Chapter 7 - Lockdown
Act VII - House of Wolves
[The Reef | Asteroid Belt | Prison of Elders]
~Welcome to Prison of Elders, Guardians~ Variks' voice traveled through my coms as we ran across the massive suspension bridge leading to the famed prison I've heard of, a place for the worst in the system. Fallen, Cabal, Hive, even Vex, wonder how they keep them here?
The very entrance was grand in scale. Floating amongst the Reef was a colossal structure jagged and wrapping upward in a cone, lights blinking and systems constant across the complex. A black citadel that made up what I could see of the Prison of Elders, the rest vanishing deep blow. Rocks floating around, some wired together, and others supporting watchtowers of some kind.
The way inside was lit up brightly with spotlights, cameras following us as we approached the gateway, Awoken Guards standing by, offering a simple nod to us as we ventured forward, this time Petra answered. ~You're entering Section Five, Guardians, you should have an easy time arriving to where Drevis is located~
"And on your end, Petra?" Ghost asked curiously as we passed through disabled turrets and down narrow hallways, panes of glass overlooking the cells lining some of the walls, the rumble of trains zipping by on large tracks between the rows of holding cells. "Petra?"
~Having... ugh, technical problems, seems Drevis has set some of the Kings and Exile against each other~ I winced as I heard a large explosion from her end, and the three of us stopped before a doorway
~Drevis is leader of Fang, cunning, and will turn everything to her advantage~ Variks growled, then a door adjacent to us opened. ~Need shortcut, take maintenance path, yes?~
"Let's go to prison guys!" Zane waved his hands jokingly, stepping forward as he screamed, the two of us watching as he hit just about every possible point on his body on the way down the ladder, Rika appearing beside us. "...ugh, o-okay! Don't fall down, ow..." He whined as I sighed, sliding down the railing while Morbin floated down
"Pfft hahaha, you dumbass, oh I totally got that on camera too!" Rika laughed to the miserable Hunter before us, giving him a quick fix before vanishing again
Zane was face-first on the floor, plucking his visor from the ground as I helped him back to his feet. "Maybe let me lead for a while, yeah?" I suggested gently as he nodded. "We're inside Variks, where next?"
~Follow passage, have opened hatch into exterior wall. Very dangerous~ He didn't tell us that part until now? Following the marker, I saw a hatch swing open allowing us to jump down onto a catwalk. ~Drevis smart, short-circuited generator, watch your step~ He growled the last part
The way across was narrow, hugging the outer wall of the Prison as sections of the wall jutted periodically, and one glance over the edge told me it was a terrible idea to look down. The purple hue of the Reef made the blinking lights that illuminated the way forward brighter, so identifying what points the walls ejected a block via the scuff marks they made gave me some clarity of how to navigate this strip.
Zane cracked his knuckles. "I'll go first," He shuffled across the edge, his back pressed flush to the wall given the few inches of walking space he had. A rectangle beside him shot out, starting him into ducking under, shimmying across as one gazed his left leg, making him stumble as the previous block cracked in the head. "Waaaaaa...!"
Rika appeared beside us, I held my breath, and Morbin was... laughing, even as Rika summoned Zane back from the grave, himself shivering. "Okay!" He shoved Morbin forward. "Chrome Dome next!"
His head flicked to the death trap, then back to us with his hand waving down. "Hmph, I ain't going across that." Both of us remained silent, staring darkly at the stoic Exo as he slumped, grumbling as he flipped over the railing. "Let me show you how it's done correctly."
With a large gust of Light from his legs, Morbin glided past the traps in the wall, making farther than Zane, however, I leaned closer to Zane. "Think he'll make it?" There was doubt, primarily due to karma
"Oh he'll make it," Zane replied, just as we sat the silver silhouette of Morbin fly across my visor, his cursing lost to the rocks below. "To his grave."
That alone made me sigh, exasperated by the longevity of his trial. "We're gonna be here a while..."
"Okay, why do they even have that wall!?" I grumbled, kicking the doors open as we made it inside, scrapes and dent dotting my armor as I watched Zane pop many joints with a satisfying 'crack' each time. Morbin merely spun his head around like an owl, adjusting his neck. "We made it, Variks!"
~Yes-yes, time is short, but, the way forward is faster~ Variks replied, the doorway ahead rumbled open, revealing a slop roughly at a forty-five-degree angle, tracks spanning the massive slope, pillars dividing the four railways down the middle. ~Will say when to jump, Guardians ride rail line down, be wary of trains, yes~
"Of course the tracks are still running," Zane scoffed. "Variks, you understand the concept of, 'living' right?"
A low growl, ~Guardians safe, Ghost revive, yes?~ Much as I hate to say it, he had a point, but it didn't mean it wasn't unpleasant if the last fifteen minutes were anything to go by, ugh, never again
"Right, but that doesn't mean I enjoy reviving Ceres all the time." Ghost agreed, but again, there wasn't any time to complain, Petra needed us and Drevis could escape with more Fallen if we took a longer route
Taking no second chances, I leapt down onto the railway, sliding down as I gathered speed, zipping past lights and the occasion catwalk against the sloped ceiling. Behind me, Zane and Morbin also skated down, the wind picking up as I pulled myself to the left, hearing Zane yelp as a massive, bulky train transporting cyro pods zipped by.
Flying between a pillar and another train I pushed my legs off the right-hand side wall, spinning around while another train hurtled downward. I felt a hand tug me back onto my feet as Zane swam down beside me, pushing himself up onto his feet shakily. And he was laughing.
"Woohoo, this is kinda fun!" Despite the trains, it was, like a large slide. "Heads up, Titan Lady!" His arm spun me around until I was up against him, a train to our left passing by, Morbin doing the same on his end while evading them with a shift of his feet. "Hehehe, I love this prison."
"Yeah, it sort of is." I smiled meekly under my helmet, adjusting myself so I wasn't practically hugging Zane. "Eh, s-sorry."
"Ah, it's fine - Speak of, left!" His abrupt change of pace to tackling Morbin on his landing brought my head around, and then I too barreled into the two as we tumbled down the slope, two trains having cut off the right-hand side, while two at differing intervals barreled toward us. "Link arms, quickly!"
We did, with me at the vanguard. Holding steady, I pulled myself right, whipping my arm as Zane tugged Morbin around, his shoulder skimming a pillar as the train passed. Morbin shoved himself off the next pillar flicking me backward from the train's glare, Zane whipping me around as we swerved and dived away from the second train, the three of us yelling from the startling action.
~Guardian, jump!~ Variks commanded of us, a catwalk ahead lighting up green as we unhooked arms, leaping high, the velocity carrying us farther with our feet passing by two more trains. I struck the wall alongside Zane and Morbin, my face sliding down the concrete with a groan
"Haha! That. Was. Amazing~!" Zane sang with both arms high, his fist coming down to rub against Morbin's bicep. "Who's up for round two?!"
Plesant as the idea of the solar system's biggest slide was, I've been shoved, killed, and nearly flattened by an oncoming train far too many times. With a hand on Zane's eager form, I shook my head gently. "Please, no more trains."
"EVER!" Morbin/Kreig snapped, slumping over the banister as Zane retracted his hands
"O-oh, right, hehe, V-Variks, what's next?" He spun around, facing a camera that gazed back with a faint, scarlet eye
~Opening maintenance door, Fallen inside~ Variks grumbled a moment. ~Have reclaimed weapons, kill them, Guardians~ Not to be rude to Variks, but his prison seriously needs a security overhaul when this is done, primarily removing the pushy, platform wall
"How the hell did they get weapons?" Zane gawked the second the door opened, and gunfire filled our ears as we ran for the cover of a pillar
The long, tall hallway was in a state of pandemonium, On the left-hand side of the cell block, the yellow-marked Fallen of the Kings stood their ground, using fallen pillars as cover against the renegades baring tarnished green capes, a Captain leading them from the cells above as Vandals kept watch for any Kings that dared to claim a post in the levels above.
Cells were torn open, and holes riddled the walls, metal bunks used as makeshift barricades against the ceaseless onslaught, and a large hole in the corner of the block, the armory left vacant say for the faint sign of robot proxies and guards.
"Does that answer your question?" I inquired as we took cover, some of the Fallen noticing us as we spun around to stop the Dregs from gaining ground. "We need to push through!" I say this while gunning down two Dregs, two CLGs sticking to two pillars, creating a wall of Void and Arc that obliterated a number of Kings that tried to advance
Idea! "Zane, take the balconies, Morbin, Exile, I got the Kings!" Diving over the barrier, I drew my left-hand quickly, carving an arc of flames through a Vandal, my hammer brought down to unleash a nova around me, burning three Dregs to ashes as I flew toward the Kings, connecting my knee to the Captain on their side, catching a Vandal on the backswing as I drove the hammer down into the ground, a small whirlwind of flames ripping the Fallen apart
Another Captain lunged with his swords, so I slid back, kicking off the ground as I swung my hammer forward, clanking the blazing metal off its forehead, using what remained of its body to run up and over the Kings, tossing a final hammer down into the mass as balls of fire erupted from their bodies, showering the cell in the sun's radiance.
Up above, Zane flipped over the railing, evading two Wire Rifles' muzzles as he swung a knife through one, grabbing the other as he tugged the Vandal into its companion. Landing beside them he skewered them both to the concrete wall between two cells. Buckshot ricocheted off his chest as the Captain brought a fist across Zane's cheek.
Stumbling back, Zane relieved the dead Fallen of his blade, bringing the sword across the Captain's midsection, swinging himself around while ensnaring his forearm across the Captain's throat, tugging it into the firing line of two Vandals above. Shoving the Captain over the railing Zane drew Imago high, and with two well-placed shots, the Vandals fell before my feet.
Morbin then threw a Dreg over my head, backhanding one away as he swung out Hammerhead with the trigger pulled back, the mindless spray of bullets split stone and flesh as he whipped it back into both hands, eviscerating several Fallen in the process. At ramming speed, Morbin shoved the barrel up against a Kell's Guard, tearing its armor to shreds while lowering his machine gun to land a Void-filled left cross to its throat, the body burst into several matter bombs that dispersed the remaining Dregs.
"Heads up!" Zane jumped down with Imago leveled to some Fallen bearing new colors. These Dregs wore dark blue cloth with barding stained the same tone around their waists. Their plumes tinted dark blue also. They growled at us, drawing their pistols before another shadow was cast over them
Petra swung down from one of the levels, kicking a Dreg to the ground, one lunged with its knife yet Petra side-stepped, disarming the Dreg and sinking its own shock knife through its throat, using her heel to kick the one off the ground as her foot lodged it deep within the forehead of the third. Twisting herself around, Petra grabbed her pistol and shot the retreating Dreg down.
"Glad I caught up with you, Guardians," She was smiling. "It maybe cleanup but I love getting into the field, and taking on a Baron? Even sweeter."
As we approached Petra, she worked her way through the security measures on the door ahead, Variks coming back on the coms. ~Wolves trapped in block ahead, she will not go down easily~
"I have to agree with, Variks - ah-hah, there!" The door shot open, the lights shot out as we followed Petra through. "During the Battle of Bamberga's Wrath, the Awoken tricked Drevis into crashing into an asteroid, leading to her capture. Only that sparked a siege at Pallas, it seems the Wolves weren't going to part with her so willingly."
"Then why stick around to gather Fallen from the very place she wanted to escape?" Zane asked, the doorway ahead pried open, a few spotlights remained but the rest of the large, and ominously silent, block was encased in darkness
"My guess, to prove herself to Skolas and her Fang that years locked away haven't dulled her blades," Petra sneered at the thought, stepping in beside me. "Be wary, Guardians."
"Petra with Morbin, take the left-hand side, me and Zane will take the right," I kept my voice to a whisper as we separated, my eyes nervously flicking between my radar and the swaying lights above. This silence wasn't pleasant like the very shadows moved and I had no idea how or where
Only the crunch of concrete under my foot made any noise, Zane sticking to my hip, himself on edge as we watched each others' backs. Every bump in a pipe and hum of the lights made my ears twitch, and it bothered me how I couldn't pick up anything, usually, stealth tech the Fallen use only masks their form, not their heat which my radar can pick up, was this because she was a Silent Fang?
There was a flap in the air, then I gasped as Zane shoved me aside, a blade lacerating his abdomen like leather as the bluish tint of the blade vanished into the darkness again, leaving me to run to his aid, himself clutching the wound.
"Oh yeah, she's definitely not lost her edge, ow." Zane chuckled, rubbing the spot as he patted my shoulder. "Don't worry, she just grazed me."
"Ceres, I can't seem to get a clear line through to Variks." What happened, Ghost? "This Fallen, she's tampering with the Prison's systems."
~Guardi... communications distorted... using prison defen... kill her, kill her dead...!~ Variks, while static and white noise sounded furious that his own prison had been turned against us, and in a flash, a large, purple wall of hardlight divided me and Zane from Petra and Morbin, a doorway beside them opening to reveal more Fallen from Exile
"Guardian, hah! Take care of Drevis, we can handle the rest!" Petra ordered while cutting down a Dreg back into Morbin's line of fire. Hesitant, I nodded as we stood with our backs together, weapons poised to the shadows as a faint visage flickered here-and-there
"Left!" Zane and I spun around in time for a Captain to slice my own forearm, as I felt the blade graze my skin, she vanished again, even as bullets reflected off her cloak. "That was close, you good?"
"Yeah," I winced and brushed off the injury. "She'll pick us off, we need to reduce the shadows."
"Reduce the... oh!" Zane stepped forward, then brought his arm high as fire burst from his armor, his Golden Gun brimming brightly while he slapped his hand down on the hammer, sending six random shots into the shadows, some connecting to crates as they caught fire, creating beacons that scared away the darkness. "Ta-da~"
"That'll do it, nice work, Zane." Praising him, I was no longer needing to stand so rigid, the obvious shimmer of the Captain stood in the middle of the shadows, blades drawn low. "We can see you."
" $£%"* \? £# (!^&$+." Drevis replied with a contemptuous snarl. Her armor was a dull shade of blue, the jumpsuit and barding pale greys and whites. Her body slimmer than most Captains, and with bandaging around her lower forearms, a cloak marked with that of a white symbol, lined with fur across her scarf. The helmet was designed akin to that of a bat's ears
"'Cleaver, but pointless', well, someone's overconfident." Ghost noted blandly, and while appreciated it did nothing to stop the Silent Fang from sprint toward us, even as our bullets struck her armor she drew her cutlasses between us, her extra arm grabbing my wrist as she tore my rifle away
Zane drew Quickfang, the two locking blades as she ducked under my flaming fist, guiding it into Zane's chest as he and I were kicked across the ground atop one another. Rolling off one another as the swords carving through the ground, I drew Verdict and surprised Drevis with buckshot to her stomach, pushing her into Zane's overhead slant to her back, tearing at the cloak.
He ran along the barrier, leaping over a swing that distorted the hardlight wall, Quickfang sliced across Drevis' shoulder, Zane twisting himself around to parry her erratic backswing. Yet he landed the second her cutlass came down to swipe his feet.
"Catch - Gah!" Her foot collided to his stomach, burying him into the ground as I ran, switching out Verdict for the black and green sword thrown toward my hand, my fingers flicking the handle into my palm as I brought it down with both hands, my body ablaze as Drevis' cutlasses crossed, a wave of flames reverberating under us
I drew it high, slamming the blade down, hard, then again, then again with a quick twirl as Quickfang shattered one of her blades on impact, flames burning her hand as she flung the handle into my visor, blinding me momentarily as I was tackled to the ground, straddled a moment before searing pain shot through my stomach, her cutlass driven down through my side as I held back a scream.
"Hands off my boss!" Zane tackled Drevis, strangling her for a second while her jerking caused the blade to twist inside my body, that forced a pained cry from my lips, enough to cause Zane to hesitate, that alone left him open for her arms to grab his head, smashing him against my torso as she pried her blade free, blood gushing as the crimson-caked edge rose above us
Not... yet. With a strained tug in my throat, I pulled Verdict to meet her blade, I hadn't pumped it at all so this was more of a bluff, something I'd expect Zane or Dimitri to pull, but there was nothing I could do without finding her sword through my throat.
~Control gained, reinforcements applied~ The sweet sound of the elder Fallen was a welcoming change, turrets sprouted from the ceiling, automatically destroying the hardlight generator as they locked themselves to Drevis, herself backing away toward a damaged door Variks couldn't seal
"£%&0 *^$ £"$%-*&/? ." Her claw lowered after her foreign warning reached my ears, the hatred in her eyes was met with a faint sign of uncertainty
The last I saw of Drevis' departure was her cloak masking her exit as I slumped back, dropping Verdict as Ghost appeared next to my cradled wound. Zane helping me sit upright despite his own injuries. "Sorry," He murmured, but I let out a hoarse chuckle
"Don't be, I underestimated her," My eyes scanned the block. "We all did."
"We may have failed to either detain or kill Drevis, but the Prisoners remain as they are, and a few have been culled, I'm sure Variks will be pleased with the new vacant cells we have." Petra smiled encouragingly
"I apologize, guess I made us cocky there, huh?" Ghost floated up, my wound no longer visible as I flicked his shell
"We're not perfect, and neither is she, we'll find her again, and Skolas too." That was indisputable
Petra dusted herself off, spinning her knife back into her belt, "Gather your strength, Guardians, we're going to hunt some Wolves together."
"Now that," Morbin cocked the slide on Hammerhead. "Does make me happy."
"That's a first..." Zane murmured, but then the barrel of the gun was dropped on his head.
Rika showed herself with a flat stare, "Okay, that one you deserved."
":/" Deus projected
To Be Continued...
My own personal mission added, and with a secondary threat alongside Skolas. I love the Prison of Elders, as for the last thing Drevis said it was, 'Soon, you Dead-Thing'. I hope you enjoyed, I appreciate the support, and seeya in the next chapter Guardians!
Next Chapter: A Kell Rising
The Hunt for Skolas takes Horizon back to Venus, where the Kell plans to claim the remains of the House of Winter under his banner.