Wind howled through the corridor of ruined buildings that were huddled close to what was once a cobblestone street. Grass and trees that had invaded the town, reclaiming what was once a forest, bent and swayed in the current of air that swept through the ruins. This place must have been beautiful once. Alive with people shopping, working, going about their lives. It still had beauty to it, but in a different way now.
A quiet way.
Rusted vehicles were scattered here and there, nesting homes for birds and small mammals. Despite the quiet setting, Wren's eyes darted between darkened windows for any sign of an enemy. Or a cultist… She wasn't sure which was worse.
"Brother Vance's coordinates have the temple just beyond this village," Kiran said as Wren rounded a corner to a dead end street. The forest grew thick just beyond the end of the road and to the left there was a building with one wall reduced to a pile of rubble.
"Hawthorne's scouts surveyed that area during the Red War," Ikora replied skeptically. "They didn't find a temple, just an old radio tower."
"Brother Vance might say to have a little faith," Kiran replied dryly.
Wren advanced through the rubble of half destroyed buildings, some with rooms practically untouched. There were even pictures still on the walls. Paintings behind broken glass, mildew thriving on the canvas.
"Fallen," she said as she exited a second floor living room with rotted woods planks jutting from where the wall used to end. There were very few of them, nothing her scout rifle couldn't handle. She killed two of them before the others even noticed where the shots were coming from.
"Not going to lie, the Fallen make me a little nervous now," Kiran admitted.
Wren didn't want to think about it. That mission caused a rift in her life she didn't know how to mend.
"Just stay out of sight. Even if something happens to me, wait for backup in safety."
"Oh, you don't have to tell me twice."
Wren dropped into what might have been a town circle at one point with a grassy area in the middle for a statue that was so weather beaten she could hardly make out what it used to be. Cobblestone streets radiated out like spokes of a wheel, leading to more narrow lanes with buildings packed in tight. No alleys. No real cover. Plenty of places to get shot from.
While she traversed the broken stone and asphalt, Kiran decided to ask Ikora everything he'd been mulling over since Mercury. Questions Wren couldn't answer, no matter how many times he asked them.
"So Ikora…" he began, "are the rest of Osiris' followers as uh… passionate as Brother Vance?"
"You mean fanatical? Yes. They follow the idea of Osiris. They do not know the man as I did. But they are our best chance at reviving Sagira."
"Do you think they can?"
"I have to have faith," she said, a smile on her tone.
Kiran didn't reply but Wren could practically feel him "rolling his eyes" so to speak.
The Better Devils one shot a small swarm of Shanks that rounded a corner. The Fallen that were scattered about effectively ended the conversation. There weren't many of them and none had enough time to report to any other in the area before Wren shot them down, but it did slow her considerably.
Sagira's weight in the pouch at her hip reminded her of the dream she'd had and the hair on her arms raised. There were times she lingered on what remained of her memory of the nightmare and had to remind herself that if either of them was in danger of being killed for good, it was her. That was usually enough to put her mind at ease. He so rarely left the City and though she knew he hated being cooped up, at least then she knew he was safe and—
Suddenly what he did made more sense. Well, it had made sense to her before but thinking about it the way she just had solidified it. Maybe he really did do those things out of love. Maybe Kiran was right and his strange attitude change wasn't from him changing his mind about her. But then what was it?
A shot from a Vandal slammed into her shoulder, spinning her around to land on her hands and knees, the Better Devils skittering away on the shattered pavement. She clutched at her shoulder. Her armor had blocked most of the blow but damn did it hurt! She had to focus.
The next shot fired and she rolled to the side, flinging a grenade in the general direction of the shot. While the Vandal was distracted, she ran for her hand cannon, turning to fire the moment it was in her grasp. Two shots and the Vandal crumpled.
"I can't believe you didn't see that," Kiran said.
"I wasn't paying as much attention as I should have been," Wren admitted, standing to brush herself off. She patted the pouch to make sure she didn't lose Sagira before continuing.
"You wanna talk about it?"
She really didn't. "What do you think Cerulean is up to? I miss running with them."
"I'm sure they're plenty busy enough." Kiran paused a moment but Wren knew he was considering what to say next. "I know you hoped things would be different after that last one but I… well, I still have hope that things will get better."
"Not right now they won't," Wren said, slowing to a stop when she saw the buildings end and the street curve down on a slope and into the forest.
Between two broken sides of an ancient overpass was a Fallen Skiff dropping off a new patrol of Dregs and blocking the path was a Walker. Wren dropped behind the rusted shell of a truck, sending the creatures within scattering out.
When the Skiff was gone she knelt and took a look at the area through the scope of her rifle.
"How's it look?" Kiran asked.
"Not too bad. There are a few Dregs but they're not the issue. It's that damn Walker. See, this goes right back to me wishing Sisre was here. Or Rorick. I miss that rocket launcher of his."
"Makes ya wish you were big enough to carry one around, huh?" Kiran chuckled.
"You think you're so cute." Wren started killing Dregs, which immediately got some attention.
The rest of the patrol headed up the hill toward her, tossing grenades but missing her at their range. It did help them somewhat though as she found herself temporarily blinded a few times and unable to track their movements past the explosions.
They dropped like flies, one after the other, but it had also alerted the Walker to an enemy and despite the range, it continued to shoot at her anyway. A laser beam attached to the turret on top marked her out and she was forced to move, just in case the fiery blast could travel the distance when the Arc shots could not.
Good for her too because moments after she ran from cover, the truck she'd been hiding behind burst into flames. She tried for a better position, hoping the thick stone walls of the outer building on the street would be enough to help shield her from the Walker.
Focusing on one leg until it exploded, Wren bolted from cover and did her best to clear the distance between herself and the Walker as it dropped and extended its head, allowing for the boiling hot interior to cool. Wren leapt high over it and used her Golden Gun, relishing the familiar warmth it radiated as she unleashed it into the Walker's delicate internal mechanics.
Chunks of metal seared into the earth and caught small patches of grass on fire as the Walker shuddered and collapsed into a hissing mass. Smoke billowed toward the sky in thick black plumes and the barrier that had blocked the tunnel leading to the coordinates Brother Vance had provided flickered and dropped.
"Uh, we're about to have a lot of company," Kiran said and Wren turned to see more Fallen Skiffs incoming.
"I'm not worried about them," Wren replied, stepping into the tunnel. "Hurry and hack the barrier and lock them out."
"I'll do my best."
The Skiffs grew ever closer but Kiran succeeded, raising the barrier before a patrol of Vandals tried to rush it, raging and shooting at the barrier they could no longer control.
Wren smirked and shot them a bird before turning her back and mounting her Sparrow.
"Getting a bit cocky, aren't we?" Kiran asked.
"I think I deserve it sometimes."
They sped off through the winding tunnel, parts of which had collapsed to reveal sprawling tunnels but Wren wasn't interested in those and was glad she didn't have to deal with them. At least she hoped she wouldn't. Without Cayde in her ear it would be difficult.
She wondered why he hadn't contacted her. Never stopped him before when he wasn't supposed to. Had to trace back to whatever his issue was. She dodged a boulder and tried to outrun the questions that kept distracting her.
"I feel bad for anyone who lives out here," Kiran said.
"I don't. They chose this."
"Osiris would say it's a trial," Ikora said. "If they cannot survive here, then they weren't worthy to begin with."
"Hm. Makes you wonder where they get those fanatical views," Kiran replied.
Wren sped from the tunnel and onto the forest road, swerving around Fallen who tried to shoot her down as she passed but she had no time or patience for them. A few shots pinged off her Sparrow and she fired a few rounds of her own, dropping a Vandal on a cliff overhead before she disappeared into a smaller tunnel system where she had to slow down.
This place was a little more cramped and the floor was so cluttered with debris that she had to dismount and proceed on foot, careful of trip mines that cast red glows on plaster cracked walls.
Water dripped from rusty piped into stagnant water below. Purple Fallen banners and long trailing flags hung about the place as a testament to the house that occupied this territory.
There were very few Fallen here, despite the banners, and Wren was able to move through the tunnels with very little resistance.
"I'm getting a lot of activity ahead," Kiran said and Wren slowed her pace, taking her time to come to the exit which opened into a low sweeping field surrounded by trees. The short, dense green grass was littered with old shipping crates, delivery trucks, and overturned vehicles.
To the right and up on a small rise was what appeared to be the radio tower Ikora had mentioned before and it was swarming with Fallen. The tower itself was so rusted and dilapidated that it looked like a good strong gust of wind would send it toppling.
"Huh, it is just an old radio tower," Kiran said. "And the Fallen beat us here."
"That is what faith in Osiris gets you," Ikora said, bitterness dripping in her tone.
"I'm not sure I can get around those Fallen," Wren admitted. "There's more than I think I can handle."
"I have some Hidden in the area. Well, sort of. They're several miles away but they might be able to cause enough of a distraction to thin the herd a bit."
"I'd appreciate that."
"Standby."
Wren kept an eye on the Fallen that patrolled the area, waiting for whatever distraction Ikora would set up with her Hidden.
"Ya know, if you could use Void we could go invisible and sneak past them."
"I haven't even mastered Arc yet. One thing at a time."
"Void is a whole different ball game. One time, I talked to this Ghost whose Hunter started wielding the Void bow and he didn't do it right and his entire—"
Kiran was cut off as an explosion rocked the valley. Trees cracked and groaned and a ball of fire shot into to sky beyond the trees. Wren's ears began buzzing loudly and the Fallen panicked, yelling to one another in confused tones before most of them ran toward the wood line, disappearing between the trees.
"What the hell was that?"
"A Fallen outpost," Ikora replied, not even trying to hide her amusement. "That should keep them busy and out of the way."
"Yeah, there's only a few Dregs left hanging out around here," Kiran said.
Wren didn't waste time. While the rest of the patrol stood at the rickety edge of the rusty radio tower platforms, Wren snuck around behind them and dropped into an elevator shaft at the back of the tower. It only led to the floor right below, but it was so dark that Kiran had to offer her light.
The first thing she saw was a corpse. The body of a man in robes just like Brother Vance's lay against a pillar. His face was obscured by the hood but Wren was certain he was dead. The smell of death seeped past her helmet filter and the farther she went into the tower the more bodies there were, mingled with those of dead Fallen.
If nothing else, they had gone down fighting. But all of them were dead. She stepped down into a lowered area with more bodies laying around, blood turned dark brown as it dried. Black and gold flags hung around the small room where still lit candles, almost burned down to their bases, cast eerie shadows across the corpses faces. Wren felt like they were watching her.
A few tables, some shelves, and books were the only other things in the space. The only thing that stood out to Wren was a Vex like stone and metal cube in the back of the room that had a perfect inlay for Sagira.
"The Followers," Kiran breathed. "We're too late."
"All of them?" Ikora asked.
"Seems that way."
Wren placed Sagira's shell in the center of the eye design, but nothing happened. Kiran floated between her and the cube, his shell spinning curiously.
"This is heavily modified Vex tech," he said. "I've never seen anything like it before but…Let me try something."
"Be careful," Wren warned but Kiran's light had begun to scan the plate where Sagira lay, still motionless.
A flash of light and her shell rose from the cube, glowing every brighter until it appeared that she was sucked into Kiran.
"Woah!" he cried out. "What is—"
"—going on!?"
Kiran's voice broke, replaced by a female voice that Wren didn't recognize. His shell sparked and radiated Light which converged back to his core before creating a strange overlay of Sagira's shell intertwined with his. Her defined spikes stood out from him and the strange light he emitted was defiantly different.
"Oh, new shell!" she said. "Wait, did you actually just put me in a strange machine you'd never seen before? Who does that?"
"Sagira," Ikora said.
"Ikora! Glad you're still around. Look, we gotta move," Sagira said, disappearing from view. "Osiris is in way over his head, as usual, and we need to… wait… where are we? And who are you? Urg, never mind, we need to get to Mercury!"
"Hold on just a damn minute," Wren setting, digging her heels in. "Where is Kiran?"
"Calm down, he's still in here and he's perfectly fine. A bit whiney, but fine!"
"I can't lose him."
"And you won't," Sagira replied, a softness in her tone as she floated close to Wren. "I know what this means for you. For him. I'm not going to intentionally mess that up. But my Guardian is out there and I need to find him. We're in this together."
Wren chewed her cheek. "Right. Okay. What do you need me to do?"