A/N: This chapter, erm, yeah, you're gonna hate me! Anywho, let's move on from things I may or may not have done.

To DarkNights: No worries about posting on the wrong chapter, I get whatcha mean. Also, I built this story for two purposes, one, I like Destiny alot, lore especially so I decided to incorporate the lore into the campaigns while tweaking things here and there from mechanics outside the game to things Bungie fell short in my perspective. Second, I love writing about my characters from the game and giving them life.

With that, enjoy ^_^

Chapter 12 - Bug in the System

Act VII - House of Wolves

[On-Route to Venus]

Things have gone from worst to downright horrible. We were on-route to Venus and with as must gusto, our Jumpships could provide through light-speed travel. Petra had relayed from Uldren himself that Skolas was scouring the Ishtar Sink, ripping into Vex Strongholds across the surface. It was just like the Kings back when they were messing around with Rasputin on Earth, they're looking for something, and if it involves the Vex then there's no good that comes from them.

~We have the Wolves on the run, Guardians... however, my Queen was right to be wary, Skolas has been planning this for years while imprisoned, but with his plans astray he's either gone completely mad-~

~-Probably mad~ Zane butted in as I couldn't hold back a humorous snort

~-Ooor, he's become a tactical genius, he sent the leader of his Guard, Basoriks, to lead the divisions, take him out and leave Skolas high and dry~ With the last transmission my seat jolted as we appeared before the yellow planet below, dropping through the exosphere quickly

As we were transwarped down onto the Ishtar Cliffs, Ghost was lost in his own thoughts, those that I could hear clear as day. "The more we learn about Skolas, from the Reef Wars, and his fanatical higher-ups, the less I like this," Ghost hummed while I awaited Zane and Morbin's arrival. "I just figured him for a zealot, a prophet. But he came back to Venus, there are... alot of bad things on Venus."

"I couldn't agree more," I loaded Red Death, seeing the display hum a deep red. "So let's ensure things stay the way they are this time."

Not long after skimming past a number of Vex and Wolf skirmishes that deathly annoying voice bellowed through our comms. I raised a brow bluntly. "Another one of his speeches?"

"He's very poetic," Zane's sarcastic pose on the sparrow was indicative of that

The low growl of Variks soon took Skolas' place. ~Skolas said, 'I am Kell of Kells. All Houses shall burn. All will bow before the Wolf banner'.~ Now he wants to burn the Houses? This Fallen's completely lost it, if the Kings didn't so much as bend a knee, and with Silvis holding the Devils together with their remaining higher-ups, this was a strange decree. ~Yes, he has gone quite mad, yes?~ Even Variks wasn't convinced

Petra joined the comms, her voice dumbfounded, ~I'm getting a Fallen comm channel interlaced with Vex coding-~ What the hell? Even Morbin's head rose at the report. ~Whatever he's doing, I've never seen anything like this before. He's mad!~

While we flew through the jungle canyons, my eyes widened as I slowed my sparrow down, my marker... where it was pointing stripped me of my strength as I let the vehicle vanish alongside the boys. An empty, reluctant word escaped me. "No..."

The irritating glow perched high on the cliffs, the battle between the Vex and the House of Wolves raged in between the rocks and Vex debris as we stood side-by-side, facing the entrance to the Vex Underworld once more. A harrowing dread in the back of my mind. They're attacking the Vault of Glass, why? Why here again...?

"You've got to be kidding me, again?" Zane was probably gawking with his arms wide toward the Vault. "Is there like a stamp card I can collect for the number of times I've had to go down there?"

"~I WILL GO TO THE GIFT SHOP~!" Kreig proclaimed but I wasn't feeling all that cheery seeing this place again. My bittersweet moment

"Huh?" I jumped from my stupor, finding Zane's hand wrapped around mine tightly, easing my shaking. We couldn't see each other's faces but I wasn't looking all that great, yet he was probably smiling through it all

"We've beaten them, what's one more trip to hell?" Gentle and earnest, and even my left shoulder was locked to the vice-grip of Morbin

"Quit looking back," A small laugh broke the silence as I did, pulling away with my rifle taut in my hands

"Yeah, thanks... let's move out!" I was somewhat impressed though, the Fallen broke the seal on the Vault too? But Winter's banners are here... and they were different, it was a subtle twist on their logo, detailed and more metallic. "This isn't Winter's banner?" I lifted the fabric, it was heavier too

Judgement then swooped across and shot through the wire-fabric, he almost took my fingers off! "Splicers... they're here too." That... wasn't Morbin's personality meshed with Kreig's voice, right? He didn't look the other way, shoving past Fallen and Vex while downright executing any that got between him and the Vault

~Well, guess we're all on board now~ Rika replied anxiously, the two of us nodding while following the path of destruction. ~You sure you're both okay? No point asking the grump on a mission up there~

Smiling at the ghost's concerns I kept on guard and shot two Goblins trying to flank us, Zane decimating a Harpy up ahead through the overhang as the rain continued its downpour. "I am, just never expected to come back here, ever."

"I second that," Zane gingerly rubbed his right arm. "Not wanting to try that merged Super anytime soon thank you, that stuff hurts!" I could imagine why - Then a massive explosion threw half a dozen Vex over the cliffside, the Fallen retreating to the Vault door

We both sighed, more than likely with deadpan expressions. "Come on, let's make sure he doesn't just up and tear the door off its hinges," Not that I would stop him, this place is unnerving, and not from past experiences, something... felt off, in the air around us

"Ceres?" Ghost broke my observation of the cliffs

A shake cleared my head briefly, "Nothing - Push on, Zane!" I declared

"Aye, Boss!"

[Venus | Vault of Glass | Trial of Kabr]

Delving back into the Vault of Glass was just as eerily peaceful as it was the first time. The narrow shafts of rock spanning wide into bottomless chasms and towering walls of metal and circuitry. Grass still grew down here, and the forgotten chest we passed only made my skin crawl. The large pit to my right gave a faint echo of when Taka accidentally smacked Sparrow with an engram, tossing him into the abyss.

"Hey, Morbin?" I murmured, but he wasn't stopping, not when I knew he knew the Splicers were here. Jogging forward as Zane analyzed the misty depths I tugged his arm back. "Morbin, wait."

"What?" He growled, and I put a hand on my hip

"Don't start with me, wise-ass, look, I get you have a vendetta against the Splicers, but don't just rush in without a plan," I didn't want to say it but he needed it through that thick processor of his. "Wasn't it what got Deus captured?"

Surprisingly, his arms lowered from the damp cave walls. "I understand your concern, however, the very idea of the Splicers getting their claws on Vex tech is what's put me on edge," He tossed me a Fallen helmet painted with Wolves' banner. "Skolas' mind and their smarts are just as dangerous, after all, we both know what exactly makes this Underworld a living hell."

I didn't get it entirely at first, but from how brutal the 'forced' doorway was, the coding visibly scrambled and the plating jammed, it was clear the Splicers knew what they were trying to. My voice hitched in my throat, and I dropped the helmet, Zane taking notice as he hopped off one of the walls. "You can't be serious...?"

Morbin nodded, and Zane took a second to catch on himself, swinging his hands out dismissively. "Wait-wait, you mean to tell me they're trying to hack the Oracle technology? That's..." He put his hand against his chin. "Actually they could do that... the Axis Minds down here control the Oracles they aren't some sentient Vex, and if the Splicers got a hold of that weapon."

The Exo leaned closer, Judgement pumped sharply to startle us. "It would mean the end of this system." Without further questioning, we descended into the Vault, the longing fear long gone for desperation

~A Fallen House with the technology of the Vault of Glass. If you like quite literally anything about the world we live in, we have to stop Skolas~ Ghost pressed the issue. ~We've seen what they've done across the system. Imagine what they'll do to the past!~

~Relaaax, Ghosty. Me and Zane were poking around this place while you were still searching for Ceres, the chances of them so much as understanding the Oracle Engine would take longer than a bullet to travel from Imago to their foreheads~ Rika's confidence wasn't misplaced, but I didn't wish to tempt fate, not down here in this world

"Stay on guard, I don't want any of us getting cocky," I remained stoic, seeing the boys nod complacently, so I reciprocated while gliding down to a floating platform bridging the abyss, the familiar, uneasy glow of the Well within sight

There was acute static, and a rustle of papers while Petra muttered in the background, ~Alright, Skolas going crazy is the good version here. I've seen reports from Prince Uldren's Crows-reports about the technology of the Vault. Really, just awful stuff, my condolences, Guardians~

"Thanks, Petra, but we've paid our respects by making it out alive once before, this time won't be any different," Much as it pained me to approach this Well once again, I know Morbin and Zane felt it too, standing where fallen friends once did, the memories coming and going. But again, if we don't stop Skolas it would be the end of everything

Coming to where Zane lost Summer, and I confronted everyone on their feelings of resentment, we peered down at the Well. Wolves and Winter Splicers working away with machinery wired into particular points of the Vex stronghold. Near the entrance to the Labyrinth, the door remained sealed before a particular member of the Wolves' Guard.

Standing as tall as a Captain, plated in silvery metal like the rest of the Guard was Basoriks, a smoldering flicker from the Scorch Cannon slung over his shoulder as he bossed the Wolves around, shadowing a Splicer as it directed the lesser Fallen to the consoles. The Winter Splicers looked no different from Winter, say for their navy colors and silvery Winter marks now paired with Wolves too.

With a silent pop, the last of the Vandals to the far corners of the Well were silenced by Zane's sniper, allowing us to leap to the far left platform, sliding up the edge carefully as a Servitor bobbed around the bend of the Well, eyeing two Shanks before moving on. They knew we were coming, this wouldn't be an easy fight. And that strange presence, it was like claws nicking the back of my neck.

"We could rush in, but there's alot of Fallen in one confined space," Zane murmured then was abruptly cut off by Variks, his voice seething with growing trepidation

~Bad. Very bad-~ He said this as our heads visibly twitched and spun to our lefts, the sight of gold and a familiar chime in the air. ~-Wolves trying to tap Oracles. Big glowing squares. Guardian, destroy the Oracles. Destroy them faast~

Ghost spoke up sardonically, ~...You were saying, Rika?~ Not the time, Ghost!

"Subtly is out! Go!" I propelled myself off the ledge, taking a chunk off the stone while the Fallen howled at my approach. I hardly breathed as I threaded the needle between two Shanks, dropping my CLG for them while using the Servitor as a stepping stone over the amassing Fallen, bolts and bullets striking my back while I remained on course, drawing Red Death down to riddle the Oracle caged in their device

The cubical device shattered, dispersing its gold coding while Dregs swung with their arc knives, slicing into my armor as I shoved one over the edge, wrapping my left arm around another's neck while kicking the third back, firing another burst while pulling the second under my barrel, unloading the last semi-auto burst into its face, tossing its body to the crowd that immediately vanished under a massive blast of amethyst.

Reloading I ran under a small archway, seeing another Oracle appear, Variks was tagging them for us which was a lifesaver as the reinforcements pulled in from the crevasses like ants. That Guard snarled at me, drawing his Scorch Cannon between me and Zane. Without question I shoved Zane down to the second Oracle, locking both my forearms to take one the large, volatile payload directly.

The third Oracle appeared behind Basoriks, himself moving to defend the object as Zane held off the Vandals below with his sword. I rolled to my left, then the right as two more consecutive blasts ripped the ground open, Morbin then dived bombed the Guard, shoving a fistful of Void down its throat as the pulse launched it high above us, but it still had its weapon primed on Morbin.

"Take care of the Oracles!" I flanked by grabbing a lip on the wall, launching myself high with a burst of energy, tackling the Captain from the air as it missed its mark, the two of us colliding with the staircase while the others took on the Fallen and Splicers. Two, however, rallied with Basoriks

I swung myself back toward the crossroads, bringing Red Death up and across the mandible of Basoriks, one Stealth Vandal swung down in the instance, swiping my visor as another grabbed my shoulder, slicing my right side while I elbowed it in the face, gunning it down while another shot struck my left leg, shoving me into the waiting blades of a Vandal as it shoved me back, slicing my left forearm and breastplate back into the one behind me. I hopped over its strikes, placing two precise rounds into its crown.

I was shot twice, then slashed from behind by a Vandal, his blade sunk through my barding, then one pulled me aside, the hiss and whirl within the Scorch Cannon built as the sticky blast sunk against my stomach blasting me far across the Well, my back digging out the corner of a pillar, landing in a heap while the Fallen corraled around me. Red Death laying between us.

"Ceres-!"

"Don't worry, focus on the Oracles!" I snapped back at Zane's worry. This wasn't the time, I... I needed to focus - I need them to focus!

Despite the ferocity compared to any other attack, Ghost still reluctantly translated one message for me. "'The future of our race, of our glorious leader, for the life of a single Light-Bearer'." Fanatical, fantastic, as if Drevis wasn't enough of a headache

Sniffing what I could imagine was ash, I'd spit but my visor was on. I grabbed my gun and placed it gently on my back, watching their blades scrape off the ground, the slow build-up of solar energy within the cannon's capacitor lighting the dusk of the Well with a crude orange. "You'd never stop at one..." I seethed, drawing from the void my own roaring fire crystallized into a hammer. "Want them, then kill me!"

Drawing my hammer across to my right I caved the first Vandal's head through the ground, kicking the hammer up with my right to create a flaming whirlwind while drawing a new hammer down on the Scorch Cannon as it fired on its own Dregs while I grabbed Basoriks shoulder, tearing off some of the armor before ducking under the backswing of the cannon, smacking it across the jaw with my hammer as I withdrew another with a twirl, seeing it collide with two more Vandals approaching from the edge's staircase.

Drawing back with the first hammer I smashed it through Basoriks chestplate, tossing him back while more Fallen ran from the dark corners of the Well. So with the hammer raised high I brought my body high, the hammer clanked with a thin halo of gold, incinerating the Wolves while I ran across the wall vertically, propelling over a Scorch blast, landing on the edge of a pillar to dive backward over another. Landing behind Basoriks, his arms grabbed me and threw me toward the edge, firing two more scorching blasts, the final Oracle appearing behind me while he swung with his lower arms drawing cutlasses.

They grazed my stomach, the cannon's glare poised to my forehead, with my final hammer I immediately thrashed the molten head low horizontally to my left then right, disarming the Captain before shattering the Cannon between its claws, the primed explosive sticking to its creator, consuming the roar of the Guard in a flaming sphere of molten slag and burnt flesh.

Taking in a lungful of air, I handled Red Death within one hand, firing a continuous burst into the final Oracle, dispersing it alongside the rest. "Totally planned that..." I threw aside the empty clip, slapping another in while my team fought off the remaining Wolves, another Guard with a Scorch Cannon - Correction, Zane had it now, and about half the Wolves immediately ran as it haphazard shots dispersed their groups.

That made me chuckle, with friends like these... Meanwhile, Ghost beamed in my head. "Nice work, that was actually surprising, you've improved immeasurably with your Light," I had an irreplaceable companion to help me. "Well, we should clear out the rest." Bashful I see? Cute~

~Variks, good work on pinpointing the Oracles. Guardian, even better! Clear out the rest of those Wolve# ' /, Guar&$"*?~ I lowered my rifle as I slapped the side of my helmet, static and disruption filling my eardrum

This was coupled with that sensation again, chilling, crawling like nails up my spine. "Petra? Variks? My comms are jammed?"

"Let's back up the others, for now, might be the Vex," I agreed with Ghost, rushing across the battlefield, the last hiss and whir of gunfire calmed around me while the Wolves that remained fled at the horrors of a deranged Warlock and eccentric Hunter. But around me, the dampening chaos shuddered within the Vex Underworld. My arms were singed but held up. Thankfully, I saw the two just the far right of the Well, kicking aside a Wolf Guard, Zane waving to my approach, however, Morbin's hands moved swiftly to bring Judgement forward.

I drew Red Death between my arms quickly, ready to leave this unsettling place behind, "What's-?"

*Boosh!*

A sharp, crackling sensation flashed high above the three of us. My eyes froze with terror, the sharp tug of heat forcing me into a stumble as I pulled my head down, my words caught in my dried throat. Blood dripped onto my left glove, spitting once from a golf-ball-sized hole in my right side. My right hand reaching helplessly to them as a confused pain etched under my mask.

An unbearably hot, searing pain hissed and crackled across my smoking wound, charring the armor and my insides in seconds of contact with the high-density strobe of light, my blood hissing across the ground. Standing far above us, hung from one of the Vex pillars was crackling, red energy smothering the form of Revenant. Draped in the colors of a Fallen of a forgotten House.

His body vanished like mist to a breeze, and I shuttered, coughing up crimson into my visor as my body slumped forward, voices and sounds thumped and echoed, breaking apart as my vision began to haze with black spots. I couldn't register anything other than a chill in my bones, as just like that day in the Cosmodrome, my eyes were pulled back in an isolating void.

~...rdian! Cer... hear me? We... leav... un!~

All I could hear was a single, painful cry, "CERES!"

To Be Continued...

...I'm not apologizing, the main girl just got vibe-checked. This ain't over yet, I hope you enjoyed, appreciate the support, seeya in the next chapter Guardians!

Next Chapter: Edge of Revolution

Skolas is no longer hindered in his plans for the Wolves, with the aid of the unsettling Fallen Vandal, the Mercenary, Taniks, and the hopeful removal of the Guardians, judgment is at hand.