Chapter 8 - A Kell Rising

Act VII - House of Wolves

[Asteroid Belt | The Reef | Vestian Outpost]

Upon returning from the Prison with a bittersweet victory, our goals were now prioritizing Skolas while Guardians across the system hunt down what significant foes the Wolves have on their side. I've learned today that Skolas and his ranks aren't to be taken lightly, he may be vicious, but he isn't stupid; If the Reef Wars is anything to go by.

Petra waited by her post, and despite the grave circumstances, she was brimming with anticipation, overlooking data, and visual feeds across the system. Spinning around to greet us she smiled. "Guardians, I can't wait to work with you further! Been a long time since I was on the field - even if it's just on the comms." Petra deflated a little but remained positive. "Drevis got away, but Skolas has made himself known, he's on Venus."

"Waiting for the buuuut~" Zane sang in a whisper behind me

"But," He was right, "He wants control of another Fallen House, one you took great care in dismantling already, the House of Winter. He'll kill whoever remains in command and take their troops. With your help, we'll stop him cold."

"It must be my birthday," Morbin tapped his fingers to Judgement in a rhythm, while Zane put his hands behind his head

"Level with me, P, are we going through any... unstable regions?" All of us trembled at the thought, while Petra merely raised her brow

"No, why?" Her inquiry was met with a collective sigh

"Nothing, Petra," With a smile, I gave an earnest nod. "We'll contact you once we're on Venus."

"Excellent, let's go!" For a woman who's stuck behind a screen, she sure has more enthusiasm than Cayde does

[Venus | Ishtar Sink | Ash Coves]

The terrain funneled into roads among valleys of ash-stained rocks, my feet gliding across a steel walkway that overlooked something very peculiar. Three Wolf-painted Pikes sat comfortably by a charging station, completely unattended. They were bulkier than Sparrows and slower, but they looked modified.

~Ceres, your Ghost is feeding me telemetry, I see what he sees. Why not take one of those Heavy Pikes for a spin?~ I wouldn't say no to the suggestion. Pulling myself onto the vehicle as I adjusted my body similarly to how I would on a Sparrow, though the handles were closer so I say upright slightly.

"Waah!" Zane immediately spun past me, having boosted up the curved wall before he hit the pivot and began spinning, the reaction releasing a bouncing Arc mine as it bounced across the walls

"Watch it ~I WILL GOUGE YOUR EYES OUT!~" Morbin snapped as his Pike snapped its upright with a jarring amount of speed, Zane's head left spinning as he tried to point ahead

~I was going to ask how to deploy the mines... but you figured it out~ Petra mused, Rika then deciding to add

~My dummy can be very resourceful when he needs to be~ Her snarky tone wasn't lost

"I will not be objectified!" Zane declared, sitting upright once more

"Hehe, alright, focus guys, let's move out!" I called in, spinning off with Zane safely behind us to avoid him tripping any more mines on us

We flew through the hidden passage toward the backside of Winter's Lair, three Dregs tried to stop us but that was a poorly made choice, the Arc cannons on these Pikes were highly explosive, two shots and they were gone without a trace.

"Oh, great, the took the tank! I need to get me one of those..." Zane exclaimed as our Pikes split before the blast of dirt and rock. Standing between us and the House was one of their Walkers and a small army of Wolves

"Morbin, clear the Fallen, Zane with me!" We flew back as Morbin's hand slapped against mine, himself taking on the grounded Fallen with mines and explosive cannons. I and Zane spun around a spire of rock, facing the Gatling gun of the Walker as it's lock-on cannon whistled over us, decimating the wall behind us

Pulling back on the handlebar, the bolts traversed the sulfur flats, battering the armor plating as we kept swaying between the Walker's field-of-view. The large Arc cannons mounted on the artillery uprooted the ground before me, Zane's Pike brushing the dust cloud away, the tracker locked to his Pike.

He sped up, the cannon fired the second he flew up a crescent rock, hitting the pivot as he spun over me, mines bobbing toward the Walker as a foot sat atop a mine, blowing the plating off completely, the overheated core exposed for our combined chain of arc rounds.

We both flew around either side, a surge of Arc from the reactor shoving us back as we deployed continuous mines from somewhere, blasts from the cannons overheating as the Walker tracked me, turrets tracing my route as my body trembled under the throbbing sensation of electricity. Zane then zipped past me, breaking the right leg as he held a thumb up to me, so I reciprocated the action.

I took the left and him the right. I raced up a boulder while he took a large wall of stone obscuring the Fallen and Morbin. With a sharp flick of the handle, we both spiraled over the Walker, releasing two mines each, abandoning our Pikes as they crashed into the stone again, combined with the mines the core went into a catatonic state.

The body rose and spasmed as plating broke down and systems jammed. Soon the Winter Walker slumped headfirst before us, the artillery rupturing from the abdomen as the barrel splashed down next to us. The Skiff above noticed this, and the Wolves took their leave, retreating deeper into Winter's Lair.

~Last week I was delivering court messages. Today, we're delivering explosions! I love fieldwork! Get after them, Guardians~ Petra was still invigorated, that too had me pick up the pace to where Morbin waited, abandoning his Pike by a barrier

"I can't take it with me?" I eyed Morbin, then his Pike as I shook my head, his slumping. "I can't have anything the Fallen have it seems." Is he still going on about that chair?

~The House of Winter, and the Devils and Kings... they hate Skolas. They think he betrayed the Fallen at the Twilight Gap~ If only they knew just how badly they got screwed over by the Reef, again, if not for her the City would more than likely be ruins or a Fallen citadel

Through the valley, a Pilot Servitor awaited with several new Shanks. The Servitor looked to be repurposed for combat, a 'Wolf Servitor', rather derivative, and the Shanks were updated with small Gatling guns marked, 'Repeater Shanks'. I held my hand up, then Ghost handed me my Zenobia as I locked the sights to the Servitor.

By the time the rocket was spotted, the machines were reduced to smoldering piles on the ground, the three of us pressing deeper into the Cinders. Oddly, the second the Wolves retreated the place became almost dead, not a sight or sound of Fallen anywhere.

~Your Ghost is detecting traces of a stasis field. Skolas was in a pod for years, it might be him~ Anticipation filled her voice momentarily, then came a wary silence. ~Strange... they should be fighting. If the House of Winter already kneels to Skolas...~

Then a pressing wave, faint as it might be, passed over us, a Darkness Zone, never a good sign. The massive doorway ahead of us was broken open by the console, so when we approached, the lights blinked a lime green.

"Anyone else feels a sense of Deja Vu?" I asked, stepping closer as my hold on Stranger's Rifle became taut

The large door's pistons flung open, ourselves huddled behind the edge while many Dregs were addressed by the primary target, his voice carried across the Cinders as Ghost appeared, my nod and he started to translate what he could for us.

A Kell bearing blue barding and dark grey underarmor. His marks woven with the House of Wolves that stretched down the cloth by his waist. A thick, crimson fur collar connected to his cape, flapping in the dust. A pair of vibrant orange tubes feeding into his helmet, curved and with visible, beady-blue eyes. Attaching to his shoulder blades were two large horns, the right one broken but it only made his stature that more threatening.

Every word he spoke was filled with anger, and his stance and glorified posture enraptured the Fallen, Winter no longer leaderless, their guide clear as day to who that remained. Skolas, Kell of Wolves.

"He's saying... wow, 'Listen to me, Wolf-born! Heed me, Whirlwind-scattered! I am the ghost of Cybele, the cunning claw of Iris, betrayed, chained, encrypted by the Queen, sent back from the Darkness to save us all! The days of Kell and House end now. The calendar of slavery and abasement goes to the fire. We are a new calendar! We are an age of beginnings! Each of us is a day!' Yeah, just... wow." That was a 'rough' translation? "I may have scanned a few notes from Variks, if Rika can help read Hive, then I can read Fallen."

~Someone's jealous~ Rika cooed

"Man, he's really going for an Oscar." Zane's observation was astute, then raised a finger, pointing. "FYI, he's looking directly at us." What!?

My eyes came to eye the Kell's own, a fierce chill crossing the gap as he spoke once more with a laugh, earning a rise of warcries from the remnants of Winter as he warped away before we could so much as flick the safety, the bolts already burrowing into the ground and doorway.

~Variks, get on the comms! What did he say?!~ Petra called to the elder Fallen afar, then a new tone entered my comms

~Yes, yessss... In your tongue, he said: 'The Wolves stand strong—Cower before the Kell of Kells!~ His voice graveled at the title, and while clearing out the Dregs came easy with a few precise rounds, we took off after the Kell

Zane froze suddenly. "Oh boy, that's... very bad." My head flicked between Morbin leading the charge on Tracer Shanks while I waited for Zane to answer. Then he tapped his helmet. "Variks will explain, come on!" He nudged my shoulder, taking off to view another kind of Shank

Unlike most, no gun was present, instead, netting tugged at the weight of the machine, unstable mines attached to their back as they moved through the tripped mines across the bridge. Zane brought Imago high and fired once, the first Shank erupted in the energy field, creating a chain reaction that subsequently destroyed the mines and the two Tracer Shanks

~Kell of Kells? Did he give himself a promotion?~ Petra murmured, clearly as lost as I was, to me, sounds like Skolas is trying to compensate. Variks illuminated

~A Fallen legend. He sees himself as a prophet, perhaps. Or he has gone quite mad~ Even Variks sounded amused by the idea of Skolas being this 'Kell of Kells'. But Winter fell to him easily, if we hadn't taken care of Draksis and Aksor, would Winter still have joined him? Maybe not without more resistance

"I don't like these new Shanks, very annoying," As Morbin said this a trace round burrowed into his shoulder, enacting retaliation via Lord of Wolves. "~DIE. DIE. DIE!~" Streams of molten bullets scorched through the Shanks, myself drawing my rifle high to the Dregs before they had a chance to raise a pistol, overhead, Zane ran up the vertical cliff and dropped a CLG, the pulse executing more Repeater Shanks

Many more trip mines dotted the walkways, and Shanks waited in ambush as we blew them apart, Zane having the range while I took care of the mines Morbin walked over without so much as a surprised glance. Soon we came to the cave entrance we once walked out of, now warded with a hardlight shield, two Vandals training their rifles on us.

We evaded them as I poised Verdict upon turning back, pumping a slug through the Vandal while Morbin grabbed his, tossing it over for Zane to fly-kick over the railing. When he turned his helmet snapped upright, switching to the auto rifle he almost never used as he shot between me, an act that startled me as I observed the blades inches from my visor.

"Got your back..." He replied gently, the Captain's invisible form already frozen in place by the barrel of Judgement pressed to its neck. One click and ether stained the walls, then shrapnel buried itself in Morbin's side, the other Captain pushed us away with erratic bursts from the shotgun.

"So the Captain's can turn invisible too? Seriously?" This was getting ridiculous, first new Servitors, then Shanks, now Captains? Unsurprisingly, Zane's explosive rounds disrupted the cloaking, as mine and Morbin's grenades stuck to its armor, tearing the Captain apart while the body flopped against the nearby rock formation

~We're getting close... that cryo-trace is getting stronger~ An update from Petra kept us on our toes while traversing the dark tunnels once more, my radar blank as we stepped out before a Skiff docked before us, but no sign of Skolas. ~But he was - Guardians, behind you!~

A single growl and pain met my forehead as the launcher tossed us across the balcony, Morbin colliding with the Skiff before falling to the caves below. I stood up, raising my rifle before the Kell that simply grabbed it by the barrel, squeezing the components even as I pumped every round I had into his palm. He let go, then his lower arm pulled and snapped the rifle by the muzzle, my eyes left in shock as the gifted weapon like Suros was torn to pieces.

"Not again..." Anger and grief for my favorited weapon filled my voice before a hand snagged around my neck, the Kell backhanding Zane before his sword could reach him. With one last look into my helmet, Skolas cackled mockingly, then dropped me unceremoniously down to the Ember Caves with my Fireteam, disappearing into his Skiff. "Dammit, not again!"

"Fan[BEEP]ingtastic," Morbin grumbled, my radar blaring while my fist dug into the ground, that anger boiling in my chest as I held the remains of the rifle in my hand, crushing it further.

~And... he's gone~ Petra sounded just agreeably frustrated. ~That Skiff has already broken orbit! No problem, Guardians, we'll get him. There are still plenty of Wolves in there. Best clear them out~

"Ceres - Ow, hot-hot!" A hand pulled away from my shoulder as I let out a heavy sigh, fire gathering around me as I shot up, landing a neck-breaking punch to a Dreg, the flaming remains smacking a Vandal while I swung out my Hammer of Sol

My body swerved around two trace rounds, tossing a hammer down so hard that the whirlwind of flames grew larger. Grabbing Dreg by the neck I caved its face in with a hammer, digging the back of it through its forehead to drive it through three more Vandals, the flames erupting all around me. I didn't care, I'm a Titan, since when do we think, right?

A Kell's Guard stormed the side of the caves, Shanks and a Captain in-toe as it shot me with some strange rocket launcher, the blast was like a ball of fire, no metal or casing. The blast did knock me back, but I was stronger, summoning two hammers that smoldered the ground and turned every breath of mine to heat.

"What!? Not having fun!?" I snarled, punching the Guard while throwing its weapon away, driving my fist back into its helmet, flicking a grenade into my hand. "Go kiss you Kell's ass why don't you." I gagged it with the CLG, kicking it back into the Shanks as the group was blown away by the grenade, the flames dying out around me

"Ceres," Again with a hand on my shoulder

"What!?" Glaring daggers at Zane, he continued to hold my shoulder, the glove peeling back as I eventually caught on to what I was doing, or... what I didn't realize I had done... Gently, my Super died out with the embers, head low. "S...sorry."

He pried his hand from my shoulder, silently clutching it. "A burn's a burn, I've had worse!" His voice was strained, then he pointed to the cannon on the ground. "Look at your prise though - Rika, my hand's going numb..."

Then I heard Petra hum, ~Impressive weaponry. Variks, what is that thing?~

Zane picked it up, admiring the weapon as flames licked the barrel, the core built like a furnace inside the casing. He awed at the craftmanship while I took note of reinforcements below, and alot of them too.

~Scorch Cannon. Powerful, and very rare indeed~ Slowly, a smile regrew

"Zane, why don't you go say hello?" That alone excited a small chuckle from his lips, standing atop the nearest rock to address the Fallen

"Ugh no, what have you done?" Morbin's hand landed on his helmet while I giggled

"Attention Fallen, Wolves, and Winter alike!" That drew many weapons to his position. "I have a Scorch Cannon, and I have no idea how to use it correctly!" That made some look amongst themselves. "So, the good news is, there's alot of you! Bad news!" A rocket fired unbeknownst to Zane, which hit the wall far above the Fallen. "I. Do not. Know how to use this!"

With a silly warcry, Zane dived into the fray, firing the Scorch Cannon into the dispersing crowd, some flying across the caves while we took the path, Verdict pointed to the Shanks that tried to flank Zane's rampage and somewhat concerning laughter of a madman. Buckshot from us both put them down, Servitors and Captains surging from the caves.

"Morbin, go long!" I slid down the slope, dropping a Guard that dove with its blades, hitting the railing I swiped Verdict across its face then buried it into the ground, a flash of lilac above soon came crashing down with six small orbs of Void shaking the foundations under me, Fallen bodies atomized and scattered in the hurricane of Void and Solar

"Guardian, look there," My marker lit up beyond the carnage. Resting in the arms of a Dreg was an assault rifle. It was blackened, and red paint stained the muzzle like... blood. Tiny spikes dotting the barrel. "There's a record of this gun... it's urged to be destroyed."

The optics were scarlet too, a pulse rifle with skulls painted on the side with a bayonet attached. "Right now, it'll do." Plucking it from the Dreg's body, I spun around the second a Guard struck my chest with a sword, in turn, the pulse of bullets ripped through its armor, the spray taking down a number of Exploder Shanks behind Zane as he waved to me happily. "Woah!"

Looking at the scar in my armor, there... wasn't any blood, I was sure the blade struck but, I couldn't feel any pain, well, until many shots from a Vandal struck my head, followed closely by a Scorch Cannon of a Captain. Rolling back, I unloaded the clip into the Captain, his shield broken for Zane to tackle and pry the weapon from its arms.

"Mine now, bye!" He zipped off into the fray next to Morbin, the Hammerhead's familiar rattling in my eardrums only muffled by the cries of the Fallen. The Captain raised a sword to me, so I swiped back, locking with the bayonet. Twisting the tip down the edge I disarmed the Captain then shot twice, ether spurting from its helmet

"Its name is, 'Red Death', to steal a line from CT, sounds crude." Ghost didn't like the sound of it, but this feeling, and the style alongside the colors. Not that I'm hung-up on losing my old rifle, just that both were gifts. Suros was the weapon that helped me get so far alongside my Fireteam, and the Stranger offered me her own weapon that shouldn't even exist, and both were stripped from me

It's just a gun, and I hardly see any reason to warrant concern over something I could just throw away at a later date. "Well, I like it," My smile wasn't lost. "Besides, I don't have infinite slugs."

"Then get moving, Guardian." With that encouragement, I dived back into the fray, the three of us back-to-back while the Fallen's number quickly dropped. The crazed bursts of a Scorch Cannon decimated the Shanks and melted shields of varying elements. The heavy gunfire from Morbin whittled down the heavy hitters, Reaver Captains and Guard torn apart

And weaker units met the whiplash of Red Death, the bullets restoring my own shield and any serious wounds clotted themselves up with a single killing blow. I can see why it's urged to be destroyed if Dimitri got her hands on this thing the Crucible would be over, hands down.

Finally, the smoke left the tips of our guns, the Scorch Cannon dropped since its core died out again. The Fallen were just... gone. We lowered our weapons, looking around for any clear sign of resistance left, but there was none, just the empty caves and the Winter banners draped across the walls.

"That was... anticlimactic?" Morbin decided to break the silence, then our comms came back online due to a strange interference when we fought

~That's strange... for a moment I detected Vex energy all around the site. As for you, that was great work! Come back to the Reef. Winter now bows to Skolas, and the Wolves have just gotten started~ With that, our mission came to a close, but not any better than when we started. Skolas was a step ahead, and we were playing catch-up

"Where'd you find that?" Now all eyes were drawn to me and my gun. Zane then gave me a once-over. "And not a wound in sight? No fair." He said this as Rika patched him up, Ghost appearing next to me

"I just found in by a Dreg, Red Death, looks cool, and handles nicely like Stranger's Rifle... or what's left of it." My shoulders slumped, and I walked back to where the remains of my gun were. "It's great I found a replacement but... I guess since it was a gift it held importance," That brought my hand up to my collar bone, feeling the necklace underneath the layers

"Well, hey, least there's something to keep as a trophy, right?" Zane brought a piece of the receiver to my hand, and I gently cupped it for Ghost to scan and store for later, Morbin hadn't said a word since the fighting stopped. "Chrome Dome's being reset..."

A fist smacked across Zane's head. "Shut it. No, it was Winter, all these modified Shanks, and even Servitors, how did the Wolves amass tech that quickly?" He... was right. I never questioned it since we were under fire but, for a group of Fallen only recently revolting, it's hard to imagine they could gather so many machines in the span of a few days. "So my question lies in who exactly is helping Skolas?"

"Think it's the Splicers?" Rika suggested, Deus bringing up a sad face

Morbin disagreed. "The Wolves lost most if not all their Splicers, no bounties have been issued for any, and Winter has only now joined their cause."

A gravelly voice trailed into my ear. Variks mused. ~Houses on brink of conflict. Taniks would see profit in this... conflict~

"You think so? Actually," My hand sat under my chin. "Taniks is a mercenary with a tech-obsession, maybe he's their source?"

"Then that makes three major targets, all the more reason to get back to the Reef." Morbin concurred. The list of primary targets just keeps growing, but we'll count them down, all we need to do is figure out Skolas' next move, then we'll see who's the smartest between us

With a hand gestured to the boys, our Ghosts vanished and we set out for extraction. Red Death held tightly between my fingers. "Let's move out, Horizon."

To Be Continued...

The Kell of Kells has appeared, and one of my favorite exotics appears in place of the now-retired Stranger's Rifle (or No Time To Explain). I hope you enjoyed, appreciate the support, and seeya in the next chapter Guardians!

Next Chapter: Pride of Chelchis

The Silent Fang are working to sow discord across the Cosmodrome. Horizon moves in to finally put an end to both the assassins and their leader.