Mars was a desolate wasteland. It was red, and the winds were higher than what should've been possible, and the atmosphere seemed...dark somehow. Above them, semi-circle ship hovered. Arizona expected it to be black or brown, but it looked more like a cream color against the hazy atmosphere. On the ground there were spots of haze with corn lingering on the other side. Arizona stuck her hand through the haze to feel the corn, but it passed through her hand. "What is this?"

"A crop field." Argonaut said.

She rolled her eyes, "I know that! But why can't I touch it? It looks like a mirage."

"What you see is a window into the Golden Age. Mars has returned with temporal instabilities and Savathun's presence here is no coincidence." Eris Morn's voice came form Ghost.

"We believe the reappearance of Mars drove her out of hiding. My intel says Savathun is in a weakened state." Ikora relayed as well.

Fae stopped and looked up at the ship. "But how do we even get up there?"

Juggernaut appeared at Argonaut's shoulder. She was shaped like a triangle, black with white accented stripes. "I have an idea…but…" she looked at Arizona, "you aren't going to like it. Any Warlock with half a brain wouldn't like it."

"Well, what is it?"

Juggernaut looked over at the large cannon, then back at the group.

"Hell yeah!" Argonaut punched the air.

"You're going to shoot us out of a cannon? Are you insane?" Arizona yelled at Argonaut as he jumped up and down like a child. She turned to Fae. "Please tell me you think this is insane."

Fae shrugged, "I don't see another way up."

Arizona shook her head and ran her hand over her helmet, forgetting temporarily that she was even wearing one. "I am going to die."

"Don't be so dramatic, Arizona, I'll be on standby to revive you." Ghost said a bit too cheerfully.

Sure enough Arizona liked their ideas less and less as they began to fight their way through hordes of Cabal who were rightfully protecting themselves from, well, them! "We shouldn't be killing our allies!" She yelled once more as she shot precisely with her sniper rifle a few more Cabal and Juggernaut set the angle for the cannon to be at.

"You let Zavala worry about Caiatl." Fae said as she shot several with her auto rifle.

Argonaut waved them over and jumped in the cannon.

Arizona approached but shook her head. "Absolutely not! This is an insane idea! Surely there's another way up there."

Fae grabbed her arm and pulled her with her. "Not unless you can make one up in two seconds."

A second after she finished the cannon launched them into the air. They flew past rows of Cabal warships, which were firing onto bridges of Hive. Soon, however, Arizona landed on her feet and slid across one of the bridges. "Next time, can we take a vote on crazy ideas?"

"You have got to lighten up a bit, warlock."

"Arizona! Fae, you know my name!"

"Then act like yourself and not some stuck up warlock, warlock." She ran ahead before Arizona could scold her.

Argonaut put a hand on her shoulder. "…we aren't going to get along if you keep complaining about our ideas." He ran ahead of her.

Arizona sighed and felt Ghost appear at her shoulder. "Ghost, you don't think I'm…stuck up do you?"

"Stuck up…might not be the word I'd use."

"Responsible?"

"Wrong way."

She stared at his one blue eye, and he backed away from her. "More like…you've got a stick up your ass. Loosen up a bit, and don't worry about the death part. Unless I say something, I'll always revive you."

She smiled. It didn't make her feel better, but she could finally walk knowing there would almost always be Ghost on her side.

Strewn across the bridge were remnants of Void Light energy. Ghost scanned the purple-black stains and confirmed his findings. "How did void energy get all the way up here, though?"

Arizona shrugged, "Maybe…another Guardian beat us here?"

Ghost shook his body, like someone shaking their head, "No, no, Ikora would've known."

"Another Lightbearer then."

"My scans would've indicated another Lightbearer, Arizona, but I'm…not detecting anything beyond Hive."

Arizona frowned. She wanted to reach out and touch the Void energy, but she kept her hand glued to her side. She trusted Ghost's scans as being accurate. He's never been inaccurate for the few weeks she's known him. She walked past, staring at every spot they came across still. "Ghost, who was Maria?" She strapped the sniper rifle to her back.

"Why are you asking me about her?"

"I've just…heard things about her from around the Tower. It sounded like you two were good friends and…I was just curious. What happened to her?"

Ghost went quiet. She wasn't sure he heard her, but she had finally come to the end of the bridge, and she started to hop across platforms to catch up with the other two to a statue at the top, and then dropped down. There was a fountain and a statue as well that didn't fit the rest of the statues they had seen so far. This statue was black, made out of a different material that didn't look like the marbling creamy white they'd seen. It was black. It held something that looked much like broken hive sword. Fae picked it up and it dematerialized in a white dust before they moved on. Arizona lagged behind, fascinated with the structure itself. It was oddly beautiful and dark. It was nearly colorless but somehow the light that came through allowed it to still look like it was full of color. She stopped at another drop down. She could feel the wind of mars, and taste the dust through her mask. She could see Mars from an opening where she would've expected a wall, and Fae and Argonaut were the closest to Savathun in front of what looked like a mirror.

"Look!" Arizona pointed and her voice echoed off the walls of the hall. Savathun's laughed echoed off the walls and she disappeared inside of the mirror and the other two were about to give chase.

"We should wait for Ikora, shouldn't we?"

"There's no time. She'll get away if we don't." Ghost said as they disappeared through the mirror.

Arizona sighed and jumped down, pushing herself a little further with an extra glide but by the time she reached the portal it had closed. "Damn. Ghost, tell Fae and Argonaut I waited too long. I'm too far behind them." She could hear the screaming sounds of a Hive Knight being teleported behind her. When she turned around she found she was right. "Shit." She took the first hit to the shoulder before her shotgun appeared in her hand and she started shooting. Once. Twice. Three times. The last shot she made to the face at close of a range as she could. The Hive Knight fell into a fountain and didn't move.

"That was too easy." She remarked as she turned toward the portal.

"Uh…Arizona." Ghost had appeared at her shoulder but disappeared as she turned around. There was a…well…she wasn't sure what it was! She'd never read about anything like it. It looked like a hive…but it split apart like a ghost with a green eye.

"No way." She whispered with Ghost. There was a pulse of Light energy and then the Hive Knight stood up, looking as if they hadn't just fought. "That's bullshit!" She yelled as she ran around the fountain, trying to take cover behind anything she thought she could fit behind. The only place there was to go was behind a pillar that held up an archway. Fiery hammers just barely missed her by inches. "Talk to me here, Ghost. What exactly are we dealing with?!"

"I don't…know. But did you see, that…thing isn't exactly like me! You should be able to crush the middle while it's exposed."

She got hit in the side. She reloaded her shotgun. A sweep of her hand brought on a Void Rift that healed her wounds neatly, as if nothing had happened. "Ghost…if anything happens…never revive me near enemies. Don't even show yourself until the threat passes. Last thing I need is for you to be taken out with me." She didn't wait to listen to a confirmation. She ran at the Hive Knight. In her hands the shotgun disappeared and replaced itself with a grenade launcher. She fired haphazardly in rapid succession and moved to the other side of him. Again, she fired haphazardly in rapid succession, and he was down. When the ghost-like Hive appeared and tore itself apart she grabbed the middle and squeezed. It screamed and writhed until it popped and then it dissolved.

"Ghost…that was definitely a ghost…are you…will you be okay with me doing this?" The grenade launcher disappeared.

She could hear Ghost sigh. "Nothing about this is okay, Arizona, but these ghosts…the Traveler…oh, what has she done to you?"

Arizona went to move but a dark laugh made her stop. Savathun floated above her portal, and then she felt a darkness take hold of her limbs and freeze them in place, like invisible ropes tying her down. No matter how hard she struggled she wouldn't move!

"Tell me," Savathun said, "how did it feel to kill those like you, Guardian."

Arizona felt something prick the back of her mind, like a dream that she couldn't quite recall. Then she felt her body being launched away, and out of the ship, and down, and down. And down.


Ghost scanned the body for the millionth time. Argonaut and Fae stood around her with their arms crossed. Finally, she opened her eyes, and sat up, looked around, and pushed herself to her feet, dusting off her legs.

"What exactly happened?" Fae snapped. "We thought you were right behind us!"

Arizona shook her head. "I fell behind, is all. And it's a good thing I did. I can't explain it, but I fought a Hive Lightbearer, like us, a kind of…Guardian for Savathun."

"Yeah, we know." Argonaut snapped. "We fought a couple ourselves. Then we were all thrown off the ship?"

"It looks like it. I don't understand why, though. Why not just…kill us?"

"Fireteam Void, are you there?" Ikora's voice came from everyone's ghosts.

"Yeah, we're back, Ikora," Fae answered.

Arizona looked up at Savathun's ship, shielding her eyes from the harsh light.

"Back? Back from where?"

"Savathun's throne world," Arizona answered next. "We would've waited but…Savathun was getting away. Fae and Argonaut perused…I…lagged behind, unfortunately."

"I understand. It's not like Savathun to show herself so easily."

"There's…something else, Ikora." Arizona went on. "All of us at some point ran into one of her Knights and…it had a ghost…like me, and Fae, and you, and every other Lightbearer."

"A ghost? A Hive Knight with a ghost! But... that means…" Ikora didn't dare answer it, nor did anyone else.

"Savathun stole the Light," Ghost finished for her.

"But…that has to be impossible! The Traveler is still in the City. How could she have stolen anything?" Argonaut reasoned.

"Impossible? With Savathun nothing is impossible." Ikora said with a sigh. "Rendezvous at the camp, Guardians. We will go over our next steps there." Each ghost beeped as the transmission was shut off.

Fae and Argonaut walked with each other several feet in front of Arizona. Ghost stayed by Arizona's side instead of decompiling like the other ghosts. "Ghost," she whispered, "I get the feeling they don't like me very much." She folded her arms. "I know I'm new at this…and…this mission is important but…"

Ghost floated closer, almost hoping she would hold his shell, like she used to do when she needed to be comforted. "Don't worry, you'll get the hang of it. Every new Guardian goes through the same things. I'm sure even they did, but Ikora has been teaching you personally about all of your responsibilities. You'll get it soon."

She sighed, and he could feel the hopelessness coming off of her. "Not soon enough," she muttered as they entered the camp. Ghost didn't like the Hidden. Some ghosts, like Juggernaut, were fascinated by them. He found their attire creepy. It looked like their eyes and mouths were sewn shut. "Sand?"

He looked at her. "What?"

She blinked and shook her head. "Never mind, dumb idea." She walked past the pyramid, looking up at it with wide eyes.

"You cannot go in," Eris said behind them, scaring them both.

"Why not?" Arizona asked without really taking her eyes off of it.

"You do not wield Darkness like the other Guardians. Zavala would rather not have a New Light embrace it."

"What do you mean? Every other Guardian has Stasis…why am I being kept from whatever power lays within it?"

Eris Morn was silent for a moment, thinking carefully about her next words. "Call it an experimentation. Zavala wants to see that we can do things without the Darkness…Ikora has agreed to his terms…and you are merely the guinea pig in this experiment."

She sighed. She wanted nothing more than to unlock its secrets.