A/N: Next Chapter to conclude this act, also, finally someone shares their thoughts, though to be fair this sort of fiction isn't for everyone, but hey, I got the chapters might as well put them out there!
Replying to DarkNiqhts - Sinhy: I thank you for your kind words, really makes me happy, usually, it's hard to tell if what I'm writing is good so this is assuring. Oh, and take it from me, no one's amazing when the start writing, all you can do is improve!
That is all, enjoy! :)
Chapter 5 - Winter's Fall
Act VI - Wintertide
[Last City | Tower | Hall of Guardians]
It was another day at the office. And the kind, boisterous wave to my left caught my attention purposefully. "Hey-Hey, C, over here!" Cayde beckoned me over, himself sifting through documents with Artemis as she continued to monitor... the House of Winter?
"Cayde? What's wrong?" Myself and Ghost glanced at one another, then Cayde looked... irritated, and in a bad way
"We got a problem, big one, and a pain in my - yeah, it's big," Cayde noted my blank expression then flipped his pad over that displayed the House of Winter again. "Those Fallen in the Ishtar Sink on Venus... story is they hired some muscle to break an Archon Priest out of the Prison of Elders."
That had my full attention. "What, b-but how?" I knew that Fallen, Variks runs the place, but how did someone break-in? That place was supposedly built to hold some of the worst in the system
Cayde again looked to me evenly, "That's what we're going to find out, I need you to take your team back to their lair and keep them from restoring this thing's ether," Then he smiled. "Don't worry, you'll have a dashing rogue feeding you intel."
"Ah-hem!" Artemis hopped Cayde's horn, and he winked
"Right, a dashing rogue and his trusty sidekick," He waved to me. "Suit up Guardian, it's time to put an end to Winter for good this time."
I smiled, Ghost deploying my helmet into my awaiting hands. "We'll be in the Ishar Sink before you know, sir." I winked back, and he chuckled, holding a thumb up
"Love it when a plan comes together, mmmhmm."
[Venus | Ishtar Sink | The Fracture]
Our ships soared overhead, dropping me, Morbin, and Zane down atop an active region on Venus. Unlike the rest of the sulphuric cliffs, this maze of canyons was split and webbed with volcanic lines from a nearby fault line, spilling blue magma across the land.
"Cayde? Why are we in the middle of an active region on Venus?" Ghost asked with worry, Zane looking over a cliff
"Wow, that's... alot of lava." His voice echoed down into the rumbling earth below, stepping back
~Relaaax, place's been like that for months, I think~ His vote of confidence made Morbin tug his foot away from one of the glowing cracks
"Cayde, why are we in this region exactly?" Twisting Ghost's question, Artemis piqued up
~Simple, the volcanic activity spiked around the time you and Morbin assaulted their Ketch, blocking off the original way in, and Winter's pulled out the stops to keep anyone from interesting, except this way, since its a highly unstable region~ That again was met with another distant grumble of the mountains, and my stomach tightened
~Which is why its the perfect place to attack from, you guys are immortal, you'll be fine~ Cayde's optimistic assurance was atleast comforting, even if Venus didn't agree
"You heard the Exo, time to move," I called my Sparrow, alongside Zane's bombastic one, and Morbin's less flashy vehicle. I took the lead, blasting across the active wasteland as Ghost marked the most direct route through the many twists and turns of the ravines, some points we had to jump over completely to avoid burning to death
The trip through this region wasn't easy, crossing large rivers of lava and the remains of bridges that had fallen into the canyons. Pulling ourselves to a top, Ghost's tracker pointed back the way we came, having come to a dead end.
"Argh, these passages are all the same, are you sure this map is correct?" Ghost demanded bitterly
"This is the third time, I'm beginning to have doubts." Morbin crossed his arms while Zane sat back on his Sparrow
"Why worry? We'll stop Winter... in six to ten years." That atleast made Morbin chuff, and I sighed exasperatedly by how long this may take
~Hey, you want to do paperwork and manage dozens of fireteams at once?~ There was silence as Artemis huffed. ~Didn't think so, and for the record, you're going the right way but looks like someone's blocked it off - huh~
"Um, guys?" Zane drew my eyes to his pointing to the blocked canyon. "I think I found the issue, a very big one at that."
Standing proudly atop the lip of the canyon, a Fallen Captain as tall as Draksis stared down at us. Unlike most, his body had several cybernetic enhancements, clutching onto a powerful-looking weapon that smoldered with energy. His armor was carbon black with maroon plating.
His cloak was red, torn like the cloth around his waist, and both with an orange symbol unlike any I've seen among the Fallen, like circles. His helmet rounded from the sides of his head and another against his crown, prongs, and tubing feeding into his mask which lit up with multiple glowing eyes.
~...It can't be...~ Of all the times I've talked with Cayde, I've never heard such shocked anger shake in his voice. ~Fireteam, drive~
" #?&% $£ "*; £(^ !" The Captain wailed with his metal fist raised triumphantly, then a second later, his rocket launcher roared with a burning maul that struck one of the fissures in the ground, and to my escalating horror, the ground rumbled with greater intensity
I was so caught up by the earthquake that by the time I looked, the Captain was gone, leaving us to the mercy of boulders tumbling into the canyons, and the bubbling magma that slowly boiled over, the heat rising intensely.
~Fireteam, that region's gone unstable - Bastard led us into a trap - go, follow the marker and don't look back!~ Cayde updated Ghost, and when a boulder crashed down behind us, we all immediately took off
"I really regret waking up this morning!" Zane flew past me, hopping off his Sparrow to evade the flowing lava ahead, running his feet along the wall before hopping back on. I surfed the side with Morbin literally throwing his Sparrow into the air, gliding over the rising magma, before latching onto his Sparrow once he was across
"Lessing talking ~WE WILL FACE THE SUN GOD'S WRATH~ Yes, exactly... oh no," Morbin zoomed past me, and my heart sank
"What is it!?" I yelled, taking a right then a sharp left as the two of them followed me, bumping into one another
"Don't look back!" Morbin replied
"Well, now I want too!" I snapped, and Zane turned his head, and even with the helmet I swore his eyes lit ablaze
"Nope! Bad idea, Bad idea!" He... pulled out Quickfang and used it as a paddle, and for some inexplicable reason he sped up, flying past me as he rowed himself along, using his sword to twist himself around the next bend as we entered some Vex architecture, fountains of blue fire spewing from the walls as the heat grew against my back
"Keep going, there's a jump just up ahead!" Rika informed us and with whatever speed we could muster we pushed our Sparrow to their limits to outrace whatever was behind me, rocks and moats of fire cutting off any direct route to the so-called 'jump' as we sped through the flames
True to her observation, there was a large gorge coming up, and a safe entry into a cavern placed on the other side. The issue was, our Sparrows couldn't make the jump. "We need to jump ourselves, get ready!" Zane took the lead, standing upright on his Sparrow with his arms outstretched
Now the heat was starting to burn the tail-end of my Sparrow, the heat was too much for the coolant systems. Morbin followed Zane lead as he too balanced himself, all while I did what I could to keep up.
Zane jumped, hopping through the air as he rolled down into the dirt across the several meters wide abyss. Morbin merely glided across, discarding his Sparrow to the void while landing effortlessly on the edge, a few rocks dislodged under him as the two awaited my leap of faith.
"Jump, Ceres!" "Do it now or you're dead!"
If I could bite my nails I would, speeding over the edge, I started to dip down as the fire roared on behind me. I ran across my Sparrow, leaping with all the energy I could as my glide took me higher than my Sparrow could. Yet I was still falling, inches from the edge as I scraped the walls with my fingers to hook something.
What I managed through desperation was a pair of hands locked around my wrists, keeping me dangling over the gorge as Zane looked down at me, head tilted. "Hello again."
"Hi..." I smiled graciously, Morbin holding onto Zane's feet above. "Thank you, Morbin!"
"You both could lose a few pounds ~YOU ARE VERY HEAVY!~" That was us told, hanging over a scary abyss with a waterfall of molten rock behind me
~See, it all worked out in the end~ Cayde gently added in with a faint sigh in the background
"So, Cayde, who was the Fallen that nearly cooked us?" While my voice was normal I was far beyond furious with that sneak attack, and Cayde knew it too
With a plain yet irate tone, Cayde answered as we ventured forth into the dark caves ahead of us, Winter's banners hoisted up everywhere. ~Well, we now know who broke the Archon out, Taniks; Mercenary, obsessed with technology to the point of augmenting himself. And he has a vendetta against us Hunters~ Cayde was silent a moment, mulling over something. ~He's the reason I'm a part of the Vanguard today, and I swore we killed him the last time too~
"I... no longer feel safe." Zane raised his hand, then Cayde chuffed
~We can worry 'bout him later, he's already done his job so it's likely he's ran off back to his Ketch, as for our Archon, um, hmm-hmm-hmm, ah-hah!~ We heard pages flick. ~Aksor, member of the 'House of Wolves', ouch, no wonder the Queen put such a high bounty on this guy; says he ran dozens of campaigns against the Awoken and Human settlements, this guy is bad news~
Morbin murmured in the dark. "They want to replace Draksis, and Aksor would be a decent replacement," He, of course, loaded Judgement. "Sadly, I still want that throne."
"Then we need to stop them here and now," I proclaimed, walking back into the light of day, or until Zane pulled me back with a yell
"Nope!" He held me close as the 'boom' and scream of wind tore through the cave, a large shell erupting behind us while Morbin pushed himself against the adjacent wall too. While Zane held me tightly, we both peered outside the mouth of the cave to find ourselves back at the Simiks-Fel
Outside was a narrow pathway leading round to below the Ketch, Fallen standing guard, their weapons trained on the cave as atop a small plateau of land far out of our reach was a Noble Winter Walker providing artillery support, its colors black and white instead of what I've typically seen
~How did they even get that up there?~ Artemis murmured, the three of us looking to one another with a silent nod. We've dealt with bigger guns before, this would be no different if we played to our strengths
"You guys ready?" I inquired, loading Zenobia while Zane spun Imago loop in his left while Quickfang in his right, Morbin switching to his Hammerhead, the boys nodding to one another. "Then go!"
Breaking into the open air, gunfire rained upon us, they took the lead as I sat back, drawing a red laser to my chest as I flew up, evading the cannon's shell as I retaliated with my own rocket to cause a surge across the large Walker, its nose repeaters drawing a hail of bolts across the air as I flew back down behind a wall.
Ahead, Zane dove over a barrier, slicing three Shanks from the air while leveling Imago ahead of him, taking the heads of two Vandals, rolling away from a Vandal's blades, parrying it before tripping the Fallen over the cliff.
Morbin dived behind Zane, punching a Dreg from stabbing him, with both hands on the machine gun he fed a large portion of his rounds into the mob ahead, laying down suppressing fire even while Vandals took pot-shots at his armor. Zane ran under the bullets, slicing through another Dreg while sliding under a Vandal, lodging a single round into its skull while sweeping the legs out from under another, skewing it to the ground.
"Get down you guys!" They immediately dropped what they were doing as a missile blew open a cave above them, two Fallen taken with it as I pushed through the plume of dust, drawing Zenobia as bolts chased me along the wall
The rocket blew the Walker down, the motor core was exposed and with my third rocket in place I fired upon the nape, seeing damage ripple through-out the Walker as the duo pushed forward for me. I too ducked, avoiding a Vandal's blades as it kicked me into a wall in an attempt to pierce me.
I spun my rocket launcher around, batting the Vandal across the chin while simultaneously reloading, twisting the cap on while bringing the rim of the barrel up to strike the Vandal off the side and into Morbin's gunfire. Zane sliced away a Captain's shield while two Vandals swiped him back.
While Zane performed a handstand he spread his legs out for buckshot to blow the Captain's head off. He flipped back to his feet laughing while Morbin grabbed a Vandal by the arm, swinging it high as he flicked it into the other, shoving them over the edge while a Dreg met the barrel of Judgement when Morbin wasn't looking.
I continued to run above them, another section of the wall blowing itself open from the Walker as it followed us, arc cannons blasting away at the ground under me while I locked on target and fired, the front, right leg's plating shattered and it fell once more, leaving it wide open for my final rocket to lodge itself deep within the wiring and machinery.
As the Walker tore itself apart, the Fallen began to make a retreat, some failing to evade Morbin's crossfire while Zane did a bow, popping two Dregs between the eyes. He then made a kissing sound at Imago. "I love this handcannon."
"And I the scream of the Fallen." Morbin's grim statement had Zane take a step away from him. "What?"
"Nothing, nothing... you do you buddy." He held his hands up while slowly jogging past the eerily quiet Exo
We eventually came to the end of the harrowing cliffs and into a large, open space among the basin, the shadow of their Ketch looming over supplies and a large, egg-shaped containment cell, the faint wisps of ether leaking from the seam in the pod. We hopped down into the area, noting that the Fallen were nowhere in sight, and everything was silent.
"Where did they go?" Zane whispered, the three of us branching out a little to take a look around the large cave ahead and the discarded supplies of ether, only they were all drained
"Something's wrong," Morbin turned to the pod, cocking Judgement. "Time to see what's inside."
"Sure that's a good idea?" I asked, but he shrugged and proceeded to the pod, the large lever left untouched as he yanked it down, hearing the pop and hiss from the locks inside. "Get ready." I held onto my rifle tightly, the boys doing the same as we took a few steps back
After a soft hum, the doors swung back with a 'thump', gases released into the air as the pod sat vacantly. Not a soul inside. All of us were perplexed by this. "Uh-um, think they know they grabbed the wrong pod?"
I shook my head, "No, I doubt anyone would overlook a missing Archon, so why..." My radar immediately blared like a siren in fog. "Zane!"
Both I and Zane met a large arm that swatted me into the side of a crate, Zane himself hanging off the edge of the cliff as the Archon vanished again with a deep laugh. "D-Don't mind me, I'll just, hang... hang around!" He waved his hand to us, myself and Morbin back-to-back as a shadow appeared over us.
Atop a large overhang, an Archon bearing... the House of Kings banner? Stood armed with a standard Sharpnel Launcher. His armor light grey with a touch of white, his helmet angular and narrow with a large, grey helmet jutting back with horns and prongs underneath. Four, icy-blue eyes staring back at us sharply.
[Aksor, Archon Priest]
"He's fast." Ghost pointed out
"He's dead," Morbin took the initiative in unloading an entire drum into the Archon, himself answering with a barrage of molten slugs as they tore into Morbin. I threw him away from the flames and shot back myself, seeing the Archon's head jiggle from the impact as he vanished again
"He's charging us!" To Ghost's realization I didn't quite catch on until a fist pulled me off my feet, the Archon appearing within seconds of sprinting down from the cliff. He threw me high then fired two slugs into my chest as I collided with the tip of a boulder. "Sorry, I'll try to scan him faster."
One cough from me was all he got as I pulled myself atop the boulder, seeing Morbin land in a puddle, losing his hold on Hammerhead as the Aksor unleashed another burst of shrapnel that tore into Morbin's enhanced body, but his Light was flickering every time. Zane then appeared behind the Archon, slicing across his back and down its padded thighs.
Aksor growled and stomped the ground to push Zane back, his body becoming translucent again while evading Zane's rampant swings with his Bladedancer. A stable impression in the ground and Zane performed a backflip over a right hook, flicking his electrical knife into the Archon's shoulder.
Taking the opportunity I brought my hammer down atop Aksor's head, seeing him step back in fright from the flames, another hammer and a torrent of fire cut off his escape as I brought the next one down on his left knee, hearing the Archon growl as his launcher blasted me in the face, but the heat was barely noticeable as I summoned the fourth hammer to break his lower left arm.
With another powerful slam of his foot, he disappeared before I could continue my assault, but his cloak had already caught fire so his retreat was easy to follow as we gave chase up the slope, only to push back as three Servators came into view, defending the Archon as he swiped us with his launcher, though Zane deflected it with his sword.
Zane kept the Archon distracted, dodging and weaving between the slugs while I swung out Verdict with Morbin already melting the first Servator with Lord of Wolves. Sliding under both Servators' gaze attacks I shoved the barrel against the second one's eye, blast the insides apart. Hopping onto the eye before it exploded I leapt over the Archon as Zane slid under the barrel of his weapon, Morbin punching Aksor in the face to keep him agitated.
Coming down with a CLG in my hand I shoved the orb into the Servator's eye, seeing it crackle then burst into a smoldering wreck on the ground, the protective layer around Aksor dissipating as he vanished again.
"That disappearing act is getting old." Was my dry remark as I loaded a shell into Verdict as Aksor appeared the way we came, only now he tweaked his launcher, the orangy-gold flames turning a crackling blue while Arc bolts traveled up his arms when he held the trigger. "That's new."
"He's modified his weapon with Arc energy, get ready for a wake-up call," Rika announced as several immediate spheres of Arc splashed into the ground, leaving a pulsating spot on the ground that numbed my arms the second I pulled away
"Man, you guys must have really peeved the House of Winter off to get them to release this guy," Zane remarked, then shrugged while weaving between some of Aksor's normal gunfire. "I mean, I have no idea what you guys did to them since every time I asked Chrome Dome he kept glaring at me bitterly - but I think I got the gist of it."
"Sorry, private adventure like ours to the Moon that one time." I kept it vague, while Morbin remained uninterested by our conversation in the heat of battle
Zane nodded, "That's fair - Back on topic, I'll take out the gun, you guys go in for the coup de grâce!" Zane paused. "I have no idea what that means but it sounds cool, right?" Even over the blasts of Arc, I could hear Morbin groan out loud at the remark while I snickered slightly
"You heard him, Morbin, let's put an end to Winter!" That alone was enough to garner the Exo's full attention again as we ran down the slope, sweeping past the circles of Arc fallout. On the cliff to our left, Zane shot slowly to draw Aksor's fire, the hailstorm coming down hard on Zane as he ran through the blighted areas
There was a flash of gold, and with a sharp ringing in my ear and a large ring of gold that radiated like a sun, Aksor's arm was incinerated alongside the scorched remains of his modified weapon as he stumbled back, cloak burnt and flickering in the light. Now was our chance!
Not to be outdone, Aksor brought out a large variant of a Dreg's bolt pistol, so I fell to my knees to take the blows against my back, hands cupped for Morbin's foot as I threw him high into the air alongside a charge of my Solar Light, the embers turning to motes of orange light that accumulated around his open palm, the dark purple sphere gathering between his fingers, flames dancing in-between.
"You were better off in the Prison of Elders." Morbin asserted with an overhead throw of the Nova Bomb infused with Solar. With no place to hide, and its own pride keeping it from ever asking for Fallen support, Aksor fell back against the wall of the Embers, the Void pulling apart his armor while a wave of flames cooked him on the spot
The Archon shuffled back, arms flailing in vain to put out the purple flames, but that alone cost him by a misstep over the lip of the catwalk. With his own weight against him, Aksor's wail of torment reverberated across the mountains, the last flames dying out in the rain.
"Well, you're right about that, buddy, he was better off in the Prison," Zane whistled while peering over the edge, wincing as he must have caught sight of whatever remained. "Yeah, yeesh, Void, and Solar together are vicious."
That made me turn to look at Morbin, himself adjusting his scorched glove gingerly as I nudged his shoulder. "Nice work, Morbin."
He nodded. "Indeed, now Winter will soon cease to be, but Taniks... he's alive, I thought he was dead too."
This time, Zane tapped his fist to Morbin's chest, then raised his arms wide. "Hey, we'll hunt him down someday, just you wait!"
"He's right, whether you like it or not." My affirmative nod kept him silent, but I hope he'll understand
~Nice work, Guardians. Another Archon gone to dust, literally, it seems. Good. But if the Fallen found the Prison of Elders, I'm sure we'll be hearing about more heists like this. Today, we celebrate, on me this time, head on back when you're ready~ Cayde signed us off happily
"I wonder if I can find that modification for Pip?" I wondered, flicking through whatever remained of that modified launcher, to have the ability to switch between Solar and Arc with ease, must have been the Splicers' work
[Unknown Space]
[No POV]
Across an expanse of white sands and monolithic structures either far or floating in a motionless sky graced by celestial bodies darkened and without detail, a lone pod spilled the last of his cryo vapor.
The sand shifted under the oppressing weight of one once caged within, breathing in a still air unlike any his mask had filtered before, the sun was eclipsed, but everything under its faint gaze felt unearthly to the captive now unbound.
His eyes scanned the dunes, locking to a small figure wrapped in dark cloth, it too flowing so delicately in the lack of wind.
"I believe that I am here," The creature says. To his ears, it has a strange voice, a strange accent. But it spoke his language. "I have a clear purpose. I cannot explain it. Forgive me."
From beneath its hood, tiny tendrils prodded the air.
He rose to crush the being, for waiting for an unfair and apathetic universe to retaliate is how one dies. Then he stopped, the realization of his ambitions, how they brought him here, to this cell. This strange land was... no longer such, but the hull of his Ketch, one he believed to be left in ruin.
He growled at the figure. "The Queen, you work for the Queen."
"The Nine made me aware of my purpose," The creature spoke evenly. "If I am here, then it is because the Queen sent you to the Nine, and they wish you sent back."
Send him back? That alone brought bile to his mouth, "I will do no one else's work."
To Be Continued In Act VII...
A complete overhaul of the strike, Winter's Run, featuring Taniks. Also, to translate, he said, 'Death to the Light'. This concludes the small arc to kick off Judgement, as we move on to the House of Wolves. I hope you enjoyed, seeya in the next chapter Guardians!
Next Act - Act VII House of Wolves
We showed them mercy and offered them a home amongst the Awoken. They met that mercy with betrayal. And now, they will feel my wrath. Open the Reef to the Guardians, offer the riches of our realm as bounty for these traitors. Let the Hunt, begin.