Guardian Link- Episode 13, Clash

"Caeli, listen, we have to move." Cira grunted, pulling the hunter up from the rubble surrounding them. She moaned as her legs lifted her weight, wincing under her helmet. Being lightless took a huge toll on her, cutting her mobility and speed. Cira walked out of the small building, to a titan keeping watch. "Lacer, are we clear?" "Yeah, the Cabal won't be coming around this sector for a while." "Good. Caeli's ready to go." Caeli walked out behind Cira. She nodded and the trio walked out into the city square, running to the alleyway across them. Their feet crunched over trash and broken tree limbs, hopping over piles of rubble. The area around them was bathed in a soft orange light, fire crackling lightly around them. As they entered the alleyway, they slowed down, taking a breather. "Are you holding up okay?" Cira asked Caeli. "Yeah, I'm fine. Let's move." Caeli answered. As they walked, Cira looked around the rooftops surrounding them. He stopped. Something was wrong. "Hold on." He whispered to the titan and hunter, crouching low. He slowly drew out his auto rifle, Caeli and the titan did the same with their weapons. Suddenly, loud shifting was heard from the buildings around them. Red Legion psions dropped in around them, drawing up dust as they landed in the gravel. They screeched, holding up their slug rifles. Alarmed, the guardians quickly fired upon the psions. Light flashed around the tight alleyway, the crackle of an auto rifle, the banging of a hand cannon, the tacking of a scout rifle, and the tinging of slug rifles filled the air. The dust cleared, all of the psions dead around them. They gathered their bearings, as Cira spoke. "They know we're here. We have to pick up the pace. Reinforcements will be here any moment." They all nodded, continuing down the winding alleyway, but they weren't at peace for long. They heard the whir of Cabal headhunters aiming behind them. "Move!" Caeli yelled, rolling out of the way of the red beam, just before a sniper bullet rocketed into the ground. Cira and Lacer ran after her, following her into a nearby cafe. Several more headhunter bullets nailed the ground behind them as they ran. The team dove through the door of the cafe, scrambling for cover. They sat down behind the counter, panting. "Not good." Cira gasped, "those snipers have us pinned, and they're probably getting ready to send shock troops into the cafe. "Wait! The restaurant has to have a back entrance!" Caeli pointed out, filling the guardians with hope. They quickly got up and ran into the kitchen. Their ghosts lit up the area as they walked. They eventually met a door, pulling it back. The door was completely sealed by rubble. "That's not going to be an option, I can't move any of this without my light, and I'm out of rockets." Lacer said. "I've got nothing." Cira added. "Me neither." Caeli said. "We need a new plan then. Our only way out at the moment is the front entrance, and that's dotted with snipers, I know we can take at least one shot, but two will leave us dead. A game of attrition won't work either, because their shock troops will definitely get us before we can get away with that." Lacer explained. "Our only option is to run, now. There's no other way out of this." Caeli said. "If we're doing that, I have an idea. I need a lighter." Cira said. "You two get ready to go, trust me." "What do you mean?" Lacer said, "how could a lighter possibly help?" "Trust me. I'm not about to have any of us die, so get ready to go, those shock troops will be here any minute." Lacer stood for a couple of seconds as Cira sifted around the drawers in the kitchen, and walked out the kitchen door after Caeli. The psion groaned, leaning against the edge of the rooftop. He rubbed his eye, keeping his headhunter propped up on the building. Suddenly, a psion next to him called, the guardians were exiting. The psion quickly grabbed his headhunter, turning on the aiming laser. The warlock was the first out, holding a sparkling object in his hand. Scared, the psion frantically aimed toward the warlock as he tossed the light. Cira's flashbang filled the air with a brilliant light. He yelled to Caeli and Lacer, "go!" The guardians ran to the left of the building, into a fork in the road. They ran down the street as fast as they could, not stopping. they rounded a corner, only to be met by Red Legion troops. Caeli, ahead of everyone else, bumped into a legionary's chest, falling back into the ground. There were about 5 legionaries, and they all took aim at the team as they noticed what had happened. The legionary that Caeli had bumped into unsheathed a blade from his wrist gauntlet, quickly running toward the team. Lacer grabbed Caeli's arm, flinging her back around the corner, and ducking back himself. Cira let off a bolt from his fusion rifle into the advancing legionary, causing it to fly into the air, disintegrating in arc energy. Cira ducked back as the legionaries' arc slug peppered the ground and buildings behind him. As the fire stopped, he heard the legionaries roar as several more Cabal soldiers descended onto the battlefield, signaled by the sound of jump packs descending onto the street. "Caeli! Cira!" Lacer yelled at the duo, "Your mentality is as important as your strength in times like these, so do NOT be afraid! We WILL make it out alive!" Lacer holstered his hand cannon roughly. He reached into his belt, pulling out an old fashioned grenade. "Let's hope using light grenades for so long doesn't mean I can't throw a regular one." He said, yanking the pin off. The sound of Cabal footsteps drew nearer. Lacer rolled the grenade next to the corner of the street, quickly running backward. He drew his hand cannon again, aiming down next to Cira and Caeli, who were also aiming their weapons. The grenade erupted violently, but the shrapnel only lightly peppered the team, who were far away. Several Cabal troops flew into the air, cracking the concrete as they crashed into the ground. As the dust cleared, they made out a large figure standing in the wake of the grenade's destruction. A colossus stood in the street, a mysterious weapon in its hands crackling with arc energy.