[b]Broken[/b] Part Eight A dozen or so of the Fallen turned to look at us, roaring and brandishing their weapons. Knowing I probably wouldn't be able to make it back to the alley in time, I slipped my cannon back into its holster and raised my free hand in surrender. The Fallen began advancing on me and Marcy was squirming to see what was going on. In unison, the Fallen all stopped for a moment, then snapped their weapons back. A Captain moved up to the front and bellowed, brandishing its swords. "Williaaaaam!" Marcy yanked at the shoulder of my chest plate. Several of the Fallen fired and I turned my back to them, holding Marcy down in front of me for cover. The bolts all buzzed passed harmlessly, and I realized that Marcy hadn't been looking at the Fallen when she called me. I looked up to find the front line of Vex getting battered by the Fallen fire, but as the rest continued to surge forward they began returning fire. Blue and red bolts flew all around me and I fell to my knees to cover up Marcy more while I tried to make sense of the chaos. Several Fallen swordsmen ran by a few meters to my left while many of the Vex started teleporting by to pierce the Fallen lines, none going out of their way to bother me. An arc bolt hit my shoulder, causing me to hiss with pain, then a Line Rifle charge singed my hair. I may not be a target, but I sure wasn't something they were against shooting. Drawing my pistol once more, I lunged towards the alley I had come from, shooting at the Fallen rather than the Vex and keeping low to avoid the crossfire. As I came to the relative safety of the small side path, I saw the Fallen turning in on themselves and getting separated as they struggled to fight on two fronts, while the Hive and Vex both burst through the now unblocked paths and began tearing each other apart. Then a Skiff drifted down above the street and began laying down cover fire, so I ducked away and started running again, reloading my weapon one-handed. I made it to the next street before my right leg suddenly gave out beneath me and let me fall to the ground, nerves burning with agony. Managing to land on my back rather than crushing Marcy, I gently rolled her off of me and tried standing again with gritted teeth. The first time it wouldn't hold my weight at all and made me cry out as the pain worsened, but the second time I managed to rise up shakily. Marcy stood a couple feet away, eyes darting at every sound and clearly resisting the urge to grab me. "Help me," I stuck out my hand and let her grab it, helping me stay balanced as I hobbled after her. Shrieks came from our right and I looked to see some of the Thrall from the other street had branched off through a different alley to try getting around the Fallen and Vex. Unsurprisingly, they spotted us. Firing reservedly with my pistol as Marcy guided us towards another side street, I managed to slow down the small swarm by making them topple over those in front that fell to my metal. Now moving through the next alley, I began reloading my pistol once again, but stopped when I heard the skitter of claws. A Dreg landed on the ground right in front of Marcy, Shock Dagger drawn and raised. With a swift pull on Marcy's arm and a lunge forward, I put myself between them just in time to take the knife in my back. Howling with pain, I let go of Marcy and pulled out the steel pipe with my left hand, swinging it around into the Dreg's face and then smashing its skull in repeatedly until the struggling stopped and ether began leaking from the splits in its skull and mask. With a sharp gasp I yanked the blade out of my back and looped it in my belt. Marcy just stood there, jaw slack and eyes wide, so I grabbed her again and pulled her out of the cramped space just as the ravenous calls of the Thrall drew near and the scuttling of more Fallen sounded from above. Unfortunately, things were no better around the corner. Fallen were lining several rooftops and filling many windows, firing down at the street below where Vex and Hive battled over the corpses of slaughtered Fallen. As we watched, a Minotaur fell with Thrall latched onto its arms and legs and a Knight's Cleaver embedded in its hull. The Hive surged over the Vex, shredding their metal chassises and slinging Mind Fluid everywhere as they fought to reach the buildings the Fallen were hiding in. The cries of Vex reinforcements and Hive approaching from other directions echoed through the streets, and I knew there was no escape. "Marcy, look at me," I dragged her to a halt and grabbed her by the shoulders, turning her to face me, "I can't let the Hive get you." "W-wha-?" she began to ask, fear and tears in her eyes, exactly as I knew mine held. "The Fallen and Vex will kill us, but they're losing these streets. The Hive will do far worse to us," I tried to explain, "Please, close your eyes, and let me handle them." "B-but," Marcy began. "We can't run, I need you to close you eyes. I will fight them, and I won't let them get you," I rubbed the back of my hand across my eyes, failing to keep the tears in. Marcy squinted her eyes shut, but as the roar of battle continued on around, she tried peeking. "Close you eyes Marcy!" I shouted, losing control of my voice. With a scared and surprised squeal she did as she was told, tears squeezing their way out from behind her eyelids. "I'm sorry Marcy," I told her quietly, then kissed her forehead, "I promised I would protect you." Wrapping my arm around her and holding her tight against me, I raised my cannon and unloaded the magazine into any Hive or Fallen that looked like a problem, buying as much time as I could to look for a different way out. Marcy flinched with each shot and covered her ears to block out the ringing and the shrieking enemies. Vex came up all around us to charge the Hive, ignoring us as they had the entire day. There was only so much one could do with one clip against so many, and as I reloaded again, I counted the shells left in the last magazine. Five; half full... I stared at the gun, then at Marcy. A Shredder charge scorched my shoulder, and I looked to see the Hive advancing through the shifting tides of Vex. Without the Guardians to help combat the Darkness, even the Vex didn't seem to stand a chance against the Hive. More fragmented sounds of battle carried over from the other streets and alleys near us. Soon the entire City would be overcome with the fighting of all four invading species. Not long until Marcy and I got swept away in the waves of war. Careful not to transmit my movements to Marcy, I pointed the cannon at her, barrel reflecting the last light of the sunset across her face. She whimpered as I moved strands of her hair out of her face, pressing closer to me. A Thrall pounced on a Vex Goblin not too far away from us, and I threw the stolen Shock Dagger at it, sending it screaming off to death as it fell to ash. "It'll be ok Marcy, they won't get you," I promised her again, again forcing myself to look at her and the gun. Bolts and blasts from Vex, Hive, and Fallen weapons alike zipped by all around us, but we were fortunate enough to not be hit by any. "You've been so brave," I whispered, not sure if she could hear. As the shrieks of the Hive closed on us through the clanking metal of the Vex, I closed my eyes and pulled the trigger. [i]End of failed timeline[/i] Hope you all enjoyed, if you're interested in more of my work you can find it all in my Archive: https://www.bungie.net/en/Forum/Post/217384398/0/0 And here's Nothing Left, my submission for the DFP writing contest: https://www.bungie.net/en/Forum/Post/229946652/0/0 Link to part 7: https://www.bungie.net/en/Forum/Post/229945886/0/0