revivalproject | ♤ Into the Unknown

Entry tags:

♤ Into the Unknown

WHO: Cayde-6 and OTA
WHERE: Temba
WHAT: Weathering the storm...
WHEN: Midway into things
WARNINGS: N/A, will change as needed

If not for Sundance, he would have no idea how many days have passed since they'd arrived back on Agra 10, much less how long they've endured the storm once they'd left for the ruined city.

It was easy to say that that had been a mistake. The wrongness brought on by the storm had warped Temba's atmosphere somehow. He felt just as weak as he had when Ghaul had first slapped that oversized bear-trap across the Traveler and cut off everyone's Light. Naturally it didn't stop him. He'd survived before, he'd do it again. He treated this storm intrusion and all it brought to bear as a challenge, and being the stubborn Hunter that he was, he wasn't backing down.

At first he'd tried his best to play it off. He'd heard about what the previous storm had brought, and at least he had Sundance here to confirm that the things, the people he'd seen in the storm were not really there. It was only a slight comfort, because it was damn hard ignoring the accusing eyes of an old friend and brother. Except Andal Brask didn't leave. And eventually such visions came back...with friends.

Not actually friends.

Rain soaked most of the interior of his clocktower as though the wind had purposely made an effort to hurl water into every corner and crevice it could through the cracks and gaping holes in the walls. Thankfully he hadn't much he'd left behind, but as he picked up soaked, blank sheets of paper from dark puddles, Cayde felt like he was being watched.

The crack of gunshots wasn't as sharp as they would have been, not with the storm's relentlessness, but they were noticeable within the near vicinity of the clocktower, as well as the brief flash of light that accompanied each shot, flaring feebly through the ruined upper floor of the building, as though the darkness itself were alive and seeping in. But that was just one's imagination. Wasn't it..?

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With the library not being very far from the clocktower, the shots don't go unnoticed by the Archivist as he checks on the building and the various rooms in it he has assigned certain uses to. At least the work he has put in to make sure the library can withstand these storms seems to be paying off, which doesn't mean that Jon isn't looking out of one of the windows and over to the tower with a concerned frown.

Whatever Cayde is fighting most likely isn't real. But that he is fighting something at all only means that even the Exo isn't free of deep terrors and fears he usually doesn't let show.

Grabbing the heavy coat he has left on a shelf, Jon casts a nearby lingering figure a quick, warning glance before heading out into the storm again. Rather than sticking to the road, he decides to take the direct path, crossing over the muddy grass between the library and the clocktower, only stopping once his feet step on less muddy and more solid ground while ignoring the mocking invitation of a yellow door and the smug expression on the face of a well-dressed man watching his every move.

"Cayde. Cayde!" Jon shouts up into the storm while moving closer to the building. It's very doubtful that the Exo has heard him, isn't it.

At least Jon will be spared having to go up the dilapidated stairs in the darkness. A shadow leaps down from the opening in the wall high above, glowing blue eyes and the trace of amber light a sure enough hint as to who it is. Cayde turns quickly, gun upraised in alertness, but he does a double-take when he notices the Archvist.

"Jon! What're you-" A sound yanks his attention back upwards, and as lightning cracks somewhere, it's enough to throw light upon the red-armored creature that stares looks at them below. It's bigger and definitely more intimidating than an Agrii, four limbs about all they have in common, save that two are synthetic, but they grip the large rifle in the creature's hands steadily enough. The Fallen laughs, then drops down to join them, but surely the vibration from his landing is merely the echo of thunder from the storm. Cayde's got his gun aimed even before Taniks touches the ground, his optics narrow slits of blue.

The Fallen mercenary laughs again, belting something out in sibilant Eliksni. "You tried and failed twice before. This time I will let you join your brothers."

"Third time's a charm," Cayde quips, but there's a hard look in his eyes. If this isn't real, it's still a nasty surprise. The blows traded earlier sure felt real that it's hard for him to know what to believe, and he's not taking chances. Not with this guy.

Jon may be thankful to be spared the stairs, but seeing the Exo jumping down like that... It's something. And it's especially something that makes the Archivist take a step back in surprise, blinking widely at Cayde first, then over to the other creature as it lands not far from them.

Oh..

"What is--" He responds to Cayde's question with one of his own and equally doesn't finish it as the armored being cuts in. This has to be tied to the storm as well. Or is it?

"Cayde!" Jon tries to address the Hunter once again, though not without a bit of a grimace. "Is he another result of the storm?"

That's a bet Cayde wishes he could say he were confident to take, but he's not sure, and that's what bothers him more about the situation. And when he's not sure, he'd rather take care, because Taniks isn't someone you took lightly.

"If he is or if he ain't, he's dead either way," the Exo says, Ace's hammer pulling back as his finger twitches against the trigger. Several shots ring out, but the Fallen ducks and skitters aside, cloak whipping in the rain-tossing wind. He answers with a few shots of his own, just as loud as Cayde's, but Exo moves, and he'll grab Jon to get out of the way if he has to.

Fresh holes pock the wall of the clocktower where Cayde's bullets have struck, but between the dreary atmosphere and the encroaching darkness, it's hard to tell where Taniks' shots have gone, if there'd been any. The darkness does seem like it's particularly thick here, strangely enough. Even the lightning seems to have ceased, the only light coming from Cayde's face and whatever mechanisms make up Taniks' armor.

"Where'd he go..?" Cayde not quite growls, turning sharply to try and get a bearing on the Fallen, but it seems like Taniks has completely melted into the darkness. "...Jon?"

Without her powers, Wanda probably shouldn't be running towards gunshots, but it's hard to stifle several years of hero instincts. And everything is so weird right now that whatever's happened, she's pretty sure whoever fired the gun probably shouldn't be alone.

Running in blind is almost as bad as running in powerless as far as Wanda's concerned. She's so used to having a good read on the world around her, but now...even small sounds make her jump, and she doesn't even know who she's running in to help. Her hand goes to one of the twin hunting knives she'd picked up on one of the outposts they'd visited. Wanda was never trained to fight with a weapon and it's a lot less useful without her powers, but it's better than nothing.

She keeps her back against one of the walls and looks up in the darkness of the clock tower. "Hello?"

The tower's worn enough that there's plenty of crumbled steps. It's not exactly the best thing to be traipsing up in the dark, but instances such as these are not something Cayde had ever taken into consideration when he'd chosen this old building as his spot.

The hissing susurrus might be laughter of some twisted sort, garbled in an electronic sort of way. It echoes from the top floor, followed by the sound of more gunfire, a different, rapid-fire retort. A muffled curse and a thud precede the sound of someone falling down the upper part of the stairs. Blue light appears as Cayde opens his eyes, squinting before he shoves himself into a more upright position, his handcannon still clutched in his hand as he uses it support himself against a wall. He glares back up the stairs and then pauses at his unseen Ghost's words, glancing downwards.

"Wha-? Someone there?" he starts, but then a larger form in red armor lunges at him, and he's yanking his gun up to meet it, firing off again.

"Cayde?" Wanda does draw the knife now and starts heading up the stairs, gaze constantly flicking up into the gloom. She can hear something, but she can barely see its outline, just the glow of Cayde's optics.

(This isn't a good place to fight. Too cramped, too easy to take a bad fall. But that also goes for whatever's attacking Cayde. Natasha had taught her to look for these opportunities, to use the environment and her opponent's weaknesses against them. She's the smallest of the Avengers. Without her powers, she's not winning if a fight comes to brute strength.)

She rushes up the stairs as fast as she can to where her friend is and freezes, knife at the ready. What is that thing? "Get away from him!"

The space is tight as it is, but the creature that appears within Wanda's range just makes it seem that much smaller. The red-armored Fallen is huge, for a moment relinquishing the use of his rifle in favor of using two of his four hands to pin Cayde against the wall. It seems the shots the Exo had taken did nothing to stop it. Wanda's shout draws his attention, although it's difficult to tell if those are eyes or simply a strange helmet, but the thing seems more machine than organic for the metal limbs and the tubes coming from its head.

"You team with Warlocks now? Tired of seeing Hunters fall by my hand?" the creature laughs, the language neither English nor Agrii, but Wanda can understand it all the same. Cayde's grip on his weapon tightens, but his arm's being held down by one of the Fallen's hands, the other braced around his throat.

"You got a problem with Warlocks? You wouldn't laugh if Ikora were here," the Exo spits, but his bravado seems a bit forced.

Jon gets jerked out of the way of those potential shots with a yelp of surprise from the Archivist.

"Cayde- I, I'm here!" Jon replies, grimacing as he looks around at the encroaching darkness and the lack of sight of Cayde's opponent. The Archivist's voice sharpens. "Who is this person, Cayde? Is he someone you're afraid of- Or... Is he capable of doing something you are afraid to see happen?"

Because it's the things they fear that this storm draws out.

"His name is Taniks. Fallen mercenary, he took up the bounties on me an' some of my Hunter pals. He killed my friend...the Hunter Vanguard before me..."

Cayde nears where Jon is, if only thanks to Sundance giving him a better approximation of where the man is. The darkness is so thick it practically swallows everything, and even the Exo's internal lighting seems muted. "Thought we put him down- twice. Bastard just keeps coming back... Second time's when he got Andal..." When Cayde accepted losing the Dare and allowed himself to be tethered to the Tower, to the Vanguard.

His hand grasps in the darkness, trying to find Jon. "...this is somethin' else though..." he starts to realize. Taniks had no abilities with the darkness, and he can't hear the Fallen anywhere now.

"Right. It's the storm." Jon settles, one hand reaching to grasp Cayde's wrist, letting his hand be drawn towards the Exo's anxiety. Which seems less spurred by the creature seemingly attacking him than the fact that this Taniks isn't acting the way Cayde expects him to. The uncertainty paired with the darkness making it even harder to keep track of the Fallen and actually see what is happening.

He gives the Exo's arm a little pull, wordlessly indicating Cayde to follow his lead. Which for the beginning would be simply away from the tower. "Don't pay attention to him, Cayde. Look at me. He isn't real!"

He barely feels the Archivist's hand, distracted as the Exo is. While he isn't necessarily afraid of Taniks if he actually was here, he's afraid of what the Fallen was capable of.

Although Cayde likely would hardly be moved if he were adamant about it, he goes along with Jon, finally, if with some effort, pulling his attention from the surroundings he tries to search in vain, looking to the Archivist. "I know, I know..! It's just..." His metal features tighten in a scowl. "Is this a thing? With the storms? I don't remember hearing about.....about..."

His eyes have slowly drifted away from Jon again, but he's looking up, around, noticing how thick the darkness has become. He can barely see Jon, the clocktower's as good as gone. It might have been a forced laugh that he makes, but it's strangled, obviously taking an effort to even try to make the attempt.

"Cayde. Don't pay attention to it!" Jon hisses and his other hand grabs Cayde's arm, which the comparably short man then uses as guidance for his hands to find the Exo's shoulders next and step around and right in front of him to make himself more visible to Cayde.

Jon's voice adopts a sharp tone when he speaks again. It's almost commanding but without his compulsion being woven into the urgent words. "Look at me, Cayde! Ignore what's around us. Just look at me and tell me what you see."

Sundance's own tone bears an extra edge in concern as it rings out in his head, underlining the Archivist's words as he steps around in front of him. Cayde's anxiety doesn't quite surface on his metal features, but his distraction is quite clear, and it takes some effort for him to pull his attention away from his surroundings to look at Jon. Despite the lack of lungs he still expels a breath, or rather mimics the motion and sound.

It's a little distressing barely being able to see the man standing in front of him, even hearing him right there, verified by Sundance's radar. His free hand moves, finding the hand Jon's placed on his shoulder, gripping it. "I can barely see you, I- I know you're there because I hear you and feel you and Sundance is telling me someone's there, but..." His optics shutter slightly, straining against the darkness, trying to make out Jon's outline and failing.

She doesn't know if this is real or not real - with the Communications data point, being able to understand this creature is pretty normal and even if it's not real, Wanda knows from experience that these illusions can still hurt pretty badly. But without her own powers, what can she do? Physically, Cayde is stronger and tougher than she is and he's still been overpowered. She's not going to be able to force that thing off of him.

And in her panic and lack of any actually useful tools or weapons, the only thing she can think of to help Cayde is to try to bait the creature into coming after her instead and then...hope for the best. So she throws the first of her knives, aiming for the creatures eyes(?) as best as she can. "I said, hands off!"

It wasn't a great plan, but it also wasn't the worst. Except even the most clueless of Hunter kinderguardians could have thrown a knife better than Wanda does. She might as well have thrown a shoe for all the good it'll do if it even manages to connect. It isn't her aim that's the problem, exactly, just that she was never actually taught how and her powers didn't come with the Little Light's Guide to Life starter package.

But for her part Wanda stands her ground and manages not to look frightened. She just has to trust that Cayde will have her back.

Wanda's attempt is a noble one, no question about that. Taniks turns his head to glance towards her, but her knife just seems to bounce right off of him. It also ricochets and bounces right off Cayde's brow, which could have been a lot worse had he not a metal face. "-ow! Hey!" he sputters, and while it's a slight blow to his dignity, it's also a distraction from being too worried about his current situation as he believes to be in.

As Taniks laughs, he levels both his feet up and kicks out at the tall Fallen- probably not the best maneuver given that it results in him falling to the ground, but at least it also gets him freed from Taniks' grasp. To his credit, Cayde doesn't linger, diving into a roll- another bad decision? - down that last flight of stairs to where Wanda is. It takes him a moment but he manages to spring to his feet as though he hadn't taken an awkward tumble those last two steps, but he's already moving to grab Wanda by the hand to head back outside.

"-nice aim, form needs some work," he says, appreciative at least that she'd tried, but if this was really Taniks, it'd take more than knives to stop him.

"Cayde--!" Wanda starts forward, mortified, but apparently he's okay enough to Steve Rogers his way out of the creature's grip. Wanda can't help but wince in sympathy as he rolls down the stairs even though she's pretty sure that probably didn't hurt. Much.

"I've never had to do that before." She's all too happy to get out of there; real or not, there's not much they seem able to do to defend themselves right now. "Are you all right? What was that?"

"Probably better to never have to," Cayde says, keeping them moving, not bothering to look back. He has a feeling that as soon as he does, the Fallen will be right behind them.

"Been better. This whole storm thing? Not a fan," he says, finding it easier to keep the mood light when he's got an audience. The storm's left him drained and as much as he tries not to show it, there's traces of it in his movement, his tone. He wouldn't have let himself get pinned nearly so easily if he wasn't feeling so discombobulated from a rerun of being cut off from the Light.

"That...was Taniks. He's pro'bly not really here- Sundance keeps tellin' me as much but it's hard for both of us to believe it when everyone's seein' 'im," he grumbles. "That guy just won't stay dead."

"Ironic, that. And yet you mighty Guardians can be snuffed out so easily," the garbled alien voice speaks up again, but this time it's in front of them. The darkness parts like a curtain, and as Taniks opens fire, Cayde throws himself in front of Wanda.

"Barely is a start. But you know I am here. And I am not leaving you in... This." Whatever this strange darkness really is. Jon's hand pats its way back down from Cayde's shoulder. Down his arm, over his elbow and back to his wrist before finding the Exo's hand.

"I will ask you to trust me, Cayde. Take my hand and close your eyes and I will lead you out of this." He pauses for a moment, then adds: "Maybe you can tell me about Sundance along the way. I currently can't see them, but I believe I got a quick look a moment ago."

There's an amber sliver outlining the sad smile from the Exo. His hand tense, but only to move and grasp Jon's. "I trust you," he says, and then as his optics shutter completely, blotting out one of the only other light sources in the unnatural darkness, "...Andal's out there. Not really. But if you see him, tell him I'm sorry."

His voice bears a wistfulness, and he draws himself up, nodding to signal he's ready to go whenever Jon starts. The darkness almost seems alive, sometimes in darker, almost solid wisps that try to cling and grab at the two as they begin to walk. Jon might catch a glimpse of red, Taniks sneering and cocking his rifle. "I'll kill them all," he promises, but although Cayde's hand tightens slightly in Jon's, the Exo doesn't open his eyes.

"Sundance...oh yeah, you haven't been introduced yet. She popped up aboard the Agrii ship. My Ghost."

Jon may not be particularly fond of darkness himself, but this is anything but normal darkness. This is the result of this storm. The manifestation of deep worries and underlying fears. This? It's something he has come to understand and know.

Moving carefully but without slowing down, Jon leads Cayde down the street that will take them to the center of the city, his eyes darting from one apparition to the next, drilling into the illusion of the taunting Fallen and taking it apart, reducing it to whatever underlying basic fear it feeds from.

"Your- Ghost. I assume that's not meant in the spiritual way." Jon notes, making a mental note on this Ghost being referred to with a female pronoun. Which indicates she's a sentient being. Jon follows with a brief warning. "Slow and steady steps here, Cayde. It's the nasty part of the road. You can introduce me once we have reach the shelter."

It isn't Taniks himself that Cayde is necessarily afraid of. At its core is a general fear that probably isn't unfamiliar at all, the fear of loss. This Fallen had taken the lives of good Guardians, good Hunters...his friends. And one friend in specific.

Another figure materializes in the darkness. He wears the same gear as Cayde, but the hooded cloak is the most notable. His hollow-eyed expression follows the pair as they move, and he says nothing, but without Cayde's reaction to fuel the illusions, the effect is more regretful than one of judgement.

"Yeah. I mentioned them, didn't I? In the book? Our Light... she's the one who found me, way, way back. Been with me forever." Cayde slows his steps with Jon's warning, stumbling only a little before he adjusts to the unevenness of the road.

"Right. I remember that." He just didn't make the connection right away. "And she's with you again now. That's nice." It is. Having an old friend back, Jon assumes, must be comforting. Especially while trapped on an alien planet.

As the move on, Jon takes note of the quiet figure. He could probably ask Cayde about the man, yet it may be safer to not point him out while they are still being surrounded by that mass of darkness. And just going by what the storm has been causing so far it's not a far guess to assume this illusion only means more harm if given the opportunity.

"I recall that every Guardian has their own Ghost, so they are unique entities, then?" He opts to keep the focus on what he hopes is an easier topic. Ghosts. Sundance. Cayde's... Partner? Is that an acceptable term to use?

Partner. That's the most appropriate term and not one Cayde would deny. He nods, even allowing for a smile. "Oh yeah. Own personalities an' everything. They got their work cut out for them. There's still a lot of 'em out there, searching for their Guardian.

"Heard that for a while, back during the Dark Ages after the Collapse, the first Guardians were either runnin' around power-hungry and doing as they pleased or were crazy despots. All their Ghosts could do was watch, rez 'em when the dumb things they did got 'em killed, and the whole thing would start again. Took a looong time for people to get organized."

The darkness around them seems to thin a bit, revealing the silhouettes of the surrounding ruins as though someone were pulling back a gauzy black curtain. It feels like a change in pressure that hadn't initially been noticed until sound and wetness begin to resume. Rain starts to drum steadily again, thunder rolling in the near distance.

"....hey, Jon? Thanks...for runnin' out here." The Exo's eyes are still closed, but he still remains trustful of the Archivist's guidance.

"I may need to learn," Wanda says lowly, glancing behind them, but she can't see anything in the darkness. It seems almost alive in some odd way, but she's not sure if it's the Storm itself or somehow tied to Cayde and Taniks. "We keep losing our powers. I can't do very much without them."

Case in point: when Taniks appears and opens fire, all Wanda can do is shriek, clutch at Cayde, and shield her head with her free arm. She reaches desperately for where that well of power in her soul should be, but neither protective fury nor fear summons so much as a spark. Forget protecting him, she can't even take care of herself right now and she does not want to find out if these illusions can kill. She can only hope that whatever metal Cayde's made out of (please be vibranium, please be vibranium) is strong enough to protect him if any of those bullets do find their mark.

"Cayde!" She tugs at him desperately, off towards the shadow of another building. There's no cover out here on the streets, and unless he has some other trick up his sleeve, it seems like their best hope is to get away and hide and try to collect themselves. There must be a way to banish Taniks, but right now? He's definitely really, really scary.

((ooc: permission granted for Cayde to physically move Wanda as needed haha))

Sundance's voice in his head echoes Wanda's as they find themselves under fire. She's alarmed as she knows the shots hit- Cayde nearly stumbles back against Wanda from the impacts he believes to have scored a hit- but at the same time the Ghost registers no physical damage. As much as she tries to reassure Cayde of that, Cayde sure wishes it were easier to believe.

Grunting, the Exo staggers after Wanda. She's got the right idea, even though he's not so sure how well finding cover will work. He realizes already what Taniks, or whatever this rendition of Taniks is, wants. Fear for his own life, that's not something that plagues him when it's a daily thing for a Guardian to deal with. Fear of losing those he cares about? Now that's another thing.

"Running? Life in the City has made you weak, Hunter," Taniks hisses, stalking after them. Sundance shouts a warning as he levels his weapon again, a flash of lightning cutting through the darkness long enough to outline the buildings Wanda's been trying to lead them to.

Cayde raises his head, and as soon as he hears the first shots begin to spatter towards them, he grabs and pulls Wanda towards him. "-hang on..!" is his apology as he means to scoop her up and take a few running steps before pushing off and up in a massive leap towards an already broken window on an upper floor of the building. Even before they're through he knows he won't be able to stick the landing, so he shifts to take the brunt of it when they tumble through, hitting the floor shoulder first.

He notices the slight change in the atmosphere around them as well as the fact that they are getting closer to their destination. Which is good, It gets them away from those false manifestations of fear. Another good thing? That little lesson on Cayde's Ghost - And those like her. Apparently sentient beings in their own right - And some of them... Lonely?

"Do they have to find a specific Guardian? I mean- If their Guardian has died. Can't they find a new one?" Jon wonders aloud, but then is hit by the Exo's words of gratitude that initially take any remaining words from Jon's mouth, but then put a little smile to his features even as he shakes his head. "You're welcome, Cayde. Very much so."

He's not about openly accepting a thanks. In fact, it feels nice to be able to help someone for once. And Cayde has quite literally rescued him when the thing with the Graq went wrong.

"...one guardian to a Ghost. They don't even know how it works, don't think anyone does. But once they find 'em, they know. The Guardians they find are already dead. They bring 'em to life. Do it again and again because we Guardians tend to be a little reckless." He smiles crookedly.

"We're pretty much bonded once we're found. Ghosts can't do anything for anyone else that they're able to do for their Guardian. Healing. Rez'ing. So long as we have our Ghost, and the Light, we can keep coming back. We lose our Ghosts? Then our next death is our final one."

He may not be able to see Jon's smile, but Cayde is, all the same, grateful that he's made some good friends here. He'll stick his own neck out for them as many times as he has to.

Well, that's gonna leave a mark.

Wanda's painfully reminded of absent company and the last time someone grabbed her and jumped through a window. She scrambles off of Cayde and helps him sit up, eyes scanning him for injuries. "Are you all right??"

She casts a worried glance to the window and reaches for Cayde's hand. "Listen to me. Things like this...they only work if your emotions feed them, if there is some part of you that can't pull away. If you were terrified of sharks and the storm showed you a shark floating down the street, it wouldn't last very long. Because your mind knows that is impossible."

She knows how to trap someone in an illusion. Maybe she can help Cayde find his own way out of this one. "Why does he frighten you?"

For all his wincing and groaning, Cayde looks fine. He still feels like he's taken several bullets but it's hard convincing himself otherwise. At least Exo bodies don't bruise, but he knows he's not imagining the pain from his less than stellar landing. "Had worse," he grunts, but he takes Wanda's hand to sit himself up.

He looks at the woman, knowing she makes sense. There's a sadness that shows in the subtle shifts of his metal face plates, a softening in that glowing blue gaze. "...it's not him," he says, glancing away as he draws a knee up to drape an arm over. "It's what he's done. What he could do. That Fallen's as mean as they come, and we've killed him several times now- once by my own hand, but he still came back. The last time I thought he was dead, he came back and took my friend. Before that, he took a lot of good Hunters."

"Wow..." Jon mutters in response to that explanation. "But dying and being revived over and over... That sounds terribly painful." He has died once and was brought back by some sort of Eldritch fear-magic or whatever has happened after the Unknowing. Jon has mostly given up trying to make sense of it. Trying not to get killed again has been a rather effective distraction.

"It must have been worrying for you to not have Sundance around all these months." The Archivist muses as they finally reach the building and he gives Cayde's hand a brief, final squeeze. A wordless 'thanks' for trusting him. "We're here. I think it's safe for you to open your eyes again."

Wanda gently squeezes his hand. "And you're afraid that it could happen again and you wouldn't be able to stop it? Or if not him, something like him?" She doesn't know much about his world but it sounds like it's a legitimate concern there, and here they know so little about what they're facing and what the people behind this really want.

She's dimly aware that she's soaked to the bone and starting to shiver but pays it no mind. She, too, has had much worse than this.

"...I'm afraid of losing people." Afraid of loss in general. It wouldn't matter much if it was by Taniks' hand or someone or something else's, and he knows it's inescapable, but he hates it all the same. He supposes it makes sense that such a fear manifested in the form of the Fallen mercenary. Taniks had had it out for a very intimate group of his Hunter buddies and succeeded in thinning that number out.

Cayde squeezes Wanda's hand back, glad to have the company. She may not say anything about it, but he notices, he has the chance to now, their miserable state of being soaked and chilled. He's made of metal, but she's not. Yet she ran out to find him, even with their powers gutted. It's not real, he reminds himself, Sundance reminds him, and the lack of bullet holes in his leathers is further proof, even if his head still seems convinced there's pain somewhere.

"Let's get out of here." He sounds a little more like himself, or tries to anyway as he begins to try getting to his feet. He's not risking Wanda's health on his account.

"Yeah. We should...we should go." Wincing slightly, because the impact of their landing did still hurt, Wanda gets to her feet. She doesn't regret running to his aid, but she's also not going to argue about taking shelter somewhere she can dry off.

"I think...it's all right to be at least a little afraid. It's why we fight, yes? There is something we want to protect." A shadow passes over her expression. "It scares me too." Well, he saw what the storm showed her. Wanda is so afraid of failing and losing people again that she knows there's potential for something in her to snap to try to prevent it. "But we keep going because we have to, for them. I don't know if it will help that thing go away, but try to focus on what you're fighting for instead of the fear."

The smile that tweaks his metal features is a ghost of the usual carefree ones he's prone to give, but it's no less sincere. "Yeah. You're right. We got our reasons. Can't let some sad sacks make us forget."

He remembers her own concern, her fears parallel to his own. The Exo still holds Wanda's hand in his, giving her a nod. "Just gotta remind me not to waste my bullets on a fake," he says, his smile turning crooked. "Otherwise I'd shoot this storm clear if I could."

But since that's not possible, he'll have to trust her and Sundance to keep his head on track. He starts for the stairs. "Think I saw lights over towards the central square. Better'n nothing." Less leaky too.

"It would be so much easier if you could," Wanda says drily. "But I think you need a bigger gun for that." She's guessing that, like Pietro, Cayde will find some comfort in humor. Maybe if she tries to act as casually, as if they were caught in any normal storm, it will help him stay calm? Though if that has any effect on how the storm reacts to them, she's not sure.

Either way, best to keep moving.

Wanda squeezes the ends of her hair out and tucks the length back under her hood, which is also soaked through and not going to help very much when they go back outside. "It might be easier if more people are together? Maybe there is too much for the storm to focus on one person." She shrugs. "I don't know. It wasn't like this the last time."

"Lucky for the storm that I couldn't bring all my guns with me," Cayde says, and indeed he fixates on that humor like a moth to a flame. It's easier for him to do so, to re-don his carefree mask, with little urging.

Nodding, he starts on down, still keeping an eye out for anything weird, a gloved hand settled over his Ace of Spades, making him feel at least a little better prepared despite knowing how little good it would do. "Maybe. Yeah. I can see the sense in that," he acknowledges. "Never been in one of these before, but from what I heard, didn't seem to match up. The seeing people part, yeah, but...not everything else."

"These illusions are..." She trails off, unable to find a good word for it. "Last time, they didn't talk to us. They might have stood somewhere dangerous to reach, but they didn't try to hurt us directly. No more than seeing people we miss already did." She'd been more afraid that they'd somehow been stuck in some sort of cosmic maelstrom between worlds, unable to land on either side. And maybe that fear had helped fuel it, but there had been just as many people who had been sure it was only an illusion who had still been affected as she was.

"This is much worse. And I think it can still be worse than this? The Agrii didn't make us hide this time."

"Don't think we had a choice this time. We were drawn here. I don't recall any announcements from the Agrii saying the ride was over, everyone get off. We all filed off into our ships, like we were expecting something. Didn't like that one bit."

Cayde shakes his head, pausing at the foot of the stairs, trying not to look towards every flicker of light, wonder at every shadow if something or someone was there. You're clear, Sundance assures him, and he knows she's one voice he can trust more than his own thoughts right now.

"There's probably always a worse, though," he begrudgingly admits. "This storm's not outright killing us. Something wants us to suffer through it."

"It's not the first time something like that has happened. Either here or...before." She doesn't like it either. A compulsion that can bypass whatever the Mind Stone had changed in her...she can shrug off the influence of an aspect of the universe made material but she's not even aware of whenever that compulsion gets its claws in her. It's scary.

Wanda looks out into the gloom of the street, wishing that she could summon even a small wisp of power just for the light. Even if it couldn't actually do anything, she'd feel better. But Cayde needs her right now, so she tries to put on a brave face. "Do you want me to take a look?" She doesn't see Taniks or the dark Witch or anything of those other nightmares...but given the inclement weather, that's not a guarantee that there's nothing out there.

The Hunter Vanguard shakes his head. "We're good," he says, and at least he sounds convinced of that. Their chatting has helped him to forget the imagined pain of taking phantom slugs to the chest, and having someone else to worry about aside from himself helps with the distraction.

"Come on," he says, stepping out farther. True, they could do for some light, but given that they're connection with the Light has been cut off, he'd rather keep Sundance safe where she can't be touched. The storm's distorted everything with rain and wind, and the darkness isn't helping, but he's got a general idea of where they are and where they need to head, something he can confirm with each flash of lightning.

"I'm here," she says, reaching out to put a hand on his arm just so they both know where the other is. Cayde's eyes and throat light up, so he's hard to miss at least, but Wanda's not sure if he has heat vision capabilities or if she might be able to accidentally startle him. It wouldn't be kind or fair to assume that he has the same abilities as Vision or Ultron even if some of the physical resemblances between Cayde and Ultron are a little uncanny.

"Which way?" Her hood is doing very little to shield her from the rain and wind - it's a good thing he's here. However he sees, at least his optics aren't as affected by the environment as Wanda's eyes.

He has his Ghost, which is something at least, and better for the solid sense Sundance still manages to have of the surroundings and actual people present. Wanda's hand on his arm is added reassurance. He'd like to think he doesn't startle easy, but the last thing he wants to do is give in to an itchy trigger-finger and do something terrible to a friend. This storm has him wound up tighter than a clock spring.

"Straight ahead," Cayde says, leading them onward along the rain-slicked and muddied road. Everything looks different, cast all in shadow and warped by the blurring rain, but he knows his way well enough.

A lone figure stands at the edge of the torn up path they walk, wearing the same armor and hooded, raggedy cloak as the Exo Hunter. Although the upper half of his face is in shadow, a flash of lightning reveals it to be a human one. Cayde forces himself to keep looking forwards, shoulders hunching just slightly as they pass him by.

They're close enough and it's a distinctive enough cloak that even hampered by the storm as she is, Wanda can tell it matches Cayde's. She doesn't ask. She can make an educated guess given the current situation and how ragged Cayde's cloak is and, well, it's not like she hadn't been glued to Pietro's borrowed jacket for weeks after...after the battle.

"I am going to make soup tonight. Lots of it," she announces to the air, in an attempt to give Cayde something else to focus on. "Or maybe something with the vegetables that are like potatoes and the chicken gel. It is not so bad if you fry it, and this is also fried food weather. Anything warm should help." She's rambling a bit, she knows, but even with her powers there wouldn't be much else she could do for him. "What do you have for comfort food in the future?"

Edited 2020-12-02 06:02 (UTC)

"Soup sounds good," Cayde says, latching onto the subject like a remora to a passing shark. "-Chicken gel?" That makes him glance at her in genuine...well, maybe not curiosity, but it's weird enough that it grabs his attention. "Should I ask? ...is there pork gel?"

The thought of something warm and not being out in the rain does sound a lot better than the present though. He looks forward again, almost smiling.

"Ramen. Spicy ramen. That's my go-to, anyway. There's this one shop? Absolutely delicious. I'm a regular. Even got packs of the dry stuff- never know when you're not in the city but craving a bowl. ...how 'bout you? Anything particular you go for?"

"From the protein dispensers, if I can find one that works. They have other flavors, but if you want pork you will have to ask the Agrii. And you know how they are." No, Ga Re, you are never going to live down feeding your He Rows meat-flavored ice cream.

"I've never had real ramen. I know there are places in the city but I've never had a chance." Which is technically true, if you count the months she did nothing beyond training and holing up in her room in her grief. And being in public isn't always fun for a famous - or infamous, depending on who you ask - telepath. "For me...paprikash, burek, or anything freshly-baked. Sometimes the baking is the comfort." A beat. "And the Americans do so much with cheese...it's simple, and I know it shouldn't be good, but it is."

"Right. Agrii palates are weird." Although that might only make him try just to see what they'd end up giving him. It's more fun to think about than other things, anyway.

"No? Good stuff. Blows the instant stuff right out of the water. If we had ingredients I'd try cooking you up some. -if I knew how to cook." Cayde lets his puzzlement show as he's never heard of paprikash or burek. Baked? He can get behind baked.

"Guess one of the nice things about the Last City being the last city- you get people from everywhere. So all the foods and cultures and things are blended together from whoever came from wherever, survived and thrived. -think I can just make out the fountain."

He points, distant lightning casting faint outlines of the emptier square as it widens out between the buildings lining it.

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♤ Into the Unknown

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because these two need another bad day lol

y-yaaaaaay

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