So Much to be Done Before the End

The Darkness had come into the system. The ominous sight of the Pyramid ships was arriving on planet after planet, drawing ever closer to Earth and the Traveler. The Warmind Rasputin had attempted to attack them on approach, and had since gone dark. Reports poured in from all around the system of Guardians attempting to attack the ships only to see bullets and rockets vanish before they could reach the black surface of the vessels. It seemed nothing could slow their advance.

On Earth, panic was enveloping the Last Safe City. Anti-Guardian voices were rising. People were trying to bunker down, hoarding what supplies they could get their hands on. Everyone looked to the Tower and the Traveler for some sign of hope, but none had come. In the Tower, even Commander Zavala seemed to be giving in to the despair.

In the European Dead Zone, the residents of the Farm were no less given over to despair and desperation. A call had gone out to return all civilians to the Last City to shelter under the Traveler, and there had been a push to make that happen. Trying to create a mass exodus while keeping things under control proved a massive undertaking.

Titan Claney Beamard and Warlock Zillah Arvid-Beamard were playing a large role in the process. The two of them had been fixtures at the Farm since the ending of the Red War and had played a vital part in making it a viable home for a growing population. Now they had to help everyone abandon what they had fought and struggled for.

"Get those crates loaded up!" Zillah shouted, gesticulating between some food and supply crates stacked on the soccer field and a group of workers who were standing around idly. "No time to dawdle, we have to get this out of here now!"

At the Awoken woman's words, the four figures straightened up and hurried to the crates. A transport ship maneuvered to the area, settling down with a blast of heavy wind that rocked the top crates and staggered the workers. Another transport hovered just above the lake, the open door lined up with the docks. Zillah cut her golden eyes in that direction, watching as her husband helped a line of civilians to board, then backed them up once the vessel was full so that it could lift off safely.

"Let's go, let's go! Move!" another voice shouted, drawing Zillah's attention. Suraya Hawthorne was moving through the grounds, trying to encourage everyone as well.

Suraya had played a large part in the original founding of the Farm, helping to gather refugees who either left the Last City or had not found their way there, and giving them a home without the walls that surrounded the City and left a young Hawthorne feeling like a prisoner. She had also been instrumental in helping refugees from the Last City during the Red War. After the war, she had taken a position in the Last City helping bring Guardians and civilians together and instituting a clan structure to help organize people.

She had returned to the Farm to help assist the evacuation, and been instrumental once again. Many of the people there had shared her distaste for the Last City, and probably would have refused to go without her presence and encouragement. Even so, there were still many who were reluctant to leave. The poncho-clad woman noticed Zillah looking in her direction and offered a curt nod.

"Guardian," she said. Before, it would have sounded like a curse. The last couple years had softened the inflection she put on it these days.

"Hawthorne," Zillah replied, returning the nod.

"Zillah," the voice of her Ghost, Fievel, intruded, "we're receiving a communication from the Tower."

"Block out some of this noise and let me hear it," she replied. Her helmet shimmered into existence around her head, and the voice of Warlock Vanguard Ikora Rey sounded in her ear a moment later.

"Attention Guardians, this is a total recall order. All non-essential operations are hereby suspended immediately. Do not engage enemy forces unless absolutely necessary, and avoid the Pyramids at all cost. The Last City needs you now more than ever. The Traveler needs you. Return home."

She looked back over to her husband, and saw his head tilted in a way that let her know he was listening to the message as well. Claney turned and said something to the people still waiting for transport, looked in her direction, and then started striding toward her. Zillah glanced back to make sure the supply crates were being loaded onto the transport, then moved to meet him halfway.

"You heard?" he asked as they drew close.

"Yes. If the Vanguard is putting out a call like that, the Pyramids must be getting closer."

The big man gave an indistinct sound and surveyed the area around them, his green eyes narrowed. "We still have a lot of people here. And a lot that are still refusing to move. I'm not sure what to do."

"We'll have to be more convincing," Zillah replied. He looked at her, a searching expression on his face, and she had Fievel remove her helmet so she could meet his eyes. "We'll get them out."

Claney nodded and turned away. She knew this was hard for him. He truly did want to try to protect everyone. It was one of the things she loved about him.

She turned back to the men loading the crates and saw they weren't done yet and shouted at them again. "Come on, people!" She stalked over to them and grabbed one of the crates, lifting and loading it herself. "And that is how you do that."

…

Celeste Etain, Hunter and leader of Fireteam Painted Truth paced back and forth in her quarters. She was having what she was sure was a panic attack, but that was entirely self-diagnosed. It wasn't that long ago that she and her fireteam had been captured on the Moon and felt the effects of the Darkness and the Pyramids. They were still dealing with the fallout from that. And now, these Pyramids had entered the system and were advancing almost unopposed.

She wished Claney were around, that she could talk to him, find reassurance from him. But he and Zillah were still at the Farm and hadn't replied to the callback. Even all the Hunters who had fled the Tower to avoid any chance of being named Vanguard were trickling back to the City, but Claney wasn't back yet, and now she was left feeling like a little girl who needed her daddy, and mad at herself for feeling that way. She was supposed to be a leader now. There were people on the other side of her door who would be looking to her.

In frustration, she struck out, punching the nearest wall and leaving a dent. She also broke her hand in the process. She shook her hand, then grabbed it as she fought back tears of anger, sadness, and pain.

Whisper, her Ghost, appeared and swept a healing beam over her hand, alleviating the pain while wishing he could do something about the rest. No Ghost liked to see their Guardian suffering.

"Can I do anything to help you?" he asked in his quiet, boyish voice.

"No," Celeste replied automatically, shaking her head, before changing her answer. "Yes. Maybe. I don't know."

The Ghost's shell segments twisted in confusion.

"Yes," she said finally. "Call dad."

Whisper bobbed in affirmation, then reached out to Elgin, Claney's Ghost. After a moment, his eye flashed.

"I've made contact," he said.

"Hey there, Kiddo," the voice of her father emitted from the Ghost.

"Hey, Old Man," Celeste replied, struggling to keep her voice even. "How are things going on the Farm?"

There was a pause.

"Not great," Claney said finally. "We've… got some stubborn holdouts. We've moved the majority of the supplies, and this place is starting to look like a bit of a ghost town, like that old Ishtar Facility we found on Venus that one time. Too many people refuse to leave."

"What are you going to do?"

"I don't know. I'm tempted to just start picking them up, kicking and screaming, and dragging them to the transports, then tying them in place so they don't just jump off again, but somehow I don't think that would go over well."

Celeste laughed despite herself. "Yeah, I can't imagine that it would."

"I think some of them think it's a trick. That the Vanguard just wants everyone back in the City so they can control them. They don't think the Darkness or Pyramids are even there. Zillah can't even get them to listen. And she's tried. Loudly."

"Everyone's coming back to the Tower, dad," Celeste said. "Everyone. When… when do you think you are going to make it?"

There was an audible sigh. "I don't know, Kiddo. I can't just leave them here."

"You can't stay there either. You have to come back."

"I know. I'll do what I can." There was a noise in the background. "Hey, something's happening and I need to go. Hopefully I'll see you soon."

"Yeah. See you."

The call ended, and Celeste dropped to her knees, hands clasped to the sides of her heads. She scrunched up her face and closed her eyes tight, finding she could no longer completely hold back the tears. Before they could completely overwhelm her, someone knocked at her door.

"Hey, you need to get out here! Something is happening to the Traveler!"

Celeste frantically wiped at her eyes and stood to her feet. A tissue appeared in her hand, and she blew her nose.

"Thanks, Whisper."

There would be no way to hide the redness she was sure was evident in her eyes, but she couldn't worry about that right now. She fluffed her hair and ran her hands over her clothes quickly to try to be as presentable as possible, then stepped out into the common area of the fireteam's home. No one else was in sight, the rest must have already headed outside to see what was happening.

When the door to the hallway opened, Celeste had to step back to avoid people rushing past. Apparently, everyone had already heard. She worked her way through the crowd, making her way to the upper deck of the Tower. There was a mix of excitement and nervousness in the voices around her.

"Whisper, what's going on?" she asked the Ghost through their mental link.

"I don't know," he replied, "but I am detecting a signal. It's like another Ghost, but bigger, and coming from the direction of the Traveler."

Stepping into the open, Celeste cast her eyes toward the Traveler and gasped. The shattered surface was glowing, with ribbons of Light leaping from it in various places. Around her, all eyes were fixed on it, and mouths hung open.

Celeste stepped forward slowly, unable to think of anything except the sight of the Traveler before her. There was a flash, and a pulse of Light expanded from it, rushing outward and washing over everyone present. She felt it fill her, pushing away her anxiety and fear, replacing it with hope.

"Whisper, can you feel it?" she asked. "It's glorious…"

…

Night had fallen in the EDZ. After several difficult days of evacuation, even Guardians needed rest. Zillah and Claney had retired to their modest home and gone to bed. Claney had fallen asleep quickly, as he usually did. It seemed he could fall asleep anytime, anywhere. It was a trait that Zillah sometimes envied.

She twisted to her side, facing him, and stared at him in the dim light that filtered through the curtains. Even if he was sleeping, it was clearly not a peaceful one, his face was tight. Probably bad dreams. She reached over, placing a light blue hand against his temple and closed her eyes, using her Awoken gifts to send calming thoughts, and saw him visibly relax. It brought a smile to her face. Suddenly, the voice of her Ghost, Fievel, broke in on her thoughts.

"Something is happening."

She sat up, alert. "What is it?"

"I'm… not sure," he replied. "It's like nothing I've ever felt before."

"Give me my gear," Zillah said, tossing the covers aside. She stripped out of her pajamas, grabbing her gear as it materialized and dressed quickly, calling to her husband. "Claney, get up."

The Titan rolled over, his eyes fluttering open. "Mmm… huh?"

"Get up," she repeated. "Whisper says something is happening."

Claney was up in a flash and pulling on the undersuit of his armor. Zillah didn't wait for him, striding purposefully out of the house, eyes alert and scanning the surroundings for any danger. Claney was not far behind, still pulling straps of his armor as he emerged.

"I don't see anything," Zillah said.

"It's not here yet," Fievel said. "But something is coming."

"Elgan, you getting anything?" Claney asked.

His Ghost appeared, shell fragments twisting in consternation. "Yes, but I don't know what it is either. There -" he paused, twitching back and forth. "There are two different readings. That's the problem. Coming from two different directions."

Fievel's shell expanded to maximum, and Light pulsed between the pieces, as the core rotated. "He's right. There are two different… oh… oh no."

"What do you mean, 'Oh no,'" Zillah demanded.

"The readings are both paracausal. And diametrically opposed to each other."

"Paracausal?" Claney asked. "That means-"

"Light and Dark," Zillah finished. "You're sensing Light and the Darkness?"

"Yes," Fievel confirmed. "Both approaching rapidly. The Light is closer, but the Darkness is larger."

"We need to get everyone up, see if we can get another transport out. Now," Zillah stated. "Sound every alarm we have."

Claney and the Ghosts nodded. The Titan turned and bolted toward the landing area, jumping and propelling himself forward with his Light. The Ghosts both shifted into phase, but Zillah knew they would be heading for the control center. That left the houses nearby. Zillah sprang into action, rushing to the nearest neighbor and banging on their door before rushing to the next, shouting the whole time.

"Everyone up! Wake up! Emergency!"

Moments later, the alarms started sounding, sirens blaring a warning. Half-asleep, half-dressed people began staggering from doorways, blinking or rubbing their eyes. Confused murmurs floated on the wind.

"Everyone to the main courtyard and plaza! Now!" Zillah called out. With the sirens wailing overhead, she did not have to work hard to convince them. Some people followed her right then, others ducked inside to grab shoes, jackets, or other items first.

By the time Zillah made it to the courtyard, a crowd had already gathered. They had moved most of the population back to the City, but there had been many who had refused to leave. Too many. And now this.

"The Light is almost here," Fievel told her.

Zillah found her way to Claney and stood by his side. She reached for his hand. Someone in the crowd cried out, and Zillah turned to look. The sky was shimmering, and a massive wave of energy washed over them.

It was… invigorating. Zillah could think of no other way to describe it. Or she could think of too many words at one time, and that was the one that won out. She couldn't quite decide which was true.

"What was that?" Claney asked beside her.

"A wave of pure Light," Elgan replied. "Backtracking its trajectory takes us to the City. To the Traveler!"

"So, the Traveler is sending out pulses of Light?" Claney asked. "That's new."

"Well, it did do something similar once before," Zillah reminded him. "When it stopped Ghaul."

"But this was nothing like that," the Titan responded, recalling the wave of energy that day they retook the City from the Red Legion, and he had received a brief vision from the Traveler.

"No, it-" Zillah began, and Fievel interrupted.

"There's another pulse arriving."

Once again, a wall of LIght passed over and through them, filling them with a sense of life and hope. The regular humans were even showing a reaction to it. Then Zillah noticed one of them pointing to where she and Claney stood. She turned her gaze back to her husband and gasped.

"You're glowing," she said to him.

"So are you," he replied.

Zillah looked at her arms and hands, and could see that there was a faint aura of Light shimmering over them. Over Fievel and Elgan too. It was as if the Light within them was reacting to whatever the Traveler was doing.

"Any idea why this is happening?" Zillah asked her Ghost.

"Nothing certain," Fievel replied. "But if the Darkness is approaching, perhaps the Traveler is trying to strengthen us for a confrontation?"

The Darkness. In the wonder of the moment, Zillah had almost forgotten that the Ghosts had detected it approaching as well.

"What is happening with the Darkness you scanned before?" she asked.

"It has slowed," Fievel replied, "but it is still approaching."

Zillah turned back to the crowd, "Everyone! What we are experiencing now is Light from the Traveler, but Darkness is approaching too. It is imperative that we get everyone that we can on a transport and fly back to the City as fast as possible. We have to move now!"

There were still some murmurs of dissent, but having already experienced one strange thing tonight, the general consensus seemed to be not risking more. The crowd began to move to where the ships were docked after the last runs had been made. The transports were checked and powered up, and people began piling in. Children first, then women, and finally men.

There wasn't going to be enough room for everyone. That became apparent very quickly.

"Go," Claney told Zillah. "Get on the ships and help make sure they get back safely. I'll stay here with those that can't fit."

"No," she replied.

"What?"

"No," she said again, putting as much conviction as she could into her voice. "You sent me away once before, and I told you that I would not let that happen again. My place is with you, facing whatever is coming together.

"And Elgan," she turned to look at the Ghost, "if you so much as think about transmatting me onto one of these ships or somewhere else, I swear to the Traveler you will wish that I had shot you with a devourer bullet. Do I make myself clear to both of you?"

Claney nodded, and Elgan bobbed in the Ghost approximation.

"Good. Now let's cram as many people in these things as we can and pray they make it to the Traveler in time."

With the ships loaded beyond any safety regulation's allowance, the pilots went through their flight sequences, and began the journey to the Last Safe City. Those who could not go watched solemnly, seeing friends and family leave, knowing it may be the last time they saw them.

Once the ships were out of sight, they all returned to the courtyard. A few mentioned going home and going back to bed, but none followed up on their statement. It seems no one wanted to be alone in the end. Shortly after the departure, two more waves of Light washed over them, brightening the mood a little.

"It's coming," Elgan announced. No one had to ask what "it" referred to. They all stood, looking around.

In the direction opposite from the flows of Light, the stars began to vanish.

"Everyone get near me," Claney called out. He drew on his Light and thrust his hands out to either side, erecting a Ward of Dawn. The purple shell of Void energy formed a dome surrounding him.

Everyone crowded together under the dome. With some effort, Claney forced it to expand, making sure there was room. Zillah watched him, seeing the strain on his face as he built and maintained the Ward. With a wave of her hand, she opened a Rift beneath them, strengthening him and healing them all with Light. He nodded his thanks, and braced for what was to come. They could see no stars now, or anything in the dark.

And then, it was on them.

Elgan and Fievel both cried out. From pain or fear, Zillah could not tell. Nor could they tell what was really happening beyond the shell of the Ward of Dawn. Everything was oppressive blackness, pushing down against their protection, seeking them.

Claney strained to keep the Ward up, to fulfill his role as Defender. The Titan roared a shout of defiance at the Darkness that washed over the shield, pouring every ounce of his Light into the protective barrier. He was pushing his Light so hard, purple streams of Void energy could be seen leaking from gaps in his armor. His eyes had begun to glow purple as well. Even so, it was not going to be enough. Small cracks began to appear in the dome around them.

Claney turned to look at his wife and said, "I'm sorry."

Zillah stepped into him, embracing him fiercely. The Ward of Dawn shattered with the sound of a loud roaring wind. Then everything went dark.

…

AN

Been a little while since I've had an entry here. A lot to catch up on!

Thanks darquemyst, phantomxwolf and guests for the kudos!

Thanks to Gold Crown Dragon for the story favorite!

Dragonkeeper14: I hadn't thought about the Speaker's mask looking like Cobra Commander, but I can see it now.

Gold Crown Dragon: - on I Remember You: Karnstein Armlets? It doesn't come to mind right away, so I took a look. Interesting. I either didn't get them or just forgot about that.

On Begin Again: I hadn't really planned to do anything like that. Maybe if we see something more of it in-game. I know a few people have written stuff dealing with House of Light and Mithrax. Usually to do these I have to have something really spark a need to write, and that hasn't done it for me yet.

This was obviously inspired by the season ending event leading into Beyond Light. Hung out and watched that with a few friends and… it was great. Chills during the cutscene mirroring the D1 opening cinematic with the Darkness swarming over the system. I'd been thinking I might need to tell a story like this when I heard the Farm was being sunset with the rest of the Red War, but that just drove it home.

I have a few other ideas I've started and will probably get to here soon.