Explanation, for anyone who missed it! https://www.bungie.net/en/Forum/Post/256751222/0/0 A stiff breeze whips the hunter's cloak back, hazy sunlight glinting off her helmet. She grips the hand cannon at her hip tightly.      "I was House Judgment scribe." Variks' voice cuts through the wind rushing past her helmet. "I stood with Skolas for much of Reef Wars."      It wasn't hard for the guardian to imagine Variks at the shoulder of Skolas, but it was hard to imagine him enjoying the slaughter.      "Now, I stand with you. In judgment of Wolf Kell. That feels... right, somehow..."     A familiar warmth fills her chest. Variks wasn't an ordinary fallen to her any longer. Variks was eliksni. Variks was an ally, and a friend. Though the hunter had only seemed to scratch the surface of Variks' past — most information filtering through the awoken, or Cayde — she knew enough to know regardless of their words against Variks, she still loathed the Kell of Kells for what he'd done.      "You're getting close. The crows and I are inbound."      [i]I won't need your help.[/i]      Was that really true? Shadow could feel herself beginning to tremble, not just out of anger, but fear. She knew well enough that she wasn't the most skilled guardian. Not by a long shot.      Cayde's voice echoes in her mind. "We walk on the wild side, guardian. We do our own thing. Can't tame a hunter."      Do our own thing. But was this too far? Fighting for a fallen? Shadow draws in a sharp breath. This wasn't just for the city, but for a friend. This was personal.      The awoken, and certainly the vanguard would never want to admit it. But Variks played a hand in saving her city. He deserved her help in return.      Adrenaline pumps through her veins as Petra's urgent voice cuts through the comms. "Guardian, there are dozens of new Wolf signatures, and the number keeps growing."      She hears something about vex tech, but her heart is thudding so loudly in her ears she can barely make it out.      Shadow steadies her breathing, struggling not to rush every fallen she sees. Save it for the Kell.      A guttural roar fills her ears when she destroys a pair of servitors, running her blood cold. And she finds herself locking eyes with Skolas for the second, and final time. [i]You're not running away this time.[/i]      The Kell of Wolves shouts to her in his own tongue, practically shaking the floor. Fear stirs within her at the sound of his voice.      Variks interjects. "He just said, 'I stole the gift of freedom. Secrets of time and space. House of Wolves will stand forever.'"      "He has nowhere left to run!" Petra encourages. "Take him down!"      "Don't have to tell me twice." Shadow reloads and fires away at the Kell.      She hardly realizes she's being swarmed by fallen until it's nearly too late. "Are you kidding me?!" Her armor is dented in with a barrage of bullets.      Outraged, she leaps onto a platform where she can look down on them. "You need them to fight your battle for you?" Her voice echos with power, filled with a strength she's never known. She has never faced an enemy like Skolas, and every moment of her training as a guardian seemed to lead up to this. "Fight me alone!" She whips a grenade into the fray, only for more fallen to flood beneath her.      The hunter crouches low, avoiding enemy fire, aiming. One by one, she takes out vandal after vandal, dreg after dreg.      Her efforts are useless. The onslaught of fallen show no signs of ceasing. She needs to fight Skolas.      She growls frustratedly under her breath. "I'm not waiting any longer, coward!"      Skolas warps himself only feet away from her, accepting her challenge. Her shock is far outweighed by the fury burning through her blood. Each shot to the Kell sends a jolt through her nerves, a terrifyingly sick satisfaction washing through her. Her heart pounds and flutters, struggling to keep up with her as she circles him.   [i]   I don't care how big you are. [/i] She gets too close. Skolas kicks her away fiercely, slamming her into a wall. Bones snap and shatter as the breath is driven from her body.      Her ghost has already healed her before she leaps up again. She hardly feels any pain, hardly feels her lungs screaming for more air. She has no idea if Petra or Variks has spoken again, but she knows they're watching.      [i]I don't care how strong you are —[/i]      Then Skolas has caught up to her — she moves too late, his forearm slamming across her face with a sickening thud.      ***to be continued***