Chapter 36

A duo of thumps were made, the timing so close together they could have been mistaken for one. A clang followed as one of the two throwing knives fell to the ground.

Wesley glanced at Vura. "Best two out of three," he said nervously. The stare and smirk on the rookie Bladeslinger's face were unsettling.

Vura chuckled, the sound like growling. "Face it, old-timer: you've just lost your edge... in more places than one."

"Ooh, burn!" Tucker shouted from one of the couches. "Oh, and bow-chicka-bow—Yikes!" The Bladedancer yelped as a knife found itself dangerously close to one of his extremities, buried to the hilt into the cushion and his cloak.

"Whoa! What the crap did I do?!" Grif yelled as a similar knife pinned a bag of chips that he had been eating out of to his chestpiece.

"Can you guys shut up? I'm trying to study!" Simmons cried out from across the hall.

"Couldn't you have done that in the libraries?" Wesley asked.

"Here's why," Vura whispered. She stared at the Warlock with a gaze predatory in more ways than one.

It didn't take long for Simmons to crack. "Augh, that's why!"

Everyone else got a laugh from Simmons' torture, which raised some much needed spirits. The Iron Banner was coming to a close, and everyone in the room had their shares of wins and losses. Some managed to get a piece of Dragon Armor that Hiccup had designed; the gear was either sitting in a vault or getting field-tested.

Vura sat down next to Tucker, who was still trying to get the blade out of the couch. "So, what's this 'Festival of the Lost' that I've been hearing about lately?"

"It's a time of mourning," Wash explained, "and celebrating." The rest of Gulch nodded. "During the Festival, we remember friends, brothers, sisters, lovers—anyone and everyone who went out and never came back."

Vura cast her glowing eyes downward. "We had something similar in House Kings. Hoar keyaolk. Everyone had their own day for it, and we didn't have the desire for a set time. Maybe we did back home, but now... I remember mourning Father for a few years before I found Shajeen. Now we're both undead." Her last words held a tone of irony.

The lounge stayed silent as the Eliksni's words sunk in. A patter of running feet from outside broke the serenity, and everyone who could stood up.

Fireteam Blades' leader, Lee, came flying down the stairs. "You all need to get to the courtyard, now!"

"Wh-"

"No time. Now!"

Vura pulled out the knife pinning Tucker, ignoring any implications that would come from him, and ran past Lee. The Hunter followed suite, Blood Gulch and Wesley making their way out. Alarms blared as the group left the Tower hangar.

"This is Commander Zavala. All available Guardians are to return at once; the City is under attack."

They got outside just in time to see a sickly green pulse in the far distance, close to the opposite end of the outermost wall surrounding the City. Jumpships were already making their way to the new battlefield. The courtyard was only inhabited by shocked onlookers.

"What are we standin' around for?!" Lee shouted. "Let's move!"

Lee and Wesley transmatted away, their own ships blasting out of the hangar. Gulch rallied behind Sarge and Wash before heading to their transport. Vura brought out Shajeen to follow them, but her eyes fell upon the Great Machine. Her thoughts jumbled, fearing the song of Chelchis would sing once more.

"Vura?"

The Eliksni Huntress closed her eyes, exhaled, and opened her eyes again. Determination filled her, and she whisked away to join the other Guardians.

Anti-air guns pounded the skies with steady beats of flak, but the swarm of Taken dragons still held. The Darkness flooded into the City's territory from the breach, its forces creating a pulsing blot. Blights spawned like bubbles from Changewings, who stealthily made their ways deeper towards the heart of the Traveler.

Whatever Guardians had been the first to be attacked stood their ground until the time came to retreat, any casualties being overrun within seconds of their deaths. Titans held the front; Defenders brought up Wards for the wounded to recover while Strikers and Sunbreakers tore ripples into the Taken lines. Hunters and Warlocks joined them, halting the advances on land momentarily.

The City Militias couldn't respond to the threats as fast as the Guardians, but they still arrived to defend their homes. The mortal soldiers stood behind the lines, bringing much-appreciated fire support from snipers and rumbling tanks. When retreats were forced, the fighters pulled back slowly, not leaving one inch of ground in vain.

General Kota surveyed the parts of the Agricultural Districts and the Dead Zone that were stalling the brunt of the Taken forces from afar. He lowered the binoculars from his face, and turned his brown eyes to a nearby officer. "Tell the Inner City commanders to get their troops ready for a firefight."

"Yes, sir!" the officer nodded, then ran off to the communications array.

"And get our boys some artillery support!" Kota added.

The old man brought the binoculars back up. From his view, the Militias and Guardians were holding the ground battles, but the dragons were causing all manners of trouble for them. Even as some of the Taken had completely bypassed the front lines, Kota knew that air control was vital to the City's success. Guardian jumpships attacked the dragons that had left the bulk of the swarm, but they couldn't hold all of them.

Another one of those sickly pulses spread through the sky, a whistling scream accompanying it. A second later, a Dead Zone intersection erupted into green-black fire, the smoke curling up into Kota's view. Another explosion followed.

A nearby AA turret opened fire as Taken dragons flew into range, prompting Kota to return to his own surroundings. An unknown screech, like metal grinding against metal, brought in a pulsing black orb off the side of the roof, and a Captain with it.

"Open fire!" He ordered, emptying his magazine into the warped being. The Captain ignored the bullets as it charged the closest soldier, cutting her down effortlessly. Her compatriot fell before its shields broke, and its head was ripped to pieces.

"Do what you can to get rid of that thing!" Kota yelled as he ran to the communications projector.

Uni squinted towards the warzone from his perch above the courtyard. The little Ahamkara had grown some over the past several days, but he was far from being as large as Toothless. His violet eyes were full of apprehension as the Taken storm approached. Even if it was far into the distance, Uni could feel the searching hunger of the Alpha.

Ydi and Ajr had taught their child how to feel and understand the Void, learning what moved through it and why. Uni enjoyed it until now, when it brought him fear. He had felt the presence of an unfamiliar Taken form, and curiosity turned into answers he wished to be untrue. Seeking escape, the youngling jumped off the pillar and flew towards the Vanguard Hall.

Ikora and Zavala were the only members in the room; Cayde had sneaked out to join the fighting. A projection of the Last City was spread across the table, red and blue dots flashing around the outskirts, the heaviest concentration pushing out of the Agricultural Districts. Ikora studied the field and relayed orders while Zavala was receiving a report from a man.

"—Need to do it fast. For every one of these Taken we kill, another takes its place and I'm down another man."

"I'll get Guardians to focus on priority targets," Zavala answered. "Tell your men to do so as well. We remove their commanders, the assault will fall."

"I hope you know what you're doing, Commander," the man sighed, a hand running down his face, "for all our sakes. Kota out." The projection disappeared.

Zavala noticed Uni. "What are you doing here? This area's off-limits."

Uni landed on the table. "We—I know why the Taken are attacking. A means to an end, revenge. Finality?" he questioned, unsure of himself. "I felt him—Hiccup. He's trapped, his body is Taken."

Ikora had heard that last part and turned to Zavala. "A Taken Guardian?"

"Until the Dragon's raid team comes back, we won't know for sure."

"What I say is true," Uni urged.

"I see no evidence to back your claim."

"But I—"

"Enough!" Zavala barked, scaring the Ahamkara back a step. "This is not the time or place. If you truly wish to be of help, stand outside and report any approaching forces. Until then, do not interfere with our work."

"Y-yes, sir," Uni replied meekly before leaving.

He ran down the mostly empty hallway instead of flying, mostly because he did not want to see his fear again. Lord Shaxx had left the Tower to join the fight within the walls, leaving Arcite to secure the personnel defenses if the Taken reached the Tower. Eris Morn's alcove was unoccupied as well, but she was still around, her usefulness on the front lines limited with the lack of a Ghost.

Uni returned to his perch, noticing that the horizon had gotten darker. The Taken blight now shadowed the Agricultural District and was still spreading, intent on reaching the Traveler. A thundering crack-boom followed the arrival of an Eliksni Ketch bearing the colors of Twilight, bringing reinforcements for the City. But even with the influx of Light, the little wish-dragon still feared it would be snuffed out.

As soon as the Harvester landed in the hangar, the survivors of the raid team ran out, carrying their comrades to the medical teams standing by. Of the eighteen Guardians who went in, nine came out alive, and two of them were in critical condition. Irria and Firewing were unconscious, their Light drained and devoured by the Betas.

The four remaining members of Fireteam Dragon watched solemnly as their friends were rushed to the med-bay. They themselves were no worse for wear. Their armor was marked with scratches and scoring, minor things that their Ghosts should have taken care of on the way back to the cruiser. The Guardians' Light was too weak now to even accelerate their healing.

A Centurion, black paint splashed over Sand Eater tan, marched across the hangar to the defeated Dragons. "What happened down there?" she asked, her translated voice rumbling concern.

"Hell," Dmitri answered grimly.

Toothless was constantly flashing between black, blue, and purple. It wasn't seen or heard of often, but if a Warlock was well and truly furious, sticking around was tantamount to suicide. Knowing this, Hurricane and Krayt backed away from the dragon, ready to dive to the floor.

Dmitri moved in front of the Night Fury. "Toothless! Calm down, get it under control!"

Toothless glared at the Titan. "I've lost Hiccup—my brother—and you want me to 'get it under control'?" He was shaking in rage, and his voice was dropping into growls. "You don't know how many times I've been separated from him! And now he's gone again!"

Dmitri stepped into Toothless' face, his brown eyes meeting the dragon's yellow-green. "You're right—I don't know how many adventures you two had before being resurrected. But don't think that's cause for you to start acting like a maniac. We've lost 20, Ross, and six other Guardians to that hell along with Hiccup! We are plenty pissed off, same as you, but you don't see us thrashing around!"

The Titan's voice had risen enough that the other two Dragons shared worried looks. If Dmitri truly snapped...

Dmitri took a deep breath, moving back a foot. "You and Hiccup have only been Guardians for several months, a blink of the eye for some of us. We all lose someone eventually," he said, turning towards Krayt and Hurricane. "Yours was far too soon."

No one said anything for a while. Toothless hung his head down in mourning, acceptance, or thought, then brought it back up. "No. No, not yet. I was taken before, same as Hiccup now. If he freed me, I can free him."

Torch popped into view. "I don't think it's that simple. The Taken—"

"I know," Toothless growled. "But it's possible."

"What are you talking about?" Krayt asked.

Klaxons blared before the dragon could answer, and the lights shifted to a red glow. "Battle stations, all personnel. Repeat: all personnel to battle stations. Moving to sector 0Y-EL49. All transports prepare for immediate dust-off." The cruiser noticeably shifted as it began moving.

"What is sector 0Y-EL49?" Dmitri asked the Centurion.

"Your Last City," she replied before moving off to join the rest of the Cabal in the hangar.

Cerberus flashed in front of the Titan. "Incoming transmission on all channels."

"This is Commander Zavala. All available Guardians are to return at once; the City is under attack."

AN - I have no excuses other than laziness and writer's block. On the bright side, I'm getting back into the game and am halfway through chapter 37. Only 4 or 5 more chapters left, but I plan for those to be the most important.

Link234521 - Good thing I surprised you, although I'm wondering if anyone saw it coming. Be warned, the nightmare has only just begun.

thearizona - Reading your review had me giggling in glee. What's the first stage of grief? Denial, right?

Guest 1 - Understandable, but I felt it was better to keep it with just Hiccup and Toothless.

Guest 2 - Sorry, but I don't plan to make a sequel. I've already got another project I'll be working on.