Chapter 5

Ikora Rey was strong. She never gave this much thought, be she knew it. Many Guardians had seen her heroics on the battlefield, and Shaxx still brought up thrashing she had given him in the Crucible from time to time. Her feats were recognized by the Vanguard, and she received the duty of instructing new Warlocks.

Even though she devoted a large amount of her time to teaching, she kept her skills sharp. But it had been a while now since she had last been out on the field, and the rush was beginning to rear its ugly head.

Gasping as she leapt back from her opponent, Ikora grasped her side which had been grazed by the blade of her enemy. Yavek, a Wolf Baron that was near the top of Petra's bounty list. She and her fireteam and stumbled onto the Baron earlier, and it proved to be one of the toughest and most ruthless foes she had ever encountered. She was just barely keeping up with the Baron.

Ikora was at a huge disadvantage trying to fight in the darkness. The light from her Ghost was ineffective against the cloaking that Yavek was using, and her senses were rusty, making it a struggle for her to track this Baron with her eyes and ears. The Baron remained silent as it rushed at Ikora again, wielding dual sabers with the clear intention to cut her down.

Ducking below its first swipe, Ikora continued to retreat as she tried to think of a way to level the playing field. Yavek was faster and stronger than her, and it was clever enough to keep attacking from her blind spots.

"Ghost, I need my fusion rifle!" Ikora called out as she threw down a Solar grenade to halt Yavek's next approach. Stopping in front of the Solar grenade, Yavek jumped away to keep its distance from the flames. Ikora then raised her hands, receiving the weapon she had called for which she then fired at her target. The burst of blue energy bolts exited the barrel of the fusion rifle, dashing away the flames from the Solar grenade as they raced toward Yavek.

Diving to its left to avoid this attack, Yavek barrel rolled for a moment before it came to a stop on its feet with a snarl. It then reactivated its cloaking, vanishing from Ikora's sight. Glancing around the room, Ikora tightened her grip on her fusion rifle as she quickly checked her blind spots. Listening closely, she could hear the Baron as it took a deep breath before attacking her again.

Yavek pounced at her from her left, one of its blades raised which Ikora blocked with the side of her fusion rifle. But the impact from this sent her stumbling backward due to the Baron's superior strength as it continued its attack, jumping at her again. Raising both its swords this time, Yavek was prepared to drop down them down onto each of Ikora's shoulders and sever her arms, but the Warlock was quick enough to side step this attack. Slamming its blades against the floor, Yavek quickly realized it had missed, but there was still an opportunity to strike. Releasing its hold on its swords, Yavek placed its hands on the ground and turned, lashing out with its leg at Ikora.

Ikora gasped as she received a fierce blow to her torso which sent her flying across the room. Hitting the wall, Ikora felt her chest become tight as the wind was knocked out of her. Slumping to the floor, Ikora struggled to look up where she could see Yavek snatch its swords from the floor and rush at her once again, aiming for kill blow this time. With a howl the beast raised its weapons, lunging at her.

Ikora looked up as Yavek neared her, a chill running down her spine, but a stream of flames pierced through the air, intercepting Yavek just in time to save Ikora. The fire hit Yavek's upper right forearm, burning it away completely while knocking the Baron away from the Warlock Vanguard. Yavek snarled as it tumbled away from Ikora whose head snapped to the side in search of her savior.

"Yeah that's right, back up!" A deep voice hollered at the Baron.

It was a Titan…that held a flaming pistol.

'A Titan with Golden Gun? That couldn't be…Tobias?" She thought before shaking her head. She had more pressing matters. Looking back toward Yavek, she could see that the Baron was still resting on its side, clearing in pain from losing one of its limbs. She couldn't let this fight proceed any longer.

Summoning all of her remaining strength, Ikora forced herself to her feet and raised both her hands above her head. A flame sparked in between her hands before she threw her arms down with a shout, causing her entire body to become igniting a brilliant orange glow.

By now Yavek had already gotten back on its feet, holding its second saber in one of its lower arms. With a short breath, Ikora rushed at Yavek, but seeing that the Warlock was on the attack now, Yavek reactivated its cloaking to vanish from her sight, but this didn't deter Ikora. She didn't have any time to waste with Radiance active. She began to throw Solar grenades at the floor, bathing the room in flames as she quickly trapped Yavek into a corner.

Yavek's cloaking shut down from the surrounding heat as Ikora now jumped at her target who raised its blade, ready to engage her as well. Aiming to slam her palm into its torso, Yavek chopped down on Ikora's wrist with its third hand before raising its saber to swing it at her neck. Raising her forearm, intercepted this attack but Yavek didn't stop. Using its free hand now, it swung its arm into Ikora's torso, but she responded by grasping onto Yavek's arm and holding it against her body which quickly began to burn away at the Baron's flesh.

Yavek howled in pain, raising its next arm to swing it next saber at Ikora since both of her arms were occupied, but the Baron's eyes became wide as its blade shattered after hitting Ikora's shoulder. Her Radiant Skin had destroyed the saber on impact.

"This is my win." Ikora stated as she drew in both her arms and thrusted her palms into Yavek's torso. She then pushed forward with all her might, pinning the Baron against the wall where it groaned softly for a moment before going limp. Its entire body went up in flames as Ikora cast it aside, stepping away from the corpse of her enemy.

Tobias stood in awe at the ability Ikora had just put on display. She had turned this small room into a fire bit and wasted that Baron with just her hands alone. That was incredible!

"Thanks for your help Guardian." Ikora said as she approached him. "With only three arms it was much easier to fight that Baron at close range."

"Uh, that was no problem." Tobias said as he was pulled out of his thoughts. "But um, what was that thing you did there at the end?"

"Radiance. It's a special ability used only by Sunsingers." She replied, surprising Tobias.

"Is that the group that uses Solar Light?" He asked now, recalling what Diana had said about Warlocks and Solar Light.

"Indeed it is."

"Diana mentioned this in passing, but is there any reason some Warlocks aren't allowed to use Solar Light?"

Ikora raised her eyebrows at his curiosity. Tobias was inquisitive, like any other Warlock. Motioning for him to follow her, Ikora exited the room, heading into a dark corridor which lit only by her Ghost. As they walked, Tobias could see various slashes and scorch marks on the floor and walls, realizing that Ikora had been struggling here for a while.

"You want to learn the song of the sun?" Ikora asked as she looked back at him.

"Huh?" Tobias said.

"Are you trying to learn how to wield Solar Light?" Ikora asked him again.

"Yeah, I mean I'd like to. I'm not very good with it though." Tobias noted, getting a soft chuckle from her.

"I can tell." She said. '"But the song of the sun is one only a few can hear. It's one only a few can voice. And it's even fewer can survive.'"

Tobias remained silent, waiting to see if she would continue.

"Even though the Light inhabits everything around us, there is a cost for the Guardians to draw out this power. Bladedancers tire easily from the physical strain of Arc Blade. Voidwalkers can become lost in the Void if they are careless. Once learn the song of the sun, you will discover that you can burn away what lies in the shadows. It shreds the Darkness like no other weapon. But to gain such power involves a perilous journey." Ikora explained.

"It sounds like all of them are pretty dangerous to learn and use if you ask me." Tobias noted, getting a nod from Ikora.

"Point taken. However, I'm not the one who determines when a Warlock can learn the song of the sun. The Praxic Order are the ones who decide who is, and isn't ready." Ikora replied.

"And who are those guys?"

"An old Warlock Order. Unlike, any, other Warlock, they believe only in fighting. They don't seek to understand our opponents to find the best means to defeat them, but would rather fight blindly. I'm not a fan of their beliefs, but I'm not in any position to question them." Ikora went on. "The most I can tell you for now is that the principals that you understand to use Golden Gun are similar to the technique used for Radiance."

Tobias gave her a nod of thanks. He didn't want her to do anything that would put her out of place, so he would take this small hint and run with it.

"For now though, I would recommend practicing. If Cayde ever saw you get only one shot out of a Golden Gun, he'd never let you hear the end of it." Ikora commented with a chuckle as the two of them entered another room. Tobias could see that there were three bodies laid out around the room, all of which Ikora approached an examined. As she placed a hand on each of them, they faded away, allowing her to collect the Ghost that had been hidden within them.

'Was this her team?' Tobias wondered.

"This was the team I had joined, in case you were wondering." Ikora said almost immediately. "Just that one Baron had done a number on us. Fortunately I can bring them all back, but it's surprising. The Darkness is growing stronger. This is why I don't agree with the Praxic Order. Now more than ever is a time where we need to understand our enemies."

Tobias could understand the point that she was trying to make, giving her a nod of agreement.

"Understanding our enemy, our victory will never be in jeopardy." Ikora said as she looked up, quoting something she had seen in the Warlock Halls. "That quote predates the Golden Age, yet it's still relevant to this very moment in time."

Ikora then looked toward Tobias.

"To my understanding you can channel any sort of Light, correct?" Ikora asked him.

"…Yeah." Tobias replied slowly.

"That is a great deal of power you'll possess one day. Don't let it cloud your judgment though. Possessing great power, and knowing your enemy's weakness is what will lead to our victory." Ikora said to him as she motioned for him to follow her once again.

Drevis lashed out at Briggs with its sharp claws, aiming to tear the Titan's head off of his neck. Briggs ducked beneath this attack and drove his fist in the abdomen of the Baroness, but it didn't even flinch from the blow. Briggs then put some distance between himself and Drevis, avoiding another swipe from it.

Briggs had the edge in speed as observed Drevis who raised its shrapnel launcher. None of his attacks had been effective so far, although he wasn't really trying to defeat Drevis. The Baroness began to fire its weapon at Briggs who effortlessly dodged the projectiles. He had been fighting the Fallen for decades and dodging fire from their shrapnel launchers was routine for him.

He had been separated from Niko and Diana earlier as they fought the lesser Baron that was accompanying Drevis. His only intention right now was to draw out their duel while he waited for Diana and Niko to return to him. Not to mention his fight here had been nothing more than a stalemate. His ammunition was going to waste trying to break down the force field Drevis was using, but his physical attacks could get through, not they were doing much.

But it seemed as though Drevis finally realized that Briggs had been prolonging their fight. Putting away its weapon, Drevis took a step backward as a gang of Vandals entered the room. With a snort, Briggs looked around at the group that now surrounded him. This was going to get messy.

The Vandals didn't waste a moment as they swarmed him, attacking from all sides. Blocking an attack using his forearm, Briggs grabbed onto the arm of the Vandal that had lashed out at him and snatched it off the floor with is incredible strength. Swinging the Vandal around, he hurled it into a pair of that had been approaching from the opposite side, knocking them away. Glancing over his shoulder, Briggs could see a Vandal dashing toward him with a saber raised to attack him. Readying one arm, Briggs spun and cocked his fist back to throw out a devastating haymaker at the Vandal who had rushed at him, smashing his fist right into its face.

The Vandal was sent flying backward now from the blow, straight into the far wall of the room before it crumpled to the ground, remaining motionless. There was no way that one would be getting back up anytime soon. Briggs had spent a moment admiring how far he had sent that Vandal with one punch, a moment that he should've spent pulling his arm back in rather than leaving it full extended.

Drevis dropped down beside him, its arm raised for it to chop down onto his bicep. Briggs' optics widened as Drevis cut straight through his arm, throwing it to the floor before it raised another hand to hit Briggs in the torso.

How could he have been so careless?!

Catching Drevis' attacking arm, Briggs called forth the Void Light which gathered around him before expanding into a protective dome around him. Drevis didn't stop though as it raised another hand to slam its elbow into Briggs' side but the Titan was unaffected by the blow. Within the protection of his Ward of Dawn, Briggs' defense had increased tenfold. Briggs then tightened the grip he had on one of Drevis' arms, refusing to allow it to leave his Ward of Dawn.

"Now, you're on my turf." Briggs said as he spun around, placing Drevis' arm on top of his shoulder now. With all his might he pulled, tearing Drevis of its feet to throw it over his body, head first into the floor. The head of the Baroness was smashed through the floor while its body remaining upright for a moment. Briggs took a step back during a moment of silence, the Drevis snarled as it placed its hands and feet on the floor to rip its head free from the now broken panel.

But just as soon as Drevis had a chance to look up with its head free, it met with Briggs' remaining elbow. Dropping himself onto Drevis, Briggs smashed its head into the floor once again, this time sending its whole body through the hole, down to the level beneath them. Briggs scrambled to keep himself from falling through as well, but as he looked around he noticed all of the Vandals that were staring at him, ready to reengage him.

Then he heard a snarl which returned his attention to the hole he had just smashed Drevis through.

"Crap." He muttered as he took a step away from Drevis as it began to climb through the hole. He was hoping for just a few moments to take care of the Vandals, but this would be difficult with only one arm now. But before Drevis could full climb through the hole it was suddenly yanked back down to the floor below, leaving Briggs a bit surprised.

"Hah!" He heard Diana shouted as she slammed the Baroness to the ground below. With a smirk, Briggs gave himself a small nod at the impeccable timing of his teammates. He could relax knowing that they were here now. But clearly the Vandals that surrounded him thought differently as they charged at the Titan.

"Damn Diana, talk about no mercy!" Niko exclaimed as he looked around at what remained of the room they had fought Drevis in. There was clear evidence of Diana's almost excessive use of Void Light around the room. Parts of the walls and ceiling were missing, having been eaten away by the Void Light.

Niko had taken down Drevis' force field, allowing Diana to unleash all of the Void Light she could muster onto the Baroness, obliterating it completely. Nothing was left back, not even a bit of fabric from the cloak Drevis had been wearing.

In all of the time Niko had seen Diana fight, he had never seen her so ferocious. She wouldn't even give Drevis a chance to try and protect itself. With every attack, she followed up with another one until the Baroness had been sent to oblivion.

With how many attacks it had taken to finish of Drevis, Niko could see why it held such a high rank among the Wolves. It was by far the most skilled, durable and deceptive member of the Fallen race he had seen. But in the end, it was still something that couldn't stand up to the Guardians.

"Iggy, are you alright up there?!" Diana called out as she jumped up through one of the holes in the ceiling, joining Briggs in the room above. As she landed on her feet, she found the Exo seated on top of a pile of Vandals, sparks flying from his severed arm as his Ghost inspected the damage.

"Damn, no mercy up here either." Niko exclaimed as he looked around the room. Besides the Vandals Briggs was resting on, their bodies were scattered around the room.

"This was nothing." Briggs stated as they approached him.

"I beg to differ." His Ghost replied. "It'll take at least few hours for me to construct and attach a new arm for you."

"You've brought me back from worse." Briggs said to his Ghost.

"That I have." It noted with a small nod.

"You know I could just kill him and bring him back to save you the trouble." Niko suggested with a chuckle as he drew his hand cannon, spinning the weapon on his finger.

"There's no need for that." Briggs stated as he gave Niko a sharp glance, causing the Hunter to put away his weapon. "Besides, if you're going to kill me, it's going to be a duel to the death where I have both of my hands. I wouldn't give you the pleasure of a cheap victory."

"Heh, now we're talking." Niko said with a clap.

"Anyway, we've eliminated two of the Wolves' Commanders. We should focus on establishing contact with Tobias." Diana said, getting a nod from them.

"That's just a start. There's still a matter of our communications being jammed by the Servitors." Briggs began before his Ghost split its shell to begin relaying a message to the fireteam.

"-Sevitors in…wall." The message was filled with static at first, but it quickly became clear as the Guardian continued to speak. "I repeat, we've found and eliminated the Servitors within the wall. Our comms are back online! Does anyone copy?"

"We hear you loud and clear!" Fireteams all over the wall began to relay their positions and status so that they could begin to chase out what remained of the Wolves.

"This is Briggs-6 checking in for fireteam Undaunted. We've engaged and eliminated the Wolf Baroness Drevis, and the Wolf Assassin Grayor." Briggs declared.

"This is Ikora Rey. My team and I have defeated Yavek the third Wolf Commander leading their force. It seems as though their commanding officers have fallen. Press the offensive Guardians, and send them packing!"

"Well you heard the woman; we've got some ass kicking to do!"

The sun peeked over the horizon, much to the delight of the Guardians as they stood on the top of the Cosmodrome Wall, staring out into the distance. They had emerged victorious from the battle in the night. Even though the Fallen held a critical advantage in the dark, the Guardians had fought back brilliantly, eliminating their commanders which left their forces crippled and unorganized.

As the Guardians chased off the last of the Wolves, a detachment of Titans had arrived from the City to clear out anything that remaining. By the time the skies began to light up, the Fallen had retreated from the wall.

"Excellent work tonight Guardians. The City will stand for another day." Ikora said as she congratulated the Guardians on their job well done.

Tobias was among the crowd, patiently waiting beside Diana's Ghost as it worked to bring back the female Guardian that had been killed earlier.

"Alright, that should do it!" Diana's Ghost exclaimed as it as the other Ghost flashed. The body of its Guardian materialized around it which Tobias caught and set down on the ground. She lay motionless for a few moments, and then she shot up grasping her neck. She looked around frantically before she realized that she was no longer in danger.

"Wha-what happened? How long have I been gone?" She asked as Tobias felt his chest become tight. It was really was the same Guardian. He never would've imagined that he would've seen her again after seeing the Captain toss her lifeless body aside.

"Just a few hours. It's good to have you back Guardian." Diana's Ghost said to her delightfully.

"And I suppose I have you to thank for it, right?" She asked as she looked toward Tobias.

"I guess you could say that." Tobias said with a small chuckle, placing a hand on the back of his neck.

"There's no need to be modest Tobias." Diana's Ghost said as it nudged his side a bit. "That's not a common practice among the Guardians."

"I see, so your name is Tobias." She noted before extending a hand toward him. "I'm Anari."

They shook hands, and then she deactivated her helmet. The headpiece quickly broke apart, receding to a point on the back of her neck which revealed her face to him. She was light skinned brunette, appearing to be in her early twenties, not that age really mattered among the Guardians. But Tobias furrowed his eyebrows as their gaze met. Her eyes…they were blank. As if they had no soul.

"Are you okay?" Tobias asked as his helmet receded as well, allowing her to see his actual appearance.

"What do you mean?" She asked in return.

"Your eyes, they don't have any…life in them." He commented.

"Well that's a wonderful observation." Anari said as she gave Tobias a narrow glance.

"I didn't mean any harm by that, it's just…" Tobias trailed off in search of the words to express his concern.

"Don't worry, you're not the first person to say that." Anari said as she ran a hand through her hair to straighten out her long locks. "When you've been fighting as long as I have, you sort of become, desensitized."

Tobias didn't say a word as he watched her. She looked out at the sun as it rose from the horizon out ahead of them, admiring it for a moment.

"I've been around since the Battle of Twilight Gap. I was there on Mars to see Undaunted go into the Black Garden and destroy it. I fought against Crota's armies with everyone else. And I saw Undaunted jump into the Hellmouth to take down Crota. I've been through it all, and after a while…it just started to feel like we weren't making any progress. Every time we win, a stronger enemy appears and the fighting gets worse. It's just, hopeless." She explained to him. "Sometimes, I think it might better to just die and finally have my Light consumed by the Darkness. It would save me some trouble."

She gave Tobias a pained smile, getting a frown from him in response.

"But don't you want to see what's going to happen when the Darkness is finally beaten?" Tobias asked her.

"It's always been here though. Most Guardians don't know life without it. A world without the Darkness…? I couldn't even begin to imagine it." She began as she looked up in thought. "I mean, would we even exist? If there's no threat to the Traveler, then there wouldn't be a need for the Guardians. And since we're all dead…"

She trailed off, leaving Tobias to finish the rest on his own. Almost every Guardian had been reanimated by the Light. But if they didn't need to protect the Traveler, that they very well may return to being dead. No matter how great their heroics were, their accomplishments and contributions to defeating the Darkness wouldn't have any effect on their lives this conflict came to an end. This fight was almost meaningless to them on personal level.

Tobias glanced around, observing the other Guardians that were bragging about what they had done during the battle within the wall. They were all smiling and chatting away with one another. It was hard to keep in mind that all of these people here were actually dead.

"What if…there was a way for all us, to be brought back to life?" Tobias asked her.

"Hah." Anari said before covering her mouth with a small blush of embarrassment. "Sorry…it's just that I don't think any of that is possible."

"Well I don't see why not. We can live forever right now. So we have all the time in the world, and I'm sure someone will figure out a way for us to keep living even if our life as Guardians comes to an end." Tobias said to her.

Anari snorted a bit, shooting him a small but genuine smile this time. Tobias was more optimistic than she would've thought. Tobias though, couldn't help but think with positivity at the moment. He had seen Anari die at the hands of a Fallen Captain, yet here he was speaking with her again. If the Guardians could come back to life, than anything was possible!

"If someone does figure it out, make sure you let me know." She said to him.

"Count on it."

"Tobias!" A female voice called out to him, gaining his attention. Turning a bit, he spotted Diana coming toward them.

"Hey~, Diana." Tobias said as he gave her a wave.

"Ikora told me you were around here." She said before looking at Anari. "And this must be that Guardian you took with you earlier. I'm so glad you guys made out of that in one piece."

"Why thank you, although it's thanks to Tobias really." Anari said, causing Diana to give him a look of surprise.

"Really?" Diana exclaimed, getting a nod from Anari. "You're going to have to fill me in on the details later Tobias."

Diana then took a hold of Anari's wrist, leading her through the crowd of Guardians.

"Wait, where are we going?" Anari asked her.

"We found the Ghosts of your fireteam. Our fireteam leader is bringing them back right now." Diana explained to her.

"Really?" It was Anari's turn to be surprised now.

"For real. They should be waiting for you right here." Diana said as they broke free from the crowd where they found their two fireteams seated together.

"Anari!" Her teammates bellowed as they jumped to their feet to greet her. Diana and Tobias stood back as they watch the three of them get reunited, embracing each other. They then began to thank the members of Undaunted for bringing them back together.

"So it looks like everything worked out." Briggs said as he and Niko joined Diana and Tobias.

"Yup, all in a day's work for this Hunter." Niko said as he tapped his chest.

"You didn't do a damn thing Niko." Diana commented with a sneer. Niko scoffed at this.

"You didn't hear my moral support?" He asked her.

"Oh, is that what that was?" Diana said with a smirk, causing Tobias to stifle a laugh.

"So how were things after you got separated from us?" Briggs asked Tobias as he now stood beside him.

"It was alright." Tobias replied as he shrugged his shoulders.

"Alright?" Diana 's Ghost said as it appeared between them. "Don't listen to him Briggs. He was incredible. First he defeated a Captain using Arc Blade, and then he rescued Ikora with Golden Gun!"

"You used both of them successfully?!" Niko said, his attention now firmly directed at Tobias with this news.

"I wouldn't say, successfully." Tobias began sheepishly.

"If you're alive than it was good enough." Briggs stated as he gave Tobias a pat on the shoulder.

"And I'm sure Ikora appreciates your 'good enough' as well." Diana's Ghost chirped.

"Yeah, good man!" Niko said as he gave Tobias a slap on the back which caused him to stumble forward from Niko's strength.

Tobias shot Diana's Ghost a narrow glance before it vanished. The small drone spun a tale to make it sound like he had mastered both Golden Gun and Arc Blade. He was still very, very far from that. He had just managed to string together some luck to make sure he didn't die during the night.

"So now what?" Diana asked as she looked toward Briggs, waiting for their next order.

There was a moment of silence as they realized that even though they had stopped the Wolves for now, this House was still scattered all over the Cosmodrome, and they still posed a threat to the City.

"We've had our time to enjoy this small victory, but I foresee the Wolves attacking again in the future. The loss of the Silent Fang will surely make the Wolves think twice about their next move, so we have to fortify ourselves in the meantime." Ikora said, getting many nods of agreement. "Let's search the Cosmodrome once again, and hunt down these Wolves to ensure that they can't establish themselves here."

"Well there are our orders." Briggs said as he motioned to Ikora. "We can proceed with Tobias' training as well. I had my doubts at first, but it's clear to me now that he can be a real difference maker in the near future once he gets more experience under his belt."

"Sounds good to me." Tobias said eagerly.

A/N

I don't know how many people remember that first week when the House of Wolves expansion dropped in Destiny, but part of the campaign involved taking out a Captain at the Forgotten Shore named Drevis who was a STINKIN' TANK. It took a crap ton of pre-nerf Gjallarhorns to put down that thing, so Briggs' struggle against Drevis in this chapter was just a small reference back to the day I first met Drevis in the Cosmodrome. Good times :)

In other news, there's been a lot of speculation about 'Destiny 2' being delayed. There's a lot of opinions about that, but I'm behind that decision one hundred percent. If it means a finished product will be the base game this time, and they have a solid foundation to build on, then I'll gladly wait for it. I just hope they have something decent planned for the rest of 'Destiny 1' because that's a LONG time to wait. I don't want to set my expectations too high, but obviously they have to do something to keep players around for. All they really have to do is keep the game even remotely relevant for the time being.

For now though, thanks for reading! :D