AN: I promise something fun will happen in this chapter. Even though the first sentence reads, 'Their ride the first night was uneventful.'

II.

Their ride the first night was uneventful.

The small collection of travelers passed only a single Fallen patrol and it had been early into their trek. Shaxx had fallen behind the group to ensure nothing would be reported of their position; Zavala hadn't heard gunshots but he knew his friend well enough to trust the job - whatever means he'd chosen - was done. It was good fortune, of course, but something about the way well populated fields were now empty as they traveled across them left the Awoken Titan feeling cautious.

When dawn was just beginning to rise on the eastern expanse of mountains that the party was careful to keep to their right, Ana pulled forward, ahead of the group, to find a suitable place to make camp. She returned not more than a quarter hour later to report, "There's a cave up ahead. Large enough we can all sleep."

Zavala nodded, motioning to the group that they were leaving the main path. In single file, the weary caravaners followed after Ana with Zavala in the middle and Shaxx bringing up the rear. And when they finally arrived, they filed inside the cave with heavy feet and tired eyes. Though they were quiet and tired, the Awoken male could sense that morale was high. They'd made good time.

And more importantly than that, they'd been uninhibited in their journey.

Turning around to find that Amanda had fallen asleep with her cheek pressed to the smooth surface at the back of his chest plate, Zavala turned around to place one arm around her before he picked her up. Cradling her in his arms and careful not to wake her, he couldn't help but smile when she seemed to snuggle closer to his chest.

"I guess you're not all bad luck with the ladies," Shaxx teased. "Too bad this one's eight!"

Ignoring the way the taller Titan was left to laugh at his own joke because no one had joined in with him, the Awoken replied in a casual tone, "You have first watch, Titan."

Zavala took up a position near the front of the cave so he would be the first to know if any danger was near but he kept hold of the little girl, letting her rest her cheek against his chest. He thought, briefly, that being an orphan wouldn't make her unique in the City but he banished the thought as soon as it had come. Such was the way their world worked; it could not be helped.

But he made himself a promise to do what he could to see that she was well looked after when they reached the City. Looking down at little Amanda Holliday, the Titan brushed her bangs away from her forehead before he pulled off his helmet. With a deep breath, he closed his eyes and settled in for some rest.

The next evening passed in much the same manner as the first, though this time, it seemed, Shaxx had also taken note of the decreased number of Fallen out for patrol.

"Least they could do is give me something to shoot at every now and again," he grumbled to Zavala when the group had paused for a brief rest to stretch their legs. The shadows left by the pair of them were dark underneath the moonlight.

"I don't like it, either," Zavala confessed. And he thought to himself it was likely for very different reasons the two Titans were discontent. If resistance had been expected to be this light, it would have required one or the other of them - certainly not both.

The Fallen were up to something but Zavala wasn't certain, yet, he knew enough to piece together the details. If Ana found the sparse occupation of what were normally densely populated areas around her home to be distressing, the Awoken was uncertain. She was never far enough away from Shaxx that it felt right to ask. And the Titan wasn't about to voice his suspicions to Shaxx for fear the other man would go looking for all of the missing Fallen.

"And the Commander," Shaxx griped, crossing his arms over his chest. "The Commander should have only sent one of us. There's no reason we both should have missed out on a little R-and-R back at the Tower."

Calmly, quietly, Zavala reminded, "The Commander had his reasons, I'm sure."

Ana peered around the small outcropping of rocks that kept the Titans separated from the rest of the group, asking, "Hey, you guys ready? We should get a move on."

Zavala nodded, returning his helmet to his head. He followed Ana and caught a quick glimpse of his small charge, already curled up against the side of the bike with her head resting against the seat. Shaking his head to hide a chuckle, the Titan picked her up and climbed onto the sparrow with her in front of him.

That next morning, as the sun began to rise, the weary travelers found themselves a mere twenty kilometers from the edge of the City's wall. Without any interruption by the Fallen, they had made tremendous progress. Though the mist that had risen to blot out the sunrise made it rather impossible to see the wall, Zavala was made more confident to know how close they were.

"'Bout time we made it," Shaxx griped. "Haven't had a damn thing to do in two days."

"Shh!" Ana hissed, holding her hand out to her side. She was motioning towards the refugees to remain silent with her eyes off to the west. She crouched low to the ground and drew a field-worn hand cannon off of her belt.

Zavala followed her lead, pulling a pulse rifle off of his back and listening to the faint echoes of the Fallen, communicating in their own tongue. While he couldn't understand what they were saying, that the voices were so close - and so great in number - melted the confidence he'd found just moments earlier. Maybe a squad of five or so - maybe fewer if they were communicating with another patrol group that was somewhere farther away.

But when had the Awoken Titan become such an optimist?

Reaching an absent-minded hand behind his back until he felt Amanda's wrist, he tugged her small frame down beside him as he crouched. Making sure he was positioned in front of her, the young Titan turned to look at the group of refugees behind him. All of them were crouched near the ground, frozen in their fear, watching him and Ana like they might give some order that could keep them alive.

There was nothing in the immediate vicinity that would have made for a useful hiding place. The meadow they had chosen for their brief rest was exposed entirely to the open. Just the rusted out passenger portion of an old automobile was stranded nearby.

Keeping his voice low, Zavala motioned towards the wreckage and commanded, "Children inside. All else, stay low. Hide in the fog if you can."

Shaxx, who had remained standing, seemed not at all bothered by the sound of Fallen so nearby. When Zavala rose and crossed the clearing to stand beside him, the taller Titan drew a hand cannon off of his own belt. He'd ignored his counterpart to look down at Ana who had shifted to a place in front of the caravaners. Her dark brown armor offered a subtle camouflage with her surroundings.

"Don't stare," Zavala muttered. "They don't know to look for her."

Shaxx looked at Zavala - but before he could say a word, if he would have said a word, a single Shank floated into view through the fog. The bright crimson over shell gleamed in the faint morning light and Shaxx drew back his entire arm before smashing his fist into the center of the enemy. Were it just the two of them on patrol, the situation might have been comical for how exaggerated the other Titan's movement was.

The Awoken Titan watched in silent horror as the Shank crashed into a pile of mutilated metal at the ground between their feet.

Before Zavala could even form his lips around the admonishment - hell, before he could even fathom one - a Vandal shrieked. Two Dregs hustled into the clearing and it became evident that no one was making it out of the situation without a fight.

Zavala clenched his fist until it was nearly frozen with Void Light before he punched the Dreg nearest him in the face. Feeling the familiar whir of the Traveler's Light building a protective Force Barrier around him, the Titan turned to watch Shaxx, his elbow pressing into the other Titan's back, fire two shots with his hand cannon to put down the Vandal. Ana's single shot, fired from just in front of of the caravaners, leveled the third Dreg.

As the echo died away, they were left with nothing but silence.

"Stay!" Zavala commanded to the first refugee that tried to emerge from the relative shelter he'd found behind the wreckage. "Shaxx, clear the area. Any that remain have heard the commotion."

"Yeah, yeah," the taller Titan shuffled away. He was dragging his feet, an indication he was none too pleased to have been issued an order.

Ignoring his sulking counterpart, Zavala turned his attention to the wall that was just becoming visible as the fog began to melt away in the morning light. Where before it had seemed so close, now the distance seemed almost impossible.

"It's not too far if we move quickly," Anna suggested - but there was a confidence in her tone that Zavala recognized was lacking.

Before he could think about the best course of action, a powerful explosion rumbled forth through the quiet plains surrounding the wall. A fierce wall of fire rose from a newly formed pile of crumbled cement and melted metal; dark smoke billowed away from the wall and raced towards the refugees. All Zavala could think was that the City was under attack.

His home…

Shaxx, already a few meters to the north of the group, turned just once over his shoulder to look back at Zavala. The Awoken man knew in an instant what his human counterpart was about to do and it made his heart sink. His palms had grown sweaty inside of his gloves and the Awoken pulled his pulse rifle a touch closer to his chest.

He could only watch as the tall human summoned his speeder bike. By the time he had one leg off of the ground and halfway over the bike, Zavala finally found his words in time to remind, "The mission-"

But if Shaxx ever heard Zavala was to remain a mystery. The human Titan, in all his shining glory, had already raced away. Towards the breech in the wall. Towards the fight. Without a moment's thought or hesitation - it seemed - he'd abandoned the mission and left two Guardians to lead ten frightened refugees on a frantic scramble to reach the wall that surrounded the Last City.

Ana stepped forward to rest her palm on Zavala's forearm. It was enough to snap him into action - there were only two of them now - but it would have to be enough. Two Guardians was well and plenty enough to find a way to get these refugees to safety in the City. Whatever might be left of it, the Last City, when the sun decided to set on this day.

"Back on the speeders," Zavala commanded. His tone had a confidence now that demanded respect - he could see it when he looked back at the caravaners. He felt sure of himself, sure that he could - with Ana - manage to complete Commander Saladin's mission; even without Shaxx. "We must move."

He was relieved to see his order had been followed without question or hesitation. As he summoned his own bike, the young man took a count of everyone and their borrowed speeders. His heart sank when he realized Amanda wasn't already on the back of a speeder bike. But when he felt a familiar tug on the mark at his waist, he turned his gaze down to find that she was there waiting for him.

"Quickly, now," he urged, his tone soft despite the adrenaline pumping through his limbs with every heartbeat. He could make out the vague outline of Fallen skiffs, incoming off the horizon. That was to the north; the direction that Shaxx had gone. He would be taking the caravan west.

There was little time to lose.

As soon as Amanda had her arms secured around his waist, the young Titan looked to Ana. He pointed towards the wall, repeating her earlier statements back to her but this time with more confidence, "It's not too far if we move quickly. You lead the way."

They were off in the blink of an eye - a caravan of speeders racing across the plains, cutting through the thick black smoke billowing from the wall. They had been moving for less than five minutes when the second explosion came. This one was smaller than the first - but nearer to the section of the wall they were racing to seek shelter behind. The second explosion was followed by a small series of three more in rapid succession.

Zavala felt his heart sink. The City really was under attack.

When a sixth explosion shook the wall, this one nearer the first, Zavala felt Amanda's grip around his waist tighten. He could feel her cheek pressed against his back and he thought to imagine that her eyes were squinted closed. When her small voice whispered above the sound of what he knew to be his fellow Guardians fighting back against the Fallen onslaught, he almost hadn't heard her.

"Thank you for not leaving us, Zavala."

He had no words to offer her in response. There was nothing that could be said - so he took his left hand off of the handle of the bike and gave her arm a gentle pat. He was sure now, no matter the cost, that he would get these travelers to safety behind the wall. He could not fail them.

By the time they reached the wall, the sound of gunfire echoed everywhere around them. It was almost impossible to tell if it came from the north or the south. The Titan had fought enough of their enemy in these fields surrounding the wall to know the trick of such echoes but there was little he could do to settle the nerves of the refugees. Tension ran through their group so thick it was almost tangible.

"Come along, then," Ana hustled the first mother and son pair through the doorway she'd opened only by virtue of having asked the task of her Ghost. An older man pressed two of the remaining children forward after them.

As quick as they could manage, all of the survivors hurried through the doorway and into the darkness. In a matter of a few minutes, only Zavala, Ana, and Amanda remained outside. The Titan felt his skin crawl.

He could hear the chatter of Fallen platoons. He could see the drop ship - but only after it had become too late. Readying his pulse rifle, the Titan whispered low to the little girl still clinging to the mark at his waist, "Go to Ana. I'll be right behind."

Zavala was sure to put himself between Amanda and whatever might have lurked through the mysteries of the smoke behind them. His silver blue eyes scanned the area immediately around himself for any sign of motion but it was impossible to know for sure with so much smoke pressing forward. He didn't turn to see if Amanda had listened to him; the pull against his mark was gone so he could only hope for the best.

The Awoken Titan knew he was spotted when he caught the brilliant blue electricity of a Fallen arc grenade out of the corner of his eye. He didn't think to be alarmed by the projectile's trajectory until he heard Ana's voice, "Quickly, child! Come to me!"

Zavala's stomach dropped when he turned around to find that Amanda was frozen in terror with her pretty green eyes locked on the grenade. There was nothing the young Titan could do. The grenade exploded before he could even reach for her - before it had even hit the ground.

He watched, horrified, as the little girl's body was forced backwards for the force of the explosion; her small frame was hurled against the concrete wall behind her. Her ribs cracked - maybe other bones as well - he'd heard that; he felt the rage boiling up from within his core.

A Fallen Vandal - whether it was the same that had thrown the grenade - shrieked in triumph. Zavala held his finger over the trigger of the pulse rifle and fired aimlessly into the fog. His enemy was still far enough away that it was hard to make them out for all the smoke. He pressed the tigger again - again - again.

He was hardly aware of himself; when the Candal shrieked a second time Zavala yelled back. He lunged forward with nothing but his bare fists and and a blind rage that burned white hot behind his silver blue eyes. She was a child.

A child for Traveler's sake!

This monster would be made to suffer for his mistake - or that of anyone in his platoon - it was all the young Titan could think about when his fist cracked the Fallen's skull, forcing the creature's head against the wall. He struck again, holding the crumbled thing up by the armor over its shoulder, thinking that even the life of an orphan in the City was far better a fate than Amanda Holliday had been made to suffer.

He struck again, hoping that it had been fast - her death.

His knee was in the creature's stomach when he realized it was dead - but he hit the Vandal again anyway…

He could hardly see for the beast's blood staining his visor. There were shots fired behind him; a hand cannon but he paid them no mind. For how long he'd been allowed to vent his rage at the dead thing that had somehow happened to find itself beneath him, Zavala didn't know. Ana's hand on his shoulder, pulling him away from the mangled pile of flesh he'd left behind, was what finally brought the Titan to.

"Zavala," her tone was soothing. "I'm sorry - but the others. We must move on. The City - the City is still safe. We have to get them there."

Looking past the Hunter to focus on the little girl behind her, the Titan felt his chest constrict when he noticed a small flicker of movement from the child. He hurried to her side, summoning his Ghost to ask, "She's still alive?"

"Only just," the silver frame replied. "Get us inside the wall. I'll do for her what I can."

Zavala obeyed, picking the little girl up in his arms and cradling her against his chest. When she whimpered, he looked down at her and green eyes rimmed with tears shined up at him. He studied her with a silent hope, sure beyond any doubt that he'd do anything in the world if she would be alright. She was - just a little girl. She was so close to the City, to safety.

"She's in shock," Zavala's Ghost, Henry, murmured to himself.

"I know," Zavala kept his voice low, kneeling down once he was just inside the doorway. He'd felt for himself the way this little girl's body shook in violent tremors in his arms. Her flesh was cold to the touch - eerily so; cold enough he'd been able to feel the chill through his thick gloves.

He heard Ana pull shut the heavy metal door behind him but didn't turn to look at her. Instead, his attention was focused on Amanda as he held her out, a little bit away from him, to assess the full extent of her injuries. Her green eyes were closed like she might have been asleep - it was then the Titan understood he was losing her. He could barely feel her pulse beneath her wrist when he pressed his fingertips against her veins.

His Ghost hovered forward over his shoulder and wasted no time before he was at work applying the Traveler's Light to do for the little girl what he could.

With the soft beam of light that he projected over her, Zavala could tell that her injuries were severe. The entirety of the material of her tunic was burned away from her right shoulder, leaving angry red and white marks over the places where very little of her flesh remained. Her left forearm was injured in much the same manner - burned flesh barely covering bone.

It was her leg, however, that gave the young Titan immediate pause. Or, rather, what remained of it. The break in her bone was clean and enough flesh had been burned away from her calf that Zavala could see with his own eyes it was only for the ligaments that the limb was still attached. If she made it so long, he could only imagine that the doctors in the City would have to amputate the limb. There was not enough flesh left to be stitched back together.

Finding the feeling of helplessness did not settle well with him, Zavala pulled the silver-grey mark off of his waist and began to wipe away the ash and soot from the little girl's face as best he could. He was pleased to see that, here at least, she was uninjured.

"For her," one of the refugees, an elderly Awoken man, moved forward to hand the Titan his jacket. Lowering his chin in polite acknowledgement, Zavala accepted the gift and wrapped the rough grey fabric around the girl's shoulders. He didn't bother to put either of her arms through the sleeves; he was gentle in the task of wrapping her up. The garment could have folded around her almost twice and the Titan couldn't hold back the feelings of protectiveness that washed over him.

Nothing was going to harm Amanda Holliday again. Not so long as he was still here to say something about it.

"I've stabilized her condition," Henry confessed, well-aware of how fond his Guardian had become of this little girl. Hovering closer to Zavala so that he was almost resting on the Titan's shoulder, the Ghost finished his thought, "But you'll need to get her back to the City. There, we'll know her true prognosis."

"Yes, I understand," the Titan agreed, watching his Ghost dematerialize. Cradling the little girl as gently as he could, Zavala was fast about standing up to face the group of refugees. Nodding at them all as though they should understand that this child would be alright, he addressed them, "We've made it inside the wall but we are not out of danger. We must travel quickly."

"After me," Ana commanded, summoning her speeder bike.

Zavala watched as all of the refugees did as the young Hunter had done before he summoned his own bike. Careful of how he positioned Amanda in front of him so he could still maintain control of the bike without causing her too much distress, Zavala took off last. Together, he and Amanda took up the position that had belonged to Shaxx - watching the entire rescue party's flank as they sped along towards the City.

He wondered, of course, just what it was about this little girl that had gotten under his skin. Zavala was always the one left to corral the children when he and Shaxx would be sent on these sorts of rescue missions. The young man couldn't find it in his heart to complain. He was rather fond of them - the children. And, unfortunately, his position in Commander Saladin's ranks meant that he'd met more orphans that he cared to admit - so it wasn't that fact about her that made her unique.

Remembering back to their first interaction and the way she'd looked up at him when she'd asked, 'Can I ride with you?' the young Titan decided that he didn't need to understand what drew his affection for her. That he cared was reason enough to hope that she was as strong as he believed her to be. Pulling her shoulder closer against his chest Zavala clenched his left hand tighter around the handle of the speeder, urging it forward.

His voice was nothing more than a low whisper, "I'll look after you when this is over. Just hold on a little longer, Amanda; I promise I'll take care of you when we get to the City."