Chapter 14: The Taken King
At a non-City settlement built in the ruins of Vevey, Switzerland, 4PM…..
Laying on a surprisingly well-kept and clean bed, Alvara and a few other Guardians were taking up temporary residence in the rebuilt town of Vevey. Founded by some desperate Collapse survivors that couldn't make it to the City, the town's reputation slowly glided from being squatted in by desperate and ragged loners to having an established, connected community and real reconstruction efforts. Being outside the City's walls, Guardians like Alvara were here to keep morale up in the face of possible attacks by Fallen or Hive. Thankfully, as it was a relatively peaceful place, the temporary job was more 'hang around and enjoy, then go shoot some stuff if a non-Human/Exo/Awoken turns up' rather than being on constant, vigilant patrol. The townsfolk welcoming their security with open arms, it didn't mean the Guardians were safe from each other.
"Getting comfortable on there? Don't fall asleep on me now…I heard this place has a surprisingly fun night-life. You know…despite being the reforged ruins of a brick and mortar rural town." Airada, Alvara's other and youngest sister joked as she took up a chair, turning the back of it to face her older sister before sitting in it backwards, resting her arms on the top of the back-piece. Having not seen her younger sister in a while, Alvara took specific note of Airada's Samsara I helmet, Kallipolis Gloves, Seraph II chest, Haliaetus II legs, White Polygon Construct bond, and the whole thing painted in Surfbreaker colors. Both Guardians having their helmets off, the two more closely resembled each other than they did their oldest sister Sivala. Whereas Sivala's skin had a faint purple hue to it, both Alvara and Airada's skin were both a purer, darker blue color, the main difference being Alvara's orange eyes and facial markings VS Airada's blue eyes and facial markings. Almost perpetuating a weird genetic trend in their family, the body proportions seemed to go up as you went lower on the age-scale, with Airada towering over both Sivala and Alvara at 6'3". Big-boned to boot, it comes as a surprise to many whenever they learn that the big-bodied, monolithic Warlock was 8 years younger than a stubby Titan.
"You know, you're the one Warlock I've ever met that takes more interest in an out-of-City settlement's night-life than some dusty old books they might find in a cellar. You sure you're not just a Titan with an identity crisis?" Alvara jabbed back, admittedly at risk of falling asleep from the comfort of her new armor. Having gotten rid of her Rustburner set, Alvara was now using a full set of Bog Wild armor, including the cloak, and got the whole set tinted to Polar Oak colors. Having her hood thrown back for once, the helmet was currently sitting on the right bedside stand, which is also what she propped her new Zhalo Supercell rifle against.
"Eh, I think it happens for a reason….if I was a Titan, I'd just be there to make Sivala feel bad about her height. At least this way she can argue that, while I may be taller, I can't dropkick a concrete wall open like she can. Besides, being a Warlock means it's far less out of character for me to say something like I've got a talking gun." Airada countered, referring to Toland's old Bad Juju rifle mounted on her back. Having been fixed up with a new barrel and other components, according to Airada, the 'soul' of the gun that made it what it was came from the bones that Toland had so strangely strapped to it, especially the skull at the front. In response to that statement, Bad Juju let off a soft, gentle rumble that couldn't be heard, but could be felt.
You could let me speak for myself once in a while….even if it's not too easy to invade someone's thoughts and not have them freak out that the sentient Pulse Rifle on someone's back is talking inside their head. Bad Juju 'spoke', the felt rumble from the gun translating to distinct, not-inside-voice thoughts in both Guardians' heads. Not able to move on its own in any fashion or fire itself on a whim, Bad Juju's main party tricks were its telepathic rumble-speech, and its ability to independently manufacture ammunition within its own magazine, seemingly from nowhere. Airada having been approached twice now with offers of financial compensation in exchange for letting companies such as SUROS figure out this sorcery, both requests had been adamantly denied.
"If I let you speak for yourself, people would be filing restraining orders against me for severe invasion of privacy. I know you: Once you get in someone's head, you just don't let go." Airada openly spoke back to the gun, actually saying her last sentence with an endearing tone, almost as if she were poking fun at it.
"Like people would find that weird…..last time Sivala invited me over to the place you, her and Komo share, I saw your room. I don't think any normal person would use their power just to keep a Thrall skull from disintegrating so they can turn it into a jumbo-bobblehead. Nor would any normal person mock up an entire Goblin from detached armor plating on a metal-wire armature so they can pose it to their heart's content. Yeah you've got a lot of dusty old books in there, but really? A jumbo-bobblehead? And don't get me started on the hair." Alvara poked fun, specifically calling back to Airada's unusual haircut. Dark blue in color, it seemed relatively tame in the front, but incredibly spiky in the back. Not innately strange, what made it strange was Airada's choice to style those spikes all pointing off to one side, her sisters joking that it looked like the aftereffect of a bomb going off inside her head, or that she styled her hair with a hand-grenade. About to give a comeback, Airada was cut short when another Guardian and a fellow Awoken, Almarra, entered the room.
"Have fun with your 'target practice'? At least, as much fun as you can have just striking metal sheets repeatedly." Alvara asked, off-handedly admitting that, this being a rural settlement, the best the locals would be able to scrounge up for Almarra would be some measly target-boards, no fancy simulated hostiles to properly show off her skill. Being a Gunslinger Hunter much like Merikh, the biggest difference between her and Merikh was her strict adherence to, and almost obsession with repeated, precise shot-patterns. Always striving for headshots, Almarra almost wore the signs of her success to a degree, being set up with a Celestial Nighthawk helmet, Iron Breed Sleeves and Vest, and Sanction Custom legs. Colored in Goldspiral colors with the Perun's Mantle cloak, Almarra had turned her adherence to precision into a stat-tracking game, her Ghost keeping an active counter of Almarra's successive headshots and calling out her highest total after a fight. Most suspecting her to be a cold-hearted bitch due to her uncompromising performance commitment, it never failed to surprise people when she responded like a normal, friendly individual.
"Not really worth wasting the ammo out here…their targets don't move, so what's the point? Instead, I spent the past half-hour linking Ghosts with Kalari so we could watch the Crucible matches out here. Zavala wants to get a non-military signal network going outside the City eventually, but in the meantime, it's the best we got. Kinda glad I did though…you know those No Land Beyond rifles?" Almarra asked, sounding exceptionally into it. Some Guardians avoided the Crucible, some didn't mind it, and some, like Almarra, were always watching and studying for new ideas and ways to improve.
"Yeah, real pieces of junk. Tried selling one I came across to a Hunter, and he just looked at me like I was trying to buy the Traveler for 20 Glimmer. Needless to say I didn't even get a dignified response, he just…..walked off." Airada admitted, showing what kind of reputation the guns had.
"Well someone actually won with the damn thing! Some Hunter named Junko won a Rumble match about 10 minutes ago with just the No Land Beyond, nothing else. Shaxx actually postponed the next match so he could examine the gun on-camera and make sure she wasn't cheating, and sure enough, she wasn't. No modifications to the barrel, no illegal ammo, none of that. She basically won a barfight with a toothpick, and now every Titan and Hunter in that match is moping off with their busted-up dignity knowing they lost to a glorified stick with sights on it." Almarra explained, sounding almost excited that someone actually brought something new to the Crucible for her to pick and learn from. "Oh, also, Kalari wanted to see you. Said something about some old books some of the locals found, and since you're the only Warlock here, you're the best option for being able to date them and all that."
The two Awoken getting up to leave, Alvara was left all alone in the room now, the Awoken Bladedancer deciding to ease up and go to sleep. Letting off a deep breath, Alvara's peaceful state was broken by a bizarre, indescribable rupture-like noise off to her left. Snapping into an upright sitting position, Alvara had just enough time to sit upright and twist herself to face the bed's left side, being greeted by what she could only describe as a demented Psion. Completely different in coloration, part of the Psion's body almost looked like the void of space itself, completely black and soulless, while the rest was a searing, pure white color. Possessing a single, glowing eye right where the helmet optic normally was, this eye instead looked like a burning gateway to oblivion, not just a helmet optic. Twitching and jittering at random, the unarmed Psion leapt right for her, pinning Alvara against the bed. Getting one hand on her neck, the Psion attempted to pummel Alvara's face flat with the other, the Awoken Hunter narrowly jerking her head out of the way. Not knowing what the effects would be, Alvara took a chance and used Blink, teleporting her free from the Psion's grip and up into the air.
Moronically latching onto the inactive, ceiling-mounted fan through pure instinct, Alvara misjudged her weight and the structural integrity of the room, taking the fan free from its mount as she, and the fan, landed on the Psion's back. Pushing the inactive junk off of her, Alvara scrambled off the bed's left side. Not operating too well under these blatantly surprise-circumstances, Alvara made the best of it as the re-adjusted Psion clambered for her. Seizing the decorative desk-lamp placed on the left bedside stand, Alvara took this as a note to never remove her knife from her person again as she brained the Psion with the lamp, smashing it to bits while the Psion went limp. Not dead, the Psion was nonetheless out of commission while Alvara moved back around to the bed's right side, seizing her knife before ramming it into the Psion's lower back. Properly killing it, things got even stranger as, instead of just going limp, the Psion dissipated into a sort of white goo, most of the body looking like it had disappeared into another dimension.
At a loss for words, Alvara instead sheathed her knife and collected her helmet and Zhalo rifle, racing out the door to find her fellow Guardians. Going down the stairs to the lodge-like building's first floor, Alvara didn't see any Guardians, just confused settlers, prompting her to run out the door. Looking around at the rest of the town, the rebuilt Vevey tried to retain as much of the original as possible, with an old-style stone cathedral not far off down the road in front of her. Most of the buildings being painted concrete and brick, some of the buildings still had a war-torn look, missing chunks of their corners or walls in distinct shapes resembling the after-effects of explosions. The locals having just made the best of it, Alvara's fear for the local populace would grow as her Ghost brought an unwanted sight to her eye.
"You're…going to want to see this. Zavala just put out a warning across all Guardian channels about something called the 'Taken', and they match what we just saw." Alvara's Ghost warned, his outer plates splitting off to project a holographic display of various incoming footage. Blued over from the rushed projection quality, Alvara nonetheless understood what she was watching. Cutting from view to view, the scenes were grotesque and foreboding, starting with security footage in what was actually Merikh's old Iceland village. Recognizing the center of the town, the entire place was in fiery ruins. Chunks of buildings were scattered about, bodies and pieces of bodies were strewn around in a manner that looked like they died running, and all through the town what looked to be Hive and Cabal with the same distorted, soulless look as that Psion simply marched together. Moving as one, it's like they were bound by a central power as, without hesitation, they continued to raze and demolish the remains of the village. Cutting to different footage, Alvara's Ghost revealed more of the same across the planet, villages and outposts across the world falling to the tsunami of Taken death. Showing no emotion, empathy or mercy, the Taken just marched and killed indiscriminately, planted surveillance beacon footage showing the same behavior was being given to Fallen, Vex, and Cabal across the system.
"Ghost….get in touch with the rest of the team, especially Merikh. We've been fighting to defend a broken god, and I think…I think our fight just woke a sleeping one." Alvara asked as she watched the footage, unable to stop her voice from reaching a low, warped tone synonymous with pure horror. Realizing that these Taken seemed to march with the normal Hive, the implications of it made things even more worrisome until Alvara noticed an anomaly in the footage. A number of white dots appearing in the screen, both Alvara and her Ghost soon caught on as her Ghost deactivated the footage, giving way to the sight of an in-the-flesh Taken force marching right for her. Comprised of the same Cabal/Hive mix as in the footage, Alvara almost couldn't believe her eyes as the marching force, a good 40 at the least, began opening fire on the town. The Knights wielding strange Void-damage Boomers while the Psions and Phalanxes fired Arc rounds from their Slug Rifles, Alvara's usually-unbreakable demeanor was now broken in the face of the unknown, running for cover as the Boomers blasted large chunks from the scenery. Taking cover around a corner, Alvara sat with her back against the wall, head pressed flat to the wall and her Zhalo rifle pointing up, the stock resting on her right thigh. Trying to keep herself calm, that effort became a bit easier as a rocket flew by. Blasting into the Taken's front ranks, the Taken scattered and sought actual cover as the rocket's blast left behind a tall bed of fire. Burning some of the Psions to death, the flame-patch's resemblance to the flaming towns in the security footage made it hard for Alvara to see it as a relief despite where it came from.
Looking where the rocket came from, Alvara spotted another of the Guardians stationed here, the Exo Sunbreaker Kalari-99. Wearing a custom-modified set of Murvaux Type 0 arms/legs and Duskrender Type 0 chest/helmet, as well as the Season of Ages XII Mark, the dark green armor was decorated with six exhaust pipes poking off the chestplate's back half, as well as vents on the shins, the bottom-front of the helmet and the forearms that emitted a faint, but steady trail of smoke. To top it off, the armor was given a custom paintjob on top of the dark green, with the front of the chestplate, helmet, shoulders and shins getting a stylized shark-face paintjob. Not intended to be true to life, it was instead exaggerated in the same manner as the one on the front of her Dragon's Breath launcher, which Kalari had just put away in favor of her Herja-D Pulse Rifle. Seeing Airada and Almarra with her, that was at least one tiny relief as Alvara thought next on how they'd save the civilians.
"Sis! You alright? We were just coming back to get you when the villagers started going on about demons coming for the town. Are those….Phalanxes? Working with the Hive?" Airada asked as she ran to kneel by her older sister, taking a moment to peek out and examine the phenomenon. Taking an Arc-Slug Rifle round to the visor, Airada was thrown off-balance, noticeably falling backwards. Shaking it off, the younger Awoken decided to move further into cover as Kalari and Almarra actively engaged the Taken. Knowing Alvara had obviously seen something unpleasant, Airada put down her Bad Juju rifle to grab her older sister's arms with both hands, forcing the Hunter to look at her. "Listen: You need to stay calm. Almarra and Kalari can kill these things, so for right now, we need to worry about getting as many villagers out of this town as possible. Whatever it is you're seeing in your head, we're not going to let that happen here."
Seeing her point, Alvara took a deep breath before taking her younger sister's hand, both Awoken getting up and taking a right to go around the building's far side. Immediately regretting it, Airada's heart almost sank as she could feel her consoling words be invalidated, a villager darting out the door of a nearby house with two Taken Psions on his tail. Taking an Arc-Slug to the leg, the man was quickly and savagely jumped, one of the two Psions jumping right onto the man's back before pulling his head off like a cheap toy. Alvara dropping the Psion, another bender was thrown into their day as the other Psion twitched more than normal, followed by a brand new Taken Psion almost emerging from the existing Psion's side. Splitting like a pair of amoebas, the two Psions now acted independently, not getting long to act on it as Alvara's Zhalo rifle shocked both to death. Considering that building to be empty, the two Awoken moved past it to the next one, entering through the back-door into what resembled a tavern. The far wall having a large, stained-glass window masking the outside while the inside was decorated with refurbished wooden chairs and tables, most of those tables were serving as a place to hide for various locals.
"Alright everyone, get up and head out to your right. Get to the edge of town and do not come back, just get out and head for the nearest underground shelter. Don't wait for us, don't try to be heroes, just go. Now!" Airada guided, yelling the 'now' part to spark them into moving as the villagers scrambled to their feet, running out the door as instructed. The last of the villagers escaping, Airada's yelling drew some bad attention as a Taken Cavalier shoulder-bashed through the stained-glass window. Breaking the wood and concrete surrounding the window as well, the demented Cavalier's warped appearance matched its blades, which were the same dark-space-like black near the handle, transitioning to white flame as you went up the blade. The front edge having an orange, fire-like hue to it, both Cleavers left a fire-like trail behind each one as the Cavalier swung, going for Airada first. The Warlock falling backwards into a sitting position, it was far from a bad spot as she threw her free hand forward, a quick blast of lightning knocking the Taken Cavalier against the wall behind it.
Thinking the Cavalier was dazed, Alvara drew her knife with plans to stick the Taken in the neck, getting a harsh surprise as the Taken Cavalier lashed back to its feet. Her shields absorbing the impact of the Cavalier's right blade hitting her stomach, Alvara was spared a bisection due to the low velocity, instead merely being carried off her feet and thrown back, over the tavern's bar, and into a shelf of miscellaneous drinks. Hitting the shelves much like the Cavalier hit the wall, Alvara haphazardly threw a Skip Grenade against the roof, the set of micro-bombs homing in on the Cavalier's back. Doing a decent amount of damage, the Cavalier strangely lashed at Airada, scraping the front of her helmet, before fleeing the tavern. Running clear out of sight, neither one thought much of it.
"I thought you were a Sunsinger…..since when did you learn to shoot lightning out of your hands?" Alvara asked, her younger sister helping the Hunter to her feet with her free hand.
"Ikora had a few Guardians go hunt down some special Conductive Minds to bring back the Stormcaller arts. Got to kill some Vex, play in a thunderstorm, and now when people ask about the hair, I can say 'Yes, in fact, I did get struck by lightning'. But, more importantly, we need to keep moving. Hopefully not everyone behind the Taken's current line is dead." Airada explained, not seeming bothered about the other Guardians' ability to hold them back.
"What about the other Guardians? If there are more of those Cavaliers out there, I'm not so sure they can keep it together for very long." Alvara figured, admittedly a bit on edge still. As if to calm her nerves and prove her wrong, a loud clang could be heard from outside the tavern, followed by both Guardians witnessing a flaming, short hammer go flying from the left side of their vision to the right. Passing out of sight, the hammer found its mark, sounding like it took out at least 5 or 6 Taken at once. Considering herself proven wrong, Alvara silently followed her younger sister back out the door they entered through, intending to move to the next house down the line. Passing by a wooden, ramshackle fence, neither sister could see the demented glow in time as the wounded Cavalier from before bursted through the fence. Both blades swinging at once, the Cavalier was proving itself to be extremely adept with the weapons. Swinging high and low, and even creating a greater spectacle by twirling the blades mid-swing, the Cavalier's big thing was it kept in motion. Throwing one of its Cleavers, the blade lodged itself in a nearby building, but was far from out of play.
"Sis, behind you!" Airada called out, causing Alvara to instinctively Blink upwards as the Cavalier's lodged Cleaver moved on its own, wrenching itself free from the building and flying in a straight line back to its owner. Using her height to her advantage, Alvara let herself fall towards the Cavalier, latching onto his front before pulling her legs in close and swinging them over to hang off its back. Bracing her feet on the Cavalier's hips, Alvara tried to shoot the Cavalier with her Zhalo while avoiding her own right foot, her sister having just as hard a time trying to shoot the Cavalier's head and not Alvara's. Considering all attempts to wrench Alvara off to be pointless, the Cavalier instead focused on Airada, making a right-to-left horizontal swing with its right Cleaver, to which Airada ducked under it. Standing right back up, the young Warlock didn't notice properly as the Cavalier moved its right arm back along the same line, belting her in the head with the bottom of its Cleaver. Knocking her over, the Cavalier twirled both Cleavers to hold them upside down in preparation of skewering Airada through the back, to which Alvara stopped with her Zhalo. Drawing her knife again, the Hunter stuck the Cavalier right in its single, glowing eye, causing a complete nerve-lockup. Giving off a low, guttural growl, the Cavalier was nonetheless gone, ejecting Alvara from its back as the entire creature seemed to be sucked into a mini-vortex that spawned from its eye. The vortex vanishing as soon as the Cavalier was gone, neither Guardian was quite sure if it was a cheap escape tactic or some kind of overload resulting in a critical reaction.
"You hear that? The gunfire stopped….think everyone's alright?" Alvara pointed out, knowing it could go both ways: Either all the Taken were dead, or Almarra and Kalari were. Moving through the fence that the Cavalier smashed up, both Guardians crept to the building-corner to see copious amounts of white blood on the floor and both Guardians still standing, completely unharmed.
"That's a new record…..30 precision kills without a single miss in one gunfight. Want me to deduct points for kills on split-spawned Psions, or no?" Almarra's Ghost asked, saying so out loud as if for everyone else to know how precise she was. Not focusing on it, Alvara instead took a look around at the destruction left behind, with large patches of the ground charred black from a combination of the Taken Knights' Solar Boomers and Kalari's Dragon's Breath. Spotting a gruesome, bloody mess through another smashed-in building-front, Alvara tried not to focus on it. Feeling a dark shiver down her spine, everyone else felt it too, all the Guardians looking over where the Taken came from to see something much, much worse. A sizable Taken force slowly trudging towards them, the numbers grew on the spot, with multiple ruptures appearing to spawn in entire groups of more Taken. Large black orbs appearing on the various rooftops, these spawned even more abominations in the form of Taken Hobgoblins and Vandals, showing that even the Vex and Fallen weren't safe. At the front of the marching crowd was a floating, three-eyed creature with an unusual head that protruded right and left like a pair of sideways horns. Midnight black with glowing white eyes and white-tipped claws, the creature carried a large Cleaver in its right hand, instilling an unusual sense of pure, unfiltered death in the Guardians.
"Trust me, I know Guardians are powerful, and all of you aren't pushovers, but I'm detecting at least 500 Taken and rising in the town. We might want to leave." Alvara's Ghost said to all four Guardians, nobody really complaining as the Guardians openly turned tail and ran. The Taken opening fire in full force, it was a miracle that they weren't all cut down immediately. A hail of Arc Slugs and Shredder bolts sailing downrange, punctuated by the occasional Void Boomer impact, the Taken generated enough firepower output to account for both sides in a full-scale conflict. Airada, Kalari and Almarra continuing to make it out of town, Alvara was cut short by a Void Boomer impact directly to her right, singeing her right leg and forcing the Hunter into cover. Having been thrown off her feet and past a corner, Alvara's Ghost was already on top of things, hoping to remotely summon their ship and enact a very speedy Trans-Mat.
Seeing her ship come in, Alvara braced herself as she prepared to run for it, only to fall back to resting on her right thigh as she saw the ship get shot down. The right side getting seared open by a beam of some kind, the ship's crashing was soon revealed to be the cause of a Taken Ogre, which was leading ahead of the pack. Not sure how she'd get out now, Luck came back to her side as a dark green Blockade Runner with stylized shark-mouth paint on it flew through at high speed, slamming into the Ogre before gaining altitude. Having come in too fast for the Ogre to shoot it down, the ship effectively carried the Ogre off before gravity took hold, the Taken Ogre slipping off and crashing through the roof of a nearby church. With the biggest threat to aircraft down, Alvara got her ride out as a ship came in, floating near her position in preparation to Trans-Mat her.
"Get in, fast! Before these Taken shoot me down!" Airada's voice yelled over the ship's outboard speaker-system, prompting Alvara to clamber and stumble to her feet and into Trans-Mat range. Snatching up the Hunter, Airada gunned it immediately after, taking off at full speed for orbit. Setting the ship on auto once they escaped the town, Airada took her helmet off and placed it off to the side, stepping out of her seat and walking into the back portion of her ship. Seeing Alvara sitting on the floor, the Hunter's right boot was pulled off and her pants leg pulled up to her knee, showing light burn-markings that her Ghost was inspecting. Kneeling down beside her older sister, Airada almost found it weird that it was the little sister playing the comforting role for once. "Think you'll be fine? Because if not, I'm sure I've got something around that can help you walk until we get back to the City."
"I'll manage for now, thanks…..but we're not going to the City. Got a message from Caldwell calling everyone in Komodo to the Reef. Apparently the Queen has opened up the Vestian Outpost for Guardians and any non-hostiles with the capability to go there, and we've specifically been called out because of our run-in with Skolas in Africa. You wouldn't mind taking us there, would you?" Alvara asked, pulling her helmet off. Summoning her own Ghost, Airada made a light head-gesture towards the cockpit before the Ghost floated away, indicating a silent agreement. With her Ghost taking care of the destination adjustment, Airada moved to take a seat next to her older sister, holding the smaller Awoken close.
"I know this probably doesn't mean much since I'm the youngest of us three, but whatever that thing was, whatever these Taken are, they won't take us, and they won't take the City. And above all else, if they want to take you or Sivala, they've got to get rid of me first. That's a promise I'll keep until the day they figure out how to kill me for good." Airada consoled, hoping to help at least somewhat in the face of this oncoming war.
Hours later in the Vestian Outpost, The Reef…..
Finally getting through all the ship-based security checks and confirmations, Airada and Alvara Trans-Matted out of Airada's ship to find Reef personnel, Awoken and Frame alike, all running to and fro in a frenetic dash. Passing information back and forth, managing incoming and outgoing ships and signals, many of them seemed like they were up to their neck in work, while still more Awoken were off to the side. These other Awoken looking completely crushed in spirit, both Guardians quickly got the feeling that something very, very bad had happened recently. Hobbling along with Airada's assistance, Alvara's right foot still lacked a boot with her pants leg at her knee, her shin and foot being wrapped in bandaging as per Airada's repeated request. Thankfully, it wasn't very hard to spot their group in the mix thanks to Riksis' height and Midas' golden plating.
"The hell's going on with the Awoken here? Is the Reef under attack or something? Also, uh…..is Merikh alright?" Alvara asked as they approached Caldwell, the Exo Warlock looking just as grim as before he met the Exo Stranger. Quickly passing an eye over the rest of the group, Alvara effectively went on a checklist to ensure everyone was alright. Spotting Barrett, Kyra, Carwyn, Niro, Midas, and Riksis all perfectly fine, Alvara's heart was put at ease when Merikh stepped into view from behind Midas. Completely unscathed, the one difference to his appearance was his decision to swap his old helmet out for a Celestial Nighthawk.
"The Queen's alive, but her brother probably isn't. According to what I could get out of the Awoken running by, the Queen's brother led an attack on a massive Hive ship near Saturn, and it deployed some kind of radial WMD that eviscerated the entire fleet and blew a large hole in Saturn's ring. All the Awoken present are either dead or drifting, and there hasn't been any contact with her brother, so he's on that list too. With him and half the Awoken fleet gone, everybody's running around like a bunch of headless chickens trying to account for who died and what the hell they're going to do now. Also…you alright? You look like you've seen a ghost." Merikh explained before Caldwell could, having been off trying to gather that info before the two sisters walked up. Noticing Alvara's bandaged foot, he figured that was a question best-suited for later.
"The settlement at Vevey got destroyed, those….Taken or whatever Zavala called them showed up and overran us. However they're made, they've got Cabal, Vex, even Fallen working along with the Hive, and they've got new abilities. And, as for seeing a ghost…..my Ghost showed me security footage of your old village in ruins. I was worried you might've gone down with it." Alvara explained, taking a deep breath to explain her confusion.
"That old wasteland? My people haven't been there in a while. Place is completely abandoned after the Vex attacked it so long ago, so those dead bodies you saw were probably just looters or drifters that came through at a bad time. The big question now though is why would they attack a little scrapheap that people don't even live in anymore." Merikh pondered, yet another abrupt arrival butting into the conversation as their good friend that only Caldwell knew, the Exo Stranger, seemingly stepped in from the crowd.
"I got through to the Vanguard like you asked, Caldwell. According to what Eris Morn had to say, that horn-headed monster leading attacks across the solar system is the Hive god Oryx, and he's here because we killed his son, Crota. There's been confirmed attacks on human settlements in Iceland, Russia, Asia, North and South America, just about everywhere outside the City that you can think of. As for Oryx himself, Eris believes he's hiding on the Dreadnaught, that giant Hive ship that blew out part of Saturn's ring. Ikora's scouts said that Oryx committed too much friendly fire and has delayed his advance into the inner system, so we've been bought some time, but there's no telling how long it'll be until he gets more ships to arrive. For right now we just need to keep as much radio silence as possible when here at the Vestian Outpost to avoid giving it away, so I'll check back in with them frequently for any updates." The Exo Stranger listed off, oddly more invested and less distant compared to how she usually was.
"He's here because Crota died? Shit….." Merikh asked, hissing his curse in frustration due to his own hand in the Prince's demise. Midas turning to him with a feeling of suspicion, the Vex Axis Mind was possibly on to something.
"Merikh, can your Ghost let me analyze the recording of your fight against Crota?" Midas inquired, getting his wish with little resistance. Going over the recordings, Midas' suspicions were right on-point. "After calculating all alternate scenarios based on the footage, I think I know why that Mormo was after you back on Europa: In all scenarios where you fail your killshot on the Knight attempting to kill Sibuna, no matter how fast your followup, Sibuna is killed, triggering a cataclysmic reaction. You, Sivala, and all of Coalition are mercilessly vaporized and your Ghosts destroyed, resulting in Crota's survival. Your hand didn't cut Crota down personally, but it's because of you that Sibuna was allowed to cut him down, so in a sense, it's you that killed Crota. Oryx's attack on your village might've been a pinpoint effort to try and exterminate you. In short, I believe the Hive god is hunting you."
"Fun…..Cayde's probably going to have a field-day when he hears about this one. Can you project the chances of Sivala being alive by any chance?" Merikh asked, trying his hardest to sound like it was purely out of curiosity. Not getting a vocal answer, Merikh instead got a comedic pointing gesture to behind Merikh from the golden Vex, prompting Merikh to turn around and find his answer. Finding the short Titan to be embracing both of her sisters, it was probably the most caring Merikh had ever seen her be. Lingering on it for a moment, the storm of different emotions going around through the group was stomped flat by the clang of a metal staff striking the floor twice, getting everyone's attention.
"Guardians…by word of the Queen, we are to work together against this new threat. Some of you have fought Skolas, yes? Seen the Wolf Kell, heard his claims to be Kell of Kells. Together we can bring him before House Judgment, ideally before he gets us all killed, yes? You can call me Variks, the Loyal." Variks, a forward-hunched Fallen with rudimentary, ugly cybernetic arms and a distinct green color scheme to his outfit greeted, hobbling forward with a tall staff in hand. Vandal-sized, his chest was adorned with a unique logo, which most likely belonged to the House of Judgment that he mentioned.
"Yeah, we've seen Skolas. I take it you have reason to believe where he'll be next?" Caldwell replied, finding Variks' 'accent' to be odd compared to the normal speech he heard from Kyra, Riksis, and the Suns. Nodding, Variks gestured for the group to follow him as he walked off, back towards a hut-like metal structure not far off. Adorned with green flags possessing the same logo as Variks' chest, the hut's entryway was just a simple cloth barrier to block vision. Variks heading inside, the group had a moment of hesitation as they realized they had some exceptionally plus-sized members. Riksis agreeing to stay outside, the rest of the group, including the Stranger, Airada, and Sivala, all entered the hut to see what Variks had to say. Decorated with a number of various carved stones, small Judgment flags, and decorative beads hanging from the roof, the interior looked like a true shaman's hut. A small holographic projection-table located in the center, Variks walked around to the far side of the table, right next to an Awoken woman dressed in similar attire to the other Awoken around, only without the helmet. Her hair tied back, the Awoken was easily distinguished by her missing eye, which was covered by an ornate strapless eye-patch.
"So you're the Guardians I've been told to work with…..right, down to business. The name's Petra by the way." Petra greeted, activating the hologram-table to project a map of Earth's continents. A red blip appearing in Africa, the location roughly matched up to where the Suns' settlement was. "For now, we need to track Skolas and take him down. Your fight with him in Africa was the first sighting, and since then he's been spotted in Old Russia trying to negotiate with the Devils and Kings. Another Guardian ruined both of those attempts, so going off what we know about Houses on Earth, his next stop's going to be the House of Iron in Germany. They're contesting the land with the Cabal, and with these Taken appearing too, it's a prime target for Skolas to swoop in and make himself look like a savior. If I had to guess, after that he'd probably either go for the House of Bone in South America or the House of Earth in North America. It's quite the trek, but Skolas is going to want any reinforcements he can get here. Last I heard both of those Houses are human-tolerant, so if you get to them first, you might be able to turn them to your cause instead of his."
"So we're racing to play leader against a giant zealot….fun." Kyra noted, taking close note of the different red blips popping up in Germany and both North and South America. Catching Variks' attention, he didn't seem to notice at first that a fellow Fallen was in the group.
"Skolas is overzealous, but he is no laughing matter. Vicious, vicious creature he was. What he lacks in restraint, he makes up for in pure power, so tread lightly in House Iron's territory, yes?" Variks warned, sounding like he knew Skolas quite well.
"Duly noted…we'll take a trek into the House of Iron's territory after we get some more updates from the Vanguard. When we find Skolas, we'll see if we can take him out. If not, we'll come back here and revise the plan from there." Caldwell settled, trying to mediate the Skolas and Taken threats in tandem rather than letting one gain massive priority over the other.
"No need for so much legwork. With Queen's brother dead, a new master of the Crows had to be appointed. After my betrayal of Skolas in the Reef Wars, as well as the dire times we find ourselves in, dire times need….dire measures, yes?" Variks pointed out, insinuating that he's been appointed master of the Crow drones scattered across the solar system in Uldren's absence. "I will use Crow drones, track your movements. Track Skolas' movements. With that, we find him quick, before he kills us all."
"As much as I'm wary of the creaky shaman-Vandal, I'm not saying no to more intelligence." Merikh passively jabbed, making fun of Variks' weak appearance. Slowly hobbling over, Variks seemed to just stare at the tall Hunter, quickly shifting to a brief offensive as he lifted his staff, making one very fast jab at Merikh's foot with the bottom of it. Landing right on-target, Variks got his point across as he walked back to his previous position, Merikh only showing restraint due to Variks being a friendly as he tried to nonchalantly stand on only his other foot for a bit. Caldwell dismissing the group and telling them to leave the shack, Petra and all but one member left.
"You said you knew Skolas in the Reef Wars…what was he like?" Kyra asked, having lingered behind out of a strong desire to speak with a new, friendly Fallen. Taking a seat in one of the nearby chairs, Variks did the same, showing that he was ready to play ball.
"Skolas was unfathomable…..so full of hatred and vengeance, yet now he claims to be Kell of Kells." Variks began to explain, laughing a little after mentioning Skolas' claims. "The Kell of Kells is meant to unite the Houses, bring them all under a single banner and restore the Eliksni race to what it once was. In truth, I feel Skolas cares more for conquest and ultimate rule, not unity. When you see him, show no mercy. Unless Petra asks for him alive: Kill. Him. Dead."
"How can you so easily call us the Eliksni, like nothing happened? We lost that title when the Great Machine left us, and we'll need to get back in its good-graces before we can rightfully call ourselves anything but Fallen again. Do you believe we never did anything wrong? Or are you just a little bit senile, old man?" Kyra jabbed, somewhat annoyed at Variks' pride, as well as his speech impediment. Pausing for a moment, Variks strangely didn't seem angry or even offended. Instead, he simply sat there and thought on the words that had been exchanged, as well as taking a closer look at Kyra.
"You seem so young, yet you've got such strong opinions about our past. How did a…Fallen…..like you come to work with Guardians? Forced?" Variks inquired, getting up to get closer to her. Not getting up herself, Kyra nonetheless leaned back a bit to get a little bit more personal space between them.
"I cut them a deal: They save me when they found me near-dead, I abandon the Devils to come work with them. With Riksis tagging along now, I don't regret it in the slightest. As for my strong opinions, I feel there's a smarter way to get the Great Machine back than how the Kings are approaching it: It's still got a mind of its own, so what good does it do if we destroy the City and take it by force? It could still reject us. Part of the reason I joined them is so that maybe one day I can get close to it, perhaps have Riksis speak to it and help gain its favor with at least part of the population. I know you can't change evil, and Fallen like Skolas are a lost cause, but I'm hoping perhaps the ones that can still be saved will be able to find refuge in the City as well. At least, until both us and the Guardians are strong enough to make more focused living efforts outside of there." Kyra explained with a bit of an edge to her attitude, showing that her claims of making peace with the Great Machine were genuine rather than just a front. Letting off another small chuckle, Variks didn't seem to mind that she called him a senile old man.
"Finally, a fellow Eliksni with some admirable goals. It's too late for me, I'm just House Judgment Scribe to the Queen, and quite a coward. But you? You haven't lost your chance. You've had extensive contact with House Suns, yes?" Variks inquired, hoping to genuinely help here a bit. Finding the question a tad bit odd, Kyra nonetheless humored him on it.
"Yeah…I've met Raylik, quite the nice Kell. Seems a little laid-back unless something is trying to kill her, but nice nonetheless. Why?" Kyra wondered, not seeing what that Kell had to do with anything.
"Good girl, but she is no Kell of Kells, too relaxed, too content to merely defend her own and isolate from the rest. Skolas is no Kell of Kells either, but for worse reasons. I believe House Rain's tale is more than just a myth, and that true Kell of Kells simply has not shown their face. What Petra said is more important than you think: Seek House Bone and House Earth in the Americas, find a way there. Rally them, gain their support. Unity will not only destroy false Kell, but hopefully bring out true one. Whoever they may be." Variks explained, sounding equally passionate about this as Kyra was about her opinions on the Traveler. Thinking on it a bit, Kyra started to see past Variks' brittle frame and annoying mannerisms, understanding why he made it this far.
"That makes sense….gather as many likeminded Fallen together, and perhaps the true Kell of Kells can emerge. I take back what I said about you Variks, you're not quite the senile old man I first thought you were." Kyra reconciled, getting up give Variks a light hug as a show of good intentions. "I'll keep in touch, but keep this between us for now. As far as the Guardians can know, we're prioritizing the Houses of Bone and Earth purely as strategic cutoff points against Skolas, nothing more. If they know what we're really after, they might falsely assume it's bad for the City. I just hope you find your Kell of Kells in all this, for all our sakes."
"In truth, I think I already have….." Variks mumbled to himself as Kyra turned to leave, spotting the Traveler's logo on her hip before she exited. Smarter than he looked, Variks didn't want to repeat what happened with Skolas, so for now, he was going to keep his suspicions to himself. Going back to carving one of his rocks, Variks could only admittedly hope that he'd get to serve by her side at that point rather than sit here in a dinky little hut carving stones to satiate his boredom.
Meanwhile, deep in the Tiveden Forest, Sweden…..
With the sun completely down, the Tiveden Forest fell silent aside from the natural sounds of wildlife, making for an effective cover to sneak in close to a lone wooden shack. Seemingly erected in a random spot in the forest, the shack was simple and effective, visibly lit through the windows by a few candles within. With plenty of tall trees around, it was very easy for a soon-to-be intruder to get close.
"There we are…get one last message out to the Vanguard, I've found the shack. Not sure if he's in here, but if he is, hopefully I can get some evidence and run. Just…keep my ship ready, might need a fast exit." Komo-49, the Nightstalker Hunter that made up the third member of Sivala and Airada's Fireteam spoke to her Ghost, currently laying stomach-down on a thick tree-branch as she spied on the shack. Dressed in a Bog Wild helmet, Sinaa Lamprey 1.0 arms, Bog Wild chest, Aspriet 1.0 legs, Highest Squidder cloak, and all colored in Nebula Glow colors, the Hunter was fairly hard to spot against the dark backdrop. Dropping off the tree, Komo transitioned into a Shadestep roll to keep the noise down as she rolled just short of the front door. Slowly advancing, Komo drew a Havoc Pigeon sidearm that she'd been given for this job in her right hand, the left gently opening the front door. Creaking it open slowly, the Exo Hunter looked around for any signs of the Hive. Feeling a dark presence emanate from the far back-left room, Komo quickly moved to enter, finding more than she bargained for.
"Well…..looks like we found the Vanguard's lost shipment." Komo's Ghost commented, the Hunter stopped dead as she found herself looking at an ornate Hive-style shrine, Crota's helmet sitting at the top with his sword embedded into the shrine just below that. A number of other smaller Hive artifacts draped over the shrine, Komo slowly approached with hopes of taking the helmet and Cleaver. Hearing a shotgun slide being racked, her synthetic blood ran a bit colder as she processed that sound, acting on instinct as she instead snatched the nearest Hive necklace off the shrine. Moving to leave, the door leading into the room had a large hole blown into it as a shotgun blast fired off, prompting Komo to instead go for the window. Shadestepping through the window, the shack's owner nonetheless knew where she was as she fled at full speed for the deeper parts of the forest. Clambering up the nearest tree, Komo's goal was to lose her pursuer by swiftly leaping from tree to tree.
Hearing the distinct footsteps of a sprinting Titan below her, rounds from an Auto Rifle began to tear up through the leaves, splitting and puncturing the branches underfoot. The pursuer somehow keeping pace despite her being an Exo at full-tilt movement, Komo tried to ignore the light grazing rounds that struck her shields, hoping to lose him eventually. The Auto Rifle rounds ceasing, Komo stopped in a tree, crouched in a tight squat in hopes that she couldn't be seen. Listening closely for any signs of the pursuer, things were back to the dead quiet of the forest, leading her to believe she'd lost her pursuer. Letting off a sigh of relief, that sigh turned into a gasp of panic as she heard a Rocket Launcher fire off, the section of tree just below her exploding in a blast of fire and wood-chips just a second later. Propelling the Hunter off her perch, Komo slammed back-first against a nearby tree before falling down, landing again to smash her back on a large rock before rolling off said rock, coming to rest in the dirt face-down.
Suffering a sensory overload from the high-impact damage to her exoskeleton, Komo could only barely crawl forward before she felt a heavy, golden boot slam itself down on her back. Clutching the necklace in her right hand, that necklace was forcibly removed from her possession as the Titan grabbed her arm, using his foot braced on her back to pull, ripping Komo's right arm clean off its shoulder-socket. Unable to contain her agony, Komo rolled onto her back as she screamed from the damage, her blurry visual feedback registering the Titan Sibuna standing before her. Komo's severed arm in his hands, the Titan wrenched the necklace from her fingers before barbarically tossing her severed arm back at her.
"Thieving Exo trash…" Sibuna mumbled, walking away and leaving Komo to writhe in the dirt as he left with the necklace. Empty-handed and experiencing a total sensory overload, Komo's Ghost sent out a distress signal for any nearby Guardians to help as the Exo Hunter went into emergency shutdown, ceasing all motion.
Author's Note
Finally got to finish this one, and just a few days short of my 18th birthday on the 15th too. Since this was a bit of a landmark chapter (The start of the Taken War), I wanted to go all-in with this one, hence the…..darker tone for this one. The whole story isn't turning into a tragedy tale with everyone fumbling and flubbing at what to do, it just went that way for this one because this was the Taken's first appearance, so it was meant to simulate the true fear that something like the Taken appearing out of nowhere would generate. If you think about it, the only reason we didn't freak out too much about the Taken is we, as players, knew all about it months in advance ala advertising. If they just dropped TTK as a silent update one day with The Coming War spontaneously appearing on Mars with no forewarning, the whole mission would've been far more suspenseful, and the Taken appearing would've blown far more minds and had players freaking out more, so that scenario was the biggest thing I tried to replicate. Getting a few things going with this chapter too, including truly including the Exo Stranger more, as well as rounding out Sivala's fireteam that you'd heard about, but never properly seen before now, and even bringing Petra and Variks into the story. Needless to say, all these characters will continue to pop up, as this story's redone take on TTK is explicitly designed to include all of them, Eris, the three City factions, Amanda Holliday, the Vanguard, essentially all the important NPCs except for Eva Levante. She could appear too, but there's not really anything I can think of to make a Shader-dealer valuable against Oryx.
While there are rewrites, changes and extensions, some bits remain the same (Such as Cayde's Stash), so we'll just have to see how it goes. In addition, about Uldren, I know about the "The Aftermath" Grimoire Card, but I'm keeping it to myself for the time being as to whether or not this story goes along with it to keep Uldren's fate a surprise within here. Maybe he lived, maybe he died. It'll be confirmed one way or another later on, but for now, it's up to question. Also, about the Taken, unique designs for the Tortured Taken have been laid out just like for the Axis Vex, Reaver Fallen, etc., and will ideally be cropping up quite soon. In regards to musical inspirations, a big part of the dark tone once the Taken arrived came from a big influence by Regicide from the Taken King soundtrack, specifically from when Alvara's Ghost shows the security footage essentially all through until they get to the Vestian Outpost. And, to a lesser degree, the song Dance with the Devil by Breaking Benjamin also edged its way in there for obvious reasons, partially because of the obvious Oryx/Devil analogy, and to a lesser degree because of Breaking Benjamin's involvement in Halo 2 with Blow Me Away, so this is like it coming full-circle between the band and a Bungie-related work. For now, any comments on what stood out/ what you like the most is much appreciated, especially going forward as more original elements are introduced for TTK.
Almarra created, named and submitted by Julbot1
Junko created, named and submitted by The Assassin's mentor. In addition, the entire No Land Beyond bit was his idea, and added in at his request.