Redacted

Angel! Wait!

Edited: 8/25/2024

It was funny.

If they were in any other situation, the way Angel scrambled into the cave would have sent Akiva sprawling, chest heaving as the Hunter came in covered in leaves and mud. Even Hope, her white and red shell usually pristine, came in looking more like a ball of moss and dirt. But, upon seeing Abraxos untouched and safe in his arms, reminded Akiva the reason why Angel was here and thus, quashed his amusement down. In the meantime, Angel shook off the worst of the mess off him.

"Traveler, Angel!" Orion yelped, "I know that you were raised by Eliksni but damn! Keep your mess to yourself!"

Turning to the Exo, Akiva choked back a laugh as he saw the Titan covered in the splatters of Angel's shake, practically peeling off layers of mud and foliage. Akiva – having seen Angel covered in mess – had made a smart call and took a few large steps back.

"Sorry, but there was no time to wash myself." Angel said as he walked further into the cave and released his hold on the small Servitor; the latter of which let out a few beeps as Angel raised a hand.

And Hope materialized a can of Ether into his grasp.

And the quiet in the cave erupted.

Having seen many of the Dregs resting against the cave walls, Akiva had made the mistake of thinking that they were just as Ether starved, the Captains, and Vraldyks. His mind was quickly changed when the small Eliksni suddenly jumped to their feet and rushed the Hunter. Angel let out a shriek when he was slammed by the Dregs.

Eyes wide as he watched Angel's form disappear in the mass of Eliksni, Akiva quickly shoved the shock aside from his senses before he strode forward and grabbed the collar of the first Dreg he could. Ignoring the squawks when he flung Dreg after Dreg from the pile, Akiva then forced his way through the bodies, and then thrusted his hand into the mass, searching with his hand for Angel.

That is when he heard a shout from behind him.

And the sound of a hand-cannon going off.

Akiva turned and his eyes settled over Orion, hearing the Titan let out a string of Eliksni curses as he strained against the Revenant Titan, hands upon the latter's wrists. That is when he spotted the smoking revolver in the Revenant's hand.

Heart leaping to his throat, Akiva followed their line of fire. Then his blood ran cold.

There, trembling weakly upon the cave floor, was one of the Dregs he had just forced back, vermillion trickling down the front of their chest. They chittered quietly and helpless as hands pressed against the wound.

"Akiva! Stop him!"

At first, bewildered by Orion's call, Akiva then shifted his attention to the other Revenant, only to spot the Warlock in question aiming his scout rifle. And it was aimed towards the group of Dregs.

Akiva then saw red.

Despite his years as a Guardian, Akiva always found it strange when his body moves without thought, moving without him even realizing his own actions. At times, it scares him, his moments of anger, moments of sadness, moments where he realizes his emotions are what controls him without his knowledge. However, this time, as he found himself slamming his forearm into the throat of the Warlock, dragging him until his body slammed into the cave wall with a crack, Akiva couldn't' have been more relieved. Or infuriated.

"Did you just aim your weapon upon an unarmed group of Dregs?" He growled out; the edges of his vision cracked with arc light, "What in the hells are you doing!?"

There was a jerk of the Warlock's head, a pause, before it was quickly followed with, "What am I doing? What are you doing?"

Feeling the Warlock's hands lock underneath his arm, Akiva then took a step back, narrowly dodging the Revenant Warlock's shove. He quickly raised his guard when he saw a flash of green behind the Warlock's visor.

"Your comrade-in-arms got attacked by those bugs and yet, you still defend them?" The latter snarled.

Narrowing his eyes at the Revenant, Akiva couldn't help but glance over his shoulder, barely catching Angel's form pulling himself away from the scrambling Dregs. He could hear him mutter Eliksni under his breath. Then he flicked his attention back to the Warlock.

"Wouldn't you do the same if you were starving?" Akiva asked.

A poor comparison in his opinion, it was also the best Akiva could come up with, especially so when the Warlock flinched; likely he had struck a sensitive topic. This allowed Akiva to take a deep breath and then slowly released it, taking control of his sparking Arc Light.

"Look, I understand why you aren't happy with the Eliksni." He said, "But they are not the same ones that had done you wrong."

No sooner had the words left his lips when Akiva sensed the Warlock's eyes hardened behind his helmet and it was then, he realized that he had said the wrong thing.

"I know that they are not the same ones that had done me wrong, that they are not the same ones that had taken my family away from me." The Warlock's voice was low, heavy, "But I do know that these scavengers will do us wrong. Today or tomorrow."

With that, Akiva spotted a flash of green flash into his vision followed by a dark violet forming in the Warlock's palms. Then, pain was the next thing Akiva felt and his feet flew out beneath him as the miniature Nova Bomb slammed into his chest. His nerves screamed as he landed, agony swimming across his skin, and Akiva reached up to his chest plate, where the pain was at its highest. However, instead of steel-alloy, his fingers burned against what felt like flames and it was only then, Akiva realized that he was screaming.

"Akiva!"

The sound of a solid punch followed by a grunt and a body falling to the floor rang in Akiva's ears before there was a rush of steps and Orion appeared above him, hands hovering over his body.

"Shit!" The wide look in the Exo's optics was telling enough of Akiva's condition, not that he needed to see. He can still feel it burn, "I don't know how we are – stay away from them!"

The sound of gunfire resonated through the cave followed by Orion's form leaving Akiva's line of sight, the Exo letting out curses before it was swiftly followed by more gunshots. That is when the agony against his nerves lessened, and it was then, Akiva recognized the warmth of his Ghost's light.

"Lex?" He called out, only to hear his Ghost let out a hush.

"Now I see why the Tower had a difficult time with these Revenants." Akiva heard Lex comment; his Ghost appeared above him before a beam of light emitted from his optic. Akiva can spot flickers of violet coming from the injury, "Despite a mix of Light and Darkness, the Darkness is prominent." Akiva then felt pressure building around his wound; he groaned through clenched teeth, "it is near identical to Hive magic." A pause, "Almost."

Akiva took in a stuttering breath.

Hive magic, no wonder the injury felt familiar. He should have known, should have recognized the sensation of Darkness burning away at his armor, burning against his skin, and gradually burning away at his light. Akiva should have recognized it for it had been the same sensation when he and the Chargers stormed Crota's Ascendant realm, where he and the others would have to consistently pause to lick away at their wounds. He recalls it being a long and arduous process.

"Akiva. Hey. Look at me."

Throat tight, Akiva complied with his Ghost's command, flicking his golden eyes over and locking onto Lex's.

"Breathe." The Ghost said.

That single word was enough for Akiva to take in a deep gasp, followed by rapid breathes. He hadn't even realized.

As he attempted to get his breathing back to normal, Akiva then heard Lex let out a frustrated sound.

"Why in the Traveler's Light does things never go right for us!" The upset was obvious in his Ghost's voice, "Just once! Why can't anything go along as planned!?"

Taking in his Ghost's words, Akiva then raised a hand, pressing it against his chest. He let out a relieved breath at the absence of burning, the area numb. Thus, Akiva smiled sheepishly at his Ghost.

"Bad luck just likes to follow us wherever we go."

Hearing Lex scoff at his words, Akiva then heard another gunshot echo through the cave, prompting him to abruptly sit upright.

Followed by a shot of pain from his chest.

Akiva curled in,

"Euugh."

"Orion has it handled." He heard Lex snap. This was quickly followed by a short pause, "At least, I think so."

Doubtful of his ghost's words, Akiva forced himself to look up, easily spotting the green and brown clad form of Orion engaging the two Revenants. He was ducking the Titan's swings and pivoting to the side to dodge the Warlock's estranged magic. In other words, he was doing well handling them on his own.

But for how much longer?

Pressing a hand against the floor to push himself to his feet, Akiva instead let out a hiss as pain once again spiked throughout his body. Raising a hand to his chest once more, Akiva barely caught Lex's sputtering, listening to his Ghost glide close and shell shifting in agitation. Taking in a deep breath, Akiva attempted once more, gritting his jaw as agony ran through his nerves, and his vision went white. He stumbled, reeling with one hand to keep himself steady.

Then he launched himself towards Orion and the two Revenants.

With his senses ringing from the pain, Akiva barely comprehended where he was going, worried that when he felt himself bodily slammed into someone, that he might have accidentally caught Orion. Thus, when his eyes spotted red and black, he was relieved. Now the question is if he got the Warlock or the Titan.

A swift punch to the face was enough of an answer.

Stumbling back, Akiva let out a groan as his body protested, feeling the burns against his chest throb.

That is when the familiar hum of arc light buzzed in his ears.

Easily shrugging aside the fact that it sounded wrong, Akiva flicked his eyes up, just in time to see the Revenant Titan rearing back a fist, and sparks of violet light flickered from his palm. Realizing that there was no time to dodge, Akiva sucked in a breath, gathering his void light within his chest and praying that he could prepare a Ward in time, praying that he would gain its protection quickly enough.

However, just as he lifted his hands to summon the powerful shield, a resounding bang echoed through the cave followed by a fiery explosion engulfing the Titan. There wasn't even enough time for him to scream before he disappeared in a ball of flames.

"Onosi!"

Jaw dropping, Akiva then snapped his head towards the Revenant Warlock at his cry, just in time to hear another bang to ring through the air, and the Warlock too disappeared in flames with hardly a sound.

Waiting until he spotted the familiar shape of their Ghosts hovering where they had been killed, Akiva then took the opportunity to slowly turn his eyes until they settled upon Angel. And saw the familiar flaming gun in his hands.

"Angel." Akiva said slowly, turning to face the young Hunter, "When did you learn how to use a Golden Gun?"

At first, there was no response from Angel, and Akiva couldn't help but feel uneasy, especially during the scuffle, the Dregs must have knocked the young Hunter's helmet off, revealing a blank expression on the Hunter's face. Even the Dregs had ceased in their scramble for the life-giving Ether. Instead, they were chittering nervously as they clung onto Angel's arms and shoulders.

Then, after a few beats of silence, Akiva spotted Angel's green eyes glinting with fire before he twirled the makeshift gun once in his hands.

"Recently." He answered.

How recent though?

However, before Akiva could further question the young Guardian, he then realized that Angel had yet to put away the flaming revolver. And then, he realized what Angel was aiming at.

"Angel! Wait!"

Reaching out a hand, Akiva tried to move, taking a step forward, only for his body to protest, pain and aches lingering against his senses. From the corner of his eyes, Akiva saw Orion move forward, arc light flickering around his body. A vain attempt to boost his speed.

It wasn't enough.

Akiva can only look on with wide eyes as Angel fired one shot.

And the Ghost of the Revenant Titan shattered into a display of glittering shards.