Nessus.

Cayde wished he'd been able to bring Wren here. She'd like the trees. He stared up into their crimson canopies and felt… small. Birds fluttered about, some of the few that survived the Vex turning this place into a machine world. It'd been his best bet to get the technology needed to get to Ghaul.

To end this.

Overhead enormous sweeping branches of trees would have made the perfect place to play a game. Running across the limbs, jumping around like squirrels. It would have been a lot of fun and the added target practice of Vex would have really rounded out the experience. He could almost imagine them running around up there but when he looked up… there was nothing of her. Just gently swaying moss like blood dripping from the bark.

Made him think of her blood spattering the surface of the Ace. He looked away.

He walked along the worn forest paths, reveling in this place as much as he could manage. Enjoying it for both of them, though that was hard. There was no way he could even imagine what she would say about this place. How she'd react to it but thinking about how impressed she was with Deepcourt… she'd loved it. He could still remember the way the wisteria reflected in her eyes and the way she looked at it with such wonder.

Damn he'd wasted a lot of time.

Cold water soaked his boots as he walked through ankle deep pools of water, collecting from cascading falls. This would be a good place to prepare. Once he had the Vex tech he came for… well, it was all as good as done.

Cayde sat on a mossy rock at the water's edge and removed the red ribbon from his arm. It'd gotten dirty in his travels. In battles with the Vex that led him to this place. He carefully washed the delicate material in the water, feeling a tear in his chest at the tattered end. A gold thread had pulled out of place, unraveling a section of the embroidery. He gritted his jaw. He didn't take very good care of it but… he didn't feel he took very good care of Wren either.

"Will you still wear it?" Sundance asked as she settled on his knee.

She was still weak. Her voice wasn't the same as it had been before, and she rested on him more now than she ever had before. They were tired. Both of them.

"Yeah. I hate it's fallin' apart but," he shook his head. "Kinda matches the state of things."

"You never did tell me what the plan was for coming here."

"Well, you remember those unofficial scouts I sent out to Venus a few months ago? They brought back some intel about this place. Of course, I had no idea it looked like this. The Vex don't care much for reporting about foliage… but they did list this as one of their machine worlds."

"And I'm guessing whatever that ship was between Earth and the Sun was the reason you didn't just go to Venus for whatever you're looking for."

"Bingo," he muttered as he tied the red cloth around his arm. He drew his thumb over the birds and stood.

"And… what are we looking for?"

"A teleporter. If I can get into the Vex teleportation network, maybe I can use it to get on Ghaul's ship and take him out before anyone is the wiser. Destroy their leaders."

"And the others?"

"Dunno yet. I haven't gotten that far."

Sundance shifted, looking toward a waterfall in the distance.

"What is it?" Cayde asked, straining his hearing but there was nothing.

"I'm picking up a signal but I don't know where it's coming from."

"Vex?"

"I don't think so. It's weird it's like… there's a channel open but it's dead quiet."

"Monitor it but don't talk to whatever it is. I don't want us gettin' tracked if I can help it."

Sundance glanced around, then settled in. "Right."

"Can you scan the area for signs of Vex energy? The sooner I can find a teleporter, the better."

"Yeah, but it'll take a while. Scanning isn't as easy as it once was, ya know?"

Cayde rested a hand on her shell and stroked one of the plates. "Take your time."

She hadn't figured it out yet. That he couldn't do this to her. Sure, being taken out himself on this crazy mission was a possibility and one he didn't mind the idea of, but he couldn't take her down with him. Hell, maybe he'd pull through a miracle and kill Ghaul, manage to get everyone's Light back and Sun… well, Sun could maybe choose a new Guardian. One that wouldn't give her such a hard time.

"You okay?" she asked, peering up at him.

Damn that link between them. "Yeah. Just thinkin' about what's to come."

"Are you changing your mind?"

"No." He didn't hesitate with the answer.

"Good. Me either."

"I think I'm gonna walk around. Help you scan."

He picked Sundance up and let her rest on his shoulder.

"Any sign of Vex and you make scarce," he said.

"Yeah, yeah. You never let me have any fun."

Cayde walked on for a time, taking in the trees, when Sundance finally alerted him to readings that might be Vex tech. He could tell she was tired, her shell drooping a bit. He patted her gently and she drifted down to rest in a pocket at his belt. Let her rest.

He turned the corner from the pathway and the forest opened into a gently slope that extended down and away from him. There weren't as many trees here and the Vex influence was more obvious. Sheer walls had been cut into cliffs, towers that were part stone and part conflux rose here and there.

As he descended he noticed off to the right that there was a shipwreck.

"Huh… that's weird," he muttered. "Hey Sun, you think that ship is what you were gettin' that signal from?"

"Maybe."

"Looks like it crashed here a long time ago. Think it's safe to say there were no survivors."

"That's where you'd be wrong!" a cheerful voice said over comms, causing Cayde to jump and draw the Ace.

"What the—"

"Hello intruder! My name is Failsafe."

Cayde hesitated, then slowly lowered his gun. "Uh… hi?"

"Who are you and what are you doing here?" she asked cheerfully only for her voice to change suddenly to a more solemn one. "I mean, other than trying to get killed."

"I'm… my name's Cayde-6. Hunter Vanguard? Maybe you've heard of me? I'm kind of a big deal back home. You know… Earth?"

"I have never heard of you," Failsafe chimed.

"Hey uh… Failsafe was it? Do you know of any Vex teleporters around here?"

"Of course! Nessus is 92% machine world because of the Vex. There are teleporters everywhere.I mean, just look around. It's not hard."

"Ah.. right. Well uh.. thanks? I guess?"

"You are welcome Cayde-6! I think."

Sundance peered out from her pouch and Cayde shrugged. What a weird one. If what Sundance had said on the way here was correct, and he had no reason to believe it wasn't, Nessus hadn't been in their orbit in a damn long time. Failsafe must have been here since then. Alone. Right?

About halfway down into the valley and to the left he saw the first teleporter, guarded by a measly handful of Goblins and a Minotaur. Didn't take long to drop them but he knew that more would come to replace them soon. He had very little time to tinker with the teleporters.

"Cayde-6 unit, what are you doing?" Failsafe asked, her chipper voice tinged with warning.

"There's a guy I need to find and these teleporters are gonna me to him."

"That is a horrible idea! Unless your goal is to die before you can get there."

"Look, I know what I'm doing."

"You do?" Sundance asked.

"Shush." He knelt down beside the teleporter and used a knife to pry a small panel of the lower side.

"And why are you doing this?" Failsafe asked.

Cayde paused and tapped the blade on the ground. He thought of Wren. Of the blood that stained his armor. He thought of holding her close, thinking she was gone for good, only to find out he'd left her there. Alone. When she woke up after she must have been afraid. Right? But Zavala… he clenched his jaw. Zavala sent her up to that damn ship to get the shields down and she did it. Comms were so bad that night. She must have tried to reach out to him, but he couldn't hear her. He was powerless to do anything and that messed with him more than anything.

The way she went the first time was bad enough but finding out she'd been kicked from Ghaul's ship? Well that made things a little more personal.

"Can you keep a secret?" he asked.

"Of course!"

"This guy… I wanna kill him. He took someone very important to me."

"So you're going to kill him and get them back? How exciting!"

"Not quite. I don't mean he took her… I mean he… Look, just keep this to yourself, right?"

"Don't worry. Your secret's safe with me! Not like I have anyone to tell."

"All I have to do is get my hands on some of this tech and modify it to…" he paused.

"What's wrong?"

"I dunno… this is just… too easy."

The Teleporter began to glow and he tried to step away but was sucked in instead.

Failsafe's cheerful tone was the last thing he heard. "I warned you!"