#I don’t really ship them but I remembered this audio and a vision got beamed into my brain

[peetae]

Idk how to draw boss wolf forgive me,,,,,,

[thedistantstorm]

Phoenix Protocol 35

Zavala x Awoken Female Warlock | Mid/Post Forsaken | Slowburn | Gratuitous Descriptions of Light | Self-Confidence/Self-Worth Issues | Redemption

When the Traveler’s Light was returned to the Guardians after the defeat of the Cabal, it did not manifest itself the same in everyone. Miyu, an Awoken Warlock, finds herself struggling with her abilities, her Light feeling different and not her own. With her Vanguard preoccupied with grief and all eyes turned to the Reef, she finds herself turning to an unlikely source in an attempt to rediscover her connection to the Light and define what it means for her as a Dawnblade.

Previously

-/

At some point, the whispers began. At first, they were just echoes of sound, not words, that seemed to bubble up behind them. They'd jump and turn their guns in a strange direction, startling each other, then laugh it off, try to calm themselves and press on, into the darkness.

And then the whispers started speaking to them.

Lilith doesn't know when the raspy shucks and shahs echoing off the became words that only she can hear. And she doesn't know when she started screaming into the darkness for them to stop, arguing against them - So what if she's not entirely organic? She's just as human!

She only realizes it when the Hunter grabs her hands to prevent her from harming herself, from scratching at the plating where her ears would be if they weren't sensors and - She really was human once, right? Wasn't she? - as she locks onto the blood dripping from under Morgana's helm, over the collar of her Hunter cloak that something is changing. Something is wrong.

"Don't listen," Morgana tells them both. Lilith can feel their entwined hands shaking, and the Hunter grips her harder. “Get a hold of yourselves.”

The Titan takes his helmet off, gasping. Lilith barely remembers him telling them his name is Alberto, but his friends call him Bertie. He has dark skin, her mind stutters, thinking of something besides the Hive. It reminds her of copper and bronze, like the metal that she…  She tries not to think of herself as a computer that can be reprogrammed like the voices have started telling her. Instead, she focuses on his face. His ears are bleeding. "Are yours-"

"Yes,” Morgana interrupts breathlessly, grunting. “We have to keep ourselves together. Deep breaths. Everyone with me?”

“I-”

“Nizana, did you get anything out of Miyu?”

The Warlock’s Ghost flickers between the trio like a flash-bang, dimming her optic so she doesn’t cast too much light. Lilith continues holding one of Morgana’s hands. Her grip is warm. The Hunter wraps her newly freed hand around Bertie’s wrist. “It let me send a message,” The petite bot says. “I confirmed receipt, but it hasn’t been read yet. She must be occupied with things. Usually her Ghost usually reads them immediately.”

“She must still be in the Ascendant Plane then! When she opens it it-”

“I’ll let you know straight away.”

-/

Her sword slices through everything like it’s cutting through butter, like the hard bony plating of the remaining Fatesmiths are softer than the worms that grant life within them. They howl as they fall, burning to dust. The Wizard watches her. Savathûn’s daughter.

The Eternal Return.

Miyu turns her eyes toward her, her toes barely touching the ground. It isn’t necessary. Her Light burns brighter than ever before. She holds out one perfect, burning, ethereal sword of Daybreak. “You’re next,” The Warlock tells her, willing her voice to stay even. She refuses to grow manic with power, just because she calls upon the flames and they feel right for the first time in she can’t remember how long.

Dûl Incaru calls upon her forces. Taken Thrall, Acolytes, Knights spawn.

They come too close to the fiery Warlock, and they turn to ash, burning away almost as fast as they spawn. The Wizard laughs, a high pitched cackle. She waits it out. The aura of Solar Light will eventually fade. She prepares to throw lofty blasts of Darkness at the Awoken Lightbearer when it does.

Miyu does not wait, though. She comes in close, she does not hang back like she had before. “You are my last obstacle,” She tells the Hive witch through gritted teeth.

Beside her, one of the Fatesmiths rise again. Her enemy’s massive shield regenerates.

The Warlock closes her eyes. The Light within her feels limitless. Her heart, her mind, her soul, it all feels like she could soar. She twists in a lightning-quick movement, and splits Ba-Kuur in half. He’s ashes in the wind once more. Eyes that shine like twin moons narrow in deadly intent. “Your turn,” Miyu says. “Do us all a favor and stay dead.”

The Witch Queen’s daughter does not like that.

She casts jets of chilling Darkness at her opponent, but her opponent does not seem phased.She weaves around the blows, and when Dûl Incaru lands a hit, she does not seem phased. Instead, she tips her sword and twists into the next volley and when she’s cut through that, she aims for the Wizard’s head.

Gaurog rises in the nick of time and sends her flying into a pillar.

She bounces back, fire and flesh made new. She plunges the Daybreak sword into the ground at the Wizard’s feet. Gaurog comes to his master’s aid, and Miyu holds out a hand and lets the fire consume.

It was less annoying when it was three of them, the Wizard thinks, those furious white eyes turn back to her. The Lightbearer glows yellow instead of orange - a different flame, though not any less uncomfortably warm. The Worm inside her constricts and she bites back the scream as it - and she - are destroyed from within by the Light they seek to claim, to destroy, to use to open the gateway.

Next time, The Witch Queen’s daughter thinks as she dies another death. Or the eternity of next times after that. The Curse on this place will again return. Eventually, the Distributary will be theirs.

-/

“Let me see, let me see, let me see!” Tamashii whirls around her frantic and concerned, phasing from side to side as she tries to follow him with her gaze. “Are you ok?” He scans her with a beam.

She nods, silent.

He makes a sound like a sigh. “Don’t you ever do that again!” He thunks into her chest hard. She brings her hands up, cupping him gently against her abdomen. “Letting go. What were you thinking?”

“It was a metaphor?”

“A metaphor? You could have died!”

Miyu laughs, giddy with adrenaline. “Sometimes you have to take a risk?”

Tamashii sighs. “Next thing I know you’ll be spinning a hand cannon and calling yourself a Hunter.”

“Never!” His partner sounds offended. She curls her lip as she peels back her Gauntlets, holds up her hands, flipping them side to side so he can see. “Also, see, I’m fine.”

“Yu-mi… Miyu. You cast… That was the whole - you used the wings, threw the swords - a LOT of swords…” He trails off. “Is this-”

Miyu nods. “I did what I said we were going to do.” She looks at the dingy, grey-tinged halls. “The Speaker - in my vision, he was right. The Light was there, when I was ready to stop being afraid.”

“It’s one thing in the moment,” Tamashii counters. “But now?” How do you feel?”

“Better. More… comfortable.” She smiles fondly. “Ready to go home.”

Tamashii lets her bring him up to eye level, her fingertips warm and gentle against the rounded fins of his shell. “I’m sorry about your sword,” He says. And he means it. About her helm and cannon, too.

“It did what it was meant to do.” A great, blackish blue, starlit expanse opens up in front of them. Their way home. It’s finally, finally over. And they’re both in one piece. "Anyway, Zavala thought it was more political than actual kindness." She shrugs. "And I do have other swords."

"You do," Tamashii agrees. She hums, still gently stroking his fins.  "Oh!" He demats from her grasp, as if something's finally gotten through to him. "There's - We got a message."

She straightens. "From who?

"Lilith. Wait,” He says. "This doesn't make sense."

"What?"

"We shouldn't be receiving anything while we're here. I've only seen our comms work when all parties are on one plane or the other."

"That's not possible. She said she was going to do strikes for the Vanguard. She left days ago." Miyu frowns.

"It's-" Tamashii stalls. "They were in the Archology. Her Ghost said they fell through the lower levels, then there was a portal, and-"

His Guardian gets the idea. "Can we get to her from here?"

"I don't think that's how this plane works. We're in a throne world… I think we should inform the Vanguard. If they send in more Guardians, they need to know what's going on."

"Okay," She agrees. "Send them a message and let them know we're coming." He falls silent, but confirms when the message has been sent through the phantasmal space of the dark-infused plane.

They leap through the portal. Miyu's focus isn't on Petra Venj, the Queen's Wrath who is studying her with great scrutiny.

"So?" She inquires tersely, demanding the other Awoken’s attention.

The Warlock straightens, turns her white eyes to meet Petra’s sky blue gaze."It was more of the same. I defeated-"

"Guardian?!"

Miyu stops mid-sentence, turning back to Tamashii.

His body shifts uncomfortably. "I just got another transmission from Nizana. It's an audio file. It's… kind of," He processes, "Hard to make out." The Warlock can feel Petra's brilliant eyes burning holes in the back of her head, she's starting at Miyu. "Sounds like combat. And - wait, this doesn’t sound right..." He wilts, "It ends in screaming."

"Is the timestamp-"

"Recent. In the last twenty minutes."

"Pull the ship from orbit. We can't waste time."

Tamashii flickers away. The Queen’s Wrath coughs.

"They took Sedia again,” Petra informs her, “Roughly forty-five minutes ago. I had hardly taken my eyes off her for an instant."

Miyu's look down. She sighs. "Sedia understands her duty. I'm sorry that my efforts did not help change things."

"The Curse has been repelled. It's as much as we can hope for, for now." Petra shifts her weight to her other hip. Her visage hardly softens but it's obvious she's trying to be considerate. "She had informed me that this was to be your last cycle."

"Yes."

She nods. "I won't keep you, then. Things are right back where they started from." The woman shakes her head, remembering herself and the required diplomacy of her position. "Anyway. We're grateful for your help," The Queen's Wrath offers. "Light go with you, Warlock."

Miyu speaks, her bell-chime voice both soft and proud. She looks Petra in the eye as she nods. "Queen's blessing, Cousin."

Unlike when she'd come here, on a wing and a prayer, full of doubt, she leaves the Dreaming City with purpose. There is no second guessing or doubt, no indecision. What she sought, she'd found. She does not look back.