Something was wrong, something was very wrong.

He felt being pulled by something. It was wrapped around his body.

Jake opened his eyes and was greeted with the ugliest alien son of a bitch he had ever seen since his rebirth as a Guardian. The thing was huge! As huge as Xol when he helped Rasputin on Mars before the Darkness sucked the planet away. Hell, it even opened its 'mouth' and the action was very similar to Xol's critical spot.

Unlike Xol though, this thing was even uglier and with tentacles at its disposal. The room was filled with stuff similar to the nests in the Alien franchise from before the Golden Age.

It was talking with someone else it held.

It wasn't long 'till the creature hanged him in the air beside the other guest. "Chief." He nodded towards the Spartan who nodded back in greeting. They were both surprisingly calm despite their dangerous predicament.

A groan. They looked towards the source.

The Gravemind had also captured the Arbiter who was struggling against his organic restraints.

"Relax." Chief nudged his helmet at the giant mouth. "I'd rather not piss this thing off."

"Especially if it has a consciousness." The Guardian added. "I propose we hear what it has got to say."

"Demon." Thel rumbled.

Gravemind hummed and clicked his inner teeth together, bringing the Spartan closer to it. "This one is machine and nerve, and has its mind concluded." Its tentacles seemed to almost caress Chief's head.

It brought the Arbiter closer and used its tentacles to rotate him upside-down. Was it toying with him?

"This one is but flesh and faith, and is the more deluded."

Thel snarled but was ignored.

It was Jake's turn. This time though, Gravemind tilted its mouth multiple times. It chittered and blew air in. The Titan had a distant feeling it was smelling him. Maybe his scent confused it?

"But this one! This one is a Deathbringer, and yet it protects others. It smells of both life and death. It is the most convoluted."

"Uh, thanks?"

"Kill me, or release me, parasite!" The Arbiter spat. "But do not waste my time with talk."

"There is much talk. And I have listened. Through rock and metal and time. Now I shall talk, and you shall listen."

It raised two more tentacles. On one the Prophet of Regret was completely bonded with the organic material of the Gravemind, while in the other the Flood beast had a red Monitor as hostage.

"Greetings! I am twenty-four-oh-one Penitent Tangent. I am the Monitor of Installation zero-five!"

"And I am the Prophet of Regret… councilor most high… Hierarch of the Covenant!"

"Two Reclaimers?! Here? At last!" Despite its confinement, the Monitor apparently still possessed some independent motion skills to zip towards the humans. "We have much to do. This facility must be activated if we are to control this outbreak!"

"Stay where you are! Nothing can be done until my sermon is complete!"

"Not true. This Installation has a successful utilization record of 1.2 trillion simulated and one actual. It is ready to fire on demand."

"Of all the objects our Lords left behind, there are none so worthless as these Oracles!" Regret clenched his teeth. "They know nothing of the Great Journey!"

"And you know nothing about containment! You have demonstrated complete disregard for even the most basic protocols!"

"This one's containment…" Gravemind vibrated with anger. "…and this one's Great Journey are the same. Your Prophets have promised you freedom from a doomed existence. But you will find no salvation on this ring. Those who build this place knew what they wrought. Do not mistake their intent, or all will perish as they did before."

"This thing is right. Halo is a weapon. Your Prophets are making a big mistake."

"Your ignorance already destroyed one of the sacred rings, Demon. It shall not harm another!"

"Is it truly ignorance, Arbiter?" Jake asked. "Or are you simply too blinded by your own religion to face and survive the truth?"

"If you will not hear the truth as the Deathbringer did, then I will show it to you. There is still time to stop the key from turning, but first it must be found." Gravemind waved Chief towards it. "You will search one likely spot…" It did the same for Arbiter and Jake but kept them close. "…and you two will search another."

"Fate had us meet as foes, but this ring? It will make us brothers!"

His armour glinted in a yellow light.

He and Arbiter disappeared together.


The landing wasn't exactly perfect. He fell face first on the grass and rubbed his forehead to shake off the dizziness. Where were they now?

"Watch out!"

Jake rolled out of the way and the Arbiter clashed against a nearby wall. He scrambled on his feet and put his hands up in a pacification attempt. "Wait! For one time in your existence, push past the indoctrinating culture the Prophets taught you and think!"

Thel growled. "Your blasphemy has already done so much damage, Guardian. I will not let it ruin our ascension in the Great Journey."

"Arbiter! Just listen to me! I don't want to fight you, just give me one minute, okay? One minute!"

The Sangheili actually stopped his advance and panted, shoulders shaking up and down. He looked elsewhere for quite a bit. "So be it, then. You have your minute."

"This isn't the first time. Something similar happened in our society centuries before the Golden Age in my universe began. I can already tell you're skeptical, so at this point I can say it: I'm not from this universe." He lowered his hands. "We have, or had, our own religion, Christianity. We believed in our God and the Church and the Pope, the equivalent of your Prophets, were the representatives of God himself on Earth. Or so we thought."

Jake turned his back on the alien and looked up in the sky. "Truth is, power corrupts even the most noble hearts. The Church became corrupted and used the power it held in the society to accumulate material goods while simultaneously still clinging to the ideas it spread. There was one man who is considered the father of modern science that dared to challenge the system. His name was Galileo Galilei."

He glanced behind his shoulder. Thel was closely listening with an interested gaze.

It probed him to continue.

"His researches greatly helped our understanding of the universe. And you know how he was compensated? He was accused of heresy. His findings and claims were correct, but the Church simply affirmed the superiority of theology. He had to give up everything because the clergy knew that to continue having power over people, they needed to be ignorant and foolish."

It was time to reveal his ace in the hole. He hoped it would be enough.

"Let me ask you, when were your Arbiters chosen? In what context? And who did the Prophets always choose to extend their will over the Covenant?"

"High ranking Sangheili among the most powerful houses, often when they fell in disgrace… like me. Elites with the influence to thwart the Prophet's plans." He whispered. "They were always chosen during crises to stabilize the Covenant hegemony." His eyes widened. "By the Gods! Were we all being used then? We were simply pawns thrown at Humanity for a meaningless crusade against an innocent species."

"You did it! You destroyed years of indoctrination with simple logic."

A push of wind flew past them and interrupted their conversation. A shadow loomed over their position, obscuring the light. He looked up and froze.

My God. It can't be.

A Ketch.

"I detect a transmission on Vanguard channels."

"This is…"

Static…

That voice.

"…I repeat, can anyone hear me? We have Eliksni civilians on board. Is there a Vanguard outpost stationed on this unknown ring? This Ketch contains mutinied House of Salvation troops. Don't fire upon it!"

"You seem to recognize the giant vessel." Thel 'Vadamee's voice felt distant and disconnected from reality. "Does it come from your world?"

Mithrax.


Everything had turned for the better.

Or so he thought.

Mithrax, Kell of House of Light, groaned and opened his four eyes behind his visor. Work in the Eliksni quarter never ceased and it often tired him to the last drop of stamina. He had endured greater fatigues and was still young for his kind's standards, especially when he's a Kell. But that doesn't mean he can't get tired.

Being the leader, he was constructed a personal room to slumber in. With his people often assisting in decorating it with furnitures and gifts to thank him for his work. Mithrax never asked for any of that, knowing his people were safe and aiming for a future where they could bloom again as a species was already a reward of its own.

He got up.

The Guardian's disappearance was a major blow to the Eliksni and City's alliance. His fireteam united and destroyed Quria, but now with the Witch Queen's threat on the horizon they needed Jake. Maybe his paracausality gifted him with luck since his participation in great crisises was crucial for a solution.

Mithrax exited his quarters and made his way towards the main building where his people had nested in.

And now... some kind of paracausal Horse has announced games where Guardians participate in for its personal amusement. And Xur, servitor of the Nine, was its translator and helper, literally kidnapping Lightbearers even when just reborn from death. Some Guardians decided to stay in the Horse's realm all the time in case New Lights would pop in and help them through the trial.

All of this while the Vanguard waited for Savathun's exorcism.

Almost all of the Eliksni residents paused their morning routine to stare at him. "Velask." He clicked in Eliksni and gave the equivalent of a (hidden) smile when all the people in the building reciprocated the greeting. Some caretakers even beckoned the young, announcing the Kell's presence. A few hatchlings were very bold and jumped from the platform on the ground to run towards him.

These kids circled him and chirped in their basic language, obviously happy and intrigued about his presence.

He chuckled when the caretakers scolded the young and retrieved them, apologizing for their overzealous behaviour. The Kell assured them it was no issue and watched them bow before guiding the hatchlings back in.

Maybe there was hope for their kind to be reborn after all. He welcomed any Eliksni willing to live underneath the Great Machine and willing to be open minded about their alliance with the Guardians. Maybe they could live alongside humanity if stability was possible in the solar system and aim for a better tomorrow together.

He sighed. No matter what he did, his past would haunt him forever. But the new generations didn't need to meet the same fate.

"Father!"

Speaking of new generations, his precious daughter strolled after him. She seemed rather agitated.

Not good.

"Velask, Eido. What troubles you?"

"I need you to follow me! There's something very important I must show you. It regards a possible meeting between us and House of Salvation's members."

Not a direct answer since he would have considered Eido to have gone mad with that kind of sentence. But he learned to be patience and let events unfold before commenting and planning a strategy.

Being a Scribe for House of Light, Eido often took the role of administrating communications through their radio array. It was a room filled with cables and devices smashed together, a pseudo laboratory for the technological department, Eido, as all fallen, had taken an interest for technology. Or at least, the most basic stuff.

His daughter led him towards a screen.

"I have received messages on a special encryption from a Ketch's captain." She touched the screen and selected the audio file.

"This is Vraskor, House of Salvation Ketch's captain, speaking. We have deserted from the remains of that wretched Empire and have taken hold of this ship. There are Eliksni civilians aboard and despite having enough ether to sustain the population, we won't hold on forever without supplies for the Ketch's maintance. I request a parley with Misraakskel to negotiate our entrance in House of Light." Vraskor sighed. "Please, in honour of Eliksni traditions, accept."

A video followed with footage regarding the interior of the ship. Perhaps a close to a hundred Eliksni civilians sat in a big room between nests and tents built from the ground up. Vraskor had clearly sent this to support his argument and as proof for him to be truthful.

Mithrax should have dismissed the invitation as a pathetic attempt for an assassination. He should have realized that perhaps the video had been pre-registered on Europa or edited.

But there was one small detail which convinced him of the captain's words.

It was his voice… drowned in pure fear.

"Gather three Skiffs and teams to fill them, let the Vanguard know of our momentarily absence. I accept Vraskor's invitation."


Curse the power his daughter had over him! How, in the name of the Great Machine, had he been convinced to bring Eido with him?

Because a Scribe is useful as a neutral spectator when two Eliksni forces bargain with each other.

He huffed and walked alongside Eido on the Ketch's platform their vehicle landed on. Despite being mostly made of civilians, his House did possess troops to dislocate and protect their modest home. That is why he brought two captains, and many vandals and dregs. Although the dregs were not docked as the previous traditions commanded.

One of the reasons the Eliksni greeting them at the entrance stared at said Dregs.

He stepped ahead towards a House of Salvation captain. "Velask. I am Misraaks, Kell of House Light."

The captain shifted his undivided attention on the sacred splicer. "Captain Vraskor is waiting on the main deck. Follow me." He clicked in Eliksni.

Vraskor had been saying the truth, for they passed on a bridge and below them stood the room filled with Eliksni refugees. They raised their eyes and looked at him and Eido, the young peeked their small little heads from underneath the garments the caretaker had on their chests or crawled from the tents.

He was right to follow his instincts and not logic. Now he had to bargain and save his people, maybe Vraskor was as truthful as he wanted to appear.

Said captain turned around when they entered the main deck. He still wore House of Salvation's symbols and banners on him, but he wasn't hostile and he dismissed the dreg beside him acting as helper for the ship's status. Vraskor stopped in front of Mithrax. "Velask. I presume you are Misraaks, correct?"

"I would prefer our conversation to continue in the humans' language. We interact with them on a daily basis and most of us are still perfecting their accent."

"Certainly." Vraskor motioned to their respective forces. "May we speak together in a private environment? Your Scribe can stay to oversee the parley, of course."

Vraskor's Eliksni slowly walked towards the exit, the captain watched him with expectation in his gaze. "Leave us." Mithrax grunted.

The door closed and Eido took the lead. "Forgive my intrusion, captain Vraskor, but… you seem rather young to be promoted to captain."

Mithrax slowly moved his lower hands on the rifle on his back. Sometimes Eido forgot how Fallen were hard as stone and took even the most innocent question as an insult.

"I understand your interest, Scribe…"

He relaxed his arms.

"…you see, we were all tired of following House of Salvation after Eramis' demise at the hands of the Guardian. There were a few candidates attempting to climb the chain of command towards the Kell position but they were all interested in power rather than our kind's benefit and survival. I stole a great amount of Ether and planned the escape on this Ketch with other forsaken eliksni." He looked elsewhere, avoiding eye contact.

"So you forced your way in your current stage and obtained command by plotting with others?" Mithrax asked. "How did you manage to convince your crew and keep them under control?"

"I was a vandal, I needed to be a captain to gain authority and guide our kind away from that Hell. As for my 'partners', I only made contact with the most sane Eliksni in the House and promised them riches awaiting us on this Ketch. Not only would we help our people, but we would also have a reward to bask in."

Reasonable. Most pirates also expect something in return.

Eido tilted her head. "How did you take control of this Ketch?"

He was hesitant.

"We prepared our departure to be executed in a single night. My crew killed the guards and quietly loaded as many as we could. It wasn't long until they discovered us and we needed to switch to drastic resolutions…"

The captain raised the palm of his claw-

Mithrax pushed Eido behind him who yelped in confusion and slid the rifle in his hands, aiming.

"Wait!" Vraskor raised his other claw. "Don't shoot! Let me explain."

There, in his palm, Stasis particles floated. Only then did he notice the familiar necklace with a pyramid shard on Vraskor. The usage of Stasis lightened the artifact up and let it be visible.

"Father!" Eido latched on his arms. "He hasn't done anything to prove us he's untrustworthy yet! Please, let him talk."

He thought about his daughter's words. If he wanted to, Vraskor would have struck when everyone had left but instead he remained stoic and ready to participate in their conversation. It also occurred to Mithrax how Vraskor did not attack them while Eido was trying to convince him to wait.

The Kell lowered his beam rifle and growled. "Explain, before I carve your eyes out so you may not gaze anymore on the Great Machine you have forsaken."

Eido shook her head and bowed. "I am truly sorry for our Kell's overzealous behaviour. Please, continue."

"There was a cost, as you now know, for our operation to succeed. Many of us sneaked in the main compound and tried to commune with the Darkness. If House of Salvation discovered us, we'd need all the help we could get." He paused. "And they did. We used our new abilities but it just wasn't enough. At least fifty died in the attack, many families were broken, hatchlings now are going to grow up without their birthers."

Mithrax's posture softened. "I can't accept you. This goes against what our culture sowed since the Great Machine visited Riis."

"Understandable. But accept the refugees! We can survive on our own by raiding through this Ketch as we always did. They cannot defend themselves." Vraskor sighed. "I just can't understand why you tolerate the Guardians using the Dark for good actions while we can't prove we can control it."

He remained silent.

Vraskor was unlike any Fallen he had met in the latest chapters of his life. It reminded him of when he abandoned the old ways on Titan as the Guardian helped him defeat the Hive Knight and he let him take the reactor. Could he be more open minded and give his crew a chance? If they were less selfish as Vraskor described, maybe they could recruit them in the city as special forces with a certain pay? Something close to mercenaries and yet far from that?

He made his decision.

"As Kell of House Light, I'm willing to welcome you and your people as our latest additions."

The words registered in Vraskor's mind and he took a step towards Mithrax, bowing on one knee. "I thank you for this, my Kell."

"Rise. I do not demand to be treated as a God or like Eramis did, I merely expect everyone to follow the rules." Mithrax paced around the room. "This Ketch might be useful for its spare parts. We could exploit them to build better infrastructures and expand our small colony. Don't be alarmed though, I have another Ketch requiring a captain and a crew in the Last City."

The captain nodded and opened his comms. "We have reached an agreement. Return to your stations and set a course for Earth!"


He watched the development of the deal and glanced at the other spectator.

"May I ask why you took sudden interest in this exchange?" Xur, agent of the Nine, asked to the horse standing next to him. They were in a small pocket dimension created by the entity, they could watch events from afar like a reflection in a mirror. And they were completely unknown to the two parties.

Starhorse snorted. "While the little Guardians were entertaining, it is the Young Wolf that has kept me the most occupied from boredom. This is also why I decided to let Savathun engage in her little trick. I never pulled anything else than weapons from the Paraverse. It was fun, but I think it's time to spice things up, as the humans say."

"Oh?" Xur chuckled. "You are interested in the similarities and possible interactions between Mithrax and the Arbiter?"

"Correct. Now, you should prepare, I shall split our consciousnesses between this reality and the other so the Guardians participating in the trials can always expect rewards. I never concretely travelled in another universe."

Starhorse suddenly raised on two legs and neighed, body glowing brighter and brighter and legs kicking.

A portal big enough to swallow the Ketch and be seen on the surface of Europa from Mithrax's position in space appeared.

If Xur had a human mouth, he would be grinning. And so would the Starhorse.

This would be very interesting.


Author's note:

Let me take a moment to respond to the guest review of Jeremy hollis:

1 I have raised a plot armour over the Halo trilogy story.

2 Yes. Because send a Guardian against a whole Covenant armada and see what happens. It's normal that they would bs their way through everything.

3 Ehhhh. Our Guardian is technically hot headed. See the response in Destiny 1's final mission: "I do not seem to have a choice" when Ghost asked him if he could kill a God.

4 There's an indirect response to that point in this chapter.

As for the others, dam dam dam! Big reveal and explanation for the cover!

You know, I always wondered: Okay the arbiter has seen his kind slaughtered by the brutes. But what made him change his mind about the rings?

We also officially crossed the 150 favourites and became the most favourited and followed story for crossovers between Halo and Destiny! The title of most favourited story was previosuly held by demonicalfox777 with his story Light from another place!

Sniff, I'm so proud of myself.

Until next time!

Gino out!