The Queen of Hearts

Chapter 6: The Dire Swamp

When Talia woke, everything was dark and fuzzy. She groaned, attempting to sit up, when a terrible pain tore into her side. She screamed through her teeth.

"Don't move so much!" came a firm voice. It snapped her back to reality and her eyes focused on Daydra's face. He stood over her, tearing off her seatbelt.

More pain assaulted her, and she clenched her teeth, daring to look down. A jagged piece of metal protruded from her side. "Damnit," she gasped. "That's not good."

"Keep still now," said Daydra. "I have to pull it out so your ghost can heal you."

"By the Traveler…" she muttered, tightening her grip on the seat's nearby safety bar. "Ok, you can-"

Daydra ripped the shrapnel out of her and she cried out with a blood curdling scream. Gasping for air, she held out her hand. Reeki appeared there, his glitched eye darting back and forth in concern. "O-o-oh dear, let me fix that right-t-t-t up." The ghost expanded into an orb of light and pulsed, sending a wave of energy over Talia. Immediately she felt her wounds close and the pain dissipate.

"Thank you Reeki." She patted his head before he disappeared. Groaning, she leapt off her seat and was surprised when her boots splashed into a pool of water, and it was rising fast. "Uh… Daydra?"

"We crashed in the swamp," he answered quickly, "and the ship is sinking tail-first. We need to move now."

"Agreed," said Shiro, poking his head over the top of the ladder to the cockpit. "Come up here, I can blow out the glass in the cockpit."

Talia looked about the ship as a realization hit her. "Wait… Cayde and the others! They're-"

"Gone," said Daydra, strapping his trusty knife to his belt. "The impact tore open the hull and they were sucked out."

"Traveler's Light!" She exclaimed. "We have to find them! They might need help!"

Daydra grabbed hold of the ladder and lifted himself out of the water, which was now waist high. "Let's worry about saving our own lives first, aye Kestrel?"

She felt ready to burst with anxiety, but she knew he was right. She nodded solemnly and followed him up onto the ladder. They both climbed into the cockpit where Shiro was waiting, sidearm cocked. The glass above was thinly submerged under a layer of muddy swamp water that cast an ominous glow into the ship.

"Alright," said Shiro, "when I do this, the ship will flood with water. Don't let the initial wave shock you. Just let yourself be submerged, then swim up. Got it?"

They both nodded, securing their helmets on their heads.

Shiro did the same. "Alright, here we go. Three… two… one…" He fired a shot through the glass and it shattered, buckling beneath the weight of the water. The swamp rushed in and slammed against them.

Talia grunted at the force of it, as if she were hitting a brick wall. She tensed every part of her body and held her breath until the battering stopped and she felt herself begin to float. Then she opened her eyes. She couldn't make out much through her helmet's visor except dark shapes and murky green. Her shin hit a submerged chair of the cockpit and she remembered what Shiro had said. Frantically, she pushed off the chair with her feet and swam upwards. For a long, painful moment she breathed the filtered air in her helmet until at last her body broke the surface. She splashed about, trying to find her bearings, when a strong hand took hold of her arm and pulled her up onto a muddy bank next to a gnarly swamp willow. "Thanks Daydra," she said, wiping away the muck from her visor.

The Hunter veteran nodded and rested a hand on the grip of his hand cannon. "Remain alert, I really don't like the way this place feels."

"I feel it too," said Shiro. The exo was wading through a shallower part of the water opposite to them and climbed up onto the bank as well. "It's like… a foreboding evil. A suffocating air that suppresses my Light."

It was only then that Talia realized she could feel it too. It was oppressive, and her connection to Reeki seemed… distant. "We need to find the others."

"We need to head to the rendezvous point," Daydra countered. "We landed much further away than planned, so we have our work cut out for us. The others know where to meet. We'll keep our eyes peeled on the way, but the operation comes first."

"Agreed," said Shiro. The exo seemed rather pleased with Daydra's sense of command and experience.

Talia, on the other hand, did not feel at ease with that decision. She knew it was protocol, but she could not shake the air of evil that emanated from this swamp and she worried for the others. Something was very wrong here, and now she understood why the Fallen avoided this place. Reluctantly, she followed in Daydra's path, who had begun picking his way through the marshes looking for stable ground. Behind them, Ole Bessy sank completely into the swamp, forever consumed by its muddy depths.

The trio forged ahead. Progress was slow due to the tumultuous nature of the terrain, but steadily they made their way towards the city of Old Chicago. The ancient, twisted trees were thick, but every once in a while Talia could make out ruined skyscrapers in the distance. The Fallen Ketch that had shot them down still hung in the sky above them. She found it strange that they did not pursue. If they were lucky, they'd make it to the rendezvous point by sundown. She hoped Cayde and the others would be waiting for them.

Eventually the trees began to thin and they arrived on the bank of a small, muddy lake that laid between them and the city.

"Well this is inconvenient," said Shiro. "We're on the wrong side of the lake."

Talia frowned as she surveyed the area. Inconvenient was an understatement. It would cost them an extra hour to go around. She followed the tree line with her eyes and stopped when she saw something strange hanging from a distant tree. "By the Traveler, is that-?"

"Torres!" Shiro exclaimed, immediately jogging in that direction.

The warlock was tangled up in the strings of his parachute, which had gotten caught in the branches. He perked up when he saw the three Hunters approach. "Oh thank the Light!" he called. "Quick, get me down from here!"

Daydra took up a defensive position while Shiro helped Talia jump into the tree. Once perched on a lower branch, she unsheathed a knife and began to carve away at the string. It only took a few cuts to dislodge the Warlock from his trap and send him plummeting to the ground.

He yelped as he splashed into a small layer of swamp water. Grumbling, he scrambled to his feet, brushing at his soiled robes and looking through his satchel. "We're lucky the books were not damaged." He slung the satchel around to hang at his side and looked out across the lake. "I swear when I find Cayde I'm gonna give him a piece of my mind about all this!"

Talia chuckled and jumped down from the tree. "You'll have to get in line," she said, but she couldn't help letting her concern show through with a frown. "He and Vespa are still unaccounted for."

"And our comms are down," said Shiro, walking up beside them with a finger to his helmet. "My ghost says the EMP field is jamming all signals within its reach. That means no radio and no calling our ships or sparrows. Talsiks is more than prepared for us this time. I'm afraid we may be a bit out of our league. Perhaps… this should have been a Vanguard operation after all."

Talia frowned. "Why isn't it? Cayde's reputation and his feud with Kauko aside, this seems like the kind of thing the Vanguard would approve a raid team for."

Shiro scratched the back of his neck nervously. "Well, Cayde wanted to prove himself. That he wasn't just doing it for the loot, you know? So uh… I may have kept this intel about Talsiks from the Vanguard at his request."

A well of fury began to stir within Talia. In his efforts to change, Cayde seemed to have overcorrected, and now they were all in much greater danger than anticipated. She would have words about this when she found him.

"No use dwelling on that now," said Daydra, walking past them. "Without communications, our only hope of retrieving our crewmates is to get to the skyscraper. If they're smart, they'll meet us there. Let's get moving."

Talia fell into step behind him. "What if they ran into trouble? What if the Fallen found them?"

"They seem like the loud type. I think we'll be able to tell if they meet resistance. In which case, no guardian gets left behind." He stopped for a moment and placed a hand on her shoulder. "We'll find them, I promise."

Talia slowly nodded in response and they pressed on with Torres right behind them and Shiro bringing up the rear. She was thankful to Daydra for the reassurance. He put up a hard, intimidating front, but he was a good leader and had a soft side that came out every once in a while. As long as he was there, she felt as though they still had a chance of pulling this thing off.

Torres stumbled behind her and she turned to find him on his knees. "Torres! Are you al-" she cut off as the feeling hit her too. It was like a weight of darkness and terror were crushing her very soul. The evil presence that had been looming over them had suddenly increased tenfold and Talia found herself struggling to stand, legs weak and hands shaking.

Reeki's voice sounded in her mind, more distant and timid than usual. "Our light i-i-is suppressed. Darkness reigns h-h-here."

Shiro groaned, his eyes sharp as he struggled to move up and help Torres under the weight. "So heavy- could this be another of Talsiks' tricks?"

Ever the tactician, Daydra had already drawn his hand cannon and searched the lake and trees for any sign of threat. "No," he said, with a certainty that gave Talia shivers. "This is worse. This is pure evil… and ancient."

Just then, a powerful and terrifying roar resounded over the lake. It was hollow and beastly, like the war cry of an eldritch monster. The four guardians stood frozen, petrified by the sound. Then the ground began to rumble.

"RUN!" Daydra shouted.

His voice snapped Talia from her fearful trance and despite the weight she felt on her shoulders, she forced herself to leap up and sprint behind him. Shiro grabbed Torres and lifted him to his feet, following close behind. The four of them ran as fast as they could on the bank of the lake. Their path would lead them up a muddy slope to a nearby hillside overlooking the lake, and from there they could enter the waterlogged city. Unfortunately, it would not be so easy,

The earth erupted as several massive, pointed objects jettisoned up from the surrounding swamp. They were several stories tall, and glowed a sickly green color. Their walls moved and interlocked as if they were alive.

"What are those things?!" Talia yelled as mud rained down upon them.

"I've never seen anything like them!" Torres shouted, suddenly fascinated. As he ran, he pulled a book from his satchel and began to frantically scribble in it.

"Just keep running!" shouted Daydra.

"Guys," Shiro called, "what's happening to the lake?!"

Talia glanced over to see that the dirty water was boiling. Bubbles rose violently to the surface and a heavy layer of steam began to coalesce over the lake. From within the white shroud, a dark form began to emerge from the depths. Its features were obscured, but its size was enormous; at least three humans tall. The creature opened its eyes. Three glowing green sockets in a wide crowned head. Talia nearly forgot to breathe as she witnessed this, stumbling up the slope in terror. Then the beast roared again, and the horde came.

At the base of the biological structures, circular hatches peeled back to unleash its contents. What spilled out were the things of Talia's nightmares. They were human sized with thin bodies and long arms with claws to tear their enemies apart. Their heads were as white as a human skull but without eyes, like a boney dome. Their terrifying jaws gnashed with ferocious hunger. And there were hundreds of them.

The creatures flooded out of the swamp and around the lake from the guardians' flank and rear. Shiro began shouting curses, firing his sidearm into the monstrosities. Many fell dead, only to be trampled over by those behind them. In a surprising move, Torres jumped and used void power to glide through the air. As he did, he clutched his book to his chest with one hand, and with the other he reached across the universal threshold. A writhing ball of void energy formed in his hand and rapidly grew in size. It took only a second to charge, then he tossed the gargantuan Nova Bomb into the horde. It exploded in a brilliant flash of purple, vaporizing tens of nearby creatures. Then it reversed, becoming a temporary black hole that sucked even more of them into its crushing aura to be vaporized.

As Torres landed, Shiro gave him a solid pat on the back and kept running. "Smart move! That'll buy us some time."

The guardians finally crested the slope and began to circle the lake. From there Daydra led them straight to a mangled road that was almost unrecognizable under all the vegetation and muck. It would lead them straight through a collection of crumbled buildings and into the city. Talia felt relieved at their progress, but the weight of darkness remained and she couldn't help but pause and look towards the lake again. All she could see was the ledge that looked over it and the steam rising from below. She wanted to turn away and follow the others, but something pulled at her, like a dark tether on her soul.

That's when a hand appeared. Its wicked, bony fingers rose over the ledge and gripped the foul soil, lifting the body that followed. The head came first, the same three glowing eyes fixed on her as if stalking prey. They were crested by a crown of jagged spikes that trailed down to the creature's torso. Another hand appeared, this time holding an enormous cleaver the size of a guardian. The beast slammed the sword into the soft earth and used it to pull itself up, planting its feet and rising to its full height. Its body was covered in the same wicked spikes, protruding from every edge and threatening to impale anything that dared draw near. With its right hand, it grabbed hold of the cleaver and ripped it from the earth, then pointed it at Talia. From within its grotesque jaws, a guttural laugh escaped. The noise was like a demonic taunt, and it struck fear in Talia's heart. Suddenly, she realized she couldn't move. She felt so weak, and no matter how hard she tried her legs would not budge. She could only stare into the eyes of evil and know that it brought with it her true and final death.

The monster took a step towards Talia, and the inevitable feeling grew. Then it roared, and the sound pierced her like an arrow. She trembled, speechless. Her legs were about to give out when suddenly there were hands on her arms. Someone tore her away from the harrowing eyes of the beast and picked her up. It took a moment for her to return to normal senses, and she realized that Daydra was carrying her down the road as fast as he could. Behind them, she heard the thumping of heavy footsteps and dared a glance back. The beast was thundering after them at a full sprint, smiling. Behind it, the horde of smaller creatures were beginning to catch up.

Talia felt a jolt of terror, but this time it gave her a rush of adrenaline and she leaped out of Daydra's arms. She tumbled in the mud and burst up into a sprint, as fast as her tired legs could manage.

"Attagirl Kestrel," said Daydra, keeping pace with her.

A short distance ahead of them, Shiro and Torres had reached the ruins and taken up defensive positions. A sniper materialized in Shiro's hands and he wasted no time in firing shot after shot at the hulking beast that followed them. Unfortunately, the high powered bullets seemed to do minimal damage, denting its chitinous armor or simply bouncing off. The exo Hunter cursed as Talia and Daydra reached him, ushering Torres to follow and once again bringing up the rear. "It'll catch us at this rate!" he called ahead to the others.

"We could really use some sparrows right about now!" Talia yelled.

"We must make do without them. Our only chance is to find cover fast and make a stand."

"But Daydra, that thing-"

"Can be killed just like anything else," the veteran assured her. "I know it feels distant right now, but reach for your Light and it will come to you."

She did as he said and reached for the familiar feeling of her void power. Normally she could grab hold of it in her mind and bring it forth into reality, but this time it took far more effort. She nearly tripped as she worked internally, but eventually she felt the familiar shape of a bow made of pure energy. She tugged on that energy, dragging it out to the palms of her hands.

As she did this, Daydra pointed to a pile of rusted scrap metal that used to be old world cars. "There! Take up positions!"

The four scrambled up the heap and turned to face the monster and its horde, now with the benefit of the high ground.

"Talia," said Daydra, "it's now or never."

She nodded and stood at the top of the heap, holding up her left hand. In it a bow made of void energy took shape. With her right hand, she pulled back on the ethereal string and a pulsing arrow formed, ready to fire. She breathed in, focusing on the giant of terror that barrelled towards them. Then she breathed out, and let the arrow fly. It jettisoned through the air with precision and grace, then buried itself in the monster's chest. It stumbled as the arrow exploded into tethers of void energy that attached to the ground and nearby ruins. The immediate halt in momentum forced the creature to its knees. As the horde caught up, more tethers sprouted from the beast's chest and latched onto them too, drastically slowing them.

"Excellent shot Kestrel," said Daydra. "Now let's see how it handles some real damage." He rose next to her and lifted his hand cannon into the air, exploding with solar energy. Then he lowered his aim, the eyes of his Celestial Nighthawk burning with power. The monster roared in defiance, but was cut short as Daydra fired his weapon and a superheated beam erupted from the barrel. It slammed into the creature's face with catastrophic force and the resulting explosion sent it falling backwards. As a bonus, some of the energy from the blast traveled down the void tethers to the smaller creatures, causing them to explode as well. The result was a beautiful series of explosions that rocked the very earth.

As the energy dispersed and debris filled the air, Talia thought she should feel more at ease, but something still didn't feel right. The feeling of darkness and dread remained. As the void tethers dissipated below, she pulled out her physical bow and arrows, priming explosive heads. "This isn't over," she said.

Daydra shook his head in a rare moment of disbelief. "It's getting back up."

The hulking form that had fallen to the Golden Gun was stirring. Talia saw three green eyes pierce the smoke and she felt a shiver down her spine.

"It's time to go!" Shiro shouted. Get moving, I'll buy us some time."

"Agreed, good luck," said Daydra, gesturing for Talia to descend the rust pile towards the city. She wasted no time in following his unspoken order. Torres, on the other hand, seemed glued to the chitinous monster as it recovered, singe marks fading against its thorny crown. The Warlock was busy scribbling in a research journal. Daydra leaped over to him and glanced over his shoulder. A rather accurate sketch of the beast stared back at him. He would have been impressed if the situation were not so dire. He tugged on the Warlock's coat collar. "Finish it later, it's time to retreat."

"Oh confound it all…" Torres muttered as he got up and trudged down the scrap to the broken road behind them. He continued to sketch and write notes around it as he moved. "This is clearly a brand new alien species we have not yet cataloged and I can't get close enough to learn anything about it besides that it's big and scary!"

Daydra shoved him to quicken his pace. "Worry about that after we live!"

"Yeah yeah, fine," Torres said, stuffing the journal into his pouch as he ran.

As they regrouped at the bottom of the heap, Shiro instead climbed his way to the top, his hands crackling with arc energy. He stood defiant in the face of the enemy who was now standing back up, only minorly scathed. The horde surged forward at the monster's feet. In his right hand, Shiro manifested a long, blue staff that sparked with jolts of energy. With a few swift strokes he twirled the staff above his head and leaped up into the air, then he thrust the staff forward as if throwing a javelin. It crashed into the beast's chest like a strike of lightning. The hulking foe staggered and fell once again, and the arc energy from the staff expanded into a deadly sphere, trapping and killing any member of the horde as they entered its reach. Shiro watched for a moment in satisfaction as a hundred more of the smaller creatures died in the arc trap, tumbling over each other. Then he slid back down to join the others. "That should give us a nice head start. Let's go."

Daydra gave him a firm pat on the back. "Well done. Lead the way."

A roar sounded behind the four guardians as they fled further into the city with Shiro at their head. For several minutes they ran with light infused bodies, never tiring and never stopping. Eventually the ruined buildings grew taller, and they had to take care not to fall into sinkholes where the swampy depths waited to claim them. Every once in a while, Talia looked back to see the horde not far behind, and the beast that led it ever looming in the distance. It was a relentless pursuer, and also did not seem to tire. She prayed to the Traveler that they would find a way to escape.

After running for some time, the crew arrived at the first big city corner, and Shiro stopped them for a moment to collect his bearings. "Okay, I have an idea," he said, eyeing the Fallen Ketch that still hung in the sky far to the west. "The skyscraper is still a few miles northeast of here. If we go forward a few blocks, we might get the attention of Fallen patrols."

Talia jerked her head, confused. "How could that possibly be a good thing?"

"It's a pass parade. We lead those monsters straight into the Fallen and then escape in the chaos that follows."

Daydra nodded in approval. "They'll be too busy fighting each other to follow us to base. I like it."

Torres had returned to scribbling in his journal, seeming deep in thought.

Now understanding the plan, Talia counted her arrows. "I have some detonator heads. That should get the Fallen's attention."

"Perfect," said Shiro. "Let's get moving."

The crew resumed their sprint deeper into the city, edging closer and closer to Fallen territory. Before long, they saw a makeshift wall of metallic panels with rounded edges cutting off one side of the street. Here, Shiro motioned for them to take cover behind a ruined building several stories tall. Then he motioned upwards to Talia. "Climb as high as you can and plant the arrowheads at equidistant intervals along the wall. When we detonate, it's sure to draw out the nearest patrol."

She nodded and darted into the ruins. It was a mess inside and the floors above had caved in, but there were plenty of footholds that allowed her to scale it. In just a few seconds she found herself on a ledge on the fourth floor, overlooking the Fallen wall through a broken window. She could see over it now, and the street behind it was a straight shot to their complex. Rows of vehicles and artillery were perfectly organized down the sides of the street leading up to the complex, and House of Kings banners waved high in the musty wind along the way. Among them, tens of Fallen roamed from one piece of equipment to another, inspecting and moving them to proper positions. The wall itself seemed to be empty of guards, but she had no doubt this stunt would attract patrols and inspectors alike. Talia made one more visual sweep of the area to make sure there weren't any scouts watching, then leapt up into the window. In quick succession she loosed one arrow after another from her bow. Each one planted themselves at the base of the wall at equal distances from the far right all the way to the far left. Satisfied, she quickly dropped down through the ruins to avoid being spotted. She returned to Shiro with a detonator switch in hand. "It's ready."

He nodded, then motioned for the others to gather behind them. They did, and he glanced back down the street from where they came. In the distance, dust clouds moved rapidly closer. The horde. "We must perform the distraction now. Talia, you may detonate when ready."

She lifted the detonator and ducked lower, preparing for the coming shockwave. Daydra crouched next to her and placed a reassuring hand on her shoulder. She nodded in thanks, then pressed the button. A series of explosions followed, each shaking the very ground beneath their feet. Talia watched from beneath her hood as fire and debris engulfed the wall from right to left in a matter of seconds. An alarm sounded from further down the street, and the calls of Fallen sounded in the distance.

"Well done," said Shiro. "Let's go!" He led them in a sprint across the street and past the burning wall. A Fallen Vandal that was in a nearby building stumbled into the street in surprise. It scrambled for its shock rifle when it saw the guardians approach, but Daydra dispatched it with the quick flick of a solar throwing knife. The alien's head exploded with ether as they ran by.

Behind them, the monstrous horde finally arrived at the intersection. The smaller creatures surged forward between the feet of the gargantuan warrior of evil. Even now, its eyes remained fixed on the guardians as they fled. Having a clear line of sight, it moved to sprint after them, but was stopped short as an artillery shell collided with its shoulder, causing an explosion to rain over the creatures below. Fallen began to swarm out of the wrecked wall, roaring and firing shock rifles into the horde. In turn, the creatures surged towards the wall, ripping and tearing any living thing in their path. The chaos of battle ensued.

"Don't look back!" Daydra shouted.

They kept running down the street towards the next intersection and Shiro quickly checked the maps. "We're going left towards the rendezvous!" At the intersection they sprinted left, leaving the carnage of alien versus alien combat behind and roaming deep into the ruined skyscrapers.

For a minute they ran, gradually getting closer and closer to their destination. Shiro slowed briefly at another intersection, looking up at the towering buildings. "Okay, take a right here and our destination should be straight ahe-" he cut off and skidded to a halt as he arrived at the intersection, looking to the north. A few blocks away, their skyscraper loomed overhead. Unfortunately, the way was completely blocked by a crumbled building. Shiro looked up at the enormous pile of rubble in disbelief. "This… will take some time to navigate around."

Talia looked over her shoulder a few times, watching for any signs of pursuers. "Well, at least we lost them."

"Not quite," said Daydra, listening intently.

Only a second later, Talia heard it too. The thundering of hundreds of feet. "There's no way…"

Sure enough, the horde of monsters came spilling out of a side alley towards them, trampling each other. There was no sign of their gargantuan leader, but they came all the same.

"By the Light!" Torres exclaimed. "There must be more of them than we thought; driven together and undistracted by a singular will. Almost like… a Hive."

"It doesn't matter," said Daydra. "We're trapped. Look there, and there," he said, gesturing to the other streets in the intersection. The west street had another collapsed building blocking the way, and to the south, the road had suddenly filled with even more of the ferocious Hive.

Talia felt her heartbeat quicken as her eyes darted from one street to another. "What do we do?"

"Stand your ground!" Daydra shouted. "Does anyone have their super yet?"

The other three shook their heads.

Daydra dipped his head solemnly. "Then we do this the old fashioned way." With a dramatic flip of his cloak, he drew his hand cannon and whipped it around his finger, testing its weight.

Torres, despite his reluctance to fight, joined him at his left with his hand outstretched, a void grenade manifesting in his hand.

Talia stepped up to Daydra's right, bow in hand with multiple explosive arrows knocked. "I'm with you to the end, Redtail. I'm sorry I got you mixed up in all this."

Daydra looked to her through his Celestial Nighthawk and she could imagine a grin beneath it. "I wouldn't have it any other way, Kestrel."

Shiro stepped up to the side of Talia, watching the south street and drawing his sidearm. "If this is to be the end, let it be one that guardians will remember for all time!"

"Ah Shiro, always so dramatic!"

Talia's breath caught in her throat as she heard the robotic voice behind her. She whirled around to the enormous pile of rubble to find Cayde-6 standing atop it, holding his Ace of Spades over his shoulder and a smirk beaming across his face. Shockingly, he was missing his left arm, the socket sparking. Talia felt her heart skip a beat and her eyes began to well with tears. "You made it!"

"Of course I did, kiddo!" he said, leaping and plummeting off the rubble to the ground. He bounced in the air using his Light, and landed gracefully next to her. "And I brought a friend. You guys might want to stand back. Whenever you're ready, Vespa!"

Suddenly, there was the loud, ear ringing sound of what Talia could only describe as the strike of the world's largest gong. Daydra's head snapped up, realizing what he was hearing, and rushed the others to the side to make way. What followed was an explosion as hot and as bright as the surface of the sun. A tornado of fire erupted through the pile of rubble, blasting it away in a rain of metal and cement. The guardians ducked as huge pieces fell around them. The tornado continued to travel forward and collided with the Hive as they converged on the intersection. Hundreds burned in its fiery wake. Through the gaping hole in the rubble, Vespa strode forward, her entire body wreathed in fire. In her hands she held her enormous warhammer at the ready. With another great swing, she lunged forward and slammed her hammer into the earth, creating another tornado to rush forward and take the place of the first, which was already beginning to dwindle. "Move your sorry asses!" she shouted, "while you still can!"

The four rushed into the opening, where Cayde waited to greet them. Daydra nodded in respect as he passed, but Talia had to stop. Before he could react, she hugged him tightly. He chuckled and patted her back. "It's good to see you too. Come on," he said, taking her hand. He led her through the opening to the others just as the tornado of fire was dying out and the horde of Hive surged forward once more.

"Hang on," said Cayde, gesturing Talia forward. "I'll take care of this." He holstered the Ace and planted his foot forward, his body suddenly being engulfed in solar energy. "I've never done this with one hand before." With a powerful leap, he jettisoned into the air and twisted, rearing up his arm. In his remaining hand, he fanned a set of burning throwing knives and thrust his arm forward. The power infused knives flew from his hand… and far above the horde. They collided with one of the buildings above and exploded. Debris rained down directly overhead, plugging up the hole and crushing the horde. Smoke billowed high as several tons of cement crumbled.

Shocked, the other guardians stared up at the new barrier, now several stories high.

"I don't believe it…" said Shiro.

Daydra nodded approvingly, then looked to the north at their destination. "Not far now. To me!"

The others followed behind him eagerly, except for Talia who trailed behind to trudge next to Cayde. "You didn't mean to hit the building, did you?"

"Not in the slightest, but it all worked out in the end, didn't it?"

Talia rolled her eyes and laughed, but the sound quickly died as she watched the man next to her run with a smug grin on his face. What Shiro had said about Cayde's decision to keep intel secret still left her feeling sick in her stomach. She was grateful that he and Vespa came to their rescue, but her anger remained as well.

Night fell quickly as the guardians arrived at the skyscraper and climbed it quickly before more enemies found them. Together again, they settled into the makeshift base and began preparations for the bigger fight ahead.