[b]Episode Four[/b] Commander Zavala watched the Fallen charge the walls of the City, paying little heed to some of those that deteriorated into nothing more than dust as they made their way further into the Traveler's wards. He frowned. More than half were able to pass through the weakened defensive mechanism. "What's going on here?" he asked, mostly to himself. "Why now?" Amanda Holliday shrugged. "I just got a report from the Tower that a Winter starship landed on the Twilight Gap. I think they're storming the walls now so that they can keep all available Guardians busy while the Fallen take the fortress. It's the only possibility." Zavala's stomach lurched. She was right. "Then I should finish up the rabble here," he said. "Miss Holliday, you should depart. You are not a combatant trained to fight these creatures." The woman unholstered a hand cannon from her thigh and raised a brow. "Still…I'd feel better if you left this area." "At least let me stay to see my ships in action," she replied, grinning. "If you wish." Zavala waved a hand in signal to the neighboring garrison. His glowing-white gaze shifted to his right and caught thirty shapes in the distance, soon made out to be jumpships, drawing close above the battlefield to where the Fallen were thickest. The vehicles slowed for barely a second. Crackling shapes leapt from the jumpships and descended upon the charging enemies like a shower of meteors. His Striker Titans. The Guardians fell into the ground, splitting the earth and sending a whirlwind of Arc electricity into the Fallen. Hundreds of aliens disintegrated where they ran. Another squadron of jumpships plunged low and retrieved the strike force using Holliday's short-range teleportation pads. "Your third-generation jumpships are impressive, Miss Holliday," said Zavala. Amanda nodded. "That they are." She holstered her hand cannon and tossed her cropped blonde hair. "Well I won't be needed here any longer. I'll be more of use in the Tower, so good luck, Zavala." He was going to need it. Another wave of Fallen troops stormed the wall, and he didn't have another strike force for another ten minutes. The Vandals let loose guttural screams. They jumped onto the wall, using strange axes that dug into the stonework with little resistance, all the while mounted turrets battled with the spider tanks. Dropships swarmed the smoke-trailed sky. The Titans rained down bullets at the climbers. It was pure chaos. Four Vandals managed to flop onto the wall and was met with a merciful greeting. Bullets ran through their heads, one by one, falling without even so much as raising their own weapons, or recognizing their killer. More poured through the Defender's shield. Zavala caved in a skull with the butt of his assault rifle and rolled, grabbing a neck and throwing a Dreg off the side of the wall. Arc bullets glanced off his overshield. He spun, caught sight of five Captains and their teams digging their way through the Guardian line, and dropped his assault rifle. Zavala let Light spill forth from his body, allowing violet plates to form like armor. It was an interesting variation of the Ward of Dawn that Saladin had taught him, a technique the man claimed was invented by Jolder, a long-fallen Iron Lord. This armor would augment Zavala's strength, his speed, without fear of taking any extraneous damage. It was a weapon, as it was a shield. The Titan sprinted toward the Fallen horde, splintering the very ground beneath his feet and ignoring the bullets that tried to penetrate the compressed Light that shaped around his body like a shell. Zavala took the first Captain in the chest with his very helmet, caving in its alien ribs. He grabbed his wrist and spun him in a circle like a wrecking ball. The Fallen spilled down the wall, but some recovered their footing. They charged him. Zavala blocked a rake of claws and crushed the Vandal's skull with his fingers, then, kicked a Captain's cutlass out of his hands. He took the blade and spun one more time, disemboweling the Fallen around him in one fell blow. Ether rose into the air, covering him in thick, curling steam. The Titans on the wall, staunch in their duty, kept the Ward of Dawn high, despite brushing shoulders with death. The Guardians rallied at Zavala's performance, killing the Fallen at a steady pace. But it wasn't enough. He looked down and hundreds of Vandals and Dregs climbed the wall in a mass of bodies. An endless stream of Shanks flitted past the defenders. He wouldn't be able to help the Guardians at the Twilight Gap for a long while, yet. [i]Zavala[/i], said the Ghost within him. [i]Call incoming from Saladin[/i]. [i]Patch him through.[/i] The next voice that spoke into his head wasn't the voice of his Ghost, but the deep, commanding voice of Saladin Forge, the last of the Iron Lords and his former mentor that trained him once in all of his ways. [i]Zavala[/i], said Saladin. [i]How goes the South? [/i] He grunted. [i]Not well[/i], he replied. [i]I am holding this wall, but the Fallen are overpowering us with their numbers. There are thousands of them. I can maintain my side, but there are no available Guardians able to reinforce the fortress at the Gap. [/i] [i]Hold steady, Guardian. The Vanguard and I are going to take the North. Eris Morn and her Order of Warlocks will accompany us.[/i] [i]What happened to Shaxx?[/i] Asked Zavala, worry tugging at his heart. Saladin huffed in apparent anger. [i]The boy abandoned his post and is leading a battalion of our last battle frames to the Twilight Gap.[/i] He cursed. [i]Now, the Tower is without leadership, save for the Speaker. Shaxx is risking everything on his one attack. Even the City. [/i] [b][url=http://www.bungie.net/en/Forum/Post/92779240/0/0/1]EPISODE ONE[/url][/b] [b][url=http://www.bungie.net/en/Forum/Post/93092612/0/0/1]EPISODE TWO[/url][/b] [b][url=http://www.bungie.net/en/Forum/Post/94013318/0/0/1]EPISODE THREE[/url][/b] [b][url=https://www.bungie.net/en/Forum/Post/96203881/0/0]EPISODE FIVE[/url][/b] [i][b]DISCLAIMER: THIS SERIES IS A WORK OF FAN FICTION, SO CREATIVE LIBERTIES HAVE BEEN TAKEN. DO NOT TAKE THIS STORY AS CANON. DUE TO A LIMITED AMOUNT OF LORE, I HAD TO SPECULATE ON WHICH CHARACTERS BELONGED TO WHICH CLASS AND SO FORTH.[/b][/i] [b][url=https://www.bungie.net/en/Forum/Post/100362914] DESTINY FAN FICTION ARCHIVE[/url][/b] [b][url=https://www.bungie.net/en/Clan/Forum/823422]JOIN CLAN FOR FAN FICTION UPDATES[/url][/b]