Season II: Absolution
Chapter I: Angel, Angel, What Have I Done?
Hanging Crypts, Dreadnaught
0527 Hours, December 4, 2714
"You're sure it's here?"
"There's no doubt about it."
"Given that the Taken were a distraction and were so many in a given area, it's obvious that it had to be straight ahead."
A Fireteam of seven stood outside the door out in the Hanging Crypts of the Dreadnaught, all of them glancing upwards at the giant door before them. Surprisingly, there were no enemies in sight despite the chilling yet unnerving ambiance of the area. Hanging cells, the sound of chains clanging, and the eternal abyss below the bridge? Not a good combination at all. Four Ghosts hovered over three of the seven's shoulders, three of them scanning the area while the fourth illuminated the area around them. In the light of the Ghost illuminating the way, it revealed two Titans, three Hunters, and two Warlocks.
The Fireteam leader of the group, a Titaness clad in armor from the Trials of Osiris, kept her auto rifle at the ready and her finger resting on the trigger. In her helmet's visor, her eyes darted around for any possible sign of ambush. The enemy that she and the Fireteam were facing only a few minutes ago just vanished. Disappeared without a trace. Why would the Taken just vanish here and now? Something doesn't add up… Meanwhile, two of the Hunters kept watch at the rear, keeping the rest in the middle of the formation.
Her only obligation was to find someone held captive here on the Dreadnaught. Honestly, she could care less about no one else outside the Fireteam. Her brother is all that matters. She made an oath to protect her younger twin brother, and it was why she became stronger.
Lightning could care less about her superiors giving her orders on the Absolution Directive.
The black-and-gold clad Titaness pressed one of her hands against the door, closing her eyes and focusing. Her tension lessened, and it was now she could sense what lies beyond the door. As soon as she focused, a spark surged through her arm, forcing her to recoil her arm back as though she touched an electrical wall. She wrapped her other hand around her wrist, massaging it from the pain she just took. What the hell?!
It was now that Lightning noticed a substance on the palm of her hand. It was black as oil, but looked like liquefied smoke. It dripped from her hand, pooling onto the bridge leading to the cell. She immediately knew what it was.
"Artemis, do you see anything on the other side of the door?!"
The Ghost that served as the Fireteam's source of light turned around to face her partner, shell opening and closing. "…I can't. Something's jamming my scans. Sorry, Light."
"This is the only place that the Taken could be guarding." The female Warlock noted, standing next to the Fireteam leader. "There's nowhere else they have Spectre captive."
"That, and the fact that this place hasn't been fully laid out yet? Doesn't help out a lot," added Silver-79, his Ghost Alpha scanning the door if there's a lock in place.
Lightning looked at the Exo Warlock and his human Hunter teammate, Rez. Both of them were in her brother's elite Fireteam known as Nero Bianco who had accomplished the near impossible and making it out alive. Hell, the trio were the Tower's heroes, the elite among the elite! She heard the stories of the Fireteam that took down Crota and Atheon─two of the Tower's greatest threats in Year 1─, but she thought it wouldn't be her own brother delivering the coup de grâce to both of them, nor only a three-man team completing it all!
And without using his powers… I'm surprised they haven't figured it out yet. Don't Ghosts pick up any signature of the Darkness? The Titaness pondered on her own question, glancing at the door and her substance-dripping hand. But, he said he'd never use the power. Not in his life. Yet, why is this here?
"Do we have any explosives or something?" Leon muttered, gunblade out and resting on his shoulder.
"Bakuhatsubutsuga iku to omoi masu. Watashitachi ga mi te iru haibu sozai desu. Sore ha kakuhogo shaga sorera to hakobu ryoukin no hyoujunteki na ryouyori ooku wo toru tsumori desu. I doubt explosives will work. This is Hive material we're looking at. It's gonna take more than the standard amount of charges each Guardian carries with them." Explained the other Titan, Cloud. He lifted his giant sword from his back, mimicking Leon.
Leon looked at the other side of the bridge the team of seven was on, seeing no signs of enemies so far. "Yeah, yeah. I doubt the Hive are gonna come after us right now."
"Uh, guys?" the other Ghost over Lightning's shoulder, which looked exactly like Artemis but with a blue 'eye' instead of red, pined.
"What is it, Primus?"
"There's a strong signature right behind the door."
"The assailant?"
Primus nodded 'no'. "The signature's definitely not him. It's something else… Something… powerful."
All seven turned their heads at the sound of stone grinding against metal. The door leading to the cell started to open slowly, the sound painful and worth an ear-bleeding if amplified a thousand times. Immediately, they all armed their weapons and the firearm-wielding Guardians had their eyes on the door while Cloud and Leon readied their blades. The only Huntress of the team readied her bow instead of her handcannon, the arrow burning with Void energy.
After what seemed to be an eternity, the door finally opened wide, and all seven walked in. Their weapons were lowered, but they all kept their guard up in the event of an ambush.
"I got a bad feeling about this," muttered Silver, optics darting around the hallway leading to the actual cell. The Hive statues towering over them gave the Exo shivers down his spine, and he knew he's not the only one feeling the same way.
"Don't jinx it, man. It's gonna get us killed." Rez responded, dual wielding both his Ace of Spades and Thorn and keeping an eye on the flank of the group. "Besides, studying with Triton might've given you his 'bad feeling' mumbo-jumbo."
"He's not the only one," Spectre's sister confirmed, keeping her Walther CP99 and combat knife at the ready. "Something's definitely not right." Her HUD reported everything, all thanks to a combined work between her sonic waves and Artemis's scanning. So far, nothing's wrong. But not her radar. For some reason, it was glitching out. One second there's a red slice on the edge, the next there's nothing. She's pretty sure that everyone else's radar was glitching out too, but she was the only one that noticed.
"…ight…"
The Fireteam stopped in place before the door. In unison, they all aimed their weapons around the instant they heard that sound. Eerily, it sounded like a voice. All of their eyes/optics darted around the area, hoping to spot the source of the sound. There was no aura of the Taken's presence, nor a fogged up atmosphere.
"…ust… …evour…!"
"What the hell was that?!"
"Don't look at me!"
"Liiight… I must devour!"
The next thing the team of seven knew, they were all swept off their feet by a shockwave much like a Striker's Fist of Havoc. Without any time to react at all, they hit the ground and their weapons far from their reach. Their landings immobilized them, almost as if something pinned them down to the ground. The sound they were looking for, found them instead.
Lightning struggled to get back on her feet, and caught a glimpse of their attacker. Her legs felt like they weren't there, and she valiantly tried to stand. Instead, she fell to her knees. Her teeth grinded against the other, and behind her helmet, her eyes were mixed with shock and anger.
Soon enough, something wrapped around her body and picked her up, then slamming her against the wall. On impact, she felt the oxygen was knocked out of her lungs, and she gasped deeply. Her oxygen chip was still intact, but the feeling of slamming back first against the wall felt like the opposite. She wasn't the only one that was caught by something, but also Rez, Silver, Leon and Aqua. The thing that wrapped around her found itself around her neck. She clawed at it to get it off, but to no avail. The others were doing the exact same thing, but failed as well.
The black substance, followed by this!? It can't be…!
A humane snarling followed, followed by a battle cry-like roar. Following the human-like roar was another one, this time not as human. But of a dragon's. A burst of wind whipped through the area, and the dim lights in the cell gave their last spark before a ghostly glow took over.
"Spec…tre…!"
Below the five was her twin brother. But tendrils had protruded from his back and wrapped themselves around the five, and the ghost of a dragon loomed over his shoulders. Never before had she seen him accept his power before, but why did it have to be now of all times!? He hated it, yet here he is using it!
"Giiiiiive meeeee your Liiiiiiighhhttt!" roared Spectre, before letting some of the tendrils go and causing blades to appear. They impaled the five Guardians in their chests, digging in but not enough to kill them.
"Stop…! Spectre, it's me! Lightning!" Lightning cried out, feeling like her lungs were being violently ripped out of her chest. Unfortunately, her plea didn't help as much as she had her chest impaled again by the same tendril, causing her to cry out in pain. Desperately, her hands summoned Solar and Arc energy to try and snap her brother out of it. However, just as quickly as her Arcburn Strike activated, it faded to nothing. Soon enough, she felt like her ribs were being caving in and her organs in her chest were being ruptured. I have to stop him before he devours our Light!
However, her efforts were in vain as she grew weaker and weaker with each passing moment her hands eventually letting go of the tendrils around her neck. Her vision began to blur, and the mix of the known red alerts flashing in her eyes didn't help keep her conscious. She felt like slipping away, but why? Is this…why the Cyphers didn't want me to go after him? Mother, I'm sorry… I couldn't keep my promise. The tears she had held back finally dropped, letting her arms go limp as she accepted her fate. Death by her brother.
The dragon over Spectre's shoulders roared to the heavens, sounding satisfied as it drank away at the Light it was absorbing from the Guardians. Just a mere taste of it was addicting. It wanted more. The Taken membrane was an appetizer, and the Light was the main course. At last, Dragunus could relish in the Light's taste.
"Saita no, no hana yo, Wild flower, blossoming," another source of light illuminated the area, and immediately did the berserk-state Spectre turn his attention. The tendrils let go of the five Guardians, freeing them from having their Light further drained.
A blue water-like light surrounded the Huntress known as Reaper who approached the MIA Sunbreaker and sang. Her voice was just as divine as the most beautiful songstress in existence, and she extended her arms towards him as if to embrace him. The sound of her beautiful voice reached Spectre's ears, mystifying him as it sounded familiar. However, as for Lightning and the kazoku, they all stared at her in bewilderment.
"Rīpā! Iie! Sutoppu! Reaper! No! Stop!" Cloud called out, running after the singing Huntress. Just as he was about to grab her by the shoulder, he was blocked by a wall of light, throwing him back. Reaper looked back at the Titan, who had her Celestial Nighthawk off thanks to Rex. Her eyes clearly cried out to resolve the problem at hand. And yet, Cloud stood down.
"Saita no no hana yo, Wild flower, blossoming,
Aa douka oshiete okure, I beg of you, tell me this so I know too,
Hito wa naze kizutsukeatte, Why do people fight,
Arasou no deshou, They all act as if it's right~"
The Sunbreaker stepped backwards as the Bladedancer continued to approach him, the light emitting from her quelling Dragunus's hunger for Light. Reaper smiled warmly as if she was a sister of Spectre's, not even stopping her approach. She came within tendril reach of the berserk Titan, and immediately did her gray eyes start to pierce through the gold of Nero's eyes. Reaper had hoped to return him to normal, as she had feared that he would've given in to his grief to cause him to lose control of himself.
"Rin to saku hana yo, Valiant flower, blossoming," right before Reaper could sing the next verse of her song, the berserk Titan had lashed out at her. He clawed at her with his draconic hand, making her cry in pain as she fell to the ground. Her water-like aura had vanished as soon as she was struck by Nero's arm, and yet again Dragunus roared.
"No!" Lightning reached an arm to the fallen Huntress, but her arm fell to the ground in a futile attempt. All she could do was watch on.
However, the watery aura had returned, faint than before and recapturing Nero's attention. This time, the watery light had surrounded both Reaper and the son of Trionus like a ritual circle of sorts. "Watashi wa utaou, Na mo naki mono no tame, We've lost your name but I will sing for you…" she faced the Sunbreaker, a fresh cut under her left eye and bruises all over her face from the attack. She tried to get up, but found herself back against the ground. Her throat was grabbed by Nero's dragon-like arm, securing her to the ground as they were face to face.
He growled in her face, and it was here that she saw that his face was corrupted like all of the veins in his face were popped out, but colored black. She always asked herself what was Spectre hiding ever since Lightning told her to stay out of it. Her persistence and curiosity got the better of her, unfortunately. Perhaps this was it? The war that she was trying to step into? No. It wasn't what he became now. It's something else. She's sure of it. But this was a secret so dark that he kept it all to himself.
Pleading with her eyes, she gently held Spectre's draconic arm with both of her hands. She had only hoped that the message she will say now will help him return to normal. "Kill me if you want. …but…do it as yourself." Reaper continued to look at Spectre in the eyes, never letting go of his arm and keeping them there. A moment of silence passed between both the Titan and Huntress, and she saw that the golden glow in his eyes began to waver. Dots of blue light started to rise from the circle, and the sound of wind chimes followed.
The tension around her neck loosened, and she smiled. Spectre lifted his hand away, allowing Reaper to finally let go of his arm.
His shadow tendrils started to twitch wildly, and he clutched his head with both hands. He breathed heavily as the pain of a million stabs returned to him. Falling to his knees, the pain started to grow steadily, and he couldn't take it anymore. The tendrils started to fade back into the shadows, leaving the son of Trionus and Spectre started to give pained cries, still clutching his head. The pain was more than tolerable, and he screamed towards the heavens painfully. Dragunus, at long last, gave one last roar at the same time as Nero as it faded just the same.
He collapsed after Dragunus had vanished, back to normal and no longer in a berserk state. The ambiance of the hallway had returned to normal, and the Guardians that had been caught by Spectre's tendrils regrouped. Lightning got to her brother and rested his head on her lap. Her HUD returned to normal, and she scanned the vitals of her twin brother. C'mon Spectre, don't die on me! His vitals were starting to drop, undoubtedly from the berserk state that started after his torture.
"Artemis! We're getting out of here! Take us back to the Tower!"
"But, it's going to risk─!"
"Do it!"
"Bum bum buuummmm… Cliffhanger!" ─Caboose
AN─ Okay, I couldn't wait for a whole month for the poll to be done, so I thought, "Screw it, just put Season II in the same story as Season I." My apologies if this chapter seemed a bit rushed. I wanted to jump right into Season II so badly! Yes, I'm a bit impatient. Okay, just as impatient as Sonic the Hedgehog in one of his idle animations where he jumps off the screen and gives you a game over.
So, welcome back for Season II of Destiny: Skyfall! This arc will be titled as 'Absolution', as the previous arc was titled 'Unraveled Truth'. Everyone's gonna have a bigger role this time around, and that includes The Crimson Commander's guest characters in this fic! And yes, it's time to lay the smackdown to the Taken!
Rant: Okay, I'm so prepared for the April Update tomorrow! All of that new gear, revamped PoE, new weapons, Light level 335, it's a gift from the gods! I don't care if you say the April Update's gonna be shit or what, I've been waiting for new gear and a challenge at PoE! Thank you, Bungie!
