A/N: So. Transmog. That was…a thing that happened.

Disclaimer: The following is a non-profit fanfiction. Destiny and all of its supplementary materials are owned by Bungie, including any liberties I take with the lore. I only own Fireteam Storm and other OCs. Please support the official release.

Saga 02: The Monster of Luna

Arc 04: Crota's End

Chapter 33: Deathsinger's Ruination

The Ascendant Realm

Oversoul Throne

Crota's applause echoed around the silent throne. Kayla frowned.

"Are you mocking us?" she asked, unimpressed.

Crota laughed. "No, no! Not at all," he replied. "Its impressive, what you've accomplished. I'm not entirely unresponsible. And I know strength when I see it."

"And how'd that work out for you?" Delta snarked, prompting the Hive-God to level his gaze on him. "No more tithes. No nothing. You're all alone, save your pet there."

The Wizard growled in response.

"Easy, Ir Yût," Crota said with a raise of his hand, continuing to speak to the Guardians. "Eris Morn has been quite useful to you. All she taught you of the Swordlogic, and still you never questioned if we were right."

"Oh? And how do you figure that?" Athena asked.

"The Sword made us strong."

"So are we!"

Crota scoffed. "Agree to disagree."

"You kill without purpose," Hayley said.

"And you do?"

"…Yes."

"Again, agree to disagree."

There was a silence in the room, Crota leaning back into his chair with a smug sneer plastered on his face. "I feel we're at an impasse," he chuckled. "So, let me present you another question. Can you kill me?"

"I destroyed your crystal," Kayla replied.

"Yes," Crota agreed. "The equivalent of destroying a mannequin."

"He's stalling," Shifter said in a low voice. Crota merely smiled in response.

(L'Oscurita Dell'Ignoto- KH3:ReMind OST)

"In that case…" Athena growled, grabbing her shotgun and rushing the Hive Prince.

"Athena, get back here!" Kayla ordered.

Athena ignored her, leaping up to Crota and firing. Crota's grin widened as he batted Athena to the ground like a moth. The Sunbreaker let out a frustrated yell, triggering her Hammer of Sol and launched another attack at on the beast.

Crota scoffed and grabbed her face, stopping the Sunbreaker in her tracks while she tried to break his grip with her hammer. Her angered growling quickly turned to frantic screaming as Crota slowly tightened his grip, squeezing her head like a melon. Right when Athena could have sworn she was about to be crushed, Crota slammed her into the floor before kicking her back across the room.

"Athena!" Kayla cried out. "Hayley, with me. Rest of you cover us!"

While Kayla and Hayley tended to Athena the rest of the team opened fire. Crota nodded to Ir Yût before cloaking himself in impenetrable green flame. Ir Yût took off, flying to the three women at terrifying speed before unleashing a powerful screech with a force that sent them flying into the back wall.

"Ack!" Kayla yelled, coughing as she got to her feet. "Athena? Athena, are you alright?"

Athena stared at her with in a fearful daze. "It didn't even hurt him…" she said with a stunned whisper.

"Don't have a crisis on us now," Hayley said quickly, helping her up as the others surrounded them. "We've got bigger problems."

Above them Ir Yût smirked, waggling a finger to them before she lunged once more.

IR YÛT

THE DEATHSINGER

Delta fired first, sending a rocket careening at Ir Yût. The Deathsinger dodged with a flourish and continued, hovering above them before unleashing a powerful screech that blistered and burned the skin.

Shifter threw a smoke grenade at her before hoping up to the higher platform again, his linear fusion rifle at the ready. Jaeger hurled a skip grenade at Ir Yût, the small arc-bolts dancing around her before locking on. Ir Yût flailed slightly, screeching again with a force that made Kayla's bones ache.

"Jaeger, stay with Shifter," Kayla ordered. "Keep her occupied while we get Athena to safety."

Jaeger turned, bowing, before jumping up to his fellow Hunter. Delta turned to Kayla. "Go on ahead, I'll cover you just in case."

Kayla nodded, eying the Deathsinger before putting one of Athena's arms over her shoulder.

Ir Yût turned to chase them but was staggered again by Jaeger's hand cannon. She turned, eyes filled with venom before she lunged at them. Jaeger ducked, allowing Shifter to fire off some sniper rounds before he too fired with his fusion rifle. Ir Yût hissed, screeching at them again.

"What the hell is that thing?!" Jaeger gasped, collapsing.

"Nngh…focus…" Shifter said, throwing a smoke bomb down for them to reposition.

"Hayley, please tell me Toland's journal says something about Ir Yût," Jaeger asked.

"It says a lot of things about Ir Yût!" Hayley protested, turning to Kayla questioning.

"Hey!" Kayla said, snapping her fingers in front of Athena's face. "Athena, I need you to focus!"

"B-But..." the Sunbreaker said quietly. "I-it didn't…I couldn't hurt him…"

"Athena-" Kayla began.

She was stopped by the sudden thwack of Hayley slapping Athena. The Sunbreaker blinked in shock, Hayley grabbing her face.

"The last time we did something like this," she said with unusual seriousness. "You asked me if I was going to sit and cry the whole time. Right now we need everyone pulling their weight, so take your own advice and don't sit back and let us do all the work."

Athena glared at the Sunsinger before standing. "You got a lotta nerve, runt," she snarked.

Kayla breathed a sigh of relief. "Hayley, what-"

"Incoming!" Delta yelled before crashing into the two Warlocks.

Athena glared at the Deathsinger. "Questa stronza mi sta dando sui nervi!" she growled, firing on the Wizard with her auto rifle.

With the Deathsinger distracted, the two Hunters made their way round to the others. Jaeger nudged Shifter. "Think you can swing one of her chains by a wall?" he asked, holding up another knife.

Shifter nodded, vanishing in another smoke bomb and sliding behind Ir Yût. The Deathsinger flailed, darting away from the gunfire, but her escape was cut off by several Void grenades from Delta and Kayla.

Ir Yût growled, thrusting her arm to the side as she let out another ear-piercing scream. Shifter took his chance, grabbing one of the loose chains and directing it to a nearby wall. Ir Yût chirruped questioningly, only for the chain to be pinned in place with a trio of throwing knives.

The Deathsinger growled in frustration, shrieking as she tried to wrestle her trapped arm away. Kayla grinned. "Rockets up!"

Hayley knelt in front of the two Titans, her and Delta launching two rockets at the Hive Wizard in synch while Athena laid waste with a volley of grenades from her Outrageous Fortune. The blasts rocked Ir Yût, the Deathsinger screaming in annoyance. The Guardians let off another volley but the missles were smacked away by the forceful blast from Ir Yût's screams.

"Forget the chain, Ir Yût," Crota said tersely.

The Deathsinger huffed, raising her free hand and sending another chain snaking towards the Guardians. It wrapped around Kayla's waist and pulled, sending her flying into the wall and shattering the pinned chain. Ir Yût laughed and rushed the Warlock, grabbing Kayla by the temples. She snarled then let out another scream that flayed the skin from Kayla's forehead.

Kayla screamed and headbutted the Wizard. Ir Yût, stunned, dropped her. Before the Deathsinger could do anything else the Titans rushed her, pummelling her to the ground. Ir Yût reached out to slash one of them, but the Sunbreaker grabbed her by the arm and twisted it. The Deathsinger screamed, twisting her head round with a sickening crunch and unleashing a painful screech into Athena's face.

The Sunbreaker let go, eyes bleeding, but Delta picked up the slack and sucker punched Ir Yût in the gut. Ir Yût turned her head to face the Defender Titan, dodging the next punch and forcing back with another scream. Delta fell to the floor, but grinned.

"Made you look," he chuckled.

Ir Yût tilted her questioningly and was answered with a linear fusion bolt to the eye. Shifter reloaded then disappeared again, leaving Jaeger to cover Hayley while she helped Kayla to her feet.

"Christ, that stings…" Kayla hissed, touching the exposed flesh on her cheek then turned to Hayley. "Thank you."

Kayla scanned for her team, making sure they close before speaking through her headset. "We need to pick up the pace, attrition's too much of a risk!"

Crota's chuckle boomed across the courtyard. "Your leader is right! Perhaps I should give you some motivation!"

There was a vicious howl of wind and a crack through the air. The broken moon that hung behind Crota opened up, sending a flurry of dull-pink petals towards the team. Delta scrambled away as the torrent of wormrot struck where he was, ricocheting off before snaking its way to the other Guardians.

"K-Kayla, look out!" Hayley cried, shoving the Voidwalker to the floor before the torrent collided with Exo. "Gah!"

"Hayley!" Kayla screamed, watching the torrent carry her away.

"I got her!" Jaeger yelled, jumping through the wormrot and landing on the floor with her.

"Shifter! Athena! Report?!" Kayla demanded.

"We're fine," Shifter replied, Athena screaming over gunfire coming over the headset. "We're separated though."

"Working on it," Kayla said quickly. "Anyone have eyes on Ir Yût?

The question was answered when Ir Yût flew out of the torrent, lunging for Kayla with outstretched claws. Kayla ducked, but the Deathsinger spun round and screamed, Kayla stumbling as the noise bounced around the inside of her skull.

Ir Yût wrapped her finger around Kayla's throat, hoisting her up with a low cackle. The Deathsinger inhaled, her throat sounding like metal scraping against itself as her vocal folds rattled with each word.

"Eir…Ur…"

Something coursed through Kayla's body, her eyes and ears beginning to bleed as she convulsed, every part of her being wanting to get as far away from Ir Yût as humanly possible. Ir Yût tightened her grip, glaring with malice.

"Xol…Yul…"

"What the hell is that noise...?" Delta gasped from across the courtyard, slumping on a wall as he held his head.

"The Deathsong!" Hayley exclaimed, rushing towards Kayla. "It's starting! We need to- ARGH!"

"Hayley!" Jaeger shouted, watching a river of wormrot collide with her, sending her flying towards the back wall.

"I got her!" Delta said, rushing to the Sunsinger's aid while dodging the onslaught of wormrot. "Shifter, you and Jaeger get Kayla!"

Shifter nodded, powering to Jaeger while Delta and Athena rushed towards Hayley. Athena grabbed Delta, hurling up underneath the torrent and grabbing Hayley before plummeting to the ground.

"T-Thanks…" Hayley said, winded but grateful.

"Don't worry 'bout it," Delta replied quickly, focusing on the trapped Kayla.

A few metres away, Shifter passed Jaeger, throwing a smoke bomb over him before continuing to a vantage point. When the now invisible Jaeger gave him a confused look, Shifter nodded pointedly towards Ir Yût. The Bladedancer turned and ran, taking care to duck under the twisting torrents of wormrot. Jaeger jumped up, daring forward while cloaked in electricity as he struck Ir Yût with enough to send her flying. Kayla collapsed, catching her breath now the song had stopped. She stood, using the Mythoclast for support before angrily firing on the Wizard.

Ir Yût rolled away, flying around the arena while strafing them with electrical blasts. The Deathsinger hovered around them, hungry eyes looking for the weaker links. She cackled to herself then made a beeline for Hayley, raining down on her with sharp bursts of Arc energy.

A crack rang out, Shifter's sniper round piercing through Ir Yût's throat and causing her to stumble. Ir Yût steadied herself, only for Delta to grab her tattered waist and pulling her down before striking her with a shotgun blast to the face. Ir Yût growled, throwing him off with another powerful scream.

"I am tiring of this battle, Ir Yût!" Crota snarled.

Ir Yût turned, protesting with shrill chirruping noise. Crota's glare, shining through the flames concealing him, was enough for her to back down. The Deathsinger teleported away, reappeared by Crota's side before starting her song again.

"Alright guys, give her hell!" Kayla ordered.

"If you can reach her, that is," Crota taunted.

There was a fearsome quake as more torrents of wormrot battered the courtyard, forcing the team to scatter. Kayla landed on her side, looking as the wormrot snaked their way up the castle, battering one of the building's spires. It shook, collapsing down before toppling into the courtyard below.

"No fucking way…!" Kayla gasped. "Everyone, move it!"

The Guardians ducked into whatever alcoves they could find, a tsunami of stone and mortar hailing around them. Pinned in his spot with Athena and Delta, Jaeger looked up at Ir Yût. "Fuck it, I'm going for her," Jaeger said, triggering his Arc Blade before shooting out after the Deathsinger.

"Jaeger what the fuck are you doing?!" Kayla shrieked in panic.

Jaeger said nothing, leaping around the rubble before skidding under another stream of wormrot. He leaped up, thrusting his blade skyward and unleashing a blast of electricity that threw Ir Yût off. In the shadow of the fire Crota glowered down at him, watching the Bladedancer plunge his kukri into Ir Yût's chest and firing another blast of electricity out of it.

Ir Yût bit down the pain, wrestling the blade of him before grabbing Jaeger by the throat and hurling him at Crota. The fire died down briefly, Crota standing poised to catch the Guardian. Jaeger felt the Hive Prince grab his wrist, leaving him dangling like a puppet as Crota plunged his hand into Jaeger's gut.

"SHIT! Why is it always there?!" Jaeger cried out before Crota hurled him to the ground like a broken toy.

While the others rushed to his aid, Crota nodded his head to Ir Yût. The Deathsinger teleported again, this time to the conservatory overlooking the courtyard. Two more Wizards appeared, raising a barrier of fire between them and Ir Yût before a horde of Acolytes and Knights swarmed the courtyard.

"Christ on a stick! You nearly gave me a heart attack!" Kayla asked, helping Jaeger to his feet. "You alright?"

The Bladedancer nodded. "Lost a Super though..." he sighed apologetically.

"My Blades!" Crota boomed suddenly. "Rise and defend your Prince!"

"Fuck…" Delta grumbled.

"You, Hayley and Shifter take that side," Kayla ordered, pointing to her right. "We'll take the other."

"That thing's singing again!" Athena said with barely contained panic.

"One thing at a time!"

The courtyard erupted into a hectic cacophony of gunfire that clashed with biting lasers of the Hive's weapons. Jaeger and Athena pushed forward, backed up by Kayla's machine gun fire, raining hell on the Hive before them with their auto rifle and fusion rifles. A Knight rushed Jaeger. The Hunter ducked, shoving him into Athena who swiftly shoved a grenade his mouth before kicking him into incoming horde of Thrall.

"Circle round!" Delta shouted. "Kill everything, then focus on the Wizards protecting her!"

"G-Guys, I'm scared," Hayley admitted quietly, gunning down a swarm of Acolytes with her Misfit.

"We all are, kid," Shifter replied calmly, hopping up to a raised platform and angling a shot on the Wizard before him. "I'm ready, Delta. Don't let them give me any trouble."

"Noted," Delta grunted, shoulder charging a Knight while allowing Hayley to mop up the rest of the Hive. "Captain, how are we doing on your end."

"We're at the Wizard now," she said, ducking behind a wall when it fired. Athena gave her a thumbs up from nearby. "On my mark…"

Shifter held his breath, finger tightening around the trigger. Ready.

"MARK!"

Shifter's sniper round echoed across the Oversoul Throne, quickly being drowned out by the clunking of Athena's grenade launcher. One screamed as she quickly burnt up, while the other slumped to the floor without so much as a whimper.

"Capitano…" Athena said, gasping in horror when the flames remained.

"Did you really think it would be that simple?!" Crota said with a bellowing cackle. "Ir Yût, finish this! NOW!"

Ir Yût shrieked in fear, her song picking up speed, while the sounds of portcullises opening heralded the arrival of yet more Hive; Knights with blackened armour lining with the rampart walls, and great spined Ogres stomping their way into the courtyard below them. Directly below Crota was another black Knight holding a Hive cleaver.

Shifter let out a surprised yelp, narrowly avoiding the barrage of boomer fire from the Knights. Athena grabbed Kayla, pulling her to one side and yanking Jaeger by his cloak, the trio narrowly avoiding the Ogre's eye blasts.

"Hayley, gotta move!" Delta said quickly.

The Titan moved quickly, Hayley not too far behind. He slid into the open area, quickly throwing up a Ward of Dawn around the team. Shifter reappeared next to Kayla, who eyed Ir Yût's sealed room. "I've got an idea…" she said cautiously. "But we'll need to get rid of everything. We'll only have one shot at this. D, you're with me killing the big guy with the sword. The Ogres…"

"Hate to rush you, but these Ogres'll break this thing soon!" Delta grunted.

"I'll buy you some time," Hayley said, her voice determined. "They want fire. I'll give 'em it."

Before anyone could say anything else, Hayley flew out, encased in Solar flames as she leaped around the courtyard, leaving a carpet bombing of Solar grenades in her wake. Kayla watched, stunned, as the Ogres all focused on her.

"Dammit!" she hissed. "Jaeger, Shifter! Get rid of those Knights! Athena, help Hayley and get to one of the doorways!"

"What?!" Athena snapped. "Why?!"

"You're fireproof!"

"…I think Hive fire is a little different!"

"IT'S ALL WE'VE GOT!"

As the Guardians spread out, Crota watched from behind his shield. The grip on his armrest tightened while he ground his teeth against themselves. They were tenacious, he'd give them that, but his bemused curiosity had now spiralled into concerned annoyance. The Ogres screamed as they burned under the dying Solar light of the robot, the other, larger female picking off any stragglers. The latter would be a problem if it came to it.

His gaze turned to the two Hunters. Fast, nimble. One was clearly weaker than the other, built for speed, while one was noticeably unable to hold a drawn-out fight given the ferocity of the blade he used. The former would be trouble than he was worth.

Finally, he watched the pair fighting his final Blade. They worked well together, each one covering the other to ensure the Blade couldn't focus on either of them for too long. He knew from experience that Kayla was unpredictable and annoyingly stubborn. Crota doubted she would go down easily, no matter how broken she was. Compared to the fiery woman on the opposite of the courtyard, this male Titan seemed to be more durable than strong- his unorthodox fighting style likely making up for his lack of offensive power.

Crota beared his teeth in a wide, sadistic grin, his Oversoul thrumming quietly with anticipation. Kayla would watch them die. Then she would burn herself out trying to avenge them. Like that tragic woman before her.

"I got you!" Athena said, catching Hayley when she dropped.

"Did I get them?" she asked.

"Yeah," Athena said, looking at the four charred husks around them. "I think you did." She quickly put the Sunsinger down. "Gotta go, sorry!"

Hayley watched Athena power to Ir Yût's chamber, then turned to help the two Hunters deal with the stragglers. Kayla spotted her, ducking under the Blade's swing.

"Hayley, wait!" she yelled. "Stare there!"

Hayley stopped, a puzzled look on her face.

"I need you to throw this to Athena!"

Hayley stopped, hesitantly holstering her gun and braced herself. Kayla nodded in thanks and fired on the Blade. It turned, only to be peppered by Mythoclast fire and forcing it to shield itself.

"Ready?" Kayla asked, switching to her Antiope.

Delta nodded. As soon as the Blade's shield dropped Delta threw himself on the Blade's free hand, pinning it down. The Blade of Crota snarled, lunging at the new deadweight, only for Kayla to grab the creature's wrist as she tried to wrestle the sword from him. The Blade snarled, but Kayla pushed the barrel of her SMG against the back of his hand and fired. At the same time, Delta fired his shotgun into the beast's inner elbow. It howled in pain, dropping the sword.

Kayla swiftly grabbed it, throwing it to Hayley like a javelin. The Sunsinger grabbed the blade, wincing in pain as she spun round and threw it to Athena. Athena caught it and turned to the flames before her. She took a deep breath and charged, yelling as the fire lapped at her melting armour.

Ir Yût screamed in fright at the flame-drenched creature that came barrelling for her. With a powerful war cry, Athena lunged and, with one quick cut, severed Ir Yût' head from her body. The Deathsinger's head flew through the fires as they died down, rolling on to the ground.

(End L'Oscurita Dell'Ignoto)

Kayla and Delta turned when Crota's barrier fell, readying themselves. To their surprise, Crota ignored them. All he could do was stare into the petrified look of fear that remained on Ir Yût's face. Crota bowed his head, eyes closed as he heaved a heavy sigh.

"Thank you…for your service," he said quietly. He looked up at Athena, then at the two Guardians beside him. Nearby were the other three. All of them were ready.

Crota looked up and scoffed, then turned back to his throne. "And so, you are left with me."

"Quit stalling, Crota," Kayla snapped. "I'm not in the mood."

"Neither am I," Crota chuckled, resting a head on his hand. "I will applaud you for that though," he added, solemnly gesturing to Ir Yût's severed head. "You've managed to kill all of them now. Well done."

Crota then leaned forward, looking up at the Guardians with a crooked expression. "But then, that begs the question…How much Light do you have left after that last battle?"

The God-Prince's eyes darted between all of them, his smile becoming a sneer at the reluctant acknowledgement in their faces. Crota raised his head slightly. "Did you really not question why Eris would want you to go to all this trouble for her revenge?"

"We're not doing this for her," Delta responded.

"Mmmm, partially true," Crota agreed. "I will give you that. New question. Did you not ask Eris what happened to her Light?"

"You stole it," Kayla replied.

"Did we?" Crota asked, getting his feet. "Did she actually tell you that?"

There was nothing from the Guardians. Crota turned, looking up at the Oversoul above him. "We took her Ghost. I will admit that. But you don't need a Ghost to be connected to the Traveller. Out there, in the deepest depths, every planet is born in the dark. They will end there, too. Why should you Lightbearers be different? You are raised from your peace and told to die in the dark."

"A dead thing made to die over and over," Kayla said quickly. "Heard it before. So, what took away Eris's Light?"

Crota grinned. "There are things at play that even you couldn't dream of."

"He's still stalling," Delta warned.

"Of course I am," Crota replied with a simple shrug. "I'm on my last legs. YOU'RE on your last legs. So, tell me, denizens of the Light…how much Light do you all have left to stop THIS?!"

A/N: You didn't think it'd be that easy, did you? Chapter 2-34: Thanatosphere