Almost as soon as Arizona's foot touched the edge of the light, the world around her disappeared behind a bright light, and as soon as it passed she saw that there were several gates, surrounding a circle, and behind each one was a tower that had silvery threads that went above her head. The Traveler sat above her, with the silvery threads hanging from it, tying it to the world.
"This is a spell. Savathun is spinning a web around the Traveler!" Ghost informed. "We have to free it. The tethers are coming from those towers."
Behind Arizona she could hear the other two running toward her. "What is that?" Argonaut pointed around them.
"A spell. You guys have to find a way to break it, okay?" She nodded toward one of the gates. "Something tells me those will have to be your transport."
They nodded, and each one took a different gate.
"Ghost," she put her hands out. The petrified worm appeared in her hands, and she laid it on the altar, like she had done many times before. Soon, Sathona and her worm appeared, as did the voices she had heard in the Pyramid, whispers of an ancient past. "These frail siblings will soon be claimed by the Light. Unless we claim them first."
Savathun's voice echoed around her, sounding surprised, which surprised Arizona, "What is this? How did you…?"
"Savathun, I need you to listen to this!" Arizona yelled to the abyss quickly.
"We will tell the most cunning sibling of a cataclysm. A prophecy of great loss."
"No. No, that's not what happened. The Traveler never came to us. We were forced to choose the Deep." Savathun said thoughtfully. "How could I have missed this?"
"No, you didn't have to, Savathun. You were tricked."
Savathun went on as if Arizona hadn't spoken, "So now you want to play games? Then let's play."
The world around her began to go black. Arizona shut her eyes against it, feeling the world beneath her feet, as if she had been plucked from one world and delicately set back in the pond. Copies of Savathun once again appeared. "Oh come on!" She barely had time to evade the knives of one. Argonaut fought the one on the left, and Fae was busy fighting the one near the bridge.
With a deep breath, and a shotgun in her hands, Arizona leapt at the one on the right, firing in as close of a range as she could possibly get. Once again, she was the last one done, and it was a race to get to the light again.
"How many times do you think we'll have to do this?" Argonaut asked once they were in the world with the webs.
"However, many times we need to. Get going." Arizona wasted no time running to the altar and placing the worm on it once again. "We will feed her fear. Her pride."
"Go on, then." Savathun's yell echoed. "You know so much? Tell me who I am!"
"You are Sathona," the world around her began to go black again, "You are who you want to be!" It was futile, she was back, and this time Savathun hovered above her. "Oh, chr-" Arizona ducked out of the way of the onslaught of Nova bombs. She could feel herself being empowered by Light, feel it overwhelm her. It was now or it was never. She took off into the air, but so did Argonaut and Fae. Fae had knives loaded into her hand, and Argonaut had his hammer, and Arizona could faintly hear a voice she didn't recognize, "The sword is something Warlocks can summon. It can harm or help." The voice sighed heavily. "Why do you ask questions if you aren't even going to listen, Maria?!" Arizona's hand felt warm, and she wrapped her fingers around the warmth, as if it would go away forever, and she brought down the blade, sending out a fiery arc shortly after Fae's knives and Argonauts hammer. She was afraid it was going to be overkill.
Savathun gasped for air, crawling on the ground. Fae and Argonaut both aimed carefully at her. "Well, isn't this interesting? I miscalculated…as did you."
Arizona raised an eyebrow.
"So protective of your Traveler…that you wouldn't let me keep it safe. But the Witness is coming. The game is yours to play now. Yours to win…or lose. Just don't say I didn't warn you." She collapsed, and her wings fell on her, like a sheet that's placed over the dead.
Immaru, his shell much more intricate than the other Hive ghosts, floated above her, but this time he didn't try to revive her. Arizona aimed at Immaru. From above them, there was a blinding light. She looked away from it, and when she looked back Immaru and the Traveler were both gone.
"No…where did her ghost go?" Ghost demanded from beside her.
"Guardians, I just got the message! The traveler is back in the Last City. Is it done? Is Savathun…?" Ikora came from Ghost.
Argonaut nudged her body with his foot. "Savathun's dead, all right."
"But Immaru still got away." Fae relayed.
"That's good enough. Hold your position. The Hidden are coming to secure the remains."
There was a beep, and Ikora was done speaking.
"So…what now?" Argonaut turned to her and Fae.
Fae looked at her as well.
How was it that she suddenly became the person that they looked toward. "It's simple, really, the Witness is the one responsible for the Collapse, right? Well, this time we'll be prepared. We will stop the next Collapse."
Arizona stood in front of the door. Who knew how all of this lasted for so long, neglected by time and yet still standing on Mercury. Ghost's panels whirred. Arizona took a deep breath.
"Are you sure about this?" Ghost asked.
She nodded, "Yes." She smiled warmly and she tilted her forehead toward him, and he tilted toward her, until they touched. "Ready?"
"Always," he told her.
She put her hand on the door and gave it a push. Inside, there was a bed, relics that cluttered the ground, tall bookshelves that were hardly filled with books, a single window that a curtain would not allow light to shine through. Saint-14 sat in a chair, holding Osiris's hand, and when they walked in, he turned. She shut the door behind her. Saint began to stand, but Arizona said, "Oh, no, no, no, no, no, stay seated. You don't have to stand for me. I just…came to return something." She stepped closer to him, Ghost never leaving her shoulder, and she held out her hands. Ghost extracted the relic from her backpack easily. "It's…. Well, I don't think it's Sagira exactly…or maybe it is, I don't know…but we retrieved it from Savathun's Throne World. I just…. I thought, if anything happened to Ghost…I would want his shell back so…here…when he wakes, can you give this to him? Tell him that a friend retrieved it?"
Saint's hands carefully picked up the relic. "I cannot believe this…" he breathed.
Arizona smiled, folding her hands in front of her, "We can't bring her back, but…this should help bring some closure."
"Thank you…and I am sure Osiris will thank you when he- "
"No, it's fine, I don't…" she sighed, looking over Osiris. He hardly moved, and he hardly looked asleep. He hardly looked like the man everyone else made him out to be. "Does he know about Maria?"
"I've told him…but I do not know if he hears me. I talk of you often, or at least what I have been told and what I hear in the Tower. Oh, please, sit! There is much we should discuss!"
Arizona smiled and pulled a chair closer to him. "You have questions, I assume?"
"Yes. How did you get your memories back?"
"Well, I don't exactly have Maria's memories, that's the thing. I saw just that one memory. I don't have any of her memories, only stories of what people have told me about her."
"Why do you act as if you and Maria are not the same person?"
"Because, Saint, we are not. Maria and I were formed by different experiences. Maria…Ghost tells me she was endlessly curious, and she was also endlessly…distracted. She was fascinated with the Traveler, and everything else. As for me, I am…a bit harder, than she was, but Ghost says I'm also a bit more skittish too. The world is still new for me. I am just as curious, but I am less distracted in my work. I tend to think a bit more before I speak or act, unlike Maria, as well." She shrugged and laughed nervously, "I'm sorry if this is disappointing."
Saint shook his head, "No, it's not…because there are some things that we never lose. For you, you never lost your warm smile, and your ability to bring light in the darkest of places, little angel."
Arizona smiled, rubbing her hands together. "I wish I could heal him for you. You…seem to truly care about him."
Saint nodded, "Osiris is tough. He will pull through."
She sighed, "I should go. Zavala wants me to come with him to a Cabal ship or something, I don't know what I'm doing there, honestly." She laughed nervously, and cleared her throat. "Keep me updated on his condition, okay? I'd very much like to meet this legendary man myself."
Saint nodded. "Of course."
Arizona walked out into the hall, Ghost hanging at her shoulder still. "Which reminds me," she began to walk, "I think I've thought up a name, thanks to the Vanguard's vast library. They have a very good ancient mythology section. Anyways, I think I've found a good name for you."
Ghost's panels whirred excitedly, "Really? Well, what is it?"
"Sol. What do you think?"
"Honestly?" Ghost's panels whirred thoughtfully, "I'd rather be called Ghost."
Arizona laughed, "Okay, Sol has been vetoed."