Knowledge is Power

by Red-the-Edge

Brute force is not the only arsenal that one needs to win a war centuries in the making. You need knowledge about this enemy, yet with a dark enemy comes a dark secret. Destiny One shot.

Author's Note: Hey guys. I just wanted to say a few things before you you start reading this. I had a few theories about some things in Destiny seeing how that they did leave things kind of wide open. I'm applying them in this with three made up characters. Know that these are just theories and nothing has been proven about them. They are just possibilities that I came up with while playing the game. I hope you all enjoy this.

Deep in the ruins of Earth in the area of the Forgotten Shore, is the bunker of the last Warmind, Rasputin. Within this bunker, gun shots echo off the walls. The Hive had infiltrated the bunker and who knows what they were planning on doing to the Warmind. Thralls were swarming the main area with Knights and Wizards to provide some more fire power. A Titan Guardian then appeared and slams the ground with the Fist of Havoc; destroying all Thralls and damaging some Knights in the process. The Titan was female and clad in legendary Future War Cult armor. She took out a Heavy Machine gun known as Thunderlord and began mowing down all in front of her.

As Knights and Thralls continued to fall, a Wizard was about to launch an attack from behind, a scorching bullet disintegrated the Wizard completely. A Hunter Guardian glowing if an fiery aura holding a blazing hand cannon stood off to the side. The Hunter was a male wearing New Monarchy legendary gear. He then saw two more Wizards going for the Titan, and he quickly fired a shot to destroy one of them. He took aim at the second one and pulled the trigger. The shot rushed through the air and hit the Wizard in the head, and turning it to ash. The aura around the Hunter disappeared and he took out a sniper rifle known as Ice Breaker. He took aim at a Knight and shot its head off. When another Wizard appeared, he targeted that and took it out.

Soon the Titan ran out of ammo for her gun and she switched to an shotgun. As the bulk of the horde rushed towards her, a Warlock Guardian jumped in front of her. The Warlock was female and in Dead Orbit legendary gear. She glowed with a purple aura and all that energy went into her hand; this then turned into a sphere of powerful energy. She launched it at the horde and it split into three smaller orbs and destroyed the entire group.

"It's a good thing you bought those Heavy Ammo Synthesis back at the Tower!" the Warlock sarcastically yelled at the Titan.

"Those things are damn expensive!" the Titan yelled back. "I'm not made of Glimmer you know!"

"Then it's a good thing you have plenty!" the Warlock yelled with a fake cheery tone.

"You never know when you have to buy something important!" the Titan yelled back.

"Yes because having heavy ammo is not important," the Warlock said sarcastically. They went back and forth, not noticing the Hive portal appearing behind them. The Hunter could see it clearly from his cover.

"Incoming enemy!" he shouted. The Warlock and Titan looked to see an Ogre appear before them. It raised it's hands to slam down at them. The Warlock and Titan quickly got out of the way and barely avoided getting crushed. The Hunter began to shoot at the monster's head. Six shots went into the skull and it was still standing.

"Dammit!" shouted the Titan as she took cover behind a barrier. She stood up and opened fire on the creature. The Warlock found a barrier to hide behind as well and she quickly took out her Thorn hand cannon. She stood up and took a few shots before going back to hiding. When the bullets hit, the Ogre glowed green and seemed to be taking small damages from it.

" 'We won't need that much heavy ammo' you said!" the Warlock mocked the Titan loudly. " 'We can handle anything!' you said! Well do you still think that now!?"

"GET OFF MY CASE ALREADY!" the Titan shouted back.

"Not now you two!" the Hunter shouted. The Ogre glanced over at the Hunter and began to fire its Eye Glare. The Hunter quickly jumped to the side and took cover behind a barrier that was near him. The Titan opened fire again and screamed at the Ogre.

"OVER HERE YOU UGLY!" she shouted. It turned around while still firing. The Warlock quickly sprang up and shot a few shots before going back to hiding. The Hunter then sprang up and fired six more shots from his Icebreaker.

"It's almost dead!" he shouted. "TAKE IT DOWN!" He quickly threw a knife at the creatures head. The Titan lobbed out her grenade as did the Warlock. All three throws connected at the same time; the creature screamed in agony and disintegrated into nothing. Silence fell over as the last of the scream echoed into nothingness. They walked into the center near a high tech looking pillar that was wider up high and narrowed going down.

"Oh look at me!" the Warlock said while mockingly, imitating the Titan's voice. "Look at how awesome I am! I am a Titan and I don't need to use Glimmer to buy extra ammo! We will get plenty in the field!"

"DO YOU WANT ME TO BREAK YOU IN HALF?!" the Titan shouted angrily.

"Would you two knock it off!" the Hunter yelled. "In case you haven't noticed that Wizard got away!" He took a deep breath to calm down. The Warlock and Titan turned away from each other and huffed.

"So. . .what was the Wizard called again?" the Titan asked in a calm manner.

"Omnigul right?" asked the Warlock.

"That is what Eris called it," the Hunter replied.

"Yeah but she can't run from us forever or the other Guardians," the Titan said with a prideful voice.

"Why not?" the Warlock asked in a mocking tone. "She has done a good job so far."

"Maybe Eris can pin point her," the Hunter suggested. "Let us leave here and find out."

"Hold," a unknown voice called out to them. The three Guardians aimed their weapons and looked around.

"Who is there?!" shouted the Titan. A hologram appeared in the middle of the three. They all trained their weapons at the unknown thing in front of them. It looked like a human male with thick brown hair and with a beard that only reached down to his collar bone. He wore a long black, priest like robe.

"The one who invited you in here," the hologram spoke clearly.

"Invited?" the Hunter said in confusion. ". . .Rasputin?" The hologram nodded its head.

"Correct." The Guardians lowered their weapons.

"You really are him. . .I mean it?" the Titan asked curiously.

"Gee what do you think?" the Warlock asked in a sarcastic tone. The Titan quickly aimed her gun at the Warlock and the Warlock did the same.

"I WILL BREAK YOU!" shouted the Titan angrily.

"Enough!" the Hunter called out to them. "Stop acting like children the both of you."

"Yes Daddy," the Warlock mocked him. The Titan and the Warlock trained their weapons back on the hologram.

"Moving on," the Hunter said with a sigh, "are you really Rasputin?"

"I have no reason to lie to those that saved me," Rasputin replied. The Guardians looked at each other. For a few moments, no one moved or spoke. The Hunter was first to holster his weapon followed by the Warlock with the Titan being last.

"Well we couldn't let the Hive do whatever it wanted with you," the Hunter said with a serious tone.

"And plus this isn't the first time we have helped you," the Titan said with a proud voice.

"Actually this is the first time," Rasputin corrected her.

"WHAT?!" she shouted angrily.

"The first time you came across my presence was in this region," Rasputin continued. "You found signals that I was sending out merely to distract the Fallen and others. Then you noticed me again when you set up that tower array in the Skywatch area. Finally, you saw that I was protecting a cache of information from the Cabal. This is the first time you have helped me." The Titan was furious and looked ready to smash him.

"Calm down he is on our side and his points are fair," the Hunter finally spoke up. The Titan huffed but turned away from Rasputin.

"I told you we should have bought a leash," the Warlock joked.

"And I should have bought a mute button," the Hunter said with a sigh.

"Meanie," the Warlock replied with a whiny tone.

"As you can see these two are a handful," said the Hunter.

"I know," Rasputin replied. "I have watched you three for some time now."

"Wait what?" the Hunter asked with a confused tone.

"Your exploits on Earth to Mars, some on Venus, and on Mars," Rasputin replied. "I have watched many Guardians fight and claw their way through the Darkness armies but you three really stood out to me for some reason, so I kept an eye on you all to see what you would do next. I am very impressed by your skills. Which is why when I was in danger, that I sent the distress signal to Eris who was in contact with you all about facing the Hive."

"Well we are pretty awesome," the Titan said with a prideful tone. She turned back around to face everyone.

"Yes we are," the Warlock said with a mocking tone. "You on the other hand don't want to buy something that could have saved us some time."

"I TOLD YOU TO GET OFF MY CASE ABOUT THAT!" the Titan shouted angrily.

"Moving on to an important topic, how did the Hive find you?" the Hunter asked desperately to change the subject. Rasputin sighed.

"They found me awhile ago and knew I was here but bide their time for the right moment. They have been waiting to come at me for a few hundred years now."

"Damn they are patient," the Titan stated.

"Unlike you," the Warlock said with glee.

"SHUT UP!" shouted the Titan.

"So why now though?" the Hunter asked, trying to get back on the subject.

"Crota will soon return," Rasputin said with a worried tone. "He killed countless Guardians the last time he was awake."

"Dude we took out those prince guys and destroyed his sword," the Titan said with her head held up high. "He doesn't have a weapon any more."

"He does," Rasputin said with a stern tone. "You are foolish to think he doesn't have any other means to attack."

"Well we are trying to prevent him from coming back so any information you have will be welcomed," the Hunter explained.

"Yeah like where is he ticklish," the Warlock joked. "We can tickle him to death!"

"I have very little on him," Rasputin ignored the Warlock. "I'm sure Eris knows more about Crota then I do."

"Lame," the Warlock whined.

"Shut up you idiot!" shouted the Titan.

"Enough already!" the Hunter joined in the shouting. "Damn it all let it talk."

"What I can tell you is that Crota can only be killed by a sword that the Hive use," Rasputin explained. "I saw what happened to the last Guardians who took him on hundreds of years ago. When it looked like he was vulnerable, he was immune to any and all damage."

"What?!" the Hunter shouted. "That isn't good. How did you figure out the sword part then?"

"They figured it out while fighting that was the only way to damage him," Rasputin replied. "The idea came from a Hunter who noticed how much the swords that the Hive had were doing so much to them, she thought what if I used them on him. It turned out that was the trick, and nearly killed him."

"Nearly?" the Hunter asked.

"The reason he is asleep now is because he is recovering from that attack," Rasputin explained. "So long as his soul is intact, you cannot fully destroy him. They only nearly destroyed his body and did a lot of damage to his soul too merely by accident. The Hive did everything they could to hide both away."

"Damn they are resourceful just like the Vex," the Titan said as she stomped the ground in frustration.

"Yeah they are," the Hunter agreed.

"At least now we know what to do to finally kill him," the Warlock said with a cheery tone. The Hunter and Titan nodded their heads in agreement.

"That will be one less thing to deal with at least," the Titan stated.

"Yet there are many things you still need to worry about," Rasputin continued. "For one is Crota's father, Oryx. His power is far greater than that of Crota."

"We can't deal with him now so we will deal with Crota first," the Hunter replied. "After all, we shouldn't worry about things that are not even here."

"But you should," Rasputin said with a dark tone. "You really should. For you have only really touched the tip of this whole conflict."

"What?" asked the Warlock it a some what serious tone.

"You do not know what is out there," Rasputin replied. "Far greater evils have yet to arrive."

"We have done more then most Guardians!" the Titan shouted with a passionate tone. "We have killed abominations of the Hive, crushed the commanders of the Cabal, disassembled one Vex after the other, and fell too many Fallen to count! WHATEVER THEY HAVE LEFT THE THROW AT US WE WILL DESTROY AS WELL!" Rasputin glared at the Titan.

"How about the mastermind behind their forces?"

"You mean the Darkness?" the Hunter asked with a curious tone. "The enemy of the Traveler?" Rasputin nodded.

"That is correct. Its power is beyond anything that you know of."

"Our Ghosts said that you fought it and survived," the Hunter stated. "Is that true?" Rasputin looked down at the ground, remembering something that deeply troubled him.

". . .yes," it finally answered. "Yes I have."

"Then can you tell us what it is?" asked the Hunter.

"And how to kick its ass!" shouted the Titan.

"Yes because it is going to be that easy," the Warlock commented sarcastically.

"It won't," Rasputin began. "The Darkness is the opposite of the Traveler in many ways. Not just because of its dark power, but how it fights as well. Some of the things that I have to say will trouble you. I'm sure that most of it none of you will believe."

"We will have to take that risk," the Hunter said seriously. "Please tell us what you can and we will listen." Silence fell over the room. Rasputin did seem reluctant to share what he knew. After half a minute of silence, it finally responded with a nod.

"Very well. But let me just say right now that I warned you."

"Fair enough," the Hunter stated.

"We can handle anything!" shouted the Titan full of pride.

"Then let's hope you don't have to buy anything or we are screwed," said the Warlock in a mocking tone.

"ENOUGH OF THAT ALREADY!" shouted the Titan in fury.

"Seriously why do I have to put up with this?" the Hunter asked with a sigh.

"Then listen well and keep an open mind," Rasputin started. "As I said a moment ago, the Darkness and the Traveler are opposites in many ways. The Traveler has the power of Light and the Darkness has the power of Darkness. The Traveler has a definite shape while the Darkness does not." The Guardians looked at each other, unsure of what it just said.

"Can you clarify on that?" asked the Hunter.

"The Darkness does not have a definite shape," Rasputin replied. "It shifts and changes constantly and corrupts everything it touches. When you destroyed the Black Heart in the Black Garden, that was part of the Darkness."

"That thing was a wimp," the Titan stated. "It just brought stupid statues to life to do its fighting."

"Because what the Darkness is meant to do is to destroy the Traveler," Rasputin continued. "Tell me, why do you think Light returned to the Traveler after you destroyed it?" The Guardians looked at each other, unsure of how to answer that question.

"It was blocking its recovery?" asked the Warlock.

"Sure why not," the Titan agreed without caring.

"You are wrong," Rasputin said with a serious tone. "The Black Heart was a part of the Darkness that had consumed part of the Traveler." The Guardians gasped.

"That would make sense," the Hunter said while rubbing the chin of his helmet. "After all, if the Traveler is still missing pieces then its recover would be slowed down greatly if not to a halt."

"Correct," Rasputin replied.

"Okay so how many more can their be?" the Warlock asked curiously.

"Unknown at this time," Rasputin stated.

"How else are they opposite?" asked the Hunter.

"The Guardians are few in number while the Darkness has hordes of minions," Rasputin replied. "The balance with this is that the bulk of the enemy armies are easily defeated, and if a Guardian falls they can be revive most of the time. There are some instances that does not work."

"Yeah Eris told us about her teams slaughter," the Hunter said with a sad tone.

"However, the Darkness also has powerful commanders like Crota in all the armies," Rasputin continued. "I heard about your raid to the Vault of Glass."

"Damn freaking Atheon!" shouted the Titan. "I mean seriously having time powers is just ridiculous!"

"However we got him with the help of three other Guardians," the Hunter said with a confident tone.

"The Darkness is not so forgiving with failure," Rasputin continued. "When someone on his side dies, they are dead and gone."

"Well that is good to hear," the Hunter said with a sigh of relief.

"We will even out the field with enough time," the Titan said with a serious tone.

"Because you know we have all the time in the world," the Warlock said sarcastic tone.

"However, they are more powerful foes than Crota and Atheon in the Darkness ranks," Rasputin said with a cautious tone. "You will do well to remember that." The Guardians nodded their heads.

"What else can you tell us?" asked the Hunter.

"How about how the Traveler got crippled?" the Warlock suggested. Rasputin shook its head.

"I'm afraid I was deep within enemy territory and encountered the Darkness when that happened," Rasputin said with a regretful tone. "I'm afraid I cannot give you a lot on that but only what I have heard. Powerful commanders in all four armies; Fallen, Hive, Vex, and Cabal attacked it with the Darkness assisting them all at once. It was a hard fight from my understanding but in the end the Traveler lost the fight and was crippled."

"So more powerful than anything that we have faced?" asked the Titan.

"Yes."

"Shame you don't have more," the Warlock said with a disappointed tone. "After all the Speaker didn't share what he knew with us."

"True but he is still better than that Cryptarch bastard!" shouted the Titan.

"Awwww, is someone still angry?" asked the Warlock with a cute tone.

"Hell yeah I am!" shouted the Titan. An echo was left after the booming sentence. "I WANTED A LEGENDARY GUN NOT SOME STUPID PIECE OF SHIT!"

"Calm down we understand," the Hunter said in an attempt to calm her down. "But we have gotten off track again." The Titan sat down in a huff, clearly still angry.

"And now comes the news that you will not like to hear," Rasputin said with a sorrowful tone.

"Why?" asked the Warlock.

"Tell me, what happens when you turn on the lights in a room?" Rasputin asked a strangely simple question with a sad look on its face.

"The room gets brighter and you can see," the Warlock replied with great enthusiasm.

"That is true," the Hunter agreed. His voice had an unsure tone, as if to ask why are you asking that?

"Don't the dark areas are dispelled from the room," the Titan added in an equally confused state.

"While your answers are correct," Rasputin said still with a sorrow in his voice, "you left out one key detail. That shadows are cast behind objects where the light shines."

"Yeah that is obvious," the Warlock said and still not understanding where Rasputin was going with this. It looked at them with dead eyes.

"The Darkness was born from the Traveler's intense light." Silence. . .dead silence spread across the room like a wild fire. None of the Guardians spoke and just stood there in shock.

". . .wha. . .what did you say?" the Hunter tried to speak with a clear voice.

"I know you three heard me," Rasputin said with a firm tone. "Do not make me repeat."

"HOW THE HELL IS THAT POSSIBLE?!" shouted the Titan in a fit of rage. "HOW COULD SOMETHING SO EVIL AND CORRUPTED BE BORN FROM THE TRAVELER!?" Rasputin glared at the Titan. The icy glare instantly cooled off the Titan's fiery rage.

"You already have the answer." He spoke in a clear yet serious voice.

"Yes b-because you speaking in rid-d-dles tells us everything," the Warlock spoke with a shaken yet sarcastic tone.

"Do you mean the light turning on?" the Hunter asked. The sound of confusion clear in his voice.

"Correct," Rasputin replied. "Ever since it came into being, the Darkness has been actively trying to exterminate its creator. The Traveler knew this and sought help from others to combat the Darkness. However, all he found for a long time was forces that wanted to aid the Darkness."

"You mean the forces we have been fighting?" asked the Hunter. Rasputin nodded its head.

"And each one represents a part of the Darkness. The Fallen is a symbol of its desire to learn what is out there. They scavenge the galaxy for any kind of information and the Darkness gets it. The Hive wants to corrupt and consume all light in their way much like the Darkness itself. The Darkness also wants things to be done in an orderly fashion which is why it uses the Vex. They can turn planets into machines and make things run more effectively. Finally, the Cabal are a powerful race that represents the Darkness's will to destroy everything in its way."

". . .I had never thought about it that way," the Hunter said while trying to process the information.

"Okay," the Titan said on the verge of having a nervous breakdown. "Okay this is a problem."

"Gee you think?" the Warlock mocked her.

"YEAH IT IS YOU MAGE!" the Titan shouted angrily.

"Enough!" the Hunter shouted. "Enough of you two arguing!" The Warlock and Titan looked at the Hunter. "This is a lot of information to process. We need to tell the Speaker about this."

"I would advise against that," Rasputin said with a serious tone.

"WHY THE HELL WOULD WE DO THAT?!" the Titan shouted in a confused rage.

"What do you think would happen if you told him?" Rasputin asked in a calm manner.

"He would have to share this information with the other Guardians and the citizens of the city," the Hunter speculated. "And. . .and that would cause a panic." Rasputin nodded.

"Correct." The Warlock looked up at the ceiling.

"Who knows how much damage a panic would do," she thought out loud. "It could be irreversible." Rasputin nodded.

"You are correct."

"Damn it!" shouted the Titan. "I mean what should we do then!?"

"What you do with this information is up to you," Rasputin spoke clearly. His body started to deform.

"AND WHERE THE HELL DO YOU THINK YOU ARE GOING?!" the Titan shouted in a fit of rage.

"I have spent too much time explaining," Rasputin replied. "I need to refocus my attention elsewhere. What you do is up to you." With that, it was gone and the Guardians were left alone with more questions than before. None of them spoke for a good solid minute.

"So. . .what do we do now?" the Warlock asked in a unsure state.

"Well we. . . .ummmmmmm." The Hunter tried to speak an idea but none came out. Silence filled the area again yet was shattered when the Titan slammed the ground.

"Get your act together you two!" she shouted. They both looked at her. "So what if it is true?! That doesn't change the fact that we still got to crush the Darkness! Plus it's only a the perspective of one Warmind! Sure they are smart or something but we can do our own research to find out if its true! And if it does turn out to be true, then we crush it utterly! WHY THE HELL ARE YOU TWO HESITATING?!" The echo left behind the Titan's shout slowly fades away. The Warlock chuckles a little bit.

"You know you do have a point," she said with a clear voice. Her tone then shifted to her usual mocking tone. "Hard to believe that speech came from you."

"YOU PICKING A FIGHT?!" shouted the Titan in a fit of rage.

"Enough you two!" shouted the Hunter. He sounded relieved that things were not so tense any more. "Geez you two are such a handful."

"Would we be any other way?" asked the Warlock cheerfully.

"So how about we go kill Crota!?" asked the Titan loudly.

"First Omnigul and then him," the Hunter said with a serious tone. The Titan nodded.

"Right."

"But first to the tower," the Warlock said while pointing to the exit.

"We need to get some supplies and we need to ask Eris where that creature went," the Hunter stated.

"And get ammo," the Warlock mocked the Titan. The Titan grew furious and pointed her auto rifle at the Warlock.

"ENOUGH ABOUT THAT ALREADY!" she shouted as she started to fire. The Warlock quickly dodged the shots while laughing as if she was playing around. The Hunter's head dropped as he sighed.