The duo decided to drop into the Mothyards to cut down on time spent getting to the Forgotten Shore, where the ketch had last been sighted. Their ships dropped them off on top of the hill leading to the Skywatch. Peter pulled his LDR-5001 off his back , knelt, and looked down the sights at a pair of Fallen vandals looking out over the Mothyards. Trishka fought the urge to laugh at the sight of him closing one eye and still having two open. The Mask of the Third man had that effect on her.
"So how are we planning to get on board?" she asked, kneeling down beside him.
"Since when do we ever plan ahead?" Peter asked out of a crooked smile. He squeezed the trigger and let off a single bullet. A fraction of a second later, the two vandal's heads exploded simultaneously thanks to the iridium-core rounds. As the bodies fell, a fiery bloom erupted, accompanied by the usual fine white spray. Peter let out the breath he'd been holding in and heard the empty case tink on the broken concrete. He waited patiently and watched as a captain slowly crept into view. The captain knelt to inspect its fallen soldiers and snapped its head up when it saw the glint of sunlight on metal. Before it could react, the high-caliber sniper round struck it in between the first set of eyes and vaporized the captain's mask in another bloom of flame. Unlike the vandals, there was a sickly green spray that spouted from the body, which quickly snuffed out the flame. Both Peter and Trishka inhaled sharply when the captain refused to fall. The headless body staggered slowly towards the two hunters, still spouting the green spray and emitting an otherworldly howl unlike anything they'd ever heard. After a few uncertain steps, the spray dissipated away and the corpse dropped to the ground in a heap.
Peter looked up from his scope to see Trishka standing frozen, her weapon slack at her side. That worried him far more than the shrieking captain. Not once since he'd met her had he seen Trishka balk before. She was always among the first into a fight.
"You okay?" he asked tentatively. She shook her head as if to wake from a daze.
"Yea…that's just…I've never seen anything like that," she said quietly.
"I've suddenly got a bad feeling about this job," Peter mumbled as he reloaded his sniper.
"Let's just keep going," Trishka urged. Peter nodded and they summoned their Sparrows and took off down the hill. They wove down the switchback trail and flew through the canyons that led to the Forgotten Shore. The wind whipped by as they raced across both ground and river, leaving plumes of dust and spray in their wake. After a short time, the canyon walls opened and the Forgotten Shore came into view. The hunters slowed their Sparrows and dismounted. The air was completely still and had a malicious feel to it. Peter and Trishka both pulled out their snipers and surveyed the area. The longer they looked, the more they felt something was amiss. There was not a single minion of Darkness to be seen. Trishka lowered her Patience and Time and became visible again.
"Something is very, very wrong here," she said. Her stomach was twisting itself into knots of fear. Peter nodded and called up his Ghost.
"Ghost, can you contact Lakshmi-2?" he requested.
"Of course," it answered.
"Who could we call?" Trishka mused, more to herself than anyone. Before Peter could answer, Lakshmi-2's voice cut through the still air.
"What's happened?" she demanded.
"Something isn't right, ma'am," Peter informed her. "There isn't a single Fallen here, but the entire area is covered in a special darkness.
Lakshmi-2 was silent for a moment. "Do you require assistance?"
"I certainly wouldn't refuse it," he answered.
"I'll leave it to your discretion then," she granted. "But this mission is to stay secret, so only contact those you know you can trust. I'll gather what intel I can for you here."
"Thank you, ma'am," Peter said and closed the link. Both he and Trishka breathed a heavy sigh of relief and set to inviting their allies.
Lakshmi-2 walked briskly towards the bustling Tower Watch, a heavy pit sitting in her stomach. Her warriors had never requested aid before. The fact they felt they needed help scared her more than she cared to admit. She reached the main courtyard and continued moving relentlessly across it. Guardians from all paths gathered here to form parties to combat the Darkness, and no matter how advanced they were, they all moved aside to let her through. She reached her destination in front of the long thought lost Eris Morn. Lakshmi-2 approached the Warlock with fire in her eyes and venom in her voice.
"Where the hell did you just send my Hunters?"