She got up, her body detesting the movement, but managed to get a solid footing. It hurt to move, but she realized where she was, she was in a familiar district. Her home was here. She bought it with her husband after they got married. Her fingers went down to the ring he got her. She let out a small smile.
"Dear, if we are to survive, you need to move, we have incoming. Cabal patrols and they will not spare you any mercy." Her Ghost, Quinn said.
Lena wondered how she's even walking, the last thing she remembers was being on that command ship and then she saw him fall.
"Lena, dear, get down and stay silent." Quinn scolded. So, Lena threw herself against the ground, sprawled out, and pretended to be dead. She didn't have time to dart over to cover by the buildings, so she had to make it look like she was dead.
She even went as far to make a gash along her chest, to 'bleed out' and as soon as she laid down, the Cabal were on her. From what Quinn could see, and it was a lot, three Legionnaires and four 'War Hounds' as they were marked by Quinn. She heard their footsteps and they were getting closer. Clunk clunk thunk. They stopped and Lena held her breath. One of them spoke in their language and then the War Hounds sniffed around and on her. If Lena even twitched, she would be killed, for real this time.
One of the Legionaries decided that she was dead and gave her a hefty kick over to the buildings. It took all of her willpower to not scream or let out a cry of pain. She flew through the air and hit a wall. With the amount of force she was hit with, she hit the wall and heard a crack. Multiple cracks in fact.
Lena only let out a small whimper as Quinn healed the wounds he could. "Be strong, my Guardian. We'll find him after we get out of here." Quinn cooed, nuzzling into Lena's neck.
"Come on Quinn, find me a way that could possibly avoid any more Cabal. That kick hurt a lot more than I thought it would. Damn space rhinos." Lena complained.
"We should move dear; I have three routes already mapped and have three more in the process… done. You can pick between quick and dangerous, moderate and less perilous, or slow and stealthy." Quinn laid out Lena's options.
"Can we do a small mix of all three? Let's get the dangerous part of it out first." Lena said, limping slightly as she made it down the ruined streets, Quinn phased away for the time being. He was using his limited scans to make sure she would stay safe from the Cabal.
…
Evan walked back into the command center and everyone there all looked to him and Val. Evan took a deep breath and locked eyes with everyone, "I formally apologize to all of you; You don't deserve my rage or my anger. Right now, that is directed at the Red Legion." Evan then sat down and waited for their response.
"I forgive you," said Amanda. Her eyes held sincerity, "I just didn't know that-" she trailed off.
"I shouldn't have gotten angry. I should have expected it, but I was living on a prayer," Evan's shoulders sagged as tears threatened to emerge again. His voice strained to keep level.
"Guardian," Zavala said, "We have a plan," that was all Evan needed to hear.
The plan's first step involved getting power back to the station. One problem, there was Hive all over it. "Great, more Hive. Welp, time to make them suffer as we have," Evan said with malice, not caring if he sounded dark.
They, Zavala and Sloane, explained that there were pistons that had to be turned on in order to get power from the waves. Innovative wave generation power. This could potentially bring endless amounts of power. This, in turn, would allow Amanda to get airborne and establish an aerial perimeter.
"Be Brave Guardian," Zavala bellowed at Evan. Evan raised his hand in a sign of respect, despite how he acted earlier. Evan was only ticked off at that point. He still ponders the options that he was given. He could fight back and possibly save Humanity, or he would die as Humanity would possibly become extinct. The choice is obvious. Until Humanity is safe from Ghaul's clutches, Evan will not rest.
Evan headed towards the Rig and followed the left path. He ran into resistance quite early, "Wait, Fallen? What are they doing here?"
Sloane's voice crackled through Evan's helmet comms, "Scavengers have tracked us since we left Earth. The Fallen are persistent."
Val instructed Evan to cut through them all. As fast or as slow as he would like. This is a simple mission Sloane told him. Get in, flip a switch, get out. Easy.
Evan thought about his armor, his Pride set. All black with yellow accents, the Warlock symbol embroidered on it. A lot of it was scorched and tattered, but it hasn't fallen off yet. He'll see if Sloane has got extra armor or materials for Val to weave into Warlock robes. His bond happened to be intact and still managed to glow. He gave a small smile underneath his helmet at this fact.
"How far?" Evan asked, looking past the Fallen and Hive shuffle.
"We go in there and one of the first main rooms is our objective. And there's something else there… I can't get a read on it." Val mused.
"Worry about it later, prep for resurrection," Evan said, activating Dawnblade and giving the Hive and Fallen a whole world of hurt. All that remained were the ashes of his victims.
Using the Solar Light has been easier in the past few days. Naturally, Solar is the easiest and most common element of the two to use for Warlocks and Hunters, more so for Hunters. Titans have Arc, which is the most difficult one to master for Warlocks, like how the Void is the most difficult, not to mention dangerous, for Hunters. Yet Hunters like to live dangerously.
Evan made his descent from his super and landed in a crouch, checking his HUD and checking with Val to make sure there aren't any unexpected hostiles.
Hive gunk lined the place and Evan couldn't hold back his noise of disgust. "As much as the Hive intrigues me, I hate the way they do things. Their rituals are all sorts of fucked up abominations." Evan growled at the sight of Hive. His Auto Rifle, Pariah, as he found out its name, needed an upgrade. "Val, do you have anything to upgrade my arsenal?"
She appeared over his shoulder and he turned to face him. "I could, one moment please. Do you like Scout Rifles or Pulse Rifles?"
"Scouts, higher rates of fire." Evan specified.
"Hold on…. just one second…. done," Val said as a Scout Rifle appeared in his hands. Evan inspected the Rifle. "It's called the Trax Dynia, high rate of fire, as requested," Val beamed at her handiwork.
"This works, thank you, Val. I mean it," Evan said as he traced a finger over her shell. Val blushes at the compliment and she always does, but it's a compliment from her Guardian. So she can't help it.
"No problem, now let's continue along shall we?" Val asked
"We shall," Evan replies as he steps over more Hive gunk. The room which housed the switches was occupied by Fallen. Couldn't be easy, could it? Why does every damn room in this blasted place have something in it?
The Fallen he picked off from a distance, even using the knife he picked up from that Guardian he found outside the City. It has its uses and he definitely has plans to make knives to honor the fallen Guardians, if he lives to see the end of this. He walked up to the panel and flipped a switch. "Did that do anything?" he asked, in a whisper, as if talking too loud will cause a collapse.
"Negative, still no power, Check one of the auxiliary screens and see if they display any clues as to why they aren't generating power," Sloane instructed.
Evan looked over at the screens and saw that two of the six pylons that allow power is offline or clogged. The latter isn't clear, but Evan knows he has to check. "Val, open this door, we have to go do some maintenance," Val spun her shell as she unlocked the door, and next thing she knows, Evan is on a dead sprint. She phased back into him and proceeded to scold him for taking off whilst marking hostiles as they go.
"Faster we get done here, the faster we get to go," Evan said by way of explanation for his rushing. The Fallen and the Hive he saw didn't even notice him. He was fast when he wanted to be. He was going faster than the fastest Hunter, and that was pretty quick.
He made it outside to the first pylon and entered to see hardened Hive Gunk. Found the problem. Evan pulled his fist back, charged it full of Light and let it fly. The Gunk shattered like glass, and the pylon, or the piston, in this case, started to pump. The second pylon was across the way and it was close to the central platform.
"Word from Sloane is after we clear the gunk, go to the central platform and hit the reboot switch at the eastern side of the platform," Val informed Evan.
"Alright. Did I mention I detest the Hive?" Evan muttered, but Val heard him.
"Yes, you have said it thirteen-thousand nine hundred and fifty-six times since I revived you," Val stated matter-of-factly.
"Didn't know you kept count," Evan said, not looking at Val, but instead, heading inside the next pylon. There was a few Thralls and a couple of Acolytes, easily disposed of with a magazine and a grenade.
"Always have, Guardian, ever since the first few times you said it," Val chirped.
After doing some fancy Warlock parkour across the hanging platforms, Evan made it inside to the second piston and lo and behold… more Hive gunk. A few Light filled punches got rid of it all and now Evan had to scramble back up to the central platform to reroute all the power. The flow of it was disrupted and needed a hard reset. Flipping the main switch on the said platform should make power flow throughout all the station.
"Time to go get power," Val said floating away, but Evan didn't follow, he was frozen in place, "Evan?"
Evan couldn't describe the feeling, but it took every word out of his mouth. Sentences were a thing of the past as he felt it. Problem was, he did and didn't know what this was, and that pissed him off.
…
Lena had managed to sneak past all the Cabal in the City, except for the last section. There is a barrier preventing her from slipping out of the City. Sure, she could use one of the holes in the Tower wall, but the Cabal put portable barriers on those too.
"Any plans Quinn?" She asked her Ghost, who was in the safety of her armor, or what's left of it. Lena tapped her fingers against her thigh. She was sat in an abandoned tree house that the kids of the City would use. Surprisingly, this thing survived the assault.
"Well, if you wait a little bit, I could hack through their firewalls to get you through, but only for a few seconds, otherwise, I'll be locked out of the system indefinitely and that would spell out your death." Quinn ever so lightly put it.
"Wow, such faith," Lena remarked sarcastically.
"Hush, dear, I'm concentrating." A moment of silence, "Be ready to bolt in three."
Lena was already in position and waiting for the word to dash, or limp fast, outside the wall. From there, it was all survival instincts at that point. She would hunt, scavenge, and survive like she always has. The one thing she longs for is the embrace of her husband. The bond they have is dull most likely from the lack of Light and no contact.
Awoken bonds, or marriage bonds, thrive on them being together, their minds can mix and merge, and pull apart should the bond break. Having no contact, physical or mental contact can break a person. Lena didn't suffer as much as Evan because she was unconscious while he was conscious, walking, and living. At least, putting an effort to it.
Lena could feel Evan's anguish, the feeling of missing her. Lena's heart could feel everything that he could, to a lesser extent. So, she took a risk. She brushed her mind to his and retreated as fast as she could, but she knew that Evan felt it. At least, she thinks she knows that he felt it
He tried reaching out, but she didn't respond as Quinn had given her the signal and she bolted outside the barrier, almost missing it. The barrier snapped shut as Lena's leg passed through; Had that shut on her, she would have one less leg and could have possibly bled out right there. "Wow, cutting it close are we?" she whispered aloud, knowing Quinn was listening.
"Very, now let's not dilly dally, we have places to be that aren't here," Quinn commented.
"Alright, lay down a path and I will follow it. Little Light, guide me." Lena whispered, sucking in a deep breath.
"As always, Guardian."
…
Evan found nothing as he tried calling out to the feeling over and over but to avail. He feels the bond weaken without contact. He needed her as much as she needed him. Evan and Lena would always go on patrol together just to strengthen their bond. It entailed many frivolous adventures, but it allowed each other to be closer as Guardians and lovers. Yet, It's as if the person or thing is blocking him out, or not responding. He hates that he can't figure it out. A Warlock without an answer is an angry Warlock. Some Warlocks who hit the 'rage stage' have gone on massive kill streaks in the Crucible. Evan sighed; This entire thing makes him feel better and worse at the same time. It feels like nothing has changed for him. He only wants to be happy and he can't catch a break.
After returning from the central platform, Val managed to get a signal from a remote centaur called Nessus. "It's Cayde's signal, we have to go help him," Val exclaimed.
"Commander, will you be alright returning to the EDZ? Hawthorne would be able to help you," Evan suggested, his voice flat and facial expression blank yet serious.
"It would be beneficial if I return," He turned to Sloane, "I assume you'll be alright to handle matters in my absence here, Deputy Commander?"
"Yes sir, now go show the Red Legion the door," Sloane said in good humor. Evan smiled inwardly. He felt less pain with each passing moment. His decision is becoming harder and harder to make.
Val knows this and decides that is a good thing. She wants him to stick around for as long as possible. Hopefully, with each encounter with the Vanguard and possibly other Guardians, Evan will live past this. Val knows what this feeling that Evan felt, and not to be rude, but she needs to lay low, for now. She hates having to block the feeling from him, but he would be distracted and that is not what Humanity needs him to be.
'I feel like I am betraying him for this. He deserves to know she lives.'
In time, my child, he must stay on task and help free me. He is helping her as well. If he finds out about this, tell him the truth, but for now, not a word.
'Yet, he has already suffered enough, don't you believe he deserves a little happiness in his life, especially now?! After what my Guardian has suffered? He needs to knows she lives. It would fill a hole in his heart.'
A hole that is slowly getting filled as we speak, with each passing moment, he is recovering. He will not be the same, but he will survive. The Light always finds a way. You cannot trap it forever.
"Val? Are you paying attention?" Evan asked, noticing Val spaced out.
"Not really, I was running diagnostics," Val lied smoothly. She oh so desperately wanted to tell him.
"Well, we aren't needed here, we need to head to Nessus," Evan climbed into his ship, "Should we head back to the Farm and accompany Zavala? Do you think it would be easier to do that?" Evan fired off questions to which Val simply nodded and they took off after Holliday's ship.
Evan managed to sleep in a dreamless state, his mind blank and no memories. His mind yearned for Lena's. He compared the feeling he felt to Lena's; It was similar, but not exact. It could be her and he is just too tired to notice or something else is going on.
He didn't want to admit it, but when Val answered him, Val looked like she just saw Oryx behind Evan. She wasn't running diagnostics. She was communicating with someone. Or something. That something was most likely the Traveler. Evan ponders what the Traveler's plan is. He serves it, but in return, its help is cryptic and hard to understand. Even some of the smartest Warlocks cannot make heads or tails of it.
Evan tried to reach for the Traveler in his sleep and it knew he was trying to speak. But was left with silence as an answer. Evan once more drifted off to a deep sleep where he remained until they arrived on Earth once more.