Chapter 15

Last City

The Last City on Earth. The last remaining sanctuary for mankind. It had stood for centuries now, surviving various threats thanks to the efforts of the Guardians. But for the first time in nearly over two decades, the Last City was in peril.

Once again a new threat had risen that could potentially wipe out what remained of humanity and the Light. But this time, everyone was certain that the walls of the City would not stand. Not against this enemy.

"The Vanguard has issued a full scale evacuation of the City."

The news spread like wildfire. There wasn't a soul in the city that didn't know about the approaching threat. Everyone packed up what belongings they could take, and made their way to the airfields in the northern district of the city which were lined up with the cruisers that made up the fleet Dead Orbit had been preparing. There were hundreds, if not thousands of ships prepared that varied in sizes, filling them to their maximum capacity before they took off, beginning their journey to the Reef.

The Guardians had been divided, a portion of them acting as escorts for the transport that were leaving the City. Those who remained on Earth were assisting the citizens of the Last City as they prepared for their departure.

The streets of the Last City were barren now. Shops closed up for what would likely be the final time. Businesses closed down and homes were abandoned. Everything had lost its value since it was all being left for the Hive to pillage.

Tower

Hall of Guardians

"This isn't a favorable time for us to be making a trip to the Reef." Zavala noted as he studied the map that was being projected from the center of the table. The Earth and the Reef were as far apart as possible on opposite sides of the Sun.

Looking through the map now, Zavala's attention became focused on the man in white robes that had just entered the room. The Speaker.

"You all requested my presence." He said softly, receiving a small greeting from each of the three Vanguard Mentors.

"Well it was more those two than me." Cayde commented as he motioned to his counterparts. "I'm just here for the sake of being here."

"We have a few questions for you, if you don't mind." Ikora said after rolling her eyes at Cayde's comment.

"Not at all, ask freely." He replied as he joined them around their table.

"During the meeting yesterday, you mentioned that there's a way for you to pilot the Traveler. Can you enlighten us on how that's possible?" Ikora asked as she looked at him intently.

"Ah, I had a feeling that you would be curious about that Ikora." The Speaker said with an unseen grin on his face. "During the Golden Age, there was a special group of people that studied the Traveler…intensely. I was one of them. We learned many secrets about the Traveler, but just like the Traveler, most of those people perished in the Collapse."

The Speaker took a moment to take in deep breath, looking down sorrowfully. He could recall his close associates, all of whom he missed dearly.

"We discovered the Traveler's ability to alter its physical form." The Speaker went on.

"So it has more forms that what we've seen?" Ikora inquired.

"Many more. But sadly, those may never be seen again with the Traveler in its current state."

"So then, how are you capable of piloting it then?" Zavala jumped in.

"The Traveler was once capable of becoming a ship to travel through the depths of space. While I cannot change it to that form, I'm more than capable of using my own strength to direct the Traveler to the Reef." The Speaker explained.

"Use your own strength?" Ikora repeated, furrowing her brow. How much strength did the Speaker possess that he could move the Traveler?

"Yes, my willpower." The Speaker replied. "As I said, I was among those that studied the Traveler deeply. Each of us established a connection with it, which will allow me to direct it in this state."

"So with you at the helm, we can get the Traveler off world. Excellent." Zavala noted with a nod of approval.

"Something to keep in mind though, with just more power alone, reaching light speed will be impossible. Not only that, but I will have to stop in order to rest as well. If I strain myself I'll run the risk of losing control and leaving the Traveler adrift in space." The Speaker explained.

"You can't reach light speed." Zavala said to himself.

"I know this will length our journey, but I don't have any other options." The Speaker stated.

"I see. We're looking at months in space if you're not traveling at light speed." Zavala said. "We'll arrange for a portion of Guardians to escort you and the Traveler to the Reef."

The Speaker gave him a nod of thanks for this.

"When do you plan on leaving?" Cayde asked curiously.

"In two days. There is still information in the City's archives that must be preserved. Once I'm done collecting it, I will depart." The Speaker explained.

"Alright, just give us the word. We'll start putting together a group to be your body guards in the meantime."

Plaza

Tobias stood alone at the edge of the plaza, resting his arms on the banister as he looked out at the grand city below. He didn't even have a chance to develop any sort of attachment to it. There were all sorts of things he had wanted to do, places to visit, people to meet, but now there was no time. And there wouldn't be an opportunity after that. The number of citizens in the city were rapidly dwindling as the massive Dead Orbit fleet took off, making their way to the Reef.

The Last City had been humanity's last stand on Earth, but in the face of certain doom, they had no choice but to abandon it.

Tobias shut his eyes for a moment.

Drifting into his memories, he could recall looking up at a large television monitor amongst a large group of people, listening intently to an emergency news report. The headline below the anchor read 'Armageddon'. Despite the wealth of experience this news anchor had, he couldn't put up a front in front of the cameras. He was clearly distraught as he took a deep breath.

"Roughly half of the fleet has broken orbit, but millions on the eastern hemisphere are still waiting for an opportunity to board a ship to escape this monster." The onsite reporter declared as their segment game to an end. "Back to you in the studio."

"…Unfortunately, we've lost contact with, any studio in America. This was the last bit of footage we salvaged from a crew in New York before it was destroyed." He said, motioning to the monitor behind him.

It was shaky video, as if it was captured by a hand held device. The cameraman's hands were clearly trembling as he looked over the edge of the rooftop he stood on. Further down the city block, there was an enormous winged creature wielding a cleaver, swinging its weapons through the tall skyscrapers of New York City. Anything and everything in its path was slaughtered, and there was nothing that anyone could do about this monster.

Tobias recognized this being though. It was Oryx.

"No one has ever seen anything like that thing down there. There's no way to stop it." The cameraman muttered as he turned around, looking toward the skies where numerous aircrafts were launching an attack on Oryx.

In response though, Oryx hurled his cleaver at the approaching attackers, ripping through a majority of them with one fell swoop. Most of aircrafts exploded instantly, but those were the lucky ones. The remaining ones had a few moments to watch as they fell to their doom.

"Look out!" A shrill voice screamed as their attention was drawn to the planes that had bene it. It was heading straight toward them, leaving a trail of thick black smoke.

The anchor cringed at the sound of the impact before the video came to an abrupt end. The focus then shifted back the studio where the anchor spent a moment chewing on his lower lip. Then he shook his head a bit, refocusing himself.

"New York City was the last known location of this monster. We have yet to determine where it came from, or why it's here. All efforts to communicate with it have failed, and we have no means of stopping it. The United Nations has ordered a full scale evacuation of the planet in response."

"Tobias?"

Tobias perked up as he pulled from his thoughts. Turning, he discovered that Diana had been standing next to him, giving him a curious glance.

"Are you okay?" She added as he blinked a few times.

"Yeah…yeah." He said a second time, reassuring himself that he was alright. "I was just…remembering something."

"Really? What was it?" She asked as she leaned against the banister as well, eager to hear about it.

"I was looking at a news report, during the Collapse. Oryx was there, and he was just…destroying everything." Tobias explained as he shook his head. "We couldn't do anything about him. And now, it's like I'm living that all over again."

Diana opened her mouth a bit to speak, but she quickly realized that she didn't have any idea what to tell him. She had some vague ideas of what Oryx was capable of, but Tobias had actually survived the wrath of this Hive god once before. She could imagine what Tobias was going through right now knowing that he have to do this all over again.

"Things are going to be different this time." Diana said to him, receiving a nod.

"I think so too. Last time Oryx was here, I was powerless. I couldn't do jack, but this time I'm going to make a difference." He stated as he returned his gaze to the city. All of those people down there were sacrifices their homes, their possessions, and their livelihood, just to survive. He wouldn't let all of this go to waste.

"That's the right idea Tobias. We just have to keep our heads up and everything will turn out alright." Dian said as she gave his shoulder a tap. Tobias gave her a small smile in return.

"So just out question, what brings you here?" Tobias asked her. As far as he knew, most of the Guardians were rummaging through their vaults, picking out any weapons they would need since it had already been declared that they would lose access to anything in there once the Tower was gone. Tobias didn't have much, so he was already set, although he found it amusing to see a dozens of Guardians crowded around the Vaults in the plaza as they grabbed what they could.

"I'm not really a hoarder like the rest of them." Diana replied, getting a chuckle from her teammate. "I just came to give you a heads up that we have orders from Zavala. We've been added to the group that will be escorting the Traveler to the Reef."

"Good to know." Tobias said as he now focused on the sphere that hovered above the Last City. He had heard that anyone involved in escorting the Traveler was in for a long trip. This could very well be the time he needed to train some more, especially with Oryx now being a threat to their system.

It had been two full days since the evacuation had been announced, and everything had been proceeding smoothly. But in the middle of the night, and unsettling sight appeared.

"Is that…what I think it is?" A Warlock asked as she pointed up at the Moon. The satellite that orbited the Earth shined beautifully in the dark skies, but there was something in front of it. It looked like nothing more than a box, but it was actually blocking a fair portion of the Moon from their sight. It was huge!

Guardians began to gather in the plaza as the commotion picked up. Many of them began use their helmets to take a closer look at this mysterious object since the moonlight made it featureless to the naked eye.

"The Dreadnaught." A Hunter whispered, sending chills down their spines.

"Already?!"

"But the Traveler hasn't even left yet."

"And we still have a few transports that haven't left either."

The Tower was put on red alert as word spread quickly. The Dreadnaught had arrived at Earth's Moon, which could only mean that a battle was approaching. Even the Speaker in his private quarters heard the news, going over to the window to see for himself.

"Ghost, create an open channel for me." The Speaker requested to his small companion. The Guardians were becoming restless just by the very presence of the Dreadnaught. "Guardians, at ease!"

Hearing the Speaker call out to them, the Guardians became silent as they waited for his guidance.

"It is more clear than every that our threat of Oryx is close. We haven't got much time, so we must band together now because we can face an attack at any moment. Go down into the city, find anyone who hasn't left yet and get them out of here. We will not let a soul fall into Oryx's clutches." The Speaker declared. "At sunrise, the Traveler will depart from the Last City."

Southern Residential District

"Are you guys getting any readings?" Diana asked as she stood on the roof of one of the man skyscrapers. Her teammates were down below, dashing through the streets as they performed one final sweep of the city. There thousands of apartments in just this small area, but all of them were empty.

"I'm not getting anything." Tobias called out.

"Yeah, same here." Niko added.

"I think we're clear down here." Carmen stated, getting a nod from Diana.

"I was thinking the same thing." Diana said as she glanced up at the horizon. The skies were lighting up as the sun rose up. It was almost time to go.

"We've still got a small piece to go." Tobias pointed out as he dashed into the last area they had to check.

"Let's move then!" Carmen declared anxiously.

Ever since the Dreadnaught had appeared beside the Moon, all of the Guardians could feel the intense pressure being exerted from that ship. They recognized it as the weight of the Darkness. It was as if Oryx was staring right at them, waiting to strike them down.

The sooner they finished this sweep of the city, the sooner they could get off world, and away from Oryx.

"Hey Diana, any word of when the Traveler is taking off?" Tobias asked her, but he received no response. "Diana?"

"Guys…look up." She said softly.

"Oh my god, what the hell is that!?" Niko exclaimed. He had gone out one of the rooftops to the seen the sunrise for himself but he was now frozen as he stared at something otherworldly.

There were cracks in the sky! Traveling around the perimeter of the city, Niko had to spin around with the with his heart racing as the cracks began to grow. But soon enough his eyes became settled on a sport where it appeared as though a pair of hands had slipped through the cracks, taking a hold of them. The Hunter's eyes widened as a deafening roar resounded through the city. Then the two hands ripped the cracks a part, revealing the dark void that had been concealed within them.

The same monotone enemies that they had fought within Earth's Moon came rain down from the skies above by the thousands, landing on the walls of the City. Niko and Diana watched in horror as they descended down into the city at break neck pace, clearly racing toward the Traveler.

"Guys, we have to move…now!" Diana shouted as she looked around. The Taken were coming from every direction, charging for the center of their great metropolis.

Calling for his sniper, Niko raised his weapon and looked down the scope at the approaching horde. It was like a tidal wave of them that was completely unaffected as he picked off a few of them. Their numbers were truly unlimited.

"Yeah, this is going to get hairy!" Niko called out.

"We should get back to the Traveler. The Speaker has gotta be taking off any second now!" Carmen said, getting a nod of agreement from Niko and Diana.

"Hold on, I'm detecting two life forces nearby." Tobias' Ghost interjected as it marked their location on Tobias' interface.

"We will not let a soul fall into Oryx's clutches."

"We have to save them." Tobias stated as he looked up at the towering building they were inside of. "Ghost, what floor are they one."

"The thirty first." It replied as Tobias quickly spotted his target. A small ledge at least halfway up the building.

"Alright Tobias, but you have to move fast. We have no time as it is." Diana said as she drew a scout rifle, beginning to pick off the Taken as well.

"You don't have to tell me twice." Tobias replied as he began to funnel the Light into his legs. Feeling his weight all by disappear, Tobias leaped into the air, going up a considerable distance before his rise came to a stop. "Almost."

Crossing his arms in front of his chest, Tobias then opened a seam into the Void, allowing him to Blink upward several more floors placing exactly where he wanted to be. Reaching out with both hands, Tobias grabbed onto the small ledge and hoisted himself up, having just enough room to stand on his feet.

"Excellent Tobias, you made it to the twenty seventh floor." His Ghost noted as Tobias no looked through the window he was leaning against. He then Blinked into the building now, a smirk on his face at how well he was able to use this ability now.

Now standing within one of the apartments, Tobias charged out the front door, breaking it down with ease as he searched for a stairwell. His Ghost quickly located one, feeding it to his interface which led him straight to it. Racing up the staircase, Tobias made it to his destination with no time to spare.

"Tobias, we're getting overrun down here!" Carmen called out.

"I'm almost there!" He replied as he rounded a corner.

Hearing a shriek, Tobias quickly grabbed his Proxima, readying the weapon as he arrived at the door he was looking for. Raising one leg, Tobias kicked down the door and raised his weapon as he looked into the apartment. His eyes darted around the room, assessing the situation.

There was a woman huddled into the corner of the room, using her own body was a shield to hid a small boy from a trio of Taken Acolytes that surrounded them. Terror was written all over her face as she stared at these creations, but she had already steeled her resolve to protect her son above everything else. The Acolytes raised their arms, aiming their Shredders at her with the clear intention to main both of them. All the woman could do was shut her eyes as she drew what she assumed to be her final breath.

But three gun shots rang out, causing the Acolytes to screech before they faded out of existence.

"Alright guys, I found the civilians." Tobias stated as the woman opened her eyes, amazed as if someone had answered her prayers. They had been rescued.

"The Speaker is going through his final prep before takeoff. The Vanguard has set up a barrier around the Traveler as a last line of defense to buy the Speaker some extra time." Diana explained, getting nod from Tobias.

"Okay, I'll meet you guys there." He replied before turning his attention to the pair of people he had saved.

"Thank you!" The woman exclaimed with tears in her eyes as she and her son rushed over to Tobias.

"We don't have any time. I have to get the two of you out here." Tobias said. "Ghost, we need a transmat to the Tower."

"I hate to say it but that's not going to happen. The Taken have already begun attacking the Tower." His Ghost explained.

"Great." Tobias muttered as he exhaled.

"Our ship is on standby outside the city though. I can open a transmat to it." His Ghost suggested, getting a nod from Tobias.

"That'll work. I'll head for the Tower after that." Tobias stated before he turned to the pair. "Ma'am, I'm going to send you and your son to my team's ship. You'll be safe there for the time being."

Almost every Guardian that was present in the Last City had gathered together beneath the being that had granted them their powers.

The Traveler.

The Taken were flooding into the Last City, surrounding the Guardians as they prepared to eliminate what remained of the Light. This was their final stand!

"We need to establish our perimeter!" Zavala commanded as Defender Titans began to place their Ward of Dawns on the streets creating a wall around the Traveler. "We can't let them get any further than this point!"

"Here they come Guardians." Cayde noted from the rooftop he stood on, staring the sea of enemies racing toward them.

"Open fire!" Zavala shouted. The Guardians began to step out of the bubbles, pulling on the triggers of their weapons to bathe the Taken with bullets, but despite this these creatures pressed forward.

"Gunfire alone isn't going to stop these things." Ikora noted as she lowered the pulse rifle she held. "Guardians, once they're in range, unleash everything you've got on them. Hold nothing back! We're going to need all the Orbs we can get!"

"You heard the orders, let's show them what we're made of!" A Titan shouted as he punched his palm which became lit with Arc Light.

Gunslingers and Voidwalkers didn't hesitate to begin using their abilities, pelting the Taken with their long range attacks which put a few holes in their forces, but they still continued to advance. Approaching the Guardians, the battle turned into pure chaos as Strikers and Bladancers became involved in the fight, shredding through the Taken with their vicious onslaught. But even with this near endless supply of Orbs to use their abilities, the Guardians still found themselves being overwhelmed by the number of opponents. Slowly they were being pushed back.

"We just need to hold out for a few more minutes!" Zavala shouted, trying to rally those around him, but he could see that the tide of the battle was shifting in favor of the Taken. They were being beaten back, something that hadn't happened to the Guardians in quite a while now.

"Zavala, I think it's time." Cayde said through the private channel between himself and the Vanguard Mentors. Dropping down behind the two Mentors who had been fighting side by side, the three of them backed up to put some distance between themselves and the battle.

"It's not going to change the outcome of this battle." Zavala replied as he and Ikora looked toward Cayde.

"They're getting hammered right now. If we leave this battle running with our tails between our legs, none of them are going to want to come back here." Cayde reasoned, getting a short nod from Ikora.

"He's right. At the very least we need to raise morale for our next encounter." Ikora added, earning a sigh from Zavala as he evaluated the situation.

The defense line that their Defenders had made earlier had been broken, and the Guardians were steadily retreating to the Traveler. It was clear that beside the impressive numbers that the Taken forces had, they were by far the toughest opponents that any of the Guardians had fought before.

"We have no choice do we?" Zavala said, receiving a nod from the two of them. "Alright then. We'll discuss the repercussions of this later."

"Okeydokey let me start off then." Cayde said as he raised one hand, watching as a purple aura enveloped it. Closing up his finger up as if to grasp something, the Void Light that Cayde held took shape, becoming a lengthy bow. As the string finished forming, Cayde gave it a small tug to test its strength, giving it a nod of approval. Then the fingertips of his remaining hand became ignited as well with Void Light which he touched the rest with, causing an arrow to form as he pulled the bow string back. Taking aim, Cayde shut one eye as he spotted an opening through the Guardians that stood in front of him. Releasing his hold on the string, the arrow rocketed off, whizzing past the Guardians who jumped in surprise from the unexpected attack.

All of them seemed to freeze as they watched the arrow claim the life of a single Taken Acolyte which left back a small swirling vortex. From this small anomaly, numerous fiery ropes sprung forth, latching onto the enemies that surrounded them. Any Guardian who had failed to notice the arrow definitely caught sight of the Tether that had suppressed a portion of the Taken. They had never seen anything like this.

Turning around, the Guardians found the Mentors standing behind them, their eyes being drawn to Cayde as he lowered the Void Bow that he held.

"Hah!" Ikora gave a shout as she raised her hands, summoning all of the Arc Light that she could. A bolt of lightning seemed to drop down onto her, blinding all of them for a moment, but once they could see the Warlock Vanguard, everyone was in awe. She hovered just above the ground, electricity crackling around her as it provided her with a distinct blue shielding.

"Rah!" Zavala closed both his hands into fists as a sphere of flames formed in front of him. With one hand, Zavala reached into the flames, taking a hold of a grab handle which he slowly pulled out fire, eventually removing a sizeable flaming hammer from it. Zavala then swung it through the air, igniting his entire body in flames before he looked at his fellow Mentors. "Let's do this."

Ikora and Zavala charged forward, racing past the Guardians that were startled by what they were witnessing. Ikora raised her hands, releasing numerous bolts of lightning that chained from one enemy to the next, obliterating dozens of Taken at a time. Zavala lunged into the enemies, putting his shoulder out as he plowed deep into the Taken forces. He then threw his hammer at the ground, lighting the ground beneath him on fire which became the spot that he anchored himself to.

Despite just throwing his hammer which burst on contact with the ground, another hammer formed in his hand almost immediately replacing what he had lost. Zavala then hurled it into the crowd of Taken that surrounded him, setting the street ablaze. Cadye quickly notched another arrow into his bow and fired it at Zavala to suppress the enemies as they began to focus on the Titan Vanguard.

"Come on Guardians, I making this easy for ya'll. It's nothing but target practice!" Cayde shouted, reminding the Guardians that this was still a battlefield. They all began to rally behind the Vanguard Mentors, supporting them as best they could, but this little to change the flow of the battle.

On the opposite end of the battle, Undaunted stood at the front lines, fighting off the Taken alongside numerous other Guardians.

"Niko, watch your flank!" Diana called out as a trio of Taken Thrall pounced at the Hunter who had been preoccupied with a Taken Knight. Fortunately, Zeke came to his rescue using Shoulder Charge, blasting away all three of the small beings with his large body.

"Damn, thanks man!" Niko said upon realizing that it was Zeke. "Fireteam gecko, right?"

"Salamander!" Zeke roared at the Hunter who chuckled in response.

"Guys, there's no time for that now!" Diana snapped at the two of them as she kicked away a Taken Acolyte before firing upon it with her fusion rifle.

"Whoa, check that out." Carmen said as she pointed to a Taken Vandal which had summoned a protective dome to shield itself and its allies. A number of the Taken began to gather in this bubble, much to Zeke's irritation as he looked at it.

"Do you really think you can copy our abilities?!" Zeke roared as he charged into the fray, his body become engulfed in Arc Light. Entering the bubble, Zeke threw himself at the ground, releasing and outburst of Arc Light which destroyed all of the surrounding Taken both inside and outside of the bubble. "Your fake crap is nothing compared to the real thing!"

"Zeke, you overextended!" Axel called out, causing the Titan to look around. There was nothing but Taken around him now.

"I got him!" Sheryl said as she came through with Arc Blade activated, clearing a pathway for Zeke to return to them.

"We're doing good right now!" Diana called out. "We just have to hold our ground for a little bit longer!"

Just then, a shockwave was sent out from the Traveler, causing most of the Guardians to look back as it began to rise. Heavy gusts of winds traveled out, battering the Guardian, but they all cheered in response as their great escape began.

"What's the situation in the Tower?!" Zavala demanded over the comms.

"The evacuation is complete but…the Tower has fallen."

"That's alright. Our mission is a success." Zavala declared. "Good work today Guardians, we'll live to fight another day."

"Your Ghost should have been prepping transmats to your ships. You're clear to leave the area Guardians!" Cayde shouted, and with that, the Guardians began to disappear from the battlefield.

Diana looked to her left, seeing fireteam Salamander disappear as they were warped to their jumpship. The number of Guardians quickly fell to zero as all of them abandoned the battlefield, everyone but Undaunted.

"Ghost, what's taking so long!?" Diana shouted as she, Niko and Carmen darted into a building for cover.

"Did you forget, you loaned out your ship to help with the escorts two days ago!" Her Ghost hollered in response.

"Shoot, who prepped our transmat then?" Diana asked as she looked at the pair of Hunters with her. Both of them looked at each other, causing Diana to deadpan. "TOBIAS~!"

"Sheesh, what are you screaming so loud for?" He asked in response as the three of them now stood within the cabin of Tobias' jumpship.

"Whoa, wait, when did you-?" Carmen exclaimed as she looked around. The three of them had been teleported to the cabin of Tobias' jumpship.

"I wasn't sure if any of you had prepped for this, so I had my Ghost set one up just in case earlier this morning." Tobias explained with a grin as Niko looked down the ramp that led out of the ship. Quietly heading down on his own, the rest of the team followed him out. The ship had been waiting for them on of the tall mountains to the north of the Last City. They could see the whole metropolis from here.

There was a smoke and flames everywhere. Their once great home was now being trampled upon by the Taken.

Approaching one of the many trees that had concealed their ship from sight, Niko unsheathed one of his tanto blades and swung out at the trunk of the tree. Niko then stepped away from the tree trunk, allowing the others to see what he had done. Etched into the bark of the tree was three letters.

"F-T-U?" Carmen said in confusion as she looked up at Niko.

"Fire-team Undaunted." He replied as he looked back at the Last City. "We'll be back."

All four of them took one last look at the Last City, burning the sight into their minds. Oryx would pay a hefty price for this.

It wasn't long before all of the Guardian had broken out of Earth's orbit and began their journey to the Reef. It was quite a sight to see the Traveler in motion, something that mankind hadn't seen since the Golden Age.

The last flagship of the Dead Orbit fleet which traveled alongside the Traveler. It was well stocked with supplies for the long journey ahead of them, and the Vanguard quickly declared that the Guardians could take up residence within the flagship. Landing their jumpship within one of the many of hangers of the flagship, Tobias and Diana now stood watching as the woman and her son came out of the jumpship. She spoke softly to her son who looking around with wide eyes at his new surroundings.

"Everything's okay now sweetie." She said to him as she kneeled down beside him, embracing him. He was still shaking, or that could have been here. She really couldn't tell. After all of the chaos she had been through today, she couldn't believe that she was actually alive. "We're alright…we're alright."

The two of them stood together for a while, clearly needing a moment to put themselves together. Finally though, she released her son and straightened up, motioning for him to follow her as she approached Tobias.

Watching as she neared them, Tobias was mesmerized by this woman. She was beautiful, although her expression didn't do her any justice. She was obviously still shaken from the events of today.

"I can't thank you enough for saving us." She began, extending a hand toward Tobias. Accepting her small gesture, Tobias could feel her hand trembling. He then looked up at her face, taking a moment to look into her amber eyes. They were unfocused. Her head must have been the clouds as she tried to figure out what she and her son would do from here. Tobias turned her hand upward, and placed his remaining hand on top of it, giving it a soft rub as he gained her full attention.

"Don't worry miss, you'll be alright with us." Tobias assured her. There was a moment of silence as her eyes. They looked so familiar though…almost like he knew them well.

"Thank you…you know, I haven't even introduced myself. My name is Trisha, and this is my son Cody." She said, looking down at her son who had approached Tobias, looking up at him with his big eyes.

"Thanks for saving us mister." He said with a soft voice. He was small, no older than three or four years old, barely reaching Tobias' knees.

"It's what I'm here for buddy." Tobias replied before glancing at Trisha. She was smiling now as she watched her son. Just knowing that he was safe again had put her heart at ease. And Tobias froze at the sight of her now, unable to look away. It was a soft smile, but Tobias felt his heart flutter at the sight of it. Fortunately, Trisha didn't notice him staring, but Diana was quick to pick up on it. Giving him a soft nudge with her elbow, Tobias snapped his head to the side to look at her.

"Stop gawking." She mouthed to him, causing Tobias to snort in response. Noticing the two of them moving again, Tobias watched as Cody went over the exit of the hanger which was sealed by a force field. Standing there, he could see the Earth as it grew smaller in the distance.

"Mommy, when are we going back home?" He asked her as she joined him.

"I don't know sweetie. That's not for me to decide at the moment." She replied as she kneeled down next to him.

"Are we leaving because of the monsters?"

"That's…" Trisha trailed off, trying to determine what was the right answer.

"True." Tobias stated, finishing her sentence as he stood beside them now. "But don't you worry; we have heroes that are going to take care of everything."

Cody looked up at him in awe, receiving a grin from Tobias.

"Are we going to go back soon?" Cody asked Tobias.

"Soon? I'm not really sure. But I can promise you that we will go back home." Tobias said to him. As Tobias spoke to Cody, Trisha noticed Diana trying to get Tobias' attention, but he paid no mind to his teammate.

"I'm sure you've got some kind of official business to get too so we won't hold you up." Trisha said, nodding toward Diana.

"Evil never rests." Tobias said, giving them a two fingered salute before heading back to Diana.

"Are you okay mommy?" Cody asked Trisha as he looked up at her.

"I'm alright. But you know what would make me feel better? Why don't you play a song for me?" She suggested, causing Cody to smile as he set down the small box that he had been carrying.

Within this small case was a flute which was separated, but Cody expertly snapped the instrument together. Once it was ready, he brought the mouthpiece to his lips and began to play a tune for his mother who began to sway back and forth in response to the song.

Hearing the song, Tobias looked back at the two of them and he frozen in place, his chest becoming tight.

Standing in front of him a young dark skinned boy, no older than six. In his hands was a flute that he was blowing into delightfully, playing a tune for Tobias.

It was then Tobias realized that he was seated on a couch, leaning back comfortably with someone beside him. A beautiful woman who was beaming with pride as the boy played for them. Tobias' arm was around her as she rested her head on his shoulder.

The boy continued to play a tune that Tobias seemed to know by heart as he waved his free hand in sync with the music. He knew this song. He had heard this boy play it daily, practicing hard for…something.

And he and this woman were supporting him all the way. He loved both of them so much and yet…

The scene shattered like broken glass.

"Tobias, what's the matter?" Diana asked him, placing a hand on his shoulder. Tears were slowly traveling down his cheeks as he stared at Trisha and Cody.

"I…had a wife and…a son." He noted softly. "And I lost them."

Diana raised her eyebrows at the news.

"I don't know what-I don't what happened them." He continued, but he was getting choked up on his own words. His beloved wife and son. He couldn't even remember their names. Were they even alive? Damn it, what were their names?!

A/N

One of the greatest 'what if's' in Destiny is, what if the Tower or the Last City was attacked and destroyed in the process. And I just couldn't resist building on it. I've had all sorts of discussions with my clan mates as well as random people I've met playing the game, and everyone had their own kind of cents about how it would happen. A lot of people believe that it would be the Cabal that would launch this attack on the city, others thought that the Fallen would eventually muster up another force to attack like its Twilight Gap again.

Either way, everyone agreed that the coolest aspect of this would be that if we failed, we should lose access to the Tower. So we'd have to go to other social spaces to meet with vendors, get bounties and check the vault and what now. Could imagine if something like this ever took place in game? That would be outstanding and I really hope this is something that Bungie in planning in the future. But that's enough of my two cents since I'm just sitting her waiting for Rise of Iron. So until we meet again, be good everyone!