the Collapse or because Lord Saladin had somehow trained them to harness the Light within them.
Either way, those wolves put the term "man's best friend" to a whole new level. It was a shame that there weren't many wolves or natural animals left on Earth.
"Zwei!" a familiar voice called out and the dog in Summer's hands responded to it, which allowed her to deduce that 'Zwei' was the dog's name. The dog jumped out of her arms and ran to the black and red cladded Ruby Rose. The corgi, now known as Zwei happily barked twice at the girl and ran around the girl before running back to Summer as if he wanted to show off the Guardian to his owner.
"Oh, I didn't know this dog is yo-Oof!" Summer was about to say but she was forced to brace herself instead as the younger girl tackled her at superspeed, leaving a trail of rose petals in her wake.
"This is real," Ruby murmured with her eyes tearing up a bit as she hugged her mother tighter, "You're actually here. This isn't a dream."
The Guardian was at loss on what she should do for a few moments but she then remembered the appropriate response to this. Her arms hesitantly wrapped around her daughter and Summer gave the girl an awkward pat on the back.
"I guess it is," she replied, reciprocating the hug.
Mother and daughter stood like that for who knew how long and the former was beginning to get a little uncomfortable since she hadn't fully accepted the idea of having a daughter. Summer wanted to break off the embrace already but she was afraid of hurting the girl's feelings if she decided to end the hug prematurely.
Fortunately for the Guardian, a loud cough interrupted their moment and Ruby broke off the hug on her own volition. But when Summer saw who was the one that coughed, she thought that maybe five more minutes shouldn't hurt.
"Ruby sweetie, would you mind if I have a few minutes with your mother?" Taiyang asked politely while subtly hiding his nervous yet eager demeanor from the girl.
Oh boy.
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Cayde-6 never had a preference for swords. Swords weren't as fast as knives and lacked the range and stopping power of guns so he would much rather choose knives or guns for his personal loadout.
However, it didn't mean that he had no idea how to wield one.
Lord Shaxx and Commander Zavala were old-fashioned to the point of using medieval weapons like war-axes and hammers even when everyone else employed firearms yet their skills with such primitive weapons were good enough to match and even surpass the application of guns that for anyone wishing to survive long against them, they would have to either fight at extremely long range or match them in swordplay.
Considering that those two legendary Titans were a lot faster than they looked and could easily cross any distance between them and their opponent, they were forced to go with the second option more often than not.
And Cayde had experienced the second option many times already in Crucible matches against either of them so he had learned enough sword fighting to be called a master swordsman.
The Hunter Vanguard held Dreadfang in a firm yet relaxed grip. With a clear mind, he rushed forward as he slightly lowered his center of gravity to enter his custom battle stance.
The Shade of Crota launched itself toward him with its movement resembling more like a force of nature than what its gargantuan size would suggest. Its Cleaver swung down as Dreadfang swung up. The tip of the Cleaver met the flat of the Exo's blade and slid off it, smoothly diverting it away from smaller swordsman.
Cayde stepped forward as he used the momentum of the Cleaver to knock its wielder off balance. Dreadfang came up, flicking left and right as the Exo channeled his Void Light into the sword to increase its range and power much like what a Bladedancer channel their Arc into their knives for an Arc Blade but with more control.
There was no sense of hurry or speed in those swings but the members of Fireteam Nero had trouble with keeping track of the sword's movements as it swung around to cut at the Shade while dextrously deflecting the enormous Cleaver. If they didn't have experience with Summer's own swordplay, then they wouldn't have been able to follow Dreadfang's attack pattern at all.
The Hunter Exo wasn't matching the Shade blow for blow. Such a tactic would have fallen apart in an instant along with him.
It was more like he was matching the Shade with skill for every blow. He applied the least amount of effort required to slightly alter the course of the Cleaver away from his form. If the Shade of Crota was the surging river that could not be stopped, then Cayde was the rock the water flowed around yet never making it budge in the slightest. In conclusion, the Exo Hunter was simply using the Shade's size and strength against it.
And for some strange reason, he couldn't help but imagine the Shade with a head of blonde hair that somehow incensed his motivation to inflict as much pain and damage as possible to the monster. It was also surprisingly cathartic.
He should sneak out of the Tower more often.
As Cayde-6 demonstrated why he was considered the best Hunter, the members of Fireteam Nero found themselves occupied with a seemingly endless horde of Taken Thralls with a couple of Acolytes here and there. It was nothing that they couldn't handle but they would waste precious ammunition to keep the frenzied Taken spawns from interrupting the Exo Hunter's duel with the Hive god copy.
Ammunition that they could use on the Shade of Crota.
Cracking her neck, Lux Sylphid slung Queenbreaker's Bow behind her back and replaced it with the Solar Infinite Edge. She twirled the single-edged blade in her grip as it erupted into flames.
The first Taken Thrall to reach her found itself being cut in half by the flaming sword before disintegrating into ash. As the first Thrall died, the Warlock had already moved on and bisected numerous Thralls. She would occasionally fling her free hand outwards, sending handfuls of Thralls flying at breakneck speeds.
The Awoken's sword techniques weren't anything special. They were more utilitarian than the graceful swordplay of Summer Rose and Cayde-6 but she knew the perfect time and place to perfectly execute each one and even utilized a combination of several.
Her swordsmanship may not look like a work of art but it let Lux hold her own against Summer's own skills with the sword. Not enough to beat her but enough to make the young Hunter take her seriously in a sword fight especially when she used them in conjunction with her own abilities as a Warlock.
As Lux slaughtered Thralls with her sword, Prometheus-23 took on a more hands-on approach. Literally.
The Titan charged into the horde, sending many of the Taken Thralls flying. His charge came to an end as he rammed an Acolyte against a wall, completely pulverising the poor creature into dust. A lowly Thrall thought that the Exo Titan was vulnerable in his current position and eagerly swiped at him with its razor sharp claws.
Prometheus simply caught the claw before it could even touch his armour and began to swing the Thrall around before letting it go and making it crash into the other Hive spawns. He reached behind him and pulled out 4th Horseman before charging into the fray once more while accompanying his charge with shotgun fire.
In a few short minutes, the army of Taken Thralls and Acolytes was reduced to a measly handful that wouldn't even poise a threat to a single veteran Guardian.
Finally having enough of the situation, the Shade of Crota screamed in rage and frustration as it gathered its own power and released it through a moderately sized shockwave. It wasn't on the same scale as the first one that it let loose but the Exo Hunter still thought it best to backflip away to safety, giving Fireteam Nero space to shoot at the Hive Major without the risk of friendly fire. The Shade roared once more and chased after its quarry, swinging its weapon at the nearest Guardian.
Switching her sword for Queenbreaker's Bow, Lux ducked under the gigantic Cleaver before retaliating with an energy blast from her fusion rifle at the Shade of Crota's face. Barely fazed, the Hive God copy slammed its free hand down onto the Warlock's form, creating a crater where she once stood.
A sinister grin appeared on the Shade's corpse-like face as it relished the satisfaction of squashing an annoying bug of the Light but its celebration was short-lived as it felt a weight settle on its shoulder. It sharply turned its head to the side and saw the glowing barrel of Queenbreaker's Bow pointing right in front of its face. Before it could move to remove the Guardian on its shoulder, the fusion rifle released its white hot load all over its face.
The Warlock may not have the same skill with Blink as Summer Rose but she was no amateur at it, having used it to avoid the Shade's strike and transported herself onto its shoulder where she unleashed an energy blast point blank at its ugly mug.
The Shade's free hand whipped out and was about to grab the Awoken but the appendage was pushed back as a dark brown crashed into it. The Shade of Crota roared in agony as the brown blur revealed itself to be Cayde-6 impaling the accursed blade, Dreadfang into its arm.
"Prometheus, now!" Lux cried out for her Titan companion as she flipped off the Shade while Cayde dislodged Dreadfang from its limb and threw the Taken-forged sword at the Shade like a javelin.
The Hive Major saw Dreadfang heading towards it and was able to move its head to the side so that it would impale its shoulder instead of its face. It still wounded the Shade a great deal, judging from its earpiercing roar.
Cayde wasn't bothered by the fact that he missed since he still achieved what he was aiming to do in the first place.
Distracting it long enough for Prometheus to prepare himself.
The loud sounds of metal clanging against metal alerted the Shade of the Crota to the Titan who was busy gathering his strength for his own devastating assault.
Prometheus' body was wreathed in the hottest of flames. The rocket launcher, SUROS JLB-42 was replaced by a blacksmith's hammer, its head beaked like that of a raptor's as its wielder rushed towards the Shade like a burning and unstoppable juggernaught, leaving flaming craters with every step he took.
The Hunter and the Warlock quickly ran as far away from the Titan as possible. They knew better than to get in the way of a Sunbreaker's rampage.
Even though the Titan Exo was obviously a very gentle person at heart, his destructive abilities could flatten a good portion of the City before anyone could stop him. He could rip apart Cabal troops and make an Ogre stagger with his brute strength alone.
And the Shade of Crota saw this display of power for itself as the Hammer of Sol violently clashed against its Cleaver. The Titan repeatedly smashed the physical manifestation of the sun on the Shade's guard. The Shade was visibly strained and was losing ground as it defended itself from the Sumbreaker's assault.
Growling, the Shade raised its free hand as Darkness began to accumulate within its palm for a counter-attack. Before it could blast the Titan with the Void of its Darkness, an explosive round from Tao Hua Yuan and an energy blast from Queenbreaker's Bow impacted its face, momentarily disorienting it.
Using the Shade's distraction to his advantage, Prometheus finally broke through its guard and knocked the huge Cleaver out of its grip. He smashed his Hammer of Sol on the side of its leg, forcing the Hive Major to fall to one knee. The Titan then launched himself from the ground as he swung the Solar hammer upwards, using the force of his jump and swing to deliver a shattering blow to the Shade's chin.
The Titan didn't stop with that one attack though as he began to drive several more savage blows on the Shade's poor tortured face. The ancient helmet adorning its head shattered into pieces from the overwhelming onslaught of hammer strikes but that was when the Shade of Crota decided that enough was enough as it backhanded the Titan, sending the bulky Exo flying.
Cayde and Lux ducked as Prometheus sailed over their heads before crashing behind them, forming a crater where he landed. The Warlock stood back up and pointed her finger at the Shade.
The Awoken knew that a regular Nova Bomb wouldn't be enough to stagger the enraged Shade so she did something a little different.
She focused Void energy at the tip of the finger aimed at the Shade. It was a chaotic, swirling mass of dark energy, decaying particles and collapsing matter. She concentrated the mass further into an orb the size of a golf ball.
The whole process took the Warlock a second to complete. It took her another second to assess the variables that would disrupt her aim before the orb of dark matter shot off from her finger like bullet being fired from a hand cannon.
The bolt of Void was too small to be considered dangerous to hurt the Shade of Crota but as Summer Rose had proven, size didn't matter.
Seriously, Guardians were usually around six feet tall and yet Summer was just five feet and eight inches at most. Compared to her peers, the young Hunter might as well be a midget.
That Void bolt still contained the destructive energies of a Nova Bomb except it was compacted into one tiny form so it had more penetrating power than even the strongest of armour-piercing rounds.
It was simple physics combined with not so simple physics.
Lux may not act like it but she was still a Warlock so she had an extensive knowledge of not only her arcane abilities but also almost every branches of science. That knowledge came in very handy for her on more than one occasion.
But it wasn't the penetration of her improvised Nova Bolt that she wanted. It was its small size to increase her precision and the chances of her hitting her target, which was the Taken-forged sword, Dreadfang still embedded in the Shade's shoulder.
The Warlock had seen the results of what happened when you channel a type of energy to a weapon, a sword specifically, already infused with that same energy when Summer had demonstrated it with an Arc Edge in an Iron Banner Crucible match.
The results were nothing but explosive, which had been dubbed as Edge Breaker by Lord Saladin and the many Guardians watching that match.
What Cayde-6 did earlier to extend the range was more controlled and careful so it wouldn't blow up in his face but Lux wasn't trying to be careful as the Nova Bolt slammed into the Taken-forged sword.
Dreadfang absorbed the Nova Bolt like a lightning rod to a lightning bolt and also much like a lightning rod, transferred all of that unstable energy into whatever it was attached to.
The sword impaled in the Shade's shoulder started to pulsate fiercely as a pale ink-like substance seeped from the blade and into the Shade's shoulder. The Shade's visage contorted to one of complete agony and couldn't even bring itself to roar as Dreadfang's power was transferred inside of it.
Drawing her Solar Infinite Edge and putting Queenbreaker's Bow away, the Warlock brushed past the Hunter Vanguard and raised the sword up to activate its Solar shield, making sure that her two companions were behind her. She didn't know how big the explosion of copying Summer's signature Edge Breaker would be but she didn't want to accidently kill herself and her companions in the process so it was better to be safe than sorry.
It turned out to be a good idea as the energies contained within Dreadfang was finally released in a spectacular explosion. The shockwave of the blast pressured the Solar shield with so much force that Lux felt her bones rattling from the effort to hold it off.
"Damnit! This is supposed to be Prometheus' job!" the Warlock gritted her teeth as her boots burrowed into the floor. Eventually, the blastwave ceased and allowed her a moment of respite.
Cayde pulled his fellow Exo up to his feet and lent his shoulder for support but the Guardians' guards immediately went back up when their radars still detected an enemy's presence. The Hunter Vanguard and the members of Fireteam Nero quickly drew their hand cannons and aimed them at the still living (relatively speaking) Shade of Crota.
The Shade looked worse for wear. Its entire right arm and parts of its torso had been completely blown off while its ancient stone-like armour was slowly crumbling off its severely damaged body to reveal a glowing orb within its chest that pulsed like a beating heart.
It looked like the Shade was at its last breath but it wasn't going to give up just yet as it lifted its remaining arm and a sphere of Darkness started to form in its palm.
"You know what we like to say when we're about to off the main baddie?" Lux asked the Hunter Vanguard as she unconcernedly stared at the Hive Major charging its attack while Hawkmoon remained firmly aimed at the Shade's core.
"Yes but I don't think I should," Cayde replied as Moss Azoth IV unwaveringly pointed at the clear weakpoint, "It is Fireteam Nero's thing after all."
"Then consider yourself an honorary member, sir," Prometheus-23 politely retorted as he recovered enough of his strength to stand on his own feet, "You've definitely earned it."
"Heh, works for me," the horned Exo shrugged as the titan lined the sights of Polite Denial 0/1 at the Shade of Crota's heart . It wasn't like it made any difference anyway since he was just filling in for Summer Rose so just this once.
"Light's out," the three Guardians chorused as they all squeezed the trigger of their hand cannons at the same time.
The three bullets shot out from the barrels and zoomed across the ruined battlefield before burrowing into the orb in the Shade's chest. The Shade was sent reeling back from the combined stopping power of three hand cannons. It also lost its concentration, making it lose control of the sphere of Darkness in its palm.
Turning around, the Guardians holstered their hand cannons and leisurely walked away as the Darkness backfired on the Shade in another outstanding explosion.
Fireteam Nero's catchphrase sounded kind of corny but to be fair, it was Summer who came up with it and they sort of got stuck with it ever since.
They heard the sharp whistiling of air like something was being hurled towards them. Before Prometheus and Lux could turn to look, Cayde whipped his arm out and caught the Taken-forged sword, Dreadfang in his hand. The Exo Hunter twirled the blade for a moment and then tossed it into the air once more before it landed and secured itself with Tao Hua Yuan on his back.
"You just gotta have the last word," the Awoken grumbled as the world around them slowly faded away and they were now back on the Dreadnaught's bridge. Whatever Eris Morn did, it took them to a separate plane of reality much like when Fireteam Nero had fought Oryx.
"It's part of my charm," Cayde cheerfully retorted, throwing his cape back in a flamboyant manner, "That's why everyone adores and admire the magnificient me."
"Debatable," she snorted.
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I'm not sure if this surpasses the fight scene between Summer and Qrow but it sure as hell does in my opinion.