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    Sentinel; Good, Bad, and Ugly.

    Shad0wChas3r
    Shad0wChas3r
    Database Director


    Posts : 1244
    Join date : 2013-01-16
    Age : 29

    Sentinel; Good, Bad, and Ugly. Empty Sentinel; Good, Bad, and Ugly.

    Post  Shad0wChas3r September 1st 2017, 11:15 pm

    You may be sitting there asking yourself; 'Didn't Morgan already type something for Destiny 2?' To that end, the answer is simply; 'Yes, yes I did.' However, considering the full game for Destiny 2 is a mere four days away at the time of this posting, I wanted to retcon the initial start. Instead of shoving Demeter into the limelight like the initial teaser, I want you all to get to know her as a character.

    These next few installments are for the introduction of Demeter, who she is and what drives her. Without further delay, please enjoy the first arc of Sentinel; Lost to Light.

    The hall of the Vanguard was a place of legends. Everyone within the city, and even far beyond her reach knew of the place. It was where Guardians of all walks of life, be they famous or infamous, had at one point walked the length of the table. Once representing the heads at the table, who were titled, obviously, after the hall itself.

    Demeter was awestruck to be allowed for the first time in her life. She was no Guardian, and she had not felt the blessing of the Light. However, she knew she wanted to do her part in the constant protection of the City. Lady Amethyst, a lovely Titan of the recently disbanded Fireteam Stratus, had opted to taking the young, twenty year old, under her expert wing.

    Training had been difficult, running the streets of the City twice a day. She was trained to lift weights that someone of her previous stature should not have been capable of. Amethyst had taught her endurance, through shooting her with rubber bullets, or having her go without food or drink for days at a time and still maintain some energy. When they weren't running the streets, or practicing endurance, Amethyst was always treated to a part-time job as a weapon tester for the Gunsmith, Banshee-44 of the Tower.

    Today was a rare exception, as Amethyst had intended to take Demeter to the Tower and give her a taste of actual combat. In her years, Demeter had only been to the Tower Hanger, and occasionally to the Speaker's study on tours sanctioned by the recently deceased owner of her former orphanage. Despite the hall's reputation, today it seemed almost barren, with only a singular Exo in a cape standing at the middle of the table.

    "Lady Amethyst, if you're looking for six foot and blue, he's not here right now." Cayde-6, the Hunter Vanguard notorious for his actions in the Taken War, grinned at their approach. "I can't promise much of anything, but I think you'll find I'm a suitable replacement."

    "True as that may be, Cayde," Amethyst smirked, her eye turning to Demeter at the corner. "She's training to one day be a Titan, if the Traveler will ever bless her. So unless you're willing to trade in that rusty old solar powered hand cannon for a Hammer of Sol, we need an assignment for her befitting of a Titan."

    "Thanks to the efforts of all Guardian fire teams in the Plaguelands and beyond, the 'Age of Triumph' has left the majority of us bored." Cayde shook his head. "To prove my point, I'd be up for Eris' crazed mutterings as a change of pace. She left the Tower some time ago, in search of something. Probably Hive related, or she's giving that old rock of her's a good cleaning."

    Demeter, who had been taught to speak when spoken to, remained silent as she took in her surroundings. The sun was shining brightly just outside of the over watch window and the valley far beyond the City, even the Twilight Gap had seen a momentary cease fire, which was rare with the occasional raiding Fallen that she had heard about happening almost weekly.

    Amethyst noticed her slight stirring, giving her a disappointed look. Not in Demeter's behavior, but rather that she knew Demeter was eager to finally learn some life combat.

    "Thank you anyways." Amethyst sighed, turning to Demeter. "Guess we'll train you why Fusion Rifles are worthless outside of the Crucible. Patch'll likely have a list of reasons why, and I'll go over each of them for you."

    "Well actually, speaking of the Crucible. Perhaps you and her could participate in a friendly spar?"

    "I want live fire, I don't want her killed." Amethyst sighed. "A Fallen scouting party in the Cosmodrome or at Twilight Gap."

    "Well come to think of it, Shaxx has been pretty sour today- er, more than usual that is. Perhaps he might have something for you to do?"

    Amethyst pondered the idea for a moment, before nudging her apprentice on the shoulder. With a noble bow, Demeter followed Amethyst back out into the Crucible lounge. Guardians of all shapes gathered in groups of six, jumping at a lone robot behind the counter.

    "Error, registry not found. I'm sorry, Guardians, but circumstance have limited the battlegrounds for you to participate in safely, without enemy interference." Arcite 99-40, the Crucible Quartermaster, sighed in a monotone, robotic voice. "There are plenty of minions of the Darkness to still kill out there, surely you'd find more substance killing them instead of your peers?"

    "Can it, tin can!" one Hunter snarled, his fist slamming the counter. "I want my six vs. six competitive matches against my fellow Guardians to be FLAWLESS! Leave it to the weak to deal with the Darkness, I'm content shooting my friends in the face for sport!"

    Amethyst and Demeter attempted to squeeze their way through the uproarious crowd of irritated Guardians. The majority of them she had never seen outside of the Tower on mandatory Patrol, except to perhaps sit wherever their Ghost dropped them off, staring blankly at the world crumbling around them. Shaking her head, Amethyst shoved a Hunter out of the way, as Lord Shaxx proudly placed his fists on his hips.

    "Ah, Lady Amethyst. What is it that we can do for you today?"

    "Cayde is under the impression you may have an issue for us to handle?" Amethyst gestured towards Demeter. "She's not a Guardian, but she's not content with her training without being forged in fire."

    "Ah, a Titan's heart beats in her chest. Forging in fire is the specialty of the Crucible and that... Iron Banner my old companion gases up." Shaxx grunted with annoyance. "I do have some work for you both, as long as your apprentice understands the risks?"

    "Yes sir." Demeter nodded her head, even though he seemed friendly enough, Lord Shaxx had a reputation of being intimidating, especially to young children, as she had witnessed first hand during the Dawning.

    "I can't spare you the details at the moment." Shaxx crossed his arms boldly across his chest. "I have far too many Guardians here giving Arcite and I a headache."

    "Isn't that the reason you hired us on, sir?" Demeter asked, as Shaxx belted out laughter strong enough to silence the crowd of befuddled Guardians.

    "Indeed, it's a vicious circle. These Guardians are upset for two reasons, first, the majority of our arenas are over-run with minions of the Darkness. I am currently low on Red Jacks to handle the situation."

    "And the second?" Amethyst asked, crossing her arms across her armor.

    "I've decided that six vs six combat has become too chaotic, even for the Crucible, so effective next week when I hope the arenas will be properly cleared out, all Crucible matches will be four vs four, high intensity matches of skill and wit." Shaxx gestured to the crowd of Guardians angrily spouting about their distaste for the change in the corner. "It seems no matter what changes I make to the Crucible, no-one can be happy. Not that I honestly care, they are here to train for combat out there."

    "I'll have Arcite send you the details." Shaxx continued, with a gesture towards Demeter. "I will lend you one of my spare Crucible ships, so you can properly learn how to be a pilot. Also, talk with Rahool. He has some weapon prototypes that I've had my eye on. You may use them for this task and, who knows, if your work impresses me, I may even allow you to keep them."

    //////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////

    "Ah hello, Lady Amethyst. I trust things have been well?" Master Rahool, the notorious Cryptarch, smiled warmly as they approached.

    "About as well as life could be right now, I guess." Amethyst shrugged, her mechanical arm twitching as if on cue. "No matter how much Amanda or I tweak the damn thing, it just twitches when it wants to."

    Demeter and her friends in the City had often rumored about how the Iron Lady had lost her arm. Some said that she lost it in the lava fields of the Plaguelands. Some say she ripped it off to beat a Hive Knight, just to prove a point. The rest are convinced she lost it when Drake Stratus, the Legendary Titan and slayer of Crota; Son of Oryx, and his father Oryx; the Taken King, perished.

    "If I know that young Ms. Holliday as well as I like to think I do," Master Rahool nodded sagely. "She'll get it working in pristine condition in no time, it's all just trial and error."

    "Oh, you mean like decrypting Purple Engrams into rare tier weapons or lower?" Amethyst placed her remaining arm on her hip.

    "Gah! You know full well that those were all flukes because Master Ives stole my ledger!" Master Rahool, flustered, shook his head.

    "-and by that, you mean Cayde-6 caught on to your misdeeds and 'met you in a back alley'?" Amethyst snickered.

    "Is there a particular reason you're here, or are you here to torment me?" Rahool sighed with annoyance. "I've been nothing but respectful thus far, is it too much to ask for some in return?"

    "I'm only picking on you, Master Rahool." Amethyst smiled. "With Lance nor Chelsea around to bust your chin about it, I had to take up the mantle."

    "A mantle that deserves to be dismantled." Rahool shook his head, resting his right elbow in his left hand, and his head in his propped up right hand.

    "Sorry for my intrusion," Demeter spoke up. "Lord Shaxx informed us that you may have some experimental weapons for usage?"

    "Ah, yes. A one of a kind we have here. All foundries have located schematics to compact machine guns that are lightweight and have exceptional stability and rate of fire. Sub machine guns." Rahool turned to behind his counter, producing a small compact light blue weapon, and a large, imposing red and white long weapon.

    "What's this one?" Demeter asked, somewhat knowledgeable of most weapon archtypes, the latter was definitely not a sub machine gun.

    "That one is unique indeed. She is called 'Sweet Business', and is the one of a kind I mentioned earlier." Rahool smiled proudly. "She is defined as an Auto Rifle, but she's more like a chain-gun. If you want to put some holes into your targets and the scenery behind them, this is your weapon."

    There was a moment of silence between the three of them, as Demeter eyed the 'Sweet Business' weapon. While it wasn't a food substance, the newness and sheen of the weapon made her mouth drool as if it was. Reaching out for it, she frowned as Amethyst snatched it up, before turning to her.

    "I can see your hunger for this weapon, but it's of exotic quality. Like many other exotic tier weapons, there can either be one of them, as Rahool said, or countless of them, even mock copies. Even so, you are too inexperienced to even consider handling this." Amethyst said. "Complete your training with me, and I'll gladly give it to you. For now, take the sub machine gun, and I'll loan you my brother's scout rifle."

    //////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////

    "Well I'll be darned, I never thought I'd see you again." Amanda Holliday lifted herself from her usual seat on a crate of parts to formally great the two on their approach. "Howdy!"

    "It's been a long time, Amanda." Amethyst smiled. "We're here on orders from Lord Shaxx. He said you could loan my apprentice, Demeter, here one of his Crucible themed ships?"

    "Sure thing. I'm indebted to your family anyways, so I'll make sure to ensure it in case of damages." Amanda smiled, before her eyes widened and she turned to Demeter. "Oh, I'm sorry. I meant no offense by-"

    Demeter merely smiled, she knew Amanda meant no harm. In truth, it was the safest option. Demeter had been trained to be a pilot by Mr. Nathan Stratus, well before Ms. Holliday took over for him five years prior. Even so, anything could be possible, and she didn't feel like owing the intimidating Lord Shaxx a blood debt on the off chance something went wrong during the mission.

    "This is tricky as neither of you have Ghosts." Arcite sighed. "Lord Shaxx informed me you intend to help our Red-Jacks reclaim our battle grounds for the Crucible. If you're willing to help rid me of these annoying murder intending 'Guardians', than I'm willing to help you out."

    "During our last transmission with the latest wave of Red-Jacks, they warned of a Fallen raiding party at Exodus Blue. With the Fallen packing up and leaving shop throughout the Cosmodrome, it's not entirely hard to think that their exiles are still around scavenging. If you could help clear that sector out and reactivate any operable Red-Jacks you see, it'd be a great service to us, and we can handle it from there."


    Last edited by Shad0wChas3r on March 9th 2019, 2:25 pm; edited 4 times in total
    Shad0wChas3r
    Shad0wChas3r
    Database Director


    Posts : 1244
    Join date : 2013-01-16
    Age : 29

    Sentinel; Good, Bad, and Ugly. Empty Re: Sentinel; Good, Bad, and Ugly.

    Post  Shad0wChas3r September 2nd 2017, 11:36 pm

    "So this is an actual Crucible arena?" Demeter mused as the two patrolled the open field of debris.

    Much of the structures, which were old Russian aeronautics centers, were overgrown with flora. The massive remains of a Golden Age recolonization ship were balanced dangerously above the central building. Exodus Blue, from what Demeter had read, was one of the only known Exodus ships Humanity had managed to locate since the collapse.

    "Yep. I once had a two vs. two friendly spar against Lillian and Jeremy here. Drake was so upset at Jeremy that day." Amethyst paused as her head turned to a overgrown fuselage to their right. "Drake was so irritated he stationed himself in there with his once favorite shotgun. I ran past him as bait for Jeremy, and Drake plugged him."

    At the mention of Drake Stratus, Demeter couldn't help but feel humbled. She had come to know Amethyst as not only her mentor, but a close friend. When she was younger, she had heard stories of Drake's bravery and constant fights before the Collapse from Nathan Stratus, Drake's only son. She had heard of his close encounter with the Hive Demi-God Crota on Luna, when the Hive first invaded pre-Collapse. How Jeremy Cloud and Lillian Evergreen had given their once though only life for the cause.

    "What did he do to deserve Lord Stratus' anger?" Demeter asked, as Amethyst paused.

    "The two had an argument on which Void discipline between Hunters, Titans, or Warlocks was stronger." Amethyst snickered. "While Drake was a master of all three known Titan disciplines, he favored the Defender Titans, as their codex closely resembled his mindset."

    Demeter knew that for Drake Stratus, and to some degree his legacy and apprentice; Lance, were capable of a variation of Sunbreaker Titans known as the Warpath Titans. She had always assumed that, from what stories and rumors she had heard about his past legends, that he favored Solar Light to Void. The more she pondered it, the more confusing the concept became.

    Nightstalker Hunters were plenty powerful for their cunning, and ability to lay traps with their Smoke grenades and Voidwall grenades. Their ultimate ability, the Shadow-Shot bow, was especially designed to nullify the Light of corrupted Guardians following the tragedy that was Dredgen Yor's murder spree. It could shut down the Light long enough for the victim to be killed. On the contrary, however, the Voidwalker Warlocks could launch and bend the Void to their whim, making powerful bombs.

    The thought stopped Demeter in her tracks, as she found herself inside the very fuselage that Amethyst had pointed out to her. Sitting upon a long since emptied 'special' ammo crate, Amethyst took one last scan of the area before joining her apprentice.

    "It has you that stumped, does it?" Amethyst snickered. "Tell me your thoughts. Let's see what you know."

    "Well, Hunter's Shadow-Shot bow can nullify all Light, or in the case of enemies, suppress them. It's a powerful ability, but can only be used once every so often to an undisciplined Hunter. The Warlock's Nova Bomb is especially deadly, as they manipulate the Void to serve their explosive purposes. Very few have seen a Nova Bomb slung at them and lived to tell about it in that resurrection." Demeter leaned forward, resting her chin on her fist, which rested on her knee. "Defender Titans don't have any offensive capabilities with their Ward of Dawn, besides infusing their team-mate's weapons with bolstered Light to increase their overall damage. Alternatively, the Ward of Dawn could be used to manifest Light around their allies and provide a commendable shield."

    "True, but here was the thought of contention between Jeremy and Drake." Amethyst stood, rolling her neck. "Imagine a Gunslinger Hunter has summoned their Golden Gun. They're running rampant in the Crucible, and round the corner to meet a Defender Titan. Now, assuming this Hunter is unaware that their Golden Gun can overload the Ward of Dawn, how best could the Defender Titan put the odds in his/her favor?"

    Demeter closed her eyes to visualize all of the abilities that were within the Defender's kit. They had Magnetic grenades, and their punches could drain energy from their target to give them a shield of Light. They also had Spike grenades that weren't really useful in the slightest except zone control. With a snap of her fingers, she turned to Amethyst with a smile.

    "Suppression grenade at the Hunter's feet, suppresses their Light and allows him to advance on the Hunter without fear of instant death by Golden Gun." Demeter nodded, as Amethyst proudly smirked from ear to ear.

    "Exactly, and what does that tell you about their argument?" Amethyst crossed her arms.

    "While the Hunter's Shadow-Shot can suppress numerous targets, they only get the usage of the bow once every so often. However, a Defender Titan's Suppression grenade drains less Light from the user and can be used to a much similar and frequent effect." Demeter stood as she came to the realization. "Any good Defender Titan would learn when a Warlock has access to Nova Bomb, because they'd become cocky and less reserved."

    "Therefore, the Titan could preemptively throw the Suppression grenade before the Warlock sets off his or her Nova Bomb, leave them defenseless, and kill them before they know what hit them."

    Amethyst walked over, and proudly placed a hand on Demeter's shoulder. With a silent gesture of her head, their short break was over, and it was time again to continue their search for the Red-Jacks. Despite what Arcite-99-40 had told them, the place was devoid of any Fallen scouting parties, and even the Red-Jacks were missing.

    "So how exactly did that argument manage to irritate Lord Stratus, if you don't mind me asking?" Demeter broke the monotony of their search.

    "It annoyed Drake because Jeremy kept disregarding Drake's argument pertaining to Suppression grenades. Jeremy even went so far as to imply that Drake was jealous that the Titan Void discipline was 'so weak in comparison to the others' which, as you just admitted, just isn't the case." Amethyst sighed. "The two were like brothers, constantly bickering at each other in a mad attempt to get the other's fuse lit."

    "When Jeremy and Lillian disappeared on Luna, the look on Drake's face was one that I prayed to the Traveler that I'd never see again."

    Demeter dipped her head, how awful it must have felt to witness your friend dying permanently, especially after learning that the Light would rebirth them one day. Her parents had been Guardians, but had handed her off to Nathan Stratus' orphanage when she was six. In fourteen years, there had been no sign of any of them, and she had little hope they were ever coming back.

    The mere thought of her parents set her over the edge, as she desperately fought back the tears. Amethyst noticed this and gave her shoulder a reassuring pat. Their touching moment was brought to a close, however, as a nearby shuffling in the building to their North, overlooking a ratty catwalk, caught their attention. The two pulled their helmets off of their waists from their fastens, and fixed them to their head.

    Demeter hunkered down behind a rusty old Russian tank, as Amethyst crept closer to the building. Despite not having her Ghost and therefore taking a significant risk with her life, Amethyst maintained the same bravery Demeter had always heard of in her younger years. From her position, Demeter used her rifle training to gaze down the scope of the weapon.

    What she saw shocked her to the core. They were Fallen, based off of the books she had read during her training. These Fallen, however, were not your average run of the mill Dregs, Vandals, or even the lone Captain guiding them. Their armor was snow white, with onyx black machine parts hastily thrown onto themselves. Red tubing connected their legs and arms with their torsos, whatever was pumping through them was definitely not natural.

    "SIVA." Amethyst growled, her grip on the Sweet Business auto rifle tightened.

    Everyone in the City knew of the tragedy that had taken place nearly a year before. How the advanced Golden Age technology, known as SIVA had once threatened the Plaguelands and beyond. It was the story of how Drake Stratus, who had accomplished so much in his resurrection, finally met his end. How the Iron Lords, fabled protectors of the City's outer perimeters and those to push back the Darkness, came back from their long vigil.

    The portion of the story that struck Demeter most, however, was not only Drake Stratus' death, which wracked the City with grief. No, it was the story of how Amethyst Stratus provided the most potent Ward of Dawn in known Titan history, so potent it cost her one of her arms, and her Ghost. How her Ward of Dawn managed to give Lord Lance Stratus the overflow of Light he needed to take down the Devil Splicer's machine God, Aksis; Archon Prime.

    Demeter held her position as Amethyst stood from her place of cover, opening fire with the new world's first rendition of a chain gun. The cylindrical barrel of the weapon span violently, raining a hail of highly impactful, armor piercing rounds on the group of three Dregs, four Vandals, and their lone Captain. Even with their SIVA infused augmentations, the Dregs couldn't withstand the firepower. With a sound similar to a hammer on an anvil, Amethyst's form covered in vibrant Solar flames.

    The Hammer of Sol she produced flew through the air at the crowd of Devil Splicers, catching the last Vandal square in the face. The fiery hammer exploded on impact, causing the Splicer Captain to recoil in disgust and pain. As Amethyst advanced with her Hammer of Sol in hand, Demeter took to firing pot shots at the Captain's exposed head. Behind her, Demeter heard a crunching noise. Turning on her boots, she prepared to open fire on her flanker, until she found herself staring up at the Splicer Baron's face.

    She had no problems shooting the other Fallen from a distance, but here, in close quarters, she felt all of her training escape her. The inner most fears she had experienced from horror stories involving normal Fallen began to creep up on her. With an alien snicker, the Splicer Baron's bottom right arm's hand balled up into a fist, before striking her heavily on the side of her helmet. With a pained yelp, Demeter tumbled along the ground, Drake Stratus' legendary Scout Rifle; Colovance's Duty, tumbled way out of her reach and down the cliff side into the abyss below.

    "Dem!" Amethyst yelled after her, as Demeter shakily attempted to stand.

    While the blow was far from fatal, it was enough to rattle her skeleton, and cause her to be very weak. As she stood to full height, her vision settled on the Baron, which now stood over her in mockery. Leaning it's face down to her level, it's multiple eyes glared deep into her helmet, as it's alien snicker echoed through her helmet. Her heart beat increased considerably, as she heard her pulse in her ears.

    The Baron's attention turned from Demeter for a second, as Demeter felt an uncomfortable thickness in the air. Even through her plasteel armor, she could feel her hairs standing on end. The monster's head turned just in time for an electricity covered fist to strike the Baron square in the face. The force of the blow sent off a shockwave of energy that forced Demeter to stumble backwards in a fruitless attempt to gather herself.

    The Baron, surviving the powerful Fist of Havoc, skidded backwards from the intensity of the blow. Recovering itself, the Baron thrust itself at Amethyst. It's two massive right arms swung down on Amethyst's position, as her mechanical right arm caught the blow, leaving the Baron at a stand still. Swiftly, Amethyst's left fist struck a low blow on the Baron's chiton covered midsection, cracking the hard enamel like armor.

    Another shockwave of energy pulsed from behind the Baron, it's legs knocking together as a result. All the dust in the catwalk behind the Baron billowed in the shockwave, and shook the metal walkway, which had already been holding on by hope alone, to it's core. With a flurry of punches and kicks that were much too fast for Demeter to follow with her untrained eye, Amethyst struck the Baron with an unforgiving barrage of attacks.

    Though Amethyst was no longer buffed by the Arc Light of a Striker Titan, her blows held about as much weight and ferocity a Master Titan was credited for. The Baron, while only slightly stronger than a normal Spliced Captain, was not as durable as Demeter had once feared. Collapsing to it's knees, Amethyst roared as her whole body span on her left boot, whipping her right foot nastily across the Baron's neck. The force of the blow cracked the Baron's neck chiton, and snapped it's neck in the process, sending it's corpse careening into the central control room.

    Demeter collapsed to her knees as Amethyst regained her composure, walking over. Demeter trembled, as she had lost the last remaining relic Amethyst had of her brother. Placing both of her hands in the soil beneath her, Demeter fought the urge to cry, as she winced at Amethyst's crouch beside her.

    "I... I lost it." Demeter shook her head. "I'm so sorry. I've failed you as an apprentice."

    "It was your first live fire training." Amethyst said reassuringly. "I was expecting normal Fallen, not SIVA augmented ones. When I was in your shoes, a common Dreg once had me spooked."

    "No, you don't understand." Demeter shook her head, as the tears flowed. "I lost Colovance's Duty, Drake Stratus' Scout Rifle."

    "I know my brother." Amethyst's hand rested on Demeter's lower back in a soothing, rubbing motion. "If he was here today, he would have tossed that Scout Rifle in a heart beat to save a life. The gun was nothing more than a token of his spirit. I have my memories to remember him by."

    "We'll just have to work on your fight or flight instincts." Amethyst helped Demeter to her feet, brushing some turf off of Demeter's shoulder. "For now, we now know why the Red-Jacks are missing. Those Splicers likely took them to test what SIVA they still have on them. We need to inform Arcite-99-40 and Lord Shaxx."

    Amethyst took a few steps forward and pressed her hand to her helmet to activate the remote communications function. Without a Ghost to transmit her voice to the Tower, she knew she would have to route it through the long way. Her heart stuttered as she heard only static.

    "Tower control, this is Lady Amethyst of the Iron Lords. On patrol on behalf of the Crucible clean-up crew, respond?" Amethyst asked, turning to Demeter.

    Demeter's communications crackled to life, repeating everything Amethyst said, in real time, in her ears. The two glanced at each other, as a male voice that Demeter had never heard before came through the channel.

    "That fleet was huge, and it's headed for the Tower." Demeter heard the man growl angrily. "I leave for a year and this is what happens? Honestly, I swear the Crucible is all Guardians care-"

    Amethyst tried to respond to the voice on the other side, but it seemed to no avail. The two could receive incoming transmissions, but outgoing ones were useless. Demeter took a nervous step forward, as Amethyst pulled her helmet off, a look of shock covering her face.

    "Who was that just now?" Demeter asked, as Amethyst turned to her.

    "Lance." she shook her head. "If he's breaking exile, something big's happening. We need to get back to the City!"
    Shad0wChas3r
    Shad0wChas3r
    Database Director


    Posts : 1244
    Join date : 2013-01-16
    Age : 29

    Sentinel; Good, Bad, and Ugly. Empty Re: Sentinel; Good, Bad, and Ugly.

    Post  Shad0wChas3r September 14th 2017, 3:38 pm

    "Where is your ship?" Demeter stared in confusion at their landing zone.

    With no Ghost to remotely land their ships, the two had resorted to parking their ships in a fairly open clearing, just to the north of Exodus Blue's crash site. To their shock, however, only Demeter's borrow Crucible ship remained. With a hurried shrug, Amethyst clambered into the cockpit's co-pilot seat, just behind the pilot's chair.

    Demeter climbed up and into her seat, as the glass chamber closed down on top of them. Flipping several switches and buttons to initialize takeoff, Demeter thrust the accelerator to moderate flight speed. Everything Nathan had once taught her about emergency take offs was put into effect as the ship rocketed over the tree-line, back in the direction of the City.

    With the trip only being a few minutes, Amethyst spoke up behind Demeter. She growled in frustration as only mere crackles echoed through their communications. "Every channel is dark, even the damn emergency channels."

    "What do you think is happening back there?" Demeter asked, her eyes focused on the airspace ahead of her.

    "If it's enough to have Lance and his fireteam break exile, whatever's going on is pretty serious." Amethyst shook her head, as Demeter heard her mentor's mechanical fingers fidgeting on her kneepad. "Do you recall that I once told you you're too fast when you fly?"

    "Yes ma'am, sorry ma'am." Demeter said as she began to slow the accelerator.

    "No no, you're misinterpreting my words." Amethyst said, placing a hand on her shoulder. "Forget everything I ever said, top speed, now."

    With a smirk on her face, Demeter gladly removed the restrictions Amethyst had once put on her piloting and allowed the ship to slip into near light travel. With a flash, the ship erupted through the clouds surrounding the City that had served as a veil for as long as Demeter had known. The vision they saw, however, was enough to wipe the smirk right off.

    Fire and smoke rose from the Tower, the Vanguard hall in smoldering ruin from what appeared to be several explosive impacts. Ash and embers billowed in the wind as the City itself was alight. Several alien ships of enormous size were in constant class with the City's aerial defenses. Demeter used her piloting knowledge to avoid combat, as she turned to land in the hanger. She yelped, however, as a stray explosive round from one of the alien ships clipped one of her wings.

    Gritting her teeth in a struggle to maintain her control over the vessel, Demeter's eyes widened in surprise as Amethyst effortlessly lifted her out of the chair under her armpits, using her Lift thrusters to eject the two of them out before they crashed. The ship crashed into a heap with the remaining rubble, erupting into a crimson fireball.

    "Head to the atrium! Zavala's been escorting civilians, but the Speaker's not been boarded yet!" a woman's voice called over their comms.

    "Lillian, where are you?"

    "Amethyst?! What are you doing here?"

    Amethyst nudged Demeter on the shoulder, before gesturing up the empty hanger and towards the Atrium. As they jogged, however, Amethyst continued her conversation.

    "Protecting my home, what's else is new?" Amethyst spoke directly, with little of her usual self showing, the tone change alone was enough to chill Demeter to the bone. "I go for a quick jog in the woods with my apprentice and everything goes to shit."

    "Lance here. We caught visuals of a massive Cabal fleet entering the system, we tried warning the Tower and the Vanguard, but communications have been down for some time." a man's voice echoed in Demeter's helmet. "If you can, link with us at the Atrium.
    Zavala's not my favorite person, but we have to help him protect the civilians.
    "

    "We're just headed past the Cryptarch tent now." Amethyst replied, as Demeter's gaze turned towards the partially destroyed kiosk of Master Rahool.

    It was jarring to think that just a short few hours before, the two of them had been here joking with the Cryptarch without a care in the world. Now fire was rising from all corners, and Rahool was no-where to be seen.

    "Ah, you two." Lord Shaxx, who had been standing over a now completely destroyed Red-Jack, turned to face them. "I'm glad to see you are both alright. As you can see, things have escalated explosively around here."

    "Is everyone alright?" Amethyst asked, as Shaxx solemnly shook his iconic helmet.

    "There have been substantial casualties from non-Guardians in and around the City. I and my Red-Jacks have done all we can for the civilians here on the Tower." Shaxx turned to Demeter. "This is no training exercise, young one. If the Cabal want war, give them war."

    Shaxx nodded curtly, before he and his remaining Red-Jacks ran back the way Demeter and Amethyst had come from. For whatever purpose that was, it meant little to Demeter, she only hoped he would be okay. Commander Zavala, the Titan Vanguard, growled as a trio of Guardians approached him from behind.

    Amethyst tapped Demeter on the shoulder, leading her over to the Awoken Titan and his new companions. Zavala angrily stepped up to the Titan in front of the trio, prodding his finger into his chest.

    "You have some nerve showing up here, exile."

    "That's the 'thank you' I was expecting, blue ball." the Titan, whom Demeter could identify with his iconic Iron Lord armor as Lance Stratus, scoffed. "This is what complacency gets you. A burning Tower and Cabal running amuck."

    "I should shoot you down, right now for violating City law."

    "I'd like to see you try, Papa Smurf." Lance growled, as the Huntress behind him pushed on his chest.

    "Is now really the time?" she asked, as her attention turned to Demeter and Amethyst. "The gang's all here now, except the new kid. Introductions can wait, look at the Traveler!"

    The group's attention turned to a giant six pronged device floating ominously close to the giant white orb in the sky. As someone who lived directly under it for her entire life, Demeter felt a pang in her heart. The Traveler was something alive, dormant, but it was alive all the same. Whatever they planned on doing to it, she had to stop them. Even without the Light on her side.

    "The Red Legion... what are they doing to the Traveler?!" Zavala growled, turning to those around him. "They are well trained, but we are all better. We must hold this position until all civilians are safely transported away. Then we'll discuss what to do with you."

    Looming closely to the strange device in the sky was a massive command ship unlike anything Demeter had ever seen. Vibrant discharge flashes erupted from the side, as a salvo of missile raced towards their position. Zavala noticed this and stepped forward, thrusting both of his arms out to his side. The purple void energy of a Ward of Dawn surrounded the lot of them, just in time for the missiles to strike harmlessly against it.

    Still, Demeter could feel the vibrations of the remote explosions rattle her teeth. Following the missiles were a trio of massive spheres, which deconstructed themselves to reveal about twelve or so portly looking aliens in red armor. Lance turned to Demeter, as if he could sense her fear, and placed a reassuring hand on her borrowed helmet.

    "Don't worry kid, the Guardians'll win the day."

    Sprinting out of the bubble after the explosives subsided, Lance's entire form erupted with Arc energy, waves of the energy traveled between his extremities and filled the air around him with sparks. Using his Lift thrusters, Lance launched himself into the air, before striking both of his fists into the ground at the Cabal soldier's feet. The pent up Arc energy he utilized erupted outwards in a glorious circular wave of energy around him, fizzling the Cabal out of existence.

    As he turned to gloat about his impressive kill, Demeter noticed another Cabal approaching him from behind with a sword. Gritting her teeth, she grasped the Sweet Business from Amethyst's hands and bolted out of the shield. Taking a knee, she whirred up the barrel and unleashed a short burst of ammunition, more than enough to pop the Cabal's helmet off with a splash of biofuel and blood.

    "Hmm." Lance nodded his head with respect. "Good shot. Sure you're not supposed to be a Hunter?"

    "I must hold position here." Zavala interrupted, stepping forward. "That Command ship is priority number one for anyone that's willing to go."

    "We're on it." Lance nodded towards the other two in his fireteam. "Nimbus, Lillian, let's split up and take the ship on in two fronts. Amethyst, kid, I trust you can hold your own?"

    "You forget we don't have the Light, Lance." Amethyst shook her head, as Demeter stepped forward.

    "No, but we do have courage, right?" Demeter glanced between them. "If I'm ever going to prove my worth to the Traveler, I have to be willing to die to save people, right?"

    "Being brave is one thing, suicidal is another." Amethyst shook her head. "If we go on that ship, there is a very good chance the both of us will die."

    "If we don't go, the City burns, ma'am." Demeter pointed towards the strange device in the sky. "They're attacking the Traveler, and if we don't give Lord Stratus and his fireteam the extra hand, there is a very good chance the Light will be snuffed out for good and all will be lost."

    There was silence among them for a moment, before Amethyst sighed, placing her metallic hand on Demeter's shoulder.

    "You're right, Dem. Ever since I lost Drake and my arm, I've been afraid of death, when before it was little more than an inconvenience. I forgot that being a Guardian is to embody self sacrifice." Amethyst nodded. "Even if we do die up there, we died doing our part, and at the end of the day, that's what being a Guardian is all about. Only problem is, we don't have a ride."

    "That won't be an issue, head to the merchant's district." Zavala commanded. "Amanda Holliday will give you both a lift. God speed Guardians... and Lance?"

    "Yes?"

    "If we win this day, I'll fight for your fireteam's return to the City."

    "I'll hold you to that."

    //////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////

    "Come on... do something." Amanda Holliday muttered, as her and her two passenger's glanced at the giant white sphere.

    "Hasn't been awake in centuries." Demeter frowned. "Hopefully these explosions will act enough as a wake up call."

    "If only you knew..." Demeter thought she heard Amethyst mutter to herself, turning her attention to her mentor.

    "What?"

    "If only the Cabal knew what we're gonna do to them." Amethyst nodded, before standing up giving Demeter a quick once over. "That Titan armor suits you well. Do me proud and not clam up while we're on the ship, yeah?"

    Demeter gave her a determined nod, as the two braced themselves from the sudden evasive maneuvers Amanda had to perform. When the ship finally came to a stop, the back door opened, and the two jumped out. With a splash from the rain puddle beneath their boots, Demeter's first visual was one of the giant globes filled with Cabal soldiers. Before she could study it, however, it was launched from the ship, as if the ship itself was a rail gun firing ball bearings.

    Following Amethyst's lead, Demeter raised the sidearm Lance had kindly loaned her and scanned the ramp leading up and into the ship. They were immediately greeted by a trio of the Cabal Legionnaires. With a continuous stream of rounds from Amethyst's Sweet Business and Demeter's sidearm, the three went down with little issue.

    "Our goal is to take out the shield generator of the ship so Tower aerial defenses can take it out." Amethyst glanced at a hologram showing the entire ship, which had been located just in the center of the room. "It's just like the ship the Cabal crashed on the Dreadnaught in design. Finding the generator shouldn't be too difficult, thanks to Lance and the others creating a diversion elsewhere on the ship."

    "Still, we move fast, and we shoot to kill." Amethyst warned. "I know the way, follow me."

    /////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////

    With a final round into the head of the giant Cabal Centurion, Demeter shook off the nerves that encompassed her throughout their entire path. Countless corpses of the Cabal lined their path, thanks mostly in part to Amethyst and her experience. They were now on top of the Cabal command ship, able to look out at the burning City and the Traveler, the strange device now practically hugging the giant white machine.

    "It's not too much farther now." Amethyst pulled up a miniature hologram of the ship on her left wrist's datapad. "Just a few floors beneath us, that door up ahead should get us there."

    "Amethyst, kid, we have to bug out. We lost communication with Zavala and the others. Take out that generator and get the hell out of here." Lance's voice statically crackled through the comm. "We've left a large mess for them to deal with, so your path should be clear. Happy hunting and stay safe."

    "Why are they leaving?" Demeter turned to Amethyst, as her mentor sighed.

    "If contact with the Vanguard is lost, than there is a good chance those civilians we helped protect earlier are in mortal danger. Their fire-team is going to ensure everything is alright, while we just take out the shield generator and hail Holliday for a lift." Amethyst shook her head. "It's alright, there's an exit route we can take shortly after we cripple the generator. Double time it."

    The two broke into a dead sprint, past the corpses of their freshly killed Cabal enemies. Glancing down what appeared to be a giant chasm, Amethyst wrapped her arms around Demeter and jumped off, activating the Lift thrusters on her boots to slow their descent to survivable speed.

    Detaching from each other, the two made their way into the giant generator chamber. A lone centrifuge winded around the room, with electrical currents of certainly lethal voltage sparked from both ends. Gears glowing blue with energy grinded up against one another just below them, easy for the picking.

    One again the two latched onto each other, before jumping down into the centrifuge's track. The alcove was just underneath the centrifuge, providing them just enough room to safely walk around. First, Amethyst tried shooting the gears, to little effect. With a sigh, she took the Sweet Business, which was long and thick enough to act in the service they now needed it for.

    Sticking the long barrel of the gun down into the gears, they grinded to a halt before erupting into crimson flame and smoke. Just the act alone was more than enough to cause the ship several weeks, if not months of repairs, though Demeter knew that wouldn't matter long. Above them, the centrifuge, without any source of locomotion, slowed and finally halted.

    The service alarm blared, and lights flashed throughout the room. The service door that would serve as their escape route opened. Demeter, whilst the two were floating through the air to the door, kept her weapon trained on any hostiles that might show up. When nothing appeared, she felt a nasty feeling in her gut that their efforts had been too easy for a reason.

    With no time to fear, however, she and Amethyst sprinted through the service tunnel and back out onto the upper deck of the ship. Rain pelted their helmets as they ran out into the open area. Amethyst and Demeter glanced at the device, which had now adhered itself to the side of the Traveler.

    "What is that thing?" Demeter shook her head in disbelief. "How do we destroy it?!"

    "You don't." Amethyst instinctively pulled her Hammer of Sol, as the two turned to see a pair of Centurions guarding a giant Cabal in white armor approach them."Allow me to welcome you to a world without Light."

    With a wave of his hand, the Cabal's gesture brought Amethyst and Demeter's attention to the Traveler. A giant red barrier erupted from the device adhered to it's surface, running a giant energy cage around it. Amethyst grunted as she clutched at her chest, Demeter watched in horror as the Solar energy engulfing Amethyst pittered out and her hammer clattered to the ground by her feet, a blue after image of Amethyst was stripped from her body.

    Amethyst stumbled a bit, clutching her stomach. The weakness she felt caused her to clatter to her hands and knees. Demeter kneeled next to her mentor, as the Cabal approached. Demeter took a moment to look up at the encroaching Cabal, as he snarled. "Do not look at me... creature!"

    Demeter flinched as Amethyst, still weak, managed to get in front of the Cabal's mighty kick. The two toppled over, skidding across the open landing pad, a sickening crack emnating from Amethyst's chest.

    "You are weak; undisciplined. Cowering behind your petty walls.." the Cabal growled. "You're not brave. You've merely forgotten the fear of death. Allow me to reaccquaint you."

    "HRRRNG!" the Cabal growled, striking Amethyst with the back of his right fist, causing her to scatter dangerously close to the edge of the cliff. "Except for you. You are different. You came here without the blessing of the Light."

    Demeter groaned as she attempted to stand, turning in time to see Amethyst, whose helmet had been knocked off from the blow, give her a knowing smile and a nod. Demeter scrambled in her direction, before her mentor cascaded down into the City below.

    "Mentor!" Demeter cried out, reaching futily out for her.

    "Your kind never deserved the power they were given." the Cabal growled behind her. "I am Ghaul, and your Traveler?"

    "Is MINE."

    Ghaul's massive boot met with Demeter's head, as he gave her a quick shove off of his ship. Demeter screamed as she cascaded into the City below her, and her mind suddenly flashed to the past, and more recently the better days she had had with Amethyst as her tutor. Wind rushed past her ears as she decided it was no use screaming any longer, and instead, closed her eyes to accept her fate.

    -------------------------------------------------------------------------------

    "Wake up, will ya?"

    Demeter groaned as she glanced around her, though there was nothing there, minus a small golden ball of light. Glancing at it, she reached out for it, before the ball of light manifested itself into the visage of a bird. With a flap of it's wings, the bird began to fly off, and as it did, a beautiful view erupted vividly from the darkness around her.

    The first thing she saw was the Traveler as a whole, as if it wasn't missing it's entire bottom half. A fledgling City sprawled out beneath it, in a time before the Walls existed. The bird took a nose dive into a nearby lake, and as the bird went, so too did Demeter's visuals plunge into deep dark waters. Her heart raced as she saw people, reaching out for help, bloodied and covered with soot and dirt.

    As the bird 'flew' through the water, different visions passed in front of her. A giant machine that almost resembled what her old school teachers once called 'Whale Sharks' consuming a planet flashed into her vision, with small triangles of darkness plunging into the 'ocean' just above her head. The golden light of the bird flashed vividly, as visions of an electrified spear/pole, a fiery sword, and a void shield flashed before her vision.

    The bird swooped past her again, as her vision sprawled to a land on Earth unfamiliar to her. What appeared to be shards of the Traveler were piled carelessly in a forest, as the bird swooped over them in a circle.

    "Find me in the Dark Forest. We'll talk then."

    "Wait, who are you?!" Demeter asked, as she felt herself being dragged away. "Are you the Traveler?"

    "All in due time. Do not let your emotions take control. Follow the bird."
    Shad0wChas3r
    Shad0wChas3r
    Database Director


    Posts : 1244
    Join date : 2013-01-16
    Age : 29

    Sentinel; Good, Bad, and Ugly. Empty Re: Sentinel; Good, Bad, and Ugly.

    Post  Shad0wChas3r September 14th 2017, 6:34 pm

    Demeter grit her teeth as she struggled to stand. Glancing around, she had no idea how she had survived the fall off of Ghaul's ship, but here she was, alive and in the flesh. She winced as her left arm proved entirely useless, the bone inside broken beyond normal repair. In her opinion, it was a smaller price to pay than for her life.

    Thinking back on it, she began to ponder the dream she had just woken from. Was it a sign, was it real? Or was it just delusions her mind had created? Shaking the thought from her head, she tensed as she heard Cabal speak fill the air, just across from her was a patrol of several foot soldiers and a lone Centurion. Shakily standing, Demeter began to move forward, until her foot hit something.

    Glancing down, her eyes widened as tears almost immediately began to shed. Collapsing to her knees, she used her right arm, which was miraculously still usable, to wrap an arm around Amethyst's still form. Her mentor's eyes were closed with a smile of content on her face, as if the Light hadn't been stripped from her, and she sent cascading to her death like some animal.

    She cried quietly into Amethyst's shoulder for a time, before she heard the rumbling of what she could only assume was a Cabal tank. Releasing her mentor's form gently where she laid, Demeter stood, but not before plucking a metal rod from her mentor's clenched metal hand. Her memories of the metal rod escaped her, as if the fall had caused her to forget, but she knew it meant a great deal to Amethyst.

    Amethyst's Sunbreaker mark, which she had told Demeter was her father's final gift to her, was left in tatters a few feet away. Grasping the cloth, Demeter used some nearby sticks and fixed a small memorial for Amethyst. With one final, silent goodbye, Demeter began to walk in the direction of the giant hole in the City's wall.

    //////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////

    Demeter shuddered as she vaulted over the massive rock and landed jarringly into the next clearing. She had been walking for easily four days, stopping only to eat the emergency rations her suit was outfitted with. Her left arm had been hastily reset after she had cleared the city, and she used her own tattered Titan's mark to act as a temporary sling on the hopes that she would one day soon find a doctor.

    She flinched as an ear piercing screech rang out in front of her, a massive Falcon sat perched on a sizeable boulder just in front of her. The bird sat there for a while, until she approached within a few feet of it, with another screech, it flew off, circling around her for a moment more before gliding to her North. Demeter followed it as best as she could, until she was met with a short rock-face. Carefully, she vaulted down again, the smouldering ruins of a small encampment was the first thing she saw in the valley.

    Corpses of Titans, Hunters, and Warlocks were scattered all around her, causing her heart to sink with each one she saw. It reminded her of Amethyst, which was still very much a sore loss for her. One of the Titan's held a sub-machine gun in his hands. Amethyst gently walked over and relieved the Titan of his weapon. With one silent prayer for them, Amethyst began to climb into a snow covered slope ahead of her.

    An alien howl filled the air as Cabal War Beasts, which were like the lizard equivalent of war hounds, numbering at least twenty, charged her position. Positioning herself, Demeter brought the sub to bear and began taking short, controllable bursts to cut down the War Beasts. As the clip emptied, she winced as she forced her left hand to move ever so slightly to place a fresh one in it's place.

    With the last of them dead, she began to trudge up the snow covered landscape. Her geography teacher had once told her that the Twilight Gap was over this crest, near Felwinter Peak, and served to be one of the deadliest places near the City thanks to the battle of the Six Pillars and the battle at Twilight Gap.

    ////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////

    Demeter was slowly losing track of how long she had been walking, though she guessed it had been roughly a week since she had left the City and began walking. Her emergency rations were all but gone, with maybe a few crumbs to tide her over. The falcon that she had been following circled over head, as she slowly trekked the icy cliffs encircling Felwinter Peak. Above her, she could just barely make out the Iron Temple, a place Amethyst spoke fondly of in one of their earlier interactions.

    With a frown, Demeter continued her walk. Even if the dream was just a hoax that her mind had created, it was giving her the drive to keep going. Otherwise, she'd be better off just finding a place to sit down and freeze to death. The rock-face around her rumbled as a massive Cabal ship shot past the mountain, granules of snow and rock rumbled down beside her, as the all-too familiar visage of the Traveler, now encaged in energy could be seen in the distance.

    Continuing her way up the pass, Demeter stopped as the falcon perched itself on a ledge a few feet from where she was standing. Her hunger had long settled in, and the weakness she felt as a result made her question whether or not she could make the jump. Gritting her teeth, Demeter got a running start and jumped for it, yelping as she just missed her target and fell down.

    Then, she passed out.

    /////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////

    "Would you look at that? Someone left a perfectly good Titan lying around." Demeter heard a woman's voice, though muffled, say from around her.

    As she opened her eyes, her vision, while blurried, was just enough to make out a hooded woman approaching her position. Offering a hand, the hooded woman helped Demeter to her feet with a cocky smirk.

    "Let's get things moving people, we're burning daylight!" she barked to the handful of people behind her, one of which was sporting Amethyst's missing ship.

    "Wh-wait, where are you all going?" Demeter asked weakly, as the woman turned to her with a smile.

    "You must have hit your head harder than I thought, lose your helmet?" the woman sighed. "We're getting as far away from here as we can."

    Another of the falcon's screeches filled the air, as it swooped down. The woman's arm shot out and provided the bird a place to land. "Wait, that bird belongs to you?"

    "This guy?" the woman turned to Demeter with a chuckle. "His name's Louis, best pilot we got. Which reminds me, you know how to fly one handed?"

    "Yes ma'am." Demeter nodded, as the woman scoffed.

    "Don't call me that or I'll put you back where I found you." she shook her head. "We'll see about getting you patched up when we get where we're going. For now, load up."

    //////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////

    "What, is the Farm not good enough for you?" Hawthorne, the woman who had saved her life, shook her head in disbelief. "I know you Guardians have a skewed sense of a good time, but actively seeking death is beyond bravery, it's suicidal."

    "I'm not a Guardian." Demeter shook her head. "When the City fell, I had a vision, and it's what lead me to this shard of the Traveler."

    With a quick gesture, Demeter pointed past Louis' perch and towards the giant orange peel like shard of the Traveler. Blue and black clouds surrounded the corrupted hunk of white machine. With a sigh, Hawthorne turned to Louise and gave his plumage a quick rustling.

    "Listen, I won't stop you. I have enough to deal with here, just understand the European Dead Zone didn't get the name from being home to sunshine and rainbows." Hawthorne frowned. "If you get in trouble out there, you're on your own. That arm of yours won't fully heal naturally for quite some time, so you're going in with even more of a challenge."

    "It's one I have to take." Demeter shook her head. "I have a gut feeling about this, and I need to follow it."

    "Then go. One of those Titan types from the City is over in the barn, he has your sub. I think you folks call him Lord something or other?" Hawthorne smiled. "As for your transport, take that ship you used to fly here. If it manages to help these good people out in any way, I'll accept the investment."

    Demeter nodded respectfully before quickly climbing down the old wooden stairs of the run down wooden farm house. The place wasn't called the Farm for nothing, sporting two large barns and a lone farm house, it was the home for many of the City's refugees that weren't once Guardians. Demeter was even surprised to hear that a Cryptarch by the name of Tyra Karn had managed to set up shop just in front of the farm house.

    As she approached the barn, she smiled as a pair of civilians walked past her. She still associated herself as a civilian, on the account she was only trained for combat but was not technically recognized as a soldier or even a Guardian. Entering the front door to the barn, which now served as a repair station for ships and a hanger to boot, she passed a few mechanics to see Lord Shaxx of all people standing there.

    "Ah, the young apprentice returns. Last I saw of you, the air smelt of ozone and fire reigned down from the heavens. A grim day to say the least, and defeat comes for us all eventually, but we must learn from our losses to strengthen ourselves." Lord Shaxx nodded. "I have heard of Lady Amethyst's passing, it is a mortal shame, one that shakes even the toughest of Titan's resolve. You know that she one served as a deputy commander under Commander Zavala to train young Titans?"

    "I have met each of her students over the course of their time in the Crucible, and each one has gone on to be hugely successful in whatever obstacles come their way." Shaxx continued. "While you do not possess the Light... well, I guess none of us do now, you have shown to have the most potential of all of them combined. A true protege, as the saying goes."

    With a moment of silence, Shaxx hurriedly turned to the workbench behind him and produced her sub machine gun. Stabilizing jets had been installed on the weapon to hopefully help maintain her recoil, and based off of the clip, it had been hugely extended for her usage.

    "A broken arm seeks out to only handicap you in whatever errands you find yourself running, young student." Shaxx said. "I have taken the liberty of erasing that handicap and giving you a slight advantage. You will learn to use the weapon as an extension of yourself, to rely on it as you would rely on your own wits. Wherever the winds of fate guide you, young one, may you spread your wings and coast on them to find your destination."

    ///////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////

    Demeter landed just shy of the forest's edge in a small clearing. Stepping out of her new ship, she prepared her sub for any and all threats that would come between here. Thankfully, the forest, while dark and unknown to most nearby, was linear in it's path. As she walked along, the curious sight of a floating ball of black and white caught her attention.

    As she approached it, it was as if the fabric of time and space had been torn asunder, and a window to a different place had been opened. Stepping through it, she gasped as the wind was taken from her, and she felt as if she was being pulled on from all angles. With a hiss and a pop, she found herself somewhere deeper in the forest, pitch blackness surrounding her in the trees, despite the open daylight she had just left.

    "Ah, I was beginning to wonder if you'd show up." the familiar voice of her dream echoed through the trees around her. "I don't do cryptic, but you'll understand that there are some things you must learn for yourself."

    "Who are you?" Demeter called out.

    "You could say I'm a friend, although based off of what I'm going to have you do, you could say the opposite." the voice echoed with a slight chuckle. "Continue on the path ahead of you, we can talk more when you get here."

    "Where is 'here' exactly?" Demeter asked, glancing around.

    "You'll know when you're here. Do you remember what I told you before? Don't let your emotions guide you, just find a direction and go. Follow your gut, as they say."

    Demeter sighed as the voice echoed one last time through the trees, before trudging her way through the flora of the forest bed, her boots sloshing in mud puddles and various other plants. Light, or what she thought was Light occasionally trickled out of some of the plants and water nearby, but it was unlike anything she had seen Amethyst or any other Guardian utilize before.

    She questioned whether it would be safe to be here or not, or if the corrupted Light would make her sick and die, or worse, become part of the corruption. Clearing her mind of the 'what if's', Demeter continued her path, the occasional chittering of some animal or other creature occasionally resonating around her.

    "You're a fast learner, good. That's just the kind of person we're looking for."

    "There's a 'we' now?" Demeter asked. "You never answered my question about who you are."

    "Who I am isn't what matters, getting here in a timely fashion, however, is."

    Demeter continued her path, stumbling only slightly on an exposed tree root, but managed to catch herself and maintain composure. The chittering became ever more noticeable as she entered a clearing with a monolith that appeared to be made of the same material as the Traveler.

    "Oh man, this is just terrible. the voice replied sarcastically. "Fallen everywhere, whatever shall we do?"

    Surely enough, the creatures Demeter had once encountered near Exodus Blue began to appear from the trees around her. Some were the small Dregs, while a pair of Vandals and even a Captain or Baron patrolled around. Opening fire with her sub, Demeter targeted the Dregs first as they made up the majority of the scouting party.

    After the first one fell, the Fallen troops all tensed and began to open up fire on her. Taking cover behind the monolith, Demeter occasionally poked out and took pot shots, dwindling the number of Fallen until finally, at last after a several minute firefight, the Captain or Baron collapsed.

    "Color me impressed... if I was physical that is. Nice kill on that Captain." the voice replied. "-and I already know what you're going to ask; who are you strange and mysterious voice? Fact of the matter is, you don't need to worry about who I am. You were brought here for a reason."

    "Can you at least tell me if I'm in the right spot?"

    "Last I heard, your name was Demeter Willingham. the voice snickered. "Alright, alright. I've had my fun. Yes, you're in the right place. All you have to do now is come to the shard."

    "This shard?" Demeter asked, pointing to the monolith she had used for cover.

    "I don't see any others, do you?" the voice asked, though this time the voice originated from the monolith itself. "Come over here."

    Demeter slowly crept up to the front of the monolith, as she glanced at it's otherwise flawless surface. Suddenly, what appeared to be a fractal of Light appeared at the center of the monolith, which glowed a vibrant gold.

    "You've never been with the Light, have you?" the voice asked, the crack flickering to match the words it was saying, Demeter silently shook her head, as the voice gave off a feeling of a smirk. "Hold on to your helmet, kid. First time's a real sucker punch."

    Demeter had little time to process the words before a giant beam of the golden Light erupted from the monolith and enveloped her entire body. The force of the Light was so strong and potent that it was more than enough to lift her and her armor completely off the ground with no effort. Her body began to feel new, fresh, as if she had never suffered an injury once in her entire life. Her broken left arm painlessly felt new and repaired again.

    On that same thought, she noticed her body now began to feel like a cup or chalice, and as the Light washed over her, she could feel the 'level's rising within her. Vibrations as a result of all of the raw energy running through her shook her to her core, as one last final pulse of raw, golden Light erupted from her chest, and she landed back on her feet.

    Her first thing to notice was that she stood a little bit taller than before, and an immeasurable strength now felt possible to her, as if anything that had once been too heavy was now just child's play. Looking down at her right fist, the armor that she had worn that had once been tarnished from her fall from Ghaul's ship was now restored and returned to new.

    "Eyes up, Guardian." a familiar voice spoke up, in the form of a small robot gently floating at her eye level.

    Small magenta ribbons traced along the shell of the small vessel, a rich and royal purple covering the majority of it, with the occasional white and black stripes for decoration. A singular purple eye glanced back at Demeter, as it nodded it's form knowingly.

    "Your voice, you're-"

    " Your Ghost. I am your Ghost." the small robot's shell twisted for a second, before blinking shut. " Though yes, you once called me Amethyst."

    "Newest member of the Titan ranks, I welcome you to our noble cause. The Light is a gift, but it is not one to be squandered, you will use it for great things, of this, I am certain." the voice behind her spoke up. "What better way to welcome a new Guardian to our ranks, than a trial? Let'em have it."

    Ahead of Demeter, only a few feet from her position was what appeared to be a well of the same golden Light that had been talking to her. Approaching the well of energy, the small purple Ghost beside her disappeared into thin air, much to her confusion.

    "Don't worry, Dem. I'm still here. This is still new to me, but I got your back."

    The well inside of Demeter swelled as she approached the golden Light, as she felt overwhelming strength cast itself over her. Clenching her fists, she felt like a chalice overflowing. Void energy began to creep up her legs and across her arms, but it did not cause her any harm, instead, it was empowering her. With the new surge of energy, Demeter's left hand moved practically by itself, thrusting straight up into the air. With a flash of Void Light, a shield of Void energy, like she had seen in her vision, appeared on her arm.

    Around her, a mass of at least twenty Dregs, ten Vandals, and even a pair of Fallen Captains approached. With a smirk on her face, she was no longer afraid. Twisting around on her boots, Demeter's shield released from her arm, sailing through the air towards the nearest Dreg. With a screech, the creature evaporated into the void, as the shield continued to bounced around like a pin-ball against bumpers.

    While her initial shield was bouncing in between the mass of Dregs, a second appeared on her left wrist again. Swinging as hard as she could, Demeter let the power of her legs and the swing carry her practically through the air, her shield striking the nearest Captain square in the face. It's carapace cracked at the impact of her strike, staggering her foe backwards.

    With another twirl, she threw the second shield at the staggered Captain, which evaporated the beast and bounced to a nearby Vandal, continuing in it's path against another pair of Vandals, before striking the last Captain. Before a third could appear on her arm, the shield dissolved, as well as the void energy covering her. A feeling of exhaustion passed through her, as she jumped backwards and narrowly avoided the remaining Captain's shock blades.

    Another pool of golden Light was just to her left, and initializing her Lift thrusters, she launched herself towards the pool. When she stood in it, the nauseous feeling that had once overcome her subsided, and the overwhelming feeling of power rose through her again. Summoning the shield was just as easy as the first time, and with one last deft throw of her shield, the final Captain fizzled back into the void.

    The ground beneath her quaked, however, as she turned to see a massive Fallen, easily the largest she had ever seen, towering over her. Where just a week before she had been frightened by a Baron, this creature got little fear out of her. Jumping backwards to avoid a swing of it's right arms, Demeter's head snapped up towards the beast. Charging at it, she jumped onto one of it's arms as it swung by, activating her Lift to launch her up to it's face level.

    With a mighty swing, she struck the monster in the face. The force of the blow was enough to cause it stumbling back. Landing on her feet, her Lift systems engaged again and launched her forward into a full sprint. The massive Fallen Archon Priest gaffawed as it readied it's shrapnel launcher. Raising her shield, Demeter stomped forward, a wall of void energy emanated from her shield, absorbing the blows.

    As the monster went to reload, Demeter focused all of her remaining pent up Light into the shield, as the Void tendrils on her arms and legs elongated, pouring themselves into the shield. With all of the Light amassed into one singular shield, she jumped once more to it's head level and swung as hard as she now could. With a sickening crack of the Archon Priest's carapace, the monster stumbled backwards, tripping on a rock and falling onto it's back.

    Twirling herself in air, Demeter threw the shield one last time, as it struck the Archon Priest in the face. It slowly evaporated into the void, starting from it's head down to it's legs. When Demeter landed, however, she no longer felt the sickness of spending her Light, and stood proudly, fists clenched at her side.

    "You just became a Guardian and you already killed an Archon Priest." the voice called from around the forest. "She was right about you. We'll be in touch, for now,
    go get some rest and use that new power of yours for good.
    "

    "Will you one day tell me who you are?" Demeter asked, turning to the monolith.

    "Only when you reach your full potential will you know who I am. Until then, be gone from this place and gather yourself."
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    Post  Shad0wChas3r September 23rd 2017, 1:00 pm

    "Will you learn to exhibit some patience?!" a woman's voice broke the now stillness in front of the Traveler's shard. Demeter tensed as she turned to the origin of the voice in the forest's edge.

    "Listen, I'm not the one shouting in the middle of hostile territory." the voice of a man followed shortly after the woman's.

    Demeter and her now Ghost mentor, Amethyst, turned to glance at one another, before glancing at the approaching pair of people. The flora of the forest's edge crunched and snapped as a lone woman stumbled out into the clearing, thistle and pine needles covered her practically from head to toes, and her once elaborate robes now were torn and host to an assortment of sticks and leaves.

    By Demeter's limited interactions with Warlocks, she knew undoubtedly that this woman belonged to the Warlock guild. Following her suit, but with much more grace, a man with a ratty set of skin tight armor and what could have once been a long flowing cape, now reduced to rags, stepped out.

    "-and for the record, you were the one running the entire time." the Hunter shook his head, brushing a lone pine cone off of his shoulder. "Oh, I wasn't expecting to see anyone else here."

    "What do you-" the Warlock growled with annoyance, following the Hunter's line of sight. At the sight of Demeter in full armor, the Warlock flinched. "Oh!"

    The Hunter and the Warlock trudged down the small borough they had been standing on, and placed themselves directly in front of Demeter. Demeter tensed as the Hunter walked circles around her, as if he was examining her, while the Warlock stood with an air of majesty around her. At the end of his lap, the Hunter placed himself beside the Warlock, crossing his arms.

    "Sorry for the rudeness of my acquaintance here, he can be a bit... crass."

    "I'm not crass, I'm bold." the Hunter shook his head. "-and you have to excuse tea party princess over here, she's a bit presumptuous."

    "What are the two of your doing out here without any weapons to at least defend yourself?" Amethyst's frame twisted as she floated towards them.

    "I used my Hunter's cunning to avoid any confrontation, and she used her ability to make every Fallen in a tri-county area hear her to distract them while I took them out one by one." the Hunter snickered, before shaking his head and performing a double take. "Wait a minute, you're an actual functioning Ghost."

    "-and you're a moderately annoying Hunter, your point?"

    "What he means to say is; the Light is with you." the Warlock said with amazement. "So we are in the right place then."

    "We were newcomers to the Farm about a few hours ago, walked our way from the Cosmodrome. The de facto leader of the place, Hawthorne if memory serves me, told us of some young upstart in Titan gear headed this way." he shrugged. "We witnessed countless dead Lightless Guardians on our way out of the Cosmodrome alone, countless more just en route to the Farm. We couldn't just stand idly by with the idea that a foolhardy Titan, especially so young and inexperienced, was out here alone."

    "Well." Demeter tapped the Sub Machine gun on her hip. "I've had this one since I escaped the City, and it was more than enough to get me this far."

    "-and you did it without the Light." the Warlock mused. "That's incredibly strong and brave of you."

    "Well, I was used to it." Demeter shrugged. "I've only just recently been introduced to the Light."

    "Wait, what?!" the Hunter and Warlock turned to glance at each other, before snapping their attention back to her, the Hunter stepping forward to continue. "You fought your way here, a civilian of the City?"

    "Well, I was trained gun discipline and basic rules of engagement by her." Demeter gestured to the Ghost beside her. "Well, when she was a Titan, that is."

    "In my past life, I was known as Iron Lady Amethyst Stratus." Amethyst spoke up, turning to Demeter. "Demeter here was my apprentice, hoping to one day bask in the Light and join the Titan order. Today was the culmination of all of her training."

    "Stratus..." the Hunter pondered for a second. "Wait, like that hot shot Titan?"

    "Which one?" Demeter and Amethyst asked with a snicker. "My brother was Drake Stratus, and my great yada yada yada nephew Lance Stratus were both Titans, as was I."

    "You ignoramus." the Warlock slapped the Hunter on the shoulder. "Drake Stratus was the one who slayed Crota and Oryx. Lance Stratus and Lady Amethyst were the ones to help Fireteam Stratus slay Aksis; Archon Prime."

    After berating her Hunter companion, the Warlock took a graceful bow, despite the appearance of her ceremonial robes. At the end of her bow, she gingerly removed her helmet to reveal a cascade of vibrant yellow hair. A pair of luminous blue eyes looked Demeter over, as the Warlock smiled.

    "I am Alexandrie Churchill. I was once a Warlock that sought training under Lady Tina at the Iron Temple when Lord Saladin opened it once more to the public." she smiled. "Though for simplicity sake, you can just call me Alex."

    "You'll understand that I'm a bit wiser not to take my helmet off in hostile territory." the Hunter scoffed begrudgingly. "I'm Samuel Beckwith, call me 'Sam' and my throwing knife may find it's way into your forehead."

    "Noted." Demeter flinched at the thought. "As my mentor said, I'm Demeter."

    "No last name?" Alex asked, as Demeter frowned.

    "I have one, I just... don't share it."

    "So is this where you were first introduced to the Light?" Alex asked, producing a small ruby red Ghost from her cloak.

    "Yes, I approached that shard of the Traveler." Demeter gestured to the long since silent monolith beside her.

    With another smile, Alex replaced the helmet to the top of her head and, with Samuel at her side, approached the monolith. However, no golden crack formed on the side of the monolith. No eerie, cryptic voice beckoning them towards it. After a moment of trying various ways of interacting with the monolith, Samuel turned around.

    "What gives, huh?" he growled. "You think this is a joke?!"

    "There was a voice talking to me, it lead me here and introduced me to the Light. Trust me, I used to be several inches shorter and way weaker then." Demeter frowned, approaching alongside them.

    "You're still here? I thought I instructed you to leave?" the voice echoed from the monolith.

    "There are Lightless Guardians here that need to be reintroduced to the Light." Demeter spoke up, much to the confusion of both Alex and Samuel.

    "Who are you-?" Alex started, as Amethyst floated up and shook her form.

    "There are countless Guardians that are seeking to be reintroduced to the Light. This Shard only possesses so much pure Light. That of which is being reserved." the voice continued. "Those you are accompanied by have not yet understood the severity of their situation, and thus, I do not see it fit to bestow anything upon them."

    "So you would rather they die outright instead of giving them a final chance?" Demeter shook her head in disbelief.

    "The gift of the Light is not one to be squandered. These two were in the Cosmodrome when the Light was stripped from the Universe. They did little to aid the City in it's time of need, and their title of 'Guardian' is severely in question." the voice spoke bluntly. "Devotion, Bravery, Sacrifice... Death. These are the four single greatest factors in what makes a Guardian. Devotion inspires Bravery, Bravery inspires Sacrifice, and Sacrifice leads to Death."

    "Your devotion and bravery is what lead you to this monolith to earn the Light you had never been bestowed before, the willingness to sacrifice yourself at the fear of death, that is why you were chosen." the voice spoke. "Those that had the Light before only used it as a tool. They did not realize what they had, and ultimately, lost it."

    "Once more I will instruct you, and this will be the last time that I do. Be gone from this corrupted place and bolster the Light you now possess. In doing so, you will find that your potential will become more and more recognizable. Lead by example, and the other Guardians will find their way back to the Light."

    With one more flourish of golden Light, the voice's final words echoed in the distance before the dark forest dwindled back into solemn silence. She turned to Alex and Samuel, who glanced at her expectantly.

    "The Light is not ready to return to you yet." she shook her head solemnly. "Whatever voice lead me here said that the gift of the Light is not to be squandered, yet many Guardians only utilized it as a tool and took advantage of it. The voice has said that you will both be introduced to the Light in time, if you can remember, understand, and acknowledge the four main core elements that make a Guardian."

    "-and we're just supposed to believe someone we just met that some disembodied voice is telling them we can't be reintroduced to the Light just yet?" Samuel crossed his arms with a snort of disgust.

    "Well think about it, Samuel." Alex frowned. "We were in the Cosmodrome just taking in the view when the City was under attack, it wasn't until the signal cleared and our Light was gone that we realized anything had happened."

    "If what Demeter says is true, than we need to rediscover what it means to be a Guardian before we can have the Light back."

    /////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////

    "Hey, congratulations on finding the Light or whatever." Hawthorne's voice echoed over the comms. "I have a friend whose holed up in a church somewhere near the Trostlands. Name's Devrim Kay, you might need to speak up on the account he doesn't wear his hearing aid, but he's a good man."

    "Alright, we're en-route." Demeter nodded, punching in the coordinates for the remote town in the European Dead Zone. "Is there anything we need from him?"

    "I'd sooner say that he has things he needs from you, and he'll reward you with things you need." Hawthorne snickered. "Just between you and me though, never bring up accents or dialect with him, unless you have time for five hours of gruesome story time with a senile old Brit."

    "Does he happen to have any ships?" Samuel grunted as he and Alex were forced to use Demeter's co-pilot seat, Alex sitting uncomfortably on his lab.

    "Most men would be happy to have a lady sitting here."

    "Most men aren't being crushed- OW!"

    "Actually yes, he has managed to collect a few remote ships that he might be willing to part with." Hawthorne replied. "You'll have to really impress him before he even considers it though."

    "He'd be more impressed if we could travel independently." Samuel grumbled. "Get more work done faster."

    With a sigh, Demeter thrust the ship into an accelerated state, and within mere seconds, they were hovering over a precarious cliff on the edge of a once beautiful European town. The church in question sat as a centerfold directly in the middle of the initial landing zone. Amethyst did her best to transmat the three of them onto land, before piloting the ship manually back to orbit.

    "Always took that for granted with my Ghost, back in the day." Amethyst shook her form, before disappearing into Demeter's helmet.

    Demeter's eyes scanned the front of the church, until a small lens flare off of the barrel of a sniper rifle caused her to flinch. She couldn't make out the individual on the other end, but knew that was likely the man they were looking for. There was the sound of echoing gunfire around them, many of the firefights sounding distant. With Alex and Samuel in tow, they trudged their way up to the church.

    Inside, the evidence of a horrific post Collapse war was staggering, as the once beautiful place of worship was now just filled with debris, wreckage, and unfamiliar flora that had somehow been tainted by the corrupted Light in the region. Skeletons of both human and Fallen alike littered the ground, with little in the ways of lighting with the exception of a few oil lanterns.

    A lone scaffold spanned from just in front of Demeter, to what appeared to be the old belfry. With her new companions swiftly in tow, she ascended the scaffolding. At the top, the visual of a resistance HQ or at least outpost was glaringly more obvious the longer she looked at it. Emptied cans devoid of food or some other sustenance were piled carelessly in a corner, with various communications relays and data terminals put in a corner nearby the open window for ease of access.

    The aforementioned window was currently the position of a man with short salt and pepper hair, as well as a survival vest and enough long armed sweaters to keep him warm in the otherwise dreary locale he lived in.

    "Ah guests, and here I have no tea to serve. We've come on dire times indeed." the man's deep accented voice lent to his winning smile. "I suppose introductions are in order. Devrim Kay, the eighth, at your service. I once served the City but, well, we all know how that fared."

    "Now I serve my good friend Suraya Hawthorne, heh." he snickered to himself. "Please excuse me, if I may be so bold as to ask to whom I am speaking?"

    "I am Demeter, and this is Alexandrie and Samuel." Demeter gestured to them. "Ms. Hawthorne had instructed us to come seek you out, in hopes you might outfit my companions and I with some proper weapons you might have scavenged. In exchange, we'd be glad to offer you any and all support we can."

    "Straight to the point, I appreciate that." Devrim smirked. "Right-o. First on the docket; we need to contact other refugees from the City and beyond and direct them to the Farm for shelter. That'll mean building a communications relay powerful enough to blanket the surrounding region. Unfortunately, this will have to be a 'from scratch' project."

    "Also just as important, my aim is true and has served me well thus far. However, one man with no Light is no match for as many Fallen that have suddenly started swarming the area. One could say they're giving me a 'Devil' of a time."

    "Ugh." Amethyst groaned.

    "That's where you three come in. I've seen Guardians handle combat, and even if you don't have your Light anymore, I trust you can go a few rounds with the Fallen." Devrim nodded, gesturing with his rifle to get across his final point. "Right, I suppose now we let the guns do the talking, yeah? You might have noticed the mess downstairs, truth be told, I need you all to do some investigating for me. I managed to drive off the Fallen that dared sneak inside here, but they managed to do something, and I'm a bit pre-occupied up here to do anything about it. Do a gentleman this one favor, will you?"

    "That won't be a problem." Samuel nodded, before crossing his arms. "If we had weapons, that is."

    "Right." Devrim nodded. "I'm not Master Rahool, but I know a thing or two about crypto-archeology. That said, I happened to have converted some of the weapons I've scavenged into some engrams that might prove useful for you. As a sign of faith for this budding relationship, I give them to you in hopes that we can do well together."

    Turning to the OPs center beside him, Devrim quickly scavenged for five white colored engrams. With a quick scan of each of them, they reemerged as a Hand Cannon, a Scout Rifle, two Pulse Rifles, and an Auto Rifle. Samuel quickly snatched up the Hand Cannon as well as a Pulse Rifle, while Alex took to the Scout Rifle and the Auto Rifle. Devrim, left only with the last remaining Pulse Rifle, quickly brought it to bear.

    When their loadouts had been established, with one last silent nod, the three walked back down the shoddy scaffold back to the bottom floor. When there, they found a fresh trail of ether that they hadn't entirely noticed their first time through. Following it, they located a mysterious green banner with a Fallen symbol painted on it, as well as a spike with a pair of Fallen skulls skewered on it.

    The trail of fresh spilled ether ended at a lone Dreg at the base of the standard on the wall. Amethyst appeared from behind Demeter, floating up to it and scanning it momentarily.

    "Just as I thought. This banner belonged to the House of Judgement. Lance and his fireteam once worked alongside the 'Kell' of Judgement, a strange Fallen named Variks the Adjudicator. Variks was Warden for the Prison of Elders, which he opened to Guardians as a means of testing their meddle against the many vile creatures out there."

    "That is fascinating." Devrim spoke up over comms. "Seems like this was some kind of message, but to whom? Either way, I imagine you'll likely find more oddities out here like that, maybe with a bit of story to them?"

    "Which reminds me, I've got my eyes on a nearby cache that has your name on it. I'm not entirely sure how or when it got there, but those are likely to contain weapons or even armor that might help better protect you out here. Anything you find you don't want, bring it to me and I might just reward you."

    "Aren't we supposed to be dealing with the Fallen problem, not just gathering supplies for you?" Samuel scoffed.

    "There is much more to war than just shooting guns and killing each other. Sometimes, it's a battle of wits, or a race to have more resources that put you at an advantage over your enemy. Without the Light, Humanity needs every upper hand we can muster."
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    Post  Shad0wChas3r September 24th 2017, 6:19 pm

    "Thank you very kindly for the supplies." Devrim smirked, leaning against the window's frame, just out of view from the small skirmish between the Cabal and Fallen taking place just outside. "It's a bit too noisy for my liking outside, but they do this every hour or so. They'll be retreating and licking their wounds in a bit."

    Stepping away from his window for a moment, Devrim gestured for them to follow him. With a gesture of his rifle, he pointed at a strange, upside down 'U' shape on the far wall of the church, with a dot in the middle of it. Turning to Samuel, he shouldered his rifle. "You know anything about that?"

    "That's the symbol for a place the City's Hunters mark as extremely dangerous... or valuable. We call 'em Lost Sectors, areas where us Hunters managed to scout something useful, but claimed by powerful foes." Samuel crossed his arms. "I personally painted that one with my mentor Shiro-4 a few months back."

    "Hmm. It must not have crossed my mind." Devrim mulled over the information. "Why don't you three see what you can find down there?"

    "Didn't you hear me?" Samuel unfurled his arms in disbelief. "I said it's dangerous down there."

    "-ah yes." Devrim nodded, before gently twirling a pair of green engrams in his hand. "-but I do recall you also said they were valuable, yes? Any and all supplies would be beneficial to our cause, and if you scout it out for me, I'll make it worth your while."

    "With some crappy prototype guns?" Samuel scoffed. "Hell no."

    "Try a pair of inter-stellar capable ships complete with FTL drives?" Devrim grinned. "While you were gallivanting around for that cache, Suraya informed me that you were in desperate need for ships."

    "That's a pretty risky prospect, Devrim." Alex shook her head. "What if we're overpowered down there?"

    "There is a saying that one of my favorite authors put oh so delicately; risk rewards risk, complacency yields complacency." Devrim shrugged, slowly going to pocket the engrams. "If you are content with sharing the same ship, I am content with keeping these ships for someone that wants to earn them."

    Demeter made a motion to speak, as Alex and Samuel glanced at each other, before practically racing each other down the scaffold. Amethyst shook her form before turning to face Demeter. "They are aware there are two ships, right?"

    "Given the time we've come to know them, you already have your answer." Demeter sighed. "We'll be right back... hopefully."

    "Be safe, Guardian." Devrim said, which did raise Demeter's spirits considerably.

    /////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////

    The group of three moved swiftly and silently through the old subway tunnels deep below the church. Dust was stagnant at all corners of the winding tunnels and halls, from years of being untouched. Demeter thought it was odd, considering Samuel had claimed he and his mentor had once scouted this area.

    "All this dust, are you sure you've been here?"

    "Dust can settle over four months, you know? Especially dust that has formed from several centuries." Samuel replied. "Besides, Hunters walk lighter on our feet than you Titans or Warlocks."

    "Yeah, but those capes you wear must've stirred up more than this?"

    "Alright, alright, you caught me. I was scared, so Shiro did all the work, alright? I just painted the symbol." Samuel growled. "I'm more of a scout than a combatant."

    Alex and Demeter looked at each other and silently shook their heads, before continuing into what appeared to be a control station. A few Dregs rested against the old partially rusted metal walls, while a pair of Shank turrets floated harmlessly above a few data terminals. Partially broken siege proof glass stood between them and the larger transit hub beyond. Through the glass was what Demeter could only assume was a Captain, a trio of Vandals, yet more Dregs, and a Shank.

    A lone orange hued chest sporting a similar symbol to the one Samuel had painted was in the center of the crowd, and thankfully for them, none of the Fallen had yet seemed to notice them. Strangely, explosive barrels surrounded the room they had just stepped in. Demeter's only thought was the Dregs and Shanks were meant to arm motion sensors to the explosives, but had grown lazy and fallen asleep.

    After a silent deliberation, and so not to squander their chance for surprise, the three opened fire on the explosives nearest the Dregs. As to be expected the red barrels erupted into massive, forceful explosions that riddled the three to the core. in bursts of fire, the Dregs and Shanks disappeared to ash, and the once siege proof glass, centuries old, finally shattered.

    Demeter charged forward with her Sub in hand. Jumping through the remains of the window, she opened fire with her SMG into the Captain's chest. First it's energy shielding burst, and a few rounds pierced it's chiton. Undetered, however, the Captain grabbed her with it's four arms and tossed her aside. Dregs and Vandals ignited their shock blades, chasing after her while she tumbled away. The lone Shank opened fire on Samuel and Alex, who were then forced into cover.

    Their Ghosts deactivated via the lack of Light, not only could they not be resurrected, but they couldn't be healed as quickly either. The Captain, now fully alert to the situation, detached it's shrapnel launcher from it's upper torso and made it's way for the broken window and the Lightless Guardians on the other side.

    Demeter grit her teeth as she stood, while the Light was healing her wounds, she wasn't quite used to this kind of punishment. Her frustration pent up inside her as the Light source inside of her overflowed once more. Void tendrils slowly vined their way up her arms and legs, her left arm thrust into the air, and the void shield once again manifested on her arm.

    Spinning on her boots, the shield detached from her arm at her command, spinning in perfect formation towards the nearest Vandal. Upon contact, the Vandal fizzled into the void, as the shield bounced in between the crowd. With each Dreg and Vandal it struck, the victim joined it's brethren, sucked mercilessly into the Void.

    Alex screamed in the other room, through the broken window, as Demeter's attention snapped in that direction. Using her Lift ability to float back up through the window, she saw the Captain pin Alex down with her boot, Sharpnel Launcher directly in Alex's face. Demeter twirled once more, feeling the overflow of Light close to dwindling.

    The shield escaped her arm and struck the Captain in the back of the head. While the strike wasn't fatal, it was more than enough to distract the Captain long enough for Samuel to tackle it to the floor and run his sharpened knife into the Captain's face. The Captain roared as it's movements were rigid and slowed, until it stopped moving altogether.

    Samuel grunted as he pulled the knife out of it's face, a small tuft of ether pouring out. Amethyst floated over and scanned the dead Captain's body, while Samuel and Demeter checked on Alex. With each of them offering a hand, Alex took it and stood, clutching her rib cage when she fully stood.

    "I managed to snag a keycode off of the Captain when you killed it." Amethyst turned to them. "I'm not used to being this... informative. However, I think it'll open the chest."

    "I'll do it." Samuel said, turning to Demeter. "Watch over her, yeah?"

    Stepping over the fragmented safety glass and back into the chest room, Samuel and Amethyst moved to the chest's location. Kneeling down, Samuel waited for Amethyst to input the code, and with the satisfying click, opened the heavy metal container's top hatch. His eyes narrowed as his fists clenched.

    "There's nothing here." he grit his teeth. "We did this for nothing!"

    "I wouldn't say nothing. I didn't specify that anything would be in there, you did." Devrim crackled over the comms. "I already claimed everything that was in there this morning. You did, however, prove to me that you are still Guardians. You're reward may have been the ships, but you went to get that chest because deep down, you understand that people needed those supplies."

    "Alex nearly died." Samuel shook his head, slamming the chest lid down.

    "It was my belief that Guardians die and are reborn all the time. I and Suraya have no such blessing, but yet here we are. Now, as I promised, you've opened the chest as I requested. Your ship engrams are here and ready. Devrim replied. "I'll have one more request for you, then we'll call it a day."

    As Samuel began his return to the others, Amethyst's form turned to the puddle where Amethyst had been tossed. In the small pool of water, what appeared to be a blue colored sapling began to sprout. Confused, she rammed her form into the small of Samuel's back.

    "Ow! What the hell?!" Samuel growled, as he saw something shimmer out of the corner of his eyes. He peered at the tree for all of a moment, feeling something shifting in one of his suit's many survival pouches.

    Producing his Ghost, which was a deep gray with orange trimming, the small orb of energy moved for the first time in almost a week. His attention turned to Alex, who struggled to remove her own Ghost. Floating just slightly above their hands, the two looked at each other. Demeter was confused, and helped Alex walk over to the broken window and through it.

    "I-I never thought I'd feel it again." Alex's Ghost shook her form in disbelief. "Flynt, can you feel it?"

    "Ruby, I'll give you a second to let you sink in how stupid you sound." Flynt shook his form. "Of course I'd know what the Light feels like."

    Alex and Samuel looked at each other, before Samuel helped her down the stairs to the small blue, glowing tree. Budding from the leaves like dew in the fall were small little sphere of blue Light, a sight unforeign to all but Demeter. The Orbs of Light grew to the size of basketballs, before falling from the small sapling, one for Alex and Samuel each. Demeter's skin began to crawl as she heard the sound of not one, but two Archons approaching from the way they had, as well as the sound of several Fallen troops.

    "Guard.... an..... he... me?" Devrim's voice crackled faintly in the communications. "Ca... ar... ou. Arc...nd.. on.. riest... ming..our... way."

    "We've got company inbound, we need to find another way out!" Demeter called over, as Flynt and Ruby, Samuel and Alex's Ghosts respectively, turned to each other and floated down towards the orbs that Demeter had produced inadvertently.

    With a bright flash of Light that nearly blinded the three Guardians, she could just barely make out Alex and Samuel being lifted into the air, Light coursing from the sapling into both of them. Landing on their feet, the two Guardians stood as their respective Ghosts flourished around them with new vigor.

    "I'm not running anymore." Samuel snickered, twirling his Hand Cannon on his finger.

    "I agree." Alex rolled her shoulders. "You've done more than enough for us, so let us repay the favor."

    Samuel and Alex's hands thrust into the air, as Alex did a bit of a twirl for show. Solar energy covered her cloak from head to boot, a flaming sword forming in her hand. Samuel, on the other hand, crouched low as an Arc infused bowstaff appeared in his hand. The two Guardians rushed past Demeter, the sound of phoenixes crying and electricity coursing between several different creatures echoed from the hall behind her.

    Demeter's attention turned to the sapling that had once been there, now wilted and sinking back into the Earth. She smiled as she realized what it had meant, but clutched her head as she felt herself sinking to her knees.

    ///////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////

    "Listen, I'm just saying that Titan's got the short end of the Void infused stick." a Warlock and a Titan sat at a cafe table, while a lone Huntress, one Demeter had met, sat on a guard rail, glancing out into the land beyond the Tower.

    "-and I'm saying you're full of crap." the Titan grunted with a mixture of anger and annoyance. "One suppression grenade and *poof* no more space magic for you. I get her bow, more frequently."

    "In his defense," the Hunter sighed, standing between the Warlock and Titan. "When it comes to the penultimate ability, the Ward of Dawn just doesn't cut it."

    "You seem to forget that the Ward of Dawn is only ONE discipline of the Void Titan techniques." The Titan crossed his arms. "No Titan in existence, minus my grandfather, have managed to master it. This is the same guy that managed to make Warpath Titans, and his Fist of Havoc last more than one initial strike, remember?"

    "Oh yeah, and what is this other 'discipline' called?" the Warlock snorted, at this point Demeter could tell he was going out of his way to annoy the Titan.

    "I haven't given it a name yet. The technique was lost when my grandfather disappeared all those years ago." the Titan scoffed, before producing a smaller, condensed Ward of Dawn in his hand. "Void isn't hard to master, egg head. You don't look into it, you understand it."

    "One cannot simply understand the Void." the Warlock, now visibly angered, leaned forward.

    "Oh really? Than how is it that a Hunter can form a bow from it, without first understanding what it is? Or how a Titan can call upon it and form it into a dome to protect everyone inside it?" the Titan snickered cockily. "Observe this!"

    With a bit of strain from the Titan's part, the condensed Ward of Dawn, no bigger than his palm, slowly flattened itself into a curved, indented disk. Demeter glanced at the disk with confusion, before realizing it was the very shield she had been utilizing.

    "A shield..." the Warlock shook his head in disbelief. "So you did-"

    "No." the Titan replied, as the disk disappeared from existence. "Unlike the Warpath Titan technique, this discipline is not exclusive to my family alone. The shield came to me in a dream, but I have not mastered it. I firmly believe this is something my grandfather had come up with, but couldn't teach to people before he disappeared."

    "It's an offensive discipline of the Void Titan order. As their Vanguard, I intend to study this fully and teach it to them en masse. Whatever's going on at the edge of our system is coming swiftly, and I want us to be ready to attack and defend when necessary."

    "Speaking of, I've got scout reports of unknown ships approaching Luna." the Huntress glanced down at a data pad that she had been studying while the two bantered. "I suggest we check it out personally."

    ///////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////

    "Dem? Dem?!"

    "I'm okay, I'm okay." Demeter slowly stood, with Alex and Samuel standing over her. "I just... had a vision again?"

    "What did you see?" Alex asked, helping her to her feet.

    "There was a Huntress, a Warlock, and a Titan."

    "Sounds like the beginning of a very bad Cayde joke." Samuel shook his head.

    "They were arguing about Void techniques among our three classes." Demeter shook off the sluggish feeling from reawakening. "The Titan showed some prospect of the shield I've been using. Saying the technique has been gone since his grandfather disappeared.... but everything looked new."

    " I see. That must have been Drake, Jeremy, and Lillian. Remember that story I told you about how Drake was angered by Jeremy? I remember him once confiding in me, before they went to the Moon and encountered the Hive, that there was a long lost Titan discipline." Amethyst mused. " I've been too distracted with my new form I never once thought to mention that I had never once seen an offensive Void Titan before."

    "Come to think of it, neither had I." Alex placed a hand on her shoulder. "-but hey, times are changing. I've never seen a Warlock with a blade that shone with the intensity of a early morning sun, or a Hunter with a polearm before."

    "Either way you look at it, we all have Light in some form or another." Samuel crossed his arms. "Now I know what we have to do. We have to find the Vanguard and get this fight brought back to the City."

    "Fireteam Stratus might be a better bet." Hawthorne's voice crackled over the comms. "Their members just showed up a bit before I left."

    "Left? Where are you?" Demeter asked, as Hawthorne snickered.

    "Did you already forget Devrim's initial request? I don't blame you, he's easily forgettable." Hawthorne replied. "I'm at the top of the salt mine north of the church, building the relay to lead people to the Farm. I need a crucial piece from Devrim though, so if you'd be so kind as to check on him?"

    ///////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////

    "Welcome back. I saw the Archon Priest and his Archon associate, as well as a small army working it's way down there." Devrim shook his head with the first frown any of them could have attested to him providing. "I tried to warn you, but the systems were a bit dodgy. I think they might have had a jammer on them to try and get a jump on you."

    "Anyways, I did manage to brew some tea for you all this time, but I appear to have drunk it all. Perhaps if you were a mite quicker? Heh." he returned to his usual smile. "Back to business, the beacon Suraya is working on- while you three were out tussling with the Fallen, she encountered a bit of a set-back."

    "The long and short of it is the relay doesn't have the range we require. I think it's a bit curious, but you know how Hawthorne is. I've taken the liberty, whilst drinking the tea, to fashion you this signal booster." Devrim held out his hand, providing the flat motherboard like creation, as well as the pair of green engrams.

    Flynt and Ruby took to decrypting the engrams into the ships, though they were transmatted to orbit. Amethyst took the signal booster, transmatting it to a safe place until they needed it.

    "Beyond that, there is still plenty more that needs doing out here. If you three can manage it. For now, see about getting that signal booster to Suraya, and then consider taking some time for yourselves at the Farm."
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    Post  Shad0wChas3r October 1st 2017, 5:53 pm

    [Approx. One Hour Later]

    With the last of the Fallen Marauders down for the count, the three Guardians stepped into the old salt mine's elevator. Ruby, Alex's Ghost, made quick work of the elevator's controls. Amethyst floated leisurely above Demeter's shoulder, turning to her.

    "This is strange. The Fallen here are all wearing purple armor and cloth, but there are no known Fallen Houses flying that banner." she shook her form as she mulled it over.
    "Although... I do recall hearing from Lord Saladin and the other members of the new generation Iron Lords discussing a hail on all known Fallen channels. The House of Kings even left the Cosmodrome, and they practically ran that place until the SIVA infused Devils made their rise."

    "Are you suggesting this could be a new Fallen House?" Flynt growled to himself, clenching his fists.

    "There was a time, about a year before Oryx showed up, that Fireteam Stratus and other Guardian Fireteams were on a manhunt for Skolas, the self proclaimed Kell of Kells. He had tried to unify the House of Wolves, whom had once served the Queen of the Reef without question following the Reef Wars." Amethyst's form's shell jittered and twisted while she was deep in thought. "He attempted to congregate the Fallen Devils, Kings,
    Winter, and even the House of Exiles. He nearly succeeded until he tried to meddle with Vex tech, which alerted the team responsible with taking him down to his position.
    "

    "I see." Alex nodded, arms crossed. "You think that the bonds of that attempted alliance brought them together under a single banner?"

    "Exactly," Amethyst turned to Alex with a dramatic nod. "Which means that either a Servitor or another self proclaimed Kell is behind them. The battle of Six Fronts and later the battle of Twilight Gap were both testaments to how strong the unified Fallen Houses truly could be."

    "Thankfully, the Cabal have the City on lock-down, so even if they wanted to try and steal the Traveler, they'll at least be keeping Ghaul and his troops distracted." Demeter frowned. "Never thought I'd say those words. The Fallen will be a major threat in the future if what you say is true, but we need to focus on the big issue at hand, and that's reclaiming our City."

    "The first step is to bring me that signal booster." Hawthorne sighed. "I watched your elevator stop about five minutes ago from here, some time before sun-down would be ideal, thank you."

    ////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////

    "You hate to see it." Hawthorne frowned as she glanced off into the distant outlands of the EDZ.

    Cabal Thresher and Decimator-class jump ships intermittently rose and landed with the construction of a nearly completed Firebase. True to Cabal form, the compound was layered with patrols and guards beyond the likes of which Demeter had ever seen.

    It also was right on the doorstep of the Farm, but if they managed to maintain a low profile, the refuge would manage to elude them. Demeter hoped that was the case, anyways.

    "I'm not much for sappy interactions but, you did really good today kid." Hawthorne smiled, gently nudging her shoulder. "For a fancy-pants Guardian, that is."

    "Now that is a first." Devrim's voice crackled onto the comms. "That's one of the nicest things I think Suraya has ever said.
    You bask in rarified air.
    "

    Amethyst produced the signal booster, placing it directly into Hawthorne's hand. With a quick slide into a socket on the side of the modest but incognito machine, the signal booster was snugly attached. Hawthorne's fingers flew across the keypad as quickly as she could, before a puzzling frown appeared on her face.

    "This is strange, there's an inbound message." she shook her head, before playing the message.

    "Repeat, Guardians. The City is lost, if there is any Light in the Universe... we rally on Titan. Be Brave." Zavala's voice crackled over the speakers, much to the surprise of Amethyst and Demeter.

    "Commander Zavala made it out alive eh?"" Amethyst turned to Demeter, her shell twisting with enthusiasm. "While I disagree with a lot of his prior actions, he might be a good start to our plan to retake the City-"

    "No." Hawthorne shook her head solemnly. "You are not going to Titan."

    "W-What?" Demeter asked, confused. "We have the ships capable-"

    "I don't care." Hawthorne turned off the repeating message, before turning to them again. "You can see it for yourself. We have refugee's coming to the Farm all the time. The Red Legion is on our doorstep, and the Fallen are on the other side."

    "We have our power back." Alex spoke softly. "If we're going to attempt to retake the City, we-"

    "For a Warlock, you're pretty dense." Hawthorne replied with venom. "Your City, is GONE!"

    Before she could speak some more, the cloaked woman silenced herself and reached wordlessly for her rifle. Brushing past Demeter, Suraya Hawthorne began to walk away, as Demeter turned to her, clenching her fists.

    "We will be back." Demeter nodded her head with determination. "-and we won't come alone."

    Hawthorne stopped for a second, but remained with her back to the group of three Guardians. Without turning, she sighed, and her shoulders visibly slumped.

    "You know where to find me, kid." Hawthorne shook her head. "If we're even still here when you get back."

    ////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////

    'Former' Last Safe City, Earth

    " Do you see me, Traveler?" the Dominus, commander of the Red Legion, stood at the forefront of the bridge to his vessel.

    The cage his Legion had placed over the Traveler glowed it's brilliant scarlet red, with the construction well over a quarter of the way across the curious white sphere's surface. His ships floated over the City's now vacant streets, maintaining the Red Legion's grasp on the remaining populace.

    The pitiless Guardians that no longer held what Ghaul had sought that had not been immediately executed, were joined by the weaker populace in serving under the Red Legion. They gathered resources, distributed weapons, and when they grew too weak? They were fed to the War Beasts.

    "-all that I have done?" the Dominus' mighty arms were placed respectively at his sides, as he glanced at the miraculous sphere looming before him. "Grace me with your Light. Take your rightful place at the center of my glorious Empire."

    "See me, and my Red Legion will serve as your true Guardians."

    The resounding echo of mighty Cabal footsteps behind him shook the Dominus from his monologue, turning towards the lone creature walking up to him. In Cabal culture, the old rhino was indeed worthy of the title Consul, as his nobility and mental proficiency knew no bounds. The attire on his square, oil drenched armor was that of a nobleman in their culture, with standards gently billowing from his broad shoulder pauldrons.

    "Dominus. The City is, as you know, officially secured." the Consul took his place beside the Dominus, his split upper lip curling into a fiendish smile as he approached his old friend. "Those that have fled are still being hunted, while the rest continue to work as our pawns or face execution."

    "Victory, as with all things, is yours to claim." the Consul allowed his old, weary bones to produce a modest bow.

    "This victory is not one I can claim alone, old friend.
    It is as much yours as it is mine.
    "

    The Consul, humbled by the words of the Dominus, bowed once more, before splaying his arms wide. "All that truly remains is the completion of the cage on this great machine. Only then will the extraction of it's power be able to proceed, and put to it's rightful use."

    "They call it the 'Traveler'." Ghaul growled, the very thought of addressing the Humans by anything else disgusted him.

    "One might contend that other civilizations might be more... precise with their naming." the Consul nodded. "It's functions are to be controlled, and exploited, as our actions have most clearly proven."

    "Yet... they believe it to be a God."

    "Dominus-" the Consul turned to his old friend, a look of concern growing more present on his face, the ruthless scare over his left, milky blinded eye crinkling. "Ghaul. We have spent much of our lives, you and I, to reshape our society. To reforge our people, and rebuild an Empire nearly destroyed by Calus' vile misdeeds."

    "There are none in this Universe greater than you!" Consul turned his back to the white sphere in the distance, turning to face Ghaul directly. "What more would the Dominus have?"

    With a knowing nod, the Dominus retreated further back into the room, nearest his 'throne'. As he approached it, a lone console rose up from the floor beneath him. With one more glance at the Consul, Ghaul pressed the button. "I would have words with our... esteemed guest.

    The ceiling above Ghaul hissed as a complex contraption began to whir to life. A hole in the ceiling opened to reveal a lone mechanical imprisonment device, with a lone human garbed completely from head to toe in white robes, and what Ghaul could only guess was a ceremonial mask. The creature's hands and feet were bound to restraints clamped fully around them.

    "I believe I have heard that you are the one whom speaks for the Traveler? Good."

    "It would save us both a lot of time if you would just kill me." the Speaker growled under his breath, as the Consul began to leave the room, wishing to leave Ghaul with his guest in private.

    "For one who would have himself be called 'Speaker',
    you do a remarkable lack of speaking.
    "

    Pacing back and forth, Ghaul's glaring red eyes occasionally stared at the Traveler just beyond the Speaker. With every step of his boot, his patience for the lack of reward for his efforts dwindled.

    "I had received word that one of your 'Guardians' managed to reclaim the Light. You claim you have no power over your Traveler, and yet... this is the outcome."

    "The Light lives in all places- in all things." the Speaker turned his head weakly to face Ghaul. "You can block it, even try to trap it. The Light, however, will always find a way, and the Traveler will protect itself."

    "Yes... I have studied your Traveler for some time.
    I have studied the worlds it has touched. Even it's power over Life and Death. In a way, I feel a... kinship with your Traveler. A common connection.
    "

    "You are nothing like the Traveler- nothing!" the Speaker hissed. "I know your kind fondly. You started small... and you shall end small."

    Without hesitation, Ghaul's mighty right hand wrapped itself around the Speaker's head and throat, effectively choking the robed man.

    "If the Traveler truly has chosen Humanity of it's own free will, than I see that I have no reason not to dig inside, take the Light for myself and leave this system in the ashes it was formed from." Ghaul growled, before releasing his grasp.

    "Only the Traveler's Chosen will be reborn in the Light." the Speaker coughed, shaking his head.

    "I am aware of this, yes. This is why your Planet has not yet been destroyed, why you still live, and why the countless majority of your species has not been wiped out of this City."

    "This 'Traveler' will choose me, Speaker." Ghaul snarled, as he pressed his face up to the Speaker's mask. "-and you will teach me how."
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    Post  Shad0wChas3r October 1st 2017, 11:36 pm

    "It's bad enough that Hawthorne already distrusts Zavala because of the 'safety' rules he and the Consensus imposed on the City, but now she believes Zavala abandoned everyone." Alex spoke over the channel, the three had split up in the EDZ to investigate anomalies popping up around the forest's edge. "Now we're leaving..."

    "In the years I served under him, Zavala has made a number of questionable decisions. Abandoning people was one of them, as his record shows at Twilight Gap." Amethyst replied, floating over Demeter's shoulder. "Drake and Lord Shaxx were the only two Pillar commanders that decided it was a fight worth sticking with, and if they hadn't... the City wouldn't have been around as long as it was."

    "The thing that upsets me is she knows full well that if we stayed, we could help the people at the Farm survive." Demeter frowned. "How long would that last until the three of us were overwhelmed and unable to be resuscitated by the Light?"

    "Never thought I'd agree on logic with a Titan." Samuel sighed. "I don't do refugee camps anyways, always so down in the dumps. Which reminds me, do you have any particular idea what we're looking for?"

    "The anomalies started spiking up shortly after we made our way back out of the mine into the Trostlands." Demeter shook her head. "Or at least, that's what Devrim said."

    As her boots gently crunched from the leaves and masses of twigs on the ground, Demeter kept her Pulse Rifle at the ready for any chance of an ambush. As she rounded a corner, however, her attention turned to the peculiar sight of what appeared to be burned ground, the outlines of several Fallen that had been eviscerated in a sudden flash covered the ground. Though the outlines had faded with time, Demeter knew this place held some vast significance, but couldn't recall how.

    Amethyst, on the other hand, floated to a nearby footprint that had almost been baked into what had once been mud. The scanning beam of her new Ghost form took effect as she ran it through her 'databases'. Demeter took only a step towards her before a blinding flash consumed her.

    ///////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////

    "It's only about a week out." a lone man smiled between mud encrusted, dry and dirty lips to his daughter and wife. "A week until we're at our new home under the Traveler."

    "Do you really think the Traveler will protect us?" the mother asked as she gingerly brushed her exhausted daughter's raven black hair. "The rumors of alien creatures at the edge of our Solar System moving inwards, while it has done nothing but remained dormant, isn't very appealing."

    "We have to maintain faith that, as it guided us into our Golden Age, it will too guide us out of this crisis." the man placed a hand firmly on her shoulder with a shallow grin. "Besides, I've seen what you did to those space scavengers on the way here, we'll just stick you on the front lines."

    "Papa." the girl weakly spoke up, the lack of food and water during their exodus to the City under the Traveler had left her in a constant, almost catatonic state. "Will we get to meet Kabr Stratus and the Vanguard?"

    Demeter stood over them, and as with her previous vision, she had no impact on the people around her. No matter where she moved, her focus was on the people in front of her, and they paid no mind to her.

    "I remember this. It was a day I couldn't ever forget." Amethyst, not as a Ghost, but as her old Titan self, complete with her real arm, stood beside Demeter. "It was the day I became a Guardian."

    Shaken awake by her father, the young girl and her parents, as well as their traveling party of refugees, continued their long arduous walk towards the Traveler's protection. Rain began to drizzle down from above, and shortly thereafter, the ground was a bog of soup and mud, making their already difficult conditions even more unbearable.

    A mere mile into the walk, the mud had become too much to bear, and the girl cascaded face first into the mud. Demeter's heart sunk as she had been convinced that the girl had died. Her parents, sharing the same worry as Demeter, turned to help her up, in time for the all-too familiar sound of a Fallen raiding party war cry to fill the air. A mass of Fallen troops from Dregs to Barons and everything in between because the massacre.

    Those of the refugees with weapons stood their ground to protect those left alive. The girl's mother, as her now late husband had stated, was adept at firing her menacing Hand Cannon at the nearest Captain. With only a few rounds, the creature's shields were nullified and it's upper most right arm was severely wounded. Demeter flinched however, as the Captain's arc blades scoured the lone woman's torso in twain, and the corpse cascaded onto the girl trapped in the mud.

    "My mother and father both died in an effort to protect me." Amethyst frowned as she circled the scene, her younger self in the mud trying fruitlessly to stand. "How I just wanted to stand, to fight and make use of their sacrifice."

    "My anger became a sense of knowing, as chaos, like the lightning of the storm, is a source of calm for a Titan." Amethyst clenched the arm that, for Demeter, had always been robotic, as she did, electricity arced up the gauntlet. "I did die in that puddle, the person I had been before. But when I stood, I stood a Striker, and the Fallen? They would know the error of their ways."

    Lightning surged in the sky above as the girl, once exhausted and weak, now effortlessly stood from the mud, slightly taller and slightly stronger than she had been. Her mother's Hand Cannon was raised with care and grace and, without ever holding a gun in her life, the young girl managed to land her shots on the remaining few Dregs and Vandals that had survived the initial attack.

    With a pained, mourning roar, the younger Amethyst sprinted towards one of the two Captains, jumping high into the air. Demeter's attention was glued to the young Amethyst as she streaked across the sky, her right fist slamming down in the puddle housing the Baron and the remaining underlings, minus the Captain responsible for her mother's death and the Baron that had lead the raid. Thunder clapped overhead, and a single bolt of lightning struck down on her fist as it made impact with the puddle.

    A shockwave of Arc energy flowed throughout the mineral enriched water and, with a gigantic flash that nearly blinded Demeter, the Baron, several Dregs and Vandals, and their lone Shank, were gone from sight. The brunt of the attack had been so potent, that outlines very similar to the ones Demeter had seen in the forest, had formed where the Fallen had once been standing.

    With a few more loud cracks from her mother's Hand Cannon, Amethyst marched towards the nearby Captain, the Baron watching with morbid curiosity as to how his underling would perform. With a singular punch laced with electricity to it's already weakened form, the Captain fizzled into sparks of electrical energy and was ultimately no more.

    "When a Striker moves, they move with purpose." Amethyst stood beside her younger self. "Our fist is stronger than any weapon, and in that moment of clarity, it became clear. You see, Strikers are not like the other disciplines in our guild, we ARE the weapons we use."

    "This was a mistake I failed to understand only once." Amethyst frowned, as her younger self's now exhausted and spent form collapsed to her knees.

    The remaining Baron chittered in mockery, slowly and menacingly approaching in it's final act of intimidation. Igniting all four of it's arc blades at once, the Baron was about to lunge when a sickening thud filled the air. Demeter and the younger Amethyst shared a jump of surprise as a bulky, heavily armored Titan with a sword that nearly resembled the one Shaxx had held during the attack on the City held to the Baron's throat.

    "Something as vile as you has no place on my turf." the Titan growled, as he effortlessly dragged the blade across the Baron's neck, the flames of the sword that engulfed the blade erupted as the etheric Light inside the creature was consumed. "This area has been cleansed."

    The Titan began to take a step forward, until a muffled sob from the younger Amethyst regained his attention. Approaching her, he reached out his hand to offer her a hand up. She, rightfully confused and scared, backed away. With a nod, he knelt in the mud, his bright blue standard, emblazoned with the symbol of the Striker Titans, dipped unceremoniously into the mud.

    "I came running as soon as I heard the Fist of Havoc." he frowned at all the death and destruction surrounding them. "My name is Kabr Stratus, I'm the Titan Vanguard for the City beneath the Traveler. I'm... sorry I couldn't get here quicker."

    While still cautious, the scared and confused Amethyst leaned forward as his hand gingerly clasped on the top of her head.

    "That was you?" he gestured to the crater behind her, she silently nodded, while he produced a handkerchief from his pocket and gently cleaned her face off. "Color me impressed, Tadpole. It's not safe here, if you'll allow me, I'll train you how to be a Titan and you can get the vengeance you seek. We can introduce ourselves properly then."

    "A Striker, unlike a Defender whose sole purpose is to have a stalwart, unbreakable defense, is to be the one to defy the unbreakable." Amethyst turned to Demeter with a proud smile. "-and unlike the Sunbreakers, we use ourselves as our weapon. Fast, simple, powerful, and reliable. That is what it is to be a Striker."

    ///////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////

    "Again? You're here again?" the same voice that had spoken through the forest echoed around her. "It hasn't even been a day, but I do see that your friends got their true rewards. I can already sense that you are far stronger than you had been when you came here earlier."

    "You are not yet ready to return here. However, in honor of your growing strength, I invite you to search the crater. Inside you will find a relic, protect it, so that you might one day flourish."

    Demeter stumbled over herself as she tried to stand, Samuel and Alex once again standing over her. As she stepped over towards the crater, Amethyst floated in front of her and used her eye beam as a flashlight. Crawling into the deep crater, Amethyst's attention turned to something glinting in the centuries old baked mud and clay. Running her hand along to gently clean a path to the object, Demeter stared with confusion at the cracked gauntlet in her hand.

    "You must go to Titan, locate Commander Zavala, and begin forming the counter strike. For now, return to your Farm and rest. As for the anomalies that have sprouted here, they are not your concern at this time. Now go.
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    Post  Shad0wChas3r October 16th 2017, 2:21 am

    "Blast it all, confounded contraption!" Tyra Karn muttered to herself as she, uncharacteristic from how Demeter had come to know her, slammed her fist into the side of her codex. "Oh, my apologies child. How may I be of service to you?"

    "I came to ask you a question, but I can wait." Demeter frowned, glancing at the hand Tyra was now subtly nursing. "What seems to be the issue?"

    "Oh, you did see that." Tyra frowned, turning to the small knee high machine beside her, projecting a shape that Amethyst had once taught her as the universal Engram. "My Codex, the machine that decrypts data lattices in Engrams, has been on the fritz for the past couple of days. Most of the Engrams I preserved inside of it's servers have been irreversibly deleted."

    "So that's more Golden Age relics lost to time." Demeter bowed her head. "Is there anything I can do to help?"

    "Unforunately, no. Master Rahool, while my student, is much more technologically versed with these new universal Codices. Only he would be able to help me." she sighed, defeated. "Ever since the attack on the City, no-one has heard from him."

    "Never you mind about me, dearie." Tyra shook her head, placing her hands gently down to her lap. "You said you had a question? While I do not remember much since the Light has left me, I will do my best to serve you."

    "Oh, right." Demeter turned around, glancing at the fledgling colony that was forming around the old farm house. "I was told Fireteam Stratus was seen here recently, do you happen to know where they are?"

    "Hmm." Tyra gently placed a dainty finger to her lip, as her eyes scanned the night sky over head. "I recall hearing them argue about something, just over by the fountain."

    "The young upstart Titan, Lance, if my failing memories serves me, suggested seeking out the Tower Commander. Zavala I believe?" Tyra tapped her foot, her facial features scrunching in frustration. "The Huntress and the Warlock disagreed, suggesting that they should gather a fighting force to retake the City, Light or not."

    "The Titan, in typical hard headed stubborness, headed to the planet Saturn's moon; Titan." Tyra pointed to the barn turned into aircraft hanger. "The Warlock heard from Ms. Hawthorne that Light had returned to a Guardian, and sought out the source. The Huntress is in the barn over there, rallying any able bodied individual from the refugees."

    "You've been very helpful, Ms. Karn." Demeter smiled, with a respectful bow. "Thank you."

    ////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////

    "Oh my god, it's you!" the Huntress said, turning to Demeter from her makeshift stand.

    Jogging over, the Huntress wrapped her arms warmly around Demeter, much to her shock. Demeter stared at the far wall, as Lillian squeezed harder.

    "After we split up on the Tower, and after everything that happened, we thought you and Amethyst..." Lillian paused glancing over Demeter's shoulder to find only Alexandrie and Samuel standing there. "W-wait. Where's Amethyst?"

    Demeter took a step back, bowing her head. Lillian gasped, her hand rushing to her mouth. Tears welled in her eyes, as she swiftly span on her boots. Demeter had once recalled how Amethyst scoffed at Hunter's and their pride. Titan's were proud Guardians too, but their pride didn't come in the form of a rag on their shoulders, or at least, that's what Amethyst had always told her.

    "She didn't make it off of Ghaul's ship... not as she was anyways." Demeter frowned, before producing the small robotic form of her mentor.

    Lillian slowly turned to face the Ghost floating gingerly just a few inches above the Titan's gauntlet. Red and puffy from holding back a wave of tears, the Huntress shook her head, glancing at Demeter.

    "I don't mean to burst your bubble kiddo, the Traveler stopped producing Ghosts long, long ago." Lillian stifled a sob. "Even if the Ghost in your hand thinks she is Amethyst, Ghosts only replicate a personality of the dead person. They are not actually the dead person."

    Demeter's eyes widened as she glanced down at the Ghost who, with a mechanical sigh, nodded her form. "It is true. I'm not actually Amethyst, I'm only a copy of her personality and memories stored in this Ghost shell. The real Amethyst is gone. I'm sorry that I deceived you this way, I thought perhaps it would bolster your courage."

    "However," 'Amethyst' continued, turning towards Lillian. "I am a newly formed Ghost.
    I don't know how, or why, but I was created the other day.
    "

    "Impossible." Lillian rubbed her eyes dry of her tears, shaking her head. "With that cage over the Traveler, there is no way Ghosts could be created, not to mention the Traveler is still dormant."

    "Then explain why she has the Light." Amethyst turned to Demeter, who stammered as Lillian's eyes glared hopefully at her.

    "W-well I-I had a v-vision after the attack on the C-City." Demeter stammered as Lillian stared. "a-and it lead me to a s-shard of the Trav-"

    "That thing?!" Lillian yelled, pointing at the giant portion of the Traveler's shell, gathering the attention of everyone in the barn. "That place is nothing but corruption, how could you have-."

    "A voice informed me that the corruption wouldn't affect me. That the Traveler's Light, while present in the Shard, was not enough to empower every Guardian." Demeter shook her head. "I think it chose us three for some reason."

    "What kind of voice?" Lillian asked, taking a step forward, her eyes narrowing and furling her brow.

    "It was hard to distinguish, but-"

    "It told you that there wasn't enough Light to go around, right." Lillian growled, clenching her fist. "Fine. I need you to go get Lance back, he needs to know this."

    "He's not going to get his Light back either." Samuel sighed, sharpening his knife.

    "He doesn't need his Light, but our Task Force needs him." Lillian sighed, turning her back to the group. "He was going to seek out Commander Zavala, and then eventually work his way to finding Ikora and Cayde. Without his Light, I fear he'll die out there. We can't risk any more Lightless Guardians for this, can I ask you, Demeter was it?"

    "We-" Demeter turned to Samuel and Alex, as Lillian's hand clasped suddenly on Demeter's shoulder.

    "No. I need Guardians with Light here to help boost our morale. Amethyst taught you well, right? The only way you're convincing Zavala and his entourage, as well as Lance, is by proving yourself in the ways that only a Titan themselves can." Lillian stared into Demeter's eyes. "I know it will be dangerous, but the Light is with you. Will you go find Lance, Titan?"

    Demeter glanced down at her Ghost, who subtly nodded her form, before grinning. "Consider it done."

    "That's more like it. As for you two, I could use some assistance starting a patrol, one of you to a group of three. Sweep the perimeter, but don't alert the Cabal to the Farm's presence." Lillian ordered, as the three fledgling Guardians nodded, hurriedly sprinting out of the barn. "Godspeed Demeter, may he watch over you."

    ----------------------------------------------------------------------

    "Tell me, Speaker, what traits do your Guardians possess to earn such power and immortality?"

    "Devotion. Self-Sacrifice. Bravery..." the Speaker hung weakly from his prison, glancing down at the sitting Cabal Dominus. "Death."

    The last word hung throughout the tense, oily air of the Cabal ship as Ghaul mulled over his captive's words. With no clear understanding, he grunted, shifting to his other hip, before leaning forward, eyes in perfect mirror with the Speaker's mask.

    "Death? Explain."

    There was a moment of silence for a second as even the Dominus himself felt a shiver of cold air wash over him. The Speaker's form lurched for a moment, whether it was an involuntary human action from his setting or not mattered little to Ghaul. He would have his answer.

    "Devotion inspires Bravery. Bravery inspires Self-Sacrifice. Sacrifice leads to Death." the Speaker, with a more distinguished voice replied, his head raising fearlessly. "So... feel free to kill yourself."

    "Hmm. Is this the voice of the Traveler, or have you turned to mocking me?" Ghaul asked, standing, as the Speaker's form continued to stare at him.

    "Mocking you? You do that yourself, chrome dome." the Speaker's head shook.

    "You speak of devotion, of sacrifice?" Ghaul paced, his natural instincts to throttle the human supressed. "I was born an outcast. A runt of my people. In our culture, it is not in the Empire's interest to allow runts in with the rest of our kind. Imagine being born, cast aside, and marked for dead."

    "That is when I was discovered by an elder scholar, himself... disgraced. This scholar saw greatness in me far beyond that of our pitiless Emperor. He raised me. Taught me. Trained me in ways no Cabal had ever exhibited." Ghaul turned to the Speaker. "In exchange for his mentorship, I would become the vessel for his revenge. Against the very Empire that ousted us, that failed us and itself. "

    "Beneath your mask is a scholar ousted for his knowledge, as beneath mine is the very face of devotion and self-sacrifice." Ghaul growled, indicating to his rebreather. "I chose to not take the Light by force. I WILL earn it. Whatever means necessary, I shall overcome them."

    Pressing his face against the Speakers again, Ghaul glared begrudgingly into his guest's mask, as if he was staring into the blackness between the stars.

    "Do you see now why I will be chosen?" Ghaul splayed his arms wide, stepping back a few feet.

    "I see now." the Speaker nodded.

    "Our efforts on the Jovian Moon has been a complete success, Dominus." the Consul stepped into the bridge, a glare shared for the Speaker.

    "When the cage is completed, we can begin to extract the Light and glorious, flawless, and undeniable victory shall be yours, Emperor." the Consul bowed, as Ghaul turned his head thoughtfully back towards the Speaker. "Dominus. Everything we've worked for is here- for the taking. Victory is waiting at your word."

    "No." Ghaul shook his head, stepping forward. "This is not the way I wish to stand victorious, old friend."

    "B-but it is the way. The only way." the Consul, confused, stared at Ghaul as he began to make his leave from the room.

    "Not for me."

    As the Cabal Dominus left the bridge, the Speaker and the Consul's eyes met once more, before the two Centurions standing guard, escorted the Consul out. For the first time in a considerable, miserably long time, the Speaker was finally alone with the voice.

    "I see a problem brewing. Hurry, Sentinel." the voice murmured from the Speaker's mouth. "Hang in there, Speaker."
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    Post  Shad0wChas3r October 25th 2017, 8:50 pm

    "You aren't... upset with me, are you?" her Ghost turned it's small frame to face her as her ship finally broke Earth's orbit.

    While she was mildly irate that her mentor had truly been gone and not just resurrected in Ghost form, she was instantly humbled by the vastness of the void of Space. For the first time in her life, she had finally pierced the 'safety' of Earth, and would embark on an epic journey through the stars.

    Her attention returned to the small purple robot, as she silently shook her head. Unconvinced, the robot floated in front of her face. Her shell twisted and clicked as her lone eye stared thoughtfully into Demeter's.

    "If it will make you feel better, I can change my appearance and name to better sooth the pain?" her Ghost asked, as Demeter herself sighed, warming the engines up for FTL travel.

    "That won't be necessary." Demeter frowned, pushing the Ghost from out of her face. "You were right, thinking that you were my mentor was a good morale booster. Even if you truly aren't Lady Amethyst, you're the closest thing to her that I'll ever have again."

    "If you don't mind though, I'd like to stay off the subject for the foreseeable future." Demeter finished, thrusting the accelerator to full speed.

    With a flash, her ship entered the giant space/time fluxuation that had formed in front of her and found herself in what she could only describe as a canal of Light. Blues, magentas, and oranges swirled and intermixed with each other just outside of her ship. The visuals were stunning, and made her broken heart mend, if only slightly.

    ///////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////

    The cerulean blue moon of Titan loomed harmlessly in orbit with the ringed planet. The sudden ejection from the canal was jarring, that was for certain, but Demeter was glad that her first interstellar transport was a success.

    Her eyes were brought to her Ghost, who thoughtfully stared at the center of Saturn's rings. A giant hole had been bored out of the space debris and ice particles. Dead in the center of the hole was a singular massive green ship. While it didn't seem as big from her distance, in comparison to the sizeable hole in Saturn's ring that it took it's home in, the thing was easily enough to house every Human, Exo, and Awoken left alive in the Solar System.

    Of course, she had heard the rumors during the City's short lived Age of Triumph that the ship was home of Oryx, the Taken King. It was the one story of fireteam Stratus that she had known by heart. How the fireteam's old leader, Drake Stratus, brought down an alien God in his own domain, cascading his body down to the surface of Saturn.

    "The Dreadnaught is still intact, eh. Leave it to Cayde-6 to neglect beginning the dismantling of it."

    "I heard that it only fired once." Demeter shook her head in disbelief. "Took out the entirety, or at least the majority of the Awoken fleet."

    "It's true. However, I can recall Drake Stratus besting Oryx not once, but twice in one-on-one combat. With the second time seeing Oryx in his true form." Amethyst clicked her shell, turning to Demeter. "You think the ship's huge? Oryx was bigger. He had to hang off of it to keep himself steady."

    "Traveler's mercy." Demeter clicked her tongue to the roof of her mouth. "I don't know if I would ever be that brave. To stare something that large down face to face. Even with the void shield."

    "You are a Guardian. A Titan at that. We... sorry they don't show fear in the presence insurmountable odds. They welcome them with closed fists." Amethyst nodded her form. "The memories Amethyst had showed me that all Drake needed was a single, blighted Light infused punch to 'Take' Oryx."

    There was a beeping noise emanating from Amethyst's form, as her shell twisted in a mixture of confusion and some other emotion that wasn't readily readable by Demeter. Her purple eye scanned the air before them for a time, before she turned to Demeter.

    "Incoming distress beacon, but it's not from Zavala.
    This is your chance, kiddo.
    "

    "Can you make anything out?"

    "Sorry, it's too scrambled. Something on the surface is jamming the signal. Regardless of who it is, that jammer needs to be taken down or none of our efforts down there will matter." Amethyst shook her form, as Demeter thrust the accelerator to a modest speed, piloting the ship into Titan's orbit.

    "From what 'I' remember, Titan has electrified oceans... so don't go for a swim."

    ///////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////

    Partially electrified rain pattered down on the hull of Demeter's ship as she broke the atmosphere to the moon of Saturn. While Demeter never was good at science, she did recall hearing that the rain of Titan was relatively harmless so long as there was no prolonged exposure. As someone in a suit made to protect her from environmental danger, she had little concern over it.

    As her ship sunk down towards one of the ocean rigs, Demeter felt the still strange pull as she was transmatted onto the old metal landing platform. Above her, her ship zoomed off back into orbit, where she knew it would be safe until she needed it again. Her first instinct was to get a lay of the land, or platform, as it were.

    Surrounding her, several meters below were the crashing cyan blue waves of Titan's oceans. The electrified currents slammed heavily against the Golden Age relic that was the ocean mining rig. Just above her head was the looming image of Saturn and the 'Dreadnaught', as Amethyst had informed her.

    "-one?! I ne- -sponse dam- it.!" a voice crackled into her helmet. "Gamma Two- -ix. Respo-!"

    "Hello?!" Demeter called to the man's voice, but the line returned only in static. "Any chance you could trace that signal?"

    "Already on top of it. Bad news is, it's over in the New Pacific Arcology."

    "Why is that bad?" Demeter asked, as her eyes followed her Ghost, whom floated up to her right shoulder, glancing at the massive building behind her.

    Unlike the rest of the withstanding Golden Age platforms and structures in view, the Pacific Arcology had definitely seen better days. Onyx black and green chiton covered at least a half of the gargantuan building. Demeter stared in disbelief, as the chiton itself resembled some sort of insect's nest... or hive.

    Out of the corner of her eye, Demeter made out the shape of what appeared to be a large serpentine tail splashing into the water. Whatever it was down there, it was big, and it didn't seem friendly. Her heart raced in her chest, as Amethyst turned to face her, rotating her shell inquisitively.

    "Most underwater routes are blocked, so thankfully we'll have to resort to that broken down bridge over there."

    Demeter glanced at the structure Amethyst was referring to. While the jumps would have been treacherous when she was still just a normal Human, they seemed doable with her Lift ability. Steeling herself for the trek ahead of her, she began to jog towards the broken, fragmented walkway connecting the rig to the Arcology.

    "What is this? Void energy?!" the man's voice echoed over the comms again. "Only Guardians are capable of making Void energy. Vex can simulate it, but it's not true Void energy. Whatever you do, don't touch it!"

    "It's no good sir!" a young woman's voice called. "My arm's stuck!"

    "Hello?!" Demeter called as she jumped over the first of two gaps in the walkway.

    Activating her Lift, Demeter's heart raced as she was thrust forward over the gap. Beneath her, the tail she had seen before seemed to sink below the surface of the water, and if she didn't know any better, she could only guess the creature was following her. Upon landing, she heard nothing in the way of response from the voices in her communications.

    Sprinting towards the next gap, Demeter yelped as her right foot slipped. She tumbled forward, her Lift systems thankfully boosting her across the gap. However, she grunted in pain as her midsection painfully slammed against the rigid metal. Her hands scrambled to clutch onto something, as the waves beneath her splashed.

    Grasping onto a severed stabilizing chord, Demeter grit her teeth, dragging herself painfully up the platform back onto solid metal. Behind her, she heard the ocean splash again as whatever had jumped out to feast on her, had sank back into the ocean once more. Clutching her wound on her abdomen, she grit her teeth as the wound sealed itself, and the armor repaired itself.

    "Hello?" the man's voice echoed her previous hail. "There was someone else on this channel. You were cutting out, but I'm getting readings that a friendly is in the vicinity."

    "Titan Demeter, sir. I've come to help with your distress call."

    "I see." the man scoffed. "Although you can drop the 'Titan' title. There's no Light, so what right do we have to call ourselves Guardians."

    "With all due respect, sir, Guardian is a term derived from someone who protects another, at the cost of themselves or something else." Demeter stood to her feet, grabbing her rifle. "Who and where are you?"

    "Lance Stratus. I was leading an operation to restore power to the Arcology and the rest of the rig and establish a home base for Zavala's retaliation front."  Lance replied. "My crew and I ran into a Hive hit and run team. The majority of my group were abducted, with the last couple K.I.A."

    "I'll be right there." Demeter said, sprinting towards the front entrance to the Arcology.

    The door had been unceremoniously ripped from it's frame, leaving the right half of the door locked in a perpetual forty-five degree angle. Ducking underneath it, she heard the comms. crackle again, but thankfully they had managed to hold.

    "I appreciate your bravery, miss." Lance replied with a defeated sigh. "However, I cannot, in good faith, ask a Lightless Guardian to throw their life away trying to save me."

    "Who said anything about 'Lightless'?" Demeter smiled. "I found the Light."

    "You must be as new as you sound. The Traveler was caged, my fireteam and I saw it as we fled the City with tails tucked." Lance scoffed. "Without the Traveler, there is no Light."

    "Sir, there was a shard of the Traveler in the EDZ that contained just enough Light to give three of us our Light back. I'm but one of them. If you won't believe me, ask my Ghost."

    "She's right, er, 'twerp'." Amethyst shook her form.

    "Amethyst? Since when did you start calling me 'twerp'?" Lance asked. "Am I to assume you got- wait. Did you say 'ask my Ghost'?"

    "Yes sir." Demeter said.

    Silence fell over the radio for a moment, followed by a loud thud that caused Demeter to jump as she entered the Arcology's hydroponics section. Countless dead Fallen corpses riddled the area, and for every three Fallen, there was one unfortunate Human/Exo/or Awoken.

    "You're that kid from the Tower... which means, Amethyst is dead." Lance was quiet, which, from Amethyst's stories to her, was very uncharacteristic of him. "Listen, I don't have time to mourn her right now. I'm in what appears to be a Hive nest. A couple of my deceased men and women are strung up in the same black chiton you see everywhere."

    "I'm at hydroponics right now." Demeter spoke, as her eyes continued to search over the lost to time fruits and vegetables that had overgrown the area without human interference.

    "Good. Then you see the trail of bodies we left. Follow that into a narrow corridor, but instead of following that down, turn left when you find a vent. One of our more technologically adept personnel managed to jerry-rig a ladder from my level to yours."

    "One thing to note, if the Light is with you, the Hive will be extremely hungry for you." Lance warned. "I'm disconnected from the Light right now, but I can sense a wicked Void energy in the vicinity. For your safety, I'd refrain from using Void if you can."

    That last statement provided a unique challenge for Demeter, as the only Light she currently had in her arsenal was Void energy. With a sigh, she followed Lance's directions into the corridor to locate the jerry-rigged ladder. Climbing down, the smell coming through her helmet made her a mixture of light headed and nauseous. It was a smell that she had only heard of, and it matched the very description she was given.

    Given the chiton on the walls, as well as the squirming mass of biomass and insectoid creatures on the wall, as well as the dripping mucus from the ceiling, there was no doubt about it; it was the smell of Death.
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    Post  Shad0wChas3r October 25th 2017, 9:56 pm

    The tunnel of chiton and goo sickened Demeter to her very core. Amethyst, while good at mentoring her at combat, had neglected to actually train her about the various enemy races that plagued their Solar System. She knew of them by name, but very little in the way of their habitats or combat styles.

    "There's an energy shield just ahead, you see it?" Lance entered the voice chat once more, as Demeter glanced a few meters ahead.

    A sickly green shield of corrupted energy blocked the entire tunnel off. On the other side, a Titan with broken ornate medieval armor stood. His shoulder pauldrons, when Demeter had last seen him, boasted a pair of wolf heads, fire in their maws. Now, however, only one wolf remained, and the fire within had been extinguished.

    "I see you." Demeter offered a gentle wave, as the Titan turned to face her.

    "Oh good. I was on your side some time ago, but we got ambushed by a trio of Hive Knights." Lance spoke as she approached. "We had no idea how to move the barrier, but thankfully we managed to locate an escape."

    Following Lance's finger to her right, she saw what had once been an offshoot in the terraformed hallway, now squirming with worms and chiton. Behind her, Demeter heard a loud howl that made her blood chill and race through her. Turning back, a massive creature boasting an even larger sword stood just a few meters behind her current position. A trio of green eyes glared at her, as it's boney, almost skeletal form shuddered in anticipation or rage, perhaps even both.

    "That's... not good." Lance shook his head. "Hold on, I'll find something to open up the shield!"

    Demeter raised her Pulse Rifle to bare, firing a trio of bursts. Her bullets cracked the chiton on the face of the massive beast, but seemed to yield little more than irritating it. The Hive sword bearing creature bounded towards her, as she rolled out of the way from it's downward slash. The ear piercing screech of the chiton sword in it's hand ripping through the metal a meter above the creature's head caused her ears to ring.

    Recovering herself, she fired a few more salvos into the back of it's head, as the green energy shield fizzled out behind the behemoth. With the beast still distracted by it's now locked sword, Demeter made the effort to sprint around the creature and through the open shield.

    "Good news, you're not locked on the other side with that." Lance shook his head. "Bad news, that thing has free reign. We should probably run."

    Together, the two Titans sprinted side by side, as the building quaking stomps of the larger than normal Hive Knight's feet resounded around them. Sprinting out into an open area, still filled with chiton and mucus, the two turned and dove out of the inevitable downward swing. The ground and chiton beneath them cracked as the Hive Knight's sword narrowly avoided her.

    Recovering, the two opened fire with their Pulse Rifles directly into it's face. With a howl of pain and a snarl, the Knight ripped it's damaged chiton helmet off to reveal a pulsating, orange-pink sac of goo that she could only assume was an eye or brain. Given that it's eyes were on the helmet it brutally ripped off, however, she guessed it was the brain.

    Unfortunately for her, her time in thought left her open. The Knight's skeleton like hand grabbed her by the throat, and a searing pain erupted from her midsection. While there was little to reflect off of the exposed brain of the creature, she saw the puddle of strange liquid at their feet. Her eyes widened as she took note of the sword now lodged in her chest.

    "Guh." was all she could utter, before slumping onto the sword.

    /////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////

    "Well, I guess it was bound to happen inevitably." the Golden Light spoke from the blank, white void around her.

    "Where are we?" Demeter asked.

    "In the Light." the voice spoke, it's form floating up to her. "You died. Of course, because you are connected with the Light, you aren't truly dead. If your friend down there can keep that creature off of your Ghost for a bit, you'll be pulled from this void and back to life."

    "-and if he doesn't?" Demeter frowned, as the Golden Light coalesced into the form of a man.

    "Then you officially killed off any chance that you and my great grandson had of unifying the Lightless Guardians and bringing the fight back to the City."

    "W-wait. Y-your grandson?" Demeter shook her head. "Then... you're-"

    "Drake Stratus." the Titan offered a crisp salute. "At your service."

    "I'm surprised you couldn't tell who I was." Drake snickered, crossing his arms powerfully across his chest. "After all, you've been having visions from myself and my family."

    "B-but how? Amethyst told me you died!"

    "I did. I just decided not to be revived." Drake shrugged. "I've been serving the Light in ways that I only could from within it. I figured Lance would have things under control, but I guess a whole mess of things threw that planning out the window."

    "Which reminds me. You are a unique one, Sentinel." Drake smiled as he pointed towards her. "You will bring the Light back to Humanity. You will act as Humanity's shield, hence why I gave you the Sentinel shield as your first technique. You are the first Titan to master it, but if you play your hand right, you will not be the last."

    "You cannot do it alone, however, and it's important that you make as many allies as you can muster." Drake nodded. "Now, you seem to be a bit restricted as you are. I can help you out, but you're going to have to handle things on your own for some time until I can offer you support."

    "Wait!" Demeter reached out as Drake's form dissolved back into the Golden Light, her arm slowly dissolving like ash in the wind. "I have so many questions!"

    "Be like a Titan and figure them out... with your fists." Drake's voice echoed back into the chorus of other voices. "I'll be keeping an eye on you, Sentinel.

    ////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////

    Demeter gasped for air as she felt constricted. Like her form had been forcibly pulled through a millimeter sized tube. In a flourish of Light, however, she found herself back on her own two feet. In front of her, she watched as Lance growled, hands folded on the sword just above his forehead.

    With a grunt, the Knight's boot smashed his chest piece and launched the Titan halfway across the room. Dust and chiton filled the air at Lance's impact, as he painfully steadied himself. Demeter opened fire on the Knight, gathering it's attention long enough for him to clear the distance between them.

    With a growl, Lance placed both arms on the hilt of the sword. Using whatever mortal strength he possessed, Lance managed to wrench the sword free of the Knight's hands. With a roar, he swung the sword upwards, the very tip of the blade lacerating the pulsating sack on the top of the Knight's head. Green goo and a pair of fledgling worms cascaded onto the floor in front of Lance, who promptly stood on them.

    With one last diagonal lunge, Lance drove the sword through the Knight's carapace, the beast roaring in pain as it clutched the handle with futile effort to pull it out. It's arms and legs dissolved into ash and bone meal as the chiton collapsed to the floor, the beast itself dissolving into hellish green flames.

    "Glad you could stop in." Lance grunted, turning to her. "So much for being with the Light. What the hell was that anyways? You didn't do anything as far as grenades or super abilities."

    "I'm sorry." Demeter bowed her head. "I-I."

    "No, I'm sorry." Lance sighed. "I took the Light for granted, and this is my punishment. I let my hubris get in the way of what was important. If I ever reclaim the Light, I will use it more fruitfully."

    "I managed to find a power switch while you were on the other side of the shield." Lance nodded, turning to her. "The Arcology is a bust for a settlement, but at least the Rig is powered."

    "Your fireteam needs you, sir." Demeter replied, as he scoffed.

    "They think I left because I didn't need them." Lance growled, shaking his head. "I just didn't want them risking their lives while I went and got the Vanguard. I need them as much as they need me, and as we've both witnessed, I'm not really cut out for this 'Lightless combat' stuff."

    "Which is why I have a big ask for you." Lance sighed, turning to her. "There is another reactor further into the nest here. It contains a CPU powerful enough to power all of our stuff on the Rig here for months. I hate asking a fresh blooded Titan like you to undertake this mission, but I need the help."

    "Besides, if I die, at least I'll die at the side of a fellow Titan." he snickered, nudging her shoulder. "Don't worry kid, I'll whip you into proper shape before the day is done."

    "I'd have it no other way sir."

    "If I was actually Amethyst, I might have actually been hurt by that."
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    Post  Shad0wChas3r November 6th 2017, 8:18 pm

    "About what happened back there." Demeter bowed her head shamefully as they walked. "You warned about using Void Light down here. The only discipline I have mastery of is Void oriented. "

    "So you're a Defender?" Lance clicked the inside of his cheek with his tongue. "No offense, but how do you not know the Striker technique, it's usually the first technique a Titan masters."

    "When I was introduced to the Light, I was shown visions of a Void shield." Demeter turned to face him. "It's not like the Ward of Dawn, and if we weren't in a place where Void Light is suppressed, I would gladly show you it."

    "A shield that isn't the Ward of Dawn?" Lance pondered, shaking his head. "I've never heard of a Titan discipline that matches that. If my mentor was still alive, maybe he could have known."

    "You mean Drake-" Demeter paused as a burning sensation overflowed in her chest, all wind was snapped out of her.

    "You will speak no more about me. He doesn't need to know, not yet."

    "Yes." Lance nodded, as with others, unaware of Drake's voice. "His Legend must have been widely spread throughout the City."

    "Yep." Demeter nodded, clutching at her chest. "Though they spoke more of you when you slayed Aksis. I-it's an honor to be serving along your side."

    "The pleasure is mine." Lance said. "I love the others, but it's always nice to work with new people."

    Lance stopped suddenly, forcing Demeter to stop in her tracks as well. Inadvertently, the two Titans had found themselves back outside, overlooking a heavily damaged bridge leading to an isolated Rig on the other side. The waves churned powerfully beneath them, flashes of electrical energy swashing over the debris and wave generators that they had just activated.

    "If I was a gambler, I'd be all in that the server room is in that Rig just over there." Lance clenched his right hand into a fist proudly. "I know I warned you against using Void Light, but if it comes down to it, to ensure your own safety, I need you to use it."

    ///////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////

    The large server room, as Lance had correctly predicted, was colossal in nature. Several levels below the bridge they had crossed just minutes before, they were thankful they hadn't run into any more Knights or other Hive. Though the room was large, it was also incredibly void of anything, with a lone platform suspending from the middle, a glowing white orb could be seen.

    Demeter braved a glance down into the black void of the empty room, the skittering sound of Hive creatures feasting on stuff that Demeter could only have nightmares of. Backing a safe distance back onto their platform, she glanced at Lance.

    "How do we get across?" she asked, turning to him. "I could use my Lift, but you won't have access, and no matter how strong I am, there is no way I can ferry you across."

    "Then I'll stay here and watch your back while you fetch it." Lance nodded, patting her on the back. "Just be careful."

    Demeter sighed briskly, gathering some distance to gain some speed. Sprinting with all of her might, she thrusted herself forward with her Lift, gaining just enough momentum to sail across the gap and onto the platform with their CPU. Wrapping her hands around it, she grunted as she struggled to free the sphere from it's container. As she did, sparks flew and the lights throughout the room began to dim.

    Wails of torment belted from the void beneath them, as Demeter heard something massive behind her. Turning back, the silhouette of what she could only describe as a colossal Hive worm swimming freely through the ocean caught her attention. Her heart beat sporadically in her chest, as she felt her legs numb and turn to jelly.

    "No. We killed that bastard!" she heard Lance's yell echo throughout the room. "There's no way his Worm survived!"

    "Whose?!" Demeter called back to him, as Lance's next word caused a shudder down her spine.

    "Oryx."

    The creature continued to swim by, uninterested on the Guardians on the other side of the unwashed glass, which was covered in a thick layer of dust. Demeter shook the creature from her mind, sprinting back and thrusting herself over the gap. Landing with her two feet, Hive Acolytes and Knights began to pour out of the several holes in the wall, which had been likely burrowed by the creatures themselves.

    "We need a quick way out." Lance grunted, as they sprinted through the door. "There's no way we're getting through the way we came."

    "Guardians, Holliday here. We've received a ping from the CPU you've recovered. Aerial scan suggests there is a path back into the Arcology There's bound to be heavy Hive activity down there, but if the schematics match what I'm seeing, there should be a few vehicles down there for you to utilize."

    "Understood, thanks Amanda." Lance nodded, turning to Demeter. "Your Ghost receive the route?"

    Amethyst's form appeared over Demeter's shoulder, before offering a stern nod of her form, transmatting the CPU, and then disappearing once more into a wisp of Light. Their footfalls over the chiton covered floor echoed throughout the room behind them, as the two detoured into a burrowed out hallway.

    Demeter's sub-machine gun lit up the dark and sickening hallway as the Thralls and Acolytes that feasted on the wall flared in dark arcane energy. Worms spilled out of their bodies as the corpses themselves reduced to ash and more chiton. A lone Knight, much smaller in comparison to the one Lance had slain earlier, roared as it sprinted towards them.

    Demeter's right arm thrust straight into the air, as the Sentinel shield formed. Sprinting faster than before, Demeter swung her arm powerfully, allowing the force behind it to carry her forward. With a sickening crunch, the shield made contact and shattered the Knight's hardened carapace. The beast reeled backwards, unable to fully recover before Demeter spun in air, striking it in the face with her now thrown shield.

    Lance stared in amazement as the disk bounced off of the now evaporating Knight, pinging against the wall and into any Thrall or Acolytes in it's path. With the overburden of her Light diminished, Demeter drew her sub-machine gun back to bare. The two Titans continued their advance, mowing down any and all Hive fodder that stood in their way, until eventually, they arrive in what could only be considered a vehicle hanger.

    The bigger issue presented before them, however, was a Thrall being pinned down in the center of the hanger by chains on each of it's arms and legs. A trio of robed creatures suspended in air above the lowly creature, chanting unknown words that felt dark in essence. The words manifested themselves into runes of what Demeter could only assume was hatred manifested.

    "Traveler help us." Lance said, opening fire on the floating robed creatures. "It's a summoning ritual!"

    The Hive Wizards cackled in their evil, alien tongues as they flashed away in a cloud of pure darkness and poison. The Thrall they had been abusing screamed at the top of it's alien lungs, attempting to wrestle itself away from it's chains.

    The damage the Wizards had caused however, was already too much. Demeter's eyes widened as the Thrall collapsed to it's hands and knees, the sickening sound of it's chiton and carapace cracking echoed throughout the chamber. The body of the Thrall swelled with newfound power and anger, it's once puny and mal-nutritioned arms and legs becoming as long and round as tree trunks.

    The once high pitched shrieks of the creature immediately deepened into bellowing roars of anger and pure rage. The old shell of the once tiny creature burst off, flying in several directions as the new spawn slowly stood, it's chains in shambles at it's feet. The once skeletal features of it's face now bolstered several pulsating bumps, which Demeter could only guess were eyes of some sort.

    With one last bestial roar, the monster's mighty right hand clasped onto one of the vehicles, throwing it at the two of them. Lance grunted as he pushed Demeter and himself out of the way. The vehicle crashed into the chiton covered wall behind them, shattering it. Demeter grit her teeth as the two Titans rolled across the floor.

    Standing, she summoned the Sentinel shield, but her eyes widened when it disappeared immediately. The purple energy coalesced around her, before rushing towards the Hive Ogre. Entering the beast, it roared and shuddered as the void energy caused the monster to grow only stronger. Rushing towards the two in an enraged state, the beast roared as a stream of void energy surged towards them. Demeter and Lance dived out of the way, as the beast closed the gap.

    With a mighty swing of it's arm, the beast struck Lance square in the chest, launching him into the vehicle in the now destroyed wall. Demeter reached out for him, as the Ogre grasped her powerfully in it's massive right hand. She grunted as the monster slammed her back first into the ground beneath her, the chiton cracking and erupting, a small crater in their wake.

    A copper taste filled Demeter's mouth, as the Ogre, convinced she was dead, turned it's attention to Lance. A shard of chiton, sharpened somehow, flew through the air and struck the Ogre in it's eyes. With a powerful roar, the beast reared it's ugly head and fired a beam of void energy at the ceiling above them.

    Lance roared as he pitched his shoulder, ramming into the Ogre at the fastest speed he could muster. The beast roared as it stumbled backwards and away from Demeter. Lance grunted, nursing his ribs, as the Ogre ripped the chiton from it's eyes.

    "Live with honor." Lance smirked, splaying his arms widely as the Ogre prepared to fire another beam of void at him.

    Time slowed from Demeter, as the electrified rain that continued to downfall several floors above, trickled down the hole the Ogre had made. Her eyes glanced at the now darkened sky of Titan, overlooking the stars and even a hint of Saturn's rings visible. Rain drops pelted on her visor, as the sky flashed with electrical power.

    "In close quarters, a fist truly is better than any gun,
    or even a knife that dulls. Your body is your weapon, and so long as your body can never be truly broken, than you are always deadly.
    "

    Demeter felt a surge of Light from within as the lightning arched heavily across the skies above her, chaining in with each other. The ferocity and frequency of the lightning increased as the milliseconds passed. "You are the lightning, and the thunder behind it."

    Booms of thunder echoed through the hole into the chamber around them, as the air became heavy with static charge. Lance, who had once accepted death, leapt out of the way of the Ogre's beam, turning to witness Demeter slowly stand. A giant bolt of lightning crashed down on her back. Lightning coursed between her arms and legs, striking powerfully at the ground around her.

    Her body shook with the intensity of the foreign Light coursing through her, as if the lightning was invigorating her body to push beyond it's limitations. As Drake's voice had told her, her body felt like a weapon, and with the immortality of being a Guardian, nothing was going to hold her back.

    Clenching her right fist, Demeter sprinted past Lance much faster than she had ever sprinted in her life. Bounding off of her right foot, she thrusted straight through the void beam pointed at her, while the beam hurt her considerably, it wasn't nearly as fatal as it would have been prior.

    With a roar, she swung her right fist as far back as she could, winding up for a superman punch unlike anything she had ever accomplished before. The Arc Light flowing through her coalesced at her fist, empowering the Fist of Havoc. The Ogre roared in pain, reeling backwards as the lightning infused punch rocked it's head backwards. Stumbling backwards, the Ogre landed on it's back, as Demeter landed on both feet.

    Lightning still covered her torso, a feat unseen by Lance or any other recent Titan known. Even Demeter was confused, as the Fist of Havoc was a one time use super, much like a Warlock's Nova Bomb, or a Hunter's Shadow-Shot. Not being one to complain, Demeter smirked as she sprinted at the now recovering Ogre. Weakened heavily by the massive blow, it struggled to stand as Demeter closed the gap.

    Lance stood, gawking at the young Titan, as she bounded off of her right foot once more. Her Lift system, overcharged by her boundless Light, thrust her forward as the last of her Light coalesced into her right fist. Higher than her initial target, Demeter roared as she swung down onto the Ogre's head.

    Lance grunted as a gust of wind erupted from the point of impact, planting his feet, he grit his teeth as the force nearly blew him off of his feet. The Ogre roared as it was slammed heavily into the ground beneath it, creating a sizeable crater from the impact, chiton erupting from all sides.

    A flash of lightning accompanied the punch, producing a blinding light that even had Lance's helmet polarizing far more than normal. With an echoing BOOM!! sparks of Arc energy chained to all corners of the room, harmlessly passing through Lance. When the blinding light faded, all that was left in the crater was Demeter, both fists clenched, her muscles still spasming with vigor, despite the Arc energy having dispersed.

    "What are you?" Lance shook his head.

    "The Traveler's Chosen." a familiar voice echoed from the young Titan, though it was intertwined with her own. "I am the Sentinel."
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    Post  Shad0wChas3r December 12th 2017, 3:03 pm

    "The Sentinel..." Lance nodded his head with a pained huff, his head thrown back with an echoing chorus of uproarious laughter. "So my old man and his pal Saint-14 were right all along!"

    "Caldwell was a zealot, for sure. However, he did have the fullest of confidence that you would be that Titan." the voice spoke through Demeter once more. "However, she cannot fulfill her destiny alone. You must assist her, you must become a figurehead of the resistance, and help the Vanguard reclaim what is rightfully ours. Lillian and Chelsea need you now more than ever."

    With the last word uttered, the brilliant golden Light that had once completely shrouded Demeter's form dispersed into tiny wisps, and the Titan collapsed. Lance took a moment to absorb the words, and with a brisk smirk of satisfaction, he limped over to her. While his Ghost was incapable of reviving him, he still had the ability to heal Lance. With a pulse of what little Light the small robot could muster, Lance's wounds healed rapidly.

    Reaching down, he grunted as he used his human strength to lift Demeter up and into the last remaining vehicle. Before he climbed in himself, he found his attention brought to the crater that the now emulsified Ogre had once created as a result of her second Fist of Havoc. A lone plant grew up from the center, boasting a medicine ball sized orb of pure golden Light.

    "I know how you like to test me, Drake." Lance smirked, shaking his head. "I need to prove to not only myself, but every other Guardian that we can't just rely on our Light anymore."

    Without a further glance, the small tree and the orb of Light contained in it dripped like water into the cracks of the crater, never to be seen or used again. With a stern nod, Lance steeled himself and climbed inside. Situating the unconscious young Titan in the back seat of the mobile street cleaner, he situated himself in the front seat.

    "What exactly is your plan?" his Ghost asked, floating cautiously over his shoulder. "I know you aren't known for your subtlety."

    "There's an LZ on the other side of this hive." Lance thrust the accelerator into it's maximum potential. "I'm just playing the part of the exterminator as we run through."

    "You know I meant about fighting this war." his Ghost shook it's form with a sigh. "That was our opportunity to get the Light back. Why did you deny the chance?"

    "Titans are made of discipline, or at least we were." Lance frowned as the beefy machine he piloted crashed through a wall of carapace and gossamer. "Losing the Light is a testament to how much we depended on it to find our success, so when it was taken from us, we didn't stand a chance."

    "Drake, before being resurrected by the very Light he served, managed to make the most of his first life with what was necessary, even going so far as to sacrifice himself to win the day at Twilight Gap." Lance's grip on the accelerator tightened, until his knuckles whitened and popped beneath the gauntlets. "That was a test of his, to see if I would follow my old ways, or make use of this last life I have."

    The walls of the hive around the comparably smaller craft Lance drove began to move as Thrall, Acolytes, and Knights began to emerge from the various catacombs lodged in the carapace covered underbelly of the Arcology. With little regard for them, Lance just merely drove over the beasts with the tank like vehicle, avoiding Shrieker blasts and other projectiles from their alien weapons.

    "Alright ground team, I just got the ping from that CPU of yours. I'm just at the edge of that nearby bridge. Might want to hurry up though, some of those pests might have noticed my arrival." Holliday's familiar voice breaking through the monotomous noise of Hive bodies being crushed by the vehicle.

    "Affirmative, moving as fast as this glorified washing machine can." Lance said, cutting the line.

    //////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////

    "Good to see you again, Lance." Holliday smiled as his Ghost transmatted the CPU into her hand, as he gently placed Demeter into one of the seats in the back. "Oh. I knew I heard another voice in the comms, but I didn't know there was anyone down there except the two Hunters that went with you."

    "Yeah well." Lance clenched his fists as he clambered into the aircraft. "They didn't make it. Harvested for their Light, like everything the Hive does."

    "Traveler save them." Holliday shook her head sorrowfully. "I'm sorry for your loss. Commander Zavala wanted to speak with those responsible for this Op. So if it's alright with you, I'll be dropping you off just around the bend."

    "Yeah." Lance nodded, turning to Demeter. "Hey, kid, wake up."

    With a sharp nudge to her shoulder, Demeter laid motionless still, yet the rising and falling of her chestplate informed him that she was still alive. Suddenly, Amethyst, as her Ghost called herself, appeared in a shower of Light.

    "She's suffering Light exhaustion. She very rarely calls upon her Light when she's in combat, but when she does, she goes all out. She hasn't learned moderation just yet, but when she does, I promise she'll be a force of nature." Amethyst turned to him. "She'll be conscious by the time we meet with Zavala. For now, it's good to see you again Lance. I may not be Amethyst, but I feel like I've known you forever."

    The aircraft around them rumbled as Holliday deftly turned the ship around, cutting it's acceleration and lowering it to the landing pad on the northern part of the Rig, several kilometers from the landing zone in the New Pacific Arcology. With a grunt and a sign, Demeter slowly shifted, before carefully pulling herself into a sitting position.

    "Wha- how'd we get here?" she asked, turning to Lance.

    "After your majestic display of not one, but two Fist of Havocs, you passed out." Lance placed a hand endearingly in her shoulder. "Above all, you saved my life, when I was certain I was dead. You have my eternal gratitude for that. Right now, however, we need to speak to Commander Zavala."

    "He's not my favorite fella, but he's running the operation here. We should at least pay attention to what he says."

    The aircraft eventually settled, the engines whirring to a crawl, as Holliday turned around in her pilot seat, offering them a thumbs up. Lance pulled open the door, and the two Titans hopped out. Holliday, now in possession of the CPU, took off after the duo had safely left the area, likely to place the CPU in the proper generator.

    "I found it hard to believe but... it was true." Commander Zavala, in all of his armor, stood before them behind a table. At his side was another Titan, a woman much older than Demeter and Lance combined, but still youthful in appearance. "I'm sorry, allow me to properly introduce you. This is Deputy Commander Sloan. She runs the ground operations in this sector, for when our resistance begins to mobilize."

    "A pleasure." Sloan nodded her head curtly, but with a genuine smile.

    "You have... acquired the Light." Zavala turned to Demeter, whose helmet was transmatted by Amethyst. "If it could find it's way to you, then perhaps there is hope for all of us."

    "As this latest operation has proven, through no fault of anyone's doing, our numbers will continue to dwindle. We can no longer protect ourselves, much less the survivors holed up in a stronghold not far from here." Zavala turned his back to them, dipping his head in sorrow. "Thanks to your efforts, however, we might have a fighting chance. With that CPU you acquired, we can decrypt these Red Legion cyphers we've picked up on our way here to Titan."

    Once again Zavala turned to face them, as Sloan produced a data pad attached to a mock up cable, leading far outside of the temporary headquarters they had established. With a chirp from the room around them, the old dusty Golden Age lights began to flicker on, and the datapad in Sloan's hand illuminated. With a press of a button, a holographic video portraying what appeared to be a star, zoomed into the airspace above them.

    The visual of the sun was blocked by what appeared to be a heavily damaged planetoid, it's crust barren and bleak, with fissures along the surface that had descended well past the now non-existent core of the planet. The display swiveled to show a strange machine of unknown nature, absorbing the debris of the slowly deteriorating planet, and firing an imposing beam of energy at the Star.

    Whatever had been recording the scenario flickered as the strange machine, finished in it's work, teleported away. As it did so, the coloration of the normally yellow, orange, and red sun darkened.

    "The Red Legion call it the Almighty. One could say it's the pièce de résistance of the Red Legion's leader's exploits in life." Sloan glanced at the data pad. "Dominus Ghaul has subjugated hundreds of worlds. Those that resisted him? They no longer exist."

    The display showed the now spent planetoid, now merely space debris, with the star just beside it condensing itself into what could only be described as a white dwarf. With a sudden peak of energy, the white dwarf erupted into extraordinary energy. The supernova created by the shockwave went so far as to eradicate all the nearby planetoids, and devastate the star's entire system in a matter of seconds.

    "To date, none have survived Ghaul's ambitions." Sloan frowned, as the display switched to a much more familiar sight. "What he wants, as we all know, is the Traveler. As for the Almighty? It's pointed at our Sun."

    Chills ran down Demeter's spine as she watched the display of the All Mighty, currently innate, looming precariously close to their sun. Lance's hands curled into fists as he grit his teeth. Zavala's stare of shock pierced the hologram of the sun, as he closed his eyes with a sigh.

    "I'm sorry sir, but the war is lost." Sloan bowed her head.

    There was a heart wrenching silence over the group of Titans, as Lance's and Demeter's Ghosts glanced at each other through it all. Tension filled the air that put the static infused rain outside to shame. Leaning over the table with arms wide, Zavala shook his head in disbelief.

    "We built our home under the protection of the Traveler. When our enemies attacked us at Six Fronts, and Twilight Gap? We built a wall to defend us that stood for centuries, the very walls Drake Stratus and I helped to establish." Zavala sighed, before standing and taking the time to glance at the three Titans now situated opposite of him. "Now? Those walls mean nothing. Our enemy has stolen our home, stolen our Light."

    "That wasn't enough for them." Zavala growled, breaking his once professional demeanor. "Now they threaten our very existence. We're going all in on this 'Almighty'. How long before our combat fleet is ready?"

    "Sir. That's not-" Lance and Sloan began to speak, as Zavala's mighty right fist slammed the table in front of him, shattering the table into two halves.

    "If we wait, we die-" Zavala's fierce, anger filled eyes glanced in between them all separately. "We either fight together and take back our Light, our home... or we die trying."

    "Where's this coming from?" Lance crossed his arms across his chest with a smirk. "I think Cayde's rubbing off on you."

    "Perhaps he is." Zavala nodded, turning to face him. "I need you to link up with your fireteam, if you can. Rally as many Guardians on Earth that you can, get them armored and kitted out for the war ahead. Sloan, I need you to oversee operations here."

    "-and me, sir?" Demeter asked, stepping forward.

    "After the City fell, the Vanguard dispersed in search of a means of gaining an advantage over the Red Legion. Cayde mentioned something about a Centaur planetoid. You find him, you'll likely find Ikora." Zavala turned to her, folding his arms behind his back. "I need my fireteam, and I think it's time you called upon your own."
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    Post  Shad0wChas3r December 13th 2017, 5:12 pm

    "Commander Zavala needs the Vanguard united again." Amethyst turned to Demeter, whose hands expertly flew across the controls of her ship as she navigated through FTL travel. "I haven't seen Zavala show such vigor since the battle of Twilight Gap. Drake, as well as Shaxx, had insisted that they push back against the Fallen near the base of Felwinter's peak. Zavala and Saladin, both Drake's students, had opted to retreat and further plan ahead."

    "It wasn't until Shaxx returned without Drake to set Zavala off. I don't know if the three Titans felt abandoned or hopeless, but they looked to Saint-14, one of Drake's good Titan friends, and Zavala to get them through the remainder of the battle." Amethyst continued. "'I' was present for that battle as well. Zavala lead a charge of Strikers off the wall to clean up the remaining Fallen presence, while Saint-14, by himself, went to hunt down Solkis, the Devil's first Kell."

    "Saint-14 took down a Kell by himself?" Demeter turned to her Ghost, with wide eyes of surprise.

    "Yep! Headbutted the bastard to death. If you ever meet him, you'll see the distinct dent on his old Roman Centurion helmet from where the Kell's skull shattered." Amethyst's form dipped for a second. "With the passing of Drake, the Titan Vanguard and Commander of the Vanguard forces, and Jeremy and Lillian, the Warlock and Hunter Vanguards respectively, the Speaker and the counsel had no choice but to give Saint-14, the Warlock Osiris and Saint-14's closest friend, and a Hunter whose name remains lost to time, the position."

    "Osiris took up the mantle of Commander, as Saint-14 did not wish to bear that burden, and the Hunter made it known that they were not pleased with even the position of Vanguard." Amethyst turned to Demeter. "Some decades later,
    when Ghosts were created and sought out Guardians, Saint-14 had approached me, with Lance's father, Caldwell.
    "

    "The two seemed convinced that a Titan capable of uniting and liberating mankind of the residual effects of the Dark-Age was coming, and it was what gave Saint-14 the strength to pursue Solkis." Amethyst clicked her frame. "Caldwell was... not the most respectful father to his son. All in the hopes of training Lance to one day meet and expand upon Drake's legacy to become this prophesied Titan."

    "Why are you telling me all of this?" Demeter frowned, turning to her. "Do you think I'm this Titan that Saint-14 and Caldwell saw?"

    "I have my suspicions. The Traveler chose you to receive the Light AFTER it had been caged, and every time you use your Light in the presence of a Guardian also deemed worthy, a plant sprouts, providing the Lightless Guardians with the means of reclaiming their Light back." Amethyst said. "Most importantly, I don't want you to be like Drake or Lance, who openly hated Zavala. For what he has done, he has been an exceptional Vanguard."

    "Then how did Ikora, Cayde, and Zavala take up the Vanguard?" Demeter asked, piloting the ship out of FTL space and into orbit around a strange green and pink planetoid.

    "Drake and Lance are convinced that Zavala weaseled his way into the Vanguard Hall and stole the Commander title from me. That was never my intention to take it, and while Zavala and I have never gotten along, I have respected the situation that saw his promotion." Amethyst turned to her. "Osiris, the then Commander and Warlock Vanguard had learned something of pressing matters concerning the Vex on Mercury, but when he confronted the Speaker about it, he was banished."

    "I thought Osiris was banished because he was an Risen, like Lord Stratus was?" Demeter shook her head in confusion.

    "That was the cover up that the Speaker had used to justify the exile of Osiris. The truth is, whatever he told the Speaker was enough to scare him, and so the Speaker ordered Ikora, Osiris' greatest student, to exile him from the City." Amethyst span her shell and glanced at the Centaur planet in front of them. "After Osiris' exile, Saint-14 went out in search of his friend, promoting both Ikora and Zavala to take their places, with Zavala claiming the rank of Commander from Saint-14 himself. Saint hasn't been seen since, and neither has Osiris."

    "So Zavala is just a victim of circumstance, so much so that Drake and Lance loathed him for it?" Demeter frowned.

    "Partially. The title of Vanguard Commander had gone through the lineage of the first Titans, Drake's family. While I wasn't blood related to Drake, I was considered a part of his family. As such, the old tradition of the Stratus family of Titans was overruled when I refused the position, and two hundred years after Drake's initial death brought us to this point."

    "Anyways, we need to find Cayde and Ikora promptly. This history lesson was to teach you who each of the Vanguard are, and why they deserve the respect they are owed."

    ////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////

    Lush green sky surrounded Demeter as her ship swooped down to the nearest oddly placed pillar in the middle of a pinkish red valley of flora. Transmatting from her ship, Demeter peered down at the several hundred meter plunge straight down into a plain of red flora and oddly mechanic looking architecture. Amethyst floated over her shoulder, inspecting their surroundings.

    "So much for nothing being on a Centaur. They're usually just hunks of ice floating in space at the outer reaches of our Solar System." she mused, floating over the cliff and peering down. "There's a crashed ship over there transmitting the same signal that Cayde's Ghost had earlier. Let's check it out."

    Demeter jumped off of the pillar, her stomach churning at the long drop down. As she neared the halfway point, reaching her terminal velocity, she activated the Lift Light systems in her boots to reduce her velocity to a safe speed. Landing with a heavy thump, she glanced around at the eerie quiet in the air. Despite the trees, there was no birds chirping, or at least the alien equivalent of birds.

    Bringing her Pulse Rifle to bear, she quickly walked over towards the broken down star-ship a few meters from where she had just landed. Climbing on top, Demeter held out her hand to summon Amethyst remotely, before handing her off to the beacon jutting out.

    "This is strange. The beacon is in fact the same one from Cayde, but it's not his ship. I-"

    "Hello~! Are you here to help the Cayde-6~!" a delightful, cheery artificial voice entered Demeter's comms suddenly.

    "Woah, you aren't Cayde." Demeter shook her head.

    "The Cayde-6 is currently caught in a teleportation loop~! He's over there - oop- now he's over there, oop~!"

    "He's teleporting all over the place?" Amethyst turned to Demeter. "That complicates things.

    "I can help you~!" the female voice replied. "Though I'm going to be super unpleasant about it."

    In a strange turn of events, the once cheery, delightful voice of their strange benefactor had turned from the sweet, almost cute voice, to one of somber angst, and almost boredom. Demeter and Amethyst glanced at one another, confused on the personality shift of their new ally.

    "I'm sorry, what?" Demeter asked as Amethyst floated back into her helmet for safety.

    "I have uploaded his new coordinates for you~!" the cheery voice returned for all of a moment, before continuing. "Against my better judgement."

    Demeter shook off the shift of cheerful and depressed personalities and began walking in the direction Amethyst highlighted via a waypoint on her HUD. As she walked, she took careful notice of the odd silence around them, and began to wonder if this individual was actually there to help them, or if she was walking into a trap.

    "You seem distraught, is there anything else I can help you with~? the cheery voice returned.

    Amethyst, who sensed Demeter's sense of unease, decided to speak up. "Yeah, actually. You seem a bit off, are you okay?"

    "I am the Exodus Black's failsafe, call me Failsafe~! I boosted the Cayde-6's signal in hopes that he'd find rescue~! Look, here you are~!"

    "So she's a malfunctioning AI?" Demeter asked quietly to Amethyst.

    "That's a bit harsh. The Exodus Black was an old colony ship from the Collapse meant to recolonize the System. She must have crashed here two centuries ago. While I'm technically an AI now, I could only imagine what that amount of time could do to us."

    "I heard that." the bitter voice retorted. "I am at your service~!

    There was silence as Demeter felt suddenly guilty about her comment. She didn't mean to be insulting to Failsafe, only that she was confused about the situation. With a shake of her head, she continued through the valley on foot, keeping an eye on the nooks and crannies around her that could host hostile life.

    "Centaurs are supposed to be just big icy rocks, and the Traveler never touched any of the known Centuars. How did this all happen?"

    Demeter glanced down at what appeared to be a giant mechanical hole in the middle of an open plain. The coordinates she received were leading down there, so with another jump, she activated her Lift and gently touched down on the bottom of the chasm.

    "A robotic alien entity known as the Vex has achieved 93.214 percent conversion of the Centaur Nessus~!"

    "So they're converting Nessus like they tried converting Venus, and like how they converted Mercury entirely." Amethyst shook her form, appearing over Demeter's shoulder. "Look, it's Cayde!"

    "Anyone out there?! Listen, I don't have time for questions. I don't even have time to explain things I don't understand!" Cayde asked before suddenly and without warning, the floating Exo Hunter disappeared from sight.

    "Warning; Vex Signatures arriving at your position~!" Failsafe spoke up. "They will try to vaporize you~! Drop them first."
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    Post  Shad0wChas3r December 14th 2017, 12:51 pm

    It started with a muffled, static POP! Followed by a hazy cloud of data and presumably dust. The miniature storm swirled directly to Demeter's left, as a trio of strange circular devices on the wall shone with the intensity of a mid afternoon sun, if only for a brief moment. After a moment, a handful of strange robotic machines, nearly as tall as Demeter, who stood at an already unusual height of six feet, appeared before her.

    Raising her Pulse Rifle, Demeter opened fire at the glaring red 'eye' at the top of the machine's brass colored chassis. The bullets pinged against the metal to minor effect. Her bullets, while not effective to kill the Vex, was more than enough to do noticeable damage. With a high pitched whirring, the machines swiveled on their torsos, before raising their strange weapons.

    Demeter's eyes widened as she turned tail and sprinted to the nearest wall for cover. Blasts of Void energy, something Lance had told her on Titan that the Vex were capable of replicating, struck her cover, causing pieces of the strange metal concrete hybrid to slowly degrade. Exiting her cover, she instead opted to fire at the glowing white 'gem' at the lower part of their midsection.

    With a hiss and a pop, followed by another high pitched whir, the particular Vex Goblin she had been initially shooting at erupted in a splash of strange white, almost milky goo. It's chassis, now devoid of 'life' clattered to the ground unceremoniously. The other five Goblins paid no mind to their fallen comrade and continued their march on Demeter's position.

    As their continuous fire continued to chip away at her cover, she grit her teeth as one red-hot beam of energy struck her through the cover. Turning around to examine her previous cover, she discovered that it had in fact been compromised. Before she could seek out an alternative cover to use, another loud POP filled the chamber and all of her potential wall covers disappeared into the nothing.

    Taking a knee, Demeter fired another couple of bursts at the nearest Goblin, her rounds meeting their mark at the midsection of the white gem. With a similar effect to the previous Goblin, her target fell to the ground like the useless metal it was. The Vex troops, however, continued their advance. The frequency of their rounds outmatched her capabilities of returning fire. Gritting her teeth as one beam of energy struck and lanced her shoulder, Demeter had no choice but to seek cover.

    Glancing around, however, the walls were still missing. Jumping out of the way of another beam of energy, Demeter clenched her hands into fist and thrust her left shoulder out. With a pop, a large, transparent wall appeared in front of her. No matter how the Vex shot at it, the transparent wall absorbed it all.

    "Wait... how did you-?" Amethyst asked from her safe-space in Demeter's helmet.

    With her moment to breath, Demeter swapped her Pulse Rifle back onto her lower back, while she dislodged her SMG from her hip. Peeking around the wall, Demeter fired, full auto, at the nearest Vex Goblin. While the shots were accurate and somewhat stable, the act of going full auto caused some shots to strike the Goblin's head, tearing it from the mech's shoulders.

    That didn't stop the creature, as Demeter snapped a fresh magazine into the weapon, firing again. When enough bullets entered it's torso, the creature fell backwards into a heap. The wall she had created, after enough damage had been dealt to it, began to show signed of damage, namely a massive fissure directly in the center and fracturing to each of it's rectangular corners.

    Clenching her fist, the air around them filled with static again. Another swirling storm of Vex energy filled the air above her, as she dove to the side. Instead of a group of Vex creatures, however, a lone, monstrosity of a Vex machine, standing at least a head taller than her, twisted on it's torso before raising it's weapon to her. The Minotaur, while designed similarly to the Vex Goblins, was significantly taller and bulkier.

    With no idea how she summoned the wall, Demeter harnessed the Void Light inside of her, as the purple tendrils of energy once again spread across her arms and legs. The familiar hum of her Sentinel shield appearing on her arm echoed through the chamber, as she swiveled in air, tossing it. The Void shield struck the Minotaur's torso, popping a previously unseen Void energy shield covering the mech. The mere explosion of Void energy, on top of the shield, caused significant damage on the Minotaur's chassis.

    As her initial shield continued to ping between the remaining three Goblins, absorbing them into the Void, a second one formed on her arm. Using her Lift systems to boost herself forward, she swiped at the Minotaur's torso. The mech, however, disappeared from sight, letting out a deepened whir. Demeter glanced around for her target, until she heard the stomp from behind her.

    Turning back, the Minotaur was already swinging down on her. Gritting her teeth, Demeter raised her shield to block the trunk-like appendage. The force of the blow was enough to cause her teeth and skeleton to shudder, but ultimately no real damage had been done. Parrying the mech's arm aside, Demeter threw her full weight behind the shield and slammed the Minotaur torso first.

    Picking up speed, Demeter swiftly slammed the Minotaur's back into one of the circular devices that now laid dormant. With one last pained whir, the mech's torso twisted, it's arms popping off, and the white gem on it's lower torso erupted into more white goo. With the Minotaur and it's minions promptly dealt with, Demeter's shield disappeared out of sight and the Void tendrils receded. Taking a deep breath, she took the moment to properly reload her SMG as well as her Pulse Rifle.

    "So... Failsafe was it? Do you know how Cayde ended up this way?" Amethyst asked.

    "The Cayde-6 attempted to manipulate the Vex teleportation network~! As a result, he is now stuck in a non-linear loop~!" Failsafe chirped back. "In my defense, I did try to warn him~!"

    "However, he's... not that smart." Failsafe continued. "I have sent you his renewed coordinates~!"

    Demeter continued through the chamber into some tight caves and other tunnels. As she progressed, she couldn't help but feel curious about Failsafe and the Exodus Black. "So I know you've been here since the Golden Age, but... what was it like?"

    "I have seen many events transpire, like the fateful death of my crew at the hands of starvation, illness, and even the Vex at later points~!" Failsafe said, though her cheerful voice sounded saddened as she went along. "I have witnessed as the Vex have successfully converted this entire planetoid, kill it's inhabitants, reformat their molecules, and digitize brain waves for further study~! It's a fascinating process~! "

    "She seemed a bit too happy about that." Demeter whispered.

    "The Cayde-6 is just through that Vex Gate~!" Failsafe spoke up, as the waypoint on Demeter's HUD changed to another of the strange circular devices on the wall.

    Stepping through, Demeter felt weightless, but also a bit condensed as if the Universe around her was constricting and pulling her simultaneously. With a loud crashing noise, Demeter found herself walking out into what could only be described as a floating island in the center of a large abyss. Floating rocks and other debris were the only things she could see, minus what appeared to be the heavily reduced core of the planet, shriveled to the size of one City Transport ship.

    "Oh, hey! It's you again! Listen, you gotta get me outta-" Cayde appeared before Demeter, floating vicariously above the ledge just out of her reach.

    Beside Cayde, a flash of Vex energy popped into existence with another Vex storm. When the storm subsided, a massive chassis, far larger than a Minotaur, appeared. It's body was triangular in shape, with the base reversed so that the broader size was the top, dwindling down to a much more narrow size towards the bottom. A trio of glowing data matrices swiveled around the machine, as it approached her, a pair of Minotaur style Void explosive weapons on each of it's 'arms'.

    "Oh Traveler, that's a Hydra! Yeah, yeah... no you'd better handle that thing first. THEN GET ME OUTTA HERE."
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    Post  Shad0wChas3r December 17th 2017, 4:43 am

    Demeter took cover behind a nearby wall, pressing her back firmly against the cold concrete/metal hybrid. Quickly, she replaced her SMG on her hip in favor of the Pulse Rifle on her back. The Void Torch Hammers on the Hydra's 'arms' began pounding the back of the wall, the impacts causing her skeleton to chatter.

    Rounding the corner, she fired off a few salvos at the floating mech, as the white shield oscillating in front of it deflected the rounds entirely. With a mechanical roar, the machine returned fire on her position, once again causing Demeter to duck back into cover. With a grunt, Demeter's left eye began to surge and pulse with an unknown pain.

    ////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////

    A disturbing swirl of light and dark blues culminated into an unholy fog around Demeter. A watermelon green sky accompanied the visage of a fractured throne room. In the sky looming over the platform the broken down court hosted was a massive green tinted sphere that, to anyone with a knowledge of space, could assume was a star.

    Demeter gasped as the thick stench of death leaked in through her helmet, an unrelenting pressure weighing down on her shoulders. With a quick glance, a massive green and blue Hive Knight, who appeared incomplete, loomed over an ornately armored Titan in golden knight apparel. A Huntress, impaled on the Hive Knight's sword, was tossed unceremoniously to the Titan's feet.

    Thankful for Demeter, she was not noticed by either parties. Now familiar with the feeling of these visions, she carefully worked her way to the Titan's side, who was now knelt down, cradling the Huntress' head.

    "Why'd you do it, Lillian?"

    "You can't just punch your way through a shield that tough, Drake." the Huntress spoke weakly, as wisps of Light floated up from the wound in her stomach. "That sphere, I can sense it's dark power. You need to throw me at it."

    "I can't..." Drake shook his head. "I won't."

    "You have to." Lillian's hand gently touched the side of his face. "Lead these kids to a new Golden Age. I love you."

    "I love you too." Drake quietly spoke as he stood to full height, gingerly helping her to her feet.

    With little hesitation, the two locked their hands together, before Drake began spinning in wide circles, the more revolutions he did, the faster he span. The faster he span, the higher the light Huntress rose. His head bowed, the Titan's head suddenly snapped up, as light blue flames erupted from the crown of his helmet.

    "You love Superman so much?!" he roared, his voice booming throughout the chamber. "THEN FLY LIKE HIM!!"

    At the apex of one of his spins, Drake tossed Lillian high into the air. At the height of her launch, she produced a void bow from her back and proceeded to let loose a hail of void arrows that struck the green sphere in the sky. Crashing face first into it, as well as the void arrows, Lillian and the sphere disappeared from the sky, leaving the throne room in an eerie, heart pounding silence.

    "Arianna." the Titan said silently, producing his red shelled Ghost with an odd pink eye. "Return to the others with that Mote of Light Xur gave us. Get out of here."

    "You say that like you're not coming with us."

    "Not right now, no." Drake turned to the Ghost, the Hive Knight still stunned from the unseen attack Lillian had inflicted on it. "Go. This is something that's been a long time coming."

    With a sigh, the red Ghost floated past Demeter. However, as she did, Demeter's heart pounded a little harder as it looked over towards her and, with a nod, floated past her as if nothing had just transpired. The very same pressure that had weighed down on Demeter intensified as the air around her crackled with newfound heat. In a burst of energy unlike anything she had felt in her lives, Demeter witnessed as an explosive wave of golden Light erupted from Drake.

    A hi-jacked Hive Knight's sword was clutched intensely in Drake's hand, as the very same golden Light that enveloped him encompassed the sword as well, igniting it with dark blue fire intermingled with tinges of gold. In his left hand, Demeter had just noticed, was a small orb of what appeared to be void Light. Clenching his hand down on it, a flawless purple shield, much like her Sentinel shield, formed on his left arm.

    Standing firm, Drake stanced himself as the Hive Knight, unable to completely recover it's overshield, stood to it's full height, well above the Titan's. Pointing his flame covered sword at the Hive Knight, Drake bashed it against the void shield. With another wave of pure gold Light, Demeter grit her teeth as she narrowly avoided being thrown from her feet. Covering her eyes from the brilliance of the Light, she managed to stabilize as the scene continued to play out.

    "I am Drake Stratus! Son of Kabr the Legionless and heir to the Titan Vanguard's of old." Drake's voice boomed into the abyss around them. "Bring your worst, Crota. I am the wall against which the Darkness breaks!"

    With a mighty roar from Crota, the two swordsmen clashed their swords against each other, each one a battle of strength and wit from the other. Crota swung down, as Drake's flawless void shield turned the blade aside, allowing him to slash a mighty wound across Crota's incomplete torso.

    With another downward swing, Drake raised his shield to deflect the attack, but was shocked as the shield shattered, the residual Light of Lillian being absorbed back into the Titan's gauntlet. Another pulse of golden Light erupted from the Titan, as he, with his left arm now mangled by the Hive sword embedded in it, ran Crota through with the sword.

    Crota, who was initially happy with it's killing blow, stiffened as the sword embedded in his chest began to smoke exponentially. Drake, on the verge of losing consciousness, weakly glanced up at the Hive Knight with a cocky smirk, hidden behind his half destroyed helmet. "My family line is known for our fire. I didn't expect you to know that, but if you play with fire, you're apt to get burned."

    The ground around Demeter began to quake as the throne room's already destroyed architecture crumbled. Debris and dust settled around them as a massive pillar of fire several meters across slammed down on Crota's position. The fiery tornado enveloped the Hive Knight and the Titan, the force of the impact launching Demeter several meters behind her.

    "Guardian Down. Arianna spoke, looming over the now unconscious Demeter, who laid between a significantly younger Lance and Chelsea. "He overused his Light, and I wasn't able to resurrect him for a full year and a half. You won't be so lucky if you don't use yours a little more sparingly."

    Lance and Chelsea seemed preoccupied with something else, but Demeter paid notice that Arianna wasn't speaking to them, she was speaking to Demeter. "W-Who are you?"

    "Drake's Ghost, weren't you paying attention?" the Ghost chuckled. "Let this serve as a lesson. You have the potential to be very powerful, but you need to be more reserved. After all, I can't keep overclocking your Light every time you're in a pinch. "

    "I don't understa-"

    ////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////

    Demeter lurched forward as she gasped for air. Shaking her head, she coughed as she glanced down at her right hand. A ball of void Light formed in her hand. Closing her eyes, she focused on the ball, ignoring the constant fire of the Vex Hydra behind her.

    Focusing her breathing, she could feel minute pulses in the orb, almost like a heartbeat. Allowing her heart-rate to coincide with the pulses of the orb, her eyes snapped open, and she held a deeper understanding. What Drake had said in that vision was true, she would be the wall against which the Darkness would break.

    Clenching her fist on the orb of Light, the same flawless Sentinel shield she had called upon formed on her left arm once more. However, this time the Void tendrils that had formed on her arms and legs were no longer present, and she felt considerably lighter, yet more resilient. With a smile, she rounded the corner and lifted the shield up to her face level.

    With a pulse of purple colored Void energy, her shield deflected the incoming Torch Hammer rounds from the Hydra. When the Hydra slowed it's fire, Demeter lowered her shield and sprinted at full speed at the Hydra. Cayde, who floated helplessly in the air behind the Hydra, stared in wonder and amazement as she bounded off of her right foot, swung her shield for more momentum, and used her Lift to boost into the Hydra, Sentinel shield first.

    The resounding crunch of metal denting echoed throughout the abyss of the Centaur's core. The Hydra shrieked mechanically as it was launched several meters back by the sheer force of her shield. Demeter landed on the edge of the cliff narrowly, as she stuck a magnetic grenade to the Sentinel shield. With a twirl, she threw the shield at the momentarily stunned Hydra.

    The booby trapped shield flew effortlessly like a frisbee through the air, striking the Hydra head on. Now within proximity of a hostile target, the magnetic grenade erupted twice. With a catastrophic BOOM! the Hydra seized to exist, though the echoes of it's explosion lasted for several minutes after the fact.

    "Hey, that was really fantastic... now get over here before I disappear again!" Cayde called out to her as he was randomly teleported to the center of the platform, just behind her.

    Demeter sighed as she turned to face the helpless Hunter, who flailed his limbs like a headless chicken towards her. With a shake of her head, she jogged over towards him, though he was much higher than she could reach.

    "Any day now Titan. I don't know how long this one will stick."

    "How did you even?"

    "Stop stop stopstopstop. Look, it may not look like I know what I'm doing, but trust me, I do, okay, maybe not. Doesn't matter." Cayde shook his head, his limbs still flailing around. "I may have inadvertently messed up the power supply in the next room over, which locked me in here. If you were to cut that power, it might get me out of the system."

    Demeter glanced at Cayde as he helplessly continued to struggle out of the situation. "Hello? Earth to Titan. Am I making any sense here? Come on, say something? SAY ANYTHING PLEASE."

    "I can do that, but I still want to know how-"

    "Oh my cotton socks, did you NOT hear what I just said." Cayde grumbled as, in a flash, he was gone again.

    "You said Lillian taught him?" Demeter asked as Amethyst appeared over her shoulder. "He doesn't seem like the kind to handle life off the Tower well."

    "Why do you think the old Vanguard before him legally binded him through a bet?" Amethyst shook her form. "Of course, he really doesn't have a choice thanks to Ghaul."

    "Cayde's Ghost just sent me the coordinates to the power supply, let's get him out before it dumps him in some enemy territory."

    Demeter turned in the direction Cayde had pointed and began marching. Thankfully, with the death of the Hydra, any Vex in the area had seemed to retreat, even if it was only momentarily. Clearing her way through another corridor, Demeter found herself in a small secluded room with a strange bear trap like object on a plinth.

    "Failsafe, is this the teleporter?" Demeter asked.

    "Yes, I am sending directions to your Ghost on how to properly set the destination vector~. When you pick it up, it should bring you and the Cayde-6 to a safe location~!"

    With a light nod for Amethyst, the small purple Ghost floated down to the bear trap like device and with a beam of Light and data, reconfigured it. As soon as Demeter picked it up, the feeling she had experienced earlier with a teleporter soon kicked in, and she found herself whisked away, with the teleporter in hand.

    With a gasp, Demeter landed in a very strange aquamarine colored pond just outside of a massive wrecked ship. A blue energy shield covered an entrance into the ship, as a handful of Fallen clawed at it, Cayde-6, on the other side of the shield, mocked the Fallen with an odd dance, before receding back inside.

    "I don't know what you did Kid, but it worked. Thanks for the assistance there, but don't get too used to me asking for help." Cayde chuckled over the comms. "I see you've met my twin friends, Failsafe, and her evil-twin Failsafe."

    "Which one is the evil one?" Demeter asked, as she took aim at the preoccupied Fallen just outside the shield door.

    "If I had feelings, they would be hurt~!" Demeter's heart dropped at the sheer sadness hidden within the otherwise cheerful voice of Failsafe.

    Opening fire on the handful of Dregs and Vandals, they were dispatched with relative ease and quickness. After moment had passed and Demeter was sure she was in the clear, she approached the shield door for herself. Walking up to it, an unpleasant jolt shocked her arm, as she took a sharp step back.

    "Intruder Alert~!"

    "Is it still the Fallen? My Eliksni is a bit rusty, but I recall one of those Vandals saying something about ripping the beautiful horn off of my face."

    "It's just me, Failsafe. Well, and my Ghost Amethyst."

    "Oh, so it was you that dispatched the Fallen. Changing crew registry.
    Welcome aboard, Captain~!
    "

    "Captain?" Demeter asked as the shield door disappeared, taking a cautious step inside. "What about the previous Captain?"

    "Oh you know... he's super dead."

    "Lovely."

    /////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////

    Demeter sighed as she walked into the only available room in the Exodus Black. To her right, a rotating core of some kind occasionally glowed a soft orange color, before also occasionally shifting into a harsh, deep blood red color. As she approached, a small orange and red Ghost floated cautiously at the lip of a stair, as a hand reached up and pulled it down.

    Cayde-6's head popped up over his makeshift cover, as Demeter silently shook the teleporter in her hand. With a stern nod, Cayde stood up with a grin and rolled his mechanical neck.

    "So the rumors my Ghost told me are true." Cayde walked casually, almost methodically towards her. "You managed to find the Light. Not that I'm jealous or anything, but, I dunno, could you maybe take a rest? You're kind of making me look bad here."

    "What were you planning to do with a Vex teleporter?" Demeter asked as she slowly approached, tossing him the machine in her hand.

    "Well, planned on getting close with Ghaul. We'd dance, he'd roar like the ugly rhino he is, I'd put a bullet in his head." Cayde grunted as he tweaked the machine a bit, much to Demeter's concern. "Then maybe stop by my favorite ramen shop... or get a nice juicy sandwich."

    "You can't possibly think you can do this alone?" Demeter took a step forward. "Not without the Light."

    "The Light doesn't define me. It enhances me. Just means my revenge on Ghaul for breaking my stuff will be all the more sweeter." Cayde shook his head.

    "It doesn't work like that. I used to be Lightless myself, in fact, I didn't have the Light when the Tower fell." Demeter took a step forward, frustration causing her fists to clench. "The people need you Cayde, and you throwing yourself head-long into a battle you can't win isn't the way to do it."

    "The hell I can't- OW!" Cayde grimaced as the teleporter zapped him in the middle of his tinkering.

    "Look, even if by some sheer miracle you killed Ghaul in this exact second, the Red Legion have a super weapon pointed at our Sun. When they leave a system, either in victory or in defeat, they leave nothing behind. No bravado driven Exo Hunters, no Spicy Ramen shops, not even puppies." Demeter took another apprehensive step forward. "With all due respect, Cayde, this plan will bring nothing but destruction and ruin to us all."

    "Look, I get it. The Cabal are bad guys that do cliche, villainous things. I get that, but have you seen my cool Handcannon and I?" Cayde glanced at a piece of the machine that he had accidentally removed, before tossing it aside with little care.

    "I don't think you do, sir." Demeter growled, as Amethyst appeared over her shoulder and stared at her student. "The Cabal will leave literally nothing behind."

    The teleporter suddenly shut around Cayde's hands, binding the Hunter as Demeter and her newfound frustration left a pressure indescribable in the room. Cayde's eyes widened as he struggled to free himself, the frustrated Titan advancing towards him.

    "They have a weapon pointed directly at our Sun, a weapon that can destroy a sun and literally wipe out everything in the Solar System." Demeter's fists clenched harder. "Has the Light really caused people to lose common sense this easily?!"

    With a mighty tug, Cayde managed to dislodge himself, scampering backwards away from the teleporter, holding a single hand out to stop her advance. "Woah woah woah, take it easy before you blow a gasket kiddo."

    With a sigh, Demeter relaxed as Cayde hurriedly picked up the teleporter and began to walk past her. "Zavala has a plan, you know. He needs you, desperately."

    "It's Zavala, when does he not have a pla- Wait." Cayde paused, turning to her with a mischievous smile on his face. "Zavala told you he needs me. Like, Commander of the Vanguard, bald blue guy with an affinity for knitting,
    that Zavala?
    "

    "Wait, Zavala knits?" Demeter shook her head, before continuing. "Yes, he told Deputy Commander Sloan, Lord Stratus, and I that he needed to get his fireteam back together. That he needs you and Ikora."

    "Woah woah woah slow up there. Please tell me your Ghost recorded Zavala saying that. O-Or at least tell me if he cried, he cried, didn't he?"

    "No, but he did demolish a perfectly good metal table." Demeter shrugged.

    "Drat, I would have totally earned some good glimmer from this one bet I-, wait. Ikora wasn't there?" Cayde's eye lights dulled for a moment as he glanced at Demeter.

    "No," Demeter shook her head, confused. "We... we were hoping you knew where she was. She is alive, right?"

    "She's a Crucible legend, and even Zavala has openly stated fear about her. If any of us was confirmed to have survived the City, besides yours truly, it'd have been her." Cayde replied, albeit much duller and uncharacteristic of himself. "With that in mind, I know where she would go. Io, it's the last place the Traveler touched. It's a sacred place to all Guardians anyways, but it's extra special for her."

    Cayde shuffled past Demeter, all of his previous ecstasy from the Zavala comment sucked right from him, as he clasped a meaningful hand on her shoulder.

    "-and Titan? Thank you for saving me. I owe you one."
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    Post  Shad0wChas3r December 17th 2017, 5:01 pm

    "I've never seen Cayde so... upset before. I mean, I once witnessed him beat down Rahool in a dark back alley when he tried to pull a fast one on him with a sock filled with purple engrams." Amethyst sighed as their ship once again found itself in the FTL tube en route to the Jovian Moon, Io. "There have always been rumors that he and Ikora had a thing, but, neither of them would admit it, especially in the other's presence."

    "Cayde mentioned that Io was a sacred place for Guardians, but I've not really heard of many Guardians making a pilgrimage there." Demeter turned to Amethyst. "He said it was the last place the Traveler touched?"

    "Yes. When Drake, Lillian, and Jeremy were still the Vanguard, it was the Golden Age, leading into the Collapse. I shouldn't need to explain that the Golden Age was Humanity's highest point, where the Collapse lead to the Dark Ages." Amethyst turned her frame to face Demeter. "The Traveler was very much awake, and the Speaker was the one who would interpret what the Traveler's message was. The Traveler would visit the many worlds in the Solar system and make them lush and capable of sustaining life. Yes, even the moons."

    "The Darkness took notice of the Traveler's presence here, and followed it to our System. Our first signs of warning were the Hive's invasion of Luna, Earth's Moon. Drake, Jeremy, and Lillian, the Vanguard themselves, lead a mighty defense against the invasion, but they met something. Crota, the Son of Oryx." Amethyst shook her form. "I wasn't present during that fight,
    or the fight where Drake managed to avenge Jeremy. However, when Drake returned from Luna without Lillian and their Warlock companion Jeremy, I knew something was going to happen.
    "

    "The Collapse fell upon us shortly after Drake's passing at the battle of Twilight Gap. With no Ghost to resurrect him or our fallen troops, we lost a considerable amount of viable men and women,
    many of which still, to this day, have not been revived.
    " Amethyst sighed. "Io was the last place the Traveler touched before the Darkness itself came. I didn't live long enough to see them personally, all I know is that they came in strange, vantablack ships."

    "That shard of the Traveler that you got your Light from?" Amethyst turned back to Demeter. "One of the Darkness' ships lanced the bottom of the Traveler as it tried to escape. With a pulse of Light unlike anything we had ever seen, the Darkness ships were forced to retreat, and the first wave of Ghosts were shipped out. I was resurrected shortly afterwards."

    "So that's why the Traveler was deemed 'dead', and remains dormant above the City. It expended all of it's Light in that one attack." Demeter frowned, glancing at the end of the FTL tube in front of her. "That's what Arianna meant."

    "You talked to Arianna? How? She died in the Plaguelands a year ago." Amethyst rotated her shell with confusion. "Unless... that's why your heart-rate lowered earlier. You had another vision, from the Traveler, didn't you?"

    "I guess. I watched Drake and Lillian take down the one you called Crota." Demeter shrugged. "Arianna was there, and she told me to conserve my Light because 'I don't have enough to keep supplying you in a pinch.' or something like that."

    "I see. Well, that can either be a good thing or a bad thing. For now, I don't think you're ready for the truth." Amethyst said. "I promise that I will tell you soon, but not right now."

    //////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////

    The atmosphere of Io was filled with a delicate robin's egg blue. With soft touches of lime and soft greens. As Demeter's ship broke the surface, she found herself piloting over a large canyon with what appeared to be a strange circular plinth growing out of the ground. On a nearby cliff overlooking the plinth was a woman robed in a purple gown. Turning her ship in an immediate one eighty, Demeter slowed the ship's acceleration, as Amethyst transmatted them both down beside her.

    "In all of the years since my rebirth, of all the places I have returned to, time and time again. I always find comfort here, in the last place the Traveler touched." Ikora said calmly, her hand gently pointing to the Plinth. "I remember when my mentor Osiris, and his mentor Jeremy brought me here to witness the Traveler's miracle. I was forced to wear a helmet then, as this moon had not become what it is yet. That spectacle... it was truly inspiring."

    "I don't need an introduction." the Warlock Vanguard turned to Demeter. "I recognize your armor from the day the City fell. I must ask you a question about perspective. When you see that platform in the distance. What do you feel?"

    "As someone who hasn't been a Guardian for more than a week, I see it as a reminder of the days from before." Demeter folded her hands behind her back, straightening her posture. "-but I also see what can be achieved again."

    "That's a very noble thought to have, young Titan. One that I admire very much." Ikora smiled, as she dipped her head. "I too see this place for what it was, but I also see it as a reminder of our, no, my hubris."

    "For years, I had always used the Light as a way of putting myself a cut above the rest. Whether it was demolishing my fellow Guardians in the Crucible, or throwing a Nova Bomb at a pack of Cabal, I always put on the airs of an untouchable goddess." Ikora frowned, shaking her head. "I came here seeking answers for why the Tower and City fell that fateful day, three weeks ago. Yet I stand here now with more questions than I had when I first arrived."

    "Zavala plans to lead a resistance to take back the City." Demeter turned to her. "He needs you-"

    "What good is a counter attack when you would be the only one to survive?" Ikora shook her head, sorrowful brown eyes peering into Demeter's visor. "Besides. I know this... Ghaul creature knows the Traveler once blessed this place."

    "Several planetary mining drills have been put in place all over, and they've been excavating something for days now." Ikora shook her head. "Even if I wanted to leave to join this suicidal counter attack, I cannot leave knowing this holy place is desecrated."

    Ikora's eyes began to mist with tears as she slowly turned to face Demeter, her eyes piercing through Demeter's helmet. "Save this place, Guardian. Show the Cabal still here that the Light isn't just capable of miracles... but also ultimate destruction on those opposed to it."

    With not another word more, Ikora gently lowered herself onto her knees and folded her hands in her lap. Her head dipped, as she closed her eyes, now deep in meditation. With a silent, curt nod, Demeter began to walk away. Before she could get too far, however, the ground beneath them shook, wrestling Ikora from her meditation, as the sky above them erupted in a plume of bright bluish white energy.

    "The... Traveler's energy." Ikora's eyes widened. "The Cabal's base is in that direction, hurry Guardian!"

    ////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////

    "What are the Cabal after here, none of this adds up." Ikora grit her teeth over the mic. "I hate feeling like this. I have died and been reborn several times, but now that the Traveler has left me with one life... I'm so afraid to lose it."

    "That might happen anyways, to all of us." Demeter frowned as she took cover behind a rock wall, a trio of Cabal Legionaries patrolling the entrance to one of their firebases. "The Red Legion has a weapon pointed directly at our Sun."

    "What? Why would they plan to destroy all that they have worked so hard to conquer... unless- You need to get into that base, Demeter."

    Demeter tensed as the air filled with the sound of several Cabal ship engines roaring to life at once. Glancing upwards, she watched as at least ten or so Cabal Dominators took off from within the base and left the moon's atmosphere.

    "Looks like the Cabal are closing shop. Whatever they found here, they're taking it with them." Amethyst replied.

    "I see. Still, work your way inside and see what you can find out."

    Demeter nodded to herself, pulling her SMG from her hip and rounding the corner. With short controlled bursts, she managed to down the three space rhinos and slip into the open door to the compound. Checking her corners, she lowered her weapon as she took notice of her surroundings.

    Strange pock marks of black/white energy swirled along the various walls and floors. Shining balls of the same demonic energy floated nearby. Demeter froze, as Amethyst blitzed out of hiding beside Demeter.

    "W-what is this stuff?" Demeter asked, a chill running up and down her spine.

    "It's the Taken."
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    Post  Shad0wChas3r December 18th 2017, 1:05 am

    "Wait, the Taken?" Demeter turned to her Ghost, SMG at the ready. "I thought you said Drake killed their leader."

    "He did, I was there when it happened." Amethyst shook her form. "They shouldn't exist, the Taken Oryx Took would have disappeared after his death."

    "Not necessarily." Ikora cut in, nearly scaring Demeter half to death. "Oryx took their souls, but if memory serves, Drake Took Oryx. When Drake died, whatever remnant energy that he possessed was likely re-encountered by the Hive. This would explain Eris' sudden disappearance after Drake's death."

    "Bah, what's with all this concentration shattering gaffaw taking place on this channel? I have studies to attend to!" a strange, nasaly voice echoed from the comms.

    "Asher Mir? What are you doing on Io?"

    "Well, after escaping that hospital during the attack, my Ghost and I fled here to Io in search of vengeance against the Vex Mind that stole my arm." Asher grumbled. "My research has constantly been interrupted by comm chatter between you blithering idiots and the Cabal with their 'Almighty'."

    "So you are aware of their plans to destroy our Sun and this system?" Ikora replied, while Demeter carefully crept her way through the room, avoiding the rifts in the wall and floating in the air around her as best as she could muster.

    "Of course I am, just as I'm aware that this Commander 'Vuvuzuela' intends to, as most Titans do, resolve this issue with his fists instead of his lack of a brain."

    "It's called desperation, Asher. Ikora sighed. "He too is likely afraid to lose his final life."

    "Desperation is a fool's folly. From the brief data streams I've intercepted, the Almighty is not something that can be destroyed with brute force. It would require a considerable amount of finesse." Asher grumbled. "You there, the meddling Guardian on this line. If you can get further into that Cabal base, you will send me access to their databanks and I can proliferate it exponentially to get the information we seek."

    "What?" Demeter asked, as a notable growl of annoyance echoed from Asher's end.

    "Of course the Guardian responsible for our survival is a Titan." Asher grumbled some more intelligible words.

    "What I think Asher means to say is, Taken presence or not, you need to get deep into that base and connect to the Cabal systems. We might be lucky enough to find something useful about this 'Almighty'."

    "Yes, YES. I JUST said that. Were you not listening you baffoon?"

    "I hope you aren't talking to me, Asher."

    "You may annoy me Ikora Rey, but I am not stupid. I know not to bad-mouth you, Light or not."

    With a sigh, Amethyst cut the line while the two ex-Warlocks bickered back and forth with each other. Demeter sidled her way around one of the goopy rifts on the floor, as an ear piercing snap filled the air. The sound of wind rushing echoed throughout the emptied base as she turned back to see a sphere of the dark and light energies coalesce and release it's contents onto the floor.

    A shambling mass of three Cabal Psions, or at least they were Psions before, a couple of Cabal Phalanxes, and a single Vex Minotaur stood in front of her. Their bodies convulsed and shuddered in inhuman, almost painful to see ways. With a gurgle from the trio of Psions, Demeter watched as they sickening split into pairs, creating now a total of six.

    Reaching her left hand out, she felt a solid form of Void Light form in her hand, and with a flick of her left hand, she tossed the newly formed Suppression grenade at their feet. With a blinding flash of Void Light, the four Psions closest to the grenade shrieked as their husk like, gelatinous bodies swirled, dragged into small inter-dimensional rifts.The remaining two sickening attempted to split again, but found themselves unable to by the binding Void Light of the grenade.

    Raising her SMG, Demeter made short work of the remaining Psions, aiming for the ominous white 'eye' at the top of their forms. Shrieking in their garbled, tortured voices, the remaining two Psions shriveled into the same rifts as their companions. The Vex Minotaur however, was cloaked to an almost unseen state. With the only giveaway being the light wisps of black energy trailing off, and the shimmer of air as it moved towards her.

    She didn't need to worry about that, however, as the pair of Taken Phalanxes raised their shields, a strange swirled pattern on them began to glow, as an unholy force erupted from the end of the shields and struck her in the midsection. Gasping for air, the wind properly knocked out of her, Demeter shook her head as she struggled to stand.

    "No!" Amethyst shook her form in front of Demeter's face. "You're not yet strong enough to deal with the Taken. If you fight this, you will die. Just run, Dem, RUN!"

    "Wuh, wuh?" Demeter tried to ask, but found herself unable to speak briefly.

    "Those two shield blasts would have been non-lethal to a veteran Guardian whose Light is properly honed. You are still learning to control it, and you aren't very powerful because of it. Those two hits would have killed you had I not preemptively healed you." Amethyst said, using her tiny form to help Demeter to her feet.

    Without another word or exasperation, Demeter charged further into the base. While it was against her better judgement and Amethyst's wishes, she couldn't afford any time to hesitate. The Almighty could go off any day, and every second she wasted was a second Humanity and it's allies didn't have.

    "You're going the wrong way, Dem!" Amethyst called after her, before disappearing back into her helmet. "DEM!"

    Demeter shook of the yelling in her ear as she struggled to sprint into the adjacent room, ducking past the remaining Taken that pursued her. As she ducked around a corner, she rested her hands on her knees and permitted herself to catch her breath. She could hear the bubbling noises of her pursuers behind her, and continued her dead sprint further into the compound. A pair of Taken Psions appeared in front of Demeter, their gnarled bodies twitching in anticipation to consume the Light.

    Raising her SMG, her eyes widened as the weapon was utterly destroyed. Reaching for the Pulse Rifle on her back, she realized the weapon was missing. With a growl of annoyance, she figured it must have scattered off when she had been thrown back. Continuing her pace, she could feel the Sentinel shield forming on her left arm. It was by no means her actual Super ability, but it would serve the purpose she needed.

    Thrusting her full body into the shield, she smashed the closest Psion shield-face first with all of her weight. The Psion's gnarled body made a sickening crunch, as void energy erupted from the shield and enveloped the two Psions, absorbing them into the nothingness that was the void. Ducking her head down, Demeter barreled through a partially busted rising door, removing it with little effort.

    "Alright, we're here now. What's the exit strategy Dem?" Amethyst sighed, glancing around.

    "There." Demeter pointed to a hole in the ceiling, which, based by the burn marks that surrounded it, had formed from an eruption of some kind. "You can transmat me to the ship there."

    Holding out her hand to the terminal in front of her, Demeter took the sheet metal from the door she had unhinged and held it against the door-frame behind her. Amethyst set to work on scanning the terminal, while the constant pounding of the Taken troops echoed across the metal Demeter struggled to continue holding.

    More snaps filled the air as more Taken Blights containing further Taken troops began to encircle the room around her. Gritting her teeth, Demeter held firm, even with the Psions taking pot shots at her back.

    "How's the scan going?!" she yelled over to the now cloaked Amethyst.

    "The data stream is nearly here. However, the information itself is very poor." Asher grumbled. "The Almighty is inextricably bound to the harmonic frequencies of the Sun's magnetic tubes-"

    "ENGLISH PLEASE?!" Demeter shrieked as the enemy fire in her back finally burst the energy shield her Light had offered her.

    "It means if Zavala blows up the Almighty, he brings the Sun with it." Ikora replied, with concern. "Demeter, get out of there. There is nothing left for me here, I must rejoin my fire-team. Asher, I'll need you to keep an eye out here."

    Demeter grunted as she dropped the sheet metal, sprinted for Amethyst, grabbed her, and initiated her Lift, jumping for the hole in the ceiling. Her ship zoomed over head, and with a flash of Light, she was gone, already en-route back to Earth. She was hurt, she needed weapons, and she needed rest. As she entered the FTL tube, she noticed another star-ship enter beside her. With a courteous bow from Ikora, the two ships made their way back to Earth, back to the Farm.
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    Post  Shad0wChas3r December 18th 2017, 5:43 am

    "It is good to see you again, young Titan." Shaxx nodded firmly as he clasped a hand endearingly on her shoulder. "It seems you have gotten a fair bit stronger since last I saw you, just a mere three days ago."

    "It's been three days?" Demeter groaned as the medics tended to her wounds along her back, wounds that Amethyst wasn't capable of mending in the short time span. "How is that possible?"

    "Time has no meaning to a Guardian. We are immortal, and we have no timers so long as the Light is with us." Shaxx folded his arms behind him. "You managed to not only reunite the Vanguard, but your efforts have brought Fireteam Stratus back to us."

    "With the assistance of your friends and Fireteam, we were able to host several successful snatch and grabs from Cabal patrols in the area. As well as salvage weapons and resources necessary to aid our efforts." Shaxx gaffawed. "If I did not know any better, I would have thought you were perhaps my old Mentor, Drake Stratus, or perhaps his best friend, Saint-14. Your feats will be sung about for eons to come, should we be victorious in our plans to liberate the City."

    "I didn't really think I was amounting to much." Demeter sighed, as the last stitch was finally in place, the back of her armor transmatted back on thanks to Amethyst.

    "On the contrary." Shaxx returned his hands to his sides, clenching his right fist and smacking it into his open left palm. "Your efforts have been the morale boost this budding community needs. Thanks to you reuniting the Vanguard and Fireteam Stratus, people have been more than willing to lend themselves to the cause."

    "I have seen personally to the upgrades to your effects and made an immediate requisition for materials necessary to forge new weapons for you." Shaxx once again rested a hand on her shoulder. "You have been through a bunch, however, you need to rest. Pay no mind, my Red-Jacks have prepared you a space in the attic at the barn. The Vanguard will wish to speak with you later."

    //////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////

    "So you're back, huh?" Samuel snickered as he sharpened his knife on a portable whetstone, sitting in the emptied windowsill beside her bed spread. "You know it's rude to keep your fireteam waiting. What with Alex constantly bitching that you were dead and that we should've gone with you. Yadda yadda yadda."

    "I heard you were kept plenty busy, Sam." Demeter snickered as she continued polishing her new set of Sword-flight Armor, having just recently woken from her rest. "Both of you. You shouldn't have had time to worry."

    "Oh I wasn't worried. I figured either you'd come back successful, or you would die. No in between." Samuel whistled through his teeth as he used his now sharpened knife to continue widdling on a piece of wood. "I was more concerned what Alex would have done if you didn't come back. We haven't really known you that long or interacted with you for very long, but she would carry Ghaul's soon to be dead corpse up Felwinter peak and back ten times over if it meant saving your life."

    "She's a warlock, so you can understand how much that equates to." Samuel grunted as he hopped out of the windowsill beside her. "Got to spend some time with the legendary Fireteam Stratus. Gotta say, they aren't as douchey as people made them out to be. I'll see you around, Frisbee."

    Confused why Samuel was in such a rush to leave, Demeter glanced up at the blonde Warlock standing at the top of the stairs leading to her loft. Tears streamed down the young woman's face as she sprinted towards Demeter, practically tackling her.

    "I thought you were dead, that you weren't ever coming back!" Alex cried into her shoulder. "If I had to spend one more minute with that inconsiderate asshole I was going to Nova bomb him and scatter the ashes."

    "That's a bit harsh." Demeter said as Alex's hug somehow rivaled a Titan's bearhug and nearly caused her to lose the air in her lungs. "I -cough- thought you two were friends?"

    "We are, but he wasn't concerned for you in the slightest!" Alex shook her head, detaching herself from Demeter. "The first day was fine, but after the second and then the third, I started to fear the worst. Especially because Lance Stratus and Commander Zavala came back, but you weren't with them."

    "I was asked to seek out Cayde and Ikora too." Demeter rubbed the back of her head. "I couldn't contact you, but believe me when I say I would have told you if I could."

    With a sniffle, Alex rubbed the tears from her eyes and gently wrapped her arms around Demeter. "I'm sorry I'm being so clingy. It's just, you're the first person not to call me a dumb blonde."

    "You make it sound like it's frequent?" Demeter asked, as the Warlock silently nodded her head. "Well shame on them anyways. You wouldn't be a Warlock if you were dumb, would you? It's like the stereotype that all Titans are stupid because we prefer physical action. We're master tacticians and warlords."

    There was a knock on the post by the loft, as Demeter and Alex turned to see Lance in semi-restored Iron Lord armor, as well as Lillian and Chelsea at his flanks. With a smile from Alex, she excused herself and gently brushed by Chelsea, descending the stairs.

    "Sorry to interrupt your, erm, reunion?" Lance rubbed the back of his head. "I just wanted to thank you again for saving my life on Titan, and helping me out. This is Lillian and Chelsea, though Lillian informed me you met."

    "A pleasure." Chelsea nodded with a bow, as Lillian waved. "Thank you for saving Lance, and returning him to us safely. It impresses me that the Light managed to not only find it's way to you, but the other members of your Fireteam."

    "Knowing Drake, he has a thing for the ones with potential. A trait he earned from his dad." Lillian sighed. "Thank you very much for saving my great grandson. I know I may not look like the role, but it's true. You can count on us, Light or not, to be by your side when the attack on the City takes place."

    "Oh, that reminds me." Lance frowned as he approached Demeter. "When I arrived at the Farm the other day, Shaxx approached me in regards to you. He said you had brought a handle of some sort to him."

    Demeter's eyes widened as she recalled the strange metal tube she had recovered from Amethyst's corpse all those weeks ago. She had kept it with her ever since then as a symbol to keep moving forward. Reaching onto her back, she realized that it wasn't there.

    "Don't panic. Shaxx recovered it and said it had a familiar warmth to it. He couldn't quite place it, and in truth, I couldn't really either. It's as if something is blocking that memory from me." Lance sighed, as he produced the handle, and what appeared to be a bird shaped head that seemed to match it. "I found this on our way out of the City. The two pieces had a feeling of warmth to them that matched, so I assume they go together."

    "You should have the expletives Shaxx was yelling as he tried to mend them together." Chelsea stifled a laugh. "It's almost as rich as the excitement he gets when a Guardian sustains a 'defeat' streak in the Crucible. FIGHT FOREVER, GUARDIAN!"

    "Anyways." Lance gave an accusatory glance at Chelsea. "They belong to you, based off of the fact that you possessed one piece of the two. Who knows, maybe it means something to you?"

    With a final shrug, Lance and his fireteam slowly walked their way down the stairs. Demeter stood to full height, placing the two pieces on her bed spread, as Amethyst replaced her now polished new armor over her civilian clothes. Rolling her neck as the helmet was replaced, Demeter reached down and grasped the two pieces of the hammer like object.

    With a sharp jolt of pain and a yelp from Demeter, she fell to a knee as she grasped the side of her helmet. Visions of the Traveler and a fledgling City sprawling underneath it showed again, lead by a golden falcon, before showing the shard of the Traveler to her once more.

    "It is time. Return to the forest, bring the Warlock and Hunter. You will need them, as I need you three..."

    ////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////

    The last few times Demeter had been here, a hollow feeling in her stomach had surged and made the air thick with an unknown tension. Now the hollow feeling was gone, but the corrupt tension was still there. Amethyst had informed her that when the Collapse happened, the Darkness had lanced the Traveler and caused the Shard to cascade here into the EDZ.

    Was this Light holy, and was the legendary Titan that addressed her through the Light of the Shard actually still an agent of the Light? Or did it's consciousness also become fetid, festering with the Darkness? Demeter shuddered to think as she, Alex, and Samuel trudged through the swamp that was a result of a recent rain.

    "What are we doing here?" Samuel huffed, ducking beneath a low hanging branch. "Alex and I both recovered our Nova Bomb and Golden Gun techniques without the influence of this forest."

    "The same voice that lead me here told me it was of great importance." Demeter shrugged as she bent the branch and snapped it off with relative ease. "I'm just as uneasy about this as you are, but this voice gave us the Light back, so there has to be some trust owed."

    "You all have come seeking agency within the Light. When I first met with you, young Demeter, you came to me broken, but determined. Now you stand before me with strength, a sense of wholeness, and unbreakable conviction. " the voice echoed throughout the forest. "Samuel, the silver tongued Hunter that convinced and led the young scholar, Alexandrie, to a hostile land and managed to keep her unharmed. You both were met with a mixture of shame and fear, yet now you show nothing but pride and hope."

    "The past three days have seen trials for the three of you. Those that came seeking the Light as a means of either redemption, or a sense of community. I have witnessed immense growth in all of you." the voice continued, as a familiar swirl of energy and a SNAP filled the air, producing three portals. "Before you lies your final trials. Demeter shall seek the middle portal, Alex the left, and Samuel the right. Complete your trial, and stand in pride at the Guardian you have moulded yourself to be. Fail, and another will be sought out, your Light will become theirs."

    "Oh good." Samuel shook his head, crossing his arms. "You've brought us to death, good job."

    "Didn't you hear what the voice just said?" Alex turned to him. "It's a trial. The only way you'll die is if you fail, so don't fail and you won't die."

    "You're reading too much into this." Samuel sighed. "Death IS failure. It's purposefully separating us."

    "What do you have to fear, then?" Demeter smirked beneath her helmet, before tapping him on the shoulder. "Hunter's are meant to be lone wolves, remember?"

    Without further hesitation, Demeter sprinted through the portal in the center, finding herself in an unusual location. Instead of the familiar location of the Dark Forest where she had just been, Demeter found herself in a dark abyss, surrounded by nothing but complete darkness. An indescribable pressure weighed down on her, as if the Darkness' intent was to suffocate her. In a flash of violent orange and yellow Light, Demter flinched and covered her eyes as best as she could.

    She was surrounded by a mountainous dune of sand, high above what could only be described as wispy, cirrus clouds. In front of her, Demeter saw the Traveler, yet this one was in pristine condition, flawless white metal encompassed the sphere. Rain clouds both dark and light billowed around it, as swirls of pure golden Light danced like rings around it.

    "My great great grandfather, once known as Captain Hardy of the Ares 1 mission that discovered the Traveler, saw a bright future in Humanity. When he reached his 100th birthday, he was still as young and spry as he had been when he was 20. With the Traveler's blessing, he was the very first Titan." the voice echoed throughout the abyss around her. "He was granted the gift of the Arc. His body would become a weapon that would dismantle any of those that opposed the bright new future that the Traveler envisioned for us."

    Demeter's vision of the barren landscape shifted to a trio of astronauts, the one in the center of the group took his helmet off, and allowed the rain above them cascade on his forehead. His soft brown eyes closed, as he sank to his knees in bliss. Electrical energy crackled off of his arms, while the woman to his right produced a revolver with the intensity and heat of the Sun, and the last man held a small orb of purple, void energy in his hand.

    "They were widely regarded as the Traveler's Chosen.
    A trio of early Guardians that were granted weaponized Light to, as we later discovered, prepare us for the coming Darkness.
    " the landscape swapped, as a man that looked no older than forty, stood in front of a crowd of young men and women alike.

    The various men and women spent their times punching heavy duty boxing punching bags, with the same electricity coursing through their arms. With his arms folded behind his back, the man paced between them, observing them.

    "Captain Hardy opted to change his name to Sol,
    as his newfound powers lit a fire in his stomach that was beyond compare. Sol Stratus, as he called himself, stood for the fire that would stoke ascension. Our ascension, as it was.
    " the voice continued, as Demeter followed the man. "He taught the early Titan order the ways of discipline, he taught them what it meant to be a Striker. To lead the charge in the face of insurmountable odds. That a fist was more reliable than any weapon."

    The training ground shifted, however, as fire and several craters surrounded the once populated area. Several individuals, some recruits of Sol's methods, as well as cloaked men and women bearing arm bracelets similar to what Alex and other Warlocks wore, littered the grounds. Sol Stratus and a sizable remainder of his recruits were to her right, taking shelter inside of a void sphere.

    "The Warlock order, who opposed the ideas of order before chaos, had developed a deep hatred for the Titans. They attacked us, as well as the Hunter nomads, for our different ideals with the Light's gifts. Sol Stratus, however, was always adapting, striving to find what it was the Traveler sought from us." the voice said, as Sol left his bubble, glancing at the lone Warlock recruit staring at him with disdain. "The Warlocks, knowledgeable as they were, were caught completely unaware as the leader of the Titan order had discovered the newest technique, a technique you now possess."

    With a raise of his left arm, the man produced a flawless void shield, just as the young Warlock jumped into the air, casting a sphere of explosive void energy at Sol and the recruits in the Ward of Dawn behind him. With a cocky smirk, Sol batted the Nova Bomb aside with his Sentinel shield, as the explosive bomb was swatted to the side, exploding against the far side. The Warlock, a frightened expression on his face, grunted in pain as Sol's shield struck him harshly in the face. Sol planted his feet onto the Warlock's chest, pressing down.

    "Tell your Mentor that if he wants a war, I will gladly give it to him." Sol snarled, stepping down harder before allowing the young Warlock to stand and scamper away in fear.

    "So began the three way battle known as the Warlord conflict of the Golden Age. Where those that were blessed with the Traveler's Light utilized it for their own selfish acts. Sol Stratus, as well as his brightest student, Ryzel Azzir, lead a unified Guardian front to stop the old Warlock and Hunter leadership from spreading their toxic ways."

    The landscape shifted to a pair of Titans, followed by a conglomerate of Hunters, Titans, and Warlocks who were sick of the 'Warlords' and their tyranny over the rest of humanity. The Titan beside Sol raised his beautiful Rose, a handcannon that matched the intense aura of Light that he embodied.

    In Sol's hand, however, was the very items Demeter had been handed by Lance. Except the two came together to form a flawless steel hammer, coated with an unbridled fury of flames as hot as the sun he was named after.

    "My family has always been known for our affinity to fire. For we were the first Warpath Titans, which would later fragment off and become the Sunbreakers. Our Solar Light was so immensely powerful, only our family was capable of handling it. With the imprisonment of the Traveler, such raw, unbridled energy is forever lost." the voice sighed. "However, my ancestor fragmented his own Light to be more manageable for the Titan order he loved so much, and so he formed the Hammer of Sol, a weapon capable of harnessing the energy of a thousand dying stars."

    With a deft raise of his hand, the chorus of Titans behind him followed his suit, as the harmonious echo of a hammer striking an anvil rang out over the battlefield. Countless of the Hammers remained in the Titan's hand, as the New Faction of the Consensus, made their infamous charge against the Warlords of old, in the fledgling City.

    Demeter blinked harshly as the overwhelming Darkness of the abyss covered her again, though this time it's pressure was much harsher. So much so that the pain caused her eyes to tear, as she struggled for a way to escape it.

    "This is the very pain that the Dark Ages left Humanity in. Without the Traveler's conscious guidance, we found ourselves in stifling Darkness that seemed to have no end. With her chosen now suppressed, the Traveler has had to choose three more to take up the responsibility of our ancestors." the voice continued. "You are not only the Sentinel that will teach the Titan order of a long lost technique, you will be one of the Traveler's Chosen, to bring her Light back to our system."

    "Take the remaining Light of my ancestor's forge and make it your own, Demeter. Become the Luminous Sun with which we can ascend. Rise, and carry my family's legacy with you, bearer of the Titan's order." the voice said as the infinite Darkness around her began to seep away at the painful golden orange Light in her right hand. "You are the Forge that will restore the Light."

    With a gasp of air, Demeter found herself thrown into the very glade where she had received the Light for the first time. Only now, the two portions of the weapon she had received from Lance had come together, formed in her hand. The Hammer of Sol, as the memories swooped back to her, was Amethyst's technique of choice. Fire engulfed her shoulders, and across the entirety of her form, as she threw the hammer at a nearby tree.

    The fiery hammer made contact with the tree, splintering the bark and rendering the tree shattered in half. From the impact, the hammer erupted into three Fusion grenades, erupting into massive explosions further. Reaching her hand out to the right, the Hammer of Sol returned to her, as the familiar swirling and POP of a Taken Blight forming appeared in the glade just ahead of her.

    "I once used this very fire to kill their Leader.." Drake's voice echoed in the back of her mind. "Clear the Taken from this forest and prove to the world that you are indeed worthy of the Title of Guardian. This is the last time this Forest will beckon you. Remind these Taken of the consuming power of Solar Light."
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    Post  Shad0wChas3r December 18th 2017, 1:30 pm

    Amethyst smirked cockily as the rush of fire washed over her form, the familiar feel of the weapon returning to her, as she threw Hammer after Hammer at the endless spawn of Taken. In a way, she relished in their destruction at the hand of her newly developed Solar power, a fitting revenge for the pain they had caused her the day before.

    With each strike of her thrown weapon, the Hammer splintered into a trio of explosives that erupted, enveloping everything in a couple of meter wide radius. Sprinting at what she could only guess was a Taken Fallen Captain, Demeter grit her teeth as she clenched the Hammer in her right hand. Swinging with her full body in an upward, diagonal strike, she caught the Captain under the chin, the force of the blow rending it's torso from it's legs.

    The remnants of the Taken Captain erupted into a miniature pillar of fire, that licked the nearby Taken Psions, Vandals, and Captains. Spinning on her boots, she released the final Hammer in her set, which flew true directly into the face of another Taken Captain. As it's body sizzled out of existence, consumed by the all-powerful Solar Light, a Golden orb of Light formed in it's position, sinking into the ground and forming a small golden shrub covered with orbs of Light.

    As she approached it, she felt the same boundless Light that had exhilarated her when she first claimed the Light, and once again when she learned of the Striker technique. The Forge that now served as her source of Solar Light burned within, much more radiant in the presence of the boundless Light. Thrusting her arm out again, she summoned the Hammer once again, continuing her forward advance out of the Forest.

    As she continued, she could hear the distant crackle of Arc Energy, as well as the bubbling of pained Taken screams, while the snap of a bowstring striking a wrist guard echoed from around her. Entering a new clearing, the very same one that had once hosted the three portals, Demeter, still glowing with Solar Light, peered at Samuel, who was surrounded by Void Light, and Alex, who floated menacingly off of the ground, Arc Light traveling between her fingers, in a ring around her feet.

    A booming quake of the earth revealed a giant Taken Archon Priest. With a stomp of it's right foot, the monstrocity threw back it's gnarled head and released an echoed, bubbling roar. It's four arms extended widely, as it taunted the three considerably smaller Guardians in front of it. Samuel bounded off of a nearby tree, almost like a ninja, using his agility to gain as much air as possible. Turning towards the Taken Archon, a void bow appeared in his hand, drawing the string back, he let a single Shadow Shot fly, as it pierced the Archon's torso, binding it to the ground in front of it.

    Alex, whose Arc energy had depleted, floated mystically a few inches above the ground, her hands out powerfully at her side. Thunder crashed in the skies above them as a cyclone of wind overtook her position. Arc energy crackled once more over her form, as she thrust her hands out in front of her, the Arc Light conducting from her fingertips into the beast directly in front of her. Garbled, mangled skrelps of pain emnated from the tortured beast, while Demeter rammed her shoulder into it's pinned torso at full speed.

    Fire erupted across it's form, as the Taken Archon's defenses were melted by the consuming fire. With the three Guardians now 'standing' shoulder to shoulder, Demeter threw her Hammer into the air. Jumping up after it, she caught the tossing weapon, before plunging herself face first at the creature. Fire continued to envelop her form, even a pair of Solar flares erupting from the temples of her helmet. With a mighty roar, Demeter slammed the Hammer down on top of it's head. The ensuing shockwave of the strike was enough to stagger Alex and Samuel, the resounding explosion of energy illuminating the once Dark Forest.

    As the boundless Light tapered off of the three of them, they stood in a now illuminated forest, as golden shrubs covered with orbs of Light surrounded them. However, these orbs sank into the soil and began to nurture and purify the once corrupted flora back to health.

    /////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////

    "What I'm hearing from you is that we're damned if we do, damned if we don't." Cayde sighed as the farm-house door opened, Demeter silently stepping in. "Glad you could join us, kid."

    "On the contrary, Cayde, I believe that with all of us reunited again, we stand more of a chance than ever." Zavala nodded curtly in Demeter's direction. "With the combined effort of my resistance, the leadership of Fireteam Stratus, and the Light Fireteam Prometheus holds, we can deploy an effective countermeasure."

    "Fireteam Prometheus?" Demeter inquired, as Zavala nodded sagely.

    "That is the name I have designated your Fireteam. Prometheus, in old scriptures, was an individual of the common man's striving. He gave Humanity the gift of fire." Zavala smirked, as Ikora gingerly raised a hand to speak.

    "The fact is, getting back to the point, if we attempt to destroy that super weapon, that 'Almighty'-" Ikora paused as she, Zavala, and Demeter stared in confusion at Cayde. "- it could cause our Sun to go... Supernova. Cayde, what is that?"

    Standing proud near a stall, Cayde held a lone hen in his hands. As the Exo brushed her plummage, he offered a glance of sorrow, as he gently pet the hen's head. "A Hen, her name is Colonel Clucks, and on the bright side, at least we'll have each other."

    "... Indeed." Zavala shook his head, sneaking a glance at Demeter, his glowing blue eyes rolling. "Our goal is clear, we need to free the Traveler at all costs."

    "I would think the three of us, no offense kid, and a huge pile of explosives should do the trick." Cayde said as he gently lowered Colonel Clucks to the floor. "Thanks to the kid's efforts, I have that Vex teleporter in working condition. It'll mean getting a bit close for comfort."

    "A good plan, but we'll need to be in the City's walls for it to be effective. Unfortunately, scouts patrolling that area have confirmed that the Cabal presence is... unsatisfactory to our cause."

    "Without the Light, sans Fireteam Prometheus, a frontal assault on the Wall would be suicide. If we go, there will be no turning back." Ikora crossed her arms across her chest, as her brow furrowed.

    "It's worth it, I'm getting rusty sleeping in this old farmhouse. I could use the clean, fresh air of the City again."

    "How will we get in?" Demeter asked, as the Vanguard leaders turned to her, each presenting a puzzled look on their brow.

    "You know, the City wall is kinda like this building." Hawthorne said as she dangled her leg over the loft above them. "Plenty of places to slip in covertly. Of course, you just have to know where to look."

    With a light grunt, Hawthorne jumped down, her sniper rifle in hand, as she clasped a hand on Demeter's shoulder, glancing at the others around them. With a smile, Cayde nodded to her, as he crossed his arms casually in front of him. "You sure you aren't one of my Hunters in disguise?"

    "Capes don't suit my sense of fashion."

    "Touche'," Cayde remarked with a smirk. "Nice Poncho."

    "Look, we need to slip into that City without raising any alarms, right?" Hawthorne paced, weaving herself between the Vanguard leaders. "My people and I can help you with that. We happen to be pretty well versed in shooting bad guys."

    "While I appreciate your willingness to assist us, Hawthorne, this doesn't have to be your fight." Ikora said, as Hawthorne paused, glaring back at the Warlock Vanguard.

    "Because I'm not a Guardian, right?" Hawthorne growled, turning her attention to Demeter. "This young lady did so much for this Farm and myself even before the Light found her. Do not underestimate what I and my people can do, just because we didn't get the blessing from that big sphere in the sky."

    "There was a time that I recall, where people with Light and without Light all fought to serve the giant sphere in the sky. A hero, by the name of Drake Stratus, was one such leader of that time. He lead those fights, because the Traveler once protected us, and he wanted to return the favor." Hawthorne rested her hands on her hips. "I'm not a Guardian, but I'm gonna do my part to. All of us will."

    "Bravo on that inspiring speech, Hawthorne. However, you forgot to mention the apocalyptic scenario that is the gun literally pointed at the head of our Solar System." Cayde crossed his arms, leaning against a cabinet, rotting from ages of lack of use and maintenance.

    "If we can't destroy the Almighty, than we will have to make due with disabling it." Zavala nodded, turning to Ikora. "I don't know about you, but I think we have three perfectly able-bodied Guardians capable of managing that feat."

    "We'll need to get you guys a disguise to help you slip into the Almighty without being detected." Ikora turned to Demeter.

    "Hawthorne and I had eyes on a nearby Cabal Firebase being formed at the shore of the lake." Demeter nodded. "I think it should be simple enough for us to sneak in and snag a Cabal ship."

    "Oh you won't be sneaking." Zavala shook his head, glancing at Cayde. "If there is one thing our roguish space cowboy has taught me, it's the beauty of a well presented entrance. You're going to send a message to Ghaul, that his days are numbered."

    "I'm not crying, I swear. I just have a piece of straw caught in my eye circuit." Cayde shook his head. "You're crying."
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    Post  Shad0wChas3r December 19th 2017, 1:13 pm

    [The Following Day]

    "Oh I wouldn't worry about usin' your ships today, Guardians." Amanda trotted up to Demeter, Samuel, and Alex, whose Ghosts were out preparing to transmat. "I'll be hand deliverin' you to the base myself."

    "Isn't that a bit of an unnecessary risk?" Alex turned to her, her Ghost disappearing back into the nothing. "You're one of our best pilots, the three of us should be more than capable of storming the base."

    "It's not that I doubt ya'll." Holliday smiled as she turned to Lance, who slowly meandered over. "It's that Lord Stratus and I poured a lot of time and effort into a little surprise for the three of your that we know will help you further your chances of success."

    Lance nodded as he turned to the Red-Jacks that had currently been working to repair Amanda's transport shuttle. With a sharp whistle, the robotic frames abandoned their duties and approached a tarp covered instrument of some sort. At once, the machines pulled the covering off to reveal a sleek, yet durable looking tank. White matte paint covered the exterior, while a lone red dragon's head was painted expertly on the side.

    "You got us a tank?!" Alex shook her head in disbelief.

    "Got really isn't the operative word there." Lance snickered as he rolled his shoulders. "My grandfather was Amanda's mentor as the previous Shipwright. He taught me a considerable deal of machination when he was younger."

    "It took us a considerable amount of time." Amanda added. "We took that old street cleaner Lance used to drive you through that Hive nest, and modified it with some golden age technology we found on the Rig."

    "It's called the Drake." Lance crossed his arms, as Demeter's attention snapped to him. "In honor of my late friend and mentor, the very same voice who granted you all the Light. He's guided you so far, so I figured a better testament to him would be to give him the honor of being a Tank. He always liked being explosive and capable of taking a few hits."

    "Don't worry, Lance and his fireteam took considerable amounts of time yesterday putting it through the paces. They even conducted a live fire test in the Trostlands." Amanda snickered. "Devrim Kay was impressed... at first."

    "Look, I thought it my foot was on the break, not the accelerator." Lance rubbed the back of his head. "Besides, it's just an old church."

    "Anyways, mount up Guardians. The controls should be fairly simple. One of you can manage the main cannon, the other can use the homing missiles, and of course, one of you can drive."

    //////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////

    "This is Commander Zavala, do you read me Prometheus?" Zavala's voice chirped over the comms.

    "Loud and clear sir." Demeter replied, as Samuel mocked the Titan Vanguard, slapping him on the back of the head.

    "We managed to get some valuable intel on the compound you'll be infiltrating. Unfortunately, not just any Cabal Dominator will suffice. You'll need to hi-jack a very specific Dominator, belongs to one of Ghaul's highest Generals, Thumos; the Unbroken." Zavala continued.

    "Hawthorne sent a team in to gather this information for you Guardians. Unfortunately, there were heavy casualties. So how about you return the favor and break him, yeah?"

    "... yes." Zavala sighed. "We've begun preparations to launch our assault on the City. Amanda will be dropping you in the open hangar of the Firebase, towards the Eastern flank. Disable as many of the ships as you can, then, find Thumos and take his credentials for his ship."

    "We'll have it done, Commander." Alex nodded, operating the the driving for the Tank.

    Her display flashed red twice, before blinking green. The weight inside of the Drake tank shifted immensely as they were slingshot from Amanda's ship into Thumo's Firebase. Alex stepped on the accelerator, as the Drake finally landed inside. Demeter, who was in charge of the main cannon, highlighted several enemies for Samuel, who ran the homing missiles.

    Turning her cannon to a Cabal Centurion, Demeter fired a shell directly into it's chest. The explosive shell struck the Cabal's chestplate, denting the metal and igniting the bio-fuel encased in it's armor. In a fiery inferno, the dead Cabal Centurion's corpse flew backwards into one of the support beams for an in-repair ship. The Drake shuddered once more as the homing missiles erupted out of their chamber, seeking out the various Psions, Legionaries, and Phalanxes scattered throughout the packed hangar.

    "We've got Cabal Interceptors and a Goliath tank forming up to our starboard side." Alex called, as Demeter maneuvered the cannon to bear.

    Painting her reticle over the encroaching Interceptors for Samuel, her target was the massive Cabal tank on the far side. It's own main cannon began to illuminate with fire. Unlike their Drake tank, the Goliath had to take a few seconds to charge up it's main fire. However, Demeter remembered hearing tales from various Guardians in the City when she was younger that it was a very powerful blast.

    "Reverse, it's charging a shot on us!" Demeter called. "Take cover behind that Dominator!"

    Alex obliged, moving the Drake into position 'behind' the elevated ship. With the Centurion's dead bodied' damage, the far platform holding the ship up was considerably weaker. Taking her chance, Demeter fired the main cannon on the frail support beam. With a mechanical groan, the support collapsed on itself, dumping the Decimator ship onto it's side, directly in front of the Goliath.

    While the impact of the ship wasn't nearly close enough to damage the Goliath, it was close enough to absorb the entire main cannon shot from the tank. As she had predicted, the shot from the Goliath nearly slagged the entire ship's hull to the point of totaling it. Alex pulled forward, as Demeter took a brave shot at the considerably smaller cannon of the Goliath.

    With it's new charge, the Goliath tank erupted as the Drake tank's shell soared through the air, plunging deep into the Goliath's main cannon. Unable to fire off it's own shot, explosions rippled across the tank's hull, before it went supernova. Once again, Alex dipped the Drake behind the now destroyed Interceptor to avoid the brunt of the explosion.

    When the explosion subsided, and the Hangar was properly cleared, Alex piloted the tank towards the open entrance. Amanda's ship approached, as the three Guardians piled out of the tank. A magnetic beam erupted from the bottom of Amanda's ship, latching onto the Drake and reconnecting it. With a wave from the cockpit, the pilot and her creation were off.

    Demeter pulled her refurbished sub-machine gun from her hip, thanks to Lord Shaxx, not only had it been repaired, but improved vastly. He called it the 'New City' in honor of the efforts. Alex shouldered her Auto Rifle, while Samuel twirled a hand cannon. Together, the fireteam moved in the direction of Thumo's command bridge.

    "It's no surprise the alarm has been raised, I'm detecting several doors leading to Thumos have been heavily fortified, even locked." Ruby, Alex's Ghost, spoke up. "Thanks to Amethyst's knowledge on Cabal firebases, we know there is a maintenance shaft that the Cabal use in case of emergency power failure. We can cut through there and take a considerable shortcut."

    "They'll likely be prepared for that. Amethyst added, turning to Samuel. "You Hunter types like being stealthy. Do you think you can clear a path to the landing pad, while Dem and I get Thumos?"

    "Yeah, that's child's play." Samuel nodded, turning to Alex. "Go with Demeter. She's walking into the thick of it."

    "Alright, be safe."

    "I'm done playing it safe." Samuel said, as an electircal bowstaff appeared in his right hand. "See you guys there."

    With silent, rapid footsteps, Samuel doubled back in the direction of the landing pad that contained Thumo's ship. Thanks to the information sent to them by Hawthorne's scouts, they were informed that the ship was in the middle of a refueling/maintenance check up. Demeter scanned the ceiling of the long, winding hallway for an access panel to the maintenance shaft.

    When she discovered one, she boosted herself up with Lift and struck the frail metal grate with her fist, shattering it immediately. Landing inside of the shaft, Demeter turned and reached down for Alex. The Warlock initiated her own floating ability, raising herself just high enough for Demeter to grasp her hand and pull her up.

    Together, the two of them walked through the shaft. Beneath them, they could hear the Cabal chattering in their own tongue, as if an ambush had been set up there for them. Continuing on their path, the two of them followed Ruby's waypoint, jumping down into what they could guess, based off of all the generators, was the engine room. A trio of massive Cabal, not like Legionaries, Phalanxes, or Centurions, turned to face them.

    Massive red hot blades in both hands, for all three creatures, shined in the dim lighting of the room. With a growl, the Cabal Gladiators charged at them. Demeter summoned her Sentinel shield, turning aside both of the lead Gladiator's blades, which were short, stubby, almost cane knife shaped weapons. Alex jumped off of Demeter's lowered back, over her head, and lashed her hand out.

    A giant orb of Void Energy landed between the three Gladiators, the Nova bomb erupting. With short, pained growls of pain, the monsters were eradicated, ceasing to exist in this plane of existence. Doors around the room began to open, as Psions, Phalanxes, and a handful of Legionaries, lead by a lone Centurion appeared. The same Nova bomb that Alex threw shattered post eruption, as smaller, more agile versions of the bomb began to hone in.

    The Psions all burst with raw Void energy, as a pair of the six Phalanxes were consumed by the explosion. The five Legionaries, four Phalanxes, and lone Centurion roared for their fallen comrades, before opening fire on them. Alex moved to take cover, as Demeter stood in front of her, shield in a defensive position. Alex laughed as she fired from behind Demeter, through the defensive pulses of the Sentinel shield, and killed a Phalanx, and three Legionaries with her Auto Rifle.

    Closing the gap between them, Demeter swung her Sentinel shield harshly at the Centurion's face, much faster than the rhino had anticipated. With a crunch and a thud, the Centurion's shield solar overshield popped, as the monster staggered back. It raised it's explosive ordinance cannon point blank, as Demeter shielded herself.

    The explosive blast rattled Demeter to her core, but she remained unharmed. The Centurion, however, attempting to take her with it, grumbled in it's tongue as it's own explosive weapon consumed it. With more garbled alien screams of pain, the remaining Phalanxes fell to Alex's fire. Swiveling on her feet, Demeter tossed her Sentinel shield at the last Legionary. With the last of the Cabal reinforcements dealt with, Demeter and Alex approached the door leading to the bridge.

    "Hey." Alex paused, shifting her feet nervously, causing Demeter to hesitate. "Do you think this is gonna work? What if we kill Thumos and Ghaul uses the Almighty?"

    "Ghaul isn't like a normal Cabal." Demeter shook her head. "He's after the Traveler, and he's not likely to detonate the Solar System with himself in it."

    "Yeah but... what if he does?" Alex crossed her arms, Demeter placing a reassuring hand on her shoulder.

    "We won't give Thumos a chance to scream." Demeter smiled. "I'm gonna ram him with my shoulder, when I do, use your Dawnblade. Trust me on this."

    Alex started to speak, as the resounding echo of a Hammer striking an anvil echoed throughout the engine room. Demeter summoned the Hammer of Sol, fire racing across her body. With a hesitated nod, Alex floated and twirled into the air, the sound of a sword being unsheathed echoing. Fire danced across her robes, as a pair of fiery wings sprouted from her back.

    Demeter threw herself at the locked door, time and time again, before finally puncturing it. The small army of Cabal staggered in surprise as the two fire covered Guardians charged into the room. The Psions took pot shots from behind Phalanxes that had activated their wide shields, while Legionaries and Centurions fired in tandum with their Arc shotguns and Void explosive weapons.

    Demeter through her Hammers at the right side of the room, while Alex slashed her Dawnblade at the left. Fire erupted across the troops, as the room became an oven of pure Solar Light, and anything that wasn't a Guardian, was eventually incinerated. Landing together, Demeter and Alex watched as a lone elevator descended from the ceiling. Thumos grunted as he finally showed himself, tossing something towards them.

    Samuel's unmoving form tumbled to their feet, as Alex shrieked. Demeter's eyes narrowed at the Hunter, a smouldering knife wound in his side. Alex fell to her knees, planting her Dawnblade into the floor to stabilize herself. Demeter stared at the dead Hunter, as Thumos began to march in their direction.

    "No." Demeter shook her head, gritting her teeth. "NO!"

    While she hadn't known Samuel for very long, it was very apparent that Alex and him had a damn near unbreakable bond. As Alex's screams became a dull echo in the back of her mind, she couldn't help but blame herself for this. Clenching her fists, Arc energy sparked across her form, intermingling with the Solar wisps that danced across her. Void tendrils erupted from her back, twisting around her arms and her legs.

    A pulse of Light erupted off of Demeter, enough for Alex to attempt to maintain her stability. Thumos roared as the abundant energy caused him to stagger backwards. As the power subsided, Demeter sprinted towards Thumos with a powerful kick off from her right foot. Thumos sprinted for her as well, the very same blade he impaled Samuel with still glistening crimson.

    Together, Demeter's fist met with Thumo's blade. Unlike what Alex had been expecting, however, Demeter's fist struck through the blade, shattering it entirely. The sudden impact of the two mighty fists striking each other was enough to cause another shockwave to emit between them. Thumos' form convulsed as the Arc energy from the Fist of Havoc, while powerful, wasn't quite enough to finish him in a single blow.

    With the next shockwave, Alex struggled to hold on with one hand, using the other to hold onto Samuel. Thumos roared as he recovered, glaring down at her.

    "I am Unbroken!" he snarled.

    "Yeah, that's about to change!" Demeter grit her teeth, reeling back for another swing of her fist. "NNNNNNGH!"

    Their fists struck again, as the pair began to exchange blows. Despite the Arc and Solar energy licking at Thumos' resolve, he managed to maintain his composure. The metal floor beneath them began to buckle as their constant flurry of strikes against each other truly tested the limits of the infrastructure. With a sneaky blow, Thumos provided another blade and plunged it deep into Demeter's right side.

    The pain was severe, but it wasn't nearly as fatal as it could have been, had it been any higher. Managing the pain, Demeter ducked beneath one of Thumos' barrage of hits and struck him square in the chest with another Fist of Havoc. The force of the blow caused the colossal Cabal to skid backwards. Losing his footing, the Cabal General grunted as Demeter sprinted after him, spiking him into the floor with another Fist of Havoc.

    The ground once again buckled, as the entire room, perhaps even the entire Firebase itself, felt the quake. Growling, Thumos wrapped a mighty hand around Demeter and tossed her to the side, focusing on Alex, who was busy tending to Alex's Ghost. Charging towards the Warlock, Thumos' eyes widened beneath his helmet as he felt a powerful grip on his left arm.

    Turning to face it, Demeter grit her teeth as she held him at bay. "You're dealing with ME, Thumos!"

    Spinning with all of her strength, Demeter managed to lift Thumos, as she had seen Drake do with Lillian in her vision. Spinning to her fullest speed, however, Demeter roared as she spiked the Cabal General into the floor. The floor, having taken a considerable amount of abuse, finally broke as Thumos and Demeter cascaded into the armory below them.

    "Demeter!" she heard Alex call out for her.

    As both combatants landed, Demeter crushed a pair of Psions, while Thumos landed an a lone Centurion. Jumping back onto her feet, Demeter sprinted at Thumos, who pulled a massive, imposing looking weapon off of a rack. Sliding between his legs, Demeter activated her Lift and jumped backwards, planting both of her feet into his back with a ferocious drop kick.

    The far door opened as Thumos stumbled towards the reinforcements, crushing them as he lost his footing and collapsed on them. Clenching her right fist, Demeter focused her Arc energy into one final attack. Arc energy sparked from the front of her helmet, where her eyes would be, as raw Arc light poured out of the cracks in her armor. Charging after her foe, Demeter grit her teeth as one of his massive fists struck her helmet, rattling her teeth.

    "Be like a Titan. Solve you problems with your fists." the words the voice had told her resonated, fueling her determination.

    The blow, however, had merely been a glancing blow, as she continued her advance, cocking her left fist to strike. After closing the distance, Demeter struck her left fist mightily into Thumos' right flank. The metal of his arm buckled and crunched, whatever organs on the receiving end of the punch ruptured and tore, and the bones protecting them all shattering into dust.

    "Gruuagh." Thumos grumbled as he staggered around, holding desperately onto life, he glared at her. "Broken."

    "That's the point!" Demeter called as she sprinted towards him to finish him off.

    Taking a defensive stance, Thumos' eyes widened as Demeter, moving faster than his eyes could follow, appeared at his waist once more. Swinging a mighty right uppercut, with the last of her enhanced energy, she struck him on the opposite side. The force of the punch ruptured whatever organs remained, collapsing the armor and breaking the bones on the left side.

    Thumos grunted as his body convulsed, the massive Cabal sinking to his knees, putting his head at a reasonable height for Demeter to exploit. Swinging back with her entire body, Demeter slammed her left fist into Thumos' face, snapping his head backwards. Twisting her torso with all of her weight, she unleashed a flurry of left and right punches, battering Thumos' head side to side mercilessly, each strike a concussive beat that was satisfying to her ears.

    The more Demeter punched, however, the faster and harder she hit. With each blow, one after another, Thumos' helmet began to dent and cave in, the Cabal inside having long since passed. With one last, final roar, Demeter's pent up aggression at the world unleashed into one final uppercut, tearing Thumos' already destroyed head off of his body, Arc energy erupting from his body and the head, showering the room with a massive static field that annihilated any Cabal reinforcements still in the armory.

    Rolling her neck and shoulders, Demeter jumped up using her lift back through the hole she had created. With some assistance from Alex, Demeter was helped into the hole. Samuel nodded his head weakly, dangling an alien device in his hand.

    "Oh thank the Traveler." Demeter huffed and puffed, her energy spent. "We thought you were dead."

    "Well, I was technically." Samuel shrugged, helping her to her feet. "Flynt, however, wasn't. He knew well enough to hide in my pocket, and Alex knew to resurrect me while the enemy was distracted."

    "I appreciate the concern though, we watched that last fight from up here." Samuel snickered. "A bit unnecessary, but boy was that satisfying to watch."

    "I aim to entertain." Demeter nodded. "Commander, we've retrieved the credentials to fly his ship. We're taking the elevator to the landing platform as we speak."

    "Good, our preparations are almost completed on our end. Take down the Almighty, we'll be radio silent as we move into position." Zavala replied. "When the Almighty is disabled, have your Ghost send us the signal, and we'll begin our assault."
    Shad0wChas3r
    Shad0wChas3r
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    Post  Shad0wChas3r February 24th 2018, 1:03 am

    Despite the fact that the very sight of the Sun in this close of proximity could blind them, the three Guardians found themselves unable to pry their eyes off of the molten ball of gases looming before them. Amethyst flew the ship, having hacked into their controls instead of having the Guardians struggling to learn how it functioned. Demeter smiled at the warmth the Sun gave off, even in the highly protected space of the ship.

    "We dismantle this rig, and then we can finally have our revenge." Samuel smirked beneath his helmet, loading a fresh quick-load cylinder into his Hand Cannon.

    As Thumos' high-jacked ship zoomed down into the strange 'H' shaped Almighty, Demeter took notice that they were not being tracked by any of the on ship anti-'air' defenses in place. With a sigh of relief, the three Guardians were transmatted onto a landing platform, as Thumos ship zoomed off by Amethyst's direction.

    "Prometheus checking in, we've boarded the Almighty." Demeter reported, as the three Guardians were immediately spotted by a pair of Psions.

    "Excellent. It is critical that you disable the weapon after locating it's power core. Based off of the schematics Asher was able to obtain, you three have the best chance if you follow the fuel stream."

    "Fuel stream?" Samuel turned to Demeter as his Hand Cannon fired twice, piercing the Psions in the face with pinpoint accuracy.

    "She means the parts of Mercury that the ship is absorbing to fuel it's combustion engines." Alex pointed to a stream of fractured bits of rock and metal being slowly pulled via a graviton accelerated particle beam into the building directly to their right.

    As Demeter took a glance to check on how they could arrive at their destination, she was met with an impossibly long gap between their side of the 'H' shaped machine, and the other end. The Almighty hosted it's own sort of artificial gravity, so jumping to the other side, even with Lift and their other abilities, was not going to work.

    Peering in the direction the Psions had come, however, she watched as a bridge connecting the two sides formed not too far from their current position, with a mass of Cabal reinforcements trotting across. Tapping the two on their shoulders, she pointed in the direction of the bridge. With a stern nod from the both of them, the Guardians jumped down from their platform onto the walkway the Psions had once resided on.

    The rig shifted beneath them, as a loud whining filled the air. Glancing up at the Sun with her still heavily polarized visor, Demeter watched as the beam being fired into their Sun increased massively. "Uh, the weapon has begun firing! I think we're too late!"

    "Not yet, but you will have to hurry. If you can disconnect the link between the Almighty and the Sun before the weapon disrupts the Sun's magnetic field irreparably, then there will be no cause for concern."

    "Hurry, eh?" Samuel flicked his right hand out, once again summoning the Arcstrider's bowstaff. "I'll clear the way, just watch my back!"

    Sprinting far ahead of the Titan and Warlock, Samuel swung his bowstaff expertly at the incoming War Beasts, Legionaries, and pair of Phalanxes. Crackling with Arc energy, Samuel struck each of the War Beasts as they pounced on him. With a crack, he struck the final one in the ribs, sending it cascading over the side of the bridge and the long fall down into the abyss of space.

    With a swift butterfly kick, Samuel vaulted over a Phalanx and struck him in the back with a swift one-inch punch. With a grunt of pain, the Phalanx toppled over, it's friend moving to swing down on Samuel's head. Crooking his bowstaff under the Phalanx's foot, he swiped to the left and tripped it up, before slamming the staff down on it's head, breaking the creature's neck and killing it instantly.

    A trio of Cabal Incendiors wielding flame throwers stomped up towards Samuel, who butterfly kicked past them. Sprinting for the door they had just come from across the bridge. With their backs turned to Demeter and Alex, Demeter closed the gap between her and the Incendiors, opening fire with her SMG into their' vulnerable bio-fuel filled back packs. With a chained explosion, the two beasts erupted into a plume of fire.

    With the path currently cleared, the three Guardians sprinted across the bridge. The door the reinforcements arrived in remained open as a Cabal Colossus stomped through the open doorway. Stomping it's right foot on the ground, a salvo of missiles erupted from it's backpack in search of the Guardians in front of it. With a deft twist of his form, Samuel span between the missiles, his Arc covered bowstaff twisting like a helicopter, knocking the missiles harmlessly aside.

    Twirling the staff over his head and around his torso, Samuel crouched into a low, defensive stance as Alex sprinted up behind him. Planting her boot firmly into the mid of his back, she jumped off of his sturdy stance and high above the Colossus and his remaining troops. With a flourish of her right hand, a flaming longsword erupted from her hands, as a pair of fiery wings sprouted out of her back. Using her temporary boost of power from her super ability, Alex floated high in the air, swinging her sword deftly.

    Each swing of the weapon crackled the air with lances of Solar energy, that screeched like predatory birds as they swooped down onto their targets. Explosive blasts erupted from the lances of energy, having met their targets head on. For those Legionaries that stood back, however, the lances that struck the ground just before them raced across the platform and engulfed them. The Colossus, heavily wounded but still standing, roared as it's minigun began to whir to life. While it's attention was drawn to the Warlock engulfed in flames, and the Hunter crackling with Arc, it was caught unawares by Demeter, whose Sentinel shield bashed it square in the face.

    With a pained, hesitant rattle of pain, the gargantuan creature stumbled backwards before crumpling into a heap in front of them. With the coast clear for the moment, the Guardians sprinted ahead through the open door the Colossus had arrived from. Swiftly they dashed through the corridor, until they came upon a window with a fantastic view of the Sun.

    The Star that had illuminated the Solar System shined brightly through even the polarized window, a monument to the life it had helped cultivate over the countless millennium and how it still persisted to this day. Samuel however, was not caught in the majesty of the close up with the Sun, rather, he began to shiver.

    "We have to go out there? Am I the only one not insane enough to run into an open vacuum just mere METERS from the SUN?!" Samuel groaned, as Alex swatted him on the back of his head.

    "We're Guardians, our Ghosts won't be destroyed in this proximity. Our choice is to either risk everything and go out there and be triumphant, or waste time being scared here and let everyone in the City and beyond die."

    Demeter sighed, approaching the door leading out into the hot zone. The door hissed and slightly sizzled as it opened. Sweltering, unbearable heat swung in from the door like a wall, passing by them. The sudden shift in temperature caused Demeter to shiver, her body feeling relatively cold in comparison to the sudden warmth.

    With a nod of her head, Demeter rushed out onto the platform, gritting her teeth as the unbearable heat pelted her relentlessly. It was as if she had a thousand sunburns across her body, each being slapped repeatedly by atomic sized hands. Soldiering through the pain, her first response was to take cover behind a conveniently placed maintenance shelter. The slab of metal was durable enough to withstand the wave of heat, and the moment Demeter took a step in the shadow, she felt complete and sudden relief.

    The ambient heat was still stifling, even with her suit's environmental survival systems. Her visor briefly depolarized as she watched the bleached out forms of Samuel and Alex bounding after her. As they too stepped into the shadow, Demeter took notice of movement just to her right. Her visor polarized as she turned to face across the chasm joining her side of the ship with the other side.

    A trio of Legionaries grunted in pain as a Solar flare licked at them, erupting them immediately into ash. Samuel and Alex noticed this, the former beginning to walk back in the direction he had come, with Demeter reaching out and grabbing him by the cloak. With her spare hand, she summoned the Sentinel shield. Holding it out in front of her, the shield emanated an extended disk of protection around her, until the three of them were surrounded by what could only be described as a mobile Ward of Dawn.

    Gritting her teeth, she maintained the over reaching shield and walked across the narrow walkway with her Fireteam to the other side. Solar flares danced across the surface of her partial Ward of Dawn, but it managed to hold just long enough for them to cross unharmed. With their main concern finally overcome, the trio sprinted to the nearest entry airlock door. A trio of Legionaries began to stumble outside, but the hair of gunfire from their combined weapons quickly cut them down.

    "There!" Amethyst appeared before Demeter as the trio came upon what appeared to be a giant coolant tube providing much needed relief to the overcharged laser. "If you cut the coolant to the machine, the engine itself will overheat and cease function, disabling the Almighty irreparably, without risking the Sun. "

    "Problem though, it would need a considerable amount of energy to sever the connection. This isn't a simple 'grenade in exposed vent' that those completely unrealistic action movies tell you." Amethyst shook her form, as Demeter's hand wrapped tightly around her. "MMMPH, MMMPH!"

    "Hold on to her." Demeter said, pressing her Ghost to Alex's chest. "I saw something like this before. You two get back to the ship, I'll be the catalyst."

    "We can't guarantee that you'll be resurrected from this." Alex shook her head, as Demeter rolled her shoulders.

    "Doomed if I do, doomed if I don't." Demeter cracked her neck. "I'd rather die a hero than a coward. Everyone is giving it their all, and this is my one chance to make it count."

    Without further delay, Demeter sprinted as the exhaust vent opening the coolant tube shot past her. Pressing herself against it, she held on for all her worth as the vent shot back into place, a gust of wind whooshing past her as it made contact with the tube. The propulsion of the vent cover launched her through the microgravity, Arc energy crackling over her form. To her right, the Sun loomed over her, a brown circle in it's surface from where the Almighty had been pumping energy into it.

    "Sol Stratus, my Grandfather, was one of the first Guardians. His fiery spirit rivaled even that of the Sun, from which he derived his name. Sol, the Raging Inferno they called him." Drake's now all too familiar voice ebbed at the back of her mind. "His actions for the City and the people of the Solar System are forever to this day remembered, as they are honored. Resistant to time and whatever challenge comes our way, so too, like our Sun."

    As Demeter drew nearer to the connector joint which attached the coolant system with the engine, she activated her Lift, the Arc energy covering her arms crackled with high intensity, before she slammed into the joint. The ensuing explosion was all she felt before she fell into darkness.

    --------------------------------------------------------------------------------

    [0400 Hours, Last Safe City]

    "Fireteam Stratus has moved into position." Lance whispered into his communications as Lillian, and Chelsea held position in the shadows overlooking a rundown, long since abandoned market foyer. "Ghaul's flagship has moved into a precarious position beside the Traveler, and as suspected, air traffic is a no-go, not until we've at least scrambled their forces."

    "Understood Stratus." Zavala replied. "Maintain position until we've received word from Prometheus. Do you at least have a visual on an optimal insertion for the Vex teleporter?"

    "Affirmative Commander." Lance nodded, turning to Chelsea, who gingerly pulled back the firing pin of her sub machine gun. "We've got our eyes on just the spot, will deploy flares when the area is secured, waiting on your go."

    There was a pause for a minute or two, as Lillian unhinged her trusty sniper off of her back, using a broken jersey barrier as a means of rest for her rifle to steady her shot. Muffled footsteps echoed behind them as the trio turned towards the approaching individual, smiles planted firmly beneath their helmets.

    "Came off of Felwinter's Peak for this? I thought your Guardian days were over, Tina?" Lance snickered, as the Warlock shot him a glance.

    "I said I was done with the Hive and SIVA." the Warlock sighed, crossing her arms timidly over her chest, her ornate Cryptarch robes gently billowing in the early morning breeze. "I can't exactly study the Light or any process of it if the Light is suppressed."

    "Shhh." Lillian hushed them as she raised her cloak over her head in just a way that the cloth covered the lens of her rifle. Not enough to obstruct her vision, but enough to prevent any glare from giving away her position. "Go ahead, Commander."

    "Prometheus just informed me that their mission was a success. Cayde's team has advanced into the streets, Ikora and I's teams will be sweeping the insertion point at your mark." Zavala paused for a moment. "-and Lance? Be careful."

    "You too, baldy." Lance grunted as he tuned the sights for his Pulse Rifle. "Chelsea with me. Tina, keep Lillian covered. Lillian... you do you."

    "Typical response." Lillian snickered. "Go before I die of old age."

    With a stern nod to Chelsea, the Titan and Warlock duo sprinted across the rooftop and jumped across the gap to the next. A Cabal Centurion on the roof a couple of buildings directly ahead of them turned, just in time for a silenced sniper round to plug through his solar overshield, pierce his helmet, and cause him to cascade to the ground, lifeless.

    The two Guardians continued their dead sprint across the increasingly more treacherous gaps between the buildings, as a patrol of two Centurions and three Legionaries stomped into their line of sight. With a bit of panic, Lance and Chelsea pressed themselves into cover behind a roof vent.

    Glancing at each other, Lance produced an Omolon Energy Scout rifle from his back, infused with Solar energy. Chelsea produced a Solar Veist Auto Rifle from her back, and the two stood. With an alien grunt from the troops, the duo opened fire into the Centurions' shields. With a vicious POP and a shockwave of singeing Solar energy, the two Centurions fell in a heap, the shockwave enveloping the three Legionaries, dispatching them promptly.

    With their insertion point officially cleared for the time being, Lance took notice of the large gap separating the two from their target building. Clipping his weapon to his back, Lance held out his arms as Chelsea followed suit. With his powerful arms, Lance swung himself in a wide circle and threw Chelsea to the far building. Gritting his teeth, he took a handful of steps back, before charging into a dead on sprint, head tucked, before leaping across the gap.

    Reaching out, his powerful glove caught onto the edge of the building, and with help from Chelsea, he managed to clamber up the side. Without further delay, Lance raised the flare gun he had been given for the scenario, launching it into the air. The skyscraper was just beneath Ghaul's flagship, and just beneath the Traveler itself. For Lance however, the building had much more meaning. It was his Grandfather's Orphanage, and he was proud to stand atop it in a last ditch effort to protect the City his family had sworn to protect.

    ----------------------------------------------------------------------------

    The Sun of the Human's star system began to peek over the horizon just beyond the Traveler. To Ghaul, it was easily the most beautiful sight he had ever beheld. With each excruciating day of pain and misery of his past, now forever in the past, he was one step closer to achieving his dream. The dream to become a Legend in his people's history books, an albino runt of the Cabal, harnessing the power of a god-like machine that would propel his people into total dominance over the Universe.

    His first goal was to usurp the faux Emperor of his people, Calus. A fitting name for a beast of such gluttony and sloth. Calus was a self righteous, foul creature that besmirched everything about the Cabal's once great heritage. He thrust societal outcasts into unsuitable terrain and told them to run if they wished to not be gunned down. How he would relish to do the very same to the amorphous blob who called himself a God.

    He had met the Consul in his exile, trained the martial arts of combat from him, as well as the knowledge to use his opponent's own strengths and weaknesses against them. The promise he had made to the Consul, to claim the power of the Traveler, and force the end of Calus' unrivaled rule. His thoughts were shaken from him, however, as the doors to his chambers were once again opened, followed by the plodding feet of the Consul.

    "Ghaul." the Consul continued his pace, marching right up to beside Ghaul's throne. Ghaul, on his elevated platform just beside the Speaker's restraints, turned to focus on his mentor. "The enemy attacks the City... and our Almighty, of your creation, is lost."

    "Lost? Explain yourself Consul." Dominus Ghaul took a step towards his mentor, blood boiling at the loss of his trump card.

    "Laid waste. By that very same Guardian that continues to make a mockery of you and our troops." Consul took a step forward. "The very one you chose to humiliate instead of exterminate the night we claimed this City."

    At the mention of a Guardian, Ghaul took notice of the Speaker's head perking up to his right. His eyes, however, were focused on the deformed chin of the Consul, as burning words of spite and frustration erupted force without careful consideration. "You would have been aware of this, had you not been wasting your times attempting to commune with a blasted MACHINE, and this creature that claims to speak for it."

    "Mind your tone, friend." Ghaul growled as he took a threatening step forward.

    "My tone, Dominus?" the Consul laughed in disgust. "I raised you to do as you were TOLD. You fought in Calus' arena NOT just for his amusement, but to teach you the vital importance of following simple instructions!"

    Pointing an accusatory finger towards Ghaul, the Consul walked up the steps leading up to the platform, as he continued to speak. "We will fail in our mission to secure this awesome power and deliver our people from Calus' reign. For the first time in the glorious history of the Red Legion, FAIL, because you were too preoccupied with talking to the machine rather than CONTROLLING IT!"

    With a beastial growl, the Consul stepped past Ghaul, who stood dumbfounded by this sudden aggression. The much smaller in comparison, yet considerably older Cabal pointed towards the caged Traveler, turning to Ghaul. "Gaze upon your Traveler, Dominus. The cage has completed, the time is now!"

    "Claim what is yours, and take this power." the Consul turned to him with a commanding voice.

    Ghaul shook his head in disbelief, as the very thought of his Almighty being destroyed and his one trump card officially destroyed. He had hoped to be blessed with the Light willingly, not take it by force. He wanted to be heralded as a Cabal that delegated peace with the Traveler, not conquest. Conflicted, he approached the battered, beaten, and ultimately tortured body of the Speaker.

    Malnutrition of the feeble human was beginning to set in, as his once sporadic motion were feeble, almost pitiful attempts just to re-situate his decaying muscles. With pleading eyes, Ghaul scanned over the mask of the Speaker, respecting the Human's customs and retaining his estranged 'guest's appearance.

    "Speaker. What more does your Traveler want from me? What must I do to become deemed worthy? Have I not shown sacrifice, bravery? Death?"

    "Ghaul." the Speaker sighed, his voice raspy and devoid of life. "I have always claimed that I speak for the Traveler. Never once, did I say that is spoke to me."

    Ghaul's eyes resisted the urge to widen in shock as he took a step back. Had he been fooled this entire time, had wool been cast over his eyes, or had his own hubris blinded him from seeing the truth? The thoughts of his own foolishness began to swirl around his head. Dominus Ghaul, commander of the Invincible Red Legion, to be defeated because he was too foolish to take what was rightfully his?!

    The Speaker's attention turned to the Consul, as a hefty fist curled from his right hand. With a last utterance of breath, the Speaker groaned in pain as the Consul's fist struck him in his midsection, the blow more than enough to send his broken and battered body over the edge. With a slam of the very same fist, Consul released the Speaker's shackles.

    Ghaul turned in time to see the white robed Human's lifeless body cascade to the floor, his iconic mask, the one he had tried so hard to respect, clattering to the floor just before him. Ghaul stared at the helmet as he felt a boiling rage begin to ebb through him. It wasn't just rage at himself for being so foolish, it was rage to allow himself to believe the Consul was actually his friend and mentor, not just some old sack of skin looking for vengeance.

    "This fixation is over, Dominus." Consul growled, stomping on the mask and shattering it for good measure. "You were chosen, not by some inert machine with no conscious, but by ME! I chose you, raised you the day I found you!"

    With an accusatory glare at Ghaul, Consul stomped up to his student. "Remember who you are! WHAT you are! You are CABAL, Cabal wait for nothing! You WILL take the Light. Do as I instructed you, what I RAISED you to do and take the vengeance you PROMISED me!"

    Ghaul's eyes, however, were not planted on the Consul. Instead, they were fixated on the shattered remains of the once ornate mask in front of him. A permanent reminder of his foolishness, to believe he was anything more than a member of a savage race. His destiny was not to deliver his people from Calus, no, those aspirations were tarnished the moment he had kidnapped the Speaker.

    Ghaul was not meant to become the Hero the Cabal needed. He was to be the savage force of nature that would brutally take back what little pride the Cabal had left. He did not need tactical precision, he needed brute force, as the Red Legion had always been known for. His trance was broken as his mask, which hid his own deformaties, was snatched in the Consul's powerful grasp, and his head brought down to face the Consul directly.

    "LOOK at ME, student." Consul hissed at Ghaul, whose eyes trailed to the Traveler looming just outside of his window, with another tug of his mask. "LOOK AT ME!"

    With that, Ghaul's inhibitions, everything he had striven to prove himself to the Traveler had been removed. His right arm instinctively lashed out, making purchase with the Consul's windpipe. Consul's hand's went immediately to Ghaul's supremely larger forearm in a vain attempt to release his grip. His mouth gaped as he struggled to draw in air, while Dominus Ghaul's primal urge to silence his accuser kicked in, his grip tightening around Consul's windpipe to the point of closing it entirely.

    "I will do as I swore, old friend." Ghaul growled as Consul's vain attempts to struggle grew weaker and weaker at the passing seconds. "I will be the scourge of Calus' empire. I am Ghaul, and I will take the Light. Without you."

    As the Consul's form shuddered a final time, his remaining eye rolled back up into his skull, as Ghaul carelessly tossed his corpse aside, turning to glare at the Traveler that had forsaken him. Beneath his mask, he felt the primal nature of his people calling, and he had no choice but to embrace it.

    But now, neither did the Traveler.
    Shad0wChas3r
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    Sentinel; Good, Bad, and Ugly. Empty Re: Sentinel; Good, Bad, and Ugly.

    Post  Shad0wChas3r February 24th 2018, 10:45 pm

    "Krissy!" the late teenage girl called out to her younger sister.

    The younger girl had her arms tightly gripped against the plush Traveler in her arms, standing out in the ruined street. Rubble, debris, ash and soot rained down on them, as the surrounding sounds of war echoed through the empty alleys and streets.

    Holding out her hand, the older sister's hand clutched onto her younger siblings arm, ducking into the nearby alley. As they cleared the alley into the open, debris covered street, they took little hesitation as they moved from abandoned car to car in search of cover from any aliens that wished them harm.

    Hunkered down behind another car, the two took a moment to catch their breathes, the ash and fire in the early morning air pierced their lungs and caused them to cough. Echoing war cries from allied Human, Exo, and Awokens filled the air, as well as the cadence of their rifles, shotguns, and explosives.

    Sprinting across the street towards another alley, the younger sister shrieked as her older sister turned to face her. The plush Traveler had been caught on what appeared to be a makeshift grave, next to a strange impact crater. As the older sister hurriedly picked up the plush toy, she heard a beastial grunt above her. Glancing up, one of the larger Cabal troops stood on the platform above her.

    The sound of an hammer striking an anvil filled the air, and with a pained grunt, the Centurion fell into a heap just before the teenager, lifeless. The teenager's eyes glanced up at the Titan standing above her, a crimson hammer of sterling silver, covered from head to toe with living flame, glanced down at her. A Hunter and Warlock stood at the Titan's sides, as the Teenager mustered the biggest smile she had ever allowed herself in her life.

    "Thank the Traveler." she said, tears forming at the corners of her eyes.

    /////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////

    Demeter nodded to the two sisters, as they scurried off into a building to hide. Unfortunately given the nature of the attack, none of the civilians in the City were truly safe. The flames encompassing her form dwindled and extinguished, leaving her with the same view she had been forced to watch on her long, painful limp out of the City.

    Her eyes snapped to the sky as a multitude of armed ships of various Guardians participated in daring dog fights with countless Cabal ships. In the same sky was the slowly diminishing residue of a sky flare, slowly fading. Taking notice of it's location, she led her Fireteam down the path in the direction of the local Orphanage, her home for most of her young life.

    As the three Guardians approached, a Hunter and a Warlock found their backs pressed to a Cabal energy shield, with a slew of Cabal troops rapidly approaching their position. A lone Titan on the other side of the barricade opened fire on his own set of Cabal reinforcements. Raising their weapons to bear, Demeter and her Fireteam fired in tandem, quickly disposing of the Legionaries and War Beasts that swarmed the Hunter and Warlock.

    "All units, Hawthorne, I've temporarily disabled the shields around the City. Won't stay down for long, so I'd get as much ground covered as possible."

    At her words, the orange glowing shield behind the Warlock and Hunter disappeared into nothing, as they were reunited with the Titan. With only an understanding nod, the Guardians passed through the checkpoint into another section of the Cabal occupied City. The ground beneath them shuddered as a lone Guardian's ship cascaded down from the sky, crashing into the side of a skyscraper.

    Violent explosions covered it's hull as it's remnants and the debris of the partially damaged building cascaded down on top of them. Glancing up into the sky once more, a lone Cabal Demolisher class ship loomed, before a scarlet explosion rippled over it's side. The fighter ship responsible for the attack flew over, the force of it's speed causing the wind to kick up around them and nearly deafen them.

    "AGH! Traveler that's smarts! Mmmmph!" Cayde's voice echoed over the voice chat in pain.

    "Then keep your head down!" Lance grunted in response. "Zavala, behind you!"

    "Raaaaaugh!" Zavala roared as the sound of something crunching filed the microphone. "Hold this position, Prometheus, do you read me?"

    "We're en route Commander." Demeter huffed as she sprinted past the crashed debris of the Cabal Demolisher. "We're just entering the Marketplace now, looking for a vantage point to get to you."

    "Roger that, we'll hold this position until you arrive." Zavala grunted as live round whizzed past him. "Cayde, what's the status on that teleporter?"

    "Listen baldy Mc. Angry. I have two choices; Work on the teleporter, or; shoot the baddies. I can't do both, because they LITERALLY just shot off my ARM!"

    "Hang in there Cayde. Hurry Guardians." Ikora replied.

    As Demeter hustled to clamber over the various abandoned wares of the Marketplace, she managed to finally climb up onto a canopy, and using her Lift, ascend to a nearby rooftop. Making sure the coast was clear, she lowered a hand and helped both Alex and Samuel up to the roof. In the distance, they could make out Lance, Chelsea, Ikora and Zavala facing countless waves of enemies.

    Alex tensed as Demeter turned to look over her shoulder, a cloaked Psion hissing as it raised a Shock Shotgun. Demeter flinched, however, as the frail creature's oblong head erupted into brain matter, bone, and flesh. Following the trail of the sniper, Demeter could barely make out a Hunter with a cloak over their head, blocking the reflection of the scope with their cloak.

    The Hunter waved with a thumbs up, as Demeter nodded. Jumping from rooftop to rooftop with the others, they eventually made their way to the roof. Lance huffed and puffed as he tossed a Legionary over the side of the rooftop. Chelsea stabbed what appeared to be a makeshift bayonet attached to her Veist Auto Rifle for kill another Legionary. Zavala laid, wounded heavily, against a wall, while Ikora and Cayde sat just beside him.

    Ikora was busy tending to Zavala's wound, but kept her iconic shotgun; Invective, close by. Meanwhile, Cayde took a couple of annoyed glances at his right arm, or what would be there had the forearm and hand not been completely removed. His left leg didn't look much better, missing completely below the kneecap.

    "Teleporter is functional, I think. I know it'll at least get you on Ghaul's ship, but I can't guarantee all of you will be able to go through."

    A howl rended the air as a pack of at least thirty War Beasts began to leap over the rooftop where Prometheus had come. Behind them was at least thirty Legionaries, two Centurions, and led by a single Colossus. Alex and Samuel glanced at each other, before turning to Demeter, an Arc bowstaff and flaming longsword appearing in their hands.

    "We'll keep the Vanguard safe." Samuel smirked beneath his helmet. "If they die, than this will all be for nothing."

    "I just want you to know that I'm very glad I got to meet you." Alex smiled genuinely behind her helmet. "You are a true inspiration to us all, and I can only pray to the Traveler that when this is all over, you will remain our friend."

    "This is touching and all, really it is, but the clock's kind of ticking." Cayde grunted as Chelsea helped tend to his wounds.

    Demeter turned to the Teleporter in front of her, the wide hull of Cabal's Flagship; The Immortal, was all that her vision could see. Not even the Traveler in it's impossibly large size, was seen from where she sat. The Sun, which shined on a new day, had just crested over Felwinter's Peak and well above, casting the Vanguard, Fireteam Stratus, and Prometheus in shadow.

    With a deep breath, Demeter clapped a fresh magazine into her sub machine gun, before taking a step forward. A hand clasped on her shoulder, as she turned to Lance, standing eye to eye with her. "You once stood alongside Lady Amethyst, the Iron Shield. If you will allow me, I, Lance the Young Wolf, would be honored to join you by your side."

    "You didn't claim back the Light. I can't promise you safety-" Demeter bowed her head.

    "This is a test for me. One that I must prove I am worthy of passing." Lance glanced up at the ship above them. "You are the Sentinel. You aren't going to be just defending me. You've got the entire City and all of our allies behind you."

    With a brief smile at the corner of her mouth, Demeter nodded as she and Lance stepped into the Teleporter. With a feeling not to different than a transmat, the two were whisked away in a flash.

    ///////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////

    Demeter gasped for air as the two Titans made footfall on what could only be assumed to be the top of The Immortal. All they could see from their view was the ominous glow of the cage encompassing the Traveler's entire form. No sky above them, only the caged machine that Humanity had been reliant on for so long.

    In the distance, a swirl of strange arcane red fire twirled around an unseen form, the fire lapping at the cool morning air in an inferno so intense that she could feel it from where she was standing. The feeling was not unpleasant, however, it's familiarity had made her stomach uneasy. The sound of leather shifting filled the air as her attention turned to Lance's right hand, which had balled into a fist.

    "How fitting that your Traveler sent you to face me. Gaze against my illustrious form! Dominus of the Red Legion. Annihilator of Suns! Ghaul's familiar and terrifying voice bellowed on the wind. "Razer of a thousand worlds. Slayer of self proclaimed Gods and now the Conqueror of the Light!"

    The blazing tornado enveloping the unseen figure evaporated into nothing, as a pair of solar flares erupted out of the pack on the now revealed form of Dominus Ghaul. His eyes burned like red hot embers, as a supremely powerful aura radiated from his form, enough to run into Demeter and Lance's chest with the power of a freight engine. His right arm reached out and from it formed a blazing glaive.

    "I. AM. GHAUL!" the albino Dominus stood to his full height, slamming the butt of his glaive onto the floor before him with a resounding metallic echo. "-and your Light is mine!"
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    Post  Shad0wChas3r February 24th 2018, 11:48 pm

    Such as Demeter had once witnessed Alex in her Dawn Blade perform, Ghaul floated high above where he had been standing, his flaming Glaive in hand. With a powerful throw from his mighty arm, the fiery weapon careened through the air in their position, containing the same iconic screech the Dawn Blade's projectiles made.

    With a twist, Demeter summoned her Sentinel shield and held it up in a defensive stance, turning the weapon away with a deft parry. Much like a Sunbreaker Titan, however, Ghaul's weapon reappeared in his hand, and he threw it again. Lance, seeing Demeter's stance falter slightly after the second strike, began sprinting for cover. Ghaul noticed this motion with a snort and tossed his weapon after Lance.

    Demeter span on her boots and threw the shield as hard as she could, the Void covered shield struck the Solar covered glaive and sent it horribly off aim. Regaining her composure, Demeter stood ready as the shield reformed on her arm once more. Turning back to her, Ghaul summoned a second Glaive in his opposite hand and threw one, delaying for a second, before throwing the next.

    Demeter, knowing for sure that such sustained damage would cause her shield to break, dove out of the way. She flinched, however, as her Sentinel disk deteriorated mid-dive. However, Ghaul was still affected by the abundant Light he had just been bathing in, and his super powered form was able to continue.

    Diving out of the way of two more thrown Glaives, Demeter sprinted to close the gap between them. Ghaul, who had run fresh out of Light after the last two throws, sank back to the bulkhead once more. At her approach, he pushed powerfully off of his right foot, prepping his massive right fist back for a punch. Demeter stopped her momentum slightly, before activating her Lift and soared straight over Ghaul's head.

    The ship's hull buckled and groaned at Ghaul's mighty punch, shaking a good portion of the ship. Demeter landed somewhat awkwardly, but managed to recompose herself, bounding off of what she could only assume was one of many exhaust fans. Using her momentum, she pulled back her right fist, which crackled with Arc energy, and struck Ghaul square in the face as he turned to face her.

    The power and velocity behind the punch was enough to cause Ghaul to stagger backwards, his metallic boots grinding on the metal beneath his feet. Gathering himself, Ghaul stomped a mighty foot down, before flinching. Demeter, who had not let up, appeared just under his chin, fist still alight with Arc energy. The Arc traveled from her fist to her foot, however, as she swung the roof of her boot up to the bottom of his mask.

    Ghaul groaned as he was stuck backwards onto his back end. Struggling to get up from the cumbersome armor he was wearing, Ghaul roared angrily as he tried to refocus the Light and allow him to float. Demeter knew she couldn't risk waiting for him to gather another dosage of pure Light, and chased after him.

    With a cocky snicker, Ghaul twisted his body much like a children's toy top. Using one of his mighty legs to suddenly stop his spin, the momentum carried itself and he found himself on both feet again. With Demeter too close to course correct, Ghaul took his advantage and attempted to tackle her with his massive form.

    Demeter flinched as she just barely dove out of the way. However, Ghaul expected it and followed up with a slash from his open palm. Diving out of the way, Demeter activated her Lift and, channeling what little Arc energy she could muster, brought both of her fists together for an overhead double fisted hammer. Ghaul snickered as one of his hands caught her double Fists of Havoc, before reaching way back and slamming her back first into the metal.

    Once again the metal beneath them buckled and groaned at the excessive power behind the force. Demeter gasped as she felt the wind knock itself from her, as well as the possibility of a few cracked ribs, and a potentially broken pair. Struggling to stand in her winded state, her eyes widened as Ghaul thrust a mighty Arc covered punch of his own into her torso.

    She found herself flying through the air from the impact, followed by a deep grunt from Lance as she found herself colliding with him. Toppled over each other, Demeter struggled to stand as Lance groaned in legitimate pain. The Legionaries and other Cabal reinforcements that had slowly been working their way onto this deck gaffawed as their tormentor, Lance, had been knocked down so easily.

    The metal beneath them quaked and shuddered as Ghaul closed the distance on the two of them. Demeter could barely breath as she struggled to move. Lance grit his teeth and pushed her out of the way, just in time for Ghaul to once again follow up, in Lance's chest, with another mighty punch.

    Lance howled in pain as he was thrust back several meters into one of the many exhaust fans. Demeter stared at his currently unmoving form, but knew she had little time to worry. Avoiding another punch from Ghaul with the skin of her teeth, she stumbled backwards into a very warm, but familiar air.

    In an instant, all of her fatal wounds were healed to a survivable state, and she felt a surge of raw energy. A feeling she had not felt in what now seemed like forever. Solar Light danced across her torso, as she planted both feet firmly into the metal beneath her, the heat from her form causing it to melt slightly.

    Ghaul himself had no choice but to recoil from the immense heat her form gave off, as Demeter's Hammer of Sol elongated. It's handle, once small enough to fit in a single hand, now was large enough to fit comfortably in two hands, and the head large enough to encompass her body.

    "What is this?1" Ghaul snarled, shielding his eyes from the brilliant Golden Light radiating over her.

    "The very Light that forged an entire discipline of Titans. The very beacon of Light that lead distressed refugee's to the promise of a better Life." Drake Stratus' voice echoed from the air around them. "The Light of the Traveler's Chosen!"

    Demeter dashed forward, swinging her massive fiery hammer with ease at Ghaul. The giant space turtle grunted as the strikes from the elongated war hammer crunched and cracked the vambrace of his right arm, which he had used to block the initial blow. The second swing caught Ghaul on his side, the fire licking at his armor and melting it, allowing the hammer to have that much less resistance.

    The speed and ferocity of her swings increased as her frustrations at everything Ghaul had done to her and Humanity came to the forefront of her mind. Visions of him stripping the little Light Amethyst retained and then immediately discarding her, began to pop up. If only she was truly here, how proud would she be?

    That one thought cost her the advantage, as Ghaul's mighty right hand snatched the hammer, and with a tensing of his muscles, crushed it in his right hand. With a growl he swung down at her, but she managed to dive out of the way. He continued his flurry of blows, but Demeter, now charged and feeling confident, managed to avoid them. Faking Ghaul out, the space turtle swung where he assumed she would go, but instead she remained still.

    As Ghaul turned to face her, however, she had already wound up another Arc covered Fist of Havoc. Her left fist struck between his legs, the metal of his groin plate crunching, following by a sickening crack. Ghaul groaned in pain as Demeter span on her boot, dipping low and releasing a mighty Uppercut Fist of Havoc into the underside of his mask.

    Ghaul roared in pain as he was sent careening several feet back onto the very platform where the raging inferno of Solar energy had once surrounded him. Panting to himself, he limped his battered and beaten form back to the very position he had been at the start of the fight.

    "MORE, TRAVELER! I. NEED. MORE! AUUUUUUUGH!" Ghaul's voice echoed across the hull of the ship.

    Demeter sighed with relief as the sound of Lance's Pulse Rifle's continuous fire continued in the background. He wasn't much help in a fight with a Light powered Ghaul, but keeping the reinforcements at bay has been more than enough for her.

    "Was that pain I just heard?" She asked over comms, as Lance grunted.

    "Yeah. He's literally cramming Light into his body and the Light's trying to reject him, and his body is trying to reject the Light." Lance replied. "Keep chipping him down, the more he absorbs into himself, the more irreparable damage he'll cause himself."

    A flourish of Void energy began to swirl around Ghaul's form as he screamed in a mixture of agony and, to Demeter's dismay, ecstasy. With Ghaul immobilized, she hazarded a few shots, but they melted in the heat of proximity well before they could reach Ghaul. Instead, she helped Lance focus on killing the onslaught of War Beasts, Legionaries, Centurions, and Psions.

    With one last roar, the Void tornado faded away into nothing. Now with purple Void tendrils covering his form, Ghaul floated above the platform. While no specialized weapon appeared on him, Demeter's bullets met with what she could only describe was a force field no different from when she guarded with the Sentinel shield.

    With her moment, she once again channeled the last of her Solar energy into another Warhammer of Sol Stratus. Spinning in a circle, Demeter loosed her weapon in Ghaul's direction. He returned with a disk of Void energy, no different than her Sentinel shield. However, unlike a normal Hammer of Sol, she could not focus to rechannel her weapon back to her hand.

    With a grimace, she began to charge for the hammer, as Ghaul span in air and once again threw a disk of Void energy. Demeter flinched as her fingers narrowly missed the hammer, leaving her open.

    TSSSSK!The sound of glass breaking echoed throughout the open air as Demeter turned to see Lance, covered in head to toe in Solar energy, with the Iron Lord's iconic Iron Axe in his hands. Shards of Void energy coalesced around him, before rechanneling itself back to Ghaul's possession.

    A delayed shockwave emanated from Lance's position as the force and power behind his strike caused the wind to pick up around them. A plume of fire erupted in a ring around Lance, smouldering the air in a mixture of fire, ash, and smoke. The smoke screen ebbed it's way over the dumbfounded combatants, as Ghaul roared mightily, a force of unknown origins pulsing from himself, causing the smog to clear.

    "Take a rest, Sentinel." Lance turned his head slightly to face her. "Ghaul, was it? How does it feel to be nearly bested by what many would consider a novice at the Light?"

    Lance's footfalls echoed over the relative silence of the bulkhead, Ghaul's abundant Light having been spent, panted to himself as Lance approached. Fire erupted from the ornate mouths of the wolves on Lance's shoulders and chestplate as the Light within him was restored anew.

    "You call yourself a Slayer of Gods, but all you're efforts have amounted to was the slaughter of fledgling Guardians and a feeble attempt to claim something that wasn't yours." Lance rolled his neck, crouching into an offensive stance. "Let's see how you fare against a Veteran of the Light."
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    Post  Shad0wChas3r February 25th 2018, 1:04 am

    Ghaul snarled loudly as the void disk in his grasp was once again sent out, this time it's target was Lance. With a cocky yawn, Lance stood his axe upright to his side, caught the Void disk in his hand, and tossed it aside like a useless piece of trash, before reclaiming his axe.

    Producing a fusion grenade in his off hand, Lance whipped around the threw it at Ghaul, whose Void disk deflected it. In return, Ghaul presented what Demeter could only guess was his own version of a Magnetic grenade at Lance. Lance swung the axe around him expertly, cleaving the small purple sphere in half with little hassle. In the same motion, he once again threw another Fusion grenade. Ghaul's shield raised again and absorbed the Solar grenade to no effect.

    With a growl of annoyance from Ghaul, he floated higher into the air and raised both hands above his head. What had once been a Void disk became bulbous and round, swelling large enough to fit an entire district of the City within it's shadow. The colossal Nova Bomb cascaded down towards Lance, who twirled his axe around in front of him. Void tendrils of his own creeped up his form as they absorbed the power of the Nova Bomb, reducing it's size from a City District to absolutely nothing.

    In one final twirl, Lance twisted the axe almost like a magician's staff, and pointed the head toward's Ghaul. A monstrous beam of Void energy erupted from the end and overlapped Ghaul's form. Roars of pain echoed in Ghaul's general direction, as Lance collapsed to a knee, completely spent.

    "That's all you have? I suppose the gap between a Veteran and a Novice isn't severe." Ghaul chuckled, his stance staggered and pained, but solid. " I have an Empire to overthrow, I do not have time to continue these fancy Light shows."

    Stepping one final time onto his platform, Ghaul roared as a vortex of pure Arc Light washed over his form. Arc energy crackled over him and snapped as a small inclement storm formed on his position. Lance huffed and puffed, as he turned to Demeter.

    "He's going to try to end it all with one final attack." Lance grunted. "I have a means of stopping the attack dead in it's tracks. However, it will not defeat him, but it should weaken him enough to allow you to finish the job."

    "I know what he intends to do. Believe me on this, you're going to want to locate some cover." Drake's voice echoed in her ear. "Ghaul's been tapping too heavily into the Traveler's pure Light. Even if it's poisoning him, he'll only grow stronger for every second he's in it's influence."

    "I've given you what little abundant Light I can muster left." Drake instructed. "Save it for the right moment. We have a plan."

    The Arc vortex surrounding Ghaul ebbed away just as the previous two had done before. Floating high above the ship's bulkhead, Ghaul's hands raised above him. Arc energy weaved itself between his arms, legs, and everywhere in between, as an orb of pure Arc energy began to form at his finger tips.

    The air grew heavy around Demeter and Lance, however, as the fire that had once consumed Lance in his Warpath Titan technique once again danced across him. Only this time, it was different. Scarlet and orange fire danced alongside indigo and cerulean blues. With every step Lance took towards Ghaul, a white hot footstep melted itself into the ship's hull.

    Demeter found herself barely able to breathe, as if all of the nearby oxygen was being sucked in by the immense fire building up around Lance. The Iron Lord slowly marched his way to the Cabal Dominus, the Arc sphere above him gaining considerable mass by the second.

    "Cliche as it sounds, I was a lot like both of you. I thought the Light was the end all, be all solution to every problem this Universe throws at us." Lance's voice echoed coldly over the silent air. "That without it, there was no sense of accomplishment, no victories to be won."

    "I learned the error of my ways when you, a Lightless creature, was able to exploit our hubris and take away the very thing we came to depend on." Lance growled as blue flames began to swirl around his form like a bubble, the blue slowly transitioning to a whitish-gold. "However, it didn't take you long to fall victim to the desire for overwhelming power. Like a moth to flame, you went where none else dared, and you succeeded. Well, almost."

    "Yes, it's true that the Light requires willingness to honor, devotion, and sacrifice. But you've never truly known Honor, Devotion, or even Sacrifice, do you Ghaul?" Lance asked. "Honor comes from a sense of endearment to those you serve with. Devotion comes from your willingness to do what you must to protect those that you can, by whatever means necessary. Sacrifice comes from when all other options are spent and you only have one option, so you give your most precious possession in the service of someone else."

    "Tell me Ghaul." Lance planted his feet firmly beneath the Cabal Dominus. "When was the last time you ever did anything remotely good for anyone other than serving your own selfish needs?!"

    A pained roar erupted from Lance as he clenched both of his fists painfully tight. The same white gold fire that swirled around him in a sphere swelled to double the size, yet was dwarved in comparison to the Arc sphere that Ghaul had attained. The Immortal around them shook as the power emanating from Lance caused severe shockwaves that gave Demeter a killer headache.

    His throat practically tore itself apart as he continued his furious roar of pain, the sphere of white and gold around him continuing to further maintain and even progress in mass and energy.

    "You and the rest of your feeble race will become DUST in the eyes of my glorious empire!" Ghaul roared, as he swung the gargantuan orb down at his own ship. "DISAPPEAR, FOR GOOD!"

    Lance's roar of pain only continued to get louder and more fierce as the Arc sphere enveloped him and his own sizeable orb of Solar energy. In a matter of seconds, the orb of brilliant teal energy completely encased Lance and his Supernova technique. Demeter wasn't sure if it was still the echoes or not, but she could swear she still heard the sound of Lance's blood curdling scream.

    Suddenly, a piercing beam of golden Light erupted from the teal sphere of Arc energy, striking Ghaul square in the chest. At the climax of Lance's yell, more beams of Light broke the Arc sphere, as it was instead erupted outwards with a constantly swelling sphere of Solar energy. Within a heart beat, no remaining trace of the Arc bomb existed, and instead the intense head of a Titan's Supernova lashed out and enveloped both Lance, and Ghaul.

    Demeter stumbled as the detonation of Lance's Supernova caused the ship beneath her to split precisely in half. Jumping the gap with the explosion clear, her heart panged as not a trace of the Iron Lord remained, instead, Ghaul struggled to stand. Alien blood poured out of his countless wounds, as his armor was beyond repair, and charred from the singeing flames.

    "T-This is not possible. I am the Dominus, leader of the impenetrable Red Legion. I have never once known defeat, and I refuse to do so now." Ghaul growled, however, as he found himself unable to steady himself, collapsing to a knee.

    "That's why the Light never chose you." Demeter slapped him across the cheek, his mask in shambles at his feet. "Why give a helping hand to someone that didn't need it?"

    "I've never been great at sports, but I believe this is game over."

    Arc energy sprawled across her form, with Solar energy weaving across her. Rolling her neck and her right arm, Demeter channeled all of her Arc and Solar Light into one final attack, the amount of excess Light she had been channeling already causing her to feel uneasy and sick. Soldiering through it, Demeter channeled all of her anger, and the pain this monstrosity had caused on her people.

    "This? This is for AMETHYST!" Twisting on her boot, Demeter swung her right fist around in a wide circle around her, with each second it traveled, a film of Golden Light covered it. "NYAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAGH!"

    Upon contact with Dominus Ghaul's chestplate, the energy surrounding her fist exploded with raw energy, rippling across his torso in a wave of Solar and Arc. The ensuing shockwave was enough to blast Ghaul at an upwards, diagonal direction. With a sickening crack, his body struck the cage holding the Traveler hostage, and managed to put a tremendous crack in it.

    Lifeless, the Cabal Dominus' corpse fell to the slowly descending ship. Upon landing, just a few feet from Demeter, Ghaul's form began to shudder and crack. Golden Light seeped out of his body in a beacon of Light that erupted straight into the sky. Like the very bird from her vision many many weeks ago, the Golden Light took the shape of an avian creature.

    Demeter smiled, feeling relieved as she freed the Light from it's captive. Her smile decayed into a hopeless gape as the form coalesced into the shape of Dominus Ghaul. It's appearance was milky and golden, but interlaced with the disgusting gray of smoke and oil.

    "TRAVELER?!" Ghaul's gargantuan Light form called. "Do you see me now?!"

    The giant ethereal formation of Dominus Ghaul's consciousness turned to the City behind him. Every motion his intangible form made, Golden Light literally dribbled from him, as if his form was liquid and air simultaneously. Splaying his arms proudly out before him, Demeter stared in legitimate fear. Had Dominus Ghaul truly won the day?

    "Do you see, Humans? I am IMMORTAL! A GOD! You have failed!" Ghaul boasted. "Witness the dawning of a new Age!"

    In Demeter's stupor, she had neglected to notice the two Golden Titan figures of similar consistency standing beside her with their arms crossed unimpressed. Drake's from snickered to himself as he shook his head cockily left to right.

    "Why are you snickering?" Demeter asked, legitimately frustrated. "I can't fight that."

    "Relax, you don't have to." Drake's ethereal hand rested on her shoulder. "I've been waiting for this day since I was first resurrected."

    Before Demeter could issue a reply, however, she felt goosebumps rise and sink across her form as the cage, at the origin of the crack she had caused, began to glow a heavenly blue and white. A beautiful, melodic humming originated from the crack forming along the cage, as the cracks turned to fissures spanning the entire form of the Traveler.

    Demeter's heart raced in her chest as she felt the dopiest smile form across her face. Ghaul seemed to notice the overbearing presence himself, and turned his ethereal form to face the giant sphere in the sky. Blue light pierced the tremors from all ends, with the biggest of them shining directly in his face.

    "You. do. see. me." Ghaul held a hand out to the sphere to not only cover his eyes, but as if to touch something far beyond his reach.

    "Yes, I do." a familiar disembodied feminine voice echoed from the back of Demeter's mind. "-and you're just as ugly as I imagined, you wretched creature."

    " NOOOOOOOOOOOO!" Ghaul screamed as the cage erupted in a blinding flash of pure white and golden Light.

    Demeter's helmet tried fruitlessly to depolarize enough, but she was incapable of doing so. In that same flash, Ghaul's ethereal form flittered away into nothing more than smoke. In that instance, the Traveler looked to be a solid white sphere of bright, blinding Light. A wave of turquoise Light erupted out in a sphere around the Traveler, washing over every bit of shadow that wasn't immediately an indoors area.

    For the second time in all of Human history, the Earth was without shadow. A smile creeped once again across Demeter's face as Lance, now resurrected from the wave of pure Light, placed a hand endearingly on her shoulder. Drake's ethereal form was caught glancing at the perfect white sphere floating above the City.

    His attention turned to them as the destroyed ship beneath them evaporated into the nothing as well as the cage that had once surrounded it, instead of the now deleted ship, they were floating on what appeared to be unseen platforms, no doubt thanks to the Traveler. With a smile, Drake turned to the two living Titans in front of him.

    "Welcome to the next Golden Age, Titans."

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