Necro: Hopping in to say go check out my Tumblr if you want to learn more about my characters! You can find me as necro-floodwaters-fiction-inc! ...the name is still a work in progress.

Jaxon hadn't expected to move out so soon. He'd thought that it would take weeks to organize the strike. But no, it had barely taken three days. The vanguard was used to this sort of thing, apparently. And many Guardians, regardless of their lack of power, were eager to help. Even if it meant dying their last death, they would all fight for their home. And he would too. He would fight with them. Which is why he was sitting a cliff, halfway up a mountain near the City, ready to create a distraction that he wasn't entirely sure would work.

He turned his attention to one of the two Guardians that had accompanied him, the same one that had watched over him when he first arrived at the farm, and said, "When I start, I won't be able to move. What I'm going to do will take too much concentration. And a lot of energy. Energy that can be tracked. Are you sure you want to be here? You could die."

"We came to get our home back. If we have to die to do that, then so be it." The Guardian replied, their helmet on the ground next to them. Jaxon and the two Guardians were waiting for the signal to begin and had taken the moment to rest, the Guardians removing their helmets. Jaxon did not do the same with his wrappings. But without the armor in the way, Jaxon could clearly hear what they were. The one who had just spoken was one of the aliens that sounded so similar to humans, but…slightly off key to him. Awoken, he'd learned they were called. The other, who had been silent, except for occasional remarks, was an Exo, the sentient machines from a war long gone.

"What are your names?" He asked after a long silence.

The Awoken spoke first. "Everyone calls me Net."

"Wha...why?"

"I run a lot of capture missions. Always come back with something. So everyone started calling me Net. It stuck." They shrugged. "Besides, didn't remember my old name anyway. Felt nice to have something to be called."

Jaxon nodded. He knew that feeling. He was about to say as much when a quiet voice cut him off. "Dice-10." It was the Exo. Jaxon had forgotten how gentle he sounded. He'd spoken all of two times since they'd left the Farm, not counting this. Jaxon liked him though. Dice-10 was carrying a lot of knives, something that never failed to endear Jaxon to someone. "My name is Dice-10. It's written on my arms."

"Oh. That must be…convenient?" Dice-10 nodded at Jaxon, who had to restrain himself from letting out a sigh of relief. That was undoubtedly awkward, so he was glad that Dice-10 didn't seem upset about it. "Is that…a usual thing for Exos?"

"My friend's is written on their butt."

"Oh." While Jaxon could read other's emotions, he simply forgot to use it to tell if Dice-10 was joking or not. Before he could ask, or even possibly embarrass himself, the signal came. They stood, the Guardians pulling on their helmets and readying their weapons, Jaxon moved closer to the edge of the cliff, stepping carefully. "So…got half an hour. Excellent." He took in a deep breath and let it out quickly. "So…just…gonna sit here and concentrate."

"Have you done this before?" Net asked him.

"Yes, it's just…uncomfortable. And a big drain." He plopped down at the edge, legs crossed, and faced the direction of the City. "Remember, we'll probably be found fairly quickly. So…eyes up?"

"We've got your back." Dice-10 said, already intently watching the horizon.

"You do whatever it is you're about to do and we'll keep you alive." Net told him.

"I'm more worried about you two, but very well. Hope you don't mind storms…." Jaxon trailed off as he began to concentrate.

"Storms?" Net asked Dice-10, who just shrugged. "Hope this guy knows what he's doing."

Nearly the full half an hour passed before either Net or Dice-10 noticed anything different. Net just happened to glance back at the City and spot the dark, angry, swirling clouds. As they turned fully to watch, lightning, black yet somehow burning just as bright as any lightning they'd seen before, arced from the clouds to the ground and thunder followed soon after, shaking their body and booming in their chest. "I think he knows what he's doing…."

Dice-10 had turned at the sound of thunder, his gun hanging limply as he watched the unearthly electrical storm center over the Cabal base closest to the spot where Zavala's team was going to enter. It seemed, based on where the lightning struck most of the time, that Jaxon intended on scrambling the Cabal as much as possible with the electrical storm. "That's impressive." Net simply nodded in response.

The show didn't last long however, as Dice-10 spotted several ships rising from another part of the City, angling towards their spot on the cliffs. "Eyes up, Net. Three carriers and a Thresher headed our way."

"You can tell what they are from here?" Dice-10 just nodded. "Damn. Wish I could do that."

Before the conversation could go further than that, Zavala's voice carried through their comms. "Fireteam High Top, we have entered the City without issue, but you have Cabal headed your way. We can take it from here, so get out of there."

"Fireteam High Top here, we've spotted the ships. Dice informed me that there are three Cabal carriers and a Thresher. As soon as we can, we're moving out." Net responded, stepping forward to Jaxon to try and bring him out of whatever trance he was in. It didn't take long before Jaxon was blinking and the storm was fading.

"Did they-" He was interrupted by a series of coughs, a few of which came out more gurgling than the rest, and splattered part of Net's armor with blood. "Oh…that's unpleasant…." He mumbled, stumbling into Net's arms as he tried to stand.

"Shit, are you alright?"

"Too much energy…it's wrecked my insides…." He coughed again, this time aiming for the ground. "I'll…clean the armor for you…."

"Don't worry about that. We need to get out of here. The Cabal are on their way."

"Wonderful…let's get going…." Jaxon held onto Net's arm to steady himself as they all began heading down the mountain trail they'd climbed originally. Had the spot where they'd set up been any bigger, they could have landed their borrowed ship there, but that wasn't the case. And the pace the trail forced them to keep could very well be their death.

"We're not going to make it. Weapons ready." Dice-10 said as they reached an old building, half fallen in on itself and covered in a thick layer of snow, that was roughly half way to their ship.

"Damn it. Can you stand?" Net asked Jaxon.

"Yeah…I can fight too…it's dark enough…." Jaxon stood straighter, releasing Net's arm. He coughed again, almost doubling over but managing to stay upright. "I can…I can fight…."

"I hope so. They're here." Dice-10 was already raising his gun, and then things got dangerous.

Jaxon had been in a few firefights in his life. It was something he was used to. But he'd never been on the losing side. And that wasn't going to start now. He had promised to get Dice-10 and Net back in one piece. And he'd be damned if he broke that promise. So he fought. He couldn't move much. But he could still use his powers. And so the shadows of the mountain, the decrepit building, and even the Cabal themselves rose to his command. It was still difficult. Most of the kills went to Dice-10 and Net, but he did his part. He snared their enemy, ripped their weapons from their hands.

It some time. At some point, reinforcements were called and the small fireteam was beginning to struggle. Jaxon collapsed eventually, his body no longer able to support him or his abilities. Dice-10 lost half his left leg, but just kept firing as Net dragged him out of the way. "It seems…we need a…miracle, huh?" Jaxon spoke up, sitting against the old building, the only cover they had.

"A miracle would be nice right now." Net poked their head around the corner of the building and fired, taking down two of the smaller Cabal before they had to pull back. "Some ammo wouldn't be too bad either. Starting to run low." They grumbled. Dice-10 wordlessly handed them his rifle and sidearm. "Thanks, Dice."

"No problem. Just shoot them. They shot off my leg."

"Right." Just as Net was about to duck out of their cover again, something happened. A thunderous voice rang out from the direction of the City, as if some great being had decided to address them all. Then…a light. A light that swept over them, filling everything, even Jaxon. And he knew, just knew, what it was. It was Light. The Traveler had woken. And he was protecting his Guardians. Jaxon felt the power flood back into Dice-10 and Net. He felt as their Ghosts came fully alive once again, Dice-10's healing and restoring his leg. The Ghosts couldn't do anything for Jaxon, but they didn't need to. The Light had nestled inside him, mixing with his power surprisingly well, as if they knew one another and knew how to give each other space. It was enough to heal him. And heal him it did.

"Well…." Jaxon murmured as he stood. "Guardians, I think we've won the war." They nodded, reloading as their Ghosts provided ammo. "Time to win this battle as well, don't you think?" They nodded again and, as Jaxon borrowed a couple knives from Dice-10, they stepped out to meet their enemy.

The fight was short. Net cut down Cabal left and right with a burning sword, their slashes sending arches of flame soaring through the air. Dice-10 zipped between like a bolt of lightning, his knives flashing and turning his targets into nothing more than arcs of electricity that were vaguely Cabal shaped as they fade. And Jaxon. Jaxon merely strode forward, the shadows cast by himself and the Cabal whipping about angrily as they responded to his unspoken commands, choking their owners, carving into their sides, rending them limb from limb. Yes, the fight was short. It lasted all of four minutes.

"Fireteam High Top reporting in," Net said, their Ghost proudly broadcasting their voice on all channels, "We made it." They said, leading the way to the ship. "We're coming home. We're returning to the City."

"Zavala to Fireteam High Top, that is an affirmative. We will need help securing the City. We're sending the Guardian back to the Farm to ensure that the citizens know we succeeded."

"We're on our way to help out." There was a pause as Net strapped in the pilot seat, Dice-10 and Jaxon standing behind them. "Zavala?"

"Yes, Net?"

"The Traveler. What does he look like?"

"Magnificent." Zavala answered after a moment.

Net leaned forward, their helmet making a soft thud as it connected with the console. "Thank you. We're headed your way now." Their voice sounded a bit thicker as they started up the liftoff.

Clearing the City of Cabal didn't take long. Jaxon, Net, and Dice-10 later found out that the reason for this was that Ghaul had been defeated by the Traveler, when he grew to several hundred feet tall in a pure Light version of his body. None of them knew quite how to react to that, so they just focused on ridding the City of the few Cabal that had missed the retreat. Once they finished that, they unsure what to do. Frankly they were too drained to be of help with anything. Eventually, they were ordered back to the Farm to rest. Back at the Farm, Jaxon just invited the two Guardians into his room in the old house, where they all passed out.

Necro: Sorry this is so short, but I couldn't get passed that point and I realized that I just had to let it go and be what it wanted.

MP: Given that, I would like to address something. We received a review that said something along the lines of "I hope you update soon". That…only made us feel worse about how this turned out. Reviews are always appreciated, but those…make us feel pressured and make creating difficult. Please, if you review, tell us what you liked or speculate on where you think this will go.

Necro: Or even point out some mistakes, just don't be a jerk about that. We always will love you, my dear readers, but please, don't leave reviews like that. It just makes me feel terrible…Either way, I love y'all! If you want to find me and see some original work, search for my tumblr tag necro's writings!