To the Stars (Destiny)

Just because Into the Stars is complete, doesn't necessarily mean every secret is ready to be revealed.

Shad0wChas3r wrote:Just because Into the Stars is complete, doesn't necessarily mean every secret is ready to be revealed.

But, but, but, we need to know XD

To free up some space here on the Database, I'm moving the entirety of Out of the Void (the sequel to this story) here for ease of reading and access.

You

"You who gazed upon the world on both sides of the spectrum. You who saw the Light in the world, the one who saw the Darkness in the stars. You, who sacrificed everything. From the shores of Old Russia, to the Ocean of Storms on the Moon. You bravely faced the forces of the Darkness. Never once did you falter, your pace unaltered. You're echoing footsteps, a swift, yet firm, reminder that the Light hasn't died." the robed man stared at the giant orb in the distance.

The giant sphere glowed gold for a moment, the energy from the pulse knocking the robed man backwards. Visions filled his eyes, as he watched a battlefield form around him. He stood on the wall, several Guardians at his side. Standing before them, a man readied his Scout Rifle, pointing towards the encroaching Fallen forces.

"You who stood upon the Wall, a beacon of hope to your men. You, who had shown no remorse for the enemy."

The guardians surrounding the robed man took to the skies, descending on the Fallen like a volley of arrows, massive, angry arrows. Each and every Guardian, as deadly as a thousand thunderstorms.

The visions before his eyes molded once more, he was now on the white surface of the moon. Creatures with midnight black carapaces growled at the three Guardians behind him. Emerald eyes of three stared the Guardians down, but the three were not slowed.

"You who led the defense of the Moon."

There was a quake just in front of the robed man, as a massive sword bearing Knight crashed onto the surface of the Moon. Holding it's sword high, it pointed menacingly at one of the Guardians.

"You, who stared Crota, Son of Oryx, in the eyes. Never once did you falter, your resolve whole, and complete." the robed man said.

Sprinting at the massive beast, electricity sparked from one Guardian's mighty gauntlets. Diving deftly under a swing of the sword, the Guardian slid on his knees, before ramming his shoulder deep into the beast's chest. As the beast swung again, the Guardian back-stepped, avoiding the blade completely.

"You, who watched as everything you loved, Taken before your very eyes." the robed man's voice echoed.

Crota swung his blade down once more, the blade imbedding within the Guardian's friend's shoulder blade. The first Guardian charged once more at the beast, fueled by thoughts of revenge. Throwing fist after fist into the creature's carapace, it seemed like nothing would budge the monstrocity. Flipping the sword in it's hand, Crota swung his blade down into the surface.

As the last two Guardians attempted to avoid the forming crater on the Moon's surface, the Sparrow beneath them dipped, ejecting the male guardian. Rolling, the Titan lunged his right arm out, attempting to catch the Huntress. His hand, however, missed, as she sank into the Hellmouth, her last words echoing throughout his comm.

Once more, the visage the robed man witnessed molded. Back on Earth, he watched as a pair of Titans fought a massive Fallen Archon Priest. A younger Titan struggled, as the massive beast attempted to pin him to the floor. To his left, a crane hook dangled, grasping it, he flung it at the monster. A chink in the beast's neck armor allowed the hook to sink in.

Choking, the beast reared, as the elder Titan grasped the other end of the chain, pulling with a rage unseen by anyone before.

"You, who had lost everything, returned to us. Only to fight the same war. You used your strength, to pummel the Darkness into submission."

The Fallen Archon Priest chittered as it was lifted into the air, the hook further imbedding into it's neck. Grasping at it's neck, the beast continued to hang there, it's head slowly becoming detached.

"You slayed Kraxsis, Devil Archon Priest." the robed man said. "You, who were reunited with the one you love. Only to lose them again."

Again, the robed man found himself in a different place. A ominous green glow overtook the room around him. The massive Knight, Crota, stood, fractured, before the four Guardians. One Titan, and his Huntress friend, stepped out to face Crota.

"You, who sacrificed his life a second time. You, who did so without hesitation."

The Titan held his Huntress friend's hand, flinging her head first into the giant sphere the beast had summoned. Charging at the monster with a sword formed from Solar fire, the two exchanged blows. Jumping over a swing from the sword, the Titan swung, slicing the hardened carapace of the Hive God.

Thrusting their swords forwards, the two sword wielding parties impaled one another. The Titan sank to his knees, while the fractured God erupted into shards of carapace and fire. His spare hand reaching out to the Stars.

"You, Drake Sol, Slayer of Crota. You, who have become Legend." the robed man said, as the visions cleared, returning to his observatory. "Your Light is strong. You are needed again. It is time  for you, like the most powerful of Sunsinger Warlocks..."

The Speaker smiled beneath his helmet, as a Golden Light erupted from behind him. The figure fell to it's knees, coughing and sputtering as he did so.

"To come out of the Void."

"Welcome back, Drake Sol." the Speaker said, offering a hand to the Titan.

"I- Where is Chelsea, or Lance?" Drake asked, accepting the hand.

"It has been some many months since you slayed Crota, Titan." the Speaker nodded. "The Warlock and the young Titan have both made names for themselves, having helped Guardians deal with the Wolf threat."

Drake groaned, as the familiar whirl of a machine appeared beside him. To his right, Arianna blinked, before circling around his head.

"Arianna is bound to you, but worry not for your friend Lance. His replacement Ghost is with him now." the Speaker nodded. "You should check with the Vanguard, you may find your friends there."

Drake stopped for a moment, holding his hand out in front of him, Arianna levitated above it for a moment. Her eye reticule focused and unfocused, Drake's eyes casting down to his feet.

"She wasn't in the Void with me." Drake said, before turning his eyes towards the Speaker. "That means she's either still alive- or worse."

"The Traveler only knows, and as you are aware-"

"Yeah." Drake sighed. "Thanks for the help, Speaker."

With one last nod, Drake marched down the stairs. A few recruited Warlocks and Hunters looked at him with awe. Two Titans bellowed with laughter at the bottom of the stairs, before turning towards him.

"Look at this guy!" one of them said, pointing towards Drake. "What in god's name is that armor you're wearing?"

In his 'rebirth', Drake had neglected to realize his armor was different than it had been when he died.

"Sorry Drake, your old armor was destroyed when you... y'know. Strangely enough, I was able to find this set of armor during our time in Crota's Realm."

"Pfft, YOU fought Crota?!" one of the other Titans scoffed.

Before either of the two younger Titan's could continue, a pair of hands smashed them from behind.

"That's enough, both of you." a third and final Titan said, her brown eyes peering at Drake. "Don't you know who you're talking to?!"

"C-Captain Driesden!" one of the Titan's stammered.

"This is Drake Stratus, you morons!" she barked, as both of the Titans stared wide-eyed at Drake. "Although you may have heard his more recent Legends, where he slayed Crota, and cleared the majority of the House of Devils?"

"It's actually Drake Sol now." Drake said, rubbing his shoulder. "I also try not to brag about these things. It's my job as a Guardian."

"It's something you always taught me." she winked at him, a grin on her face. "Amethyst Driesden, or as you probably remember me; Tadpole."

"M-ma'am?" the second Titan asked.

"That's right, Drake here was my mentor, back during the fight of Twilight Gap." Amethyst nodded. "So watch who you're talking to! You insult him, you're insulting me!"

"S-Sorry ma'am!" the two Titans said, backing away. "S-Sorry Mr. Sol!"

Drake nodded curtly, as the two Titans sprinted off. Amethyst smiled, before wrapping her arms around him.

"When you died at the Twilight Gap, sir, the entire Sixth Pillar mourned for weeks." Amethyst sighed. "Saladin and Shaxx got into a pissing contest over whose training regiment was more befitting you, while Zavala rose through the ranks to take your spot."

"I've seen both Shaxx and Saladin." Drake chuckled. "In truth, I don't really condone either the Crucible or the Iron Banner tourney, solely because I feel that killing other Guardians doesn't do a good enough job of training them against the Darkness."

"Just as nonchalant as I remember." Amethyst said, removing herself from him.

"Just as clingy as I remember, too." Drake said. "How about you, Tadpole?"

"I'm good!" she said. "My brother gave me a spot in the Iron Lords. So I preside over some Iron Banner matches. When I'm not watching Guardians eviscerate each other, though, I'm Zavala's right hand. Like he had been to you."

"So I heard, Captain." Drake nodded. "Those two, were they pupils of yours?"

"Partially." she shrugged. "More so some other kid's. Goes by the name of Lance."

Drake nodded sagely, before thinking about it for a moment. She had just mentioned Lance. Remembering his original goal, he frowned.

"I-Is something the matter, Strato?" Amethyst asked, as Drake shook his head.

"Lance is my great grandson." Drake chuckled. "I just can't believe he's already a mentor. Last time I saw him, he was still learning from me."

"Huh." Amethyst said, placing a hand on her hips. "I thought for sure he was bluffing when he mentioned you mentoring him, let alone being related. Guess he thinks I'm a bitch, then."

"Is he on any jobs?" Drake asked.

"Nope, in fact, I just saw him talking to Master Rahool with that Warlock."

"That Warlock is a friend, Tadpole." Drake said, as the two of them walked together. "The schism between the Guardians is over, there can still be a rivalry, but they are just as much an ally to the Tower as the Titans are."

Marching together through the Tower, Drake glanced about. Tess Everis had opened a new store recently. Whatever she sold, he wasn't too sure he was interested in buying. Walking past her, a crowd of mixed and matched Guardians turned to face him, as Tess herself looked at him.

"I guess your reputation truly proceeds you, Strats." Amethyst chuckled. "All eyes are on you."

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Lance sighed as he handed the purple sphere to Rahool, Chelsea chuckling as Lance groaned in annoyance.

"I'm truly sorry, Titan. It's the best I could do."

"This is the third time you've given me this Auto Rifle, Rahool!" Lance growled. "I use Pulse Rifles and Shotguns!"

One Hunter passed in front of Lance, offering a purple engram as well. Rahool nodded, passing the Hunter a strange set of arm armor. The left arm actually had a living Scarab attached to it, unsettling Chelsea.

"Sorry Lance." the Hunter said with a frown. "I hope you have better luck next time."

"Perhaps I should check with Master Ives in the Reef" Lance shrugged, as Rahool himself gave a death glare.

"Don't you dare." Rahool said. "That cretin stole my ledger, and I don't much care for his methods."

"Oh, you mean the fact he actually gives me good stuff?" Lance shook his head.

"He gives you better stuff because he actually has my complete book. Everything I decrypt here is from memory." Rahool sighed. "There's just no pleasing you Titans."

The Hunter beside Lance held his hand out, stopping Lance from advancing. A Warlock sprinted over, her hair in a bun, as she placed a hand on Chelsea's shoulder.

"Chels! You'll never believe whose on the Tower!" the woman smiled. "A Legendary Titan!"

"Which one?" Lance grunted, as the Warlock sneered at him.

"Not you, if you were implying." she shook her head, before turning her head towards the Everis Trading Corporation. "Oh my Traveler! There he is!"

Chelsea and Lance turned, as Rahool nodded his respects silently. Lance dropped the Shadow Price that Rahool had fashioned, while Chelsea's eyes began to water. There, in the flesh before them, Drake Sol marched towards them, Amethyst Driesden at his side.

Chelsea detached herself from the young Warlock, sprinting at Drake. Stopping just short of him, she wrapped her arms around his torso.

"Drake!" she sobbed. "We thought you died!"

"He did." Lance scoffed, walking away.

"Get back here." Amethyst said, as Lance flipped her the bird.

Drake released Chelsea, trotting after him. Chelsea's friend looked to her and Amethyst, before tilting her head.

"You knew Drake Sol?" she asked.

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"Lance. I'm sorry, okay?"

"Sorry isn't going to bring them back." Lance growled. "Sorry doesn't take back the months of grieving I did."

"That's why the Traveler brought me back, I'm certain of it. Lillian and  Jeremy weren't in the Void with me." Drake shook his head.

"Did you see Grandpa, then?!" Lance snarled, as Drake's eyes widened.

Nathan was dead? Drake couldn't accept it, his son was gone. Holding a hand to his face, Drake shook his head, his only son dead, and he hadn't been there for him his entire life.

"When did he-"

"Three months ago." Lance clenched his fists. "Cancer, he couldn't afford the treatment. Chelsea and I hunted the Queen of the Reef's pet Wolves in hopes of getting some reward glimmer. When we returned, he had passed."

Drake stood there for a moment, stunned, while Lance scoffed, beginning to walk away again.

"I wish I could have been there for him." Drake said, stopping Lance. "His entire life, I wish I had been there. The Darkness... the Darkness is going to pay for this."

"I had heard you were on the Tower again, Drake." Zavala said, walking up to him. "I figured I would meet you, rather than make you walk all the way to me."

"You want to take the fight to the Darkness? We're getting rare distress beacons from Phobos, but we can't identify if they are friendly... or Cabal. Either way, if either person is distressed, something's out there."

"I'm sorry to ask so much of you, especially after you just returned to us." Zavala rubbed the back of his head. "Truth be told, I wasn't even sure if Lance would be up to the task."

"I have nothing better to do." Lance huffed, glaring back at the City.

"That's what I fear. You've been pushing yourself and Chelsea way too hard, Titan." Zavala placed a hand on Lance's shoulder. "I'm sorry for the loss of your Grandfather, truly I am."

Lance turned to Drake, staring angrily into his eyes, without a sign of remorse.

"The mission was for me, but Zavala's right. Chelsea's been through far too much, if you're coming with, I suggest you get a new ship and fast." Lance stormed away, as Drake and Amethyst watched after him.

Turning to Arianna, Drake's Ghost nodded her form. Drake's Valkyrie-OX floated from Orbit, hovering towards the hanger. Amethyst moved to stop Drake, before walking beside him.

"Was it because of me?" she asked, Drake shook his head.

"He's upset because my son is dead. His Grandfather was the only relative that he had since I died to Crota, and his own father sacrificed himself to kill one of Crota's Deathsingers." Drake sighed. "I imagine it's because he had already moved on from my death, only for me to come back again."

"These kinds of things do this to people." Amethyst nodded. "Let me come with you guys."

"It's not my call, Tadpole. You gotta ask Lance."

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

"Are you trying to test me, Drake?!" Lance growled, pushing his finger into Drake's chest. "First you come into my life, than you die, my Grandfather dies, and you have the nerve to show your face to me again?"

"Listen, that was out of my control." Drake crossed his arms. "How was I supposed to know the Traveler would bring me back again."

"Do you know he left me a note?" Lance said, shoving Drake. "Keep the table set for them, for when they return!"

Drake shook his head, after this long, Nathan still had that table set with all of that stuff? Sighing, Drake walked over towards Amethyst.

"Where do you think you're going?!" Lance asked. "I'm not done with you!"

"Funny." Drake turned. "I thought you said you were."

Striding towards Amanda Holliday, Drake bypassed several rookie Guardians, who all looked at him in wonder. Lance clenched his fists, moving after him. Amethyst's arm braced against his chest, as she stared deep into his eyes.

"Why do you always have to be an over emotional asshole?" She asked. "Drake's first goal when he revived, not even ten minutes ago, was to check in with you and Chelsea!"

"What's it to you what I do to him?" Lance snarled. "He already loved someone else, are you trying to get after him?!"

"It's nothing like that!" she shook her head. "Drake and I share a lot in common, but it's totally platonic!"

"Oh really?" Lance scoffed, easing up. "What are you, his sister?"

"In a way, yes, actually." Amethyst frowned, shoving away from him.

"Actually, I want you to tell me how exactly that is." Lance growled. "I don't exactly trust you, y'know."

"Have you heard of Kabr the Legionless?"

"Yeah."

"That's our Father." she said, gazing towards Drake. "He was the second Titan Vanguard."

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Humanity's Golden Age, New Russia.

Rain continued to cascade on the traveling party's heads. A young girl, no older than ten, walked alongside her mother and father. They carried what little they could as they were evacuated from New Berlin, Germany. The mud beneath their feet sloshed, and every step it carried a new weight to it.

Truth was, they had been walking for fifteen hours straight. Whatever puddles pooled in the ground, they drank. Whatever berries, fruits, or even plants that were edible were consumed, but they did not stop walking. The young girl groaned as she tripped up in the mud, splashing down, the coagulated material splashed over the top of her.

Her tired spirit and body attempted to stand again, but she found herself incapable of completing even the simplest of tasks. Clearing her nose from the mud, she watched as her parents turned to save her. However, chitters filled the air, and, much to the horror of the group, the Fallen were upon them.

She watched with fear as a handful of Dregs, Vandals, a Captain, and even a pair of Barons assaulted her group. Arc blades cracked in the moist, dampened air, lightning arching across the skies. Her mother stood before her, deftly firing her Hand Cannon at the Captain as it advanced. Her eyes closed, however, as she felt a warm liquid splash against the top of her head, her mother's lifeless corpse falling on top of her.

Unable to move, the young girl strived to stand. She wanted to fight, to stand against these creatures. They had taken everything she ever had, and she wanted to give her all against these creatures. Growling, she rolled her mother's corpse off of her, and, with newfound vigor, stood. The remaining Fallen forces turned their attention to the mud soaked girl, who stared with puffy, tear irritated eyes at the nearest Baron.

Roaring, a clap of thunder resounded throughout the sky, echoing far off into the fields of Russia. With her mighty roar, the girl sprinted at the nearest Baron, a bolt of lightning cascading down upon her right fist. Rather than feel the nasty shock, her body absorbed the chaotic energy, even channeled it. Her right fist crackled with electricity, even becoming overcharged. Smashing her fist into it's face, she watched it's hardened carapace shell covering it's face disintegrate, killing it instantly.

Grabbing her mother's Hand Cannon from the mud beneath her feet, she fired a few shots into the heads of nearby Dregs, Etheric light swirling out of their necks. The Captain that had been responsible for her mother's death, charged towards the young woman. She turned, gritting her teeth. Electricity seemed to flow from her fists once more, as she sprinted at the Captain.

Slamming the sides of her fists into the nearby puddle, the Arc Light her body emitted traveled through the mineral enriched water, lighting the Captain up like an old Christmas tree. All that was left was the Baron. Gazing around, however, she realized that her entire group was dead, and her body was exhausted. Sinking to her knees, the Baron chittered in mockery at her, igniting four Arc blades simultaneously.

Closing her eyes, the young girl braced herself for death. When she didn't feel anything, she opened her eyes again. Standing just behind the Baron, a large, bulky armored man stood. His longsword held taut across the Baron's neck, fire dancing across it's surface.

"Raze-Lighter's been pretty hungry recently." the man said darkly. "A Baron with this many kills on his hands should suffice nicely."

In one swift motion, the Baron's head was removed from it's shoulders, the man catching it out of the air. Dropping it with his right hand, his right boot lashed out and punted it away. Sheathing the sword in a holster on his back, the man walked over towards the girl. Reaching a massive, yet gentle hand towards her, she tensed, backing away.

"Don't be afraid, child. I am Kabr Stratus. I'm the Vanguard of the Titan clan." he said. "I'm sorry about your people, I wish I could've gotten here sooner."

Turning her head towards the pair of corpses closest to her, tears began to flow down her mud crusted face. Kneeling in the mud beside her, he placed a hand firmly, yet reassuringly on her shoulder. Pulling a handkerchief from his waist, he gently wiped her face off.

"Those your parents?" he asked, as she silently nodded. "What's your name Tadpole?"

"Amethyst. Amethyst Driesden." she sobbed.

"That's a very pretty name." he said. "The Traveler heard you calling out for help, and it answered. So long as you keep their memory in here-"

Kabr pointed towards her heart, before moving his finger up to her forehead.

"-and here, they can never truly die." he said, as a chitter echoed in the wind. "It's not safe here. Please, let me take you to a safe place."

"W-where will I go?" Amethyst asked.

"There's a city that the Fallen haven't gone to yet, it's pretty well fortified, so you'll be safe there. You're definitely a Titan, by the look of things." he smiled. "Besides, I've got a little boy, around your age. So you won't be the only kid there."

"I can train you to use that power, if you want." he said, placing a hand over her right hand.

"O-" Amethyst hesitated, before nodding. "O-Okay, sir."

"Sir was my father." Kabr chuckled. "You can call me whatever you like. Kabr, Mr. Stratus."

"Dad?" she asked, as she frowned at the two corpses.

"Yeah, you can even call me Dad if it makes you feel better, Tadpole." he said, standing. "Looks like you twisted your ankle pretty good. Here, I'll hoist you up."

Hefting her onto his shoulder, Kabr kept his shotgun at the ready, while Amethyst braced herself on his back.

Author's Notes: In the next installment, we'll dive a little more into Drake's childhood. See just why exactly he and Tadpole have so much in common, besides both being raised by Kabr.

[Hours Later]

Amethyst tensed once more as a blue light enveloped her and Kabr. It had happened once before, when she first found herself inside of his ship. Regardless, the sensation that washed over her was still uncomfortable and different. Together, they stood there, on a cliff overlooking a vast glowing City.

Towards the center of this City, a giant glowing white orb floated peacefully. Amethyst had remembered seeing it on the TV a few times, back in her old home. People called it the Traveler, and it had been the reason why Titans, Hunters, and Warlocks existed. It was why Humanity had such advanced stuff.

"Sorry I didn't bring us closer to the City, you must still be terrified. This is the Twilight Gap, the border between the City and the outside world. It's also the training grounds of fresh Titans." Kabr said. "Truth be told, my son is here, training with other Titan recruits. I'd like for you to meet him."

In the distance, she could see a boy about her age, punching a white leather sack. Electricity crackled from his fists, just as hers had down hours previously. The part that intrigued her, however, was just how much electricity he could produce.

"My son and I come from a strong lineage of Titans. Of most Titans, the Stratus family has the strongest Light. Light is what the Traveler gifted us soldiers with to help us protect our people as we went to the stars." Kabr explained. "Perhaps, if you train around us, you might even absorb some of our excess Light and be just as powerful."

With a whistle that shrilled in Amethyst's ears, Kabr beckoned the boy over.  The boy, however, did not stop his assault on the bag. Instead, he launched himself off of his right foot, and slammed a mighty hook into it's mid-section. A web of Arc energy flooded from the bag, as it exploded in a mixture of leather and sand. Brushing off his shoulder, the boy wiped some of his shaggy brown hair from his eye.

Hustling over, the boy stood there with a big grin. A pair of brown eyes looked proudly up to his father, his arms folded respectively behind his back.

"Sorry Dad." the boy reported. "I guess I had a bit of an energy build up there. You always taught me to expel all of my excess Light, or I could get very sick."

"You learn well, Drake." Kabr stood rigid, placing a hand on Drake's shoulder. "Your form is still lacking, and if you are to one day follow the path of a Defender Titan, you will need to iron that out."

"I am not here to criticize, though." Kabr stopped his train of thought, placing his spare hand behind Amethyst's back. "This is Tadpole."

"Tadpole?" Drake asked, his face scrunching with confusion. "That's a weird name for a girl."

"It's not her name, Drake." Kabr said sternly, causing Drake to stand at attention again. "Her real name is Amethyst. Tadpole is just her nickname."

"What is she doing here?" Drake asked, looking up at Kabr. "I thought girl Titan's didn't exist."

"Just who do your think your mother is? A Warlock?!" Kabr snickered.

"She's a Huntress, Dad." Drake said innocently.

"Indeed she is, son." Kabr nodded. "Still better than a Warlock."

"Anyways." Kabr cleared his throat, his eyes peered at Drake. "Tadpole is in fact a Titan recruit. You'll be training alongside her from now on."

"She's too quiet." Drake shook his head, Amethyst's cheeks burned slightly. "I don't like her."

Amethyst's eyes sank, a visible frown forming. Tears began to well up in her eyes. This boy had only just met her, and already he didn't like her.

"That's about enough of that, Drake." Kabr growled, placing a reassuring hand on Amethyst's shoulders. "Tadpole just lost everything. All she needs right now is a friend. Us Stratus' don't avoid helping those in need, understand?!"

Drake frowned, looking towards Amethyst. She glanced away from him, trying to hide her sadness. Walking over towards her, the young boy wrapped his arms around her.

"I'm sorry, Tadpole." Drake said. "I-I didn't know."

Amethyst began to sob, as the boy's hand gently rubbed up and down on her shoulders, her face buried in his shoulder.

"You and I can be brother and sister, okay?" Drake asked, hugging her tighter. "I'll share all my toys with you and everything."

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

[Ten Years Later]

"Commander Kabr!"  A Titan recruit ran into the Vanguard Hall.

Drake and Amethyst stood behind and to the side of Kabr, arms folded behind their backs. To their right, Jeremy Cloud, son of the Warlock Vanguard's man, and Lillian Evergreen, Daughter of the Hunter Vanguard's woman.

"Initiate Shaxx, report!" Kabr barked, the other Vanguard leaders tensing.

"Praedyth's scouts speak of an anomoly in the Ishtar Region of Venus, Commander." Shaxx said, crossing his right arm across his chest, standing firmly. "Something the Collective once mentioned as the 'Vault of Glass'. They fear a Vex Hive-Mind is stewing within the Vault, and to ignore it would be a fool's gambit, sir."

"I see. Dismissed." Kabr sighed, turning to the other Vanguards. "The day has come too soon, I fear."

Kabr turned to Drake, placing a hand on his shoulder.

"Son. The Vex is an encroaching threat that can no longer be ignored. Though the Fallen is closest to the City, the Vex's means of destroying the Traveler are so much more severe, through our studies." Kabr said firmly. "The Vanguard will be meeting with Praedyth and Pahanin to assault this Vault."

"What about the City, what about the Fallen Threat?" Drake asked.

"That's where you come in. The Vanguard recognizes your service in the field, Paladin, my son." Kabr said. "In my absence, you shall take my position, effective immediately. Disciple Jeremy and Fledgling Lillian will be taking their place alongside you."

"Dad," Drake said, uncertain. "I haven't mastered the Sunbreaker techniques yet!"

"Worry not for the Sunbreakers. Something different runs in our Light. We are not bound by the hammers of the Sunbreaker. We are Warpath Titans. Our flames burn hotter and brighter than the Sun itself. You will one day understand, I believe in you."

"What if you come back?" Drake said.

"The position is yours." Kabr smiled, a rare occurence in Drake's presence. "Regardless of whether I return from this mission or not. You can and WILL lead the City to greatness. You have Tadpole, and Knight Zavala by your side. I have seen how you inspire Saladin and Shaxx. You are ready."

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"That was the last time we ever saw Kabr." Amethyst sighed. "In fact, had it not been for the Guardian who destroyed the Black Garden's Heart, we may not have been able to remember who Kabr, Praedyth, or any of the old Vanguard men and women the Vault took."

"Trust me." Amethyst said, placing a hand firmly on Lance's shoulder. "He's got a lot on his plate. Your Grandfather was his one and only chance at being the Father he never got to be. He thinks the world of you and Chelsea. Cut him some slack. He's been more than you know."

Lance remained silent, his anger had since subsided. Looking over towards Drake, Lance bowed his head. Lance had always viewed Nathan, not Caldwell, as his father. If anyone knew what it was like to lose a father figure, Lance supposed that Drake and Amethyst knew exactly that feeling. Thinking on it further, Lance lost a father figure, Drake lost a son.

Almost on cue, Drake jogged back over, having just talked with Amanda Holliday.

"Is it just me, or has Amanda changed? Did she get a haircut?" Drake asked, taking a second glance. "Anyways, are we-"

Lance quickly wrapped his arms around Drake's neck, patting his back.

"I'm sorry. I-I just missed you." Lance said. "So many people died recently, I just couldn't handle it. It was wrong of me."

"Don't beat yourself up over it." Drake said. "You've done a lot of good for the Galaxy in that time. Take pride in your achievements, but never forget the lost."

"Right then." Amethyst smiled, placing a hand on her hip. "Shall we head to Phobos? Distress calls only last for so long, and childhood stories are saved for freetime. Guardians don't really get those."

"Lead the way, Tadpole." Drake said, ruffling her magenta hair a bit. "Digging the new hair-color, by the way."

[Just above Mars' Atmosphere
Phobos, Mars' Moon.]

"Commander Zavala, do you copy?" Drake asked, as Arianna floated by his side.

"Affirmative, Guardian. There is no denying something is going on down there. We've even sent the Legend down there."

"The Legend?" Drake asked, turning to Arianna.

" The Legend is the title given to the Guardian whom destroyed the Heart of the Black Garden. Not much is known about them, or if they act in a Fireteam."

"The Black Garden?!" Drake shook his head. "I heard about it back in the Golden Ages."

"It was lost to Time, I guess. Either way, it was a very Taboo place." Amethyst replied. "I've met the Guardian, but they're so quick on the Tower, I can't even identify which Guild they belong to, let alone if it's a man or a woman."

"The Legend has been so nonchalant, that neither of us Vanguard can determine whom they work for *though I bet Ikora ten-thousand big ones it's a Hunter*." Cayde piped up.

"Ever since they first reported to us, everything about them is a complete mystery. Though, I gotta say, I made quite the pocket full of Glimmer relishing in their story." Cayde continued. "I won't lie to you, Titan, I mayowe you a considerable amount of Glimmer for your story too, no promises."

"Yes, thank you Cayde." Zavala sighed. "Titans, the Legend is on their way to Firebase Thuria, on the Northern Hemisphere of Phobos. We need you at Firebase Korus on the Southern end. If this is a full frontal assault, I want Guardians on the ground at both major locations to destroy them before they have a chance to mobilize."

"Consider it done. Fireteam Iron Fist is mobile." Drake said. "On your lead, Lance."

"No." Lance said. "This is your Op, your Fireteam. You take charge, okay?"

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

"I don't like it." Drake said, blue light materializing the three of them.

They stood on a red cliff, overlooking the out of the way Firebase. Drake had encountered the Cabal during the Collapse, long before the Fallen got to Earth, and the Hive on the Moon. Drake shuddered at the thought of the Hive, his thoughts returning to everything that had happened on the Moon.

Shaking his head, he needed to focus. The Cabal were very militaristic in their ways. What should have been a bustling compound filled with bulky, space-marine like Turtles, was instead plastered with oily blood, and mini black 'portals' of etheric darkness.

"Check it out, Strats." Amethyst said, nudging him on the shoulder. "You seen anything like that before?"

"No." Drake said. "I don't know what chills me more. The idea that whatever was responsible for this systematically slaughtered an entire compound of Cabal could be our ally, or a more fiercer enemy."

Drake's eyes focused intently on one of the two dimensional like 'portals' littering the compound. He felt drawn to it, as if he had a vague feeling of connection to it. As he stared into the abyss, even from his extended distance, he could feel a burning sensation at the back of his head. His eyes burned with an unknown pain, as he grasped his head.

"Fingernails on the surface of my mind!" Drake heard Eris say in his ear.

"Eh-yes. Thank you for your input, Eris." Zavala replied.

Drakes eyes burned hotter and wilder than he could have ever fathomed. Like miniature suns, his eyes burned brighter than they had ever in his life, and it HURT.

"AUUUUUGH!" Drake howled in pain, grasping the back of his helmet even harder.

The sensation on the back of his head had become less of a burn, and more of tiny needles, trailing the surface of his head, front to back, side to side. Words scattered to the forefront of his mind at a pace that he couldn't even comprehend.

Hive

Worms

Light

Dark

Father

Son

Revenge

Drake opened his eyes once again. Only this time, he wasn't on Phobos. Lance and Amethyst were not beside him. He was standing in the Ascendant Realm. The place between the dimensions. This wasn't like the Void. This place was much more sinister.

Towering before him was Crota, the Hive Prince. Drake clenched his right fist tightly around a handle. The handle of a sword. Crota swung deftly downwards, while Drake stabbed upwards, his aim true. Plunging his blade into the carapace of the broken Hive God, Drake relished as the monstrosity crumbled to pieces of chiton and bone, a pillar of fire raining down from the heavens.

Drake remembered this pain, it had been the same one he had experienced when Lillian sacrificed herself to Crota's Oversoul. In fact, this entire scenario had been his last moments, before he died for the second time. As the raging inferno burnt Crota with blinding, unrivaled Light, Drake watched Crota's right hand reach up towards the sky of the Ascendant Realm.

There was a monstrous roar, one that shook his illusion to the core. In the sky, where Crota's Oversoul had once resided, now a trio of glowing green eyes stared back at him. A hand that consisted of both Dark and twisted Light reached for Drake.

"AAOASIGASORKYXLKASJGLASKGHASG." Whispers began to chatter in his mind.

"AAOASIGASORYKXKASJGLASKGHASG."

"They speak a word; a name!" Eris hissed in his ear.

"AAOASIGASORYXKASJGLASKGHAG."

"Oryx!" Eris screamed. "The Taken King comes for us ALL!"

Drake's eyes widened as the massive hand clenched into a fist, thrusting down on top of him. Holding his hands above him, he grit his teeth. The weight of what could only be described as a hundred Suns crashed down on his palms. Drake growled, refusing to be crushed by the overwhelming force on top of his head.

"I'm not... YOURS!" Drake roared, golden light pouring from his hands in the form of a sword.

Slashing through the hand, the disembodied roar echoed through the illusion once more, as Drake gasped for air. Falling to his back, Drake, shook his head, leaning upwards. When he had, he saw Amethyst and Lance giving him strange looks, despite their helmets, he knew.

"We need to go." Drake said. "We need to get the fuck outta here!"

"We haven't done anything." Lance scoffed, his head turning towards the base.

Drake lunged forward, wrapping both hands on Lance's chestpiece. His visor depolarized, allowing Lance to see his face. Lance could see despair plastered all over Drake's face. Considering Drake's nearly unbreakable courage, the fact that he was this terrified was a sign.

"WE NEED TO GO, NOW!" Drake roared, as he watched the doors to the Firebase open.

Out stepped what appeared to be a typical pair of Cabal Psions, and Centurions. However, they seemed a little preoccupied with the bloodbath in front of them, that they did not notice the Guardians on the nearby cliff-side. Suddenly, there was a clap, followed by an eerie dark flash. Behind they Cabal troops, a small orb of the same glowing Dark and twisted Light energy formed.

A tendril of the same material lashed out, grasping a pair of the Psions. The two creatures screamed a hideous, blood curdling scream, before being tripped off of their feet. Amethyst and Lance watched with horror, while Drake shook, as the Psions were dragged towards the seemingly harmless orb.

With yet another clap, and flash of dark light, the two were gone. No traces of them to be found, besides their claw marks. The Centurions and the few remaining Psions stood rigid. Suddenly, not even five feet from them, the air began to bend and twist, an orb of the same material formed, only this one was five times larger, and it's surface was rigid, like a dodgeball.

Exploding, the orb produced a pair of what appeared to be Psions, only now they took on an onyx black hue, a single glowing white 'eye' on their heads.

"What the fuck is that?!" Lance growled, as Amethyst practically tackled him.

Drake however, was mortified. He stared with wide eyes, at the creatures. They twitched morbidly, standing idly there. One of the Centurions looked to the others with concern, before bravely stepping forward. The two Psions glanced up at the Centurion, twitching in their otherwise stationary positions.

"Greshna goobla karnake?" the Centurion spoke in the Cabal language.

Instead of replying with words, however, the Psions performed the unthinkable, much to the horror of the Guardians.

They both split into two a piece.

"What the fu-?!" Lance roared, before muting his external comm.

What had once been two seemingly different Psions, now stood four of the twitching creatures. The Centurion raised it's Slug Rifle at the Psions, all four of which split again. The Psions, with their newly augmented Slug Rifles, fired on the normal Cabal troops. Drake also watched movement on the other side of the Firebase. It had been as if something had been watching them, and turned back around the corner.

The last thing he had noticed, however, was a cape, one that he recognized anywhere.

"You like Superman so much?! Then fly like him!" Drake remembered yelling to Lillian, before tossing her at the Oversoul.

"No." Drake shook his head. "She's-"

Standing, it was as if Drake had completely shed the fear off of his shoulders. Amethyst and Lance scrambled to stop him, but they had been too late. Vaulting over the crest of the hill, Drake plucked his shotgun off of his back. Sliding down the side of the cliff, he bounded off of his right foot, sprinting at the Psions.

Firing one shell at the closest Psion, it twitched, before swirling in midair into a small void. The remaining seven twitched to gaze at him. Grabbing one of their heads with his left hand, he squeezed, the creature pooling into one of those two-dimensional pools of darkness.

Continuing with his momentum, he jumped over the head of one of them, firing a shell of his shotgun into the one on the other side's chest. Turning back, his Hand- Cannon blasted his leap-frog partner's head off of it's shoulders, dark liquid splashing out of the back.

Clipping his shotgun to his back, Drake lunged towards the nearest one with his right fist, electricity crackling along it's surface. Smashing it square in the white 'eye', his right elbow slammed backwards, purple energy forming over him. The two remaining Psions twitched, firing their Slug Rifles at him.

The bullets pinged along his overshield, as he closed the distance between them. They twitched again, splitting into pairs once more. More electricity flared from his fists, as he sprinted at them.

"Nyaaaaaaaaaaaaaaghhhhh!" Drake roared, thunder claps filling the sky above them.

"Does Phobos usually have rain storms?" Lance asked. "That's what I- holy shit."

In comparison the brightness from Drake's lightning had dimmed the world around him. Colors of the environment around him darkened, giving the illusion of a terrible storm overhead. Amethyst had seen Drake do this once before, at the battle of Twilight Gap, before they regrouped at the Wall.

Lunging at the four of them with wild electrical charges scattering madly around him, Drake's fists slammed into the ground, as a bolt of lightning that easily dwarfed the man a hundred times over, struck on his position. The ground beneath his feet fragmented, dust flew into the air, as shards of rock scattered to the wind. The corpses of the Cabal troops were evaporated by the electricity, as were the altered Psions.

Where there had once been a compound, now only remained a giant crater. Cracked ground that resembled a dry desert resided beneath Drake's boots. Drake himself stood there, breathing heavily, his fists clenched.

"You really are your Father's son, Strats." Amethyst chuckled over the comm.

"The fuck did you do in the Void, Drake?!" Lance guffawed, purely dumbstruck.

Drake ignored their comments however, as he hurried around the corner. To his disappointment, he didn't see Lillian anywhere. Frowning, his eyes cast to the floor. There was a hiss in front of him, the sound of one of the Firebase doors closing. Sprinting towards it, the doors opened before they could engage their locks.

Peering in, he could barely make out the silhouette of a woman walking down the hallway. The hallway itself was pitch black, with the exception of the occasional red light swirling in the back. Every revolution it made gave Drake the silhouette.

"Lillian!" Drake barked, causing the silhouette to stop.

"He comes for Souls." the woman said. "Earth is next."

Turning the corner, there was a clap, as the woman disappeared. Drake shook his head in disbelief, had that been Lillian? Or was it some other Huntress with the same Vanguard cloak as her? Regardless of that, she had warned him of Earth's fate. Lance and Amethyst approached him.

"Sorry we didn't give you fire support, a packet of the bastards appeared behind us." Amethyst said. "Got 'em just in time to see you show what being a Titan is really about."

"Just a few minutes before, you were spouting about how we should leave." Lance shook his head. "Not even five seconds later, you sprinted into them without any idea what could happen to you."

"It's Lillian." Drake said, glancing back at the door behind him. "I think she's alive. Told me that Earth was under attack."

"How could she say so? She's dead." Lance sighed. "Unless she resurrected and just magically knew we'd be here."

"It could be the Legend." Amethyst shrugged. "Not much is known about them."

"Titans, are you alright? The Legend's ghost checked in everything down there. Have you encountered anything odd?" Zavala asked.

"Yeah. Creepy ass darkness orbs are absorbing Cabal and making them fight each other."

"Not just Darkness. Eris hissed on the comm. "They are Taken. Souls stripped of their Will by Oryx, the Taken King. He comes for a name, he comes for vengeance, he comes for-"

"Me." Drake growled, looking at the other two. "I killed Crota, his son. I've got news for him though-"

"He's TAKEN his last fucking breath."

[Back at the Tower]

"Oh, hold on a second Tina." Chelsea smiled, placing a hand endearingly on her friend's shoulders.

To her right, Drake, Lance, and that woman; Amethyst, materialized. Tina nodded, placing a hand on Chelsea's.

"You'll have to tell me how you know Drake Stratus one of these days." Tina smiled. "Just- be careful around that Lance guy."

"He's not all that bad, Tina." Chelsea sighed. "He's just going through a tough time."

"That doesn't give him the right to be disrespectful to others. We all have our issues, we just do the right thing and keep them to ourselves." Tina shook her head. "Anyways, I'll see ya Chels."

Walking away, Chelsea approached Drake. However, the Titan didn't seem interested in speaking at the moment, walking past her. There was an aura of anger and confusion over washing him. Aura sensing was a trait she had just recently acquired. Lance always complained about it, but it helped her get a better reading on people, and came very in handy when dealing with people out in the Wilderness.

"Hi?" she asked, Drake trudging past her. "How'd the mission go?"

"It's hard to explain." Lance said, placing a hand on her shoulder. "Something big's about to go down. C'mon."

Amethyst sped up her pace to try and keep up with Drake, who scrambled down the stairs leading to the Vanguard. Passing by Lord Shaxx and his Crucible Quartermaster, Drake stormed into the Hall of the Vanguard. Zavala stood there, rubbing the back of his bald head, while Ikora Rey glared at a hologram in the middle of the table. Cayde-6, however, seemed the most nonchalant of the trio.

"What's going on?" Chelsea called from the back of the group, gathering the attention of the Vanguard.

"How do I put this in a subtle way? Mara Sov is either missing or dead, and there's a big bad three eye'd alien out for vengeance."

"What Cayde means to say, Warlock, is that the Awoken's entire fleet has been, for lack of a better term, terminated." Zavala said with a frown.

Lance and Chelsea glanced at one another in shock. They had joined other Guardians in the fight against the House of Wolves a few months back. The Queen herself had even addressed them personally. Not to mention her rather cold and rude brother Prince Uldren. They knew that the Queen was a force to be reckoned with, but never once did they consider her to be so brass as to take on a superior fleet.

"How badly were they outnumbered?" Amethyst asked.

"The sad part is, they weren't." Cayde shook his head. "Oryx's ship, the Dreadnaught, fired it's weapon."

The virtual display showed Saturn and it's rings. Towards the center of the ring, a massive hole of sorts was visible. Drake had seen images of Saturn prior to the Collapse, it looked nothing like that. In the middle of the hole was a diamond shaped ship.

"How many times did it fire?"  Drake asked, clenching his fists.

"Once." Zavala hissed.

That much devastation, an entire Awoken Fleet obliterated. Mara Sov, the Queen, and her brother were now missing, if not DEAD, as a result of the weapon. Drake had never once encountered a being of Darkness that held so much raw power. Crota had been a challenge for him back in the day, and again in the Ascendant Plane. Drake shook his head, this was all because of his killing of Crota.

"It's not like the Queen to attack a Superior force." Zavala shook his head, turning his attention to Ikora Rey.

"That's why we need a Warlock on the Dreadnaught." Ikora replied, pointing to Chelsea. "This Warlock is one of my finest."

"Here we go..." Cayde sighed.

"I stand by the City." Zavala huffed. "It is to be our top priority!"

"Drake and the Legend have both gotten an inside look at the devastation on Phobos. Whatever these things are, they turned Cabal on Cabal." Zavala glared at Ikora. "That base was laid to waste in minutes." Zavala turned to the group. "How long would we last?"

Ikora paced around, avoiding all direct eye contact with everyone in the room. The fact that the Warlock Vanguard, a woman who prided herself on all levels of advanced knowledge, seemed confused, made everyone shudder. More unnerving, however, was Eris Morn, who shuffled in silently behind the group.

"Until we understand what we're dealing with-" Ikora started, as Eris thrust the green orb in her hand at the table's display.

The display flickered once, before the image of Oryx's Dreadnaught disappeared completely. Drake kept his eyes forward, while everyone else turned to look at Eris Morn.

"They are Taken."

"Eris... Get your rock off my map."" Cayde spoke sternly.

"It has not spoken, since the Titan has slain Crota." Eris said, turning to face Drake. "It speaks now."

Eris slithered up to Drake, the orb on the table causing the room to be almost blackened with darkness. Pressing a hand against his chestplate, Drake could clearly see why she wore a band around her face. Instead of a pair of normal eyes, her face hosted a trio of glowing green eyes, not unlike that of a Hive Acolyte or Knight. They were hidden behind the tattered rag, but he could feel them searching up his very soul.

"He comes for you, Drake Stratus." Eris said. "He seeks to fulfill the final covenant of his son. You killed his son, and now he seeks to Take all that you hold dear."

"-But, why fight the Cabal?" Ikora shook her head. "If Oryx is after Drake for killing Crota, why bother with the Empire?"

"Oryx does not fight." Eris shook her head, turning from Drake to face Ikora. "Oryx Takes. Takes their Will, and uses them in his army. Horrific projections of their former selves."

Eris hissed as the room filled with orange light again, Cayde pulling the glowing green orb containing the shard of Crota off of his map.

"So, we should focus on his army then?" Zavala asked. "Take out as many of these 'Taken' until he's all that's left?"

"Whatever you kill." Eris nodded with a sickening smirk. "Oryx will replace."

"Then we shut down that Dreadnaught." Drake huffed, Ikora nodding in agreement.

"Indeed." Ikora smiled. "However, how do we get past that weapon?"

"-Without ending up like the Awoken." Zavala said, visibly saddened by his own kind's losses.

Cayde shuffled around a bit, jostling the orb in his hand for a moment. He glanced at Drake and his group for a moment, before turning to each individual Vanguard. Finally, his eyes fell on Eris, before tossing the orb back at her.

"These Guardians and I, uh, gotta go see about a ship." Cayde said, walking away from the table.

Cayde brushed past Drake, patting him on the shoulder and nodding his head out of the room. Taking the hint, the four Guardians followed Cayde, much to the displeasure of the other Vanguard and Eris.

"Cayde, this meeting is not yet concluded." Zavala called out after them.

"That would be why I'm leaving." Cayde replied, waving as he and the four Guardians left the room.

Drake kept his pace with Cayde, while the others hung back.

"You were Vanguard, right?" Cayde turned to Drake, but continued walking. "How could you stand being cooped up in a room for so long?"

"If you asked Zavala, you'd know that I was actually rarely seen in the Vanguard Hall if something major like this was happening." Drake chuckled. "Seems his title may have gotten to his head a bit though."

"You want to tell us what you're planning?" Lance asked, which caused Cayde to stop.

"Patience, young Padawan." Cayde said to Lance with a shrug. "Just trust that I have a plan. I've got to go talk with Amanda Holliday. Drake, I could really use your company."

Drake turned to the others, Chelsea and Amethyst nodded, while Lance crossed his arms expectantly.

"Hold up here, wait for further instruction. I'll meet up with you guys in a bit." Drake said.

"OYE!" Lance growled, as the two walked away. "We're your Fire-team members, we deserve to know!"

"I'll explain everything later, when I actually know what I'm explaining." Drake shrugged. "Take a load off for now, get geared up. Just do something to calm down for a change, yeah?"

Drake and Cayde walked side by side to the other side of the Tower, near the Hanger. Amanda Holliday was down in the loading bay, commanding some drones to maintain the ships that had parked there.

"Thanks, I can't really stand large crowds. Hunters and socialization just don't mix." Cayde sighed. "You and I rarely chatted when you first resurrected. This whole Vanguard gig's been really taking up my time, and most of it I spent bored to death. Guess the Darkness wins in that regard."

"Listen, about Lillian. I'm really sorry, Titan. She was a good mentor, and always the life of the Vanguard hall, if memory serves me. I know what loss like that feels like."

"Spare me the pity. It won't bring her back." Drake sighed. "You got a plan, and you wanted to talk to me, yeah?"

"Yeah. I've already gotten in touch with the Legend. The others don't know it yet, but the Legend received a stash of cloaking technology drives that I hid in the Cosmodrome. Their Ghost just transmatted the load not to long ago."

"So, what's the plan?"

"Eris' ship is designed very reminiscently of Hive, right? So I'm thinking we add a cloak drive to it. The Legend will insert themselves onto the Dreadnaught, James Bond style, and disable the weapon."

"So, where does my Fireteam and I fit into this?"

"After the Legend takes down the weapon, you and your Fireteam'll board the Dreadnaught, plant a patrol beacon, and take down Oryx." Cayde cheered. "It'll be my greatest success story. I call it; OPERATION; Firefly!"

Drake shook his head with a chuckle, before Amanda walked over towards them.

"Hiya Drake, Cayde." Amanda smiled. "It's interesting tech, Cayde. But, isn't this Eris Morn's ship?"

"Is it? Huh." Cayde smirked. "That's real artistic work, I couldn't even see the join."

Behind them Eris' ship was mounted on a rig to allow the drones access to it's underbelly. A few of the drones welded to their heart's content, while Drake gave the ship itself a quick once over.

"Cute." Amanda replied, unamused. "Zavala has got all sign-off on launches. I'm gonna need to log why I'm letting 'er go."

"Star-gazing tour?"

"Drake, can you tell him that it doesn't work like that?" Amanda shook her head, turning to him.

"She's right, Zavala's going to need a whole bunch more convincing before he'll go through with this." Drake said.

"I figured you'd say that. Okay, how about... Cayde sighed, taking a wrench off of the table, flipping it in his hand. "-a completely unsanctioned op using my modified stealth to infiltrate a Dreadnaught above Saturn's rings. We can knock out it's weapons, create a Transmat zone, and send in the cavalry?"

Amanda's mouth hung open, as Drake rubbed the bridge of his nose. Amanda took the wrench from his hand with a smirk, shaking her head.

"How about a 'test flight'?" Amanda chuckled.

"I liked the sound of mine more..." Cayde pointed towards Amanda, before nodding his head.

"Well, it'll be waiting for you when it's ready, Drake."

"Oh, he's not going." Cayde smirked, before placing a hand on Drake's shoulder. "Try and keep this plan hush hush for now, okay? Don't want Baldy having the surprise ruined."

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

"Did I just watch Cayde-6 and Drake Stratus walk away?" Tina asked, approaching Chelsea. "Hey, Titan-boy. How's the blood pressure."

"Yep, you did." Lance growled. "Who invited you over here anyways?"

"Enough, both of you." Chelsea sneered. "Tina, you're a Warlock. Act with some semblance of dignity, Lance, the Titan's are a proud, noble group. You would be wise to represent them correctly."

Lance and Tina glared at one another, as a firm hand landed on both of their shoulders.

"Class warfare ended centuries ago, kids." Drake smirked, as the two stopped to look at him. "I've only been gone for five minutes or so. I don't know this woman, but I expect better of you, Lance."

Lance shrugged off Drake's grip, while Tina stared at Drake with curiosity.

"What did you find out?" Amethyst asked.

"Cayde has a plan, he didn't share too much with me, but it'll take a while before we can get it moving. In the meanwhile, there is likely something we all can do to combat the Taken."

"Actually." Zavala coughed from behind him. "Ikora Rey and I have some intel that may prove interesting to both you and Captain Driesden."

Amethyst and Drake looked amongst each other, before turning to Zavala. Lance and Tina glanced at each other, before exchanging glances with Chelsea.

"If I may have a moment with Chelsea, Drake, and the Captain, please?" Zavala asked, as Lance and Tina hesitantly walked away.

"We don't know what Cayde stormed off about, and while I'm certain you have an idea, I know Cayde. He asked you not to tell me." Zavala continued. "What I ask of you may help the City prepare for the coming war."

Zavala removed his hands from behind his back, producing an orange sash, typical of the Titan class. The Mark of a Titan often showed their rank, or status amongst other Titans. Other Marks were a sign of respect for fallen Titans. Drake and Amethyst, however, recognized the symbol on the sash.

"I assume this symbol is familiar to you?" Zavala asked.

Drake and Amethyst nodded, while Chelsea gave the cloth a confused look.

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

[Years Ago]

"Tadpole, what does it mean to be a Striker Titan?" Kabr quizzed, as the young girl searched into the depths of her mind.

"A Striker Titan strikes their targets without remorse. They are the force that clear a path for all Classes to progress on the field. Their Arc energy brings even the heavens down upon their enemies."

"Correct." Kabr said, pacing past her. "Now, tell me what it means to be a Defender, Drake?"

"One does not become a Defender, sir." Drake shook his head. "A Defender Titan is the wall that the Darkness breaks upon. The Wardens of the Void. They are masters of Void energy, capable of forming the Ward of Dawn, an impenetrable orb of beneficial Light energy."

"Strikers are valiant warriors of Arc energy." Kabr nodded curtly. "Defenders are unbreakable paladins of Void energy."

"Tell me, what does it mean to be a Titan?" Kabr asked, turning to Drake.

"Sir, as a Titan, you are a part of the City. In a way that no Warlock or Hunter could understand. The dreams of the City rests heavily upon our shoulders, and it us with our might that will not falter to see these dreams become reality."

"Very well spoken, my son." Kabr smiled. "As you both are aware, however, there are three energies of Light, correct? So, what of the Solar energy?"

"You are a Warpath Titan, sir." Drake replied. "Capable of fire so fleeting that you could make the Sun itself jealous."

"Half correct. Allow me to explain." Kabr nodded.

"When the Traveler first created us Titans, it bestowed us with Arc energy, and for a select few, Void energy. However, a very select few granted the ability to use Solar energy." Kabr continued. "This was the legacy of your Grandfather, the very first Titan Vanguard."

"His Light had been so intense that his Solar power was capable of being sculpted into any weapon he chose. A flamethrower from his helmet, a sword that could slice through even diamond, or a hammer."

"This was the discipline of the Warpath Titan. The Light of a Warpath Titan could be described as surpassing a Sunsinger Warlock in it's ferocity. As a result, very few could withstand the power, and faltered quickly. My father, your Grandfather, while a proud Warpath Titan, sought out the Traveler for a means to allow other Titans to use Solar Light."

Kabr pulled a fresh orange cloth from a box on his desk, unraveling it. Both of the pre-teens stared in amazement at the Mark. A white symbol of a hammer adorned the piece, with what appeared to be Wyverns, or Dragons, trailing down it's pommel.

"He was rewarded with the ability to gift his Solar Light. Your Grandfather formed the Forge. A Titan who proved they were one with the Light, could infuse themselves with the power of a Warpath Titan, but at a reduced power output. He trained this new group of Titans personally, and called them, respectively; the Sunbreakers."

"This, children, is their noble mark. To be a Sunbreaker Titan, you are not only a capable Warrior that has mastered the craft of Arc energy, nor are you only a wall by which our enemies will shatter. No, to be a Sunbreaker, you must be filled with compassion, a willingness to batter your foes with technical precision, and untamed ferocity."

"The Hammer of Sol, named after your Grandfather, is the most powerful weapon that a Titan can wield. It explodes in fiery power, and can hone in on it's targets if your will is strong enough."

Amethyst shuffled in her seat. She knew that one day, Drake could perhaps be a Warpath Titan, being a direct relative of Sol Stratus. However, she, as a Titan forged not of her family line, would likely not be able to.

"Could I be a Sunbreaker one day?" she asked, as Kabr smirked.

"A Sunbreaker Titan requires a lot of discipline and patience. I can sense this on you. So yes, Tadpole. I believe firmly that you may one day become a Sunbreaker." Kabr smiled, rustling her hair.

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

Amethyst stood there, her fists clenched, as a tear ran down her cheek. Not only had that Mark been the same one Kabr shared with them years long gone by, but it had been the one he wore for the longest time.

"Where'd you get this?" Drake asked. "This is the Mark of the Sunbreaker."

"Your father kept it in his case all these years. He only wore it within the City." Zavala said, passing it ceremoniously over to Drake. "He would want you to have it."

"Thank you." Drake said, holding the silky cloth in his hand, rubbing his thumb over the insignia.

"You died after the battle of Twilight Gap. If you recall, the Sunbreakers were slowly forming into a Mercenary group? The Warlock Osiris brokered a deal between the Sunbreakers and the City, but I couldn't agree to the terms." Zavala shook his head. "Not only do the Sunbreakers despise the Vanguard, they- well, they hate me."

"You... You threw out the Sunbreakers?" Amethyst shook her head in disbelief.

"Osiris was banished for a reason, to strike a deal with him could easily have meant the devastation of the City." Zavala sighed. "That's not why I'm bringing this up. We have reports of a Sunbreaker transmission coming from Mercury."

"Mercury." Drake mused. "Dad loved going to the Spires."

"As you may be aware, the Forge that formed the Sunbreakers is on Mercury. If this is a distress beacon, it means the Forge may be under siege. If it's Oryx, we cannot allow this." Zavala shook his head. "I entrust this upon you two."

"What about me?" Chelsea said. "Sunbreakers likely won't care for a Warlock, thanks to Osiris."

"That's the other thing." Zavala said. "Ikora has a special errand she would like you to attend to. You will need to communicate with her on your way to Venus."

"Don't worry about Lance, or even the young Warlock. I will have them prepared for whatever Cayde has planned. May the Light be with you, Guardians."

"Did I say Venus?" Zavala chuckled. "My apologies, she actually wanted you to go to Mars. This whole Awoken thing is causing me a lot of distress. My apologies."

"We'll get them back for this, I promise." Drake said, as Zavala nodded curtly.

"You going to be alright by yourself for a bit?" Drake asked. "Not that I don't trust you, I just don't want you to feel left out."

"If these Sunbreakers think about Warlocks like they do about Osiris, I think I'll pass." Chelsea shrugged. "Besides, I'm working my way to becoming Ikora's best field agent. If I requested help, she may not view me as worthy. I'll be fine, thanks."

"Alright, take care then." Drake nodded. "C'mon Tadpole, let's go help out those Sunbreakers."

Arianna appeared over Drake's shoulder, taking the cloak into her virtual storage. With that, the two of them materialized back into their ships, taking off into Orbit.

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

Caloris Spires, Mercury

Drake had never once been to Mercury before. However, his father Kabr had always had a certain affinity to the planet. When the Collapse began, and Drake heard of the Vex overtaking the planet and making it into a machine, he was crushed. Still, what remained of the planet itself was actually rather stunning.

Floating spires of metal and stone loomed within whatever atmosphere Mercury was capable of hosting. If Drake had to guess, this was either a looming effect the Traveler caused, or there was some serious magnetic equilibrium in the area. In the distance, of course, was the massive orange and crimson sphere known to all mankind as Sol, or, the Sun.

"Wow, it's pretty bright here." Amethyst groaned, as Drake chuckled.

"I mean, that is THE Sun right there." Drake smirked. "Thank goodness our Helmets can severely reduce the UV light. Look for a landing spot, that is, if you can still see."

After a few minutes of idle flying around the floating spires, Amethyst had managed to find a landing zone. Arianna and Amethyst's Ghost dropped both of the Guardians down onto the platform, their ships sailing off into orbit on the dark side of the planet.

"You ever get that sinking feeling you're being watched?" Arianna asked, clicking her shell together.

"We know but one of you, Guardians." a feminine voice trailed out throughout the abyss around them. "Drake Stratus, Grandchild of our founder."

"As for the other, we know not of you." the woman continued, heard but unseen. "-But if you are with a member of the Stratus family, you are worthy of our time."

There was a pause, as Drake and Amethyst looked uncertainly around them. On the stone, fire danced along certain patches on the walls and floor. It almost seemed to be making a path into a well formed man-made cave.

"I am Ouros, Third Imperial Magistrate of the Sunbreakers." Ouros continued. "It is clear that you are here to test your Light in our Forge, with a Stratus as your sponsor."

"Here, you will prove that you are one with the Light. Use your Ghost, to ignite our Forge, and it will judge you. Should it deem you worthy, you will forever be regarded as a member of our Sunbreaker clan."

"Guardians, Ouros is a Legend. If even half of the stories about her is true, she is one of the most powerful Titans still alive to this day." Arianna stated. "Well, maybe besides Drake, I'd really rather not compare."

"She knew my father, and perhaps even my Grandfather. I am likely no match for her."

"I would not desire a fight with the lineage of our Founder anyways, Drake Stratus. A Warpath Titan can easily overcome the power of the strongest Sunbreakers. Surely you would know this." Ouros spoke, causing Amethyst to flinch.

The two Titans walked cautiously through the stone walkway into the man-made cave, where surely enough a beacon awaited them. Drake stepped forward, outstretching his hand. Arianna appeared at the edge of his hand, flickering her eye at the beacon.

"It's powered. However, the beam needs to be refocused. Head back outside, that wasn't a landing pad... it was the FORGE!"

Turning back the way they had come, they had noticed a lens had formed above one of the many flaming rocks. If what Arianna had said was true, the area they had landed on was the Forge, and the beam would need to be redirected to it. Amethyst gently moved the lens, aware that Ouros was likely watching and judging her. Surely enough, the beam focused on the platform they had stood on, as fire danced around in a miniature yet intense vortex.

"In the shadows of the Light that gave birth to the Ancients; use the Forge."

Drake walked alongside Amethyst, but found himself incapable of moving any further. Looking down, gentle fires wrapped his legs, it was clearly Ouros from her position, telling him to stop advancing. Crossing his arms, he nodded. Amethyst stopped, turning back towards him.

"I recall you always wanted to be a Sunbreaker. We can ask Ouros about the beacon later, for now, you should give it a shot." Drake shrugged. "Dad always had a feeling you could be a powerful Sunbreaker. Not only are you a Lord of Iron now, but you are also very disciplined in both the ways of the Striker and Defender. You're ready."

Amethyst glanced at her feet for a moment, breathing with nervous uncertainty. Shaking her head, she knew better. A Titan was not easily frightened, no matter how uncertain the circumstances, they moved on with a purpose. If Oryx threatened her adoptive brother's life, she would need all the powers of the Light at her disposal to watch his back.

Walking up towards the inferno, it tamed itself, forming a round fiery sphere.

"Fire born of Man." Drake recited his father's words. "Fire of the Light. You must ask yourself; What power do you seek from the Forge, Tadpole?"

Slowly, Amethyst reached her hand towards the sphere. She could envision something, a weapon that she had witnessed Kabr wielding in the days of her training. A small one-handed hammer, whose head resembled that of an eagle. She grasped it's pommel, a surge of energy thrusting forth into her arm and transitively throughout her body.

"Tell me; can you bring Light, to where only Darkness survives?" Drake asked.

Amethyst pulled the hammer, regardless of the sensation coursing throughout her, from the Forge. As she did so, she turned it in her hand to gaze upon the detail in it's silvery finish. Flames danced along the head, and she felt the same level of passion here, as she did when she first heard of the Sunbreakers long ago.

Giving it a test swing, she smirked beneath her helmet, fire dancing in her eyes, as she swung it back around. Turning herself towards Drake, she clenched onto the hammer, fire dancing literally across every inch of her armor.

"You are a Sunbreaker." Drake smiled, walking towards her. "Congratulations, Tadpole."

"You came, not only to be tested as a Sunbreaker. You were also wary of our distress beacon. It is not of surprise to us that the bald one sent you." Ouros mused. "The beacon was set as a means of bringing you to us, Drake Stratus. Darkness grips at the Universe once again, a King set his eyes on you and everything you hold dear."

"The Sunbreakers will not assist the City." Ouros continued. "We will, however, answer to you. The Sunbreakers are indebted to you, and will follow you wherever you go, in the form of this young Sunbreaker's hammer. May the Light of Sol burn deeply within you, and illuminate your path."

"So, you don't actually need help?" Drake asked.

"Traveler's Light no!" Ouros chuckled. "Sunbreakers do not request for help, nor do they do anyone's bidding but the Light's. Warpath Titans are the leaders of the Sunbreakers, and we are an extension of them."

Drake nodded his head respectfully, turning back towards Amethyst, who returned the hammer to it's spot between the dimensions. Placing a hand proudly on her shoulders, he offered his left hand outwards. Arianna nodded her form, producing the orange cloak into his hands.

"I was never a Sunbreaker." Drake nodded. "Dad wore this with pride, knowing one day he could pass it on to you. I'm sorry he won't have that luxury, but I know that he'd be proud, wherever he is."

"He's your Dad, it's yours." Amethyst said, pushing it back towards him.

"He gave me his seat as the Vanguard of the Titans. I failed that job, and inherently I failed him. He would have wanted you to have this, just as much as he would have wanted to have stood here and watch you test yourself in the Forge." Drake smiled, placing it in her hand, before covering it. "Don't take it for me. Take it for the old man, please."

Amethyst looked down at the brightly colored cloth, smiling as she ran her gloved hand over the Mark. Even in it's age, it was very well maintained and looked just about as new as the day she had first seen it, albeit a bit darker due to it's age. Reaching down to her right hip, she removed the ornate Striker Mark, and replaced it with the Mark of the Sunbreaker.

"You will be the first Sunbreaker to walk within the City. Wear that Mark with pride, second child of Kabr."

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

Hours Later
Unknown Location, Mars

Chelsea sighed heavily as the last of the Vex machines fell to her Auto Rifle. She had been on Mars for several hours, fighting off the Vex throughout a metro system. Ikora still had not yet told her why she was there, and started to feel disenheartened.

"Ikora, ma'am. Why am I here?" Chelsea asked, holding her Auto Rifle over her shoulder. "I've been here for hours, fighting Vex. What am I supposed to be looking for?"

"Ask yourself; What does it mean to be a Warlock?" Ikora asked, as Chelsea walked back the way she had come.

"Power, in it's most arcane form?" Chelsea replied, inquisitively.

"Precisely. Only Warlocks understand true Power, despite the claims of the Stratus family. True power lies in Knowledge, in Understanding."

"Power is channeled, not controlled." Chelsea nodded.

These had been things Ikora had taught her for months following initiation into the Warlock's Guild.

"The Storm is raw power. The Trance is true understanding." Ikora replied. "Both are required. Stormcallers, therefore, are both the question- and the answer."

"Warlocks seek knowledge and power, questions and answers." Chelsea smiled, bracing herself as she stepped out of the metro system out into the daylight of the red planet. "That is what it means to be a Warlock."

"Correct. A Voidwalker has gazed into the Abyss, and can channel that energy into a devastating blast of Void Light. A Sunsinger gains true understanding of what it means to live, and to die. They can rip themselves from the Void, and begin life anew, much like the Phoenix of legend. Together, they are powerful." Ikora replied. "The most powerful Warlocks, however, continue to ask and answer simultaneously. They stand against all that is set in stone, and ask what if, to any problem. The answer, truly, is at their fingertips. These, are the StormCallers."

"Do you see any clouds in the sky, clouds that now host electrical currents?" Ikora asked, as Chelsea glanced around.

"Yes, there are some forming just above me now."

"Scale the nearest Tower. The Vex will gather there, these Arc storms are treated as a day spa to them. You will learn from the experience, you will meditate with the Storm."

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

Chelsea flinched as a bolt of pure Arc energy crashed not even five feet from her. She could feel the burning sensation of the electricity, as she worked her way towards the center of the roof. Vex units remained dormant in the nearby area, as if meditating to the Arc energy.

"Stand where the Lightning strikes most frequently. Worry not about whether it strikes you. Defy the odds, and you will gain true understanding."

Chelsea glanced to her left, where a group of Vex Goblins stood dormant. Throwing one of her Solar grenades, the heat of the miniature Sun absorbed the Goblins, melting them. Walking to where she had planted her grenade, she gazed up at the sky. Seemingly, the Storm seemed to be aware of her presence, as the volume of strikes increased dramatically.

"Good, it is aware of you. You need the Storm's loyalty. Remain vigilant, allow yourself to think. Do not fear the Storm, or this will all be for nothing."

As Chelsea stood there, the ferocity and numbers of strikes increased impossibly. Any Vex units that had dared approach her were instantly incinerated by their power. Chelsea smiled, despite it's chaotic behavior, she had yet to be struck by the Lightning.

"The Storm begins to obey. Stay your course, Warlock, and the Trance will be yours."

Suddenly, the strikes subsided, yet the thunder continued to rumble just above her head. Rain steadily poured down on Chelsea's helmet, as she found herself standing in the middle of the roof.

"It accepts you, it obeys you. You must not induct the Storm. Find the nearest metallic source, stand upon it. You will either rise a Caller, or not at all."

"Wait, I could die from this?" Chelsea asked.

"A true Stormcaller walks the path of death every day. They ask those same questions, but will never get the answers they seek unless they go out and find them. That is what a Stormcaller is."

"Right, both the question and the answer." Chelsea nodded.

Directly in front of her, the nearest metallic source was a girder left over from the tower's construction. Arc bolts crashed down upon the crane, subsiding as she drew nearer. Standing on it bravely, she walked across the gap. With each step she took, she shook off the feeling of fear, and walked with new purpose.

Soon, she stood at the very edge of the girder, gazing at the horizon of Mars. Lightning danced across the onyx clouds above her head, as she stood there, arms outstretched. She hadn't realized it, but the electricity from the initial bolt that struck the girder had actually remained. Glancing down at her left hand, she watched electricity dancing across it's surface.

Smiling at the pretty blue current of electricity, she watched as it jumped to her right hand, arcing between them like a blue web. Gazing up towards the rain and sky, a massive bolt of lightning struck down upon her. She felt the energy within her body raising considerably, so much so, that she didn't realize she now floated above the girder.

There was a flash of light around her, as electricity coursed from her hands outwards. Turning back, she looked back at the roof. Several Vex Goblins stood there, their slug rifles at the ready. Nonchalantly, she walked towards them, the same electricity dancing across her arms.

"They've come for the Arc, Warlock." Ikora said, as Chelsea smirked. "Show them the Arc."

Summoning the Storm within her once more, Chelsea lifted off of the ground a few inches once again. Electricity coursed down her forearms and onto the ground beneath her, the energy from the Arc causing her to float. Thrusting both of her hands out, the very same Arc energy surged forward at blinding speeds.

The energy webbed out after leaving her fingers, striking the Vex with the same ferocity that the natural lightning bolts had done moments before. The Goblins twitched from the sensory overload, exploding into a mixture of some organic fluid and machine scrap. With the machines defeated, Chelsea calmed the Storm within her, and stood there, a giant smirk on her face.

"None will dare stand against you, the Wind is at your back. You, are a StormCaller. You will wear the Mantle well. The Storm is both the Answer, and the Question. Teach this lesson to all who would drag you from the sky."

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

Tower, Last Safe City

Drake sighed as he enjoyed a delicious bit of a hamburger. Master Rahool stood there with his bar-be-que all fired up, offering any Guardians coming to and from the Tower some food in the attempt to boost morale. In a few short hours, the Taken had already found their home on the Cosmodrome, the Moon, and beyond.

Some Guardians opted to stay within the City, to ensure that, even if the Traveler could stop them from coming, they could. Lance shook his head, while Tina just stared at him. Amethyst smiled, focused more on her new Mark than anything. Within a moment, Chelsea appeared there, hustling over towards them.

"Hi guys, sorry about that. The plan start yet?" she asked, hands behind her back.

"It was unorthodox, and frankly, it was too heavy of a risk Cayde!" Zavala barked, causing the group to turn in their direction.

"The important thing is; it worked. We can't afford to drag our feet, Zavala. You saw just how quickly the Taken have captured the Cosmodrome. It hasn't even been a DAY! The Legend did their job exemplary, and it was a success."

Drake turned to the others for a moment, before shrugging. Stepping up, Cayde and Zavala turned to face him.

"Sorry, I suppose I could've waited until we were back in the Hall. That was highly unprofessional of me." Zavala said. "Were you and Amethyst able to recruit the Sunbreakers?"

"They are not returning to the City, Commander." Drake shook his head. "They said they would help me wherever I asked them to, but they will not come here."

"I see. Well, thank you anyways." Zavala replied. "Were you made aware of Cayde's plan?"

"I was. I approved of it. If the Legend was up to the hype I've been hearing about them, I knew full well they could do the job. Indeed, it was unorthodox, but sometimes you have to think outside of the box if you want to be a good strategist. Cayde's plan was reckless and unorthodox, but it worked." Drake nodded towards Cayde. "My question is, where does my Fire-team fit in?"

"Well, about that. The Legend's Ghost reported a Rupture found on the Dreadnaught. We have reason to believe it leads to Oryx. You remember that place you and your Fire-team went to?Where you killed Crota?"

"The Ascendant Plane?" Drake asked, as Cayde snapped his fingers.

"That's the one. Well, apparently Oryx has his own Ascendant Plane on the Dreadnaught. It's where the Rupture leads to, and apparently, it leads to him directly." Cayde replied. "According to Eris, you need to be listed as Ascendant for the Rupture to open for you. She explained that you were able to do so before, for some reason."

"Drake Stratus encountered the broken God when he was still whole. He had made physical contact with Crota, perhaps drew the beast's essence in the process. It is the Essence of Crota, that allowed them to enter Crota's Realm, as it had for my Hidden."

"So... why not let them use your rock?" Cayde rubbed the back of his head.

"It does not work like that, this piece does not contain enough to enter Oryx's realm. He would need a more potent sample, from Crota directly."

"That sword wielding son of a bitch is dead." Drake huffed. "How am I going to do that, exactly?"

"You will return to his Ascendant Realm. There, Crota's remaining Hive will be hosting a posthumous ceremony for their fallen Prince." Eris replied. "However, the Hive will be on high alert. It would be suicidal, even with a fire-team the size you brought to face Crota. You will need assistance."

"I've sent the Guardian to the Cosmodrome to locate something I call the Promethean Code. It's the same code Lillian's mother used to form the Blade Dancer's cloaking ability."

"Meanwhile, Drake Stratus, you and your Fire-team should head to the Temple of Crota. There, you will find the remains of the Crystal that hosted Crota's fragmented soul. Bring me a sample, and I will be able to gather coordinates for your Ghost to the portal." Eris said. "I would not advise you bring too many people for this expedition. You may gather unwanted attention."

Ocean of Storms, Earth's Moon.

"Thanks for choosing me to tag along, Drake." Chelsea smiled. "It's too bad Lance decided to stay at the City. I wanted to show him my new abilities."

"Yeah." Amethyst smirked, flexing her right arm. "Maybe I could've knocked his skull around with the Hammer, loosened him up a bit."

"It began with Crota, Son of Oryx." Eris said. "His army assaulted our Moon. With the goal of eradicating and absorbing the Light. Drake Stratus and his team fought them head on. Drake Stratus encountered Crota himself."

"Yet, Crota was but a servant to his father, sent to extinguish the last of the Light." Eris continued. "Drake Stratus witnessed Crota's campaign on the Moon, how it ended in slaughter, and would continue to do so well after he disappeared into the Void."

"The Son was dead." Eris hissed. "- and we invited the Wrath of Oryx, destroyer of Light, Taker of Will. Only Ascendant Hive, like Crota, can move between Ruptures. In order to reach Oryx, you must follow in the dying steps of his son."

Together, the three Guardians stepped towards the mighty crater in front of them. Drake knew what dwelled below; Crota's Ascendant Plane. However, the Hellmouth itself also served as a host for the Temple of Crota. Thankfully, Arianna had teleported them within the halls of the Temple, due to Drake's knowledge of the place.

"Remember when we were here last time, Drake? The Chamber of Night."

"Yeah, it wasn't pleasant then either." Drake sighed. "Eris' coordinates on this crystal puts it through the wall."

"That can't be right." Amethyst shook her head.

To their right, the wall split, as dust lifted off of it. Before them, a door formed, and through it, a pair of Knights roared. Drake charged at them, his shotgun at the ready. Sliding on his hip, he fired a shell directly into one Knight's mid-section, while Chelsea and Amethyst focused fire on the other one.

Standing immediately, Drake crashed his fist across it's face, causing the Ascendant Knight to recoil. Grabbing it's hands, he smashed his right boot down on one of it's knees, cracking the carapace. Tugging with all of his might, he was able to wrench the blade from it's hand. Only now, it crumbled in his grasp.

"Huh, with Crota dead, I guess their swords aren't tangible unless held by an Ascendant." Drake mused. "Oh well, you die all the same."

Whipping his head forward, Drake grunted as the Knight stumbled backwards. Pulling his Scout Rifle off of his back, he fired one round in between it's three eyes. Smirking, he watched as it and it's brother crumbled to dust, dark liquid, and chitin.

Standing rigid, the three of them walked through a pitch black corridor. Drake actually lost track of how long they had been walking, but Arianna and the other two Ghosts still continued to illuminate their way. Every now and again, Drake would turn to check behind them. He had an eerie feeling in the pit of his stomach that they were being watched.

Walking up a flight of stairs, ambient, yet eerie orange light filled the room as they climbed. Thrall snarled as they tended to piles of bone and material scattered about the floor. For the time, they seemed unaware of the Guardians' presences. Drake, of course, didn't want to stir them and alert them.

As the three finally made it to the top of the stairs, they were greeted by a desolate sight. A bridge over some blackened water greeted them, in this out of the way, cave like room. In the center, a crystal of onyx black hue jutted out of the ground.

"That must be the crystal. I wonder how it got here, though?" Drake asked. "Last time I saw it, we were in the Hellmouth's pit."

"It was moved here by Baxx, Crota's illegitimate Ogre offspring."

"Gross." Chelsea gagged, shaking her head.

"I don't see any Ogres, so we should move." Drake said, as the three quickly hurried down the incline they had been standing on.

Approaching the remnants of the crystal, Drake held a hand out to allow Arianna to do her thing. Before he could do so, the ground beneath his feet quaked, a mighty roar filling the air. To his left, a massive Ogre shambled out from a rock formation in the wall.

"Shit." Drake shook his head, diving for cover.

The Ogre growled, as dark Void energy surged towards him in the form of a beam. The Ogre's eye blast, burned the ground where he had been standing, as he rolled on his shoulder, landing on his feet.

Standing, he felt a certain anger well up within the pit of his stomach. Shaking his head, he knew that he had an excess of Light energy and would need to dispense it quickly. However, he wanted to wait for an opportune moment, and the Ogre wasn't going to allow him to get close.

There was a loud thud in the air, like a hammer striking an anvil. Turning his attention to his left, Amethyst stood there, the Hammer of Sol firmly in her hand. Fire danced across her torso, as she stood rigid. Throwing the Hammer with all her might, the heavy metal object struck the Ogre in it's face, causing it to recoil. Reaching her hand out to her right, she plucked another Hammer from the Forge, throwing it at the Ogre.

Chelsea rose from the ground a bit, a crackling noise filling the air. Suddenly, electricity exploded from her hands, as she skated around the ground, yet never touching it. Extending her hands out, lightning webbed out from her fingertips, traveling across the surface of the Ogre.

Grabbing his shotgun off of his back, Drake smirked. Bounding off of his right foot, he charged the Ogre. Jumping off of the crystal, the Ogre watched him approach. Focusing it's gaze at him, the purple beam surged forward. For Drake, however, it was easily avoidable. Firing a shell into it's face, he pressed his right boot into it's chest, jumping off and flipping backwards.

The Ogre raised it's fists into the air, while the hail of hammers and Arc energy continued to bombard it. Again, that overwhelming feeling of heat appeared in Drake's stomach. As he landed, he jumped backwards to avoid the Ogre's shockwave. Smirking beneath his helmet, he raised his right hand to the heavens, clenching it.

As he did so, a pillar of fire crashed down on top of him. When it settled, he stood there, both fists clenched. Spouts of flame erupted from his helmet like miniature horns. Forming a 'V' with his index and middle fingers, Drake exhaled loudly. The two horns exploded into very long, whip-like tendrils, dancing around his body, before surging from the middle of his fingers.

As they left the gap between their fingers, the snake of fire expanded drastically, overtaking the Ogre completely. After a moment, Drake stopped exhaling so that he could catch his breath. The horns swirled around him, forming an elegant longsword in his right hand. Charging the beast, he slashed upwards, his sword slicing into the chitin on it's chest.

Kicking it in the chest, Drake was relentless with his swings, while the other two fired at the monster from behind him. Drake could tell by the way the beast was swaying that it was very close to death. However, before they could finish the beast, an orb of Darkness and twisted Light appeared above it's head. A tendril of the same energy gripped the Ogre, which roared in pain as it was dragged into the small portal.

Drake fell onto his back, the excess Light he was exerting had been extinguished. Crawling backwards, he waited for it to return, as the Psions had on Phobos. However, nothing did come, which raised a few red flags for him.

"Eris. Oryx just took Baxx." Amethyst shuddered.

"Oryx cannot control an Ogre, unless it is Taken. Fetch me the shard, before Oryx turns his scrying eye to you."

Amethyst walked over, offering Drake a hand. Taking her gesture, she helped Drake stand. Walking over towards the crystal, Drake allowed Arianna to do her thing. Meanwhile, the group of them kept watch in case more Hive, or even Taken, showed up.

As Arianna bustled along, however, Chelsea looked at what appeared to be a colossal ribcage to their immediate right, just opposite of the cave Baxx had entered from.

"That giant thing wasn't Hive... was it?" Chelsea asked.

"I doubt it. Though, it might have been what carved these tunnels on the Moon." Amethyst mused.

"Got it." Arianna said, disappearing into Drake's helmet once more.

"Excellent, now return it to me Guardian, and together we shall..." Eris said, the comm. crackling.

"Uh, what the heck's going on?" Chelsea asked.

"Guardian? Can you hear us? We're losing-." Cayde asked, heavily muffled by the static.

"We've lost them." Drake said, as a ghastly wail filled the air, just above their position.

In the distance, the way they had entered the cave was now covered by a sheet of pure Darkness energy. The three of them sprinted towards it, as the air in the room felt heavier. Drake turned back, while the others shot at the barrier. Behind them, dark swirls of wind gathered to form an image.

Three glowing green eyes stared back at him, as a massive holographic torso of a Hive Knight appeared, two giant wings sprawling behind it.

"INFECTION!" A deep void growled in their ears. "Your Light dies HERE!"

Drake growled, pulling his Light Machine Gun off of his back, preparing to fire. Just behind this illusion of Oryx, the Ogre returned, but where it's chitin had once been solemn grey, it was now black and red, pure Darkness emnating from it.

"You will succumb to Baxx, my Hand!"

"Strats, there's too many, we need to go!" Amethyst said, tugging on his shoulder. "Chelsea and I opened the barrier, but we need to go, NOW!"

Holstering the weapon onto his back, Drake and the others sprinted back the way they had come. Arianna and the other two Ghosts turned their lights on prematurely to illuminate the dark corridor. As they sprinted, Thrall with skin that seemed to be made of the shadows themselves charged at them. Orbs of dark and twists light formed, spawning what appeared to be Taken Acolytes and Thrall, even some Knights and Cabal troops joined the party.

It didn't matter to Drake or the others, however, as they continued to sprint through the hallways. Their lungs burned with agony, their hearts racing. They could feel the Taken forces nipping at their ankles. Finally they cleared the door they had opened earlier, finding themselves back in the Chamber of Night.

"We're not going to be teleported out of here without a direct connection to the Vanguard." Chelsea said.

"We're locked in, though!" Amethyst shook her head, glancing about the room.

"I'll find a way, just keep that door covered!" Drake said, hustling around the room. Thankfully, just before him, an orb of green light, containing a small shard of stone, loomed eerily above the ground.

"That relic is not unlike other Hive artifacts. No promises, but I bet it unlocks one of those other two doors." Arianna chittered beside him.

Reaching his hand bravely outwards, he watched physical Light surround the dark orb, shielding his hand as he grabbed it. Turning to the far door, he saw a notch on the front that looked perfect for the orb. Trotting over with the surprisingly heavy orb, Drake thrust it into position.

Surely enough, the door began to open. Glancing back at the door they had just come from, he heard the Taken forces twitching and slamming into it. The others joined him, as they sprinted out of the chamber. Thankfully, all it was now was a bunch of open ended tunnels. No more doors stood in their way.

That, however, did not stop more Taken blights to spawn. More Taken troops appeared, as the three Guardians sprinted past them. Any Taken that got in their way was quickly dispatched, but for every one they killed, five more took it's place.

"We are going to lose them, just like Erianna-3."

"We aren't even dead yet and you're writing our eulogy!" Drake growled. "Unbelievable."

"The connection is still weak." Chelsea said. "Thankfully, she didn't hear that. She kind of creeps me out."

As the three continued their sprint up through the numerous hallways, they finally heard the comm. chatter once more.

"Guardian? You must escape that pit, otherwise we'll never find Oryx."

"Or, y'know, we could die." Drake sighed. "We're outside the Temple now. Thank the Traveler for that."

Surely enough, they were finally on the surface of the Moon. Oryx was probably causing quite a stir on the Dreadnaught, annoyed that the trio had escaped, but Drake didn't care. They were alive, and they had that crystal. It was only a matter of time before it was time for Drake to knock on Oryx's door.

Lance sighed, as Tina gave him a sour glance. The two had been assigned by Zavala to help Amanda Holliday with whatever errands she required to be done down in the Hanger. As a part of the plan presented by Cayde, all Guardians were to now have inter-stellar drives outfitted into their rigs. Most Guardians that Lance had encountered stuck primarily to Earth, Venus, Mars, or the Moon to combat the Darkness.

It was in part due to the fact that the Traveler's influence had not reached past Mars for quite some time. Thanks to the Legend and their efforts in the Black Garden, however, the Traveler had begun the long awaited process of healing. At first, Lance had protested, as much as Drake had royally irritated him, he wanted to be there to support him on his quest on the Moon.

"Drake's been through a rough time too, you know." Zavala had said. "Yet, despite that, he continued to do his duty, head held high. I see great potential in you Lance, but you cannot achieve it unless you get over your past issues and work for a brighter future. That is what it means to be a Guardian. To illuminate the future."

Zavala had been right, Lance was so self absorbed by the death of his father, grandfather, and great-grandfather that he hadn't even began to analyze just what he had been doing these past few months. He was gaining a negative reputation on the Tower for being so cold and unsocial.

"I've been a real dick recently." Lance sighed.

"Recently?" Tina scoffed. "You've always been a dick."

"I'm sorry. I guess I just got so caught up in everything that's been going on that I've just let my old shell come back." Lance shook his head. "Some days, it just feels so overwhelming. Us Guardians throw everything we have at the Darkness, and most of the time, it doesn't do a damn thing."

"I fought the Wolves, you know?" Lance shook his head. "Chelsea and I took Skolas's fort by siege, while the Legend went in and captured him for the Queen. I got the Glimmer needed to give my Grandfather the treatment he needed for his illness, and when I returned... he had already passed."

"I'm sorry about that." Tina frowned. "I know what you mean. However, so long as the Light courses through us, it's our job to take the Darkness head on, no matter what obstacles we face."

"So, you've read the Titan Codex?"

"I'm a Warlock, when I'm not destroying the Darkness, or doing menial labor in a Hanger, I'm usually reading." Tina chuckled. "The Titan Codex always fascinated me, so I decided to read it."

"You know who wrote that?" Tina smiled, as Lance hefted a box of parts, Tina categorizing through them. "Kabr Stratus, Drake Stratus' dad."

"Yeah, don't remind me." Lance sighed. "My own father shoved the Titan Codex down my throat when I was younger. Always wanted him or myself to take up the Family legacy. In truth, I wanted to be a vendor here on the Tower. I guess the Traveler had something else in mind."

The maintenance room became silent, as Lance situated the box in his hand. As the two were headed out of the room, Lance stopped, a shotgun had been held on the the wall, seemingly out of the way.

"Woah, check it out." Lance nodded towards the weapon. "That Amanda's?"

"Probably, though, I never knew she was a Guardian." Tina shrugged. "My bet is she's a Huntress, it seems to fit her."

"Don't let Cayde hear you say that, he'd have a conniption fit." Amanda smirked, startling Lance. "Ya'll were taking a while, I was afraid all my clutter had collapsed on ya. Though I'm flattered ya'll think I could be a Guardian."

"Nah, I'm no Guardian. Lived in the City my whole life, never was gifted with the Light." Amanda said. "Besides, if I was, who'd fix these ships?"

"Rahool?" Lance grinned devilishly.

"Riiiight." Amanda smirked. "That gun's got a story, if you have listenin' ears on."

"Contrary to popular believe, I'm not actually from the City." Amanda said with a chuckle. "This shotgun belonged to my relative that fought alongside Drake back in the Twilight Gap."

"He would frequently visit us in my hometown, though the name has since escaped me. Well, some time after the Twilight Gap, the story is he gave the shotgun to my grandmother, who passed it down to my father."

"Sometime after I turned five, Fallen troops appeared within my village." Amanda frowned. "My father gave the shotgun to my mother, and told us to head for the City. He knew we would be safe there, and my great-great Grandfather would protect us."

"My Mother and I were the only survivors of the attacks." Amanda shivered. "Yet, that there shotgun kept us safe during the journey to the City. She always called it the Chaperone, and I guess it was kinda fittin'."

"When we got the City, Ma gave it to me to keep." Amanda smiled, a well of tears forming in her eyes. "Shucks, I'm gettin' all emotional. C'mon, let's get these parts out there."

Lance nodded, the three of them walked further into the hanger. As far as the eye could see, Guardian ships lined the walls of the Hanger. Drones worked around the clock to get these ships at the ready. The plan was simple, a wave of Guardians were to be sent to the Dreadnaught to clear a path to the Rupture, so that Drake could get inside it and take Oryx out.

The Vanguard, in this particular instance, was sparing no expense. Placing the box down on a table, Lance watched as the Drones quickly hustled over, emptying the box within mere seconds. Amanda chuckled, before placing a hand on her hip.

"Well, that's all I needed for now, Guardians." Amanda smiled. "Ya'll should check in with the Vanguard, I'm sure they might have more stuff for ya'll to do. Thanks a million, folks."

Lance and Tina looked amongst each other, before smiling at Amanda, taking their leave. As they walked away, Amanda frowned, turning her attention towards the Maintenance room.

Lance and Tina walked up the stairs and through the far hallway back to the main hall of the Tower. Almost on cue, Drake, Chelsea, and Amethyst materialized on the Tower.

"I think Zavala and the others can wait a moment, yeah?" Lance asked, as Tina nodded.

"Agreed." Tina said.

The two approached Drake and the others, who appeared to be visibly shaken up. Concerned, Tina approached Chelsea, while Lance took to Drake's side. In his mentor's hand, a onyx black, crystalline object resided.

"That's what you were after?" Lance asked, Drake nodding.

The five Guardians marched down the stairs to the hall of the Vanguard. Shaxx nodded stoicly as they passed. In the Vanguard hall, Zavala hunched over the table, seemingly stuck in thought. Ikora had a finger under her chin, pondering something. Cayde turned to them, waving with a bright smile, to the best he could muster with his metallic face.

Eris Morn, however, did not greet them with some semblance of politeness. Rather, she held her hand out, expectantly.

"You have it, yes? The vessel that will contain the essence of the Broken Hive God?"

Drake, annoyed, shoved the crystal into her hand.

"Here's you damned rock." Drake growled. "Now, how long are you-"

"It is done." Eris nodded. "The coordinates to the portal will be sent to your Ghost when you go on your way."

"That's the closest thing to; 'Thank you', as you're going to get, Guardians." Cayde shook his head. "It's going to be dangerous in the Ascendant Plane, with the bugs mourning over their dead God. I had the Legend fetch the Promethean Code. It's what was used to make the Blade-dancer's cloaking ability so effective."

"Don't worry, I've already taken the liberty in sending the code to each of your Ghosts. Though, I advise only a small group of you go. It'll decrease the chances of you being spotted." Cayde continued. "The Traveler's Light is strong, but as you know, it can't reach the Plane. We don't need you all dying in there."

Drake looked down at the crystal, Eris handing it to him once more. Turning to the other four, Drake knew that only two others should join him. Lance and Chelsea had been to the Ascendant Plane before, they knew what to expect, Amethyst and the other Warlock were likely strong enough to withstand whatever threats may be there, but they didn't know just how bad it was.

"Lance, Chelsea. You guys have been before, you're coming with me. Warlock, Amethyst, you should prep for the assault on the Dreadnaught. Once I have that essence, I'm headed straight there."

"I'm Tina." Tina smiled. "It'd be an honor, sir."

"Be careful, okay Strats?" Amethyst said. "I lost my brother once, don't make me lose him again."

"We'll be fine." Drake said with a smirk, rustling her hair. "You stay safe too, Tadpole."

With Lance and Chelsea in tow, they left the Hall of the Vanguard. Climbing up the stairs, they were surprised to see the Speaker standing there.

"Speaker, this is a pleasant, unexpected surprise." Drake said.

"The Traveler wishes you well, Guardians. Though, it warns of Oryx. He is doing something much more sinister than anticipated." the Speaker placed a hand on his shoulder. "Be the Light in the Dark, Drake Stratus. Illuminate the future."

With that, the Speaker turned on his sandals, shambling back in the way of his quarters. Lance tapped Drake on the shoulder, causing him to look over.

"Since when did you go back to being known as Stratus?" Lance asked.

"I decided that I couldn't really escape my past. I now go by either Stratus or Sol." Drake shrugged.

To their left, Master Rahool and Amanda Holliday chatted. Upon seeing Drake, Rahool whistled, beckoning them over. The three Guardians approached, as Amanda held her hands behind her back.

"Master Rahool, Ms. Holliday." Drake nodded. "You need something?"

"No, but Ms. Holliday had just finished explaining to me the quest you're about to partake in. I have decrypted pieces of Toland's Journal. If you did not know, Toland was almost fanatical about the Hive and their practices." Rahool replied. "This will not be easy, especially considering this is the second time you will be in the Ascendant Plane. Wear your Light as a shield, Guardian."

Amanda shuffled nervously, before smiling.

"If your Light is your shield, you'll need a sword." she grinned, producing a very unique looking shotgun.

Flipping it in her hand, Drake smirked as the Western style shotgun seemingly made a whipping noise. Lance stared at the shotgun in disbelief, while Chelsea grinned.

"She's called the Chaperone." Amanda said. "It belonged to that relative of mine that you fought alongside in the Twilight Gap. I heard your Gjallarhorn was busted when you fought Crota. Hopefully this makes up for it."

"I can't accept it." Drake shook his head. "It's a family heirloom."

"You're the closest thing I gots to family left, Drake." Amanda said. "I never use it, and it's a shotgun that deserves to be fired. I want you to have it, so that you can use it like my great-great Grandpa used to."

Holding the gun out sideways to him, Amanda refused to accept no for an answer. Drake smiled, before carefully removing the weapon from her hand.

"When this is over, I'm giving it bac-"

"No, yer not." Amanda replied sternly. "It's a gift, Drake. Don't return gifts. She'll guide you to Oryx, like she guided my Ma and I to the City."

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

Pit of the Hellmouth, Earth's Moon

Drake stood there, the Chaperone in his left hand. Glancing at the light bridge in front of him, the doorway to the Ascendant Plane shone brightly in the otherwise dark Thrall maze. Surprisingly to the three Guardians, not a single Thrall, Acolyte, or Knight showed themselves. Quietly, he nodded his head towards the portal. Lance held his Auto Rifle at the ready, occasionally checking behind them.

Chelsea, on the other hand, kept her Pulse Rifle at the ready. There was no way it could be this easy. When they had come through with a fire-team of six Guardians, they struggled to even cross the bridge. To her, it was an insult to those that had died down here that day. Looking over towards Drake, she couldn't see his face from behind his helmet, but she had a sense that he was troubled.

How could he not be? He lost his grandson, a fellow Titan, and his 'wife' here. Coming here, especially so soon after resurrecting a second time, it must have been incredibly hard for him.

"You good?" she asked, as Drake nodded, his gaze unmoving from the portal.

Looking over towards the portal, however, Chelsea could see what he was staring at. Just before the portal, the silhouette of a Huntress stood there. Drake began to approach, as Chelsea stumbled, trying to stop him. No other Guardian had been made aware of their plan down here, and she didn't like the utter stillness in the air.

"Lillian?!" Drake called, the silhouette unmoving. "LILLIAN?!"

"Shut up!" Lance growled, punching Drake's shoulder. "We're on a stealth mission now. Remember the shit you gave me on our first mission? I'm returning the favor."

However, Drake didn't appear to be listening. Dropping into a dead sprint, Drake bolted for the portal. Chelsea stared in shock, as Lance glared at her for a moment, the two of them giving chase. Drake vaulted over a rock jutting out of the ground, shotgun at the ready. The further he ran at the silhouette, the farther away it seemed to get.

A lone Thrall seemingly stumbled out from behind a rock. Drake tackled the creature to the ground, snapping it's neck before it could screech. Picking himself up almost immediately, he charged at the portal. Now, it was getting closer, whatever was waiting for him. As he drew too close, however, the silhouette stepped inside.

"Nooo!" Drake growled, fire erupting at his fists.

Lance's hand lashed out, grabbing his shoulder.

"ARE YOU FUCKING INSANE?!" Lance growled, staring Drake in the helmet. "I don't care who or WHAT you see! Oryx will kill EVERYONE if we fuck up here! If that IS Lillian, you won't be doing her any favors!"

Drake tried to struggle, as Lance slammed a fist across Drake's helmet.

"You understand me, you dense fuck?!" Lance snarled. "You're NOT invincible, you made that abundantly clear when you and her killed yourselves the LAST time we were here!"

Drake growled in annoyance, pitching his helmet forward. Lance grunted in pain, stumbling backwards. Stepping backwards, Lance's fists sparked with electricity. Drake stood there, fists still very much alight.

"What do you care?" Drake sneered, the fire on his fists growing in intensity. "Those were the same words you said to me when I came back. Why now have you decided to be a sensible thinker, than a spoiled BRAT?!"

Lance growled, the sparks on his fists crackling wildly. Chelsea stood between them, her arms outstretched. However, the two Titans stared each other down, seething with malice.

"Out of the way-" Drake growled.

"-You don't get to talk to her like that, old man!" Lance snarled.

"What are you going to do about it?!" Drake taunted, waving his fiery hand up at Lance.

"I'll send your ass back to the Void. If you're so willing to die anyways, I'll save you the trouble. That kind of attitude won't be needed against Oryx." Lance grit his teeth.

The two Titan charged at each other, fists cocked and ready to exchange blows. Drake jumped off of his right foot, smashing his fist across Lance's cheek. Lance's head snapped backwards, as he stumbled. Following up, Drake grabbed Lance by his arm, swinging him one-hundred and eighty degrees into the nearest wall. Grasping the back of Lance's head, Drake smashed Lance's face into the wall.

"You think you can touch me, you little shit?!" Drake growled. "You're nothing more than a big talking, diaper wetting, fledgling!"

"How can you say that?!" Chelsea said. "Everything Lance accomplished in the past was through YOUR teaching!"

"He chose a shitty role-model." Drake snarled.

"You're right." Lance smirked, standing proudly. "At least my lover is still alive."

Drake stood there, taking a step backwards. Even Chelsea had to gasp, placing a hand in front of her helmet. Lance stood there, fists clenched and ready to fight. Drake stared at the ground, twisting his neck just so that they could hear the satisfying pop it made.

Taking a step forward, the ground beneath Drake's foot pulverized, shards of stone flinging upwards, the ground cracking. Chelsea and Lance had never seen Drake like this before, and to be perfectly honest, it filled them with absolute dread. Taking another step, the ground shattered again, only this time, an ambient red light appeared beneath his boot.

The fires on his fists intensified almost a hundred fold, the flames trailing up the length of his arms. His helmet cracked at the top, two flares of fire erupting out of the helmet like horns. Chelsea had deduced this was his Warpath super, though, she had seen him use it before.

"I'll give you credit." Drake said darkly. "You got me there. Honestly, I don't have much of a rebuttle."

Lance kept his fists clenched, as Drake slowly and methodically approached him. Each step Drake took, however, more ambient red light appeared from the cracks beneath his boot. Within a mere second, Drake's helmet was off, his gaze still to the floor.

"That's not going to matter much, though." Drake smirked. "'Cause I'll burn you until not even Master Rahool can decrypt your body."

Glancing up, fiery red iris' glared back at Lance, as Drake clenched both of his fists. Raising his gaze to the ceiling, he spread his shoulders apart, uttering a mighty roar that shook the cavern. Rocks cascaded from the ceiling, as the ground beneath his feet began to crater.

Fire erupted from beneath Drake, forming a massive pillar with a circumference of at least fifteen feet. The fire overtook Drake, the intense heat licking at Chelsea and Lance, who shielded their eyes. Within a heartbeat, Drake was on Lance. Thrusting a fiery punch into Lance's stomach, Chelsea shrieked as Lance was sent cascading back across the bridge with little to no effort.

"Come on! You were spitting fire SO easily before!" Drake shouted after him. "Can't take the heat?!"

"What the hell happened to you?" Chelsea said, tears running down her cheek, as she sprinted after Lance. "It's not Lance who changed when you died."

Drake fell to his knees, the fire dancing across the surface of his form dissolving instantly. Once again, his helmet formed around his head. Shaking his head, he had no idea what had come over him. Standing, he looked across the bridge. Chelsea kneeled down to Lance. Running her hand along the side of his head, she turned back to look at him.

His eyes opened with shock, as he felt the residual heat from the crater he had made behind him. What the hell happened? Shaking his head, he stood, sprinting across the bridge. Drake stopped, as Chelsea turned to him, shotgun at the ready.

"Don't come closer." she warned, pumping a fresh shell into the shotgun. "He mourned months for you. You come out expecting everything to go back to normal, and when some ghost from your past shows up, THIS is how you repay his emotions?!"

"You're damn lucky I care more about taking Oryx out. Otherwise, I'd tell you that you're on your own." Chelsea said.

"Please, understand-" Drake said quietly. "S-something came over me."

"Don't try and backpedal." Chelsea shook her head. "If you two had been in a small fist fight, that you could apologize for. You almost killed him with ONE PUNCH! That's unforgivable. I'm not even sorry about that comment he made."

"I don't even know what happened!" Drake replied.

"Yo, everything going okay down there? Your signal blacked out completely down there. Even had the Speaker concerned, he mentioned something about an overwhelming sinister energy? "

"Lance is badly injured, but alive." Drake replied. "We haven't even made it through the portal yet.

"Take it easy down there, we don't need you guys losing you heads."

"You can say that again." Chelsea glared at Drake. "I dunno if you're feigning innocent, or if you mean it. If anyone's going to prove something here, it's you, and your loyalty."

"I will." Drake nodded. "Take him back to the Tower. I'll do it myself."

"No." Chelsea said. "I'm angry at you, but I'm not going to let you kill yourself."

"I don't plan on dying. If that was Lillian, I need to see why she's still here. I'll get Crota's essence, and meet up with you at the Tower."

"Those bridges required more than one person on a totem, remember?" Chelsea said, as Lance groaned. "He'll despise you for a while, but he'll do it if I ask him to."

"I can't ask you to risk your life after what I've just done. I dunno what the hell happened, or why I attacked Lance, but I want to make it right."

"Then do your job, and when it's over, leave Lance alone." Chelsea said. "It'll be better for everyone that way."

Lance shakily stood, pushing Chelsea off of him.

"I don't despise him." Lance smirked beneath his helmet. "Honestly, I wasn't expecting that powerful of an attack. It was my plan all along."

"Huh?" Chelsea asked, confused.

"Drake's been awfully quiet and in a shell since he's returned." Lance explained. "It reminded me a lot of what I was like before I met him."

"I knew just what he needed; a vent." Lance winced. "Besides, how could I be pissed? That was pretty fucking badass." Though, next time? Just stick to throwing punches, m'kay?"

Placing a hand on Drake's shoulder, Lance nodded curtly.

"I'm sorry I said that comment, truly, I am. I'll admit, I was a little heated and crossed a line there. For that, I'm sorry. However, I hope this helped you with whatever demons you're dealing with." Lance said. "I got your back Drake, you're not in this alone."

Nodding, Drake took a deep breath in, turning back towards the portal again. Perhaps this whole Taken war was finally messing with his head. Whatever the case was, they would finish it. All they needed to do was get Crota's essence.

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

"Is it working?" Lance asked, turning to Drake.

"I hear you, can't see you though. Guess it works then." Drake whispered.

The three Guardians were completely invisible. However, as Drake took a step forward, he noticed the cloak around him began to glow a little bit.

"The cloak isn't perfect, if you move, the cloak will need time to adjust. Let's just hope that these bugs don't notice moving air?" Cayde said in the comm.

Stepping out into the courtyard, it was just as they remembered it. A green sickly abyss made up the Ascendant Plane's sky. The only thing devoid from sight was the floating miniature sun thing, that had actually housed Crota's Oversoul.

As Chelsea had assumed, the bridge had not been formed, and was surrounded by the same mystical, sinister flames as it had been the last time. What annoyed Drake, however, is that the Swordbearer Knights were present, yet there were at least fifty of them, and they all patrolled this side of the abyss.

Worse still, Deathsingers and Ogres even patrolled around. There was no way in hell they could activate those totems and NOT be spotted instantly. Creeping past a trio of Swordbearer Knights, the three Guardians descended the flight of stairs leading to the bottom floor, which hosted the bridge construction panel, and the two totems.

Drake sighed quietly, however, as he saw the same orb as he had seen in the Temple of Crota hours ago. Tapping both of them by the shoulder, he pointed to the orb, then to the bridge, where there was an altar that just so happened to have an orb shape carved into it.

Sneaking past the mighty Ogre, and a couple more Knights. He froze as he heard one of the Knights sniffing the air. Despite the fact he was cloaked, it did not mean he likely did not have a scent. Hurrying his footsteps, he wrapped his hands around the orb. Just as before, a layer of Light formed around it to protect him from the Darkness contained within it.

Hurrying over towards the altar, he quickly placed it into it's slot. Thankfully, the bridge began to form. Unluckily, however, the Hive had noticed and heard it's formation. The three Guardians hurried across the bridge. A lone Ogre moved to the bridge to investigate. Hurrying their steps, the cloaks were close to malfunctioning. Luckily, they had been successful in sneaking past it without failing.

Creeping their way up the next flight of stairs, it lead to the same door that lead them to Crota's throne room. Gears within the door began to spin up, as it began to open. Drake and the others winced, as the Hive turned to face them. They had not yet become apparent, though they knew that any further distractions might cause suspicion. Hurrying through the door, the trio entered the long hallway leading to the throne room.

The three of them sighed in relief as not a single Hive were to be found within the hallway. However, they could hear the echoed mixture of laughter, moaning, and crying of sickly, twisted feminine voices coming from the throne room. Drake stood just above the giant hole leading down into the throne room. With a leap of faith, he jumped down, rolling on his shoulder to reduce the shock.

"Ir Anuk and Ir Halak, Oryx's twin daughters, join their voices with the Deathsingers. They prepare Crota's soul for the next Realm."

Standing, the other two landed behind him. Lance tapped Drake's shoulder, as he pointed dead ahead. Two giant Deathsingers floated beside a glowing green tomb. Their wrinkly, dry hands were clenched together in some sort of prayer, raspy, sickly voices singing what should have been a delightful song, had their origins not been so sinister.

Together, the three of them walked into the throne room, as broken as the God that once resided within. In total, Drake counted twenty Deathsingers total. When they had been here last, it took Nathan's entire storage of Light in the form of a SuperNova to even kill Ir Yut. Just one of the Deathsingers could prove to be an issue, twenty was suicide.

"Approach the tomb, allow the crystal to drink deep of the essence of Crota."

"Do you have to make everything weird, Eris?"

"Stay here." Drake said. "Watch my back, use comm."

Slowly, Drake tiptoed up the right side staircase. Directly in front of him was the same doorway he and Lillian had stepped through to fight Crota together. A Swordbearer Knight passed him, sniffing the air as it stepped inside the door. Rounding back, he followed the ornate path to the throne, where Crota's tomb floated beside the Deathsingers.

He heard a sickening crunch beneath his boot. Startled, he looked down. Sitting there was a pile of bones, a skeleton. Directly beside him was a giant scorch mark. Had this been the same place he stood when he killed Crota? Were these his bones?

Shaking his head from the thought, he continued to approach. Walking in front of the numerous floating Witches, he approached the tomb. Pulling the crystal out of his satchel, he held it up into the green aura the tomb was producing. As he was doing this, he did not happen to notice the green mist flowing over his cloaked form.

"Draaaake, you should be careful. You're cloak's-" it had been too late.

Despite Lance's attempts to warn Drake, the essence of Crota overflowed through the crystal, and had evaporated his cloak. There he stood, in front of twenty Deathsingers.

"Oh come the fuck on." Drake sighed, pulling the Chaperone off of his back.

Much to his relief, the Deathsingers actually disappeared completely, and he didn't feel that overbearing weight of their Liturgy. What did happen, however, was the sudden appearance of Taken forces.

"Lock for transmat Ghosts!" Cayde ordered, legitimate concern in his voice.

The comm. crackled, however, muffling his and Eris' voices. Lance and Chelsea held their Ghosts out, the two of them disappearing in a puff of Light. Drake held Arianna out, as she attempted to teleport the both of them out.

"We're being blocked, Drake!"

"Subjugation!" Oryx's bellowing voice echoed throughout the Ascendant Plane. "You have the gall to return to Crota's realm?! You WILL submit to my will! Give your LIGHT to me!"

"You want my Light?!" Drake roared into the abyss. "I'll give you all the Light I can when I meet you face to face, bug eyed fucker!"

Standing just beneath Crota's tomb, Drake turned to the Taken Thrall, Acolytes, and Knights that advanced on him. Raising the Chaperone to a firing level, he fired shell after shell into the encroaching opponents. In the distance, he could see the silhouette of a Huntress, beckoning for him.

Sprinting forward, he jumped off of the elevated throne, and onto the ground floor, where Lance and Chelsea had been standing just moments before. As he drew near the silhouette, she waved, before vanishing yet again into thin air. Standing there, however, he could hear a strange chanting. Yet, it did not belong to a Deathsinger, no, it was Eris!

"Guardian! Come. With. ME!" he heard Eris say, as if she was standing right beside him.

Suddenly, he was on the surface of the Moon, at the Ocean of Storm's Guardian Outpost. Looking himself over, he was happily in one piece.

"You pulled me out." Drake sighed in relief.

"It is one of Toland's tricks." she gasped for air. "There is nothing I fear more than the Darkness, but I will NOT lose another Guardian.

"Thanks." Drake said. "I've said some rude things to you Eris, and I'm sorry."

"I offer forgiveness, in exchange for Oryx's life."

"Deal." Drake smirked. "On that, we agree."

There was only one step now; Kill Oryx; The Taken King. Summoning Arianna, he was transmatted back up and into his ship. Behind him, Lance and Chelsea's ships hovered. Behind them, Amethyst and Tina's ship joined them.

"This is it, Titan." Cayde said. "Say the word, and the attack will begin. The Vanguard is behind you."

"The Dreadnaught- Oryx- is finished." Drake said, gripping his throttle. "Guardians, move out."

Drake watched the multitude of ships advance towards the diamond shaped ship looming in the center of Saturn's rings. As they did so, Drake, Chelsea, and Lance lagged behind to allow the other Guardians a chance to clear a path for them.

In doing so, he took note of the carnage that the Dreadnaught had caused for the Awoken fleet. Floatsam billowed in the abyss of space, mingling with the rock and ice particles that had once formed Saturn's ring. Amongst the wreckage were Awoken guards, their bodies doomed to float in the void endlessly.

It saddened Drake, as a Guardian, he had the Void to return to. He was able to come back, thanks to the Light. However, he had always wondered about what it was like to die without Light. Without the Light, you don't go to the Void, so, where would you go? The Void isn't a walk in the park, each time he goes there, it's nothing but a blackened Void. Other Guardians are occasionally met there, waiting resurrection, but that's really it.

As their ships approached, Amethyst and Tina's zoomed up beside him, their pilots waving to him, before speeding off towards the nearest landing zone.

"We'll guide you guys to the Rupture, Drake." Amethyst said.

Arianna nodded her form, linking with Amethyst's Light. With a flash of Light, the three of them stood behind Tina and Amethyst. Together, the five Guardians began their trek through the Hive Dreadnaught. Much like any other Hive structure, bone and chitin lined the wall and floor. Bones of destroyed enemies piled along the ground, and the occasional pool of black liquid could be seen.

As they walked, they witnessed hundreds of Guardians combating legions of Hive and Taken reinforcements. Picking up their pace, the five Guardians sprinted through the warzone, avoiding any stray rounds. To their left, a separate war was taking place, a crashed Cabal ship spewed new Cabal foot soldiers into the Dreadnaught, fighting not only the Taken and Hive, but also any Guardians daring enough to join the fray.

Ducking behind whatever pieces of excess rock or chiton as they could, Drake saw the frame for what appeared to be a portal in front of them. After a quick jog up the flight of stairs, Chelsea and Lance stood behind Drake, while Amethyst and Tina nodded.

"Before you go, Drake." Amethyst said, worrying Drake. "Whatever happens beyond that portal. Just know that I really appreciate everything you and your father have done for me."

"I didn't get the chance last time to properly thank you." she said. "-and don't you dare think this is me saying goodbye, because I'm not!"

Wrapping her arms around his torso, Drake returned the gesture.

"We're in a combat zone." Lance replied. "C'mon, we can do this over emotional bullshit later."

"One last thing." Amethyst said, handing Drake an object. "This is something I found in Dad's old office, shortly after Twilight Gap. I wanted to give it to you the last time you resurrected, but I never got the chance to find you before you were gone again."

In his hand was a small metallic pommel. It once belonged to what appeared to be a sword, only the blade itself seemed to have been missing from it.

"T-this is-"

"Raze Lighter's hilt." Amethyst said. "Remember how he lost the blade years before he disappeared, yet he always carried it for good luck? You gave me his Mark, I'm giving you his sword."

"Thank you." Drake said, smiling beneath his helmet. "Take care, sis."

Turning back towards the Rupture's frame, he pulled Crota's crystal, filled with Crota's imprisoned soul, and held it up to the frame. For a moment, the portal glowed black and white, as did the crystal in his hand. With a loud bang, the frame filled with a green portal. Now, he would enter Oryx's Ascendant Realm. Lance and Chelsea readied their weapons, as Drake stepped through.

It was a disorienting feeling, and the room seemed to spin. However, it all subsided, and he found himself standing in another room on the Dreadnaught. This wasn't like Crota's Ascendant Plane, where everything glowed green. Instead, he was still within the Dreadnaught, with a perpetual grey fog in the air around him. Looking around, he was surprised, Lance and Chelsea weren't with him.

"Lance? Chelsea?" Drake asked in comm. but received no feedback. "Anyone? Hello?"

"Communications are down, Drake." Arianna shook her form. "Looks like it's just you and me again. Heh, kinda like the first day I met you. Only, there isn't cinder blocks, or 'four armed fuckers' around."

"It's better this way." Drake said, walking forward through a long, winding hallway. "They'll be safer out there, with the other Guardians."

"You regret what happened with Lillian, don't you?" Arianna stated.

"Regret doesn't even begin to describe it." Drake sighed. "You know of my tale on the Moon. What you didn't know, besides the fact that she hid Nathan from me, was that we were prepping to be married."

"On the Moon, I couldn't save her." Drake continued. "When we fought Crota, I let her go without hesitation, and it's killing me."

"She told you to throw her. You two saved Earth from Crota's return."

"That's not what I saw when I returned." Drake shook his head, continuing his march. "Lance and Chelsea were given no credit, Lillian, Caldwell, nor Kyle were even recognized as heroes. I got ALL the credit, and they were forgotten."

"You remember when I regenerated this last time, how that pair of Titans were giving me hell for being a supposed newcomer? I liked that feeling, I wasn't remembered. Once Amethyst let them know who I was, though, they sang a different tune." Drake sighed.

"So, you want to be forgotten?"

"No, I just want credit to go where credit is due. People need heroes to give them hope. However, people are so insistent on having these 'Lone Wanderer' type heroes, they forget that these efforts were because of a team." Drake stopped before a door, which opened at his presence.

"Look at the Legend. Nothing is known about them except for their actions. No-one took the time to determine whether or not they are a man or a woman, nor whether they were a Titan, Warlock, or Hunter."

"Not that any of that matters, but I can only imagine what that publicity is doing to them." Drake shrugged. "To be relied on for everything, to wake every day being known by your actions, not for who you are. That's what I don't like."

"People know my name, but that's because my name is part of Vanguard connection. If I wasn't the son of Kabr, the once great Vanguardsman, who would know my name, save my close friends?" Drake said.

"I don't fight for glory, or honor. I fight because it's right, and because I want to make the world a better place, for the people I care about. I couldn't give Lillian or Nathan much of a brighter future, but I'm not going to give up. Lance still has a life ahead of him, and I really don't want him going through the same hell I've been through."

Arianna floated in front of Drake, the pink light that formed her eye glowed ever brighter.

"You're a good man with a bright soul, Drake. When this is over, you should sit down with Lance. Talk about the good memories of your past, maybe even tell Chelsea a bit more about what kind of a person Jeremy was like. Arianna replied. "You and Zavala said that Lance should take a moment to rest and reduce his stress. Personally, I think you should have some rest and relaxation yourself.

As they entered the room, Drake noticed the throne directly in front of him, only there was another Rupture frame just before it. Raising his Scout Rifle, he scanned the room before walking further in. Suddenly, the Rupture opened, an illusion of Oryx appearing just before it. Taken Blights formed around the room, as Taken Thrall and Acolytes poured out of them

"Sickening whelp! I have Taken ENTIRE WORLDS! You are not worthy to face me!"

"Yet you bless me with the sight of your hideous face, gee, thanks." Drake said, holding his Scout Rifle up at the mirage.

Oryx roared angrily, before the mirage slithered back into the air. Pointing his Scout Rifle at the encroaching foes, he fired at their glowing white eyes. Taken Psions joined the crew, splitting themselves until he was almost completely overwhelmed. Backing behind a rock, he reloaded his Scout Rifle, peeking out every so often to tag the Psions, as they were easily his biggest threat.

Poking his head around the corner again, a steady stream of Arc energy surged at him. Some glowing ball, made of the same material as the Taken, floated beside a Taken Acolyte. This eye shaped formation continued to fire at his location, but thankfully the rock held steady.

There was a hiss in the air, as the Rupture opened again. Poking his head around, he quickly fired on the Acolyte's Eye to destroy it. Now standing amongst the Taken Thrall, Acolytes, and Knights was a Taken Cabal Primus, and Baxx, the Taken Ogre.

"Damn, I used the majority of my Light stores earlier." Drake said to Arianna. "Looks like we're gonna be here a while.

There was the sound of something rushing through air, before a loud pop. Turning his head around the rock again, he could see a void sphere sticking in the ground in front of the Ogre and Primus. Void tendrils snared out from the orb, holding the Taken forces in place.

To his left, he could see the silhouette of the Huntress, waving to him. Waving gingerly back, there was an earthshattering roar, as the silhouette fell to their knees.

"YOUR WILL IS MINE! You WILL obey!"

Drake heard a screech of pain from the silhouette, as she swirled around in Darkness, disappearing from sight. His eyes opened wide, that was Lillian screaming, he could recognize the sound of her voice anywhere. Clenching his jaw, he understood now. That silhouette was Lillian. She was Taken from him, in the most literal sense.

Despite the cruel ritual that must have been performed to break her Will, Lillian continued to fight Oryx's oppression and try and help Drake. Clenching his fist, Drake pulled the Chaperone off of his back. Turning around the rock, fire and electricity crackled up and down the length of his arms. Fire sprouted from his helmet, as sparks of electricity crackled from them.

Baxx and the Primus roared their twisted, mutilated battlecries, charging for him. In his left hand, a Hammer of Sol formed, while the Chaperone glowed with blue energy. Sprinting at the two of them, Drake yelled angrily, fire erupting from the two spikes on his helmet, torching any Taken troops that dared get near him. Bouncing off of Baxx's massive head, Drake tackled the Primus, firing all of his shells into the Primus' chest.

Growling with annoyance, the Primus kicked him off, sending him hurdling towards the nearest wall. Planting his feet, however, Drake skidded along the ground, glaring up at the beasts. Instead of reloading the Chaperone, he replaced it on his back. Sprinting at both of them, unarmed, Drake prepped his fists.

Approaching Baxx, Drake winded up for a massive right hook. Baxx roared, raising it's fists above it's head. Instinctively, Drake's hands went upwards, stopping the slam altogether with his might. Throwing the fists upwards, Drake took a mighty step forward, thrusting a fire and electrically charged punch into the beast's chest.

Baxx growled, as a current trailed through it's body. Stomping on it's right shin, the Taken Ogre stumbled. Taking his chance, Drake smashed the Ogre square in it's face, it's head snapping back from the blow. The sound of the punch echoed through the room and the hallways beyond, the sound of chiton cracking and searing flesh. Grabbing it by the arm, Drake roared with all of his might, throwing the Ogre in a circle at the Taken Primus.

Raising his fingers in a 'V' shape in front of his mouth, Drake exhaled, fire erupting from his helmet and out of the gap. Like before, the flamethrower swelled from the intensity of his rage, surging forward at the speed and ferocity of a European High-Speed Locomotive. Baxx, the Taken Ogre, disintegrated into nothing but Darkness juice, and shards of chiton.

The Primus, on the other hand, still stood valiantly in front of him. Gritting his teeth, and tensing his muscles, the fire and electricity on his person flared drastically. Sprinting at the Primus, Drake bounded off of his right foot, jumping into the air. Bringing his right fist back, he smashed the Primus square in the face, snapping it's head back with the force. Landing on his feet, Drake wrapped his arms around it's waist, tackling the Taken space turtle off of it's feet.

Pinning it down, despite their size difference, Drake released punch after punch into it's face. It screamed in it's twisted, altered voice, bt Drake did not relent. His punches echoed throughout the halls, while the sounds of it screaming followed in some sick rhythmic beat.

"You feel that Oryx?!" Drake growled, roaring into the Primus' face. "That's me saying I'm worthy. Worthy of TAKING YOUR LIFE!"

With one final thrust of his fist, he shattered the Taken Primus' face into the ground beneath them. With it's head no longer intact, the Primus' body swirled into the same Darkness that had absorbed Lillian.

"Drake?! DRAKE?!" Lance roared into the comm.

"Yeah, I'm here." Drake said. "Oryx made it clear. He wants it to be just him and I."

"You don't have to-" Chelsea started.

"No, I do." Drake replied. "I took his son."

"So?! We were there too!"

"He took Lillian." Drake growled.

"Come again, what did you say? I think the Comm. is a little fucked up." Amethyst replied. "Oryx took Lillian?"

"Yes. We don't have time to meet up. If he's capable of taking Guardians, we cannot allow him to live any longer." Drake said. "Besides, now he's proven it's personal. I took his son, he took my wife."

"I intend to get her back." Drake said, stepping through the portal.

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

"Guardian? It's Cayde, the Speaker had something he wanted to share with you." Cayde said, as Drake reappeared, well, wherever the portal had lead him.

"The Traveler felt your grief, it acknowledged your pain and suffering. It cannot maintain it for long, but it offers you Bountiful Light. Do not worry about your stores, the Traveler's Light is with you."

Drake acknowledged the message, gathering himself, he began to walk about. The room he had been brought to was pitch black, which unsettled him immensely. Finally, he saw a light billowing from the Darkness, and moved towards it. Upon clearing the doorway, the room around him was more of a chasm. On the far wall, on the other side of the chasm, numerous waterfalls consisting of the black sludge cascaded into the abyss below.

There was a shake within the ship, as a bridge formed between his wall and the far side. Carefully placing a boot on it, Drake hurried across it. He did not know if Oryx had spawned the platforms, but he didn't trust him enough to not collapse them beneath his feet.

On the other side, three statues marked the wall. On the right was Crota, Son of Oryx, on the left was some unknown Hive higher-up, and in the dead center was Oryx himself. Just beneath the statue of Oryx was yet another darkened room.

Stepping into it, Drake saw a small glowing flame on the floor. Approaching the small ember, it raced off away from him, a trail of fire lining the floor. Trailing up what appeared to be the wall, a symbol was burned into the wall in the shape of Oryx's head.

*It was time.

The door began to open, as Drake gripped his Scout Rifle tightly. The room beyond was just as blackened with a slight red hue. In the middle, Drake could make out the familiar form of a Hive Knight. There was a sickening sound, as the redness in the air slowly disappeared, Oryx's wings retracting back into his form. Drake clenched his rifle with determination, stepping into the room.

"DAMNATION! Come then, Sol." Oryx snarled, raising his own Ascendant Sword. "I WILL finish what Crota started!

Fire danced along Drake's torso, as he plucked a Hammer of Sol from the realm between. Thrusting it at Oryx, the massive Hive God swung his sword, blocking the Hammer. Drake took this moment to attempt to close the distance between himself and the self proclaimed Taken King. Thrusting another Hammer at closer range, he plucked another one out almost immediately, throwing it directly after the last.

Oryx knocked the first one aside, but growled as the second Hammer smashed him in the torso. Fire licked at his carapace, the Hive God snarling as he flew backwards. Still yet, Drake threw Hammer after Hammer, some blocked by Oryx, while the others met their mark. Throwing a set of three, Drake charged Oryx, jumping into the air. With his last Hammer in his hand, Drake waited for the right moment.

Oryx batted the first and third Hammers away, while the second one struck him in the face. Descending on Oryx, Drake swung his Hammer mightily into Oryx's face, sending the moth-like creature bounding to the right side of the room.

Oryx growled with great annoyance, his wings preventing him from crashing into the ground. As Drake charged him, Chaperone in hand, Oryx fluttered his wings, the powerful gusts of wind launching Drake back into the far wall.

Clenching his alien hands, Oryx surrounded himself with an aura very reminiscent of the same Taken energy that covered his troops. With that, Drake felt a weight upon him, almost preventing him from using his stores of Light.

"Your Traveler's Light cannot reach you here!" Oryx growled.

"Maybe not like you think." Drake said, looking down at the hilt on his  hip.

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

"Son, this is Raze-Lighter." Kabr said firmly, yet proudly. "It is my sword, forged from my own Light. The hilt is formed by the same plasteel plating that once made up your Grandfather's helmet."

Kabr hoisted his sword, swinging the mighty curved blade in a wide arch in front of him. Fire danced along it's surface, the blade itself glowing with the user's own Light.

"It's edge is hot enough to cut even the densest of metals. It's Light powerful enough to cut through the Darkness." Kabr smiled, handing the hilt to Drake. "When you take the Mantle of the Titan Vanguard, I want you to have it. Raze-Lighter will serve you well."

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Picking up the hilt with both hands, the excess Light that the Traveler was gifting him with flowed into the sword. Surely enough, a blade of pure Light erupted from the hilt, fire dancing along it's surface magnificently.

"You may have prevented me from using my super charged Light, but that doesn't mean it's gone forever!" Drake growled, raising the sword high. "A gift from my father to me, RAZE-LIGHTER!"

Sprinting at Oryx, the Hive God flapped his wings again, attempting to sap the Light from Drake. Planting Raze-Lighter into the ground to hold himself sturdy, Drake raised a Hand cannon off of his hip. He hadn't realized it at first, but it was the same Hand cannon that he had used when he first resurrected, with Arianna in that cottage.

Raising it up to Oryx's face, he fired a single round. It did not pierce the chiton protecting Oryx's face, but it had been enough to stun him. Holstering the pistol, he charged with the blade. Oryx growled in annoyance, thrusting his sword down. Drake swung upwards, knocking Oryx's swing back. Pitching his shoulder forward, Drake swung upwards again, his blade slicing up Oryx's torso.

It continued like this for some time, the two combatants exchanging blow for blow with their swords. Each were determined in their own right to end the other off. A Father fighting for his Son, and a Son fighting for his family. With their constant swings, neither combatant were aware that they now stood out on the balcony of the ship. Saturn and the wreckage of the rings were in sight.

Oryx fluttered his wings, knocking Drake backwards. Rolling backwards, Drake landed swiftly on his feet. Charging forward, Drake roared his battlecry, while Oryx flew at him. This was it, the final blow, the victor would be determined. Drake pitched his sword back, lunging up and at Oryx's torso, while Oryx swung down, aiming for Drake's shoulder.

There was a moment of silence, as Oryx coughed. Drake's eyes were on fire from his rage, but a smirk fell upon his lips as he watched Raze-Lighter pierce Oryx's torso.

"Hey, is it just me, or does your family just really suck with swords?" Drake taunted, ripping the sword from Oryx's chest cavity.

There was a force on his chest, however, as Drake was launched into the far wall. Groaning with pain, Drake attempted to stand. Oryx could barely stand on his two feet.

*Oryx was defeated.*

Clutching his chest, Oryx growled, reaching his hand out to Willbreaker, his Dark sword. The same Taken energy from before rose out of the blade, raising from the blade to the hilt, and towards his hand. Grumbling, Oryx slipped to one knee, as Willbreaker became darkened and brittle.

Holding the orb of Taken energy in his hand, Oryx glared at Drake with a look of defiance. Raising it to the heavens, Drake tried desperately to stand, but found himself unable to do so. Thrusting the orb into his chest, Oryx began to float into the air. Particles of the Taken energy seemed to make his chest disappear, as the material that made up his wings burned out completely.

To Drake, it was most likely the most terrifying thing he could have seen. With a mighty chuckle, Oryx flashed away into nothingness, leaving just the husk of his sword in the ground. Drake continued to attempt to stand, but failed to do so again.

"You mother fucker! What's the matter, you too fucking scared to finish your battles?!" Drake roared into the abyss. "No wonder your son was such a PUSSY! WHAT A GREAT ROLE-MODEL!"

"YOU THINK THIS IS OVER?!" Drake roared. "I'LL FUCKING END YOU!"

Slamming his fist into the ground in front of him, he drooped his head down. Lillian was still Taken, and Oryx was still out there. He was mortally wounded, and likely would lay low for a while, but he was still alive.

There was a familiar hand on his shoulder, as he was helped to his feet. Looking over, Amethyst helped him to his feet, while Lance hoisted Raze-Lighter, which had long since deactivated. Chelsea and Tina stood there, likely gawking at what had just transpired.

"Are you okay?" Amethyst asked, hugging him.

"I'm fine." Drake sighed. "When did you guys get here."

"You don't sound it." Amethyst replied, hugging tighter. "We just got here in time for that lovely turn of events."

"Hey, don't get all down." Chelsea smiled. "You did a good thing today. You've strategically stopped Oryx's assault on our worlds. We can't give up on getting him in a grave, but for now, there is a moment of peace."

"We'll get her back, Strats." Amethyst said. "I promise. For now, let's head back and report what happened here."

Cheer and applause rang out throughout the Tower, as Drake, Amethyst, Chelsea, Tina, and Lance materialized in the Tower's Watch. Rahool stood beside Amanda Holliday, pressing two fingers into his mouth and whistling. Tess Everest nodded in the most sincere, yet discreet way from her Trading Post.

A mass of Guardians from all around gathered, their hands clapping, while others cheered. Towards the top of the stairs, Banshee, the Bounty bot, Lord Shaxx, and the Vanguard stood. Behind even them, the Speaker stood, his arms raised above his head.

"Welcome, Champions of the Light!" the Speaker's voice echoed above the noise of the crowd. "Or should I say; Slayers of Oryx!"

"Oryx isn't dead!" Drake called back, instantly silencing the crowd around him. "The Taken King fled the moment I was about to finish him off."

"Drake Stratus is not wrong." Eris slithered through the crowd to Drake's side. "The Taken have been slowed, but not stopped. So long as Oryx lives, the Taken will continue their unholy crusade."

"This is still a means to rejoice!" Amanda replied, taking up a side beside Drake. "With this so called Taken King temporarily dethroned, the Taken will likely be less organized. We can reclaim our lands from them!"

With this announcement, the Guardians cheered once more. Drake and the others listened through the praise of the other Guardians, Drake's fists clenching ever harder. Amanda seemed to notice this, placing a hand gingerly on his shoulder.

"Thank you all for your support, but I think Mr. Stratus here could use a bit of time to gather himself." Amanda said, escorting Drake and the others through the crowd.

Master Rahool nodded, following behind them. Eris and Cayde seemed to join the parade. Noticing this, Zavala and Shaxx stood in the passage way, arms crossed. Only select individuals would be permitted to pass by them.

"Don't fret, Drake." Master Rahool said, placing a firm hand on Drake's shoulder. "You've done a great deal today. When he decides to show his cowardly face again, I know you'll get the job done."

"It's less of the fact that I didn't kill him." Drake said, clenching his fists so hard the knuckles popped a couple of times each. "That fucker took Lillian."

"Took as in kidnapped, or-?" Cayde asked, stepping forward.

"His friend is Taken, Cayde." Eris hissed from behind. "Her Will was-"

Lance stopped Eris, placing a hand on her shoulder just enough to stop her.

"Don't finish that sentence." Lance warned. "I've seen what Drake's like when he's pissed. Don't make me witness it again."

"That's terrible." Amanda frowned. "That sleazeball's hidin' on that Dreadnaught, right? Well, I reckon he won't be able to leave it without being spotted."

"We've been having Guardians scout the Dreadnaught ever since Drake went through the Rupture. Ikora's Warlocks are busy studying the intel we got." Cayde nodded. "If Oryx can be found, he will be."

"I have only heard Toland mention of Taken Guardians a few times. He spoke of fighting the Ascendant Monsters, and becoming monsters yourself." Eris shambled behind them. "It is possible that, if your friend is resisting Oryx's Will, then she is not completely stripped of the Light. Killing Oryx could perhaps break the binds and return your friend to us."

Stopping just before the Dead Orbit headquarters just outside of the Garage, the group turned to face Drake, who placed his hand firmly on the wall, resting his head against it.

"Find me Oryx. Until then, I'm not going to stop searching the Dreadnaught and beyond for clues." Drake sighed. "Lance, Amethyst. You guys are with me. Chelsea, you and Tina should join up with Ikora's Warlocks and try to gather as much information as you can."

"If the Guardians bring any Engrams from the Dreadnaught, I'll share what little knowledge I gather from there." Rahool nodded. "Perhaps, if one contains insight on Taken Guardians, we can focus on how to make them go away without killing the Guardian."

"As a member of the Vanguard, I can't horde information to just you guys." Cayde said, before whispering to Drake. "However, anything I pick up, you'll be the first to hear about it."

"The Taken King may be in hiding." Eris nodded. "However, on this day, he will be torn asunder. Whatever blackened pit he has slithered into, he will have uttered his last breath."

It had been several days since Oryx's tactical retreat into the depths of the Dreadnaught. In that time, Drake had busied himself by running constant patrols in the Cosmodrome, and on the Dreadnaught itself. For the people that stayed on the Tower, yet were acquainted with him, it was eerie just how little he was seen. Moreso now than when after his encounter with Crota.

"This emergency Vanguard meeting has been brought to order." Zavala said with a sigh. "It has come to all of our attention about the mental state of ex Titan Vanguard Drake Stratus, more appropriately referred to as Drake Sol. Thoughts?"

"As a Hunter, normally I'd jump all over the chance to berate a Titan. Er, no offense baldy." Cayde sighed, crossing his arms. "As it stands, I don't believe it's right for us to judge Drake at this moment. He is obviously in a very bad sort right now. As a Titan, you should know what it's like to not complete your mission. He believes Oryx's escape was his fault."

"For once, Cayde and I actually agree on something." Ikora nodded firmly, hands folded sternly behind her back. "Ex Hunter Vanguard Lillian Evergreen's fate has been weighing heavily on his psyche. It's not much different than a Warlock that's attempting to master the song of the sun. To become a Sunsinger, their minds are broken, and reformed to gain newfound understanding."

"Except that novice Sunsingers are extremely volatile." Zavala sighed. "I don't like the idea that we're discussing this now. However, we cannot continue to deny the immediate threat that he possesses. We all were witnesses of how he and Lance fought in Crota's realm just the other day."

Cayde shook his head, before leaning back a bit, arms still crossed over his chest.

"You fear that he's afflicted by the Hive's influence, like Toland, or even Dredgen Yor."

"That's part of it." Zavala leaned on the table with both hands. "Imagine Jaren Ward's heroic mentality, with Dredgen Yor's psychosis, and the most unstable Warlock Light that you can imagine. Now, picture that in a lone Titan. That, is the power that Drake wields."

"What do you mean?" Ikora asked, standing straighter.

"Have you ever seen Kabr Stratus' combat simulations before?"

"No, can't say that I have. Why, what's your point?" Cayde asked, unhitching his arms.

"Kabr Stratus was capable of using two of his techniques simultaneously. Namely, he used Sunbreaker and Striker techniques in unison. The massive crater in the heart of the European dead-zone? That was Kabr... from one overcharged Fist of Havoc."

"Remember, it is the Stratus' family Light that burns within the Sunbreaker's Forge. I was deemed unworthy, Lord Saladin, and even our very own Lord Shaxx were deemed unfit to wield a Titan's Solar ability. Drake is one of the few Sunbreakers that still work alongside the City." Zavala sighed. "If he goes rogue, which looks inevitable, he'll be the biggest threat to the City since the Fallen excursion that led to the Traveler's 'death'."

"His Light is so strong, he's not even listed as a Sunbreaker. He's a Warpath Titan. His Solar energy alone could destroy a Sunsinger that ripped themselves from the Void." Zavala continued.

The three Vanguard heads stood there in utter silence, as a pair of separate footsteps echoed down the hall. Amanda Holliday stood there, alongside Amethyst.

"We had suspicions that ya'll had it out for Drake." Amanda said. "He's a good soul, both of us can attest to that."

"We have no doubts that Drake is a good man." Ikora said. "He's inspired all of us. However, his mental stability is in question, and we are merely preparing ourselves for what could be the inevitable time of him snapping."

"He won't though, Ikora." Amethyst shook her head. "He has a deep concern for the well being of the City. He loves Lillian, but he would never endanger the City, unless one of you three killed her. I watched him fight at Twilight Gap, when he was still learning his Warpath techniques. He's a lot stronger now, but he wants to use that to ensure Humanity and it's allies' future."

"Look, we're not saying you shouldn't be wary." Amanda continued. "We just ask that you give him some space. He don't need more stress on his shoulders. He needs support, more now than ever."

"Lance, Chelsea, and I have scoured the Dreadnaught." Amethyst nodded, procuring a blackened mass of chitin. "We found this. Eris Morn identified it as a part of Crota's crown. She believes that he's locked himself away in his own Ascendant Plane on the Dreadnaught."

"If ya'll can find a way to have Drake's shard give some of Crota's soul to this here rock, why, six Guardians could go in there, right?" Amanda nodded.

Ikora turned back towards Cayde, and Zavala, who nodded in approval.

"It makes sense." Ikora said. "My Warlocks linked up with Cayde's Hunter scouts, and they found a place that Eris named the 'Court of Oryx'. If the Hive are as deeply based into Medieval society as we believe they are, he's probably hiding behind the rupture located there."

"Good find." Zavala nodded stoically. "I'll contact Drake immediately. Captain, gather whomever is going with you."

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Green, green, and more green. To Drake, the inside of the Dreadnaught was even greener than half of the surface of Earth, and Earth was pretty damn green. Holding his Scout Rifle at the ready, his feet sloshed in the mixture of biomass and chitin that made up the floor of the Dreadnaught.

The occasional Hive or Cabal patrol was to be seen. Apparently, the Cabal had crashed a warship into the Dreadnaught as some sort of beach-head. Drake couldn't blame them, considering the Cabal had been utterly destroyed on Phobos, by the Hive King.

Growling, Drake's grip on his Scout Rifle tightened further. His blood boiled at the thought of Oryx, the Taken King. He took Lillian from Drake, and he ran like a bitch when Drake had almost killed him. Now, he scoured the Dreadnaught, having very little in the ways of sleep.

"You really should call it a day, Drake." Arianna appeared beside him. "You're not going to be able to kill Oryx when you find him, if you're over exhausted."

"Duly noted." Drake said, climbing down an ornate staircase, through a chitin filled tunnel.

Arianna sighed a metallic sigh, before disappearing back into his helmet. He was looking for something now. He had heard from Cayde that there was a place on the Dreadnaught known as the Court of Oryx, something his latest scouting party discovered, before their sudden disappearance.

A Hive Wizard shrieked at him, hovering high above what appeared to be a holographic image of the Dreadnaught itself. Pointing his Scout Rifle at the creature, he lobbed a Fusion Grenade at the Wizard.

The Light created Solar Grenade fused itself with it's target's body, hence the name. The grenade sailed through the air, it's aim true, as it stuck to the Wizard's robes. With a flash of fire, and the popping of a solar energy shield around the Wizard, Drake was free to fire a decisive round into it's face.

Turning to his left, he believed he had found what he was looking for. Ahead of him was a narrow hallway, lined by six different ornate statues. Upon further investigation, he realized they were shaped like Thrall. As he got close to one, the shard on his neck began to glow a brilliant green.

When this happened, the statue seemed to hum with energy, glowing an eerie dark blue and gray, much like the Taken. Almost as if on cue, a wall of white energy appeared behind him, locking him into the hallway. Backing away, he could see a Rupture behind him. Electrical green currents flowed like mist over the ground. A sphere of black and grey energy swirled in front of him, as a Taken Phalanx Cabal, and a trio of Taken Acolytes appeared.

Tensing, Drake replaced the Scout Rifle onto his back, twirling the Chaperone into his hands. The old western shotgun gleamed in the green lighting of the Dreadnaught. Sprinting towards them, he fired a swift shell into the Acolyte's glowing white eye. Using the recoil from the shotgun, he slammed his right elbow into the eye of the other Acolyte's eye. Flipping over the shoulder of the last one, he gripped it by the shoulders, turning it towards the Taken Phalanx.

The Phalanx swung it's shield into the ground, as energy welled up in front of it. With a burst of energy, the Acolyte in Drake's hand disintegrated. Charging at the Phalanx, he batted it's shield aside with his hand, before firing two swift shells into the Phalanx's chin. Swirling, like the others, into some unknown portal, he stood there, alone.

The white shield remained, however. Thrusting his fist at it a couple of times, however, it shattered like glass. Sighing with relief, he stepped back out.

"None of the other statues reacted when you were backing up. Do we need another five shards?" Arianna asked, as Drake sighed.

"Looks like it." Drake clicked his tongue against the roof of his mouth. "It's safe to say that we found the moth like motherfucker though."

Arianna turned to him with confusion, as if to silently ask how he knew. Drake's gaze did not break, however, as Arianna turned to look at what he was looking at. A silhouetted figure of a female Huntress stood in front of the hologram. She waved to him, as he placed the Chaperone on his back.

Suddenly, the Huntress pointed towards him. He nodded, beginning to walk towards her, as she shook her head. Pointing once more, he stopped. Behind him, he heard the all to familiar sound of metal striking metal. Turning to look over his shoulder, the blackened silhouette of what appeared to be a Titan stood there.

In his hands was a massive two handed warhammer, sparking with Arc energy. Arianna shivered in her shell, backing away behind his head. The Taken Titan's breathing was labored, his head occasionally twitching, liquid darkness oozing off of his blackened plasteel armor.

"Drake, that Titan's been Taken for a while. I can't sense any pure Light in him anymore. His source of power, however, leads me to believe he's a Sunbreaker."

"That's Arc energy, Arianna." Drake said. "Although, it's possible that Oryx is twisting their Light, so a Sunbreaker wields Arc energy instead. Is he savable?"

"Regrettably, no. He's fully under Oryx's control now."

With one curt nod, Drake began to walk towards the Titan, completely unarmed. The Titan's form twitched, hefting the warhammer over it's shoulder. Even Oryx's sinister ways of manipulating Light and Darkness had caused the Hammer of Sol to change as well.

The Titan charged at him, hammer ready to swing. Drake braced himself, jumping off of his right foot just in time to narrowly avoid the hammer's swing. Flipping backwards, he slid along the ground for a moment, his gaze flicking up towards the Taken Titan. Dashing forward, he used the thrusters on his back to boost his speed, slamming his elbow square into the Titan's face. The Titan stumbled backwards, hammer dragging along the ground with it.

Charging forward, Drake roared as he smashed his right boot up and under the Titan's chin. Launching it onto it's back. With the hammer at it's side, the Titan twitched, before grabbing it. Drake ran forward to follow up, but panicked as the Titan stood up much faster than he could have predicted. Swinging it's hammer in a wide circle, the Titan span, the momentum of which caused it to move much like a raging tornado.

As the Titan neared Drake, however, it stopped it's spin and swung the hammer down at Drake. He used his thrusters to avoid to his left, but the Titan did not relent. Swinging sideways, Drake pulled himself backwards to avoid the otherwise rib breaking swing. With another swipe downwards, Drake decided to jump upwards, using his thrusters to give him some air.

Flipping, however, he swung his right boot down. The Titan twitched, grasping his foot with it's hand. Drake's eyes opened wide, as the Titan flipped him over it's shoulder, and slammed him into the ground. Dust flew into the air, as Drake groaned. Spinning onto his back, Drake attempted to swing, eyes widening further as the hammer struck him in the side of the helmet, cracking his visor and launching him into the far wall.

Twitching again, the Titan charged forward, hammer at the ready once more. Preparing to swing, Drake recovered fast enough for the disorienting attack to dive out of the way. The Titan's hammer smashing the wall. Dust and pieces of chitin filled the air. Drake flipped over his shoulder mid roll, landing back on his feet, in a crouched stance.

Fire over took his form, as he swung his right hand back. The overbearing sound of hammer on an anvil filled the air, the Hammer of Sol forming in his hand. Gripping it's handle tightly, however, it's head broadened, and it's handle elongated, until it, itself, resembled the creature's warhammer.

Jumping at the Titan, he used both of his hands to swing the Hammer of Sol down onto his foe's head. The Taken Titan, however, blocked the attack with the head of his own hammer. Drake swung swing after swing at the Titan, but each blow was blocked by the head of the Titan's own hammer. Kicking Drake in the chest, the Titan swung it's hammer down. An Arc filled shockwave overtook Drake, the force of which fragmented the ground beneath them.

With his shock therapy, his hammer was knocked out of his hands and far away from him. Drake turned back to see the hammer far away, back in the hallway from where he had just been. Turning back, he barely noticed the Titan lunging at him, preparing to swing down it's hammer again.

Stammering, Drake jumped backwards, narrowly avoiding the collision and ensuing shockwave. The Titan, however, did not relent, and continued to lunge at Drake, who every time narrowly avoided the blows.

Dodging to the left one time, the Titan's hammer struck to Drake's side, but he was neither affected by the shockwave, nor the hammer. His eyes snapped into a determined state beneath his cracked visor, as he sank low. With a sickening crunch and thwack, Drake's mighty left fist smashed into the Titan's crotch. Even if it wasn't human anymore, the Taken creature lurched over in pain. Following up with a mighty right uppercut, he launched the Taken Titan away from him.

It's hammer clattered to the ground beside him. The Titan lay sprawled on it's stomach, as Drake cracked his knuckles. The Titan stood, stomping it's right leg down. The force of the stomp cracked the floor beneath it. Holding it's right arm out, a void sphere began to form in it's hand.

"Drake, it's energy readings are showing a Striker levels now."

"Alright then." Drake said, electricity crackling up and down the length of his right arm. "We'll change it up a bit."

The void sphere engulfed the Taken Titan's arms, as it sprinted at him. Lightning crackled over both of Drake's arms, as he followed it's suit. The two lunged at each other, hands balled into fists. Slamming their fists against each other, the energy of both Arc and Void Light caused a minor explosion, launching both of them back in separate directions.

Drake flipped, landing on both of his feet, while the Taken Titan landed on his feet, without the flip. Yet again, the two Titan's charged each other, their own respective energy's fueling their fists. The Taken Titan swung at Drake's face, as he batted it aside with his left arm, thrusting his own right sucker punch.

The Taken Titan knocked the fist aside, deciding to punch low. Drake used his left leg to block the punch, before thrusting his own punch with his left fist. Jumping backwards, the Titan twitched with frustration. Smashing it's right fist into the ground in front of it, the void energy caused an anti-gravity field that lifted chunks of the chitin out of the ground. Thrusting it's right arm out, the multitude of void powered chitin chunks raced at Drake's position.

Drake, however, avoided the chunks with relative ease. The two Titans stared each other down, or at least, Drake thought they were. The Taken Titan twitched once more, however, before glancing over Drake's shoulder. Drake turned to see that Taken Lillian was still behind him, observing the fight.

The Titan used it's last piece of chitin, about the size of Drake himself, to hurl at Lillian. Drake dove to his left, bracing himself with arms outstretched in front of her. Stumbling backwards, the full force of the piece struck him. However, he used his might to stop it, his feet digging into the ground beneath him. The Taken Titan flinched, as Drake growled, the ground rumbling beneath his feet. Swinging the chitin in a wide arch, he launched it at the Taken Titan.

The Titan braced itself, as it took the brunt of the chitin to the face. Drake bounded off of his right foot, electrically charged right fist cocked and ready to strike. The Taken Titan, however, jumped out of the cloud of smoke, wrapping both arms around Drake's torso.

Jumping with it's own set of thrusters, the two of them launched to the height of the roof. The Taken Titan turned Drake around in it's grip, preparing to weigh him down to the ground. Drake growled in protest, freeing up his right arm. Void energy took over his right hand, as he tossed a Magnetic grenade downwards. The Titan above him bubbled, expecting him to have missed. Moving his head to the right, however, the grenade struck the Titan square in the face.

The surprised caused the Taken Titan to flip over onto his own back, releasing Drake immediately. Using his right foot, Drake bounced off of the Titan's torso, as the grenade exploded twice. Using the thrusters on his back, however, Drake slammed his fist into the Titan's face. The Titan was propelled into the far wall, as Drake used the thrusters to lighten his descent.

Huffing, Drake clutched his chest. Dust formed an immovable cloud where the Titan had landed. When the dust settled, Drake shook his head in disbelief. The Titan was still standing! It's arms were crossed, as it held out a hand, fire erupting from it's palm.

"Let me guess," Drake sighed, as Arianna appeared beside him. "Energy readings suggest this is Defender?"

Arianna nodded silently, as Drake got into a battle ready stance.

"Thought so."

Fire erupted over the entirety of the Taken Titan's form, as it sprinted towards him. A wall of fire flared over the front of it, flames dancing off of the edge of it. Drake dodged to the side, as the Titan turned tightly around, continuing to gain momentum in it's sprint. Drake dodged again, as the Titan plowed through the far wall. Sighing with relief, he was shocked to see the Titan sprint back through, the wall of fire still visible.

Growling, Drake bounded off of his right foot, smashing his fist against the shield, where the Titan's face should be. Drake winced at the immeasurable pain he had just experienced, jumping backwards to nurse his hand. The Titan, however, had not stopped it's sprint. It's hand reached out, grabbing his helmet, before smashing him backwards into the ground.

Drake groaned as he was thrown into the far wall. When he looked up, he noticed that the Titan had formed several Fusion grenades. Drake's eyes widened, just one of them were enough to kill him. Sprinting to his right, Drake jumped and ducked under the hail of seemingly endless Fusion grenades.

In front of him, he could see his modified Hammer of Sol. Tilting his head forward, he used his thrusters to gain more speed. Rolling, one hand grasped the handle of the hammer. Jumping off of one of the chunks of chitin from earlier, Drake held the Hammer over his head.

The Taken Titan lobbed a Fusion Grenade at him, as Drake through a Magnetic Grenade. Both of the explosives fused to each other, exploding in a mixture of Void and Solar energy. Diving through the cloud, Drake swung the hammer down.

The Taken Titan, however, formed it's Solar shield again. Drake's weapon stuck against it, reverberating throughout the handle. It was so bad, Drake had to drop the weapon. He watched as his hammer practically jack-hammered into the ground from the recoil. Drake flinched, as the Titan grabbed him by the throat, swinging it's entire body back, before smashing him in the face with a devastating punch.

Drake roared with high fury as he stood, the ground beneath his feet shattering, pieces of chitin floating up from the store of Light energy. Fire erupting throughout the cracks at his feet, electricity sparking in the air around him. Two twins of blue fire erupted from his helmet. Jumping into the air powerfully, he formed a V with his index and middle finger on his right hand, before exhaling.

The horns on his helmet erupted massively, a massive flamethrower danced on the other side of his fingers, Arc and Void energy intertwined to make the glorious mixture of Solar, Arc, and Void energies. A cloud of dust formed where the Titan had been standing, as Drake landed on both feet.

Drake huffed, and puffed, staring at the cloud. Certain that he had been victorious. To his horror, the Titan stood there, a solar formed Ward of Dawn sphere around him. Drake shook his head, completely flabbergasted. The Titan's hands swirled around himself, as the Ward of Dawn swirled into a fiery vortex around the Titan's form.

Swirling around the Taken Titan, the fire glowed white hot, as both of the Taken Titan's hands forced outwards. A pillar of fire, easily three times the size of Drake's washed over Drake. As the dust settled, all that remained was Arianna's form, searching for any Guardian capable of helping out.

"Guardian down." Arianna stated.

Lillian's form moved it's way over to Drake's Ghost. Her right hand extended outwards, before she heard a bubbling behind her. Turning back, the Titan had it's arms crossed, the black liquid where the mouth on it's helmet was supposed to be slapped disgustingly.

"You will not have him." Lillian said, her hand outstretched to Arianna. "I believe, in my Supes."

Arianna nodded, as golden Light filled the room brilliantly. Fire, Void, and Arc energy erupted in a massive explosion at Drake's position. The Taken Titan formed it's Solar shield again, but bubbled in confusion as it shattered immediately. Drake appeared, fists clenched, staring at the Taken Titan.

Lillian shrieked as she was sucked back into Oryx's ascendant realm, Drake turning his head to where she had just been standing. The Taken Titan braced itself, as Drake turned his attention back towards the Titan. No weapon, no grenade, no hammer, Drake marched towards the Taken Titan.

After a few steps, there was another explosion of golden energy that washed over Drake. As he stood there, through a crack in his visor, the Taken Titan could see Drake smirking. Dashing at the Titan, Drake prepared to punch the Titan, however, the Titan returned it's own punch. With a flash of golden Light, Drake disappeared from in front of the Titan.

Drake punched the Titan in the back of it's head, with enough force to launch it back towards the hallway, and towards the Rupture itself. Darting towards the Titan's trajectory, Drake seemingly disappeared in golden light. Upon his arrival, he swung upwards in a mighty uppercut, catching the Titan under it's chin.

The Titan bubbled as it was launched into the air, flipping over itself uncontrollably. Drake hunched low, before rocketing himself upwards with a super human jump. His right fist rocketed upwards, catching the Titan, again, in the crotch. Drake delighted in hearing the once male Titan's crotch rupture at the impact of his punch. The Titan itself made him aware of it's discomfort, black and gray goop splashing onto his right shoulder.

Grasping it by the shoulder, Drake held them aloft with his thrusters, smashing fist after fist into the Titan with blinding speed.

"NYAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAGH!" Drake roared.

Every punch struck like a speeding locomotive, but faster than some fictional blue hedgehog. Drake was unrelenting and unbiased with his punches, striking just about every square inch of the Titan's torso. Grabbing the Titan by the cloth on it's hip, Drake span around and around with it, before hurtling the Taken Titan towards the ground, which was several feet below them.

"WATAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAW!" Drake's voice boomed outwards.

With Arc fueled fists, Drake darted towards the ground after the Taken Titan, smashing into it's torso upon landing. A massive crater formed upon impact, lighting crackling throughout the air, with thunder booming throughout the halls of the Dreadnaught. The brightness from the ensuing electricity had actually visibly darkened the halls of the Dreadnaught as well.

Drake stood from the crater, surprised that the Taken Titan was still intact.

"Oryx really ain't letting you die, is he?" Drake growled, as the Titan shakily stood.

With one mighty punch into the side of it's face, he caught it's leg before swinging the Titan in a mighty arch around himself. Spinning around and around and around, before launching the Taken Titan towards the Rupture. It opened for a split second, absorbing the Taken Titan.

Drake scrambled out of the crater, the green electricity pouring into the massive hole in the ground he had formed. It shocked him, but he endured long enough to jump back up to the walkway/hallway with the Thrall statues.

Turning back, Drake huffed and puffed, clutching his chest. He thought of Lillian, Oryx, and just how much of a threat Taken Guardians truly were.

"Alright." Drake sighed. "We're calling it a day."

His attention turned to his cracked helmet. He was going to need a new one, in fact, he was due for new armor anyways. With a flash of blue Light, Arianna transmatted him to his ship, before he sped off towards Earth.

The Tower was bustling, immeasurably more in the past couple of days than it had ever been. Titans jogged across the main hub of the Tower, handfuls of Vanguard appointed armaments in their muscular grasps. Warlocks sat in miniature circles in separate corners of the Tower. Hunters who weren't helping Titans distribute weapons, were by themselves, glancing at hastily drawn maps of the Dreadnaught.

Master Rahool wiped his forehead, as a mass of Guardians approached him with Engrams from their recent trips to the Dreadnaught in tow. Amanda Holliday stood in the Hanger, overwatching her drones run diagnostics and well needed repairs on Guardian ships. The Speaker watched from his overwatch, hands folded firmly behind his back.

Despite the constant buzzing of the Guardians and vendors, there was a certain stillness in the air. At the top of the Tower's main hub, where exploring vendors set up shop every now and again, Lord Saladin stood. The giant medallion of the Iron Banner sat behind him, gold finished wolves barking underneath the Ironwood Tree. Fire roared over it's flawless form, as he stood, arms crossed.

He observed the Guardians as they did their tasks.

"Shaxx." Saladin grunted, as the newcomer Titan stood behind him. "You think I've forgotten your arrogance?"

"Salad case." Shaxx returned the greeting. "You and I know something big is going down. Something so big that I believe we should put our petty grievances aside for."

"The Lords of Iron have not welcomed you since Twilight Gap. Your Crucible is a mockery to the tournament of the Stratus family." Saladin shook his head, hands on his hips. "As a Lord of Iron, as you once were, you will understand if I stand firmly by my oath. A trait you seem to lack."

Shaxx grunted, folding his arms behind his back.

"Useless semantics. It's the reason why I abandoned the Oath of Iron." Shaxx shook his head. "My Crucible is a place of growth for Guardians. While the Iron Banner tournament is meant to beat down, and show Guardians that they'll never be good enough."

"It teaches discipline, it teaches uniformity, it unites fire-teams." Saladin sighed. "Look, I don't have time to argue with you. You came here for a reason, and if you'll leave me, I'll hear you out."

"It's a common interest that I bring up to you." Shaxx said, both Saladin and him staring at the Traveler in the distance. "Drake Stratus, and the Legend, have been scouring the Dreadnaught in search of the Hive's King."

"He was an inspiration to us both in Twilight Gap, yes." Saladin said. "You're point?"

"I've overheard the Vanguard is feeling 'concerned' over Drake's mental health." Shaxx leaned up against the railing. "You and I need to talk to Zavala. The three of us, plus Amethyst, have fought at Twilight Gap. We need to remind him that Drake is just as sane as he was then."

"You've come all this way-" Saladin said, turning to face Shaxx. "Broken the banishment, just to plead me to talk to Zavala with you? Are you sure you are a Titan? With all of that fear, you might as well be a Warlock. Titan's get things done, Warlocks take time to think on it."

"Forget it." Shaxx grunted. "Forgot you were always a lone wolf."

"-and you were always a sheep." Saladin hissed.

Shaxx turned, fists clenched, as a loud 'pop' was heard within the City's limits. The two bickering Titans stopped their petty argument for just a moment to investigate. It appeared that the majority of the Tower's populace had as well. In the sky, just behind the Traveler, a sleek black and yellow ship descended at the Tower at blinding speeds.

There was a flash of blue light, as a Titan rolled over his shoulder. In one swift motion, he picked himself up, before walking towards the Hall of the Vanguard. Shaxx and Saladin looked amongst each other, the Titan's visor was cracked, and his armor was covered in black and grey goop.

Saladin nodded his head to the right, as Shaxx followed alongside him. Guardians across the main hub turned to look at the Titan, as his ship turned around immediately, parking itself in the Hangar.

Drake marched down the stairs, fists still clenched. Guardians throughout the hallway by the Crucible hub stared as he walked past. Amethyst stood in front of the door leading to the Vanguard's briefing room, her arms crossed.

"Drake!" she said. "Oh my god, what happened?"

"Don't worry about it." Drake said. "I need to see the Vanguard."

"They're-"

"Now." Drake growled, as she held her hands up, standing aside.

The door opened, Drake stepping through it. Zavala, Cayde, and Ikora hunched over the table, looking at a holographic diagram of the Dreadnaught.

"Amethyst, we-" Zavala started, as he glanced upwards. "Ah Drake, do you mind coming back later? We're in the middle of-"

Drake's right hand thrust outwards, as his Crota infused stone clattered onto the table in front of them. The three Vanguard Leaders stared at him in a mixture of confusion and a slight amount of despair.

"May I remind you that you aren't in command here anymore, Drake." Zavala sighed. "You can't just barge in here-"

"I brought a slab large enough to form six of those." Drake said. "Where is it?"

"What's the meaning of this?" Ikora asked, glancing curiously at the stone.

"I found the bastard." Drake growled, as Amethyst's mouth gaped. "He's hiding in that Court of Oryx. There is six statues, only one can respond to a stone at once. I want five more."

"Eris is the one who took the slab." Zavala said. "While we have you here, we wish to assess-"

"Save it." Drake said. "I've worked my ass off for the past two days without sleep. I'm going to see about buying some better armor, getting five more stones infused with Crota's essence, and then I'm going for Oryx's head. You can 'assess' whatever you want when I'm back."

"Drake." Zavala stood from the table swiftly, causing Drake to stop his walk. "As your Commander, I-"

"Spare him the lecture." Saladin said, walking in past Amethyst. "He's a Lord of Iron. He doesn't follow your command. He goes by the Oath of Iron."

"Besides which, you have no right to throw your rank at him, Zavala." Shaxx replied, standing beside Saladin. "If I recall correctly, you scurried away during Twilight Gap, got Yei Ming killed in the process. Yet you were the successor after Drake died? Do not forget that his family was sole Titan Vanguards before you muddied it."

"ENOUGH!" Cayde said, thrusting a fist on the table. "Enough with the Titan bravado. Drake, you can't walk in here calling the shots. Zavala, I just lost all respect for you. Shaxx, Saladin, why are you even talking to each other? Y'know what, never mind. Oryx is a big threat, but we all need to work together if we're going to see this threw. Traveler's sake!"

"Look, Ikora, Zavala, we can wait to proceed with these discussions later. We found Oryx, and this might be our only chance to hit him where it hurts. We need to rally the troops, and get ourselves in there before he makes some major comeback.."

Zavala sighed, as Ikora shook her head in disbelief, tapping her fingers on the table sequentially. With a wave of his hand, Zavala ushered them out, Ikora tossed the stone back to Drake, who caught it.

Shaxx nodded with Saladin, before the two Titans went their separate ways. Amethyst stood beside Drake, who looked down at the stone, it was glowing a very vibrant green.

"You said you need six stones?" Amethyst said, as Drake turned to face her. "We found a piece of Crota's old crown, some memento that Oryx had left of his son. It has the same properties as your stone, but we need to imbibe it with more of Crota's essence. Eris believes that if your stone is in close enough proximity, it'll work like light in a sequence of mirrors."

"Good find." Drake said. "Can I have it?"

"No." Amethyst said. "We're talking to Saladin to get you outfitted in some actual armor. You're going to take a rest, while I gather the others."

"Out of the question." Drake said. "This is between that moth bastard and me."

"You think that Lance and Chelsea weren't effected by Lillian's death?" Amethyst shook her head. "They were scarred, moreso when you died too. When you told Lance that Oryx had taken Lillian, I watched a little bit of the Light die inside of him. He wants nothing more than to help you get her back, Chelsea too."

Drake sighed, as he nodded his head. There was no arguing with her. He knew that the statues would need to be activated sequentially, and probably relatively quickly. That wouldn't be really impossible with one Titan.

"Who did you have in mind?" Drake asked, walking alongside her, Saladin directly in front of them.

"Chelsea, Lance, and I obviously, not to mention yourself." Amethyst nodded. "You said there was six statues, right? So... maybe that means the Rupture will open for no more than six people.

"Tina will likely want to go. She's fascinated by Toland's Journal, and has a certain hatred for the hive anyways. Which leaves the last Guardian. Lance said he's a newcomer Hunter, trained by Cayde personally. Name is Geoff."

Saladin stopped his trot for a moment, allowing Drake and Amethyst to catch up to him.

"It's my understanding that you need new armor?" Saladin asked. "As a sign of good faith from the Lord of Irons, I've had a new, fresh suit sent to your Ghost's archives. You would do well to rest, mentor. A Lord of Iron is strong, but will falter without proper rest."

Drake sighed, but agreed. He was extremely tired, especially from the fight with the Taken Titan he had just been in not even a few hours prior. With a firm shake of Saladin's hand, Amethyst and Drake branched off.

"I have a room here on the Tower. It isn't cheap, but it's a nice perk for being Zavala's second in command Titan." Amethyst said. "You'll find it past the Dead Orbit outpost in the Hanger. Go and rest for a couple of hours. Chelsea and Lance have been helping out with Amanda Holliday's repairs on Guardian ships, so they'll likely see you and know it's time."

"What about Tina and Geoff?" Drake asked, as Amethyst nodded.

"They're helping Banshee test out some new weapons. Apparently Omolon, Suros, and Hakke have opened up their weapon forges again, and need Guardians to test prototypes." Amethyst said. "They're probably at the firing range. Don't worry about it, go and sleep."

"Alright Tadpole." Drake said, placing a hand on her shoulder, before walking ahead. "Y'know, you're starting to sound a lot more like him, every single day."

"Thanks, Drake." Amethyst said, her right hand inadvertently going to the Sunbreaker Mark on her hip. "You remind me a lot of him too. Zavala's not anything like Dad."

"Amethyst, just the Titan I was looking for." Cayde said, jogging up to the Titan.

"Never thought I'd hear that from a hardcore Hunter like yourself, Cayde." Amethyst chuckled. "I'm a little busy right now, but do you mind coming along with me?"

"I needed to get out of that Vanguard hall anyways." Cayde sighed, walking alongside her, his cloak billowing in the wind. "I have this burning sensation in my stomach."

"Gas?" Amethyst chuckled, as Cayde shook his head.

"No.Cayde sighed, his voice actually sincere for once. "It's remorse, regret, and some other mixture of overwhelming emotions. I wanted to talk to you, because it has to do with Drake."

The two walked through the main hub of the Tower towards the Speaker's lookout. Ahead, Tina and Geoff were standing in the firing range, testing out a variety of weapons. Instead of bothering them, however, they walked past. Ahead of them, a glorious view of the Traveler basking in the mid-evening sun awaited them. Amethyst stood against the rail, while Cayde leaned up against it.

"I haven't been entirely truthful with Drake." Cayde sighed, refusing to look at Amethyst. "I knew that Lillian was resuscitated, shortly before Drake was. Well, before the Taken army showed up, a friend of mine, one of the few Nightstalker Hunters left, went missing. I asked Lillian to go out looking for him, considering how he and I were once her peers."

"She found him, and reported it back to me. I knew that she didn't need to obtain the Nightstalker bow, as she had taught the technique to us. So I asked her to provide him with a proper burial." Cayde said, turning his gaze up to the Traveler. "No mentor should ever have to bury one of her students."

"After that, her signal disappeared. I had assumed that she needed alone time, knowing that Drake was still gone, and having to do that... I figured she deserved it." Cayde sighed. "When Drake had mentioned that she was Taken, I could only assume that meant that it had been my fault."

"Drake is a very understanding individual. He'll acknowledge that Lillian is a strong woman. She was probably ambushed, there was no way you could have known what would happen." Amethyst said. "Though, it would probably be wise to tell him yourself. Prior to him finding it out for himself."

"That's the other thing that's been weighing on my chest. Even though I'm a Hunter, when I was just a rookie, I always looked up to the dynamic duo of Drake and Lillian. A Titan and a Hunter, constantly out in the field? A combat success rate well above that of any Guardian known to date? They were my heroes." Cayde said. "I've been trying my hardest to be just as good of a Vanguard leader, like Lillian and Drake had been before. However, due to protocol, we're bound to the Hall. It eats at me, because now we're heavily discussing removing Drake from the Light."

"What?!" Amethyst gasped. "On what grounds?!"

"Zavala is convinced that Drake, who possesses the same Light that forged the Sunbreaker's Forge, is an imminent threat to the City. All because of his reckless abandon for Lillian."

"Do you share the same view?" Amethyst asked, crossing her arms.

"Never." Cayde shook his head, gazing at the City below. "I'm the only reason why it hasn't happened yet. I can't, morally, let that happen to Drake. It's not even the matter of fact that I view him as a hero. He's the only one that can save Lillian and this City from Oryx."

"Amethyst. Do you know why no-one but I knows the identity of the Legend?" Cayde asked.

"I have the feeling you're going to tell me." Amethyst shrugged, as Cayde smiled at her witty retort.

"That's because the Legend doesn't exist." Cayde chuckled. "The Legend lives in each and every one of us. The Guardian that destroyed the Black Garden's heart wasn't just one Guardian, it was a group of three Guardians, a Warlock, a Titan, and a Hunter. The Guardian that I sent to get the Promethean Code was a different Fireteam."

"I see. The Legend that has been talked about is just to boost morale, when in reality, every single Guardian is that Legend?"

"Exactly. When Drake and Lillian's Fireteam descended into the Hellmouth to destroy Crota, I made a special trip to the Speaker. I told him of a singular Guardian that was going to destroy the Heart of the Black Garden." Cayde smiled. "I skipped on the details of what Guild they were from, or what gender they were. However, I based the entire Legend around the combined heroics of Fireteam Vanguard."

"Drake, Lillian, and Jeremy's Fireteam." Amethyst mused, nodding her head.

"A singular Guardian that was completely unseen and unheard of. With the tenacity and determination of an entire Fireteam." Cayde said. "For some time now, the world has been too damn Black and White. It was time to add some hope to the people. I know that, no matter who you are, you can accomplish anything you set your mind to. That is why the Legend lives on in all of us, because us Guardians are capable of amazing feats. Drake is the Legend, in my eyes. That's why I'm conflicted."

"Then when he awakens, we'll head straight to the Dreadnaught. We'll take out Oryx, and be back before the Vanguard makes the final decision." Amethyst nodded. "Drake's resting in my quarters, beneath the Hanger. You should go tell him about Lillian before he goes. He'll appreciate you being honest. If you'll excuse me, however, I need to get the others prepped."

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

Some time later.

"So, it is my hope that you'll accept my deepest apologies." Cayde said, his head bowed.

"Lillian saw great promise in you, Cayde." Drake said, placing a hand on Cayde's shoulder. "She was right. You are a good soul, and I appreciate your honesty. I won't lie to you and say I'm not upset you didn't tell me sooner, because I am."

"However, you've been very busy with everything. Trust me, I know the responsibilities of a Vanguard leader first hand." Drake smirked. "Thank you for the information. I'll have Oryx down and out before you know it."

"Don't worry, I'll have the Brainiac and Baldy occupied until you get back." Cayde replied, flipping a Strange Coin in his hand. "I'm truly glad you're understanding about all of this, and I really am sorry."

With that, Cayde had left the room. Drake sat on the comfortable bed, his head in his hands. Scars ran up along his torso, and his back. Worse still, is how he remembered how each and every one of them were formed.

"Fireteam Vanguard." Drake smirked, thinking back to the days where it had just been him, Lillian, and Jeremy in a Fireteam, fighting alongside the Guardians they had sworn to lead.

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

Saturn's Rings, Oryx's Dreadnaught

Drake and the others stood within the same Court that Drake had been earlier in the day. The damage from his battle with the Taken Titan had remained, as was expected.

"Jesus." Lance shook his head. "Did they have a civil war in here?"

"No." Drake said. "This is where I fought the Taken Titan."

"Fuck." Geoff shook his head. "I'd have killed to see that."

"Hold up." Chelsea placed a hand on Drake's shoulder. "You fought a Taken Titan? Why didn't you contact us? We were on the Dreadnaught earlier!"

"It wasn't your concern." Drake said. "I didn't want to get you guys thrown in. I could barely manage him on my own, but if he had the three of us to toy with, we likely wouldn't have stood a chance."

"That doesn't make sense." Lance said, stepping beside him. "There is strength in numbers."

"His corrupted Light got more powerful the longer I fought him." Drake said. "Taken Guardians thrive off of our pure Light. If there had been three of us, he could have easily over powered us."

Amethyst, Tina, and Geoff all looked amongst each other, while Chelsea and Lance stepped forward. Before they had arrived, they broke Crota's crown into five sizable pieces, Drake using some of Crota's essence from his own crystal to infuse in theirs. Each Guardian stepped near one of the the six Thrall statues.

Much to Drake's satisfaction, the Rupture in the middle of the chasm opened. Walking with the others to the end of the hall, the green electricity that had washed down into the crater disappeared.

"That you too?" Geoff asked, pointing to the Crater.

"He pissed me off." Drake shrugged, clambering down into the Crater.

"Remind me never to piss him off." Geoff nudged Lance's shoulder, who groaned.

"I already did." Lance sighed.

"I told you I was sorry." Drake replied, scaling the far end of the crater.

To his surprise, the silhouette of Lillian stood before the Rupture, beckoning him forward, before stepping back into the Rupture. Drake offered a hand to Amethyst, pulling her up. The two Titans leaned back in, helping each individual member of the Fireteam up and out of the crater.

"That was Lillian, right?" Tina asked, as Chelsea nodded. "Why didn't she attack us?"

"Better question." Geoff piped up. "How is she not fully Taken?"

"She and I are linked." Drake said. "When I fought Crota, she used what remained of her inner Light to give me a shield. Much like a Ghost is a Guardian's anchor to the Light, I am her anchor."

"Her Will, and my Will are one in the same." Drake continued, as Tina sighed.

"That's so poetic." Lance chuckled, tapping him on the shoulder. "When we kill Oryx, we're going to see about getting her back."

Together, the six Guardians approached the Rupture. Before they could enter, however, and army of Thrall, Acolytes, a trio of Knights, and a pair of Wizards appeared before them.

"Get past them, however you can!" Drake barked, the Rupture slowly closing.

The six Guardians broke into a dead sprint, Drake pulled Raze Lighter off of his back, using some of his ambient Light to form the fiery blade. Hacking and slashing his way through the Thrall, he cleared a path to the Rupture, ignoring the Acolytes, Knights, and Wizards.

There was a disorienting phenomenon on the group of six, as they found themselves standing somewhere other than the room they had just been in. The air around them was thick, filled with the same perpetual gray smog that was customary in a Taken infested area.

The room they were in was colossal, easily the size of an arena. The silhouette of Lillian approached, before being dragged away in a swirl of Taken energy. In her place, a group of four Taken Guardians appeared.

"Well shit." Geoff sighed, preparing his handcannon.

"No." Drake held a hand out. "Bullets won't work on them. You and Tina should move ahead, the rest of us will deal with these guys."

"Er- but-." Geoff started.

"The more of us around, the more Light they'll absorb. Go."

Geoff nodded, throwing down a small machine. In a puff of dust, Geoff and Tina disappeared in a veil of smoke, invisible to the naked eye.

Amethyst and Lance clenched their fists, while Geoff and Tina sneaked around the Taken Guardians and into the next room. Chelsea's arms crackled with electricity, as Drake placed Raze Lighter on his back.

One Taken Guardian, a Titan, stepped forward. Bubbling in anger, it pointed at him, running a thumb along it's throat.

"So you did miss me." Drake smirked beneath his helmet. "I was thinking about you all day. Guardians? Floor 'em."

Of the Taken Guardians, two were Hunters, one was a Warlock, and one was a Titan. In all, the eight Guardians, Taken or not, tensed. This was bound to be quite a brawl.

Drake and the Taken Titan were the firsts to make a move. Charging at each other, electricity crackled on Drake's shoulder pauldron. The Taken Titan ignited with Solar energy, as the two smashed into each other. The recoil from the strikes echoed throughout the arena like thunder claps. They continued this for a time, before Drake feigned left, dodging right.

The Titan stumbled past him, as he threw a nasty punch at the back of the Taken Titan's head. It bubbled, smashing into the ground, the weight of the blow was enough to crack the floor beneath it. Drake stood there, arms crossed, as the Titan twitched to it's feet faster than a heart could beat.

Twitching towards Drake's location, it smashed him in the chest with it's Warhammer. Drake had not seen the Titan, due to how fast it moved, nor had he managed to see it conjure the weapon. Soaring through the air, Drake shook his head, flipping backwards, bracing himself against the far wall.

He watched the Titan lunge towards him, hammer above it's head. Ducking low, he watched it's hammer stick into the wall. Diving right, he summoned his own hammer, much like how he had used earlier that day, before swinging it under the Titan's chin.

Popping the Titan into the air, Drake swung his hammer at it's midsection, bashing the Titan off of the wall with his force. Due to the almost rubbery consistency of the Titan's armor, it bounced off of the wall and back at him.

Much like a game of solo Squash, Drake continued to batter, the Titan off of the wall of the arena. Upon it's final bounce back, however, Drake winded up for a mighty strike, pounding the Titan in the torso, and launching it through the wall. His grip on his hammer tightened, as he jumped through after it.

Meanwhile, Amethyst, Lance, and Chelsea were in the midst of dealing with their own Taken Guardians. Amethyst had focused on one Taken Hunter, while Lance dealt with the other. Chelsea and the Taken Warlock stared each other down, however.

Amethyst cracked her knuckles, as the Taken Huntress reached to it's hip. With a flick of it's wrist, an Arc charged whip like instrument appeared in it's hand. With one last flick, the whip snapped in the air, it's wielder ducking low.

"Kinky." Amethyst taunted, thrusting her right hand back, a hammer of Sol appearing. "I've got my own toy too."

Charging at each other, Amethyst ducked under a lash from the whip. Standing she swung the one handed hammer at the Huntress' face. The Huntress leaned backwards, avoiding the blow, before attempting to whip Amethyst again. Amethyst spun to her right, hearing the electricity crackle from the weapon.

Gritting her teeth, she grasped onto the end of the whip, growling in pain as the Arc energy coursed through her. Shaking off the pain momentarily, however, she tugged on the whip, pulling the Huntress towards her. Prepping a mighty swing, she smashed the Huntress in her abdomen, launching her away from Amethyst.

The Taken Huntress bubbled as it too, crashed into a far wall. Amethyst chased after it, while Lance somersaulted backwards. Chelsea and the Taken Warlock had been exchanging various energy charged projectiles. So determined in their strikes, that the Taken Warlock had not noticed him behind her.

Electricity spiked along his arm, as he smashed her in the back of her torso, launching her away with his strength. With a boast of his strength, he beat on his own chest. His Taken Hunter, however, was not amused. Sprinting up behind Lance, the Taken Hunter swung a wide kick into the small of his back, launching him after the Taken Warlock.

Chelsea noticed this, Amethyst's Taken Huntress stepping out of the hole in the wall. Using her blink ability, she appeared just before the Huntress, electricity sparking across her hands. Snapping her right palm outwards, a force charged by electricity crackled in the Taken Huntress' chest. She continued this brutal force push barrage, before blinking behind the Huntress, attaching a Flux grenade to her back.

The grenade exploded, launching the Huntress into the air. At the same time, Drake groaned as he was launched back into the room, his trajectory meeting with the Taken Huntress' in air. Shaking his head, he flinched as the Taken Titan lunged up at him with it's hammer. Using his thrusters to glance out of the way, the Taken Titan ended up striking the Huntress itself. The two Taken Guardians recoiled, as Drake's manipulated Hammer of Sol was conjured once again.

Using his thrusters and the momentum of his previous hit to his advantage, Drake swung once against the Taken Huntress, knocking her away for a moment, before swinging back into the Taken Titan. Turning to the Huntress, he threw his hammer over the head at her, the metal of his hammer smashing across her face.

Conjuring the hammer again, he turned back to the Taken Titan, holding the hammer high above his head, prepping to swing downwards. With a mighty downwards swing, his hammer hit the mid of the Titan's shoulders, knocking it down to the ground below, causing an immense crater.

Meanwhile, Lance groaned at the impact of the Taken Hunter's blow, Amethyst charging to his position to assist. The Taken Warlock bubbled in annoyance, floating aloft beside him. Using a Solar infused force attack, Lance crashed into the ground, rolling at the momentum of the push.

Amethyst used her thrusters to launch herself at the Taken Warlock, Hammer of Sol at the ready. Spinning in air, she smashed the hammer across the Warlock's cheek on the backswing with every turn. On her last spin, she flipped backwards, placing the top of her boot under the Warlock's helmet, bicycle kicking it up and into the air.

Landing on her feet, she chased after the Warlock, which was now soaring away from her from the immense blow. Lance tucked his limbs in during his roll, before bouncing off of his feet. Electricity sparked on his fists as he released a barrage of fast yet devastating blows into the Taken Hunter's chest. Ducking under it's retaliation punch, he smashed it's chin with a nasty uppercut.

Sprinting alongside Amethyst, Lance started to run backwards, looking up at the Taken Warlock's nearly unconscious form like a kid trying to catch a high flying baseball. When it lowered to his level, he planted his feet and smashed the Warlock at Amethyst with a mighty Arc fueled punch.

Amethyst swung her hand sized hammer at the Warlock, batting it back at him. The two continued this volley for a time, before Drake jumped in the air, circle kicking the Warlock in the chin. Launching her away from the two of them.

Sprinting in the direction of the Taken Hunter, electricity sparked along the whole of Lance's form, as he shoulder charged the Hunter square in it's torso.

The Taken Huntress and Titan began sprinting alongside each other, as Chelsea and Drake gave chase. Chelsea crackled with Arc energy, floating above the ground with the call of the Storm.

"Throw me!" she yelled, as Drake nodded curtly.

Planting his feet, he charged himself with Arc energy, overloading her with electrical currents as he grabbed her hands. Swinging her in a wide arch in front of him, Drake threw Chelsea at the Taken Huntress.

Drake however, took a major bound off of his right foot, charging after the Taken Titan. Jumping up to the wall on his left, he bounced off of the wall with his left boot. Holding his hammer high above his head, he swung it's head low, like a golfer, striking the Taken Titan just below the small of it's back.

The Titan bounced on the ground, before rolling onto it's feet. The Titan swung it's hammer upwards, catching Drake off guard, as Chelsea blinked beside the Titan. Smashing it in the torso with an overcharged electrical force push, the Taken Huntress snapped her whip at Chelsea, who blinked behind her.

Smashing another Arc infused strike into the Huntress' back, she shrieked as the Titan smashed her in the back with it's hammer. Drake growled, dive bombing the Titan with his own hammer, smashing the Titan into the ground. The Taken Huntress replied by snapping the whip across his torso, jolting his muscles just enough to cause him to involuntarily jump backwards.

Chelsea recovered, blinking behind the Huntress and attaching a Fusion grenade to the small of her back. Drake bounded after the Taken Titan, who attempted to hit Chelsea again. Grabbing the Titan's hammer's handle, Drake pitched his head forward into a nasty headbutt. The Taken Huntress and Titan bubbled as they stumbled backwards. Drake's hammer lit with an unquenchable fire, as pure electricity rose from Chelsea. Chelsea thrust her hands outwards, a web of blinding electrical light.

The web caught the Huntress square in the torso, causing it to convulse with the raw power. Drake swung his hammer deftly into the Titan's chest, the Huntress and the Titan launching in the direction of the Taken Warlock and Taken Hunter.

The four Taken Guardians collided in mid air, sprawling out on the floor, as the four remaining Guardians stood there, huffing and puffing. One by one, the Taken Guardians stood once more.

"See what I mean?" Drake huffed. "We're really going to have to combine our Light if we're going to be able to destroy these guys."

"I got this." Chelsea smirked, tossing up an unknown grenade.

As it slowly descended towards her, she reached both of her arms out in front of her, an invisible force launching the grenade at the Taken Huntress. The Huntress bubbled as the grenade exploded directly in her face, launching her backwards.

Chelsea blinked towards the Huntress, placing her hand on it's chest, allowing the Arc energy to course throughout and return with a single touch. Blinking again, she appeared behind the Huntress on the opposite side. Using her mind, she reached out and grabbed the Huntress with the invisible force, throwing her in a one-hundred eighty degree spin into the wall behind her.

The Taken Titan bubbled, as the hammer in it's hand glowed purple instead of blue. Charging at Drake, it thrust the hammer like a sword at Drake's helmet. Instead, Drake leaned backwards, one of the edges of the hammer narrowly avoiding his helmet.

Using his momentum, he kicked the handle of the hammer, causing the weapon to jolt out of the Titan's hand and launch into the air. Grabbing it with his left hand, he tossed it carelessly at the Taken Hunter, which flew backwards. Flipping his own hammer in his right hand, Drake smashed it down on the Titan's helmet. The Titan bubbled in discomfort, as he smashed it across the Titan's chest, launching it away.

Swirling the hammer in his hands, Drake took a ready stance, crouched low. Lance offered his hand out to Amethyst, who took it. Spinning her in a circle, he launched her at the Taken Warlock, the Hammer of Sol at her disposal. Smashing the hammer across the Warlocks face, the two Guardians tumbled over each other. Standing, Amethyst threw her hammer at the Warlock's face again, before instantly summoning a new one in a flash of fire.

Drake cartwheeled backwards away from the Taken Titan's charge. It's hammer lay on the ground beside him. Kicking it up with his right foot, he caught it expertly with his left hand. Spinning on his heel, he smashed the Taken Titan across it's face with it's own hammer.

The Taken Hunter, who had since recovered, charged in to assist. Drake planted the hammer's head into the ground, before blocking one of the Hunter's Solar infused daggers with his left forearm. Smashing the pommel of his hammer into it's gut, the Hunter leaned forward, bubbling in discomfort, before Drake smashed it in the head with his hammer.

Behind him, he could hear the Taken Titan charging like a freight train towards him. Jumping backwards, he flipped over the Titan's head, planting both of his feet into it's back, riding it into the ground. The Hunter took it's chance to approach, as Drake jumped backwards, drop kicking the Hunter in the chest, landing back first on the Titan's back.

Rolling over his shoulder and back onto his feet, he saw the Titan's hammer beside him. The Hunter tried to grab hold of it's handle, but couldn't lift the immeasurably heavy hammer. Drake charged at him, grabbing the firmly planted hammer's handle. Bending the handle as he jumped at the Hunter, he planted his right boot into the Hunter's chest, before turning back, allowing the handle to launch him back at the Titan.

Using his momentum, Drake's fist crashed heavily against the Titan's helmet. Launching him away from Drake, the Titan skidded along the floor. Twitching back onto it's feet, a Solar shield formed on it's torso once more.

"This again?" Drake crossed his arms. "Alright then, FINE!"

With a surge of blinding, golden Light, the room flashed brightly. Drake stood there, electricity and void energy trailing up the length of his legs and arms. His helmet, which was based off of an old Knight's helmet, had fire spewing out of the eye slit like two miniature horns.

3...2...1 FIIIIIRE!

Hunching low, Drake charged at the Titan, bare fists clenched. Bounding off of his right foot, he smashed the Titan's shield, shattering it immediately. Lance grunted as he wrenched the Titan's Hammer free from the ground. For whatever reason, Drake's sudden explosion of excess Light had affected him and the others.

Fire danced up Lance's arms, as he tore the hammer from the chitin covered ground. Swirling it in his arms, he held it behind him, holding a hand flat to the Taken Hunter, bending his fingers in. Charging at the Taken Hunter, he swung the hammer across it's forehead, using his knees to batter the Hunter in position of every one of his swings.

Planting his feet, he smashed the Hunter towards Amethyst, who grabbed the Hunter's arm, swirling it in a circle around her. Stopping her spin, she launched him at the Taken Warlock, which bubbled as it was smashed by it's teammate.

Void energy joined Chelsea's Arc power, as she grabbed the Huntress' shoulders. The Huntress bubbled as the mixture of Void Light and Arc Light simultaneously fried and poisoned her from the inside. Turning back, she watched Drake practically teleport to the Taken Titan's position, swinging his fist into the bottom of it's chin.

The Titan soared upwards into the air, as Drake followed it upwards, grabbing it by the face, Drake swung downwards, laying flat, as he thrust the Titan into the ground. Behind him, the Lance smashed the Hunter in the torso with the Taken Titan's hammer once more.

However, after that strike, the hammer crumbled in his hand. The Hunter, thankfully, swirled into a portal, much like other killed Taken creatures. Chelsea blinked behind her target, the Huntress, using her newfound Void powers to push the Huntress away.

Teleporting several times around the Huntress, little orbs of Void light formed around her. Each time she appeared, she flung a miniature void bomb at the Huntress. Instead of exploding, however, the void bombs latched on to the Huntress for dear life. After several seconds, Chelsea stood there, before holding her palm out to the Huntress.

Drake had seen this technique performed only once in his life, Jeremy called it the Void Tornado. Surely enough, the Nova bombs along the Huntress' torso erupted simultaneously, blasting the Huntress in several directions, before Chelsea teleported above the Huntress, throwing a massive Nova Bomb on her head.

Much like the Taken Hunter before her, the Huntress swirled into the abyss. The Taken Warlock bubbled, before glowing a vibrant light blue. Drake had seen Thrall glow that same color before. Dashing to his team-mates, he thrust his arms outwards. In a flash of blinding blue energy, the Ward of Dawn around the Guardians began to slowly falter, but it held against the devastating explosion.

The four Guardians stood, as the lone Taken Titan remained, in it's own dome of Solar energy. Drake clenched his right fist, fire erupting over it. Chelsea snapped her palms down and away from her, levitating from the Arc energy. Lance and Amethyst cracked their knuckles.

If Drake had caused an expulsion of beneficial Light to the other Guardians, they had no doubts that the Taken Warlock had done the same to the Titan. The fire swirled around the Titan, as Drake instructed them to move.

"Chelsea, I can't risk it. Blink to the others." Drake commanded. "Us three will take it from here."

"But-"

"He's a Titan, you're pretty banged up from one of his hits earlier, don't question me, just GO!"

With a curt nod, she blinked out of the room, to the far doorway. Drake, Lance, and Amethyst dove out of the Ward of Dawn, as the Titan's retaliation beam erupted forward, enveloping the almost impenetrable sphere of Void Light.

"Here." Drake said, handing Lance the hilt to Raze Lighter. "You can't wield a Hammer of Sol yet. Use Raze Lighter."

Lance nodded, as the three Titans spread out, charging the lone Titan. Drake was the first to arrive, smashing the pommel of his hammer into it's abdomen. Lance was next, kicking the Titan in the back, and back in the direction of Drake's hammer.

The Titan bubbled in frustration, conjuring it's hammer again. Smashing it down at the ground, a shockwave knocked the trio of Titans back, causing them to skid along the ground.  Drake recovered, smashing swing after swing into the Titan's torso with his hammer. Ducking low, he smashed the hammer under the Titan's chin, launching it upwards again.

Amethyst hopped up, smashing the Titan in the face with her Hammer of Sol. Lance growled, as Arc energy fueled the sword, transforming Raze Lighter, momentarily, into an electrical sword. Swinging upwards, he kept the Titan popped up into the air. Drake reached up, seizing the Titan by it's throat. Using his other hand to restrain it's ankles, he held the Taken Titan over his head.

With one final roar, Drake dropped the Titan onto his bent knee, listening as it's spine snapped. The Titan bubbled a couple of times more, but had finally reached it's limit. Swirling into the abyss, the Taken Titan, and the last of the Taken Guardians for now, had disappeared.

"Sounded pretty brutal in here." Geoff walked towards them. "While you guys went postal on the baddies, Tina and I found out something you guys might not like."

The three Titans huffed and puffed, but continued onwards, following Geoff out of the arena. In the next area, it was a bottomless pit, with a lone Hive Tomb Ship parked directly in front of them.

"Tina and I cleared the area, but we're not sure how to pilot a Tomb Ship, this might have been for nothing."

Drake stepped forward, glancing out into the endless abyss, there was a single doorway on the other side of the room. Due to the size of the room, he knew there was no way Chelsea could teleport them, let alone herself, over there.

Thinking for a moment, Drake climbed up to the top of the Hive ship. Struggling for a moment, he felt it move beneath him. The others noticed, and quickly jumped up towards him. Lance and Amethyst had no issues, using the thrusters on their back for extra lift in their jump. Hunters, as Drake had noticed with Lillian, had the ability to manipulate their Light to allow them to practically jump on air.

Geoff was no exception, landing firmly beside them. Reaching his hand down, Lance caught Chelsea, though his grip slipped slightly. Drake dove to the edge, catching Chelsea's other hand. Together, Drake and Lance helped pull her onto the ship. Turning back, the door on the other side was getting nearer by the second.

Beneath them, however, the Hive Ship had formed a portal in front of it, and planned to jump away, killing all of them. Looking over, Drake sighed.

"Chelsea, can you teleport us over there?" Drake asked, as she looked for a moment.

"It'll hurt me immensely, but we can do it." Chelsea nodded.

Everyone gathered hands, as Chelsea's head dipped. Arc energy coursed throughout the Fireteam, before they appeared at the platform in front of the doorway. They fell to the floor, as they gasped for breath. Chelsea, on the other hand, convulsed from the amount of energy she had to use.

Lance immediately rushed to her side, placing a hand reassuringly on her shoulder.

"Is she okay?" Drake asked, as Chelsea offered him a thumbs up. "Okay. We have a moment to breathe. Let's rest for now, and we can continue on in a bit."

"Chels, you okay?" Drake asked, standing off of the chiton covered floor.

Lance had his hand placed gingerly on her right shoulder, glancing quickly up at Drake, before back to Chelsea. She sat there, helmet still on her head, yet her breathing was heavy.

"I'll live." she nodded, offering him a thumbs up.

"Can I just say that was fucking cool?" Geoff spoke up, brushing his cape off as he stood. "The whole fight against those Taken Guardians. You guys really stuck it to them."

"Mind your tongue." Amethyst scoffed, rolling her shoulders as she peeled herself off of the wall. "They may be Taken, but they were once Guardians."

The Guardians stood, brushing excess dust and bone fragments off of their armor. The Hive were notorious for decorating their settlements with black ooze and piles of bones. It boggled Drake's mind just how many skeletons could be found, and he could only wonder where the Hive got all of them.

"We can't delay any further. The longer we wait, the more Oryx gets a chance to recover." Drake sighed. "We should keep moving."

The set of doors opened at the Guardian's approach, yet that didn't stop them from drawing their weapons and scanning the room. The rather large imposing room seemed to be divided into three sections, with their own landmarks. Elevated on a platform above, Drake could make out a subtle glow.

Directly in front of them had been yet another of the Hive's notorious pressure plates, and to their right was a slightly lower elevated platform. In front of all three pressure plates was a looming tall statue apiece. Chelsea, curious as ever, slowly walked to the nearest plate. Lance reached out and grabbed her by the shoulder.

"What do you think you're doing?"

"The Hive are a cryptic and puzzling race that seems to enjoy laying logical puzzles. Remember Crota's realm? All the pressure plates had to be active to activate the bridge. The glow on this platform seems to match the idle glow on the pillars." Chelsea said, bringing a finger to the visor of her helmet. "Now is the question of whether or not they require an order..."

"Are you listening to yourself?" Lance shook his head. "May I remind you that when we did activate those plates, it also summoned a shit-ton of Thralls to our position."

Amethyst, on the other hand, had her gaze fixated on something else. Drake intended to see what it was, following Amethyst's finger. What his eyes fell upon caused a chill to run down his spine. A massive orb of black and white energy swirled among itself. Lance and Chelsea decided to have a look as well, while Geoff scratched the back of his head.

"What in the hell is that?"

"Drake-" Chelsea turned to him. "That looks like Crota's-"

"The Oversoul, yes." Tina nodded, speaking up for the first time since they entered this side variation of Oryx's Dreadnaught. "I remember hearing Eris babble on about it on the Tower."

The Warlock took her place beside Chelsea and Lance, glancing up at the sphere with confusion.

"It seems much smaller than what Eris described. Crota's Oversoul appeared to be the size of a small sun. This is a mere beach ball in comparison."

"She spoke of the dangers of the Oversoul. Those caught within it's mixture of Light and Dark would be torn asunder." Tina mused, continuing to walk towards it.

"Which is exactly why we shouldn't try anything." Lance crossed his arms. "What if these plates relate to it? If we mess up, we're dead meat."

"You heard what she said." Drake rubbed the back of his helmet. "Those caught within the light it emits are doomed. If we get it wrong, we can hide behind something, right?"

"What is a light without shadow?" Chelsea smirked. "You sure you're not a Warlock?"

"Never on your life, kiddo." Drake chuckled, placing a hand on her shoulder. "We've come this far. We're dead if we don't try anyways."

"Amethyst, you're with me." Drake said. "We'll take this center platform. Chelsea, Lance, you take the right. Hunter boy, Tina, you get the left."

"It's Geoff, and you got it." Geoff nodded, using his Light boosted jump to scale to the upper level.

Tina followed his suit, making her way up to the top level. When the Guardians were all in position, Amethyst took a step forward, as Drake placed a hand on her shoulder, shaking his head. He groaned as he stepped onto the plate, feeling it connect with his inner Light. Just as before, the plate gave him a disorienting sensation that slowly passed after a moment.

The statue directly in front of him glowed light blue, but nothing else seemed to happen. Lance opted to stand on his plate, as the statue on the left began to glow as well. Geoff nervously stood on his plate, when the final statue lit up. With a flash, the three pillars glowed a brilliant blueish white, before dulling once more.

"That was anticlima-"

As Lance was finishing, the Oversoul at the far end of the room glowed brightly, as a massive Hive Knight landed on one knee. Braced over it's right shoulder was a massive sword. Standing, the Knight swirled it's sword around in it's hand, before planting it directly in front of itself. Lifting the weapon, it flipped it in it's hand and pierced the ground in Lance and Geoff's directions.

After doing so, the sword crumbled to chiton and dust, as it pulled a Hive boomer off of it's hip. The creature pointed to Drake, yet did not raise it's weapon to him.

"The slayer of Oryx arrives to finish the false King and his worms." the Knight huffed, confusing the Guardians.

"Wait, these fuckers can SPEAK?!" Lance scoffed.

"We tend to not degrade ourselves to your level, whelp." the Knight snorted, it's rhino shaped helmet lifting in a gesture of disgust. "For the slayer of a Hive God, you have earned my audience. Crota, much like his father, was a fool. The Hive do not need the Worms to serve the Darkness."

"Slayer of Crota. If you are to kill my King, you will first need to prove yourself to me. You and your accompaniment must defeat me in battle. Only then will the path to my King open, and will you prove to the Hive that the Worm Gods are false." the Knight stood tall, easily towering over Drake. "For I, the War Priest, shall either die by your hands and deem you worthy. Or shall slay you and feed to to Golgoroth; the Glutton."

With an alien roar that sounded almost like a vacuum cleaner in reverse, the War Priest stomped his right foot, and the battle began. The six Guardians fired their weapons at the War Priest, but as with Crota in times past, the bullets pinged off of the creature's chiton armor.

With the Priest's stomp, a horde of Thrall began to appear through the doors scattered about the room. Amethyst and Drake took cover underneath the War Priest's platform, using their weapons to shoot the Thrall that approached themselves and their comrades above them on either side. As this was happening, the War Priest roared once more, firing it's boomer on the other four's position.

Drake turned to Amethyst, nodding before jumping up and grabbing onto the War Priest's platform. Clambering up, the tall menacing Knight stared down at him, balling it's right hand up into a fist. Lifting it high above it's head, Drake's eyes widened, before he dove backwards. He crashed on the ground with a groan, a resounding boom of an explosion echoing throughout the room.

At the sound, a trio of normal sized Knights entered the room, one on each side. Amethyst stuck her shotgun under the chin of their Knight, blasting his head clean off of it's shoulders. Offering him a hand up, Drake stood, while Chelsea and Lance, Tina and Geoff finished off their respective Knights.

The pillars seemed to glow a dull light once more, the one closest to Geoff lighting first. Geoff experimented by standing on it. In doing so, the War Priest stumbled backwards by the blinding light. Next, Chelsea's pillar began to glow, so she stood on the plate. Again, Drake's pillar glowed, as he stood on it. With all the pillars illuminated, Drake felt an odd aura over take him, filling him with newfound energy.

Glancing himself over, he glowed red. Raising his rifle, he realized that Amethyst was glowing too. Firing a couple of rounds at the War Priest, he watched as their foe staggered, the rounds actually doing damage to him.

"Everyone, get to me!" Drake barked, stepped towards the doors they had entered.

When the six Guardians congregated, they all fired at the War Priest. The hail of six unique weapons striking the War Priest left him staggered and vulnerable. After a few minutes, the glow on the Guardians faded into nothing, causing their bullets to bounce off of the Priest's chiton armor again.

"DIE!!" the War Priest snarled, stomping his foot down.

The Oversoul behind the Priest swelled, filling the room with an ominous light. The Guardians took shelter behind whatever they could to avoid the Dark-Light. When it passed, they stood. Drake was concerned, his pillar had been destroyed during the Oversoul's pulse.

The others returned to their previous positions, as Taken Blights began to swirl around the room, Oryx's massive face appearing above the War Priest.

"DAMNATION! YOUR LIGHT, IS MINE!"

With the Taken Blights, Drake noticed Lillian standing just underneath the War Priest. Even in her Taken state, the War Priest balled his fist up, and slammed it down upon her.

"NOOOOOOOOOOOO!" Drake roared, as the War Priest fired it's boomer at them.

For Drake, the world grew silent. Even the Hive shredder rounds whizzing past his helmet were deathly quiet. He walked towards the platform, his right arm outstretched, reaching for Lillian. Taken Thrall and Acolytes rushed his position, as Amethyst and the others kept them at bay.

At that moment, Lance's pillar began to glow softly. Lance stood upon it, while he and Chelsea kept the sea of Taken creatures off of Drake. Geoff and Tina followed suit when their pillar glowed next. Amethyst pre-emptively stood on hers, as the red energy appeared again. Running up to Drake, she stopped him for a moment. Focusing on the source of the energy, she formed it in a singular Hammer of Sol, passing it to him.

"Send his ass packing."

Drake nodded, marching towards the War Priest, who was stunned by the second flash of Light.  His grasp on the Hammer's hilt tightened, fire exploding off of his person in the form of a massive pillar. The War Priest stood, recovering from his stunned state, and began to fire at Drake. The purple blobs of explosive Darkness launched at the Titan. Swinging the Hammer upwards, the first blob of three crashed into the ceiling above, raining dust and chunks of chiton down from above.

Swinging the hammer to his left, the second boomer round was deflected to the left, exploding another wave of Taken Thrall. Drake clenched the hammer harder, before jumping practically to the ceiling with his enhanced power. The hammer elongated in his hand, before he sent it crashing down into the ground. A crater formed as the chiton cracked and exploded.

Pillars of fire raised from the cracks in the floor, enveloping most of the Taken troops in the general area in Solar Light. Drake planted his feet, before hurling the elongated war hammer at the War Priest's face. The hammer struck the side of the War Priest's face, knocking it backwards.

Sprinting to the War Priest's platform, Drake jumped up to it's face and struck a mighty right hook across it's horn, cracking the chiton.  Landing on his feet, the War Priest balled up it's fist again, as Drake ran up it's torso, planting the top of his right boot just under the War Priest's chin.

A ring of dust exploded off of the War Priest, launching him up and into the air. Drake landed on his feet, before springing back up and planting a twisting fist into the War Priest's abdomen. The beast roared mightily, as Drake's hands fell upon the top of it's horn. Grasping on with every ounce of his strength, Drake span around in circles, before throwing the War Priest into the far wall. A crater formed where the War Priest dragged along the ground, while the dust settled upon his impact.

"DRAKE!" Chelsea yelled, as he turned to face her.

Above her head was a purple sphere no smaller than the War Priest's Oversoul. Drake recognized the Nova Bomb anywhere, and was elated to see she had finally mastered it. She threw the giant sphere towards him, as he reached out with fire covered gloves and, miraculously, caught it.

Adding his own boosted light to the already powerful bomb, it began to take on a secondary orange sheen, fire dancing along the surface of the ball. Molding it, as a Titan is want to do, Drake formed a whip from the solution. Flicking it at the War Priest, the lithe whip of both Void/Solar power wrapped around it's torso, flames licking at it's chiton.

Using the remainder of his excess Light, the whip formed a pillar of fire that completely overwhelmed the War Priest. It howled in pain, before being reduced to nothing but ash. In it's death, the Oversoul behind Drake diminished, and the door to proceed onward opened.

"I'll never get sick of that." Geoff chuckled, as the Guardians met up with him at the doorway.

"Fuuuuck," Geoff panted as he brushed the cloak on his back off. "It feels as though we've been in here for a half a year."

The six person fireteam took a moment to rest, as they exited the pit of the giant Light eating Ogre. Drake turned to the decaying mangle of chiton and strange goo that had once been the exceptionally large Ogre.

"That War Priest certainly hyped Golgoroth for nothing." Amethyst chuckled. "Everyone okay?"

There was a nod from Lance and Chelsea, Tina, finally Geoff. Her attention turned to Drake, however, who continued to stare at the hallway before them. He slowly began to walk away, Lance began to follow. Amethyst turned to him, gently placing a hand on his chest.

"Let me handle it." She smiled beneath her helmet. "Just keep an eye out for reinforcements."

"I-" Lance struggled, before Chelsea placed a hand on his shoulder. "I understand. We'll wait for your signal."

Amethyst nodded, before following Drake. The two Titans walked alongside each other. Drake's attention stayed front, however, while her gaze fell upon his helmet.

"Like an unsung melody~." Amethyst began to sing, Drake's attention turning to her. "The truth is waiting there for you to find it~."

Drake paused for a moment, his attention turning to her. He recognized this song, as it had been something their mother had sung to them on days where they felt particularly distraught. Her voice began to gently soften, his mind wandering back to a simpler time; Humanity's Golden Age.

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

"Mom." Drake turned to his mother, who had been busy ironing out her Hunter's cloak.

"Yes honey?"

"Am I disappointment?" Drake sighed.

His mother was taken aback by the question, before putting the iron aside. Walking over to him, she wrapped her arms around his shoulders, resting her head on the top of his.

"Your father is strict because that is the Titan Codex, sweetheart." she smiled. "You are his pride and joy."

"It just seems like he likes Amethyst more than me."

"No, honey." his mother insisted. "He just... he feels bad for Amethyst, everything that she's gone through. Your father would never show it, but Kabr has a soft spot for people in need of help."

"He's more easy going to Amethyst because he doesn't want her past to control her, he wants her to feel safe and learn at her own pace." she continued. "Your father is harder on you because he knows you are safe, and he knows you will be strong one day. He wants you to be Amethyst's anchor, so that when he can't help her, you can."

Drake frowned, his eyes scanning the ground. Suddenly, he could feel his mother slowly shift their weight left and right. As they were swaying left and right, he could hear her gently humming in his ears.

"When you think all is forsaken; listen to me now~." she sang softly. "You need never feel broken again. Sometimes Darkness can show you the Liiight~!"

As she sang the song, his frown began to soften, before curving upwards to a smile. Placing one of his hands on hers, the two of them looked the window towards the glowing City, with the Traveler's brilliant golden light showering down on it.

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

"Within your darkest memories lies the answer if you dare to find it~." Amethyst sang, placing her hand on his shoulder, rocking the two of them back and forth. "Don't let hope become a memory~."

Her grip on his shoulder tightened for a minute as the two of them stared into the abyss that made up the next hallway.

"When you think all is forsaken; listen to me nooow~." she turned to him. "You need never feel broken agaiiin. Sometimes Darkness....~"

"Can show you the Liiiight~!"

Drake sighed as his adopted sister's voice echoed throughout the abyss. It was the same song that their mother had sung whenever either of them felt out of sorts, even Kabr himself was known to hum the song when they trained.

Turning to her, he wrapped his arms around her, gently patting her on the back.

"Thanks." he smiled beneath his helmet. "I really needed it."

"Dad taught us to watch over each other." Amethyst said. "So, that's just what I'm gonna do."

"Thank you." Drake said, before turning to the others.

He released a shrill whistle, the other four Guardians making their way over towards them. Lance tapped him on the shoulder, the six Guardians congregating in the large abyss. Like most of the Dreadnaught's interior, it was a chiton filled chasm. Drake looked around, only to see Lillian's taken form dead to the left.

The downside to the room was the ground beneath their feet was very narrow. They had to sidle against the wall if they wanted to not plummet hundreds of feet into the black nothing.

"I'll go first." Geoff said, carefully walking up to Drake. "Us Hunters are master scouts, after all."

Drake nodded, pressing himself tightly on the wall to allow Geoff to step past him. Geoff nodded before sidling towards Lillian's Taken form. Time seemingly slowed for Drake, however, as he saw Lillian point to the far wall. Drake's attention turned to a bunch of holes formed in the chiton covered wall on the other side of the chasm.

Suddenly, all of the holes expelled a giant black chiton covered piston. The speed and force of which could easily knock any of them into the seemingly endless abyss beneath.

"Geoff!" Drake called, before the wall behind them rumbled.

Before Geoff could respond to the warning, one of the pistons erupted out of the wall, striking him in the midsection. Screaming, Geoff struck the far wall head first. The subtle snapping of his neck echoed throughout the chasm, as his body fell into the abyss.

They searched for any sign of his Ghost, but it was much too dark down there. Drake searched desperately for any platforms that they could use to climb down and retrieve Geoff, but there was no such thing.

"Master scouts my ass." Lance spat.

Amethyst turned to Lance, as Drake's hand crashed harshly on Lance's shoulder.

"Your great great grand mother was a Hunter, asshole." Drake snarled. "One of the best too. Show some respect."

Lance turned to look at Drake, before bowing his head in shame and embarrassment. Drake took a moment to mourn for his latest fallen ally. While he had never encountered Geoff before this incursion, it was another Guardian knocked out of the fight.

Armed with the knowledge of the wall pistons, Drake and the remaining members of the crew sidled along the wall. Slowly working their way to Taken Lillian's side.

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

Drake stood outside of the giant ornate door. The four remaining Guardians behind him held the weapons in their hands tightly. They knew that on the other side of this door was the Taken King himself. Drake's heart began to palpitate as he remembered the last time he encountered the Hive God.

The coward had Taken himself to this Ascendant Realm to prevent Drake from finishing him once and for all. Using that hatred to fuel his strength, Drake shoved the doors open. Dust settled as the long sealed doors opened to reveal a breathtaking view of Jupiter.

Drake and the other four filed into the room, scanning for any sign of the Hive God. The imposing throne room sprawled out for quite a distance. Four platforms stood proudly in each corner of the room. Drake approached one such platform, gazing at the symbols emblazoned on it.

He recognized these as the Hive's Light triggers, where the Guardian's Lights triggered something. As to why there were four, he was uncertain. At the far end of the room was Lillian, standing beside one of the smaller orbs of Taken energy. Lance began to make a motion towards it, before Drake held out his hand.

"No." Drake said. "That orb next to Lillian is a sign of Oryx. He sees through the orb. We need to find out what these platforms do."

"Why?"

"Remember the War Priest?" Drake asked. "We had to activate them in a particular order just to damage him? Knowing Oryx, he'll have something similar."

"Who would instill a platform that gives their enemy a boon though?" Chelsea asked.

"The platforms absorb light." Tina piped in. "We've seen that the Darkness craves Light in an endless hunger. Perhaps the Darkness uses these platforms to absorb our Light, but can't take it unless we die?"

"So still I ask, why add something that would make him vulnerable to us?"

"Because the Darkness needs to feed, but likely can't do so idly." Tina insisted. "I'll step on to see what happens."

The Guardians stiffened as Tina used her hover ability to fly up to the platform's top. As soon as her boots touched the platform, it lit up, followed by a crude shaking. The Guardians saw a flash, before an intangible platform appeared above their heads. Chelsea had a look of interest on her face, stepping on the platform opposite of Tina's.

Surely enough, following the same protocol as the first, an intangible platform formed above their heads, only this time it was slightly higher than the others.

"What's the point of those platforms?" Lance scoffed, throwing a skull he had found on the floor at it.

As expected, the skull passed through it completely, before floating endlessly into space. Drake began to ponder it for a bit, before summoning the others back to his position.

"I want the four of you ready at each platform." Drake pointed to them. "I'll go confront Oryx. Be ready for anything."

"B-but." Amethyst started, before Drake placed a hand on her shoulder.

"I've got a bone to pick with him." Drake nodded. "Just watch my back, okay?"

The Guardians nodded, taking up at the base of each platform, waiting for orders. Drake began to walk towards the Taken Lillian and the orb beside her.

"Remember me?" Drake called towards the orb, as Lillian shook uncontrollably. "You took something from me, and I want it back."

At his approach, the orb beside Lillian flashed, nearly blinding him. The room around them shook as Oryx's all to familiar roar echoed across it. To his right, Drake saw what appeared to be a giant hand grasp onto one of the pillars holding the room together, than again to his left. Drake took a step back, glancing up as a giant version of Oryx scaled up into view.

"You are one big, UGLY son of a bitch." Drake shook his head. "I'm flattered you felt the need to change though. Scare you did I?"

Oryx stared down at him, but remarkably, Lillian did not disappear, instead, she stood by his side. Oryx opened his giant mouth, roaring into the room.

"Seriously, what the fuck?!" Lance complained. "What is the Hive trying to do? Compensate for something?"

Oryx seemed to notice this, sliding alongside the wall to Lance's platform, which was directly to Drake's left. Lance stood on top, fists clenched as Oryx stared down at him. With a sadistic chuckle, Oryx clenched his right hand into a fist, holding it above the platform. Lance dove backwards, the Taken King's massive fist slamming down on top.

In it's wake was a singular orb, not unlike the one Drake had just been talking to. Lillian bounded over towards Lance, tapping him on the shoulder before silently pointing to the platform. Oryx snarled, a ominous dull blue glow forming on his forehead. Much like an Ogre, and energy discharge was launched at the two of them.

They dove out of the way, before Lance jumped on top of the platform. With his Light, it activated and created a platform directly to his left, heading towards Chelsea's platform. Lillian touched the orb, before turning almost completely transparent.

She jumped towards the transparent platform, her feet miraculously making contact with it. It was then that Drake pulled it all together. Looking around the room, orbs of similar nature were ascending towards the roof, where the biggest orb of them waited.

"Chelsea, get on your platform!" Drake barked, as another platform appeared in Lillian's path. "Tina next! Then Amethyst!"

Oryx's energized face beam followed Lillian, who swiftly jumped to each platform, her hand lightly brushing each orb in her path. As she ascended to the heavens, Drake noticed as oddly colored Ogres rose from black puddles beside each of the platforms. He began to open fire on the Ogres, assisting his fellow Guardians in quickly killing them.

To his confusion, Taken blights with a strange aura appeared as each Ogre fell. He could sense the Lights of several taken Guardians emnating from them. When the four Ogres were dealt with, he could hear the gigantic roar of a Hive Knight behind him.

Dodging to his left, he turned to see the Knight's sword pierce the ground where he had been standing. The Knight was similar to any other Hive Knight, except for the aura like dome surrounding it. Drake recalled the War Priest maintaining a similar aura. If that was the case, it should have been immune to anything he threw at it.

Regardless, he turned and fired the Chaperone into it's side point blank. As he had guessed, the Knight seemed to disregard the damage. Jumping backwards, Drake narrowly avoided the retaliation swing from the beast.

Behind him, he heard Lillian's boots touch down on the ground. He felt her delicate hand on his shoulder. What happened next was like a shock like pulse, it was as if the very Light within him had been touched directly. His eyes widened, his lungs suddenly screaming for air.

"Take back what is ours." he heard Lillian's familiar voice say, only it seemed to originate from his mind.

Drake stumbled a bit, feeling the Lights from the four orbs calling out to him. Like whispered voices scratching at the back of his mind, he heard the Guardians attached to the Orbs, screaming for assistance. With their shrieks for assistance, he felt his own heart skip a beat in response, his fists instinctively clenching harder.

"GRAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAH!" Drake yelled, before thrusting a fist square through the Knight's chest.

As he did so, there was an explosion of energy, the very aura that surrounded the Knight disappeared momentarily, before forming around Drake himself. Oryx roared at this, directing his energy beam directly at Drake. The Titan flinched, but noticed that the beam couldn't reach him, the aura around him was negating the damage entirely.

The others had since stepped off of their platforms and gathered around Drake. Inside of the invincible aura, they watched as Oryx, fueled with rage, raised one of his fists to strike down on Lance's pillar.

After he did so, Oryx roared. The hole in his chest that had formed when he fled Drake last time opened, revealing a gross heart beating with the same coloration as the Taken energy surrounding Lillian.

Drake recoiled as the four orbs, untouched, began to call out to him again. They all craved Light to help them escape their prison. Grabbing the back of his helmet, Drake screamed as the others turned to face him.

"Reclaim what Oryx took from us."

Drake, without speaking a word, pointed at the four orbs. Amethyst hesitated for a second, before directing the others to approach the orbs. The Guardians reached out for the orbs, while Oryx's hands busily swirled around in front of his chest, creating a miniature Oversoul.

The four orbs glowed a brilliant white, indicating the Light inside had been reclaimed. Drake grunted, as the four Guardians quickly made their way back. In the aura of invincibility, they witnessed as the four Orbs exploded in bursts of Darkness and Light. Oryx shrieked as the explosions tore into the exposed heart in his chest.

The Guardians took this moment to unload all of their ammunition into Oryx's stomach. Oryx doubled over, using his hands to cling onto the pillars. Weakly, he stumbled for a second, before dipping over the edge. The Guardians moved, as Lillian bubbled an unknown warning.

"Escape the King's Wrath." Drake heard her warn.

Turning to where Oryx had first climbed up, surely enough, Oryx managed to climb back up. Pushing himself off of the ship, he hovered in space for a moment, Taken energy pulsing in his hands. The invincible aura around them disappeared completely. Like missiles, the Taken energy lances rushed towards the Guardians, who separated and sprinted in random directions.

After the final explosion subsided, Oryx returned to the side of the ship. Holding both of his hands high above their heads, a giant black orb of pure Darkness formed. Before Drake could react, Lance disappeared from his side.

The others noticed this, as Hive Thralls began sprinting towards the orb. Chelsea fired on the Thrall, before she too disappeared from their side.

"What the hell is going on?!" Amethyst said, continuing to fire on the Thralls piling into the Dark sphere.

"Toland spoke of Oryx, of the three Sisters, being capable of creating another realm beyond the Ascendant Realm."

"Did I hear you right?" Drake turned to her. "You said Oryx was of three Sisters?"

"Yes." Tina said. "Toland said that before he was known as Oryx the Taken King, Oryx was known as Aurash. Aurash and her sisters were royalty in the Hive, before the coming of the Worms."

"How does this apply now?" Drake growled.

"Oryx is creating another-"

Before Tina could finished, she disappeared as well. Amethyst and Drake continued firing on the Thralls until they stopped appearing from the black sludge in the corners of the room. After a moment, Amethyst too disappeared, leaving Drake and Taken Lillian together.

Lillian shook uncontrollably, as if she was no longer in control. He understood that she was fighting for control, but sometimes she lost it for a moment, only to fight the urge and come back. Just as that thought ended, Drake found himself in an Aethereal white space.

Oryx hovered above the ground, in his normal size. Drake turned his rifle towards him, before he realized that the others were all on the ground, clutching their chests. Amethyst was in Oryx's grasp, the Taken King staring her in the helmet. Drake made a motion forward, hearing Lance gasp for air.

His attention turned to the young Titan, who held out Raze-Lighter. Drake clasped the hilt of the Legendary sword of his father, as Lance stopped moving, his Ghost appearing in his stead.

"Fuck off." Amethyst spat, as Oryx's sword plunged through her chest.

Drake's eyes widened as Ghost after Ghost popped up from each of his comrades. His right eye twitched as he watched Amethyst cast to the side like a sack of moldy potatoes. Oryx turned to him, holding his sword up.

Drake's grasp on Raze-Lighter tightened, as he placed the Chaperone on his back. There was a burst of golden energy from Drake, as a pillar of Void, Arc, and Solar energies swirled around him. Slowly marching towards Oryx, Drake's elongated warhammer was resting over his left shoulder, while Raze-Lighter expelled a great deal of Solar energy.

"I have had enough of your bullshit." Drake growled, continuing his march. "In the name of all of the Guardians you've taken, I, Drake Stratus, am gonna tear you a new ASSHOLE!"

Dipping onto his haunches, Drake sprinted towards Oryx like an arrow. Jumping off of his right foot, Oryx swung both his hammer and the legendary sword at Oryx. The massive broadsword Oryx possessed was brought up, as a pulse of energy exploded from the two of them.

The force of the explosion sent the two combatants reeling backwards. Drake slid on his boots, before closing the distance again. Swinging his hammer down, Drake roared as Oryx blocked the hammer with his own sword. Using the distraction, Drake sliced at Oryx with Raze-Lighter, the blade slicing into the chiton at the midsection of the Taken King.

Dodging from the retaliation swing, Drake advanced again, swiping his sword across. Oryx blocked the sword, as Drake's hammer struck him in the side of the face. Oryx reeled backwards, growling in pain and annoyance. The Titan, however, wasn't going to stop any time soon.

"Come on then!" Drake taunted. "SHOW ME THE POWER OF A HIVE GOD AGAINST THE WILL OF THE TRAVELER!"

Drake continued his relentless assault, using one weapon to force Oryx to fight defensively, using the other weapon to strike a blow at the Taken King. Ducking under a counter swing, Drake dove underneath Oryx, turning on his boots to slam both the hammer and slice with the sword behind the moth beast's back.

Oryx roared, Willbreaker in his hands began to glow ominously. Oryx planted the sword in the ground, kneeling as he controlled his energy.

"OH. HELL. NO!" Drake roared, as he pitched Raze-Lighter into the ground.

Swinging with all of his might, he brought his Warhammer across Willbreaker's form, shattering the dark sword into two. Oryx roared in anger as his sword was destroyed. Pulling Raze-Lighter from the ground, Drake moved in on Oryx.

"I. AM. SO. SICK. OF. YOU. TRYING. TO. RUN. AWAY!!" Drake roared, enunciating each word in tandum with each strike of his weapons.

Oryx chittered in agony and anger as the Solar sword and hammer worked in tandum, slicing and cracking his chiton shell with each sequential hit. Finally, Oryx used his wings to ascend above Drake's reach.

Thrusting his hands down towards Drake, Drake backstepped in time to see Taken Lillian in front of him. She walked towards him, though with her blackened, liquid covered body, he couldn't tell what was going on with her.

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

"It's called Nightstalker." Lillian smiled. "Your mother taught it to me."

Drake looked in amazement at the Void infused bow in Lillian's hand.

"She had designed it when she heard word of rogue Titans and Warlocks out in the Solar system." Lillian said. "It reacts to Light, and suppresses it. Not only that, but it turns the Light against anyone caught in the field it projects."

"How so?" Drake commented, as she turned the bow towards him. "Woah, hey! What're you doing?!"

"Isn't it obvious?" she smirked. "I'm gonna shoot you with it?"

"Why?"

"If Jeremy, yourself, and I go on any missions together, you both will need to get accustomed to it to prevent yourselves from being effected by it." Lillian chuckled. "Now hold still."

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

"BETRAYAL! Your Light has no power here!" Oryx mocked, as Lillian pulled out her Nightstalker bow.

Drake stood firmly as Lillian's bow aimed at him. He wasn't entirely sure how it's powers had changed since she was Taken, but he knew it wasn't going to be nice, either.

As she released the Void arrow, it lodged itself in the ground at his feet. As was typical of the Shadow Shot, a tendril of Void energy grappled his midsection, keeping him still. He felt it tug on his Light for a moment.

"Heh." Drake chuckled, before bellowing out in complete laughter.

Oryx gazed down at the lone Titan and his Taken Huntress in confusion. He knew the same knowledge the Taken Huntress did. He knew that it suppressed a Guardian's Light, yet Drake's Hammer, nor his sword, seemed effected.

As the Shadow Shot disappeared, Drake took a mighty step forward.

"That wasn't my Light you just tried to suppress." Drake taunted. "That was the Light I reclaimed from YOU!"

Drake planted both of his feet firmly, as another pillar of energy overtook his form. Solar, Void, and Arc energies swirled into the vortex, giving it a purple, blue and red glow. Suddenly, the vortex erupted explosively in a wave of energy, reeling Oryx in the air.

His gaze took upon the Titan, two horns of blue fire dwindled down the length of his body like fiery whips. Void energy covered his body like an overshield, and Arc energy crackled from his gauntlets, blue embers dancing along his knuckles.

"THIS." Drake roared. "THIS IS MY LIGHT."

Spinning on his boots, Drake tossed his Warhammer like a shotput towards Oryx's position. The moth creature attempted to move, but Drake had already jumped from his position. Flipping Raze-Lighter in his hands, he brought the sword down through Oryx's midsection, the two plummeting towards the white floor beneath them.

Twisting the sword, Drake relished as the Taken King writhed, the fire of the Stratus family's Light burning into his flesh and chiton from the inside. Suddenly, Oryx's form began to dematerialize, a similar Taken Energy orb began to appear.

Grasping it with his right hand, the fiery tendrils in his helmet erupted further, the Light energy covering his body powering up. The Aether around them disappeared into nothingness, leaving Drake, the stationary Lillian, and all of the Ghosts back in the throne room.

Giant Oryx recoiled in pain, the very damage that had stricken Oryx inside of the bubble realm had taken it's toll on the giant version. Drake pierced Raze-Lighter into the ground, before backing up several steps. Oryx opened up the hole in his stomach, revealing the heart again. Dark energies swirled around in his hands, as Drake took a running start towards Oryx.

Drake's attention went down towards his gloves, the very Taken energy he had come to fight after all of this time was now enveloping his gloves. Yet, he didn't feel the impulse to follow Oryx's suggestions, as he assumed he would. Instead, he felt connected with Oryx's worm infested heart.

Using his running start, he jumped out of the Dreadnaught and towards Oryx's exposed chest. Cocking his right fist back, Drake roared as he pierced the heart with it. Giant Oryx's body convulsed, as Drake felt the Light of his fellow Guardians drain from Oryx's grasp.

Oryx roared, the worm inside of his heart shrieking, attempting to remove Drake. Instead, the Light he exhumed kept the Darkness infused worm at bay. When he was sure he took back all that he could, Drake planted his boots onto Oryx's chiton.

"You're FINISHED!"

Pressing himself off, he felt the Taken energy on his fists return to Oryx's heart, only it was pure Dark when it returned, instead of being the hybrid it used to be. Drake watched as the heart's beat slowed, crystallizing like a black crystal. Oryx clutched at his chest as Darkness and Taken energy swirled around his body. While Drake was floating back to the Dreadnaught, Oryx was reeling backwards in his pain.

Drake winced as he felt a sudden wave of energy emnate from Oryx's chest. There was a massive explosion as the Taken and Dark energy, turned against their master, collided at his heart. Much like moth being introduced to sudden, spontaneous heat, Oryx's arms slowly snapped towards his torso, drying up.

Drake watched with curiosity as the same dark crystals that had formed on Oryx's heart began to envelope his entire corpse, rendering Oryx, the Slain King, a black crystal statue of his greatest failure.

It was over.

Drake grunted as his boots collided with the hull of the Dreadnaught. He slid along the ground, past the four Ghosts that floated hauntingly in the air, searching for a sign of assistance. His right hand reached out, as he grasped Raze-Lighter to help him slow his momentum.

When he came to a halt, he stood proudly, staring at the corpse of Oryx, which began to slowly descend into Jupiter's atmosphere. Turning to Raze-Lighter, he smiled as his father's sword's blade disappeared, the Light he used to fuel it effectively spent.

He made his way to the four Ghosts, holding his hand out to revive all of his fallen comrades. In a flash of Light, Chelsea, Lance, Tina, and Amethyst appeared out of the void. Drake smiled beneath his helmet as the Guardians checked themselves over. His gaze, however, stayed on Oryx's corpse.

Lance, Chelsea, and Amethyst took their place by his side, admiring Drake's handiwork, before Oryx's dead body was no longer visible. Lance scoffed, before Drake turned to him. Placing a hand on Drake's helmet, he rustled his hand back and forth a bit, before handing the hilt of Raze-Lighter back to Lance.

"It's your father's sword." Lance shook his head. "I want to have my own legendary weapon, one day. You should keep it."

Chelsea hugged Lance, who returned the favor. Meanwhile, Drake walked over to Amethyst, who had stepped forward to get a better view of Jupiter.

"He really loved Jupiter. The Planet always seemed enigmatic to him." Amethyst sighed. "Maybe when this whole thing with the Darkness ends, we can go looking for Dad?"

"Absolutely, Tadpole." Drake smiled.

"Uh, Drake?" Tina spoke up behind them.

Drake and Amethyst turned to Tina, who crouched beside the prone form of a Huntress. The dark, Taken energy that once enveloped her body was now completely gone. Drake took a step forward, slowly moving his way towards their location.

Chelsea and Lance noticed this as well, following the Titans over towards Tina. The five Guardians circled around Lillian's prone form. Drake knelt down, running his hand along the cheek of her helmet. She didn't seem to be moving, let alone breathing. Drake's heart all but stopped, as he dipped his head.

This whole venture, while for the City as a whole, had been a quest to try to get her back. He hoped to the Traveler that it had not been all for nothing. He was happy that Oryx and the Hive as a whole were no longer an immediate threat to the City, but he wanted to have Lillian by his side.

Gently, he raised her head to his chest, gently hugging her. When she didn't move, however, Drake gently laid her down. He bowed his head as he began to stand. Hands balled into a fist, he heard Chelsea stifle to hold in her tears. Amethyst reached out for him, as he turned away, walking away.

The fiery tendrils on his helmet had long since died down, but he could still feel the excess Light bubbling inside of him. He stood there for a moment, feeling a trail of tears roll down his cheek. He had hoped more than anything that he could have saved her from this nightmare.

"Uuugh."

Drake's heart lit up, as the world around him immediately silenced. Turning back towards the others, Lillian was resting on her right hand, barely able to keep herself sitting upright. At the sight of her, Drake sprinted towards her, sliding on his knees, wrapping his arms immediately around her torso.

"Oof!" she grunted. "Drake? What's gotten into yo-"

"Shhhh." Drake shook, as he gently rubbed her back. "Shhhh."

The other Guardians smiled beneath their helmets, as Lance and Chelsea's hands met. There was silence in the throne room, as Drake and Lillian stayed locked in the hug for some time. Drake had been fighting several weeks straight, all for this one minute. The world could wait.

"Urgent transmission." BIAS-027, commonly known to Guardians on the Tower as 'The BountyTracker', droned as he stepped into the Vanguard Hall. "All-gain's transmission, Titan Vanguard."

"I am the Titan Vanguard, Bias." Zavala stepped forward, as Cayde shook his head.

"He's not talking to you, Zavala."

"Cayde is correct. Bias has been doing this once a year for the past two hundred or so years." Ikora frowned. "He dispenses bounties without error, so we know it's not faulty wiring."

"Postmaster model bots like him don't usually mess up like this. Besides, he's been doing this since the last Vanguards stood here."

"So, he's looking for Drake?" Zavala shrugged, with a sigh. "Well, Taken sightings have dwindled rather abruptly. We can only hope that means only good things come from this."

"The orb remains silent." Eris Morn shambled into the room, passing by BIAS without laying a hand on him. "The King has fallen."

Cayde's eyes lit up brighter than they ever had before. If his metallic face could express a grin, the world would know of it. Ikora silently celebrated, running a hand gently through her hair. Zavala's eyes stared at Eris for a time, before he closed his eyes and finally permitted a smile to creep onto his face.

"Then the Awoken Fleets are avenged." Zavala sighed. "Drake, once again, saved us from the Hive."

"Yet you two wanted to sever his connection from the Light. Exile him." Cayde shook his head, staring at his fellow Vanguards. "A mentor and an inspiration to us all. You would have betrayed him, when he needed us most."

"The City is my first priority. You know that." Zavala scoffed. "Drake would have understood."

"He was a variable, inconsistent. We couldn't have known if he would be an asset or a threat to the Tower, the City, or even the Traveler." Ikora folded her arms behind her back.

"It's pretty sad when an Exo of all things has to teach Humans and Awoken a little thing called faith."" Cayde shrugged.

"Urgent Transmission." BIAS spoke up again. "High-Gains transmission. Ishtar Sink, Venus. Titan Vanguard."

"The Ishtar Sink?" Ikora said. "That's been held under control by Guardians ever since the Guardian and their fire-team took out the Gatekeeper on their quest to the Black Heart."

"Exactly." Zavala nodded. "However, as you've said, BIAS has come in here on this same day, every year for two hundred years."

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

"Thank you Executor Hideo." Amethyst nodded. "You have been too kind to us."

"Despite our grudge against the likes of the Dead Orbit or Future War Cultists, we extend an Olive branch to any Guardians that come our way, regardless of affiliation." Hideo bowed. "All we ask is you consider joining us. We will not force anyone, neither will we blackmail or guilt trip."

Amethyst's eyes peered over the Executor's shoulder, as Drake stepped out of the New Monarchy base of operations. He gently rolled his shoulders and neck, breathing in some fresh air. Hideo noticed this and stepped out of her way to allow her to pass. With a respectful nod, Amethyst passed him, walking down the stairs to join Drake's side.

"How is she?"

"Exhausted. Her fight with Crota last year made her connection with the Light extremely weak." Drake sighed, staring at the Traveler. "She's been connected with mine since then. The Speaker suggests that we could, in a way, 'jumpstart' her connection to the Light."

"Was that what you were just doing?" Amethyst's attention turned towards the door, where Chelsea and Lance sat, guarding the entrance but also chatting with the New Monarchy representatives there.

"Yeah." Drake said. "Felt like the Speaker was reaching into my chest and plucking at my heart strings. Very strange feeling."

"I bet." Amethyst nodded. "Drake, I-"

"We're gonna go look for him." Drake said, turning his attention towards Amethyst. "Lillian needs to rest anyways, and with Oryx finally down and out, the Taken threat on the City is minimal at best."

"Also thought about bringing Lance to the Forge, see if we could start him out as a Sunbreaker before he learns Warpath." Drake shrugged. "However, I get the feeling the Sunbreakers on Mercury have their hands full right now."

Drake looked around, as they heard the heavy footfalls of someone sprinting towards them. Turning their attention, Executor Hideo scoffed as Lord Saladin brushed past him. In Saladin's hands was a beautifully crafted Iron Axe. Fire danced along it's form in gorgeous fashion, causing the gold leaf in Saladin's armor to sparkle.

Chelsea, Tina, and Lance stood and walked over, as Lord Saladin placed his axe upon his back.

"Drake." Saladin's gravely voice echoed in the small open area around them. "The Wall has fallen."

"What?" Drake growled, clenching his fists. "How?!"

"An old threat that the Iron Lords and I thought once contained has released itself into the Plaguelands."

"Plaguelands?" Lance scoffed.

"It's the land beyond the Cosmodrome." Drake said. "I'll explain later. Saladin, what threat?"

"I can't stay much longer than I need to." Saladin growled. "Meet me on Felwinter's Peak."

The Fireteam's gaze turned to the Mountainous range in the background, overlooking the City. It's crest hidden high above the range of the clouds.

"Felwinter's Peak. Isn't that home to the Lords of Iron?" Tina asked.

"Yes." Saladin nodded. "This one has not embraced his inner Solar Light?"

Saladin's finger was pressed against Lance's chest. "He cannot be permitted on the mountain without proper knowledge of all three Titan techniques."

"If Lance doesn't go, I don't either." Drake shook his head.

"I understand. Titan Codex." Saladin nodded. "Members of your Pillar are your family. To abandon them is to abandon your family. I will hold off the imminent threat as fast as I can. I await your arrival."

In a flash of Light, the overseer of the Iron Banner disappeared from sight. The Fire-team glanced among each other. Drake knew that despite Saladin's wishes, the Vanguard would be able to send Guardian reinforcements for a time.

"I'll go inform Zavala." Drake said. "You all remain here. Keep an eye on Lillian."

Drake hustled through the catacomb like hallways of the Tower up to the main level. He passed Rahool, who waved silently before turning to one of the newly reborn Guardians. Drake hurried down the stairs, passing Erin's makeshift base of operations against the Hive. Shaxx gave a stern nod, before pressing his fists to his hips, intimidating young Warlock and Hunter Guardians that approached him.

In front of him, he could see Eris Morn with the three Vanguards. Strangest of them was the Bounty Tracker bot, BIAS-027, folding his hands in front of his waist.

"Commander Zavala." Drake stepped forward. "The Wall in the Cosmodrome has fallen!"

"WHAT?!" Zavala's fist hit the table, echoing throughout the room. "Who informed you of this?"

"Lord Saladin. He requires assistance both in the Cosmodrome, but also Felwinter's Peak."

"No can do on Felwinter's." Ikora shook her head. "Only Iron Lords or potential Iron Lords are permitted."

"Ikora is right." Zavala nodded. "I will send any Veteran Guardians at our disposal to the Wall immediately. See what they can find."

"Some of my best scouts have been out there. It would explain their disappearance."

"Urgent Transmission." BIAS started, turning towards Drake. "Titan Vanguard Stratus. High-gains Transmission. Ishtar Sink, Venus."

"Hold on, BIAS." Drake said, turning back to the Vanguard, before his eyes widened. "Wait. Ishtar Sink?."

"Does that matter?" Zavala asked. "The Wall has fallen, Drake."

"It does matter, Zavala." Drake said. "That's where my father went on his last mission as Titan Vanguard."

"So?"

"So?!" Drake shook his head. "My Dad is reaching out for help. BIAS, meet me outside. I'll be with you when I can."

"Acknowledged." BIAS nodded, before vacating the room.

"So Oryx is dead, but another threat is on the horizon?" Ikora sighed. "I'm starting to feel overwhelmed."

"Well get yourselves ready." Zavala growled, hands pressed firmly into the table. "The City is in danger, now more than ever before."

Drake began to turn and walk out, as a void sphere stuck itself to the wall just to the right of his head. It exploded gently twice, stopping Drake and turning his attention towards Zavala.

"This meeting has not yet concluded."

"You took my place oh so happily, Zavala." Drake snarled. "The City and it's fate is up to you. I'm going to find Kabr, and find out why he's calling for help. Whatever is threatening the City can be contained, Lord Saladin proved that."

"If my dad is calling for help, it's a threat bigger than Oryx. Bigger than whatever took down the Wall." Drake said, as his Warpath hammer formed in his right hand. "If you want to throw down, I will. We both know, from experience, who will stand victorious."

"Remember what I mentioned about faith, Zavala? This is the time to USE it. We'll be awaiting your report, Drake."

Drake nodded curtly at Cayde, before forcing his weapon to dematerialize. Stepping back out into the Tower's main hub, he turned to BIAS-027, who waited for him at BIAS' usual location.

"Alright BIAS. Who was the message from."

"Unidentified user. Message beginning. File Corrupted, unable to recover." BIAS spoke.

"In the Vault time frays and a needle moves through it. The needle is the will of Atheon. I do not know the name of the shape that comes after the needle." Drake's heart skipped a beat as he heard Kabr's voice speak up. "No one can open the Vault alone. I opened the Vault. There was no one with me but I was not alone."

"Of course you weren't." Drake's eyes scanned, before the message dimmed into crackling static. "Was there more?"

"Message Terminated, File Corrupted, unable to recover." BIAS nodded.

"Transfer it to my Ghost, please." Drake said, summoning Arianna in his right hand.

After a moment, Arianna turned to Drake and nodded her form. Thanking BIAS for his time, Drake double timed his approached back to the New Monarchy headquarters. Before he could arrive, however, the Speaker stepped in front of him.

"He fought the Vex alone. Yet they didn't kill him." the Speaker spoke, though his voice did not seem his own. "He consumed their technology like fire, fashioning armor from their remnants.

"What are you talking about?" Drake said. "Are you okay, Speaker?"

"In the Aftermath, he became obsessed by the Machines. Kabr was consumed by the Vault. His armor and myth are all that remain."

"I see. Thank you, Speaker." Drake said, gently placing a hand on the Speaker's shoulder.

"What you seek will not give you answers." the Speaker called out after him. "Those that enter the Vault tend not to return."

"I have to try." Drake sighed. "Be well, Speaker."

Hustling his way past the Executor, Drake's fireteam stood from their seats to listen to him. Amethyst slowly stood, as Drake ran over to her. Wrapping his arms around her shoulders, he frowned beneath his helmet.

"I know where Dad is."

"Kabr Stratus?" Tina shook her head. "He's been missing forever."

"Exactly." Drake said. "He's sent a message from Venus."

"What about Lillian?" Chelsea said. "We should-"

The group silenced as Lillian shakily stepped out of the curtain covered door. The New Monarchy individuals sitting by the entrance stood to help her, as she waved them off.

"You're headed into the Vault of Glass." Lillian struggled to walk as she spoke. "You can't go alone."

"You need to stay here." Drake said, as she slapped him sharply across the cheek.

"We are a team." Lillian shook her head. "Our son is dead, and I missed being there to support him because you thought you could do everything alone."

Drake took a step back as she said that. He hadn't forgotten that Nathan had passed, but it certainly hadn't been the first thing on his mind. Clenching his fist, he bowed his head. The more he became comfortable in this brave new world, the more he felt himself reverting back to his old, cocky ways.

"If you insist on going, fine." Drake nodded. "However, we're bugging out the instant you start to show signs of stopping."

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

Venus had always been an beautiful place in Drake's eyes. He had been there on several fronts during his time as Vanguard. The Vex were truly evil incarnate, considering how they had no moral compass. Every action the machine like minions of Darkness made was selfish, benefiting themselves and themselves alone.

Mercury had been mechanized in their image in little under a day. Hell, it was before Drake had even gotten into his ship. If there was an enemy spawned of Darkness he hated more than the Hive, it was the Vex. Rumor spoke of their fascination with Time. The Ishtar Collective, if Drake recalled, attempted to study the Vex and gain understanding on this fascination.

Much like Mercury, however, Venus was invaded by the Vex. The Machines wiped out the population of Venus, despite efforts pushed forth by Guardians. As he and his fire-team stepped along the Ishtar Sink, a beautiful and vast lake of molten blue lava, the evidence of such efforts became apparent. Statues and once mighty skyscrapers were left only in shambles, a mockery of the empire that Humanity once had.

"Don't you find it a little odd that the Vex haven't shown themselves yet?" Lance asked.

"The Guardian and their fire-team came through here some time ago. Helped the Vanguard set up foot-holds and bases for Guardians to utilize, reclaim Venus piece by piece." Tina spoke up. "Wouldn't be hard to imagine a patrol went through just before us."

"You know where the Vault of Glass is?" Amethyst asked Lillian, who quietly nodded.

"Can't miss it. The giant door shines like glass in sunlight." Lillian shrugged. "My mother and I used to patrol here together. Always passed by it. Biggest mystery the Ishtar Collective tried to study."

"It still messes with my head that you two are from the tail end of the Golden Age." Lance shook his head.

"It was a great time." Lillian sighed. "A time Humanity will see again, right Drake?"

"Yes." Drake nodded, scanning with his Scout Rifle. "This is your World, Lance, Chelsea, Tina. This is not the world you kids deserve. This is an insult to everything the Traveler stood for."

Suddenly, the fire-team covered their eyes, a blinding light penetrating the visor's of their helmets. Drake dared to look closer, as a giant circular metal disc stood proudly at the top of a hill. Walking in the direction of the disc, Drake grumbled as he stumbled over something.

"Drake!" Arianna said. "I was able to get more of the message. Listen!"

"You will meet the Templar in a place that is a time before or after stars. The stars will move around you and mark you and sing to you." Kabr's familiar voice spoke up again. "They will decide if you are real. I drank of them. It tasted like the sea."

"That was your Dad?" Chelsea asked. "He sounds similar to you."

"Yeah. I look a lot like him too." Drake nodded. "You'll see that very soon."

As they approached the larger door, the light of the Sun began to reflect elsewhere. The group thanked the Traveler for a brief moment of shade, instead of blinding Light. It was odd coming from soldiers who wielded Light. However, it was one thing to fight using it, or being blinded by it.

"Cheating bastards." Drake shook his head, as he slammed his fist against the flawless metal disc. "This is the door you mentioned?"

Lillian nodded, as Drake turned around. On the ground before them, the all too familiar sight of a pressure plate was the first thing he saw. As per usual, he stood upon the plate. As he did so, a strange matrix of blue hard-light formed around him.

In the distance, he watched as a white outline to a pillar appeared. At the bottom of the outline, a stone pillar began to materialize. Before it got to the halfway point, however, it's formation halted and stopped. Drake stepped forward, confused as to why it wasn't working like it had time and time again.

He jumped backwards as he noticed a purple blast of void energy strike the ground in front of him. Turning to his right, he could see the hulking frame of a Vex Minotaur stomping towards him. In the distance, he could see a group of Vex Goblins and Hobgoblins swarming a plate. To his left, he could make out a swarm of Vex machines swarming another plate.

"Kabr mentioned he opened the door alone. Yet, he wasn't alone." Chelsea said. "Maybe we need to stand on those plates and keep the Vex off?"

"Good idea." Drake nodded, pulling Chaperone off of his back, firing it into the Minotaur's chest. "Usual teams, spread out."

"C'mon." Lillian put a hand on Tina's shoulder. "We'll clear out that right side plate together."

Lance and Chelsea branched off, leaving Amethyst and Drake together in the middle plate. After a time, Drake and Amethyst noticed the pillar begin to form once again. Together, the six Guardians fought against waves of the Vex, arriving in their usual teleporting fashion.

Finally, the ground beneath their feet shook. In the distance, the newly formed pillar glowed an ominous white, before a beam of white light struck the center of the metal plate behind Drake and Amethyst. The door to the Vault opened, as he turned around. Behind him, he heard the all to familiar sound of Sparrows approaching his location.

Craning his head inside, the majority of the group stepped inside. Lillian, on the other hand, took a moment to notice a fallen Ghost by the door, just inside. Holding it up, the light of it's eye socket flickered gently. Her eyes widened, however, as she recognized the unique pink eyed Ghost staring back at her.

"He's gone. Kabr is gone." she heard Drake's voice. "I'm the only one here. It's quiet, the walls sing to me, but I refuse to listen."

"I-I can't remember them. Who, who are they?" Drake's voice muffled, as he struggled to speak. "I KNOW WHO THEY ARE DAMMIT. BUT I DON'T!"

Lillian's eyes widened as she heard Drake say these words. His voice was broken, as if he was struggling to stay sane. He spoke of voices in the walls singing to him. She had only just been wrestled free from Oryx's grasp, but even she didn't recall walls singing to her.

"I remember a name. Lillian." Drake's voice spoke up. "I love the name, but I do not know a Lillian."

She felt her heart stop as Drake said the next line. Suddenly, Lillian felt Arianna's shell twist in her grasp. Releasing the fading Ghost, the tiny red and white Ghost hovered lightly at Lillian's eye level.

"You seem familiar. I feel like I should know you, but I don't."

"Arianna, it's me." Lillian said, tears streaming down her cheek. "It's Lillian."

"Drake mentioned a Lillian. How do you know him?"

"I'm his... lover." Lillian said, as Arianna shook her form.

"He's never met a Lillian. Still, you Guardians need to hear this."

Lillian was appalled as Arianna blatantly did not remember Lillian, or any of the other members of the fire-team. It was entirely as if they had never existed, that Arianna had never met Lillian. She turned to the other Guardians, but they were far from ear shot. Before Arianna began, the door to Lillian's right began to close, causing Lillian's eyes to widen.

"These are the last words of Kabr, the Legionless." Kabr's voice spoke up.

"I have destroyed myself to do this. They have taken my Ghost. They are in my blood and brain. But now there is hope.

I have made a wound in the Vault. I have pierced it and let in the Light. Bathe in it, and be cleansed. Look to it, and understand:

From my own Light and from the thinking flesh of the Vex I made a shield. The shield is your deliverance. It will break the unbreakable. It will change your fate.

Bind yourself to the shield. Bind yourself to me. And if you abandon your purpose, let the Vault consume you, as it consumed me.

Now it is done. If I speak again, I am not Kabr."

As the message began to play, Lillian felt chills running down the nape of her neck and down her back. The door to the Vault had just closed behind them, for some reason Arianna was lying here by the door, and Drake didn't remember them.

Kabr wasn't dead, but he certainly wasn't alive. The rumors about the Vex were true, they had an obsession with time, and this place was their foothold on the time-line. What if they deleted Lillian and the others from time? Oryx would still live, Crota too. Hell, even Kraxsis and Fraxsis.

There was a reason this place was a Vault, to contain the Vex with the power to control time. Now they were inside it, no, they were locked in it."

"Drake, you've got to-" Lillian yelled, as the Fireteam stopped.

Drake, who had headed the pack, turned back in time to see Arianna floating meekly above Lillian's hand. Sparks covered the Ghost's form, her shell meagerly attempting to twist in thought. In a small blast of Light, Arianna exploded, a wisp of Light returning to Lillian for traversal back to the Traveler.

"Arianna!" Drake yelled, as the Ghost appeared over his shoulder.

"That was very peculiar." Arianna mused, before turning her form towards Drake. "That was me, but... I'm still here."

"You just shared a message with me. A message from Drake."

"Me?" Drake shook his head. "I haven't recorded a message for Arianna to send since I was first resurrected."

"I know what you sound like, dammit!" Lillian cried. "You didn't even remember me."

"Then it really wasn't me." Drake sighed. "I couldn't ever forget about you."

"She's not lying." Lillian's replacement Ghost clicked it's shell. "You spoke of Kabr being gone. You couldn't remember who you were with, except the name Lillian. You didn't know a Lillian, but you loved the name."

Amethyst, Tina, Chelsea, and Lance shifted nervously as they heard that. They looked to Drake who stared blankly at Lillian, before clenching his right fist.

"No. Kabr isn't gone." Drake grit his teeth and shook his head. "Even if he was, the message was a distress signal. We stay here and we do what we can to stop whatever powers are at work here."

Walking away, Amethyst and Lance followed Drake down the winding, hall like hills leading further down into the Vault. Tina and Chelsea held back for a moment, before nodding their head's in respect and following suit. Lillian's new Ghost turned towards here, before clicking her shell together.

"I think it would be best if we didn't find the Drake that matches this Arianna." the Ghost said, shaking it's form. "It might cause a Paradox."

"Paradox?" Lillian asked.

"Alright, it will be a bit difficult to explain." the Ghost replied. "Think of time like a mixture of lines and loops. If certain events don't happen, it will cause a fluctuation of events to occur to correct the timeline to make sense."

"Like the Butterfly Effect?"

"Kind of." the Ghost nodded. "It's a phenomenon called Causality. Or rather, cause and effect." If something disturbs the loop of Causality to the point where an event cannot be explained or reclaimed to fix time, that is a Paradox."

"In easier terms, a Paradox is an event that is impossible, but holds semblance of truth, but contradicts itself, therefore making it impossible."

"For example. If what Kabr says about the 'stars' deciding if someone is real or fake, gives truth to the fact that Kabr entered the Vault alone." the Ghost nodded. "He didn't enter the Vault alone, but the majority of his team were wiped from existence. Can you name anyone besides Kabr or Praedyth that were on his fire-team?"

"Pahanin was." Lillian said.

"Yet Pahanin is not in the Vanguard records. You and Drake remember Pahanin, Kabr, and Praedyth. Yet according to one of the most regulated archives today, these individuals do not exist." the Ghost said. "Those three are trapped here in the Vault. Much like Schrodinger's cat, they are neither dead nor alive."

"Back to my original point." the Ghost continued. "If Drake is to find the alternate version of himself that this Arianna belonged to, the fate of the Vex time-line imbued in this place may take place. You and the others will disappear from time and space, and he'll be left here to die alone."

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

"The hell is this?" Lance asked, crouched down beside what appeared to be a Vex Hydra's chassis.

"A dead Hydra, thousand Glimmer says that's the Templar Kabr spoke of." Tina said.

"In his recording, he said we'd have to do the same?" Amethyst asked.

Lillian hopped down into the isolated metallic platform in the middle of the underground ravine. Surrounding the platform was Darkness in it's purest form, suffocating and blinding. Drake and Chelsea glanced around for any sign of Kabr, or a way to move on.

"You're right that the recording said that. Time acts differently in this place." Chelsea replied, running her hand along the wall in front of her. "It could be possible that time looped and Kabr and his fireteam just killed the Templar and could be moving ahead."

"Beautiful songs riddled with causality and despair. Gaze into the eyes of the Gorgons, and it will be the last thing you, or what remains of you, will do."

The group turned to Arianna, who continued to relay tidbits of the message that had once thought to have been corrupted. Lillian stepped forward at the familiarity of the voice.

"Mom?" Lillian's eyes watered. "So that's where you went."

"Gorgons?" Drake shook his head. "What kind of Vex creature is that?"

"The Vex are all named after Greek Mythology. The pions are known as Goblins, higher ranking Goblins are Hobgoblins. Beyond that you have Minotaurs."

"Harpies and Cyclops, not to mention Hydras." Lance said, kicking the dead Hydra chassis. "Never seen a Gorgon before."

"That's because according to Mom, you don't live long after you do." Lillian sighed. "My guess is it's a special form of Vex found only in here."

Drake stepped forward as the visage of a bronze clad Titan stood at the nearby wall. The disk like wall opened in a circular motion, as the Titan stepped forward. As it did so, it turned it's gazed towards Drake. All he could see was a glowing red dot in the center of the Titan's helmet.

His heart raced, however, as he saw the Striker Titan mark on the man's hip. When Kabr didn't wear his Sunbreaker Mark, he wore the one of the Striker, giving the Defender Mark to Drake himself.

"Dad!" Drake said, as the other chased after him.

"That's not Kabr." Arianna said silently, her gaze turning to Lillian. "Not anymore."

"Drake?" Lillian walked up, placing a hand on Drake's shoulder. "I don't think we should follow that silhouette."

Behind them, Lance, Tina, Chelsea, and Amethyst stayed back to give the two a moment to speak. In this time, Tina and Chelsea took short steps towards the edge of what could only be explained as a sheer cliff downwards. Lance whistled, the sound of his amusement echoing throughout the chamber, the sound bounced back from the walls several kilometers away, but dwindled before returning.

"Lillian, there is no debating this." Drake shook his head. "We're here for my Dad. He wouldn't send a distress signal unless it was an extreme emergency."

"That's what worries me." Lillian shook her head. "You remember that Arianna we encountered at the entrance? She gave me the rest of Kabr's distress signal's message. He said 'if you should see me again, I am NOT Kabr."

"You know, it's funny." Drake shook his head in disbelief. "You found out your Mother journeyed in here with Kabr. Are you so quick to give up on them?"

"No." Lillian fumed, angry. "I am quickly losing hope in you, Drake."

Lance shifted nervously, readjusting the auto rifle in his hands. Chelsea's gaze briefly fell upon the too, as she continued to observe the cliff in front of them. Amethyst clenched her fists, while Tina gently placed a hand on her shoulder.

"The hell is that supposed to mean?" Drake turned to her, shocked. "We just got done killing Oryx, a hive GOD. We can handle this."

"There are things you don't mess with Drake." Lillian shook her head, a distinct sob interrupting her words. "Time is one of them. If we keep going in this place without taking the time to think, we won't just die, waiting for resurrection. We'll be erased from time and space! That's a fate WORSE than death!"

"I don't know how much you truly missed me when I was Taken." Lillian began to cry. "If you don't slow down and smarten up, however, you'll lose all of us."

"Lillian." Chelsea said quietly, stepping forward.

"Arianna looked at me with confusion, as if she had never seen me before." Lillian punched Drake's right shoulder. "You stupid prick! I heard the desperation in your voice, your regret for not thinking things through."

"You couldn't even remember Lance, or Chelsea. Even your own adopted sister was foreign to you."

"Yet you lied about your identity when we first reunited." Drake snarled. "You didn't even wait for me when you resurrected after Crota's death."

"You ran off to go continue the fight, and got yourself Taken." Drake pointed at her. "You didn't inform Lance or Chelsea of your return. We went through hell and back to get you back. I used the majority of my stored Light, nearly SHATTERED Arianna, to get you back."

"My father needs my help. If you're so scared of this place, take the others and find your way out. When I find him and your mother, I'll tell them where you went."

Drake huffed, before turning on his boots and walking along the cliffside. The bronze clad Titan nodded reassuringly, before pointing down into the pit below. Drake, without hesitation, dove off of the cliff, soaring down the expansive cliff, before engaging his boosters on his boots.

"What happened to you?" Lillian began to cry.

"You died. Three times now." Amethyst shook her head, coldly, before following Drake's suit.

"He was like this when we were fighting Oryx and the Taken War." Chelsea said. "I believe you, though."

Tina silently followed Chelsea, the two Warlocks using their Light to gently glide down the cliffside to the ground below. Lance walked up, placed a hand endearingly on Lillian's shoulder, before he too jumped down.

"Save him." the bronze clad Titan shook momentarily, before fizzling out of existence.

Lillian sighed, before jumping off of the cliff. Normally she was intimidated by heights, especially in such a darkness filled area. However, she leaned her body against the cliff face, sliding down the rocky slope until she neared the bottom, using her Light to allow herself to jump in air. The feeling of her inertia changing was surreal, but she landed safely at the bottom.

"White Harpies?" Lance said.

"Look at the eye socket though." Chelsea pushed him out of the creature's line of sight. "Lillian's mother mentioned something about Gorgons. That thing has a strange golden glow to it."

"So, we don't let them see us?" Lance asked.

"Shut up." Drake hissed, hiding behind a rocky outcrop. "It heard us."

Lillian instinctively used her Light to form a smoke grenade, tossing it down in the dead center of the group. As the Light formed smoke engulfed them, it temporarily created a active camo over them. The glacial white Harpy chirped, before floating over towards their location.

It's glowing golden eye scanned over the invisible Guardians for a moment, before it chirped again, floating away. As it floated away, it turned to the left into a cave opening. Appearing just behind the Harpy was the bronze clad Titan again, pointing in the direction it walked.

To their right, however, Lillian could make out a Ghost floating behind one of the disk shaped doors. Brushing past Drake, she followed it's suit. She kept her body low, controlling her footsteps to stop any potential noises. She could hear several more of the Gorgons chirping at each other, as if they were bats trying to echo-locate their prey.

She heard one's floating mechanism just on the other side of the rock she used as cover. Holding her breath, she waited for it's noise to pass, before sprinting for the large open disk. As she crossed the threshold, however, she could see only horror in front of her. Three familiar armor sets of recently killed Guardians littered the platform ahead of her.

One suit of armor, however, was still inhabited. Golden colored armor twinkled in the subtle light of the room. The figure held his right arm up to his helmet, as if blinded by the light leaking in from the ceiling.

"You there. You turned on the Lights." Drake said, as Lillian stepped forward. "Those creatures out there. They spotted the others. I-I can't remember their names, or their faces. I-I sent Arianna to go warn the Vanguard, but I don't feel the Light anymore."

"Drake. It's me, Lillian."

"Lillian?" Drake shook his head, the tuft on the back of his knight's helmet swaying back and forth. "I love that name. I-I think one of the others had that name, but... I don't remember."

"What happened, Drake?"

"Do- Do I know you?" Drake asked, reaching out for her. "You are familiar, but I don't believe we've met."

"Please. Just tell me what happened here?"

Drake sighed, removing his helmet. Lillian saw his somber brown eyes. They lacked any semblance of sanity, or even a soul behind them. His pupil was dulled, as were the colors of his iris'.

"I remember arguing with one of the others. I do not remember what I said, or whom it was. I just, I remember feeling regret for saying what I did." Drake shook his head. "I jumped down first, and I saw her."

"Who?"

"Her name was Yule. She was a Huntress. She was in here, with one other." Drake's soulless eyes searched in front of him, his brow furrowing as he struggled to remember. "Pahanin. I remembered him. He told me Kabr had died further in the Vault."

"Then I heard it. The shrieking song of the Gorgons." Drake grasped the back of his head with his hands. "I was in here when it happened. Then, I couldn't remember the others, and the door all but shut. Pahanin and Yule, they reduced to the skeletal remains you see here."

"Every once in a while, however, they wake up. They start talking to me, asking me if the way out has opened yet." Drake shook his head, staring at the floor. "Some times they act as if they had never met me, other times they remember our previous encounters."

"The door has opened some times before, but then I only see myself walk in here. Then, then the door closes, the other me disappears, and I remember seeing myself sitting here, but I'm the only one that's sat here."

"You aren't me, are you?" Drake asked suddenly, glaring up at her. "This isn't some trick, is it?!"

"No. I am not you." Lillian said quietly. "I am one of the others, and I'm going to see it that you get out of here."

"I can't. Arianna is gone. I sent her the last time the door opened. She hasn't returned. I'll die."

"We'll see about that."

"You must go." a feminine voice said from behind her. "Lillian, my sweet. The door will close, as another iteration of us will be arriving shortly."

"Mom?" Lillian asked, turning around.

"Afraid so, my child. My, have you grown." Yule smiled beneath her helmet, running her hand down Lillian's helmet. "You wear my cloak nicely. I hope for you to wear it with pride when you leave this place."

"B-but."

"Not now, Lillian." Yule shook her head. "You must go and defeat Atheon, where Kabr and the rest of us could not. If you destroy him, we will be freed from this Paradox."

"How do I exist, if you were erased from existence?" Lillian asked.

"Because I exist, but don't. The irregularity within the timeline allows you to exist, but I am and am not your mother." Yule sighed, the disk shaped door behind them closing. "It is almost time, the others will be discovered if you do not help them."

Producing a smoke grenade, Yule threw it down at their feet, wrapping her arms gently around Lillian.

"I am proud of you. Never forget that." Yule cried. "Even if I cease to exist, I will always love you."

"I, I love you too." Lillian shook, before breaking the embrace, running for the door.

Sliding through the gap, she sprinted her way past the Gorgons while the invisibility effect was still engaged. She could see the others creeping into the cave entrance before her, one of the Gorgons rounding the corner towards them. Diving forward in a cloud of smoke, Lillian dropped a smoke grenade at their feet, masking everyone in it's radius.

"Move." she whispered through her teeth. "Don't question, just go."

She gave credit to the bronze armored Titan, as he directed them through the Gorgon maze. As they stepped through a small tunnel system, they were greeted with yet another darkness filled abyss. This time, however, platforms leading to the other side began to appear and disappear.

"Jesus, everything in this place is affected by time." Amethyst shook her head. "How the hell are we getting across this?"

"A better question is where did you go?" Drake said, without turning to Lillian. "You just ran off."

"I found you, Pahanin, and... my mother." Lillian said, as Drake softened, turning towards her.

"Yule?"

"Yes. My mother told me that Kabr died in the Vault, just ahead." Lillian said. "You also told me everything that Arianna had at the entrance. We all died, because you ran off looking for your father after our argument. We got caught by the Gorgons."

"How're we still here then?" Lance asked.

"It's a paradox. We're in one of the time-lines where Kabr's team went before us. They suffered their fates, but we didn't get caught. If we kill the Vex in the Vault that can control the time-line, we can free the trapped Guardians in here. They will still be dead, but we can end their endless purgatory."

"I refuse to believe that Kabr is-" Drake grunted, as Lance walked up, slapping him in the back of his helmet.

"The woman you love is telling you he's dead. She's had numerous sources confirm it." Lance said. "Drake, I've suffered the loss of a dead father. Twice, actually. Grandpa Nathan was like a father to me, much more than Caldwell ever was."

"It's a depressing realization. However, the moment you come to terms with it, the better for everyone here." Lance said. "You are not your father, you don't owe him anything except revenge."

"The wall is falling, Drake." Amethyst said. "I don't like the fact that he's gone either. However, we need to get through this together, and then we need to move on. It's what he taught us, after all."

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

"That's right. Good form." Kabr grunted, fists resting heroically on his hips, his Sunbreaker mark billowing in the wind. "With skill like that, you'll be able to defend the City on your own."

Amethyst and Drake struck their respective punching bags, practicing precision with power to make the most of their mighty punches. With the Light, they were naturally stronger than a normal human man, even at their youthful ages.

"Something about watching Titans train is rather interesting, Kabr." Yule smiled, walking in.

"More interesting than Hunters." Kabr scoffed, crossing his arms. "Constantly shiving perfectly good punching bags."

"At least we can hit a target, Kabr." Yule chuckled, her daughter hugging tightly to her legs. "Isn't that right, Lillian?"

"Uh, y-yeah." Lillian nodded, cowering behind her mother.

"A Titan isn't known just for their strength. We are not only strong in terms of punching and lifting. We are strong strategists, we can overcome any physical and mental obstacle our enemies throw at us." Kabr grunted. "A happy medium between a Warlock and a Hunter."

"At least I'll agree that Warlocks are just terrible." Yule smirked. "Don't tell Toland. He'd never let me live that down."

"Can I ask you something Kabr?"

"I believe you just did." Kabr smirked cockily. "Fine, what do you want?"

"How often do you tell your son you love him?"

"What do you mean?" Kabr growled. "I love my son very much. He will make a fine Titan one day."

"Look at his face, Kabr." Yule shook her head. "That look of determination is from a kid who feels unappreciated. One that is looking for approval."

"He doesn't need my approval. He needs to learn discipline. Afterwards, he will understand that all of this, everything I've done, I've done for him."

"I see." Yule nodded. "I just wanted to stop by and let you know I'm going on Patrol on Venus with Lillian here. Ishtar is talking about the Vault again, and I'm willing to bet they're about to unlock it's secrets."

Kabr grunted as the Huntress and her daughter walked away. Turning back towards Drake and Amethyst, his stern expression softened. He knew Drake was giving it his all, and that one day he would appreciate Kabr's teachings. He didn't need to expressedly tell the boy anything, Drake would understand.

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

"During the Golden Age, there was no such thing as a Guardian." Lillian said, as Lance, Tina, and Chelsea listened to her stories.

"In fact, the Light was very rarely used as a weapon. Reserved only for the Traveler." Lillian nodded. "However, as the Collapse and the Dark Age slowly began to creep upon us, the Traveler began to form Light into Humans."

"We were known as Risen at that time." Lillian recalled. "Drake's grandfather, my grandmother, and an unknown Warlock were the first Humans to receive the Light in it's rawest, purest form."

"The Faction Wars between the New Monarchy, Dead Orbit, and Future War Cult began to ravage the Planet, an exhibition to see their own personal agendas through. The Risen allied themselves with these Factions, proving to be one of the bloodiest battles known in Human History."

"Drake's grandfather, who is attributed to heading the 'Guardian' movement, lead a mighty army of Risen to war against the three factions. He and his troops actually managed to put the war aside. The Speaker, and the City Consensus, were formed from those that stopped the war."

Drake sat up, gathering the attention of the others. They all looked at him with confusion, the platforms still appearing and disappearing in the abyss separating them from the other side.

"Lillian." Drake sighed. "I'm-"

"Don't be." Lillian shook her head. "I was way too harsh. I-."

The group froze as a team of five or so Guardians stepped out of the tunnel behind them. Instead of interacting, however, the five Guardians glanced out at the abyss, watching the platforms appear and disappear.

"Yule." Kabr's familiar voice spoke up. "Go back and see if you can find Pahanin. Praedyth, any ideas?"

"We could just jump?" Praedyth shrugged. "The fuck you want from me? I'm a Hunter, not a puzzle solver."

"You're quick on your feet though, aren't you?" Kabr smirked, before throwing Praedyth at the closest platform.

Praedyth rolled along the ground of the platform, before gathering his footing again. He waited a moment, and just as the platform beneath him disappeared, another appeared in front of him. Jumping towards it, Drake watched the Hunter do his business, scaling down the disappearing platforms.

"So there is a sequence." Kabr and Drake smirked, rubbing the chins of their helmets.

"That was... uncanny." Lance shook his head, Kabr's fireteam fizzling out of existence. "That... that was just fucking creepy."

"So now we're seeing fractured memories of the past, present, and future?" Chelsea tilted her head in confusion. "We must be getting close to the one running things in this place."

"My thoughts exactly." Tina nodded. "We need to get over there."

"Let's... let's never do that again." Lance huffed and puffed. "Oryx's tombships were a lot easier to jump to. That? That was unnecessary hell."

As the six Guardians moved towards what they could only assume was the inner sanctum of the Vault, they could feel their Light becoming more and more weighty, as if something very heavy was on their shoulders.

The door in front of them began to glow with an unfamiliar symbol, before opening up completely. The thing they saw next could only be described in one word; beautiful. Glass like crystalline structures made up an arch over the back of the room. A long, yet narrow staircase led up to the top, where a singular throne like stone placement sat.

To their left and right were the same old pressure plate like platforms, and just beyond them, in the direction of the back of the room, were intersecting stone structures, making out perfect sphere holes. Directly in front of them was a small platform, with barely enough room in it for the lot of them.

As they were about to take a step forward, Drake managed to see something billowing in the corner of his eye. Turning to the left, he could see the blue cloth of a Striker mark moving on an otherwise bronze looking Titan's corpse. Unlike the bronze Titan that had greeted the Guardians and led them through it, this Titan took on the visual appearance of a Vex Goblin, especially with his helmet.

"Hi Dad." Drake shook his head, kneeling down. "If we had just gotten here sooner, maybe we could have-"

There was a loud thud to Drake's right, as the crystals that formed the back wall shimmered vibrantly. In a flash of light, an enormous Vex unit stepped forward, it's body just as glistening as the crystal wall behind it.

"You must be Atheon." Drake stepped forward. "It'll be a pleasure ending-"

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

In a flash of light, Drake shook his head. To his confusion, he was standing in the Cosmodrome. He was no longer on Venus, nor was he confined to a cave, like the Vault. He was out in the wilds of the Cosmodrome, broken down buildings were all around him, and in the wind he could hear Fallen chitters, along with wildlife stirring.

"You're here too?" Lance shrugged. "What the hell happened?"

"I don't know. Do you see the others?"

"I see a lot of things Drake. I think with how open the area is around us is, we'd SEE them." Lance sighed.

Drake's first thing was the look of Lance's armor. It was a pure snow white, with a strange blue glow around it. Drake almost recognized the armor.

"Hold on to that, I think I see Lillian over there." Lance said, pulling out a sniper rifle, looking down the scope to get a better view.

Drake turned to look where Lance, was, just in time to see another Guardian walking up to Lillian. The Titan was in the most basic of armor, except he wasn't wearing a helmet. With a gasp, Drake recognized this moment.

"Lance, a Fallen Vandal is about to attack Lillian. I need you to shoot it in the face, then wave to the Guardian."

"What?"

Drake fell immediately onto his back, hiding himself from the two Guardian's views. He heard Lance's rifle crack once, along with the all too familiar sound of ether expelling itself from a Fallen's missing head. Drake looked up to Lance, who waved at the two Guardians, before the two of them were engulfed in Light again.

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

Drake and Lance groaned as they landed harshly on their sides on the cold, metallic floor of the Vault. Standing to their feet, Lillian and Amethyst were missing, as Tina and Chelsea fired on a swarm of Harpies approaching their position.

"The hell was that just now?" Lance growled. "How the hell did you know what was going to happen?"

"First day I was brought back, when you and I first met. Lillian and I were talking in the Cosmodrome, when a Vandal attacked her. Then a strange white armored Titan saved our lives. I couldn't recognize the Titan or even make them out." Drake said. "Now I know it was you."

"I never did anything like that, though."

"No." Drake said, firing at the Harpies on their right. "However, this thing sent us to the past. Which means you technically have done this before, just in another time-line. That also means that we successfully killed this bastard."

To their left, Lillian and Amethyst landed on the concrete, standing to their feet immediately. They gave each other a look, before glancing at Drake and the others.

"What the hell was that?" Amethyst asked.

"I don't know. It's a good thing you shot that Prime Servitor though." Lillian nodded. "Where the hell did you two go?"

"You remember the day you and I reunited in the Cosmodrome? When I was first resurrected?" Drake asked. "Lance was the White Titan that saved us."

"Huh. Amethyst and I were sent to a mountain top in the snow. Some weird Prime Servitor was there, so were you though. In fact, all of us were there, but none of you guys acted like anything had happened. I even saw a duplicate of myself and Amethyst there."

"This Vex thing is sending us forwards and backwards in time, then." Chelsea nodded. "Whatever you guys do, you need to fulfill whatever it is we accomplished in those times."

In a flash, before anyone could continue, Amethyst, Lillian, Drake, and Chelsea disappeared. In that time, Lance could notice Atheon standing there, frozen as it's midsection glowed an odd gold.

"That guy is glowing the same as the Gorgons were." Lance shook his head. "Does that mean-"

Before he could finish his sentence, he looked over towards Tina. Her form was transparent, as if he could see through her, and her form was fading rather quickly. Instinctively, she threw her Ghost at him, as he linked it to his own Ghost. Within a moment, she was gone. He was holding a Ghost, but his memory as to whom it belonged to was slowly fading. He could remember her name, but it was becoming suppressed.

It was the same with the rest of them. He couldn't remember their names, but he could remember their faces. Hidden behind the pillar he stood behind, Lance watched as Atheon began to move again. Stepping out, he took pot shots at Atheon, firing his Auto Rifle at the now dull midsection of the Vex machine.

"Come on Lance." Lance grit his teeth, firing his rifle, ignoring the flood of Harpies converging on his location. "Don't forget them, who they are. You're the only one that can help them."

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

"If you can't look up at the stars after a mild jog like that, you won't be a proper Titan." Caldwell sneered, pressing his boot into Lance's rib cage.

"I tried my hardest, why can't you just let me learn at my own pace?"

"With the state of the world as it is, we can't afford to wait that long." Caldwell growled. "If your great grandfather Drake were here to see this, he'd be disappointed at your lack of discipline."

"My mother was a Warlock. I'm sorry if I'm more intellectually gifted." Lance groaned, as Caldwell pressed harder into his ribs.

"Exactly. This is why I will teach you discipline, no matter how hard I have to hurt you."

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

"I hated him. His very name made my heart surge with adrenaline." Lance growled to himself, keeping his fire steady on Atheon's core. "My father's expectations were too high. He wanted me to be your copy, not for the sake of the City, but for fame."

Lance jumped up in time for the explosive Harpies beneath him to crash into each other. Upon impact, the Harpies chirped once, before exploding wildly. Landing, he watched as Atheon's arm reached up, the golden light appearing again.

Remaining out of Atheon's sight, Lance wasn't surprised when he saw a flash of light again.

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

"Lance, you here?" a familiar voice called out to Lance via comms.

"I've been waiting on the terrace for five minutes now, freezing my ass off. You wanna hurry up?" Lance heard himself say to his right.

Lance recognized this scene, it was his first mission with that Titan he hated since the man was resurrected. Before his duplicate noticed him, Lance used the white armor effect the time skip caused him to have to blend in.

"What the hell are you doing?!" the Titan growled.

"We were told to exterminate the target and gather data, no?!" Lance's copy scoffed. "My Ghost and I will find a terminal while you cover us."

While the two were distracted, Lance sneaked inside the Fallen base behind him. When he had rushed in here back then, there were some dead Fallen that littered the floor, Fallen he wouldn't have been able to take on then. Using only his Fist of Havoc, Lance dispatched the Captains in short time, hiding inside one of the doors. He heard his duplicate's boots rushing inside.

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

"The Titan was just as my father had said. He was blunt, he was to the point." Lance growled. "However, he saved my life. He proved to me there was more to being a Titan than what my father had told me."

Lance continued to fire on Atheon, who was now moving as Lance returned to the present. His rifle clicked, his ammo completely out for his rifle. Growling, he pulled his sniper rifle out and began to take pot shots on Atheon, avoiding any and all of the Harpies that would occasionally swarm.

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

"A Warpath Titan is the Stratus family's most well known trait." Zavala said, arms crossed. "It is when a Titan goes above the realm of a normal Sunbreaker. They can fashion a weapon of any design out of their Light."

"For Kabr's father, it was a Battleaxe, the very same replicated by the Iron Lords during the Collapse." Zavala recounted. "Kabr's Solar Light fashioned Raze Lighter. It was special, however, as it's blade only formed when Light was put into the sword. The more powerful the Light, the hotter the blade burned."

"------ Stratus' was unique, however." Zavala continued. "He managed to create numerous with his Warpath Light. He is well known for the flame thrower helmet trick that your father uses. However, he can also allegedly create a Warhammer."

"When you're body is ready to wield Solar Light, I have no doubt in my mind that you will join your family in having the strongest Titan Lights seen post collapse." Zavala nodded.

Lance's duplicate scoffed as the lesson continued. Lance didn't recall seeing another Titan when this event occurred, so he made himself hidden. He did, however, recall Chelsea interrupting the lesson to speak with Zavala, complaining that a Titan ran into her harshly.

Walking as briskly as he could, Lance noticed past-Chelsea approaching. Pitching his shoulder into hers, he walked past and kept on going.

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

"Despite how much I hated him a couple of years ago." Lance growled to himself, firing the Sniper Rifle into Atheon's chest until it too clicked empty. "I wouldn't trade my time with him or any of them for the world."

To his left, he began to see Ghosts appear out of thin air. The majority of them were white, with the exception of two. One was red with white stripes and a pink eye light. The other was light grey, with purple stripes. At the sight of the grey Ghost, Lance's heart lurched. It was familiar, and foreign simultaneously.

"No.." Lance shook his head. "No.. You can't have them. You can't have HER!"

His stomach erupted, feeling an almost unbearable heat forming in the pit of his stomach. He stared with wide eyes at the Ghost in front of him, his hands clenching the back of his helmet. Gritting his teeth, he felt the warmth begin to spread to his legs, up his torso, and into his arms. It was like pins and needles poking every inch of him.

He chuckled to himself, as the feeling of flames licking the back of his eyes suddenly overtook his head. In a mixture of growling and laughter, Lance began to itch his helmet. The act was futile, as was his attempts to suppress the itchy sensation washing over his body. He could see her face, her fading expression, deep in the lowest, darkest cave in the Cosmodrome.

She had given him a new purpose. She had been his best friend after the others died to Crota. She had been there for him, where few else were. He loved her, and she loved him. Gritting his teeth, the fiery feeling in his stomach stoked even higher, causing him to double over.

"You're going to pay." Lance snarled, staring at the Ghosts. "You're going to pay for everyone that suffered because of you."

As the fire began to seep from within, Lance noticed as the armor covering him also became engulfed in licking fire. His left hand began to burn with an unbearably uncomfortable fire. He clenched it, as something began to form in his hand. Looking down, he saw what he could only assume was a Warlock's Solar grenade. The fire in his hand pulsed, like a song echoing in the back of his head.

Closing his eyes, Lance reached out to his right. His hand grasped onto some sort of metal. He could picture the weapon, an ornate battleaxe. The Harpies swarmed around him, at least thirty of them in the crowd. Before he could move, they exploded in unison, casting him into darkness.

Yet, the fire didn't falter. In fact, he felt more determined than ever. With a roar, Lance's eyes snapped open. His left palm remained open, covered in a layer of blue fire. In his right hand, however, was a massive two handed battleaxe.

"You're going to pay, for trying to take Chelsea away from me!" Lance roared. "Guardians make their OWN fate. We don't limit ourselves to the likes of the Darkness!"

Turning around the corner, Lance used the boosters on his boots to launch himself into the air. Holding his left hand out, he threw the Solar Grenade at Atheon, the robot flinching as the fire licked at it's form. With a flash of Light, Lance's left hand filled with a Solar Light Machine gun.

Wings of Solar Light erupted from Lance's back, holding him aloft as he fired a hail of solar infused rounds directly into Atheon's mid-section. As the wings behind him faded, Lance landed on the small platform in front of Atheon. Continuing the fire with the machine gun in his left hand, Lance charged towards Atheon with the axe in his right hand.

Jumping, Lance tossed the machine gun aside, holding the axe high above his head. Swinging the axe head down on Atheon, it implanted itself in the left shoulder of the giant Vex mech. Landing on his feet just before Atheon, Lance brought his left hand up, a pillar of fire crashing down on Atheon's form.

The Vex machine's mechanical screams echoed in the Vault, as glowing golden orbs began to appear all around them. Atheon stomped it's right foot down, the force of the impact was enough to send Lance flying back into the crowd of Ghosts. Determined, he stood as the Oracles of Time began to weave his fate.

Instead of feeling fear, Lance only felt pride. He knew they would fail to complete their task. Holding out his right and left hands, Lance used the remainder of his pent up Solar Light to give Arianna and Lillian's new Ghost the Light they required to resurrect.

Drake smirked, holding up a neatly crafted shield with a Vex eye in the dead center. The Stratus family's Light pulsed off of the shield, forming an orb of protection around the Guardians inhabiting it. Lillian used her Light to bring Tina and Chelsea back from the dead. Atheon, on the other hand, seized up as it's last ditch effort to destroy the Guardians and rewrite history in it's favor failed.

"Kabr Stratus may not be alive anymore as I knew him." Drake growled. "However, his Light will continue to protect his family for CENTURIES to come. Because he loved his family, and he'd never let them die for anything."

Lance, Chelsea, Tina, the recently resurrected Amethyst, and Lillian all held their hands out towards the shield in Drake's hands. Infusing their own unique Lights with his and the remnants of Kabrs imbibed in the shield, Drake roared as a pulse of Light surged from the front of the protective sheet of metal.

It struck Atheon, his Oracles exploding like fireworks all around him. Fire danced along the Vex's frame, while arcs of electricity webbed between it's arms and legs, Void tendrils anchoring it to the ground. Feeling the excess Light granted by Kabr coursing through them, the six Guardians marched forward at the glitching Vex mech.

Electricity arced between Chelsea's hands, Void energy welling up in Tina's, a golden Hand Cannon appeared in Lillian's, a Solar Warhammer in Drakes, a Solar Battleaxe in Lance's, and a Hammer of Sol in Amethysts. At once, the Guardians released the full power of their Lights at Atheon. The damage the Vex creature sustained became too much, as Atheon slowly disappearing.

The crystal wall in the back of the room began to crumble, cracking from the very top to the very bottom. Large fragments began to crash down into the platform in front of them. The ground beneath the Guardians shook, as the Vault around them started to destabilize. Drake was the first to walk out, pausing for only a moment to take a look at Kabr's Titan Mark.

"Sorry Pops. I really failed you." Drake shook his head. "I wish I had come sooner."

"On the contrary, I'm glad you didn't." Drake could hear Kabr bickering back at him. "I always had the chance to, but I never actually got around to saying it. I'm proud of you, son. I know you'll accomplish great things."

"Just, take care of Tadpole for me, okay?" Kabr snickered, before his head slumped back into position.

"Was that-?" Lance asked, as Drake placed a hand on his shoulder.

"One last Time flux." Drake smiled. "One where we were successful while he was still alive. Come on, let's let the old man finally rest."

"You're not going to take his Mark?" Lillian asked.

"It's my father's." Drake shook his head. "He may have wanted me to have it, but he already gave me one. However, there is one Titan who could benefit from it."

Reaching down, Drake gently took the mark off of his father's hip. Nodding a silent prayer for Kabr the Legionless, Drake turned to Lance.

"You've come a long way from the angsty kid I met all those years ago." Drake said. "The Striker's Mark is a symbol of a Titan's electric personality. It may symbolize the easiest Titan technique, but it is also one of our most powerful."

"It not only symbolizes a Titan's place amongst their fellow Titans. It is a symbol of mastery over one's own mind, their heart, and the discipline they use to carry themselves." Drake continued. "Unlike a Defender or a Sunbreaker, a Striker Titan is not hot headed, or overly cautious. They are leaders, they are not afraid to put themselves on the line, so that others may live in their stead."

"Kabr's favorite technique was always the Striker, because he never wanted to put other Titans to shame with his Warpath techniques." Drake continued.

"As my father once did with Amethyst and myself, I, son of Kabr Stratus, confer upon you the Mark of the Striker. You are to be recognized as the most elite of the Titan Order. You are not just a Defender, you are not just a Sunbreaker nor a Warpath Titan." Drake smirked, offering the sash ceremoniously to Lance. "You are a beacon of the City. You are a part of the Wall, and you carry within this sash of fabric the very soul and meaning that comes with being a Titan."

"Thank you, Drake." Lance said, accepting the Mark and carefully placing it on his hip.

"Now, let's get the hell out of here." Drake said. "The Wall has fallen and Saladin has been waiting long enough."

"This is Ikora Rey, can you read me?"

"Loud and clear." Drake nodded as the group finally navigated their way out of the Vault.

Thankfully for them, the Gorgons and all other sources of Vex time manipulation tech seemed to be dealt with. Whether it was permanent or temporary was yet to be seen, but it was also for another day. As they glanced at the fresh sunlight, they gave each other a once over, before continuing the conversation.

"The Vanguard wishes to speak with you directly, Drake. Ikora replied. "More specifically, I would like to speak with you, Lillian, and Amethyst."

"Sure, but what about the Cosmodrome?" Lance piped in. "I mean, something has broken through the wall."

"Yes, regarding this, the Vanguard has sent one of our best scouts to accompany Lord Saladin. However, Saladin has requested immediate reinforcements on the mountain." Ikora said, the comms. crackling for only a moment. "Zavala wants you and the others to investigate while we have our discussion with Drake and the others."

"We'll be there." Drake said, before turning to Lance. "I don't know what is so important on Felwinter Peak that you need to bustle there. Be safe, the rest of us will link up with you when we can."

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

"Lord Saladin, this is Lance Stratus, over?" Lance asked, rolling his eyes as he waited for a response.

"I hear you, Guardian." Saladin's gravely voice replied. "Where is my old mentor, Lillian, or Amethyst?"

"The Vanguard wanted tea and crumpets with their predecessors is my guess." Lance sighed. "Before you ask, I've learned the Titan Warpath technique. So I know and will soon have mastered all Titan Techniques."

"Forgive me if I am not immediately thrilled by this news." Saladin replied. "It is no small matter, but celebrations can wait. Can you get to Felwinter Peak?"

"We're currently in orbit above Earth." Lance nodded. "Of course, it looks like there is a hell of a blizzard at the peak."

"Then you and your fireteam will have no choice but to ascend the mountain."

"I don't really quite understand what the urgency is, what's in the Temple?" Lance scoffed.

"The Temple and it's secrets are my responsibility, but I currently need your assistance to clear the mountain from Fallen Devil personnel." Saladin said. "I am currently elsewhere and cannot get there in time."

Lance nodded, punching in custom coordinates to the general location of Felwinter Peak, the mountain range overlooking the Last City. The coordinates were sent in sync to Chelsea and Tina, as their ships dipped into the horizon. His Ghost floated gingerly over his shoulder, examining the topographical map of the area.

"It appears there is a Gondola system that leads to the top of the mountain." the Ghost turned to him. "Perhaps that would be the best move?"

"Good call." Lance nodded. "You two hear that?"

Green acknowledgement lights filled Lance's Head's Up Display, alerting him to their agreement. As their ships hovered just in the Stratosphere, Lance leaned back for a bit and sighed. Things had been so different ever since Drake and the others had come into his life. Had they not have influenced him, he wouldn't be here now, leading his own fireteam against the Fallen.

"Guardians, if I may have a brief moment of your time." Saladin's voice crackled in again.

"Go ahead, Lord Saladin." Lance nodded, flicking a switch and opening the comm to his ships internal communications system.

"In the years following the Collapse, the world had never heard of a Guardian." Saladin said, much to Lance's confusion. "There were only Iron Lords."

"What about the Risen that Lillian and Drake told us about? Guardians before they were Guardians?"

"Drake and Lillian died before the Iron Banner was formed, were they alive at the time, they would have been invited to join our noble cause." Saladin replied. "We were immortal, fearless. We united to protect survivors of a once-great age."

"Our battle was a lot more than a struggling crawl out of shadows." Saladin replied, a shot that caused Lance to grit his teeth. "We were determined to give Humanity the future it was slowly losing."

"Where are all they in all of this, then?" Lance asked. "Surely you aren't the only Iron Lord left? Whatever happened to; 'The Iron Lords are watching' whenever you hosted the Iron Banner tournaments?"

There was a brief stillness, a quiet that caused even Lance to shiver. He stared out his window at the large mountain, his and his fireteam's ships drawing ever near to it.

"Some know the Legend." Saladin finally spoke, a bit of hesitation dripping from his words. "Not many know how the Iron Lords died their final deaths.

Drake's heart panged as he felt immediate regret for his snarky remark. He had never heard of the Legend that the Iron Lords were dead. Even Master Rahool, who was more of a Master gossiper, had never told him a rumor even hinting at their deaths.

"I'm sorry." Lance said. "I was out of line."

"You didn't know. Saladin sighed. "It was something you had to be there for. To witness. To Remember. To know that even Heroes could die."

Lance could tell by Chelsea's silence that she was likely teary eyed and had muted her microphone. Shaking his head, he could only imagine and fear what must have happened.

"It proved that even survival wasn't always a victory." Saladin said. "I have been the lone sentry. My watch has been eternal. I have been waiting for the day the thing we accidentally disrupted would return."

"I preceded over Iron Banner tournaments, to test the mettle and determination of Guardians across the system. My sworn duty to my fallen comrades, to keep the tradition alive." Saladin continued. "The Iron Lords are gone, but our fight is far from over."

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

"I want to get right to the point." Ikora sighed. "Zavala is not in a very good mood right now, and Cayde is currently busy keeping in contact with our scout."

"Who did you send?" Lillian asked, tilting her head inquisitively.

"Shiro-4. One of your students, if memory serves." Ikora nodded with a smirk.

"Him and Cayde were like twins." Lillian nodded.

"Please proceed." Drake said. "Please understand as a Titan, this constant sitting around, knowing that the Wall has been infiltrated, is digging at my skin."

"Right." Ikora said. "The Fallen House of Devils is back. Their volume in the Cosmodrome, if you recall, tapered off for a while during Crota's attempted return."

"Some of our scouts across the system have been observing them. Typical Fallen behavior, they've been digging into ancient Golden Age research labs as far as they could muster."

"Great. Another thing to deal with." Amethyst shook her head.

"Not necessarily." Drake turned to face her. "Lance and I killed Kraxsis, the Devil's Archon Priest. Lance's father Caldwell also took our Fraxsis, the Devil's second Kell since Saint 14 killed the first."

"It's much more than that, I'm afraid." Ikora sighed. "These weren't their typical pillaging missions, these were intentional, as if they were looking for and discovered something."

"I'll admit that the Vanguard wasn't particularly concerned by this behavior, for the exact reason you stated Drake." Ikora frowned. "It was when they came back that we found reason for concern."

"I get the feeling you're going to bring up something I really don't want to hear." Drake crossed his arms.

"The Devils have been transporting a massive amount of materials, resources, and personnel beyond the wall." Ikora shifted in her boots at the thought. "They've breached into the Plaguelands."

Drake's arms uncrossed for only a moment, his eyes widening as he took a step back. The Plaguelands were aptly named, as they were a dead-zone for any troops that stepped foot in them during the Collapse. A no-man's land, of sorts.

"The very fact that Lord Saladin has gotten this worked up can only further express how vital this operation is." Ikora replied.

"Didn't Jeremy use to have a relative that worked in the Plaguelands prior to the Collapse?" Lillian asked, turning to Drake.

"Yeah. The damn egghead kept bragging that the relative was a representative of Clovis Bray Exoscience." Drake growled. "SITE 6 in the Plaguelands was their pet-project. They used it to test on colony ships, or something like that. It was some mad science that made them an easy target for the Fallen during the Collapse."

"It was because of the Plaguelands that the Battle of Twilight Gap took place." Drake shook his head. "We pushed them out of the Plaguelands and into the Cosmodrome, but then proceeded to keep them out of Last City. That was the Battle of Six Fronts, though I wasn't alive for that one."

"I was." Amethyst shrugged. "Thanks to you and your Six Pillar's victories at Twilight, Shaxx, Lord Saladin and I all managed to keep them out."

There was a silence between the group, before Drake slammed his fist down on the table in front of him.

"They must have found what Owl Sector protected." Drake grit his teeth. "We need to head to Clovis Bray immediately."

"Mars?" Amethyst shook her head in disbelief. "What about the Wall, the Cosmodrome?"

"The Fallen are taken care of, we have Lance and the others on it." Drake said. "If my hunch is proven at Clovis Bray, this whole Wall thing is a symptom to a greater disease, and I don't like it."

"It is as I have feared. A group of Fallen have captured Felwinter's Peak in my absence. My team and I are en route, but we won't get there in time due to the blizzard." Saladin growled. "I need you three to get to the top of the mountain and secure that observatory."

"One star-watch, coming up." Lance said, as he and his fireteam's ships dipped low.

As they passed over the ground, the Guardians' respective Ghosts transported them to the Earth. Lance's boots crunched in the snow as he stumbled forward a moment. Regaining his composure, he glanced around the snow covered forest and cliffside in front of them.

"The Gondola was just up ahead." Lance tilted his head in a gesture. "Let's move."

As the Titan and two Warlocks crunched through the snow, the ever present popping of a Fallen Skiff jumping into their local airspace caused them to flinch. There was little cover out in the open, and Lance was still faintly recovering from his time in the Vault, with all of the Light he had used.

"Fallen patrol ahead." Chelsea said, pointing to a trio of Fallen Shank turrets and a group of four or so Dregs, led by a single Vandal.

"Weapons free Guardians." Lance said. "Just get to that Gondola. Try not to damage it too badly."

Taking a knee, Lance pulsed his auto rifle. The Light-infused rounds struck the chest of the Vandal, putting it in the ground. Tina opened fire with her hand cannon, each shot sounding like a condensed explosion due to the acoustics of the mountain. With three bullets, she managed to kill the three Shanks, and with one last round, she put one of the Dregs out of the fight.

The remaining Dregs' shock pistols whined as they fired the small tracking bolts of arc energy back at the fireteam. Chelsea opened fire immediately with his Pulse Rifle, the controlled burst fire weapon having immediate effect on the Dregs. When the last of the ether wisped out of their neck holes, the Guardians approached the Gondola.

"Woah." Lance's Ghost shook it's form as it attempted to hack into the Gondola controls. "This Gondola hasn't been active in more than four hundred years."

"The Iron Lords had little time to trifle with old pre-Golden-Age tech." Saladin chimed in.

"Don't you think it's a bit ambitious that the three of us could take an entire observatory by ourselves?" Tina asked, raising her handcannon to emphasis her shrug.

"There is a compound to the rear of the observatory. If you can manage to secure that, you should be able to keep the Fallen at bay long enough for my team and I to arrive."

"Can't say I blame you." Chelsea said. "That blizzard is really raging right now."

"The Iron Temple is too important to lose Guardians. I need you to secure it."

"Wait." Tina shook her head. "I thought we were going to save an observatory? Why the hell do we need to secure the Iron Lord's Temple?"

"Obviously because it's unguarded." Lance said. "Saladin can't be in four places at once."

"With a Blink, it'd be a snap." Tina shrugged.

"Titans don't need to blink or Blink." Lance scoffed. "We're perfectly alright in combat without having to teleport, thank you very much."

"Stay focused you three. There is too much at stake here."

"Some answers would be nice, if I'm being honest." Chelsea sighed.

"In due time, Warlock." Saladin replied.

"Head's up, we've got Vandal snipers on our right!" Lance called, swapping to his sniper rifle.

As the old Gondola continued up the mountain, the sheer number of Fallen ambushes on the nearby cliffs kept the Guardians on their toes and ready for anything. Lance's Ghost appeared in front of him, shaking his form.

"Have I ever told you I absolutely despise this old metal box?"

Almost on cue, a Fallen Skiff jumped into view. Almost immediately, it's front facing cannons opened fire, blowing a massive hole directly in the side of the Gondola. Tina screamed in pain as a piece of shrapnel embedded itself in her leg.

"We're not taking another hit like that, Guardians." Lance's Ghost said. "Jump!"

Lance groaned as he hoisted Tina into a side carry, before jumping out the hole with Chelsea at his side. Luckily for them, there was a rocky outcrop they could land on. As they neared it, Chelsea flittered down with her Glide ability, while Lance activated his boosters. Placing Tina gently on the ground, he wrapped his arms around the large smoldering piece of metal in her right leg.

"It will hurt a lot, but you Warlocks heal fast, right?" Lance said, as Tina silently nodded. "Alright, on the count of five. One- two-"

On two, Lance pulled the metal out of her leg. Tina screamed as the metal painfully exited the wound, though the Light inside her body set to work immediately healing it. With a growl, she cuffed him on the side of the head.

"Can you Titan's not count?" Tina growled.

"Sure can." Lance smirked beneath his helmet. "I did it early so you wouldn't tense and make it worse."

"Oh." Tina said. "You're still a dick."

"You aren't the first, nor the last to call me that." Lance grinned, offering her a hand. "Come on, we've got to keep moving."

Scaling their way up the rocky cliffside, the three Guardians surprisingly met little resistance. As they drew nearer to the top, however, they could tell the fight was going to be a lot more difficult than anticipated.

"Stop." Lance said. "Did anyone else hear that groan?"

"Yeah, it sounded like a Fallen Prime Servitor." Chelsea shook her head. "It can't be the Devil's Prime Servitor though, Sepiks Prime was killed by the Guardian of Legend's Fire-team."

"Never say die when referring to a machine." Lance growled.

As the Guardians turned around the bend, surely enough, an oddly misshapen Prime Servitor floated high above their heads. It had a strange, almost foreign red glow as opposed to the usual purple glow of a typical Servitor. More importantly, black chunks covered it's entire form, with it's typical spherical shape being replaced by a more asymmetrical oval.

"That's Sepiks Prime alright." Tina shook her head. "How is it alive?"

"There's something odd in the energy signature." Lance's Ghost spoke via the comms. "It's not Fallen tech, but it's regenerating."

"It's REGENERATING?!" Saladin growled. "Kill Sepiks Guardians, KILL. IT. NOW."

Almost as if on cue, Sepiks Prime disappeared from sight. Lance growled some obscenities, as the door to the Iron Temple stood proudly before them. The Iron Lord crest of arms was expertly marked on the door. A shield made the back drop, while two mighty hands clasped a Battleaxe of pure fire and steel.

In the distance, near the back of the compound and the actual entrance to the Iron Temple, Sepiks Prime fired the massive Servitor based energy blasts at the Temple doors.

"If what's on Sepiks is what I think it is, those doors will not hold for long. You must destroy the machine, Guardians!"

"We're working on it!" Lance bellowed, firing sniper rounds into the exposed exo-skeleton of the robot.

Working their way up the symmetrical stairway to the doorway Sepiks was firing on, the three Guardians held their ground behind the ornate pillars holding the Temple together. Taking turns firing pot shots at Sepiks' new chassis, Lance and the others realized they were soon going to run out of ammunition.

"Come on guys!" Lance grit his teeth. "If we kill Sepiks, maybe that will demoralize the Fallen!"

"I've got bad news for you, Fallen Skiffs are inbound, and they've got reinforcements!" Tina called out from his far right.

"You guys ever play King of the Mountain?" Lance shouted. "If push comes to shove, I'll just start throwing the fuckers at Sepiks!"

"I think it's that time!" Chelsea called. "I'm out!"

"I'm fashioning you some as soon as I can." Chelsea's Ghost replied. "It'll take a moment though."

"Shit, me too." Lance growled, glancing over at Tina, who also was clicking with nothing. "Light it is. You guys, converge on me!"

Standing out in the open, Lance thrust his arms out wide. The Ward of Dawn void bubble appeared around Lance. Chelsea and Tina nodded, rushing inside, allowing the Light of the bubble to further infuse with their weapons and their own Light. Chelsea and Tina charged forward with Light-shields around themselves like energy shields. Jumping forward, two massive sized balls of Void energy struck Sepiks.

The Servitor made on last mechanical yelp, as it's outer shell burst off, the core of the Servitor inside spinning catatonic-ally, before pluming into a violet and red explosion. As the explosion tapered off, so did the blizzard. Lance and his fellow Guardians sighed in relief, before turning to the large Iron Temple door.

"All this just to break into a Temple?" Tina asked. "The Fallen really are desperate."

Before anyone could reply, the roar of a passing ship exploded behind them. Lance and the others turned in time to see an ornate golden ship with beautiful markings float over head. In a flash, Lord Saladin appeared in between them, a Machine Gun in his hands. Charging at Lance, who stood at the front of the group, Lance flinched as Saladin fired two rounds.

Only, his targets were a pair of stealth Vandals who showed themselves behind the very pillars the Guardians had just been using for cover. With the Vandals down and the question of enemy stragglers answered, Saladin turned to Lance with a curt nod.

"Even Old Wolves still bite, Guardian." Saladin walked past the three Guardians up to the front door. "Shiro, what's your status?"

"Making one last circle around to ensure the area's secure. Be there in a sec."

"Well done, Guardians. With the Temple secured, we can-"

To the surprise of all involved, the same Servitor metallic groan of Sepiks resounded behind them. Lance raised his Auto Rifle, as Chelsea, Tina, and even Saladin raised their weapons to bare. Before any of them could open fire, Sepiks rose from the ground, and with one shiver, disappeared in a series of red and black fragments.

"Shiro! Get a lock on him!"

"I just picked up- wait. Several impacts on the wall in Sector 17!"

"They're attacking the sensor grid." Saladin growled. "They must know where SIVA is!"

Turning on his boots, Saladin walked right up to Lance and the others. Shaking his head in disbelief, he raised the Machine Gun in his hands to emphasize his shrug.

"Guardians, go to the Cosmodrome. If Sepiks escapes us, the Fallen won't be our only problem!"

"Wait, who or what the hell is SIVA?" Lance asked.

"There is no time, please just trust me and go!"

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

"So, how is it the Cosmodrome is under attack... yet we're on Mars?" Amethyst asked.

"You weren't Vanguard, so you don't know about Owl Sector or SIVA."

"Answering my question with a totally irrelevant statement isn't really helping."

Drake sighed, as they stepped over the small platoon of Cabal turtles they had managed to kill upon their arrival. As they walked through the now sand filled, once great City of Freehold, Drake took a look at the nearest insignia for Clovis Bray Exoscience.

"Owl Sector was a designation given to the Vanguard and affliates when Mars was invaded by the Cabal at the start of the Collapse. It gave us basic knowledge on the projects that Clovis Bray were preparing." Drake said. "However, I was too self righteous at the time to give a damn about it. I left that to Jeremy and Lillian to handle."

"Clovis Bray, before the Collapse and during, were running two major projects at the time. One was known as Transmission. It was an attempt to give the average Human the strength, speed, and intellect of a Risen." Lillian explained. "Unfortunately, Project Transmission ended up a total failure, according to Jeremy, as it caused terrible side-effects to occur in most of the subjects, sans one."

"As for SIVA, all we learned was that it was going to help colonization of the known Universe." Drake said. "Everything beyond that is still a mystery, even to Lillian and I. More important to note, however, is that I gave the go-ahead for SITE 6 to be built in the Plaguelands, as they said it would improve Colony ships."

"If SIVA is what the Fallen were after, and it's the thing Saladin's fearing?" Drake shuddered at the thought. "Either the Fallen hit the jackpot, or Humanity is just extremely unlucky."

"My glimmer is on both." Lillian sighed.

"Well, if we know SIVA is in SITE 6, then why are we here on Mars?"

"We don't know if SIVA is there." Drake said. "Clovis Bray is where it originated, and I've met Clovis personally. The man not only hated maps, but he also had a fancy for hiding secret labs to conduct personal experiments. If SIVA is his child, I'm willing to bet we'll find it in one of them."

"I'd imagine there were a lot though." Amethyst replied. "Spread all throughout Freehold."

"Puzzles are my specialty." Arianna appeared above Drake's shoulder. "Find me a terminal and it'll be a snap."

Drake's eyes went to this silver box like cabinet sprouting out of the floor. He was never really one for science, but he could tell by the many different displays and buttons, that it was likely some sort of security terminal. Holding his hand out, Arianna floated down to the console and began to do her thing.

"Alright, let's see here." Arianna did the mechanical version of clicking a tongue to the roof of her mouth. "That almost wasn't worth the effort. Either Clovis was very confident in his hide and seek skills, or he had a nasty habit of leaving notes everywhere."

"Probably the former." Drake chuckled. "I assume you found it?"

"You won't believe me when I say this... it's right beneath us."

"Are you sure SIVA is there?" Lillian asked.

"The note mentioned something about Project: S. I don't think it stood for Smoothies, but I could be wrong."

Drake smirked as Arianna disappeared back into his armor for safety. The three worked their way through the room beyond. It had been quite some time since Drake had been here last, thankfully he still knew where an elevator shaft was.

The three Guardians clambered down the emergency catwalk located in the elevator shaft to the next floor. Drake stuck a Thermite grenade to the door, before activating it remotely and causing the door to blast open. As the door exploded, Drake took point, checking the corners with his Scout Rifle at the ready.

"We're clear." Drake said, before kicking a dead Fallen Vandal's head with his boot. "Though my guess is it won't be for long."

"With all this thinking and guessing, we'll make you into a Warlock before you know it, supes." Lillian tapped him on the shoulder.

"Blow me." Drake shook his head with a chuckle.

"Now?" Lillian asked. "Or after we deal with the Cabal troops inbound?"

"That a threat or a promise?"

"Okay, you two need to stop." Amethyst shook her head.

"My thoughts exactly. There is a terminal ahead, a data center if you will. I'll check it out."

"You heard the lady, keep the Cabal off her back while she does her thing.' Drake said, standing as a wall between his Ghost and any outside forces.

Surely enough, the tremendous thuds of Cabal troops echoed through the elevator shaft, along with an off branching secret door to Drake's right. As they approached, the three Guardians prepped themselves.

"Fascinating! There were actually many prototypes. One focused on building architecture and colonization, one on Viral Armor enhancements- that'd be pretty handy, and cybernetic diagnostics." Arianna announced. "I'd bet all of Drake's glimmer that that last one was the one they were after."

"Great work, now just copy it all and we'll-" Drake started, as a massive Cabal Juggernaut stomped in through the elevator shaft. "Lovely. Sooner the better please!"

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

"So, Lord Saladin?" Chelsea asked. "I've done extensive research into the Vanguard's archives, but they never once mentioned SIVA."

"That is because I went to great lengths to lock it away. The records are in the Iron Temple." Saladin replied. "That is why I needed you to secure the location and prevent them from dropping into the Fallen's hands."

"Fair enough." Lance spoke up. "However, if the Fallen know about SIVA, shouldn't we too?"

"What you need to do now is track Sepiks Prime." Saladin grunted. "If you can find him, we will know the true extent of this corruption."

Lance and the others stumbled once more as they left their ships, their boots crunching in a few inches of snow. It had been quite a while since they had been in the Cosmodrome, however the level of snowfall had not been this significant. That was, however, the last of their thoughts in that moment.

Lance and the others saw with their own eyes the extent of the damage to the wall. Not far from where Drake claimed to have been first resurrected, more than three quarters of the wall, in a fifty foot spread of the enormous blockade, was completely missing. More chilling, however, was the giant Fallen Ketch parked precariously over a cliffside to their right.

"Yeah, I don't know what frightens me more." Lance's Ghost nodded it's form. "The giant Ketch to our right, or whatever took a bite out of the Wall."

"What's strange is, with most of the Kells dead and out of the way, amassing an attack of this scale would be near impossible." Shiro, the Vanguard scout, spoke up. "Saladin, you mentioned the sensor grid. Couldn't we just use that to determine the extent of the corruption?"

"Screw the Fallen, they are not important." Saladin huffed. "Following Sepiks is the only thing that matters right now."

Lance rolled his eyes at the thought that a Fallen machine was Saladin's concern, but not the actual foot soldiers themselves. In Lance's eyes and experience, a Prime Servitor was deadly, sure, but not as deadly as a Fallen Captain, especially if this SIVA thing was that dangerous.

As they walked along, however, Chelsea silently pointed towards an odd outcrop seemingly growing, like a plant, out of one of the walls of the Wall itself. As they approached, Chelsea hesitantly released her Ghost to investigate.

"I'm picking up some strange energy signatures, like Lance's Ghost picked up on Sepiks earlier. Except, this stuff seems to be consuming everything around it."

"Like some biological, parasitic, mechanical flora?" Tina asked.

"Yeah, let's go with that."

Saladin sighed over the comms, before speaking once more. "That is SIVA. With the proper directions, it could create anything a civilization would need... at least in theory."

"That sounds pretty delightful, actually." Lance shrugged, before cringing. "Remind me never to say 'delightful' again."

"Aaand I just lost all direct feeds from the Sensor Grid. The waystation for it should be not far from your position."

Lance glanced around for a moment, before his eyes settled on a crudely ripped open whole in the wall. More of the SIVA like plant tendrils lead inside, deciding to follow his hunch, he stepped inside. Surely enough, a trio of terminals in the corner of the room showed pure static on the screen. SIVA tendrils, which were red and black in color, seemingly had swarmed over the terminals, almost as if it were interfacing with it.

"You know I hate to be the bearer of bad news, but, there isn't much left of the grid to repair." Lance's Ghost turned to face him.

"Were there any logs that were left in the databanks?"

"A few, some are solid but the others are jumbled, scrambled even." the Ghost replied. "Shiro, do you think we could cross examine these to figure out what the Fallen have been up to?"

"Go for it."

As Lance's Ghost continued to prod at the terminal controls with it's little laser, he felt an unpleasant feeling in the pit of his stomach. His suspicions were confirmed as he heard chittering on the ceiling above them, along with the scampering of the spider-like creatures clambering along the ceiling.

The terminals shined to life, an unfamiliar signal appearing on the screen in front of the Guardians. It was red in color, and it appeared to be a bold diamond outline, but the bottom left side of the diamond shape was rotated to face outwards. As this happened, he and the others could hear the Fallen above them land on the ground just behind them.

When they turned around, however, they couldn't believe their eyes. Fallen Vandals and Dregs stood before them, but they were changed, new even. Along with onyx black helmets with red eyes, the new Vandals had coal black shoulder pauldrons, with red wires connecting directly from their arms to the back of their necks.

The Dregs on the other hand had changed almost entirely. Much like the Vandals, they now boasted new onyx black armor with the red wires attached, except both of their legs were replaced with metal rods.

"Well, that's new. Hit'em hard!" Lance growled, as he opened fire on them.

To the fireteam's surprise, however, the bullets of Tina's Handcannon and Chelsea's Pulse Rifle seemed somewhat ineffective against the Vandal's helmet. Though they appeared to be slightly tougher to kill, the cyborg Fallen troops did inevitably fall to their focused fire. That was, until a pair of what Lance could only guess were Captains appeared.

Much like the other cyborg Fallen foot soldiers, the Captains sported nice new sleek black armor, and their helmets even looked sleeker, taking on the appearance of two pronged horns. Despite having a stronger energy shield, however, the Captains were manageable and were killed with some extensive ammo consumption.

"Not a big fan of this whole Guardian gig." Tina huffed and puffed. "I'd much rather stay in the Archives and just read constantly."

"I couldn't find Sepiks, but we at least know the extension of the corruption." Lance's Ghost announced.

"Sepiks is no longer an immediate threat, Guardians. I've seen more than enough here to gather that the Fallen have restarted the SIVA replication chamber. Saladin scoffed. "Before I grant you Guardians access to the Plaguelands, I need to speak to you personally."

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

"You know the saying 'the bigger they are, the harder they fall'?" Drake sighed as he placed his right boot on the chest of the fallen Cabal Juggernaut. "I think that applies here."

"When did you fall down?" Amethyst chuckled. "I was too busy kicking ass to notice."

"Ha ha." Drake shook his head. "Arianna?"

"I copied everything we need. We should bring this to Saladin, he probably knows all about this."

"What makes you so sure?" Amethyst asked.

"Because the Iron Lords were the ones to discover SIVA, before Clovis Bray even discussed it with the Vanguard and Owl Sector." Drake said. "Any of the Iron Lords will do, but Saladin is the one we know where to look for."

"What about the Vanguard?" Amethyst asked.

"They have their own agenda. Clearly they couldn't be bothered to send more than ONE damn scout." Drake said. "I've met Shiro before. Cocky son of a bitch can get the job done, but I'm a little upset that Zavala hasn't invested any more personnel or reinforcements."

"No, I think you're just worried about Lance." Amethyst prodded Drake's shoulder.

"If there is one thing I don't worry about, it's that one." Drake nodded his head. "He's made great progress, and one day, I can see him becoming a legendary Titan himself."

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

"What was so urgent you called us here for, Lord Saladin?" Lance asked. "Another Fallen uprising?"

"No. Shiro and I have kept the place secure since you've left. The Fallen found what they needed elsewhere, so I doubt they'll return." Saladin shook his head. "I have come because I have a tradition I would like for you three to uphold for me."

"You brought us all the way here for an errand?" Lance scoffed.

"Listen, Guardian." Saladin warned. "The fires in the braziers you've seen around were once a signal to the City below that the Lords of Iron were there to protect them."

"I doused them some time ago, as I was too busy making sure SIVA was contained, as well as running the Iron Banner tournaments." Saladin planted his fists to his hips. "I feel it is only right that you three should be the ones to light the fires, and remind the City that it is well protected."

"Oh, so that's why you wanted us to have Solar techniques somewhat mastered." Lance nodded. "Alright, we will light the braziers."

As the three were going about the compound they had spent their Earth morning protecting, the three Guardians came together at the largest brazier, just in the middle of the compound, to light it simultaneously.

Behind them, an Exo man stood with his back leaned against a wall. What appeared to be a small data tablet could be seen by his hip, on a small metal crate. He waved the Guardians over, beckoning them to walk over. The tell-tale cape of a Hunter was the first thing that came to Lance's eyes, it was yellow and had a distinct Fallen symbol on it.

"I see your eyeing my cloak. Took it from the Fallen House of Kings in the Cosmodrome while you folks were out killing Oryx." the Exo nodded his head. "We talked a bit on the radio. I'm Shiro-4. I'm Cayde's head scout, but I work predominately for the Vanguard, like you do."

"Nice to see a familiar face." Chelsea smiled.

"I've contacted the Vanguard and they are sending in another Fireteam to assist our cause. Should be here very soon, actually. Anyways, those logs your Ghost picked up at the sub-station? They actually showed a major Fallen occupation of the Plaguelands. Much larger than we had anticipated." Shiro said. "Can I trust you three to clear a path through for the reinforcements to get a foothold?"

"Heh, yeah." Lance grinned. "We can do it."

"Typical Titan attitude." Shiro smirked, before nudging his shoulder. "I've got mad respect for you guys."

"Thanks edge lord." Lance chuckled, placing a hand on Shiro's shoulder. "You Hunter types are warming up to me too."

"Get the hell out of here before I change my mind." Shiro grinned, before turning away from them. "Saladin and the Vanguard have given you the green light Guardians, get going!"

"The Iron Lords believed that we could contain SIVA by destroying the chamber where it was mass produced." Saladin said. "These Fallen Devils must have restarted that process. We need to get back into that chamber and cut SIVA off at the source."

I disagree." Shiro replied. "We should act off of what we know. According to the logs this fireteam has recovered, the Fallen have dug in to an old military bunker in the Plaguelands. We're not getting any reinforcements in that area until they're cleared out."

"Didn't know we were a three man army." Tina sighed.

"After all we've been through with the Hive and no bitching on your end, please don't tell me you're afraid of spider people?"

"I could give a damn less what the Fallen are, I just don't like old, abandoned places."

"Tina, the entire Earth is practically abandoned thanks to the Collapse." Lance shook his head. "We get this done, and you can read as many books as your frail heart desires."

"Asshole."

"Now you're learning, Warlock." Lance teased. "We'll be landing in three."

"Not with the counting again..."

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

"Never been here before." Drake whistled, glancing over the compound in front of him. "Should have joined the Iron Lords sooner."

"The offer was on the table, mentor, but you went out in a blaze of glory." Saladin said, his helmet nestled gently at his side.

His skin showed definite age, wrinkles easily noticed on his slightly darker brown skin. His hair, while short and stubby, had a hint of grey and white added in with the default black.

"Lord Saladin, it's good to see you again." Drake said. "Of course, in this day and age, I guess it's always the worst times, eh?"

"True." Saladin nodded. "I was afraid you weren't coming."

"And miss the party with the Wall? Never in a million years." Drake crossed his arms. "Instead, we took a detour to Mars to visit our friendly neighborhood mad scientist's place."

"You went to Clovis Bray?" Shiro-4's familiar voice said to Drake's right.

"Yep. Got some information and records from the man himself about SIVA. Not really much was explained in great detail, but it does give us some information to run off of on the off chance this is the problem we're facing."

"Sadly, it is." Saladin said.

"The other Iron Lords are informed then?" Drake asked.

There was silence between the two Titans, as Saladin's face noticeably saddened. Placing a hand endearingly on Drake's shoulder, Lord Saladin tilted his head in the direction of the Iron Temple.

"Come walk with me, mentor. We have much to discuss."

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

"See? That wasn't so hard, now was it?" Lance asked, wiping some excess ether off of his auto rifle.

"No amount of washing will ever clean me of these ether stains." Tina grumbled.

"Consider it a trophy of your actions today."

"I'm not a barbarian."

"No, but for a scholar you do a lot of talking and not a lot of learning." Lance rolled his eyes. "Shiro, we're in the bunker, but there is a shield blocking the door to the anti-air guns at the top."

"SIVA is a machine, right? So there has to be something powering that shield. Find it, clear it, and keep moving."

"I'm not to sure he's a Hunter. He likes giving orders way too much." Chelsea shrugged.

"I heard that."

Lance shook his head as he began to search the bunker for any hints pertaining on how to push forward. On the walls, he discovered a pair of red SIVA nodes on the wall. They bloomed outwards like a luminous red flower, except the pollen was small SIVA nanites, or some scientific mumbo jumbo like that.

With a few well placed salvos from his auto rifles, the pair of blooming SIVA nodes exploded violently. Turning his attention to the shield door, he discovered it was no longer blocked. With a silent pat on his shoulder, Lance passed the two Warlocks and into the stairwell.

The ground rumbled beneath their feet as the cannons on the top of the bunker opened fire. The stair stepping was much more difficult with this, but they did eventually reach the top of the stairs.

"This is most definitely a beach-head for the Fallen Splicers." Shiro said. "If we had been here a moment later, they could have been knocking on our doorstep."

"I don't think so." Chelsea shook her head. "Their conduct with the SIVA so far has been akin to a child that was given a new toy."

"Not many toys I've heard of that rip apart old Russian structures, but good analogy nonetheless."

"Hey Shiro, by the way, your intel is shit." Lance growled. "Those anti-air guns you said were destroyed? SIVA undestroyed them."

"U-Undestroyed?"

"He means the once inoperable guns were made functional again because of these massive SIVA tendrils." Chelsea replied.

"I'll just stick with undestroyed." Shiro said "Just like those generators, get in those guns and destroy a SIVA node!"

"No input from the expert?" Lance asked.

"He's talking with the reinforcements right now, catching them up to speed." Shiro replied. "Zavala's willing to send Hawks, but we kind of need those guns down."

"Holy shit." Lance nodded. "Consider it done."

"Hawks?" Tina asked, turning to him. "We're sending birds to fight the Fallen now?"

"They're aircraft meant for the exact purpose of putting more holes in our enemies than swiss cheese or the Moon." Lance said. "I've always wanted to see one in action."

"Three turrets, three Guardians." Lance continued. "Chelsea left, Tina right, I'll take center."

The three Guardians split up, firing on the Fallen Splicers as they made their ways to the infected gun emplacements. Stepping inside his in the center, Lance was not surprised to see a Fallen Splicer Captain waiting for him. Preparing his auto-rifle, he sprinted at the monstrosity.

Dipping under it's highly expected series of right swings from it's two right fists, Lance slid on his hip just behind the Captain. The blooming SIVA node waited for him. Producing a Void Magnetic grenade, he tossed the adhesive grenade to the node, before turning back and swinging the butt of his rifle across the back of the Captains' head.

Behind him, the SIVA node detonated violently, shaking the gun around him, effectively shutting it down. Lance's focus remained solely on the Captain in front of him, a Scorch Cannon in it's top arms. He had tangoed with the Cannons before, rarely seen, extremely powerful.

The only difference was this one crackled with Arc energy. Lance sighed, new Fallen and now new Fallen weapons? Rushing at the Captain, he unleashed the majority of his clip into it's powerful SIVA infused shield. When it broke, Lance smashed his weapon across it's alloyed metallic and chiton covered face.

The Captain kicked him square in the chest, causing Lance to skid backwards further into the gun emplacement. Gritting his teeth, Lance dodged out of the way of a Shock Cannon round, the adhesive, highly devastating shot narrowly avoiding his left boot. With a growl, Lance produced a fiery battleaxe from thin air, fire enveloping himself and the mighty weapon.

Rushing at the Captain, Lance used his momentum to swing it in a wide circle, before jumping and bringing the axe down on the Captain's head. Huffing and puffing, it was a technique he was still mastering, but it had been extremely helpful to him. Relinquishing the now dead Captain from it's Shock Cannon, the Battleaxe returned to wherever he had pulled it from, as he shouldered his new toy.

"That's all of the guns, but I'm detecting Fallen reinforcements are inbound."

Lance practically dropped the Shock Cannon as he stepped out into the fresh air. Reinforcements was much more than an understatement. He was staring down the barrel of a SIVA enhanced Walker tank. Instinctively, he dove back inside just as a mortar hail of five or so SIVA infused missiles crashed down where he had been standing.

"I really, REALLY fucking hate these things!" Lance growled. "Chelsea, Tina, if you killed a Captain with a Cannon, take those things and help me blow this bastard to pieces!"

Surely enough, Drake witnessed as a duo of purple and orange projectiles adhered themselves to the Spliced Walker's legs. With a mighty pair of explosions, two of the legs fragmented into oblivion. Firing his Shock Cannon at the now exposed orange core on it's neck, he held down the trigger to enlarge the explosion radius of the blast.

With it, the Walker Tank began to erupt violently. It's chassis crashed into the snow covered roof, and began to smolder, black smoke raising towards the heavens. Lance stepped outside, with Chelsea and Tina joining up on him.

"Hawks are in bound to secure the position, Guardians." Shiro announced. "We don't have time for a demonstration, Titan, so come on back for now while we plan our next move."

"Centuries have past and I still have learned nothing.0" Saladin growled. "Good to hear your reinforcements are en route. Shiro, will your men be able to maintain control of that area?"

"No promises, but we'll do our damndest."

"Try, then. I need the Guardians here at the Iron Temple. If we are to avoid the mistakes that were made here, all involved will need to discuss the true fate of the Iron Lords."

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

"Welcome Young Wolves." Saladin said. "The others wait for us inside."

Stepping inside, the trio of Guardians and Lord Saladin passed by an elderly Awoken female. To Lance, she almost reminded him of his grandma. Though, the thought of his grandfather's death still weighed heavily on his mind, and he regretted that thought chain.

"This... may not make sense to any of you." Saladin sighed, turning to Drake. "Especially you. However, it took your fight to remind me that immortality does not necessarily mean invincibility."

Lance and Drake walked alongside Saladin to the middle of the Temple's main hall, where statues of men and women in armor extremely similar to Drake's stood. The statues were carved of fine stone and, despite the time since their creation, remarkably lacked any blemishes.

Each of them represented a Hunter, a Warlock, and a Titan, with eight of them in total. Of each, some held ornate swords downwards, with the tips touching the floor and their hands resting on the hilt. The others, however, had a Battleaxe similar to the one Lance had summoned twice now.

"As I have told you in the past, the Iron Banner was formed in respect to the Stratus family, as is apparent by the design of the Iron Axe that you see depicted here." Saladin said. "It was Kabr Stratus' father who gave Titans the ability to produce Solar Light and wield it. A gift that served the Titans depicted here well."

"That is not the whole truth, however." Saladin spoke. "Shortly after the Collapse, but before the Faction Wars, the Iron Lords were created. When our Ghosts first discovered us, those who were chosen were granted power, but not wisdom."

Holding his hand out, an ornate silver and gold Ghost with a peculiar shape floated above the brazier in the center of the room. In a flash of Light, the murals depicted above the statues lit up, and much like a recording, played the memories maintained within them, clear as day.

"The Iron Lords came together under the Iron tree to unite and try to solve Humanity's problems." Saladin sighed. "Instead, we discovered SIVA."

Saladin stared at the murals, the memories of the past events flooding into him. He marched towards one, his eyes scanning it, looking for answers to century old questions.

"We dreamt of using SIVA to build starships and colonies. Humanity would become what the Traveler always knew we could be." Saladin said, before turning to Drake and Lance.

"I knew I shouldn't have trusted SITE 6 when I implemented it." Drake's fists clenched. "Something happened, didn't it?"

"Indeed. SIVA had been lost to time. When the Warlock, Timur, tracked it in the Cosmodrome, in said SITE 6? We thought our quest to be over, that SIVA would be in our grasp."

Saladin continued to pace, before clenching both of his fists. His face narrowed, and an angry gaze fell upon his brow.

"Rasputin responded."

At the name of the old Warmind, the group of six Guardians looked to Drake, who had once been in contact with the Warmind, as an old Vanguard leader.

"Rasputin is a Warmind, he listens to a directive."

"Rasputin has not been a simple Warmind for a very long time, mentor." Saladin growled. "More than a hundred of my Iron Brothers and Sisters ventured out into the Plaguelands."

"In the end, only nine of us actually made it to the SIVA chamber in SITE 6." Saladin said, defeated. "Since we were chosen by the Traveler, and our cause was just... we were certain we would win the day. Until SIVA took control."

Saladin's eyes narrowed as he stared at his boots for a moment, whatever memories coursing through his head clearly haunted him.

"SIVA infected our weapons, our armor. I-it began to corrupt us. This corruption began to puppet us against one another."

Saladin paused for a moment from his reflection, just enough to give a solemn glance at one Titan statue in the distance, across from Drake.

"Is that who I think it is?" Drake asked, as Saladin silently nodded.

"In the end, Lady Jolder sealed the SIVA replication chamber with the Iron Lords, sans myself, inside. It was a means to prevent SIVA from escaping." Saladin stared at her statue. "A battle was won, like you taught her. Heroes died, however, and our mistakes stayed here."

"Hold on." Lance asked. "Rasputin survived though."

"This is not Rasputin. Neither is it something I know how to fight."

Saladin turned to Drake, who shrugged.

"I don't know how to fight it either, except to replicate what the Iron Lords did and seal it away."

"My thoughts exactly." Saladin nodded. "Except the Fallen are using SIVA in ways we never would have expected."

"My question is; how did the Fallen learn so much about SIVA?" Drake rubbed his chin. "Especially more than the Iron Lords who discovered it before it was brought briefly to the old Vanguard's attention?"

Saladin's eyes lit up at that thought.

"You told me earlier you found dead Fallen Vandals and Dregs in the Clovis Bray laboratory." Saladin said. "Your Ghost testified that it was likely a month or so since they've had access. That means... they haven't mastered SIVA yet. This... this is all still new to them!"

"We can still win this fight." Saladin grinned. "Thanks to your two fireteam's efforts, we know how we can beat the Fallen back and destroy SIVA."

"Speak with Tyra Karn out in the hall, she will know what to do with the data you've found." Saladin said, before turning around, fists on his hips.