My rage spiked drastically as I rushed forward with a yell. Zavala quickly held up his hand and caught mine, shoving me backwards and away from him. I regained my footing and rushed forward once again. Zavala simply held up his hand and a Void barrier appeared, blocking my fist like a wall made of iron. My mind went blank as the twitch movements of battle set in. I sidestepped and tried to throw another punch but Zavala simply moved the barrier infront of me. He then moved it forward, pushing me backwards with extreme force. I continued to rush forward, striking the barrier over and over again. Zavala gave a small sigh. "Are you through yet?" Chills shivered down my body as I stuck the barrier once more. Numbing cold began to spread from my torso to my arms. Small ice crystals began to appear on my fingers and knuckles as I slammed into the barrier once more. My fist slowly began to make way as the Void counteracted each other to become one once again. Zavala blinked in surprise and tossed me aside. He stepped into a more aggressive stance. "Robinsun. You need to stop this now. Your..." My angered cry cut him short as I went in for another strike. More crystals began to form as my fist collided with the barrier. The barrier fractured and cracked, shattering into small Void shards that dispersed into the air. Zavala took quick action and blocked my fist once again, sending me sprawling to the floor. "That is enough Robinsun." I got back up, sending a flurry of blows towards Zavala. This time he changed tactics, slapping my fists away and dodging. He stood with quiet resolve, staring me down as I kept trying to hit him. I made a feint and aimed for his stomach. He managed to dodge it and shove me away. I stopped myself before I could fall and willed a grenade in my hand, throwing it like a fastball towards him. His eyes widened as he instinctively crossed his arms and summoned a small Ward. The grenade bounced off of it and exploded twice. He dropped the shield and growled at me. "Robinsun this is..." He managed to block another blow from me as I felt my body go numb from the cold. My visor began to fog up and shivers kept my body in constant motion. He once again parried my attacks and shoved me back, this time stepping away. "Robinsun I'm ordering you to st..." I roared in anger and summoned a Ward. It bloated and formed around the outlines of the arena, fracturing like a bottle under stress. A boost in strength flowed through me as I dashed forward, more crystals forming along my sides, arms and back, leading to my shoulders. Zavala focused more on dodging rather than parrying as he tried to talk to me. "Robinsun. Stop this... at once! You are going to... kill yourself!" "JUST... SHUT UP!!!" I slammed my fist into a barrier he created, shattering it instantly. He tumbled to the ground and I tried to follow up, only to hit the floor instead as he rolled out of the way. "You give me no choice then..." He stood back up and got into a stance again. I roared angrily and went for a blow. With lightning fast reflexes, he stopped the blow from hitting him and brought his fist into my side. Some of the crystals shattered as my body screamed in pain. My breath caught in my mouth as I fell to one knee. A second later, Zavala grabbed my torso and chucked me against a wall, placing one hand on my chest and another cocked back to punch me. He panted and glared at me. "That is enough. You need to calm down this instant. If you don't then you are going to regress back into..." He dodged another blow from me and shove my head into the wall, pinning my arm to my side. "I said enough." My rage burned like a fire as I kicked his shin slightly and got off another swing. He tried to back up but some of the crystals snagged on his cheek, causing several gashes. He stumbled back, hand over his cheek. I simply grinned and stood up, trying desperately to keep the Ward and my strength up. "I thought you.. said I couldn't strike you." I felt triumphant. I felt power over this 'superior.' I thought he would stop and congratulate me on my victory. Until I saw his gaze. He removed his hand and glared at me with a very infuriated look. Every blood vessel in his forehead bulged as he cracked his neck, the wounds healing from his Ghost. "I can only tolerate insubordination for so long. Now I have to put you down." His helmet formed over his face and he clenched his fists. "Oh you shouldn't have done that." I heard Cayde say as I stood like a novice in the scope glare for a moment before I growled and lunged forward. Zavala quickly blocked my attack and rammed his fist into my shoulder. I yelped and stumbled backwards. I got up as quickly as quickly as I could only to be hit again, this time in the face. I held up my hands in defense and tried to block his move but he feinted into a knee to the stomach. I lurched forward and he once again slammed his fist into my shoulder. I cried out in pain and crumbled to the floor. I tried to get up but another blow slammed into my side, then another and another. Pain coursed through my body to a whole new level, one where pride and dignity were shattered along with your bones. A pain similar to what I felt before. Fear seized my body as I tried to lash out but the blows kept coming and I couldn't do anything. "That's enough Zavala." The blows stopped as an older voice rang out amongst the fight. I crumpled to a heap on the floor, sobbing and shaking as memories coursed through my mind like a tidal wave. "I believe he has learned his lesson." I glanced up past the red and fog to faintly see a Ghost with a long white beard and uni brow that comically seemed taped to his shell. He glanced over at Zavala, who towered over me, his helmet removed. His icy stare piercing through me as if to skewer me. He breathed in heavily and spoke, his features softening. "Don't make me do this again. Because I can't stand losing another Guardian." His stare also softened to match his speech. "I have seen to many of my comrades and subordinates fall to this. Depression. Anger. Destroying everyone around them because they were hurt so badly that no one understands." He pointed at me. "But you, a Defender no less, should no better. You are the wall for those around you. You are the safe haven when there is no shelter. You are the barrier against the Darkness... and here you are trying to kill me because of what? Snark remarks from Cayde?" "To be fair, you did killed me before because of that!" Cayde shouted. Zavala exhaled angrily and regained his composure. "What good are you as a barrier when you attack those around you? That makes you even worthless than if you failed to protect." My eyes widened and blurred as tears streamed forth. Sobs took over my voice as I tried to talk back but couldn't. "You failed. You should feel remorse for letting your team down. Yet regardless of what happened, you held out long enough for help to arrive and those Guardians would have otherwise been dead if it wasn't for you. The Ghosts gave me the footage, I saw what you tried to go up against. And frankly you should be given medal upon medal for your sheer drive to save everyone." I tried to look up at him and speak but my body tensed and I curled up into a ball. "But you cannot destroy yourself over a failed mission. I have lost 246 friends over the course of my career, 170 of them were with me at Twilight Gap while another 5 died after the fact." Sadness took over his expression. "That's 175 Guardians that I failed to save... you haven't lost a one. Don't let that number rise because that's one too many." His words hammered into my head like a nail. I slowly worked out a sentence. "B... but... I... wasn't... strong..." "Get out of your self pity." Zavala snapped at me. "What are you a child? Get stronger. You are useless as a mangled corpse to your allies." "I'm... tr... trying!" My voice crackled pitifully as the sobs began to consume my movement. "Getting stronger doesn't always mean by raw power. Mentally, you are broken. Physically, you are a rag doll. Emotionally, I'm not even sure how you are even functioning." He held out his hand. "But you don't have to do it alone..." I stared up at him, his face blurring. "B... but..." "Robinsun, you are not alone. Don't force yourself to be." He nodded at me. More sobs took over my body as I weakly took his hand. He hauled me up slowly and put his arm around me. He stripped off my helmet and placed it under his free arm. "Enough setting up walls that your allies can't enter, those are useless." I nodded swiftly as I wiped my face. We slowly hobbled towards the exit. "Well... ah... that... was ah..." Cayde awkwardly rubbed his head. "I felt I watched some strange bonding ritual between mentor and student..." "As it should have been." Zavala's Ghost, commonly referred to as 'Master Lin.' "That is the best kind of bond." "Right well I'm glad me and my boys don't do that otherwise they would lose an eye... or a limb... or an exotic with how some act..." "Cayde... could you help?" Zavala said. "Oh right yea sure." He sprinted over and held it open. "After you miss." "Then you should have gone first..." Zavala said as he walked me out the door towards the barracks once more with Cayde quickly behind, chatting as the insult. https://www.bungie.net/en/Forum/Post/208704133/0/0 link to chapter 34 https://www.bungie.net/en/Forum/Post/215571700/0/0 link to chapter 35