Chapter Text
"Repeat, Tower Approach, this is City Hawk seven-two-three. Anyone home?"
Aurelia’s Ghost continues to radio in for a response, but all channels only give off static, if any feedback at all.
She looks over to her sister as her Ghost still attempts contact.
Her sister's Ghost, Nyx, hovers next to her, looking out of the window.
"Aurelia, I’m going to need you to fly us as fast as you can," Quintessa orders, placing a hand on her shoulder.
She floors it, pushing the ship to its limits. In less than half a minute they are breaching the last of the clouds and viewing the City.
"What the hell?" Her sister breathes, leaning down to get a better view.
She is also horrified. The whole City is in flames, and there are enemy ships dominating the sky. The Tower is half destroyed and the Wall is banged up.
But the worst is the Traveller. It looks caged and sick.
"What do we do, Quinn?" She asks, glancing back.
Quintessa stands back up and thinks for a second.
"We need to find the Vanguard and figure out what the hell is going on. Get us as close to the plaza as you can."
--
When they're dropped down the enemy is almost instantly upon them.
The pair easily get through them and begin on their journey up when they hear Zavala over the short range comms.
‘Rendezvous in the plaza.’
At least now they have a clear destination, so she runs as fast as she can through the building, following her sister.
A door gets thrown open in front of them.
"Cayde!"
"Hey, you two," Cayde greets, “Give me a second.” He turns from them and immediately lights up orange. His Golden Gun flares brightly as he fires off three shots, killing the oncoming Cabal instantly.
“What’s going on?” Quinn demands, standing in the doorway.
“Zavala’s doing his hero act in the plaza. Me? I’ve got a date with whoever’s behind this. It’ll be a short date,” he says as an answer.
And before either of them get a word in, he transmats out.
“Continue to Zavala?” Aurelia asks, turning to her sister. Quintessa stands for a moment and thinks it over, eyes darting around as though an answer lies on the walls around her.
“Continue to Zavala,” she finally says, beginning to run through the hall to the plaza. “We help with protecting civilians, and can get further instructions after.”
They get to a flight of stairs as she finishes talking and find a Redjack standing guard, and share a look as they rise the steps.
“Over here, Guardians. My armoury is open to you,” Shaxx says loudly to them, and she risks a glance to her sister. They’re still not clearly visible in the darkness, so Shaxx likely can’t tell who’s shown up.
They head forwards anyway, knowing that helping protect the civilians is their top priority.
Quintessa holsters her weapon and removes her helmet as they approach the large Titan. He is holding the door to his armoury open, and clearly using a lot of strength to keep it that way.
“Protect these people, Shaxx,” Quintessa says to him, stopping next to the Titan. Aurelia bypasses them and heads through the doors to grab and load their new weapons. She’s never been in here before, what with Shaxx almost never letting anyone near his things.
“I will,” she hears him reply. “These Cabal are tough opponents. I know you both to be capable fighters, but please be careful. You and your sister.”
Aurelia holds their weapons and turns back to face her sister. She feels like she’s invading a private moment when she does.
Quintessa is resting her forehead on Shaxx’s helmet, her eyes closed. The whisper of ‘I love you’ barely reaching her ears. She leans back a bit and plants a gentle kiss where she leant, and then steps through the door.
The Hunter looks back to her husband one final time before those doors slam shut, finally winning against her Titan’s strength.
“If the situation weren’t so dire, I’d be making fun of you for being cute,” she teases, holding an auto rifle out while Quintessa puts her helmet back on.
“Shut up. I think I’m allowed to be romantic with my husband in the midst of an invasion,” Quintessa replies, taking the gun and leading the way through the back of the armoury.
They travel silently, and take out all Cabal they come across.
“Where’s Kavura? When we headed out she stayed here. Would she be on the frontlines or helping the refugees?” She asks as they continue through the wall, entering the ruined remains of the hangar.
“I think Zavala would’ve entrusted her with refugees. She’s a capable fighter, and he always puts innocent lives above all else. Where better to have her, than holding enemies off while getting people get to safety?” Quintessa replies, stopping at a corner.
Her tracker shows multiple enemies just around it, so she double checks her weapon, her sister doing the same, before charging around the corner.
As Shaxx had said before, the Cabal are tough, especially when they come in large numbers, but she’s fought worse and come out on top before, and she will do so again.
Soon they’re coming up on the plaza, and both pause to take in the sheer destruction of the place.
“The Cabal are going to regret ever attacking us,” Quintessa growls from beside her, the tone chilling her to the core. She has never heard it, or anything like it, come from the woman’s mouth before. Honestly, she’s afraid to turn to her.
But she understands the rage. This place is where they spent so much of their time, the Hunter much more than herself. Many memories were made in this plaza. It was where she first landed, where Quintessa and Kavura met, where Shaxx threw someone from when they made unwanted advances on her sister.
“Absolutely, she responds, beginning to move forwards. “We’ll make sure of it.”
Zavala stands in front of sealed doors, fighting off waves of Cabal. Quinn is already racing ahead and shooting at them all.
“Guardians, don’t let them pass the gate. The evac shuttles are back there!” He yells, firing at a few who get too close.
She runs to Zavala’s side to help hold them off, but Quinn stays closer to the balcony, taking them down before they overwhelm.
“Missiles! Get inside my shields,” Zavala yells, and she takes up her stance behind him. Quinn runs from where she was and jumps into the void bubble just as the missiles hit.
“Shit, that was close,” the Hunter says, looking out at the explosions.
This goes on for another fifteen minutes before Ikora comms them.
“Zavala, the last of the shuttles is away. But the Speaker – he never made it. I’m going to look for him.”
“Go. I’ve got the plaza. Help Ikora,” he orders. She begins to rush off to the north of the tower, but when she gets to the door she notices her sister isn’t with her.
Quinn is still firing at Cabal beside Zavala, and he’s yelling something at her. After a few more Cabal drop, Quinn finally abandons the Commander’s side and runs after her.
“You didn’t need to stop, I would’ve caught up,” the woman says, continuing through the tower to the Speaker’s domain.
They come out the other side and find that part of the tower…missing.
“Where is he?” She breathes, staring at the now open area.
“The Speaker is gone!” Ikora wails, blasting a ball of pure void at the Cabal hovering on the balcony.
“Red Legion, you will take no more from us,” she yells as a Thresher flies up to them, “and you will find no mercy in me!”
She leaps into the air and fires another ball of void into its right engine, landing on the ship as it begins to drop.
Aurelia stares in horror as both the ship and her Vanguard begin hurtling to the ground, but Quinn snaps her out of it.
“Listen, she’s tough. She’ll be fine, and she’ll find the Speaker. Now let’s go, Amanda is coming to pick us up from the North Tower. Zavala wants us on that command ship,” the woman snaps, pulling her from the ledge.
With a resigned sigh, she obeys.
After battling through the tower market, they reach the other side.
Amanda flies into view. “Someone told me you need a ride.”
“Yes, ma’am,” Quinn responds as they get transmatted on board the ship.
--
“Alright, so we know where the shield generators are located. You ready to fight a legion of Cabal?” Quinn asks, cocking her shotgun.
Aurelia nods, determined to fight back for all they’ve lost.
They sneak around, and Quinn stops her, proceeding on her own for a bit.
“I can fight as well, you know,” she grumbles to herself when Quinn rounds a corner.
“Yes,” her Ghost comments, “but she did run stealth missions for many years. This is her element.”
He’s right, but she still wants to help.
She hears Cayde and Zavala talking on her comms, but the connection is terrible and she can only make out a few words.
“Alright, the area’s clear. Come on through,” Quinn says, and she follows, happy to finally be allowed to do something.
She runs through a whole section that’s littered with dead Cabal. Soon she comes across her sister, who’s standing at a door.
“We need to be on full alert for the next part of the ship. It’s outside and the ground is slippery from the rain, and Cabal are swarming the area. Also we need to kill a Centurion to gain his key codes, and he’s over at the far end by the door we need to get through. You ready?”
She’s ready.
The doors open and she charges out, guns blazing. Quinn runs to the right and vanishes from sight.
Psions fire at her relentlessly and catapult her into the air, making it difficult to get past them.
“Centurion’s dead, and I’ve got his key codes,” Quinn reports.
How the f-…stealth operative.
She backtracks and follows the path she believes her sister took, and quickly reaches the door.
“Took your time,” Quintessa chides, walking through. More Cabal lie dead at their feet.
“I was drawing the enemy away from you,” she snaps back, no bite behind her words. Her sister just nods, clearly not buying it.
“Now, Nyx has told me that the generators are through here, a few levels down. We’re not too far now,” she says, and Aurelia keeps pace.
A Psion’s shot scrapes the side of her helmet, and she ducks behind cover.
Quinn is once again no longer in sight, but whether she’s using her stealth tech or just simply hiding behind something is unclear.
So Aurelia pulls out her sniper and begins aiming.
Psions drop every time she pulls the trigger.
“Ignore them. We’ve got a job to do,” Quinn comms, and Aurelia sighs.
“I know, but I’d rather not deal with them on the way back out,” she replies, swapping her sniper for an auto rifle.
She’s not surprised to find Quinn at the level they need to be, waiting for her at the doors.
At least she doesn’t look impatient.
The doors open, and an Incendior stands in their path, gun pointed straight at them.
“Ah, fuck,” Quinn sighs, “I hate these guys.”
They both leap back as he aims his flamethrower at them.
Aurelia opens fire and shoots his tanks. They combust and explode, killing him instantly.
“Good shot,” Quinn compliments, jogging ahead of her. The praise goes straight to her head.
Another Cabal steps out ahead of them, a blue shield around him.
“Be careful,” her Ghost warns, “that’s Kreth the Living Skyfire. He has quite the reputation for being tough.”
Ghost was right.
He fires a barrage of fireballs that burn through her robes and blacken her skin. Her burns throb, and she ducks behind a wall and waits for herself to heal.
The instant pain relief is bliss, and for a split second she forgets where she is. Then it all comes back.
Quinn is slashing at Kreth with her knife, dodging his hits. She’s too close for him to use his weapon, so he’s swinging and kicking at her.
One hit lands, and she’s thrown back, landing with a roll.
Aurelia reaches out to the void and summons it to her right hand.
When she can no longer hold it, she faces Kreth and lets it fly, ensnaring the Cabal within it. He howls in anguish before the void consumes him.
“Come on. The generators are right through the door.”
--
“Amanda!” Her Ghost cries out, failing to reach their pilot. She and Quintessa burst through the doors of the burning vessel, both gulping down clean air through their helmets, the filters able to clear themselves.
The shield generator are down, but it looks like they’re too late.
“How do we come back from this?” Her Ghost asks, and it then that she notices the state of the Traveler. It looks sick, caged down the way it is.
“You don’t.”
She spins on her heel and comes face-to-face with an important looking Cabal, flanked by two Imperial Centurions.
Quintessa pulls her back a bit, and she notes that her sister is trying to shield her.
We can take them, she thinks, we’ve taken down much larger enemies before.
“Welcome to a world,” the Cabal gestures to the Traveler, and she looks, “without Light.”
Those words trigger pain within her. Gravity increases on her, pulling her down. She sees Quintessa struggling with the same feelings, but definitely holding herself up better. Her Ghost hits the ground, looking offline, and she weakly pulls him to her chest, cradling him.
The Cabal steps forward, and Quintessa raises her handgun to him, firing twice. She sees the shake of her hands, something that never happens. Her sister is a great shot, especially at close range, but both bullets miss their mark. The gravity is affecting her aim.
“Pathetic,” the Cabal growls, stepping forwards more, his face showing signs of anger.
Quintessa fires the rest of her rounds at him, and one bullet lodges itself in his neck, the rest missing wildly.
He growls, and charges forwards, shoving her. She goes flying across the top of the ship. Aurelia turns to her and stares in horror. This isn’t how the fight was meant to end. They were meant to win, and save everyone as they always did.
As the Cabal steps up to her, his leg swinging backwards, she accepts that maybe this is actually it.
Pain rips through her side, and she clenches her jaw to hold back the cries of agony. Her Ghost flies free from her hold, and as she hits the ship again, she is unable to tell where he’s landed.
“You asshole,” her sister hisses from somewhere to her left. It’s followed by more gunshots.
“You think your weak attempts to kill me do anything? The Light has truly made you think you are greater than you are,” says the Cabal voice, approaching from the right.
She tries to roll over, but her side still hurts. Wow, when did she last experience pain like this? She can’t recall. Someone, Quintessa probably, starts pulling on her left arm, dragging her across the ship.
“You can try and retreat, but you have nowhere to go. True cowards, you both are. You are not brave, but have simply forgotten the fear of death.” His voice fades out a little bit as her blood rushes past her ears, deafening her with the roar.
Quintessa is still dragging her.
“At least I have chosen to delay our end, and how it will come about,” her sister spits, finally stopping her movements. She can feel the wind whipping past her, different form before.
They’re at the edge of the ship. High up in the air.
“I have taken your Light. Death is all that awaits you now, Allow me to reacquaint you with the concept,” The Cabal says, his voice almost above her.
“Fuck you, we’ll reacquaint ourselves,” Quintessa snaps back, and Aurelia wishes the pain wasn’t crippling her so much, because she actually would like a say in her own death. But as it is, she can’t even open her eyes.
Oh, how she wishes her Ghost could just take the pain away.
Then she feels weightless. The gravity that crippled her is no more. She is floating on nothing. Maybe this is what death feels like, and maybe it isn’t so bad.
But then she feels arms wrap around her, and no, this isn’t death. Not yet.
“I’m so sorry, Aurelia. I couldn’t get us out of it this time, couldn’t make this a successful mission,” her sister sobs into her shoulder, and she forces herself to hug back, ignoring the pain, just willing her arms to move.
Her sister only cries harder, whispering ‘I’m sorry’ over and over.
Aurelia finally forces her eyes open and, holy shit we are hurtling real fast to the ground. This is not how I saw us dying!
They’ve hit terminal velocity, and the impact should instantly kill them. Please make it quick. Oh Traveler, please grant us that.
Her consciousness begins to fade, and she allows it to slip away, hoping for as little awareness as possible for what is fast approaching.
“Fucking dammit! I will not let you die on this night!” Her sister hisses.
At least I get to die after hearing your voice one last time, hearing your determination, she thinks, and it is her final thought before unconsciousness takes her.
==========
“Fucking dammit! I will not let you die on this night!”
She can feel her sister’s body slump just a little bit more, and knows the girl has passed out. If only she were also so lucky.
But no, even if it’s the last thing I do, I’m going to give you another chance at life.
The ground is fast approaching, and she only has a few seconds to act.
She is already angled the way she wants, with her back to the ground and her sister above her. She curls her feet up so that they rest against her sister’s chest.
The first signs of buildings show up in her peripheral, and she turns her head to the side. The tallest of the city structures are already higher in the sky than her.
Perfect.
She waits another second, and then kicks her sister up with all her strength.
“Live!” She shouts as her sister is suddenly getting further from her. But her kick throws off her trajectory. Instead of hitting flat ground at terminal velocity and possibly dying instantly, she is instead flying sideways.
A brick wall approaches her, and she instinctively curls up.
Please live, sister.
The collision is quick, and her world turns to black.