Act IV - Sorrow and Acceptance

Chapter 10 - A Dark Presage

[Earth, Last City, Tower]

"PFFT, hahahahaha - What are you wearing!?" My unrestrained laughter had me clutching my sides at the ridiculous sight of Zane, he wore his normal armor but... his face... hehehe. "Y-You can't be s-s-serious!?"

The Purple Engram head tilted at me. "What? I think it's flashy!"

"Pfft, hehehehahaha - I-I can't even breathe!" A tear rolled down my face while I did my best to calm myself down, feeling the pain and pleasure of laughing so hard riddle my stomach, Zane was an engram, and Rika bobbed beside him, two red horns fixed to her shell. She was a Lil Devil. "Okay... Okay give me a minute, I haven't lau-hehehe-laughed like that in a while."

"Glad I'm still doing my job, It seems Ghost is on board too?" He was right, pointing to Ghost who, quite ironically, was wearing a white sheet over his shell, he was now a Ghost-Ghost, I found it adorable. "Nice! Old-School."

"I also thought it would be a funny sense of irony." Ghost added, with Rika flying around him with a small chuckle

"Well, it's certainly 'you', Ghosty." With Rika's approval and my laughter reverting to a smile, Zane quickly grabbed my hand and dragged me toward the central plaza, passing lantern engrams strung across the walls and between trees of the garden, but purple light crept from behind the wall dividing us from the plaza

"Welcome, Ceres, to the 'Festival of the Lost'!"

We passed through the wall, stopped just at the stairs as my eyes widened at the sights. Many Guardians were dressed up like Zane, their shaders turned a fluorescent green or purple, masks of firey skulls to unblinking eyeballs and jack o' lanterns, even a mask of... Atheon, though that only unnerved me for a second, I did kick his ass after all

Strung around the buildings and white pillars were more lantern engrams, brimming with light, while deposits of purple, rectangular candles burned around them and in corners, the tree near banshee had been turned into an engram willow tree. What were once banners of the Vanguard behind us and on the pillars now stood purple and gold tapestries of a ghost with markings and symbols to probably represent the holiday. It had a strange vibe to it all, the colors reminded me of a festival, while the eerie masks and nightlight added a sense of haunting to the air.

"The Festival of the Lost is a yearly event, basically Halloween and it's traditions," Ghost elaborated while we walked, Zane offering me some sweets that I happily chomped down on. "Through-out the Vanguard and Last City's time we have lost those along the way, so for a whole week we celebrate the time spent with those we lost, and use this a time to remember them, to let them know they are not lost to us."

"I was brought back on the 31st of this month, so it stands for the reason why I love it, not just for the festivities - I met Rika on the day of the Festival," I turned my head suddenly, seeing him nudge Rika's shell while she hummed a funny tune to herself. So Zane's 'Rebirth' was only a few days away... interesting. "But enough of me, time for a themed mission, Leader!"

"Huh?" Ghost shared my confusion, was there more to just making me laugh? Well, this is a festival so I shouldn't be surprised. He rubbed his hands together, hooking his arm around my shoulder to hold me close, pointing past the Traveler to another white circle in the sky

"Let's go back to the Moon!"

Oh boy... here we go again.


[Ocean of Storms, Moon, Hellmouth]

The two of us were finally back on the planet that started off our investigation into the Vex and the Black Garden, while also giving me an unpleasant look at the darkness that enthralled the Hive under the crust, I only got a small taste of their power and even that was enough, from what Zane's decrypted from the pages in the Book of Sorrows it was far worse than we realized.

I'd be more prone to caution if not for the exotic engram on my own head, Zane having bought me one too, I looked goofy but so did he so it was fine, it made this trip more humorous. And since our involvement with the Hive last time, more Guardians prowled the moon too, seeing some race off in sparrows or fight off small skirmishes with Fallen or Hive, it was honestly more comforting to know we weren't out of reach of help again.

"Right, so Zane," He turned to me on a heel, body tilted. "Since we're here, what exactly are we doing on the Moon?"

He visibly jumped like a puppet on strings, holding two fingers up. "Two reasons. Number one, you know how Eris is... Eris?"

I didn't quite understand but I nodded. "Right well, she doesn't... get the Festival to remember those we've lost, even when she thinks of her old fireteam she got really depressing and stuff - Started talking about 'fates which have passed need not be remembered for their fall', so I thought, 'why not give her the very meaning itself?' And so, here we are."

He couldn't see it but I was very confused. "...Right, judging by your silence I'm guessing this isn't making sense - Right, basically we're going after a Darkblade."

"A... 'Darkblade'?" Was it a Hive weapon?

~You can't be serious, there's one of them here?~ Ghost seemed ghast by the news

~Then again, if not for a... questionable source we wouldn't have investigated ourselves~ Rika informed Ghost

"A Darkblade is a very rare Hive variant of the Knights we've seen, like a Thrall, turned into an Ogre, this is the Knight's equivalent, and they are very scary, I've seen one put a Guardian through reinforced steel before, it... wasn't pretty."

"So it's a larger Knight, but why are we going after it, for Eris?" I questioned where this was going, and from how Ghost reacted it was clearly tougher than any other of the Hidden Swarm

Zane tapped a finger to his neck. "Because this particular Darkblade happens to love wearing old ghost shells from the Great Disaster way-back-when, one of which I recognized from what Eris had told me..." What he said next had my body shiver. "It has her ghost, Ceres."

"We're going to take it back!" He nodded as I felt a smile cross my lips. "That's really thoughtful, I'm sure Eris will be grateful."

He then fumbled with his fingers bashfully, clearly not used to compliments like me. "Y-yeah, I thought since she'd helped me out with understanding Hive I should return the favor. She lost alot here, she deserves something back I say."

"Agreed," I was on board with this idea, though I did have one other question. "Say, why isn't Morbin here? I'm sure he'd love to fight a powerful Hive Knight barehanded if he felt like it?"

"Weeell, I did ask him, and he said, and I quote, 'Hive disgust me, go do whatever the Hell you two want, I don't care'... I-I'm leaving out the shouting as I did kind-of knock on his door countless times to get his attention." Zane nervously laughed, before rubbing the back of his engram head. "That and... well, I thought you'd like to team up with me, just the two of us like we did before..."

That made me smile warmly, he could be really sensitive at times and it was cute. "I'm always happy to, whenever you want - I know we're Guardians nd that we have a job to do but that doesn't mean I won't help my best friends out." I know he is... right? No, stop doing that, Ceres, you're better than this

"Oh, really? Awesome to hear, let's - oh, right you're the leader?" He motioned for me to take point, but I...

"N-no, you lead, it is your mission after all," I replied rather meekly, and although he didn't respond right away he did retake his pose, a finger jabbed toward the Hellmouth proudly

"Ahem, let's get going, Horizon!"

"Right away, leader." He giggled happily at that. Better him than someone like me...


[Ocean of Storms, Moon, Circle of Bones]

We had to slaughter our way through the Acolytes and Thrall once more to get down to the chasm again, but with the power we've gained our Light and weapons were far superior, even this Vault of Glass shotgun, Found Verdict, the slugs more than chewed through chitin with ease. Now, we walked through a circular chamber, rounding a grated wall that opened up to a pile of bones and the wall between us and the Hellmouth below, but now the scenery had changed.

Not a single Thrall was in sight, say for half-a-dozen Shriekers dotting the air above the chasm, all of which were dormant right now, strange Hive runes were burning in the cobblestone too, so with one look to Zane I could see him rub his chin in thought, the two of us crouched behind the bones for cover.

"Hmm... strange, someone's performing a ritual...?" He seemed transfixed, even bringing out a journal containing alot of notes on the Hive and even some quotes from the previous three pages he's fully deciphered from the Book of Sorrows

"Have any leads?" He shook his head but did pull me closer, pointing to some runes, then to the pages, letters with English translation under them, although he only had several translated

"Right... umm... okay, so it says, roughly speaking, 'Revenant of Light... Drink from Abyss... Rise Eater of Hope...'" Zane choppily translated the runes, with a chill washing over us as though eyes were already aware of our presence, did the Darkblade find us? But where was it hiding?

~Couldn't have translated a more positive message from the Hive, could you?~ Rika murmured

"What do you want from me? That was the best I could describe from ONE circle, there's SIX!" Zane was right to motion wide, seeing five more dotting the Circle, all of which housed similar runes or different ones altogether. "This is very not okay though, the last one... it's Crota's real title."

"You don't think this Darkblade could be trying to..." I didn't want to finish the sentence, finding the mere thought to me horrifying, if Crota was to rise again... I don't even know what the 'Great Disaster' is fully, but if Crota managed to carve something like that into Guardian history then I don't want to imagine him returning. "Well, we have to stop this here and now then."

"Agreed." Zane drew Hard Luck. "Cause's he's been standing there for a while now." Huh!?

I followed Zane's gun, seeing it point to something standing behind a pillar that obscured the pathway toward Phogoth's chamber

The knight finally came into view, stomping onto the scene with heavy steps. The Darkblade stood a few meters taller than a normal Knight, the armor was a stained black with some streaks of red remaining, but it had bulked out, more jagged with red fabric adorning its pauldron. The head had a glowing green line through it, horns more prominent at the sides of the skull. Held in its right hand was a large two-sided ax made of solid chitin.

Dawning the Darkblade's neck was the prize we sought for, a chain of dead ghost shells, one, in particular, hung in the very center, a greenish tint to it with a faded purple cross through the shell. Eris' ghost?

[Marder, Sorrow of Crota]

It finally turned toward us, a strange, clear aura surrounding it as one of the Shriekers came to life to aid the lone Darkblade. With a gravelly howl, it lumbered toward us, ax skimming the floor while bone was pulverized beneath each step taken. Rasing our weapons we unloaded rounds against the shield, and yet each flash of a bullet ricochet off the clear aura, not once did it stop taking steps toward us.

"Dodge!" Zane barreled out the way, myself taking his lead to the right as the ax came crashing down with both hands, causing bones to fly through the air. Suddenly, bolts of purple struck my back - I forgot about that Shrieker. "I got this... probably!"

Marder was focused on Zane, slamming the ax down to send bones clattering past his aim, which did nothing to stop the looming approach of the Darkblade. Taking this time to clear the Add from the fight, I pivoted behind a small wall facing the edge of the chasm, bolts of Void tapping off the surface. Jumping up I glided, firing several bursts from afar into the eye, seeing the chitin crack significantly. Running to avoid the rotating bolts I fired twice, seeing the Shrekier explode.

"Uwah!" Snapping my head toward Zane, the aura around Marder came down, making it flinch as Zane finally landed rounds against the jagged head, causing it to jerk, even as it continued its approach, this time with a slight jog, slamming the ax down, but with a hop and the ax's force Zane flew far from Marder's reach, while I grinned

Pulling the trigger back on Zenobia the rocket was propelled, erupting into a surge that pushed Marder against a broken lantern. With both of us suppressing him, his body suddenly enveloped itself in a crumbling shroud, body vanishing without a trace. I never knew a Knight could do that?

"Behind us!" Doing as Ghost said, I rolled, feeling the force of a blow throw me to the ground. Irritably, the shield was back, this time with two Shriekers awake - They must be the source then - With this key flaw, I rallied with Zane, himself taking out the first Shrieker with a full moon clip

"Back up," Zane tugged me back, avoiding more Void bolts from afar, all while Marder continued to press the assault, we had to keep moving, the second we ran from cover the ax split said wall into two, the Shrieker striking us both while we ran uphill from where we arrived, bones flying out from under each step

Standing firm we both easily disposed of the second Add, the aura fading away but also lifting a weight off the Darkblade as its speed picked up, ax rose above us. This time, however, I hesitated, a green glint sliding past my face, diverting the ax from us. Zane sliced twice in quick succession, drawing from the sun to burn across his body. Despite the ax slicing right along his chest, pushing him against a wall, he lined up his Golden Gun, three shots tearing through Chitin as I could barely move, eyes frozen from fear.

What was wrong with me? I hesitated again? Stop it, this isn't the Vault, this isn't the Vault!

"Ceres?" I didn't speak, only bringing to life my own Light, the hammer's glow was weaker this time, while my body continued to burn bright it still didn't shine as it always did - That didn't matter. Taking point I threw down a hammer at Marder's feet, a Sunspot forming as my flames grew, with quick succession I lobbed two more hammers into its face, seeing chitin crack, even as the ax barreled through the torrent of flames, nearly taking my arm clean off the shoulder, I simply latched a hand around the handle, spinning around to slam a foot into its face

Landing off to Marder's right I swung down with a final hammer, only to gasp as a fist connected to my gut, followed by a low swinging slant, the face of the ax punted me through a lantern completely, chitin, metal, and crystals covering me. Even without a Darkness Zone in effect that left me crippled with a cough.

Now Zane took point, battling the now shielded Darkblade with his own sword, but with that and the Shriekers awake, it would be suicide. I tried to move, but my recovery was slow, even with my body still channeling Light Enhance. So in my knelt position I flipped around and saw my sight lock with the nearest Shrieker, taking aim a rocket soared high, hitting dead center and leaving us with only two now, both of which kept me pinned while I watched helplessly from the sidelines.

I felt my eyes bulge, he negated Zane's Bladedancer!? With a free hand, Marder shoved a fist against Zane's face, pummeling him into the stone, followed by a downward thrust. Zane rolled immediately, the ax sunk through the ground while Zane knelt down, sword basked in Arc, body now Enhanced.

Again they clashed, yet Zane's swirling momentum was cut as he found his arm straining against Marder's equally matched strength, green embers coursing over its armor. The two bounced off the other fiercely, trying to press the advantage. With a sharp clang, the two of them slid past each other, light dimming as they turned.

Marder retaliated, blade swung right in a large arc, but Zane moved back, luckily. What followed was a hand grasping his arm, followed by a hard foot to the face, crushing Zane into the ground, disarming him completely as his Arc energy fizzled.

"No-no-no, Zane!" I screamed, but a burn from Void struck my hand, keeping me pinned still

The edges of chitin rose high, but I could see it, feel it crawling over my hands, blood staining my hands again, the air growing thick with sorrow and regret, and him laying there... Zane lying there... dead. The very sight in my head was haunting, every inch of my body trembling with fear that overwrote any sense of logic as I broke into a sprint, body burning brightly with flickering, desperate embers.

"NO!" I threw myself over him, a dull pain sinking into my body as I saw blood fly off to the right, my body tucking Zane into my arms while we flew through the air, flying behind a crumbling wall under siege by the Shriekers. My back was torn open completely, even while the Light and Ghost slowly repaired the damage, I still held onto the Zane tightly. "..."

"Ceres... why did you...?" I only sniffed once, my hold only growing out of fear as I felt his arms relax, head resting against my shoulder

I can't... I can't see that again...

With a soft tug, he pried himself free, sitting down next to me, while Ghost continued to repair my back, though the vacuum of space did feel cool it wasn't enough to calm me down, my heart racing to try and keep up with the rest of me.

"You know I expected things might turn out this way," Huh? My doubts and tribulations had all but silenced themselves, turning to Zane, I could see his face, him staring at me with that same, crystal blue gaze of his had no end of compassion. With a hand on his head, he sounded a little unsure of himself. "I'm... not a smart person, but, I can tell when people are hiding something under a veil of emotional walls, kind-of my thing."

"No one said you had to move on so quickly, there's no easy way out of guilt, desire, and sorrow, even acceptance can be dangerous since it can also lead to ignorance, but that's not you, you're at a crossroads, trying to fight against who you are and what you've become, it's plucking at your thoughts." Zane's words were completely unshaken, he had figured out what I have been struggling to grasp while wearing a mask and he saw through me

"I want to move on... to become stronger with all of you... but I can't unsee it, like a part of me lingers in that Vault still, tied to it, and... I don't know if I can let that go without becoming blind to what has happened." It hurts to think of that creature, what it did to Harrow, but I also fear to let go of his memory, the words he told me with his dying breath. "I... don't know what to think, Zane."

"This brings me back," Zane's head rested on the rock, hands tapping against the engram helmet. "You and me tied behind a rock with no way past these endless bombardments of Hive weaponry, all while the big baddy waits idly by for their chance to attack, and you lost your way, unable to conjure a plan with that crossroads in your way."

"Guardian... Ceres, the day I found you I felt as though you'd do something extraordinary, you faced the threats on all our frontiers, you brought together Guardians that had no reason to work together and had them face down the Black Garden and the Vault of Glass," Ghost reminded me of those times, flashes of all we had accomplished brightened the paths in my head

"When you lead the way we can accomplish anything, despite how cliche it sounds, I wouldn't have been able to move on, to accept what I lost to the Vex," Zane smiled so brightly, a toothy grin with his eyes closed. "Because of you I can finally be truly happy, thank you Ceres from the bottom of my heart."

While his eyes shined from the lanterns around us, my own orbs widened incredibly, this sensation I felt, Ghost, Zane, Rika, Morbin, Deus, Sparrow, Vlad, Taka, Dimitri... all of them were here for me. The answer was obvious but I had complicated the issue further, my mind made for the worst-case scenario and that had enthralled me to this state of uncertainty.

I managed a single laugh, looking back with embers tracing my glove's palm. "It's hard to take this seriously with an engram on my head..."

"One's of life's greatest gifts is the unexpected!" Zane stood up, a blast grazing his hair while the engram was placed back on his face, locking with a twist. His hand quickly met mine, I hadn't needed a reason to wait for his to reach mine as I grabbed ahold. "Let's move forward together, and get that ghost shell!"

"Then I have a plan, I hope you're up for a little danger." My plan was reckless, but I wasn't worried, I could count on Zane to see it through, always. He laughed devilishly

"Bring it."


"Okay... Now!" I glided to the left, Zane leapt out to the right, dividing the Shriekers' attention, with my final rocket Zenobia homed in with ease, the rocket flying through the weaker Void bolts and annihilating the Hive. Zane, however, ran for Marder, the invincible Darkblade sending a shockwave back at Zane

He missed, Zane having hopped to the right, feet pressed to a lantern, followed by a hop atop the Darkblade's head, this strategy didn't waver its focus as it smashed the ground again, the shockwave throwing Zane high into the air, and far over the safety of the ground. He, of course, laughed as though on a ride, body struck with a number of Void bolts, so with only a single platform to land on, his hand sunk against the Shrieker shell, flipping him around to shove a CLG into the inside.

Tapping the shell, he backflipped with such grace, even as purple and orange lit up the chasm behind him, he remained straight as an arrow, passing my the edge once more with his Bladedance activated, myself using a far more radiant Sunbreaker form to absorb the blow of the ax again, the clang of our weapons sent molten sparks everywhere.

"Engram Smash!" Zane cried out, his body thundering down with a leg risen as high as it can bend; Ax kicking with tremendous force that created an Arc blade out of his heel with a streak of blue, energy splashing through the stone and my feet, spikes disintegrating off the Darkblade's scalp

Taking the lead my hammer tore through the cobblestone, sending sharp, molten shrapnel against Marder's chest and chin, the flurry of stone disorientating his form, even that wasn't enough to repel another swing of that ax. I blocked, an Arc blade locked with my hammer while Zane's body pressed to mine tightly, both of us taking the blow with only that familiar sensation of his Light flowing with my own, fueling my fires greatly.

Twisting our supers around the head of the ax we pulled Marder forward, striking up with a sharp kick from us both. Stunning the weakened Darkblade our bodies danced around the Hive's, hopping up once, weapons raised. A single war cry and like a hammer to a nail our tool tore through its nape, smashing its face into the cobblestone with a streak of orange and blue, flakes of chitin spat out from the nape while the ax crumbled apart next to the head of the Darkblade.

It didn't take long for the bliss to set in, the two of us high-fiving giddily. "Nailed it!"

"Fireteam Engram wins," Rika chuckled, our ghost appearing to inspect the now crumbling form of Marder, those Hive symbols finally going out now that the catalyst for the ritual was gone, but Zane wasn't joking, these Darkblades are tough cookies

"And look what we have here," Zane hummed, flicking some chitin away to reveal the necklace of ghost shells, one of which he plucked from the chain, inspecting it carefully in his hand. "Rika?"

"On it," Myself and Ghost watched anxiously for a response, looking to each other then back again. With a wide eye, Rika spun around. "This ghost still has a signature... a remnant of its Light remains... let me see if I can..."

~[em:01] No! I'll find a way to hide you, to hide your Light.~ We could hear her, a younger Eris pleading to her ghost

~[b:01] There's no other way...~ The sound of a soft, female ghost came to life

~[em:02] Don't ask me to do this!~ Eris snapped out of fear, for myself, I merely held a fist to my chest tightly, hearing this... it was familiar to me, I could feel the pain Eris felt, even if only a tiny fraction of that pain

~[b:02] Just promise me one thing.~ Even at this, her ghost never wavered, speaking strongly

~[em:03] Brya, please...~ Eris practically begged her ghost, Brya, not to leave

~[b:03] Don't look back~ With a stern voice, the last remnant of the memory faded out, the eye of the ghost dwindling away

"She had given everything for Eris to live, even if that meant her life." Ghost sadly murmured, the four of us taking in what we heard

"I made sure to include the message for Eris, while she may not like to hear it again I'm sure it will be nice to have in any case," Zane spoke up simply, holding onto the shell tightly. "I won't let this be her resting place anymore."

"We'll all make sure of that." I added, placing my hand atop the shell too, with Ghost and Riks floating in closer

"Then lets get going, Guardians." Ghost replied and soon after the four of us left behind the remains of a past better left for those who remember it


[Last City, Tower, Hall of Guardians]

We came back early hours of the morning, but the Tower was as busy as ever, Eris herself stood by her strange artifacts, murmuring into a book with that stone in hand, whatever it was. Of course, she soon turned to us upon realizing we were standing behind her. We also took the engrams off, that would be rather inappropriate for what would come next, and with a not in my stomach that certainly was a given.

"Heeey, Eris!" Zane waved happily, with myself offering a small smile and wave

"Nice to see you again, Eris." While her expression didn't change, she did, however, look to us with curiosity

"Guardians, what is it you bring to me? Another piece of that book?" Did she know we were bringing her something? That's strange...

"Well yes and no - We did bring you something but it's nothing to do with the Book of Sorrows, actually..." I then pushed Zane forward a bit. With an assuring smile, I patted Zane on the back. "Zane wanted to give you a gift, something... to help you understand the Fesitval a bit better, hmm, I know I learned alot in the last few hours."

Her eyes did narrow slightly, clearly not understanding our angle. "I see, atleast you are not here wearing those... masks, I have seen Cayde's... I am not amused." What was Cayde's...?

"Hehehe, yeah... Cayde's wearing a mask of Eris." I almost burst into a fit of laughter if not for the reason we were here, quickly clearing my throat as Zane smirked a bit at the though. I could even hear Ghost laughing in the back of my head. "Ahem, that aside, I know you don't... get this time of year, but I hope this will atleast mean alot to you since we had to kill a Darkblade to get it."

"You slew a Darkblade? One came crawling out from that pit?" We both nodded, inticing her curiosity more. "Interesting, not many Guardians on the Moon faired well against them, well done. Even so, what brought this hunt to your attention?"

"This," Zane pulled a hand out from behind his back, holding out the newly cleaned ghost shell of Brya, her paint was redone as to not look worn, it was almost as if she was sleeping, something I thought at the time to be sweet, she deserved to rest for what she had done to save Eris. The once-Hunter in question had her mouth agape slightly, eyes wide at the sight of the ghost Zane blissfully held out with rosy cheeks. "We wanted to return her to you - After giving her a clean-up of course."

"...Brya... this Darkblade had her...?" Eris whispered, slowly taking the ghost from us gently, inspecting her frame delicately. "To think that after all this time I'd ever see her again... her death had been the final nail in the coffin down in depths of the Hellmouth, how she sacrificed herself for me a final time... for months the guilt had writhed in me."

"I can understand that feeling..." Slowly, I slipped my hand in with Zane's, feeling his hand lock with mine gently. "We both do, but we had someone or something to remember what we lost, and to remember the times that came before we lost those we cared for. You never had that chance, Eris, so we changed that."

"Consider it a thank you as well for helping me with Hive translation and such, if not for you I doubt I'd have uncovered the Book of Sorrows' pages or any of the secrets the Hidden Swarm have under lock and key," Zane's additional reason had not fallen on death's ears, Eris herself held Brya close, looking to us with genuine comfort in her voice

"To even hold her again is more than enough, Guardians... thank you for this gift... one I surely never amount to repaying." That had us smile more, knowing Eris had finally been given a fraction of the closure she deserved. "Even if the forces of Crota remain untamed, this is proof that such a thing is not unobtainable, you have given me that too."

"We're always here if you need us, Eris, just ask anytime."

And that was when a tiny smile graced our presence. "Yes, I will do that."

To Be Continued...


A festive, emotional chapter and there's more to the holiday than just this chapter alone! I hope you enjoyed, seeya in the next chapter!

Next Chapter: Festival of the Lost

October 31st has arrived and so the final night of the Festival is going off with a celebratory bang through-out the city. Ceres, now accompanied for the night by Zane, Taka, and Dimitri, head off for a surprise cooked up by Zane himself with aid from a collection of sources.

Author's Notes: Thank you Shadowkeep for this idea, those Ghost Shell Memories on the moon have some interesting lore from parts within the Great Disaster which I will be covering in this book, so stay tuned!