oops this one's hurty! (and thank you!! Thank you for playing and for reading! <3 ) The replication chamber entrance loomed over them like a bad omen. Outside, a ferocious battle raged on between the Iron Wolves and...something. Something terrible. Timur wanted to run back, to join the fight, certain that all they needed among hundreds was one more man. A few more bullets, or a little more Light, and everything would be okay. They'd be fine. They all had smart Ghosts, hardened by the hardships of the Dark Age. Even if it was bloodshed, they'd rise when it was all over, and everyone would go home, triumphant. He was certain of it. And so, while their youngest and brightest fought to cover their elders, the Iron Lords moved on. Timur kept his gaze ahead.  At his elbow, a control panel came to life for Felwinter when he touched it.  "This plan of yours..." Timur murmured, edging closer to his partner nervously. "It's going to work, right?" Felwinter glanced over at him.  What Timur didn't know was that Felwinter was already entirely aware of what had truly transpired outside, and the massacre that had occurred. To Felwinter, this was their last, paper-thin hope.  "Of course," Felwinter said, his voice as smooth and flat and cool as it had ever been. He tapped something into the control panel and there was a deep groan of ancient mechanics as the doors began to grind open. The lighting overhead shifted suddenly to a dangerous red hue, making Timur flinch. Felwinter would never know what, but something cued Timur off.  "For real? You're certain?" he pressed. "We can turn around." They couldn't. "We can come back with reinforcements," he offered.  "I'm certain," Felwinter lied.  "Promise me," Timur's voice shook. He knew. Somehow, he knew. Felwinter drew in a slow breath, glancing back as the others began to catch up with them from behind. He caught Timur by the chin in one hand and leaned in, kissing him slowly. Timur wanted a promise but got a farewell. "Promise," Felwinter whispered. 

He had that same over-arching confidence that Shaxx has now. Also, this would have been post Six Fronts, when confidence in the Guardians, and in particular the Iron Lords was high. Radegast took back six mile’s worth of territory after Six Fronts so he was probably feeling unstoppable. Then he watched his friends die, one by one.  I wonder if this had an influence over his tactics during Twilight Gap. Shaxx disobeyed because he was (rightly, in this case) convinced that the Wall could hold. But Saladin had been in a situation like this before, where it doesn’t matter how hard you fight, how brave you are, how much you deserve to survive, sometimes you die.  I also wonder if Shaxx’s attitude would have changed had his gambit failed? If he’d survived but the City had been lost, would his attitude towards survival had fallen more in line with Saladin’s? Or would he stay stubborn and bombastic as ever?