I do not own Destiny or any of the characters.

Return of the Mentors

Hunter sat down at the ancient, long unused computer and pressed the power button. It hummed to life slowly, the screen lighting up but doing little else for a long while. Finally, it booted up, several programs loading before he pulled up a datafile containing his old master's backup memories. He picked up the connector port on the computer's keyboard and plugged it in, then placed the headset on his master. His old Master glared at him, but made no move to stop him, so Hunter began the transfer. For a moment, nothing happened. Then, his master's eyes rolled back, and his body went stiff as his eyelids began to flutter. After a few seconds, it finished, and his master closed his eyes, grimacing and pulling the headset off.

"I wasn't expecting that to be quite so unpleasant," he said, then fell silent as the memories settled. "Well, it seems you've improved, Hunter. And learned a new trick."

"Clovis's experiment was good for something after all," Hunter said.

"So it would seem," he nodded. "Speaking of the Brays. Hello Elisabeth. You stole my chosen successor."

"And I would again," Elsie said calmly. "And I'm not about to let you try and take him back."

Hunter's master snorted. "If you regretted your choice, you wouldn't be worthy of him."

Hunter rolled his eyes. "You were never my father."

"I never meant to be," he said, standing and lifting his sword's hilt, humming thoughtfully. "I almost can't tell the difference. So, who else is left?"

"Currently, just us," Hunter said. "But there are about six other unpartnered Ghosts, so I intend to find a few more of the others."

His master nodded. "Well, I'm glad you started with me. So, who's next?"

"I-" Hunter stopped as Spark appeared, announcing he had an urgent communication, then projected an image of Petra. "What is it?"

"Head back to the Tower," Petra said. "There's been a...development. I'll meet you here, but there's something you need to see."

"We'll be there in an hour," Hunter said.

Everyone headed back up to the surface from the underground base and warped to their ship, Hunter's Master going with Hunter and Elsie, then flew to the Tower. As they flew, Hunter explained the current state of the galaxy. By the time they'd arrived, his master had almost accepted that the Cabal were more or less allies, and that one of the Eliksni Houses were actually allies. As they warped to the courtyard, Saint exhaled heavily.

"You found him," Saint said. "The Slayer returns!" He bowed at the waist, one hand across his chest. "It is wonderful to see you again."

"And you, Saint-14," the Slayer said.

"What's happened, Petra?" Hunter asked. "What's wrong?"

"I'm not sure if it's something wrong or not," Petra said. "But you'll need to see it for yourself. And also...she's returned." Her lips twitched almost into a smile.

"That's great," Hunter smiled. "Have you gotten to have a moment alone?"

Petra's cheeks actually flushed, but she shook her head. "She's too busy. You'll see."

Hunter nodded and glanced at Saint. "Give him a tour, will you? Show him what's changed. And take him to the Vanguard."

"It would be an honor," Saint nodded.

"I'm going to head home," Ana said. "Let me know what's going on."

"We will," Elsie promised.

She and Hunter followed Petra through the Tower to the Helm, then down the stairs to a portal. As they stepped through, they all found Mara Sov standing by a computer a short distance away. As they walked over, she turned to them, smiling.

"There you are, Petra," Mara said. "Welcome, Hunter. It's good to finally meet you. I owe you my thanks for taking such good care of Petra while I was away."

Hunter, Petra, and Elizabeth all cleared their throats uncomfortably.

"So, Petra said there was something I needed to see?" Hunter asked to change the subject.

"Yes," Mara said. "Through that door." She looked back at a large doorway ahead of them, where the Hero of the Red War was coming from. "And don't worry. There's nothing to worry about."

Hunter frowned. Somehow, he doubted that. He and Elsie walked through the door and stopped, staring at the massive crystal before them. It was roughly three times their height, and floating between two glowing triangles, which were situated above and below it, holding it immobile. The part that worried him, however, was that the crystal was containing a being. Savathûn.

"Ah, you must be Hunter," Savathûn said, her voice conveying a loving smile, but also sending a crawling warning of danger up his spine. "The only person to survive the Pit."

Hunter's hands clenched into fists.

"But really, though," Savathûn continued. "What did the Vanguard expect? Did they really think a ragtag group of strangers, Guardians or not, could ever truly capture the Pit without even knowing what they face? True your second attempt was more successful, but you had reconnaissance then."

"You had a hand in the Pit of Heresy, I take it," Hunter said.

"Not at first," Savathûn said. "And even I could not have foreseen that which has taken root under it. That thing is something that even I believe should not exist."

"The vines?" Hunter asked.

"Vines?" Savathûn asked. "Those are its arms. Its fingers. Its limbs. It is a being of a thousand limbs, but only one body."

"So it's all one creature?" Hunter asked. "Is there a main body that can be killed down there somewhere?"

"There is," Savathûn said. "Below the Pit of Heresy."

Hunter nodded. "Don't go anywhere."

"Very funny," Svathûn said. "You have Cayde-6's wit."

Hunter narrowed his eyes, but didn't respond as he followed Elsie back to Mara and Petra.

"I never would have guessed those roots were one creature," Petra said. "Are you going to go kill it?"

"In a while, yes," Hunter nodded. "Mara, what do you intend to do with Savathûn?"

"I intend to exorcise her Worm from her," Mara said.

"And kill it?" Hunter asked.

Mara remained silent, and Elsie gave Hunter a meaningful look.

"Mara, that worm needs to die," Hunter said. "It is the source of the Hive's power, and is a corrupt, evil creature that cannot be controlled by anyone!"

"I am not anyone," Mara said.

"No, you're a woman who's so vain and egotistical that you believed you could control an Ahamkara and keep it as a pet that would serve only you," Hunter growled. "How'd that work out?"

Mara swelled with rage, but after a moment, it faded. "Keeping Riven may have ended poorly, but before then, her power allowed for wonderous advancements and opportunities for the Awoken. And so it will be again."

"No, it won't," Hunter said. "Ahamkara align with neither Light nor Darkness, so it's up to the individual how their power is used, especially for the Awoken, who are born of both Light and Darkness. But Savathûn's Worm God is different. It is a creature of Darkness, and regardless of how it aids the Awoken, it will taint them all with Darkness and will upset the precious and unique balance the Awoken possess."

Mara watched him, eyes narrowed scrutinously for a moment before humming to herself. "I'll consider your words."

Hunter sighed, then glanced at Petra. He sighed again. "In the mean time, I believe this is your first time at the Tower, isn't it, Queen Mara?"

"It is," Mara nodded.

"Petra, why don't you give her a tour?" Hunter said. "Elsie and I can keep an eye on Savathûn for a few hours."

Petra's eye widened as Mara's eyebrow rose. However, after a moment, Mara accepted the offered break, and she and Petra left to find some privacy.

"Awful nice of you to volunteer us to babysit," Elsie said.

"We're two of the only people currently alive who might be able to kill Savathûn in a fight, maybe, which makes us the only people here who can give Mara the break she needs to celebrate returning from the dead with her lesbian lover," Hunter explained.

"Who happens to be your former lover," Elsie said.

"Former stand-in for you," Hunter corrected.

Elsie smiled, both forming artificial skin and kissing each other.

"Interesting," Savathûn's voice said, Hunter swearing irritatedly as he and Elsie broke apart and reabsorbed their skin. "You humans called it SIVA, correct? How ever did you get control of it?"

"Wouldn't you like to know," Hunter grumbled.

"It was the Light, wasn't it?" Savathûn asked.

Hunter glared at her as Savathûn fell silent. After a few hours, Mara and Petra returned, Mara showing no sign of weakness, but Petra moving considerably slower behind her.

"Thank you for the break, Hunter," Mara smiled. "Did she behave?"

"She expressed interest in my SIVA," Hunter growled. "That's a bad sign."

Mara nodded in agreement. "Savathûn does not express idle curiosity. Be wary."

Hunter nodded and turned to leave, only to stop as Savathûn spoke up again.

"Hunter, as a gift of good faith, I'd like to offer you some free advice," Savathûn said. "A show of favoritism for my favorite Guardian. On the Moon, there is a long-deceased experiment of Clovis Bray's that I believe you would recognize. A human skin on what amounts to an Exo. An early prototype, I believe. One you knew well, who made the Fallen flee in fear even more so than Saint-14."

"The Reclaimer," Hunter breathed, eyes going wide. "How do you know?"

"Because once I learned what you truly are, I went looking for more of you," Savathûn said. "I will admit, I had hoped to create my own Blademasters. However, it would seem that I underestimated just how far humans would go for power. To think that Blademasters were made by-"

"Enough," Hunter interrupted her. "That you understand that you can't recreate the Blademasters is all you need to say." He glanced at Petra. "Can I steal you for a minute? I have something to do that you'll want to be there for."

Petra nodded and followed him and Elsie back toward the main area of the Tower. As they walked, Elsie frowned at Hunter.

"What are you doing?" Elsie asked. "Are you changing things again?"

"Of course," Hunter smirked. "If things don't change, you already know the ending, right? So, I'm going to change everything."

Elsie sighed, smiling resignedly. "I suppose it's fair logic."

After a few more minutes, they reached the chamber where Ikora had brought Cayde's body. She was standing beside him, but as they arrived, she turned to them.

"You're here," Ikora said. "I take it you met our guest already. In case no one told you, she was posing as Osiris. That is why he was acting so strangely."

Hunter nodded. "I had a feeling that was the case once I realized it was her." He stopped beside Cayde, resting a hand on his chest.

"He'd be proud of all you've done," Ikora said. "I'll leave you alone."

"You can stay," Hunter said, reaching up to the back of Cayde's head.

"What are you doing?" Ikora asked suspiciously.

"Cayde wasn't stupid, and neither was Clovis Bray," Hunter said. "Even though very few people know it, and we only learned it thanks to the Deep Stone Crypt's AI, all Exos possess the ability to save their memories when they die. The memories are locked when they are reset, but the memories remain. So..." He pulled out a small, white rectangle from the back of Cayde's head, his SIVA fusing with it for a moment before retracting. He pushed the rectangle back into Cayde before SIVA swarmed from his arm and hand, beginning to devour Cayde's body.

Ikora shouted in surprise and fear, but it was finished within seconds. Then, the Siva reversed directions, reforming the body entirely, undamaged and restored to his former glory. For a moment, nothing happened. Then, the lights in Cayde's eyes flickered rapidly before stabilizing. He blinked, but he didn't move for nearly a minute.

"I feel tingly," Cayde said, the lights simulating his mouth lighting up red in place of their former yellow.

"Cayde!" Ikora gasped. "You..."

"Hey Ikora," Cayde said, pushing himself up. "Hunter. Love the armor. Hey Petra. Sexy as ever. And who's this?"

"This is Elsie," Hunter introduced her. "Elisabeth Bray. My girlfriend, both in my first life and now."

Cayde's eyes went wide before he cheered. "Congratulations! Wait, did you find my presets?"

"Oh, he found them," Elsie chuckled.

"Cayde!" Petra finally let out in a strangled sob as she worked through her shock, stepping forward and cupping his face.

In a wave of red, Cayde's SIVA formed artificial skin in a face, and Petra kissed him instantly. Cayde panicked for a moment before actually shrugging and kissing her back. Finally, as she pulled away, he reached up, poking his skin, only for his body to reabsorb its SIVA. Cayde shuddered.

"That feels weird," Cayde said. "Anybody got a mirror?"

Hunter formed one from his SIVA and held it out. Cayde focused, and the face reformed. Cayde cheered.

"That is awesome!" Cayde said. "No more strap-on needed, Petra. Uh, if you're not...you know...sharing."

Petra, Hunter, and Elsie all laughed.

"No, no," Petra said. "Although, I suppose it should be me who tells you. My queen has returned. Mara is alive again, and she's here. In the Tower."

"Oh," Cayde said. "I see." His gaze fell to the floor for a moment before he smiled. "I'm happy for you. Well, time to hit the bars again."

"Not yet," Ikora said. "Are we sure he can control his SIVA?"

"I was very careful programming it," Hunter said. "And in case that wasn't enough, I added a Light Generator in each SIVA unit. Spark keeps mine under control for me, but since Sundance is gone, I made each SIVA able to generate its own Light to keep itself under control. Now, Cayde, I need to warn you, you cannot use Light abilities like your Golden Gun or Solar Knives. As a tradeoff, however, you can do this." He raised his hand, SIVA swarming to it and forming a Rocket Launcher. "With practice. Plus create anything else you can think of. Guns, grenades, extra limbs, a new body for a severed head, tentacles."

"Whoa there!" Cayde said. "Too much information. Also, when the hell were you decapitated?"

"Long story," Hunter said. "You'll definitely be filled in on that one, since it has to do with a new species that's a massive threat."

Cayde grimaced. "Figures." He focused for a moment before his head glowed red, reforming to replace his light-up mouth with a working one with lips, albeit solid ones, similar to what Lakshmi had. "Man, that feels so weird." He reached up, feeling his mouth all over.

"There are other things you need to know," Ikora said.

Cayde nodded, still playing with his new mouth, then stopped as Hunter held out the Ace of Spades. "That's yours."

"No," Hunter said, shaking his head. "It belongs to you. The Joker is mine. Besides, if I need the Ace, I can just recreate it with my SIVA. Oh, and I upgraded it to be ambidextrous and to have infinite ammo."

Cayde grinned widely. "Excellent choices. Fine. I'll hang onto it. The debts are yours though."

"All cleared," Hunter said. "Favors are an effective currency."

Cayde laughed. "Nice! So, what is there for me to know?"

They started with chronological order, Petra and Hunter glossing over the majority of their activities together, despite Cayde's needling for more information, and the debriefing went quickly. Cayde was livid that Hunter's succession of him had been refused, but admitted that Shiro was a decent second choice, though still not his choice, which they had agreed to honor before the Pit of Heresy. He wasn't overly surprised by Hunter saying he was a Blademaster, siting Hunter having always been better with a knife than him, something Hunter had never realized. Cayde acknowledged the horrible reality of the Vex having a type of soldier that only a Blademaster could face, seeing as there were currently only two of them up and about, then also acknowledged the nightmare of the new species. He was surprisingly happy to accept the existence of Eliksni allies, and wasn't surprised by Lakshmi's actions, never having liked her. Finally, they reached their new ally, and Cayde fell silent, staring at the ground for a long while.

"Her favorite Guardian, huh?" Cayde asked. "That's not good, Hunter."

"I know," Hunter said. "But I might be able to get some free information out of her this way, if I let her think she's maybe winning me over."

"I don't like it," Ikora said.

"What the hell is this!?" Zavala demanded, everyone turning to him, finding him glaring at Cayde, Elsie, and Hunter. "What have you done!?"

"I brought my father back to life," Hunter said. "I was careful. He can control his SIVA."

"You mean you infected someone new!" Zavala seethed. "I knew you were a plague! You may not be as active as the SIVA before you, but I knew it was only a matter of time!" He grabbed his Auto Rifle, dubbed Origin Story, off his back, only for Ikora to step in front of all of them.

"Don't you dare!" Ikora snapped. "He didn't corrupt or infect Cayde, he brought him back online!"

"He turned him into SIVA!" Zavala thundered.

"He's still Cayde!" Ikora shouted.

"You aim that rifle at either of them, Zavala, and you're a dead man," Hunter warned, holding up a pair of knives in his right hand, held between his index and ring fingers, in the spaces created by his middle finger. "I'll only need these two. One for you, one for your ghost."

Zavala didn't move for a moment, until Hunter lowered the knives. Zavala tensed, only to freeze as the Slayer's blade ignited at Zavala's throat, and Saint held his shotgun to Zavala's head.

"Hunter brings your friend back to life without needing a Ghost to do it, and you thank him by trying to kill your friend, Hunter, and the woman Hunter loves?" Saint asked.

"You're going to put your rifle away now, and you're not going to threaten my successor again," the Slayer growled.

"Uh, excuse me, but he's actually my successor," Cayde said. "Although, he's actually about to have to be my mentor to teach me to use my new awesome SIVA powers."

Zavala snarled angrily but put his rifle on his back again. "I'll be keeping a very close eye on you three. And you are forbidden from speaking with Savathûn."

"I don't take orders from you, Zavala," Hunter said. "I may live on the Tower and I may be a Lightbearer, but I'm not one of your Guardians."

Zavala growled angrily, but said nothing as the three SIVA Exos walked past him out of the room, the Slayer and Saint following.

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