Spoiler Warning for Destiny 2
Part II will be loosely following the main storyline of Destiny 2 so spoilers ahead.
Thanks for reading!
"No radio transmissions from the Tower, everything is completely silent. This isn't good, Frea." Her Ghost bounced up and down in the air, its voice chattering.
"We'll be there soon, don't worry," she reassured.
The thrusters on her jumpship were already blaring at full power. The Cosmodrome below them was nothing but a blur of green and white. The huntress's eye were set to the horizon, awaiting the first glimpse of the Tower. The place she's called home for many years now. When they finally reached the City's walls, her heart dropped. She first noticed the ships, the sky was littered with them, painted blood red and billowing black smoke wherever they went. Just barely she could spot Guardian ships among them as well, trying to fend off the attackers. Her gaze then moved to the Tower and her mouth fell open. It was burning. Half of the underside was blown into rubble yet somehow it was still standing. They were too late.
"Oh no. Oh no," her Ghost mumbled.
Frea shook her head, trying to clear her thoughts. "Ghost, get a long range scan and find me an entrance. We're going in."
The hanger doors were blocked off, but her Ghost was able to locate a large hole near the top of the Tower. She switched the ship into autopilot and clicked her helmet into place, checking her gear and weapons. Not willing to take the time to let her Ghost teleport her, she swung open the airlock and leapt out into the cold air. Her boots landed hard on a grate, the metal groaned in protest, threatening to drop her into the fiery pit below. She jumped forward to safer ground and took a moment to get her bearings. It looked like she was in one of the storage rooms below the Vanguard offices. Rubble blocked the main entrance, she was going to have to take the long way around.
"I'm getting a transmission." Her Ghost beeped in her head.
"Guardians!" Zavala's booming voice entered her comms. He was broadcasting on a public frequency. "Prepare arms and meet at the plaza. The Tower is lost, we must buy time for the shuttles to escape."
Frea pulled out her hand cannon and sprinted toward a crack in the wall. There were no other exits out of the room, so she was going to make one. Summoning lightening into her fist, she chucked an explosive grenade. The stone blasted outward as she jumped through it, right into two Cabal Legionnaires. They were dead before they could even turn around.
"Cabal? Here?" Her Ghost asked, concern dripping in its tone.
"Looks like it." Frea continued down the hallway, shooting down more Cabal that stood in her path. Broken Red Jacks were scattered in nearly every corner, evidence of the previous battles that happened there. She came upon a closed door leading directly into the Vanguard office. Just as she reached for the control panel, it slammed open. An Exo tumbled out of the room. "Cayde?!"
The Hunter Vanguard looked up and gave her a crooked grin. "Hey there. Gimme a sec." His entire body suddenly ignited as he whipped around and shot three rounds of Golden Gun into a group of Cabal. They burst into flames without much of a fight. He turned back to Frea, spinning the hand cannon in his hand to show off. "I'd love to stay and chat but I've got a date with whoever did this. Don't worry though, " He put his hand on the doorframe and leaned in with a wink. "it'll be a short date."
Frea sighed and ducked under his arm. "I'm going to help Commander Zavala in the plaza. Don't get yourself killed, Cayde."
"Ah, Frea." He playfully gripped his chest like he'd been stabbed in the heart. "You're worried for me. I'm so touched."
She stopped in her tracks and shot him a look. He couldn't see her face underneath the mask she wore, but he got the message.
"Alright, go play hero. Have fun." He chuckled and summoned his Ghost, vanishing into thin air.
Frea didn't sprint now, but she kept a quick pace. She walked past where Eris once stayed, the only evidence of her now was the broken urn sitting underneath a fallen wall. It still emitted an eerie glowing green mist that drifted like fog over the stairway. The huntress stepped around it and made her way up the steps. Her breath caught when she saw Red Jacks awaiting her at the top. They blinked at her presence, their metal hands tightly gripping their guns, but made no indication of shooting the huntress. She holstered her own gun and rounded the corner. The hall had been barricaded, the main entrance to the plaza blocked by crates and debris. People huddled into groups along the walls, some were crying and others looked up to stare at her with wide eyes.
She heard them whisper as she passed. Hive-bane. Savior. Young Wolf. They knew who she was. The hope they held in their gazes made her incredibly nervous.
"Guard that door! I don't want any of those damn Cabal to get near it!" A familiar voice snapped Frea's attention back to the situation before her.
She looked up to see a Titan, wearing white and orange armor, barking orders at the Red Jack frames. A Raze-lighter sword was slung across his back. Already Frea could feel her worries wash away, just the sight of him was enough to do that.
"Shaxx," she called.
His head turned toward her voice. "Frea!" It took him two long strides to cross the hall and take her in his arms. He embraced her hard enough to pull her feet off the ground. "You made it back. Good."
She wrapped her arms around his neck and buried her visor into the furry mantle decorating his chest plate. His familiar pine scent drifted into her helmet. "What's happening?"
"I'm not entirely sure, I've been trying to get these people to the shuttles and comms have been spotty since the initial attack." Shaxx carefully let her down and shook his head. "We weren't prepared for this."
Frea could sense the frustration in his tone. She regretted not being here when the Cabal first arrived. She placed a hand on his arm. "I have to get to the plaza. Know any shortcuts?"
"Of course. Zavala was losing ground last I heard, but with you there..." He trailed off and turned back to the only unblocked door. "My armory is open, take whatever you need. You can get to the hanger from there, the path to the plaza should be clear." He jammed his fingers into the thin opening of the door and wrenched it open. The metal creaked and groaned in protest, giving away to his strength. Frea went to move past, but he grabbed her with his free hand and pulled her back, pressing the forehead of his visor against hers. "If the Cabal want war, give them war. But please come back to me in one piece."
She smiled under her mask. Her heart screamed at her to stay by his side, to protect him and the others trying to escape. However, her skills were needed elsewhere. It was painful to go. "Don't I always?" She joked, trying to lighten the mood.
A dry chuckle echoed from his helmet as he let her slip from his grasp. "See you soon, Frea," he whispered and then slammed the door closed behind her, leaving the huntress alone in the dark room.
"Ikora, what do we know about these Cabal?" Commander Zavala spoke over public comm channels.
Frea bent down to dig her knife out of a Legionnaire's back as she listened in. The hanger was now clear of all enemies, half the area had been blown away in the attack, the smell of burning fuel from the ruined jumpships was chokingly thick. She looked up at the twisted metal that was once part of the stairway leading into the main hall. The exit was covered by concrete debris, but she could make out a small gap beneath the stone. Just big enough to fit a tiny Hunter.
"They call themselves Red Legion," Ikora answered, her voice was noticeably shaken. "Highly trained and highly dangerous. They are attacking the Traveler, we must-"
"No!" Zavala cut in. "Our people come first."
The huntress leapt up and took hold of what was left of the metal railing, she easily pulled herself to the upper level of the hanger.
"Oh dear..." Her Ghost said as Frea glanced around. "Amanda will not be happy to see what the Cabal did to her tools."
"She probably has more troubling things on her mind at the moment, Ghost." Her gaze drifted over to the lounge's closed doorway. It's been a month since the last clan gathering, since her near death experience at the hands of crazed Hive, and now everything has gone to hell again. She hoped her clan mates were doing alright.
"Guardian." Ghost snapped her out of her thoughts. "We need to get moving."
"Right, sorry."
Frea turned away and crouched into the small hole, careful to avoid the flames and sharp rebar sticking out from the rubble. She wasn't prepared for the sight that awaited her at the end.
Her breath caught when she crawled out of the opening. The Traveler shined with its usual light out in front of the plaza, but something was attached to it. The Cabal's target wasn't the Tower.
"What are they doing to the Traveler?" Her Ghost asked.
She started to answer but the hair on the back of her neck stood on end and she rolled just in time to avoid an incoming drop pod. It missed her cape by mere inches. She scrambled to get to her feet as a group of Red Legion soldiers streamed out of the pod.
"Duck!" A voice called. Frea slide behind a pillar as a Hammer of Sol flew over her head like a missile, turning the Cabal behind her into ash. A Titan landed with a loud thump and reached out a hand to the huntress. "Frea! Nice of you to join us." She snickered.
"Hey, Psyho. Thanks for not roasting me with that hammer," Frea said as she took the hand offered and got to her feet. "Is it just you and the Commander?"
"Nope." The titaness pointed toward the middle of the plaza. Frea looked over her shoulder. At the top landing stood Zavala, guarding the barred door leading to the escape pods with his Ward of Dawn. And next to him was a familiar Warlock. "Dex and I just got here a few minutes ago. It looks like we're finally starting to push the Red Legion back." Psyho continued.
"So there's hope." Frea sighed. "That's good."
Psyho rubbed her neck awkwardly and motioned the huntress to follow. "Well...not exactly."
"Frea!" Dex greeted her as the two approached. He stepped forward and clasped her by the shoulders, looking all around her armor. "You good? No injuries or anything?"
She sighed. "You worry too much."
"I don't blame him." Psyho crossed her arms. "Bad luck does tend to follow you."
The Commander cleared his throat, gathering the attention of the other Guardians. "Focus people. We might have a break for now, but the Cabal are gathering energy as we waste time."
"Of course, sir. Where do you want us?" Frea asked as she stood at attention.
"Ikora has run for the Speaker, she might need some backup. I will stay here and hold the line." Zavala spoke his orders quickly as he reloaded his gun.
"With all due respect." The huntress stepped forward. "the Red Legion might be back soon. Shouldn't we stick together?"
"I'll stay." Psyho gave her a thumbs up. "Those bastards won't get very far with two Titans here. You and Dex can go after Ikora Rey."
Frea didn't like the idea of splitting up, something was nagging at her mind against the idea, but she held her tongue. There wasn't any time to argue. "Alright," she finally said. "Be careful, Psyho."
"Aw." She reached up and ruffled the top of Frea's hood. "You're cute when you worry. I'll be fine. Dex is the one you should watch out for, he's too cocky for his own good."
"Hey, I heard that!" Dex hollered, already making his way to the far side of the plaza.
Frea caught up to Dex in the north side of the Tower, he was wrestling with a jammed door that lead to the Speaker's quarters.
"Here." She moved around him and slammed her knife into the control panel. It sparked for a moment, then beeped as the metal doors slide open to let them pass. Incendiors and a Thresher ship were waiting for them on the other side. "Look out!" She shoved the Warlock and they both fell to the ground, narrowly dodging the stream of fire from the Cabal's volcanic cannons.
"Shit," Dex groaned, upholstering his rifle. "These guys are new." He rolled to his feet and shot the first Cabal directly in the face. The enemy stepped back from the hit but instead of dying, he seemed to only get angrier. They raised their weapons again for another blast.
They didn't have a chance to shoot again. The ground under the Incendiors shook with void power and they suddenly went up in purple flames, disintegrating into dust from the grenade. Ikora drifted over and landed where the Cabal once stood, the remnants of her void energy curled around her fists.
"Ikora!" Frea called.
The Warlock Vanguard glanced at the two of them, a look of sadness and frustration on her face. "The Speaker is gone." That was when Frea noticed the room that once housed the Speaker and his studies, or more specifically the lack of the room. A charred crater now stood in its place, blown into the stone by some destructive force. "Red Legion!" Ikora screamed up at the Thresher. "You will take no more from us, and you will find no mercy in me!" She leapt into the air and launched a powerful Nova Bomb into the ship's engines, immediately knocking it out of the air. The Thresher went down into the foggy abyss, taking Ikora Rey with it.
"No!" Dex ran forward to the ledge but Frea grabbed his hand to stop him.
"Are you insane?! How are you going to make that jump?"
Dex whipped around to face her. "I am not leaving my Vanguard to fend for herself."
"This is Ikora we're talking about, she can handle herself just fine." Frea replied, almost yelling. "Don't get yourself killed trying to protect someone who doesn't need it!"
The Warlock stared down at Frea's hand, shaking his head. "If the Speaker is truly gone, then Ikora is the only one who can replace him. I will not let her disappear too."
"Fine, just...don't be stupid, ok?"
Dex pulled her into a hug, squeezing her tight. "I'll try my best." He then released her and jumped over the edge.
The events of the hour before reaching the top of the Red Legion's command ship replayed through Frea's mind. She had infiltrated the ship and destroyed its shield generator to allow Holliday and the other Guardians to counterattack, but it was too late. The comms had fizzled out and no one was there to fight. She was alone.
"How do we come back from this?" Her Ghost materialized next to her as she stepped out into the cold wind to catch her breath. She was miles up in the air, and despite that she couldn't see a single Guardian jumpship from here.
"You don't." A gravely voice answered behind them and Frea quickly turned around to face it, her gun at the ready. It was a Cabal unlike anything she'd ever seen before. Massive in size and wearing regal white armor, he carried himself with a sense of purpose, a clear sign that he was the one commanding the Red Legion. The look of disgust in his red eyes as he peered down at Frea made her back away. He chuckled and raised a hand toward the Traveler. "Welcome to a world without light."
She followed his gaze to the Traveler in the distance. The cage around it began to glow as a shield shimmered to life over its surface, enclosing the orb completely. A shockwave rippled through the sky, hitting Frea and knocking the air from her lungs. She clutched her chest in pain, all the energy from her body suddenly gone.
"G-Guardian...something's wrong." Her Ghost clattered to the floor, unable to fly, its little metal body sparking and twitching.
Frea's legs gave out and she fell to her knees. She could barely think over the sound of her throbbing heart, it felt like she was drowning. Just breathing was a momentous effort for her.
The Cabal leader stepped closer, his footsteps echoing loudly over the ship's surface. Forcing herself to move, Frea reached out and grabbed her Ghost, pulling it closer to her body to protect it. She looked up as he approached.
"Do not look at me, creature." He snarled and kicked her. The huntress tumbled through the air and landed hard, her gun flew out of reach. "You are weak. Cowering behind walls." He stepped forward. "You're not brave. You've merely forgotten the fear of death."
Her instincts screamed at her to move. She tried to get to her feet, but her body wouldn't listen.
He came closer.
"Allow me to reacquaint you." He hit her again.
She slide farther and nearly went over the edge of the ship. The force of the landing knocked the Ghost from her grasp.
"No!" She reached for it in vain as it sailed into the darkness. Despair enveloped her when its blinking light disappeared into the smoke. Gone forever. Just like her friends, her home, and...
Shaxx's image crossed into her mind. She wasn't ready to die. Not like this.
Frea weakly got to her knees and stared down the approaching Cabal.
"Your kind never deserved this power. I am Ghaul, and your light..." He continued, bending down close enough that she could see the pulsing veins covering his head. "Is mine."
"You..." Frea whispered, glaring at him from inside her helmet. "Talk too much."
Willing herself to move, she pulled the knife from her belt and drove it into his shoulder. He howled in surprise and kicked her off the ship. She plummeted to the City below with nothing but the wind to catch her.