Tia's POV

"That was the last Knight… for now," Lazarus bemoans.

"Ohh come on Laz, today was a good day," I chide my ghost, "Besides, we got a good haul and, we get to go home for a bit."

"Thank the light for that," Laz cheers, "Dealing with the hive always makes me feel dirty and disgusting." He complains.

"Well, I have first dibs for a long shower." I state matter of factly and then wink at Laz to let him know I was teasing.

"Hardy har har.. just get in the ship already." Lazarus grumbles.

"Yes, Mr. Smelly Shell right away sir." I laugh as I board our ship.

I check our systems and bring our engines online for take-off.

Laz grumbles irritably over my head. He just needs a bath and some time with his Ghost buddies.

I engage the ship's thrusters and we are off like a shot speeding low near the ground. I speed faster headed towards the mountain side. As I approach Laz starts panicking. I grin and at the last second, I pull up quickly traveling up the side of a steep cliff.

"WOOOOOOOO HOOOOOOOO!" I happily exclaim.

After I feel we have soared high enough I level the ship out in the direction of home.

I glance at Laz with a big grin on my face which only gets bigger after I see the look of disapproval my ghost is leveling at me. "What? I am excited to get home. A little extra adrenaline every now and then won't hurt." I wink at my disgruntled pal and tap his shell. "Now relax my little darling and stop glaring so, otherwise you will get wrinkles in that pretty shell of yours." Laz lets out a small chuckle when I wink at him.

"I love you, Tia." he says as he presses his shell to my cheek.

"And I love you, Lazarus." I hug him to my cheek for a moment then turn back to the ship's controls.

"Sorry for teasing you so much today my little darling, I have never been this excited to get home before. Do you forgive me?" I apologize to my friend because I know I have been a bit extra in the happy department today.

"I will forgive you if you slow the ship down some. I am just as eager to get home as you are but I do want to get there in one piece." Laz reasons.

"Okay buddy, I'll slow us down but only because it is you." Laz bumps my cheek again and settles himself in my hood.

Zavala POV

Command Center

I am rechecking all of our security feeds, and nothing is adding up. I grip my monitor and sigh. Why today of all days.

"Ikora if you tell me this is all a practical joke. Well, it kills me to say it, but I- I'd be really impressed."

"Impressing you Cayde, will be the easiest thing I do all day." Ikora responds from her station.

"Let's get serious people." I state to end their banter.

"Zavala!" Cayde-6 starts, "This is my serious face. Can't you tell?" Cayde sasses.

I ignore him for the time being and turn my attention to Ikora. "Ikora, what have you got?"

She glances at her own monitor for a moment, "Someone or something has sabotaged our skyline defense systems."

"And comms have been spotty for the last few hours." Cayde adds by rechecking his screen, "Every sensor beyond the wall has gone dark."

"Hmm, maybe it's just the storm." I turn toward the window glancing at the storm clouds beyond. "Maybe it's…" I turn back to Ikora, "What are the sat feeds telling us?"

Ikora studies the signals, "Nothing." she states.

"Well, that's good right?" Cayde asks.

"No!" She says more urgently, "I mean they are not there." she looks up from her screen eyes wild and cries out alarmed, "There are no satellites!"

"And that's not good." Cayde mumbles behind me.

I approach the glass wall that is the command center window, examining the raging storm clouds more thoroughly, looking for an answer or even a hint as to what could be interfering with our sensors. Then lighting strikes and I see them, hundreds of Cabal ships, emerging from the cover of the raging thunder clouds.

There is no time to plan, only act. "BATTLE STATIONS!" I order over my shoulder. I turn back to look beyond the glass once more thousands of missiles are being fired from the ships. Shit! "EVERYONE, ON ME! NOW!"

I focus my light to protect my comrades and push it outwards making a large defensive dome around us. Not even a full moment later the missiles strike hard and unforgiving. I grit my teeth as I hear the screams and yells of innocent people falling to the barrage striking our home.

Tia POV

We have been cruising through the skies for some time now. I had to slow our jets even more because Laz was getting nervous about the speed. I grinned at my small companion. He is a jittery little maniac at times, but he is my jittery little maniac.

I raise comms "Tower approach, this is city hawk seven two three, requesting clearance for landing."

I wait a moment and glance at Laz.

"Repeat tower approach, this is city hawk seven two three, requesting clearance for landing."

Laz and I share a look. "Try the emergency frequencies Laz then try the comms again."

We are approaching the mountains and I see what looks like a gnarly storm over the city. Maybe the storm is interfering with the communications relays.

"Still nothing." Lazarus informs. He looks at the storm seeming contemplative and whips back around.

"You know how I said you fly too fast?" he asks apprehensively. I nod my head in the affirmative.

"Forget that, fly fast." He commands with a rare air of seriousness.

The feeling of foreboding anxiety radiating from Lazarus is almost tangible. So much so I don't even tease him about going fast as I bring our ship to near full speed.

We cut through the sky, over the mountains, and threw the storm like a bolt of lightning. Nothing could have prepared us for the sight that greeted us as we thundered out of the raging storm cloud.

"The city…" Laz gasps and I grip the control wheel and get us closer.

Cabal ships float in every direction, pockets of fiery infernos light the last city, and the traveler… I grit my teeth wishing for the up-teenth time that my ship was equipped for battle.

"There Tia, land down there. Quickly." Lazarus urges.

I land our ship and transmat onto the platform with my hand cannon at the ready.

"Our home..the tower… all of it destr- ." Laz begins until I cut him off.

"Enough, get your game face on Lazarus, let's find our friends and take out the Cabal invaders." I order before jogging down a hallway.

I move quickly, double checking my ammo reserves and I make my way down the empty corridor.

I don't have much but I'll make do.

I come to the end of the corridor and the broken wall in front of me explodes and before the dust has time to settle there are three dead legionaries under my feet. I run harder, through fire and flames, I kill more cabal legionaries.

My communicator crackles "This is Commander Zavala, all civilians report to evac points. Guardians rendezvous at the main plaza. Our city will not fall."

I pull my knife from where I buried it in a cabal soldier's neck. I breathe a sigh of relief.

Now there is a voice I have been aching to hear for weeks.

A door ahead of me is being pried open. I holster my knife and ready my hand cannon.

The doors begin to creek open, and I slide the muzzle of my gun into the crack preparing to fire. The Doors slide apart completely.

"Hey, hey! Watch where you point that thing! Excuse me for a moment." Cayde-6 in all his flaming glory pops three legionaries with his famed golden gun.

"Fancy seein you here as you can see, we are a little busy and I got a big baddy to kill so, drinks later? On me?" He winks and transmats out.

"He never changes." Laz says from beside my ear.

"Nope, same ole Cayde."

I enter the room Cayde was in and follow the corridor on my right to a hallway full of civilians. As I make my way down the hall of civilians someone jumps on my back.

"TIA!" Thank goodness it is so good to see you. I look over my shoulder and see Hatti is the weight on my back and I chuckle.

"Hello Hatti." I smile as she climbs off my back, and I hug her and notice Jotun standing behind her.

"I am on my way to the plaza to help." I inform them. Hatti gives me a knowing look and Jotun steps forward.

"I'll go with you Tia." Jotun volunteers.

"Tia! Over here!" I turn and see Shaxx at the end of the hall.

I move in his direction and Hatti and Jotun follow.

"Tia you've got to get to the plaza." He informs me as we approach, "Follow the path from my armory; It will lead you through the hanger to the plaza. "He grabs one side of the doors and pulls it back. "Hurry."

"Hatti you stay here and assist Shaxx; Jotun and I will move ahead." I direct. She nods her head in the affirmative

Jotun and I enter the armory, "Kick some ass love bugs." Hatti calls blowing a kiss as Shaxx slowly closes the door.

"So should we grab a gun while we are here?" Jotun asks.

"Yeah, and some ammo." I answer as I grab an auto rifle from a nearby shelf.

I grab a couple extra magazines of ammo and slide them to my ammo pouch.

I close my eyes to center myself while Jotun opens the door. Alright let's go kick some ass.

Jotun and I power forward down the stairs to the armory's back door where we see cabal trying to enter. Jotun throws a grenade and I fire off two shots of my hand cannon. "They dropped like flies." Jotun jokes.

We sprint over the cabal's bodies through fire rubble and smoke-filled corridors to the back entrance of the hangar.

The tower's automated intercom system sounds overhead as we traverse hallways, the words drowned out by our gun fire as we take out three more cabal.

In a hall with a large glass window, we see our sentries falling. Jotun and I share a look but before either of us can say a word there are more cabal firing at us from the end of the hall. I throw a grenade and take out two of them before plunging my knife into the head of the next. Jotun stands at the doorway ready to continue while I retrieve my blade.

"Onward." I grunt and step through the door.

All I wanted to do is take a nice hot shower.

I sigh and check my ammo.

Damn.

"We are just about there, hopefully there won't be any more obstacles at this point." Jotun states. I nearly burst out laughing as a huge transport vessel lands in front of Jotun knocking him back.

"Why do I even try?" Jotun complains dramatically as the vessel opens revealing more Cabal invaders.

I nod at Jotun and charge my blades with arc energy. I grin as I set loose gutting and tearing through the armor and flesh of the enemy. More pods land before us and Jotun leaps ahead of a group only to crash down in the middle of them leaving a massive ring of arc energy in his wake. He stands and punches a cabal he notices still standing.

"So, we got 'em all now?" I ask with a grin.

Jotun shoves my arm and chuckles. "Alright, let's keep going, we are almost to your loverboy now." He winks and begins scaling the scaffolding and broken stairs.

I let out a laugh and follow him to my Titan.

Zavala POV

I've already lost count of the bodies littered all over the Plaza floor, but the cabal keeps coming.

Another drop pod crashes and shatters, dumping more cabal legionaries. I lift my gun to fire and before I pull the trigger they are already dropping like flies. Out of the smoke emerges a goddess, my goddess.

From the corner of my eye is a flicker of light and I gaze in that direction, my eyes widen. I yell, "Incoming! Fall back to my shield!"

Arms stretched wide I fling my light out creating a protective bubble. My eyes are closed but I feel my goddess and her companion are with me and I grit my teeth against the barrage of missiles that strike my barrier."

I feel small hands grip the sides of my chest plate and yank me behind the cover of a fallen pillar. Hands cover my cheeks and I release a breath I didn't realize I was holding. "Zavala."

I kiss her palm and open my eyes to her worried expression. "I'm fine." I kiss her open palm again and heft my gun back up firing on a cabal that was thumping up the stairs behind her.

"Head in the game, sir." Jotun smirks. "What's the plan?"

I nod to him, "We will hold this line until the last civilian is safely away!" I yell over the sound of more pods striking concrete.

Tia whips out two blades ark spilling from her fingers and charges into the fray like an avenging angel of old.

Jotun and I provide cover fire as another group spills from the eastern corridor. Another Pod slams in front of the western gate. "Don't let them get past the gate! The evac shuttles are back there!"

Rather than an affirmative, Jotun ignites in fiery light leaping into action, he lets loose a burning barrage of hammers forged of light itself. The legionaries try to flee the barrage but fall to the licking flames that surround them.

"More Missiles! Get into my shield." I roar over the sounds of battle.

Tia POV

I crouch in front of Zavala, Jotun sliding in behind us, as the Commander's bubble goes up around us. I hear com chatter behind me but am unable to make out the words. The missiles explode thunderously against the void barrier, I feel Zavala straining with the effort of holding back the explosions. I have my hand cannon ready to fire when Zavala's shield goes down.

One. Two. Three more Pods crash into the plaza. I aim and my shot joins shots firing from what remains of the East Garden. Fire team Omega enters the field, blasting the last Legionary. "Heard there was a party going on, we came to crash it." Jazzy McKnight taunts, sauntering over the bodies crowding the Plaza grounds.

"Just in time too." Zavala remarks, "Tia, Jotun, I need you two to join up on Ikora. The last of the shuttles are away now -but the speaker, He never made it." he shakes his head. "The Omegas and I've got the plaza you two go with Ikora and find the speaker."

More pods crash.

"We're on it Commander!" I hear Jotun holler as he runs for the Western Gate.

My eyes have not left Zavala. "Kiss for Good Luck?"

The world around us is burning but he laughs and pulls me against him, his kiss the balm to my soul. We separate enough to share air, our foreheads touching. "Go give them hell, Tia."

He swats my ass as I take off after Jotun. I hear Jazzy and Zara both catcalling and whistling. Sentinel hovers with wings of flame covering me as I throw myself through the Western Gate.

Jotun POV

I round the corner and spot more Legionaries in the space where the speaker once occupied "Ikora!" I shout.

I raise my weapon to kill the invading forces but before I can pull the trigger the Legionaries are blasted away from a massive orb of void energy.

"The Speaker is gone!" Her face twists in rage, a Red gunship rises behind her, and she turns her fury upon it, "Red Legion, you will take no more from us." Her whole-body glows with the Purple swirling light that is the Void. "And you will find no mercy in me!" With a great leap she attacks the ship another Void nova thrown from her being at her enemies.

Beautiful even in her rage. My lips curl into a grin and I ready myself to leap after her but stop as Tia emerges from the corridor.

"Tia, Ikora and I will go find the Speaker." I grip her shoulders, my visor aligning with her own. "You need to move on that Command ship. Go to the North Tower. I'll call someone to pick you up." I tap our helmets together and release her arms and back up to the edge of the platform. "Good luck little sister!" I leap with what she would call a cocky salute and fall to the sound of her laughter.

I land on the next platform and scan the surrounding area for my enraged warlock, I spot her two levels down blowing up another ship. "Hell hath no fury." I laugh and leap down, flames licking at my fingertips.

Tia POV

I chuckle and check my ammo. Reloading my hand cannon, I head off to the stairway that will take me up to the North Tower.

"There are enemies ahead, Tia." I nod to Laz and he floats into the ammo pouch on my hip.

Standing before the doors that will take me where I need to go, I take a grounding deep breath in and release it slowly.

I toss a grenade blowing the doors in and sight a cabal that pings as an Incendor on my hud, three shots to their fuel tank has them exploding. I kill the three Legionaries that lumber around the few market stalls that were left. A psion gets the drop on me but two bullets through their helmet drops them.

Laz quickly heals me, and we finish crossing to the next room. Four more Legionaries are waiting but fall quickly, two with knives through their foreheads and the last two with bullets through their chests.

I recover my knives and continue up to the last room that opens to a garden patio with a large tree. Two more Insendors are here with a much larger Cabal. I channel ark through myself and leap at them slashing through necks and weak points in their armor with my blades.

The wind kicks up around us from an aircraft coming level with the patio hoping it is my ride I slash once more. The larger cabal is still standing but I can tell they are weakened. He raises his gun and I raise my own, each of us firing a shot but lucky for me it is him who slumps forward dead. I exhale a breath and shade my eyes from the bright light and wind stirring from around the ship.

"Someone told me you need a ride." sasses the ever-loveable Amanda Holliday.

"My original ride was canceled due to this invasion." I quip.

It takes a moment but as I board the ship, I hear her groan "That's gross Tia."

I laugh and we lift off. Amanda is a great mechanic but an even better pilot. We weave around a dog fight and just as I am turning to man the ships guns, I hear Amanda speak again. "Zavala, I just picked up that Guardian you never shut up about." The little shit winks at me. I don't hear Zavala's response because I turn and fire on the enemy crafts with the gun turret. I manage to shoot down one that was chasing another of our ships and catch sight of the Traveler. My breath catches. The traveler has an enormous device wrapped around it. I have to shake myself because there is nothing I can do about it right now.

"Get ready we are coming up on your stop!" I hear Amanda shout back to me. I check my ammo again and load the auto rifle I got from Shaxx cash. Amanda brings the ship around to hover over an upper section of the Command ship. I see her lean around the cockpit doors "Let us know when you get those shields down and we'll hit that ship with everything we got!" She shouts. I give a thumbs up and leap from the ship. She takes off and a pod, like the ones from the Plaza, is launched from a conveyor that is beside me.

I catch my balance and begin the next step of my mission. Let's fuck this ship up.

Two Legionaries lumber through a ray shield they haven't noticed me yet and I take them out quickly the shield falls and two more lumber forth raising their guns I dodge and throw a grenade between them they both blast away into opposite walls.

Deep breath. Slow exhale. Move forward.

We come upon what looks like a dispatch center. There are surveillance screens showing the city being attacked below and a hologram in the center of the command ship.

"That Hologram could help." Lazarus zips forward, "Let me take a look." his shell opens as he scans through the data in the hologram. "They are schematics. I can map us a path to the shield generator that should be at the bottom of the ship."

"Good work buddy. Let's get to it." I hold my hand out and Laz lands in my palm before floating back to my hood.

My hud pings with my heading I shake my jitters off and begin my march, hand cannon loaded and at the ready.

Oddly everything is quiet in the halls of this command ship. We round the corner to the outer decking, and I trigger the door. Three laser sites land on me and I dodge back out of the line of fire. I was starting to wonder where the party was." I huff and prime two grenades. I dash through the doors. I toss one grade high on the platform and the other to my left. I see the blue ark energy explode and blaze a path to my targets. My hand cannon is back in my palm, and I open fire on the last psion ahead of me. Three shots take them down. I spot legionaries and more of the incinders and decide to pull out the Auto rifle I swiped from Shaxx's vault. Let's see what this baby's got. A clip mows threw most of my opposition. I shoot the last incinder's fuel tank killing them and the Legionary beside him.

I quickly reload and my hud pings again. Glancing up I see the name Brann, The Unbent Blade highlighted in gold and six red dots. "Mighty tough name, should we go say hello Laz?" I tease. "Now really isn't the time to be facetious Tia." Laz whines from his hiding place. I chuckle and prime two more Grenades. "Shall we take out the grunts first then." I only hear Laz groan in response and a laugh leaping into action. I throw my grenades in the corners Arc lightning chains through four of the red blips and I blink in front of another slicing into a soft section of armor with an ark powered blade flashing into my palm. I dash to the next enemy slashing through them. As their body thumps to the ground my attention turns to the gold name Brann. He is HUGE and his gun is enormous. Does he have feckin wings! Startled as I am by his appearance, I charge at him sliding between his massive legs I twist slashing my blade to the backs of his knees. At the end of my slide, I leap up and try to leap over him. He swats me into a wall. "Feckin ow." I get my legs back under me and have to blink out of the way of being shot. "Are those little freckin missiles!" I am oddly simultaneously excited and terrified. I slide and blink out of the way of more shots and take cover behind a pillar. "Alright, time to get serious." I pull one grenade and my knife. Deep breath in. Slow breath out. Now move. After I hear his last shot hit, I blink from my cover and toss my grenade between Brann's legs, the electricity stunning him and as the arc light fades, I leap wrapping my legs around his large shoulders and slam my blade into his throat. He chokes and tries to rip me from his shoulders, but I dig in and hug his head. His hand grips my thigh but there is hardly any grip left. He is fading quickly. He falls to his knees, and I slide from his shoulders. I don't know why but something inside told me to speak. "You fought well here Brann. Time to go home to your brothers." His eyes turn to me, he can't speak, from the wound in his throat. He tries to raise his hand and his last breath shudders from him. His body slumps and I help lower his body to the ground. He's dead now I've got to go. I try to shake myself out of my fog but before I do leave, I put his weapon back into his hand not completely sure why, but it feels right.

"Alright Laz let's move on. Where to now." My hud pings and I follow my new mark. I trigger the blast doors and enter a new hall. Strangely, there is a sniper rifle here. I won't look a gift horse in the mouth, so I check over the weapon and luckily, I have extra ammo packs. I strap it to my back and keep moving. The next room we come upon is open and also full of Cabal. "Feck." I dash between two pillars narrowly avoiding being shot by the Legionary I startled. I pull my auto rifle up ready to fire when I hear fast beeping and my eyes land on a spike. "Shit" I leap and roll away before it can explode but run right into a spray of gunfire. "Shit, Shit, Shit!" becomes a chant as I try to roll away from the gun fire. I grab a grenade and lob it towards where the sprays of bullets are coming from.

Shink. Doot. Doot. Doot Doot. "Son of a-" I leap away again tucking into a roll I draw my knife and throw it into the neck of one of the legionaries I run up their torso recollecting my knife and draw my hand cannon I blast a Psion and they fall over the edge of the platform. A glance over my shoulder shows another Legionary and a Phalanx charging toward me.

I dart away and run headlong into another Phalanx. I dodge a hit and get behind them shooting him in the back of the head. And rolling out of the way of a shot aimed at me. I am surrounded by purple for a moment before I am launched into the ceiling. "Shit. Fucker Ow!" I groan and have to Blink away to avoid getting shot. Lucky or unlucky, I'm not gonna think too hard about it, I wind up behind the Legionary and Phalanx. I chuck a grenade between them and roll off the edge of the platform. I swing onto the floor below and notice a red light on the wall in front of me and dodge before I am shot again. I swing the Sniper rifle off my back and crouch behind some crates to line up my targets. I pop the Psion and notice another on a higher floor and shoot that one as well. His head explodes and a Phalanx leans over the body. I shoot that one too. I hear the thumping feet of a Cabal approaching me and swing around to see another Legionary. I am out of sniper shots, so I leap over the edge and land on the bottom grate. The indicator on my hud highlights the door and I dive into the short halfway for cover.

"The shield generator should be just up ahead." Laz announced from his hiding place beside my neck.

The door opens and Feck my day there's another Cabal. My hud lights this one up as an Incender and I spot two more behind them. Arc energy thumbs Down my arms and gathers into my palms forming into blades. I lunge sweeping the leg out from under the first Incender and slice the fuel lines on its tank causing it to ignite The tank streams fire and fuel before the body crumbles in a heap. The second is thrown into the third, their tanks exploding with the grenade I tossed in their direction.

I feel the arc energy dissipating and take in a deep centering breath. My hud lights up with another gold name, Kreth, The Living Skyfire. He bounds into the room inside of an amber sphere that I imagine is a shield of some sort. "Shields have weak spots, let's find this one." I mutter and pull my auto rifle. I open fire on Kreth, strafing from behind cover. The shield surrounding him begins to dim. I was right. I run my clip dry and toss a grenade in front of the shield. I spin behind cover and reload. When I move to step out of cover a blast from his shotgun hits my shoulder and upper arm. I bite my tongue to keep from screaming and feel Laz already working on healing the damage. I'm pissed off now because that really feckin hurt. I blink out of cover and chuck another grenade then blast the weak point in Kreth's shield till it shatters around him and blink into his face, gun beneath his large chin, and pull my trigger, now he's dead. He crumples to the floor, I crack my neck, roll my shoulder, and I reload my hand cannon. As I look at the glow of the spinning turbine ahead of me.

"Alright we bust up the Turbines and the shields oughta fizzle out. You ready Laz?" He drifts forward and bumps my cheek. "Right, let's do this."

Holding my Hand cannon at the ready I start walking down the short hallway. A psion pops out and I shoot his head off. I am so done with the Cabal. I am ready to get back to my apartment and take a long hot shower.

Taking in the large room; I notice there are three turbines spinning in their own chambers and a huge electrified looking fan going around the room at a sedate pace. I aim at the turbine directly in front of me and fire five shots. Smoke erupts from it, and it clunks loudly as it explodes off of its track. I watch the fan pass and leap down onto the landing running quickly so as not to get electrocuted by the fan blades.

I slide down into the next turbines' chamber and toss in a grenade. The turbine sputters and smokes but it too explodes off of its track with a clang. "It's working, the heat levels are already rising." Laz reports from his hiding place. I look up and wait for the fan blade to pass and when it finally does, I leap up after it. Running and sliding into the last turbine chamber I throw in my last grenade. After a moment there still hasn't been a boom. "Where's the boom? There was supposed to be a boom." Laz floats curiously beside me. I raise my Hand cannon and before I pull the trigger the turbine combusts and wobbles on its axis. Alarmed I look up and leap out of the chamber, having to blink up to avoid the slowly spinning fan blade, the turbine tilts on its axis screeching and clunking against the walls then bursts off of its axis flinging and pinging off the walls of its chamber like a spinning top.

"That was really close." Laz mumbles.

I ping Zavala's comm "Zavala! We did it! The shields are down!

Garbled static is all that rings through the connection.

"Zavala!

More garbled static.

"I have a bad feeling about this Laz." I disconnect from Zavala and try Amanda instead.

"Amanda! We're headed topside."

I hear combat sounds garbled in static.

"Amanda!?"

Laz and I share fearful looks. "We need to keep going and get off this ship, Laz." he bumps my cheek and hides back in my hood. There is a door ahead of us, so I go for it. "That door leads outside." Laz informs. I nod and keep going at a trot. The doors open, the wind beats against us and my heart clenches, our city is burning, the traveler, the cabal have put something on the traveler. "Tia, how are we going to come back from this." I feel a sob in my throat, and I look at my little light, but before I can answer we are startled by a new voice.

"You don't."

A huge cabal, the tallest I'd ever seen, strolls through the doors, head high and flanked by two Enforcers.

"Welcome to a world without light." He rumbles arm stretching out presenting towards the Traveler. My eyes follow and Laz peaks from my hood and we watch the device on the traveler begin to glow burning amber. I begin to feel sick and then I feel a ripping sensation in my soul. Everything feels heavy and I nearly black out from the pain. "Tia, something is wrong…" Laz shudders and drops to the ground. "Laz…" I sink to my knees and scoop him into my hands holding him to my chest protectively as I see the White Cabal approaching us. I try to raise my eyes to look into their own.

"Do not look at me, creature! His boot slams into my side and I feel a rib break from the pressure. I hit the ground hard, tears streaming from my eyes. I try to catch my breath chest heaving.

"You are weak. Undisciplined. Cowering behind walls." I flinch as he approaches. Unable to move away fast enough.

"You are not brave. You've merely forgotten the fear of death." He towers over me menacingly as I struggle to get my legs under myself. "Allow me to reacquaint you." He growls, I very nearly puke when his arm slams into my gut sending me off of my feet once more. I skid across the platform losing my grip on Laz and watch in Terror as he is flung off of the ship. "Lazarus! No!" I scream, reaching out in a vain attempt at catching him.

"Your kind never deserved the power you were given." He growls, approaching me as an imminent threat. I try to get on my feet once more. Making it to my knees. "Wh-who are you? Why?"

"I am Gaul. And your light…is mine." I lean on my haunches. If I am gonna die today, I won't be doing it layin down." I try to lift my hand cannon up but Gaul tips me over the platform with his boot.

My vision fades and then all I know is darkness.

So, I'm continuing it. I hope you guys are enjoying the fic so far. Please leave a comment they are food that feeds the muse. I wish you all good health and a pleasant week. 3