"Ikora, ready when you are." Zavala's voice sounded in their radios like the bell announcing the storm. There was no turning back.

"Copy." The Warlock waved to Jayden, who raised his heavy grenade launcher. "Fire in the hole!"

The projectile exploded at the feet of a Legionnaire. Ikora set off at full speed on her Sparrow in the direction of the Cabal fort, followed by two Titans.

Jayden put away his grenade launcher and drew his assault rifle. Willow already had her hand cannon, and Zara had laid her bow across her seat. The Guardians nodded their heads and started their Sparrows. Ikora's group would go around the wall and strike on the west side, and theirs would go to the opposite side. Meanwhile, Zavala's troops would advance from the north.

Their vehicles drove over the rubble lifted by the cabal machines. Shots rang out from their backs, and red ships converged on the City. Skirmishes broke out everywhere, led by squads of three or six Guardians. Priority was given to flash strikes, harassing the enemy without giving them time to retaliate. While the Legion was distracted, the Vanguard could reach the rooftops to install the Vex teleporter.

They were approaching their attack point. Floodlights were already illuminating the street, and the guttural cries of the Cabals were echoing in the base. A Centurion, perched on the footbridge overlooking the street, was bawling orders to a whole regiment of soldiers. Zara slammed the brakes and drew her bow. Willow branched off into an alley and disappeared. Jayden continued straight ahead and, when he reached one of the entrances to the wall, struck three Legionnaires without stopping.

Immediately, the Centurion turned around and pointed at the Titan with a furious gesture. He responded with another salvo, but the fire was blocked by the shield deployed by a Phalanx in front of its commander.

Zara bandied her bow. The angle was perfect. The arrow slid into the soft gap between the helmet and the Phalanx's breastplate, and the void charge exploded, taking with it a few Psions marksmen and the Centurion's shield. A bullet from Willow's sniper rifle shattered his skull before he had time to retreat. From her post on the roof of a nearby building, the Hunter destroyed the cabal generators, plunging the street back into darkness, and changed her position before she was spotted.

Alerted by the fights, other Cabals arrived at the top of the wall. A hail of projectiles forced the Guardians to retreat into the surrounding ruins.

"Hawthorne, Jayden here," the Titan said as he reloaded his rifle. "We have reinforcements approaching on the west side, what's your status?"

"Zavala and Ikora are inside." A sniper rifle clattered. "But we're trapped by energy barriers. See if there's anything you can do to keep them away until we get this sorted out!"

"Understood." Jayden stared at them. For the moment, there were no injuries. "They haven't locked us up yet. From outside, we can try to reach their generators. Zara, try to..."

The growing roar of a Harvester ship interrupted him. The Cabal transporter was approaching the base. Under its belly, held by magnetic grapples, was a Goliath tank.

"It's not good." His eyes followed the ship's course. "Hawthorne and his guys are trapped to the north. If they drop that thing there, they're gonna get slaughtered."

"Do you have a suggestion?" Willow asked.

"Yes. We'll take care of it here."

"With three of us?" Willow let out a nervous chuckle. "You can't be serious."

"We have to be quick. Zara, how many rockets do you have left?"

"He's serious..."

"Four."

"Good. Destroy this magnetic harness."

The Warlock waited for the Harvester to fly past them and fired with a Reginar-B just above the tank. The arc blast threw the ship off balance causing it to collide with a half-collapsed building. The rubble damaged the remaining harnesses, and the tank eventually unhooked, leaving the smoking Harvester to fall back.

All four engines of the vehicle ignited, slowing down its fall, which still shook the ground on impact. The huge cannon immediately pivoted towards the fireteam's hideout and charged up with solar power.

"Get moving!" bawled Jayden.

The missile exploded the base of the building, sending a rain of smoking rubble into the air. The Guardians had moved away in time – the charging time of the cannon made its trajectory predictable – and dispersed around the enormous war machine.

"Aim for the reactors!" Willow raised her sniper rifle and fired three bullets into the armored joints of the antigravity thrusters. The tank retaliated with a swarm of micro-missiles, forcing the attackers to take cover.

Zara had crouched behind a concrete block torn from a building and reloaded her rocket launcher. Suddenly, a red ray crossed her field of view. Before she could react, a silhouette projected in front of her, and the Psion's shot ended up in Jayden's thick shoulder pad.

"Get up there and take care of the snipers. Willow and I'll take the Goliath."

"I can't fly anymore." Zara pointed to the catwalk, more than ten meters above the ground. "How do you want me to reach them?"

"I will help you. Willow, diversion!"

"All right!"

The Hunter zigzagged between the bursts of the tank's automatic turrets and slipped into its blind spot, just behind its reactors. She climbed onto the armor and began to destroy the vehicle's sensors.

Jayden ran to position himself at the foot of the wall, legs bent and hands together.

This is madness.

Zara holstered her weapon and charged towards the Titan. She leaned on her hands, and Jayden propelled her into the air. His strength had not disappeared with the Light.

The Warlock arrived halfway up the wall and managed to grasp a recess. She began to climb the metallic wall, taking care to stay out of sight of the Psions. Under her feet, the battle continued, but she had no time to watch.

Suddenly, as she reached the top of the wall, a Psion appeared at the edge of the walkway and leaned toward her. As a reflex, she threw herself to the side. The solar projectile tore her shoulder, wrenching out a cry of pain. Her hand let go of the wall, and her feet slipped. She found herself hanging by one hand, the deep burn blurring her vision. The Psion pointed his rifle at her again, taking care to aim at her head.

Zara roared and reached out her injured arm to the creature. She grabbed the barrel of its weapon and pulled at her with all her might. Surprised, the Psion fell into the void and crashed at the foot of the wall. Koryl took the opportunity to emerge into the open air and heal her wound, then vanished.

The Warlock rose to the catwalk, where other Psions were waiting for her. A few bursts of sidearm and palm blows later, they were reduced to corpses. She returned close to the edge, getting a clear view of the battlefield. The tank was smoking in several places. One of its missile launchers was destroyed, and two of its engines were spewing puffs of black smoke.

Zara pulled out her rocket launcher and aimed at one of the damaged thrusters. The explosion tore off armor plates and shook the vehicle, which wobbled on its side, depriving it of a quarter of its mobility. The main cannon turned in her direction, and the Guardian threw herself from the top of the wall, sliding down the steep slope and painfully rolling over the devastated ground. The tank did not have time to fire.

A new sniper rifle shot exploded a second engine. The vehicle tilted and its chassis hit the ground, destroying the rows of cobblestones with each movement. However, the turret was still operational. The cannon moved toward the source of the attack, and the missile blew the building apart, causing tens of tons of rubble to collapse.

"Willow! Is everything okay?"

No response.

"Zara, take cover!" Jayden slipped a fragmentation grenade under the belly of the tank and joined her behind an overturned civilian vehicle. "Give me one of your rockets and go get her. I'm going to blow this thing up from the inside."

The Warlock nodded and ran to the rubble. Koryl spread out beside her, darting his light into every nook and cranny. Zara called the Hunter again, without success. She became anxious as they sank into the smoking ruins.

"No, no, no, no, no, no..."

That was the voice of Lysis. They rushed towards her. When they went around the last piece of concrete separating them from the Ghost, Zara's breath was choked.

Willow was lying on a mountain of rubble. Her leg was bent at an unnatural angle. Lysis was flooding her with Light, without getting the slightest shudder. The Ghost repeated the same word over and over again, circling her Guardian.

"No, no, no, no, no, no..."

"Willow!" Zara knelt next to her friend. "Answer me, please!"

She removed the mask of the Hunter. Her face was inert, her eyes half-open. A trickle of blood flowed from her lips.

"I healed her," Lysis whimpered. "Why is she not waking up?"

Zara cast a desperate glance at Koryl, but the response from her Ghost was irrevocable. Anger overwhelmed the Guardian. She raised her head to scream, but she saw the black sphere in the war-torn sky, and her helplessness caused the scream to die in her throat.

There must be a way. Think! It can't end like this!

The Warlock got up, rummaged through her pockets, through the smallest folds of her robes, looking for something that could help her. Her hands met her ammunition supply. A crazy idea sprouted in her mind.

"Lysis, take off her armor. Koryl, help me dismantle this. Time is running out."

The Ghosts went to work without question. A shock wave shook the street, and a fireball rose into the sky. Jayden had succeeded.

Zara separated the arc energy cells from the detonation mechanism and recovered the electronic guidance circuit. She undid the string of her bow and tied the components together. Her fingers moved by instinct, her subconscious dictating centuries-old learnings.

When her assembly was finished, she leaned over Willow, stripped of her vest.

"Step aside." She took off her helmet, turned on the device and pressed it against the Hunter's chest. The shock of arc energy spread through her body, causing her to spasm violently.

Zara pressed her ear against her friend's heart, hoping to hear a beat.

Nothing.

She straightened herself up and sent another jolt. Nothing. Another one. Nothing.

"Wake up!" Zara screamed as she made one last attempt.

Still nothing.

The batteries were exhausted. The Warlock dropped her makeshift defibrillator. Jayden arrived, and his victorious smile faded away. The Titan slowly dropped one knee to the ground and looked down, silent.

Zara's throat was dry. As the terrible reality imposed itself upon her, she felt Koryl's cold touch against her cheek. She embraced her Ghost, and burning tears ran down her face.

Then, an intense light rose in the heart of the Last City. For a moment, the nova filled every shadowy corner, every crack, every scar inflicted by the Cabals.

Zara suddenly felt a powerful heat in her chest. The energy that overwhelmed her was so powerful that it was almost painful. Koryl swirled away, his Light-soaked shell sparkling in the smoky atmosphere.

"It's..."

"The Light!" Jayden murmured. "It's back!"

"Get out of the way!" Lysis exclaimed. "Everyone, move aside!"

The Ghost had a gesture of deep inspiration, and the petals of her shell spread apart, letting a luminous flow pass through, and hit her Guardian.

Willow stood up suddenly, coughed and rubbed her irritated eyes.

"Did I miss something?"

Zara burst out laughing and hugged her friend. First surprised, the Hunter hugged her back.

"Look!" Jayden said, pointing to the sky where the dawn was rising. "The Red Legion is flying away!"

"Really?" Willow tried to free herself from Zara's grasp to get a better look. "What happened?"

"The Traveler is free," the Warlock replied. Tears were still flowing, but no longer burning. It was like the soft rays of the Sun piercing through the clouds after a long night.