Chapter 12

Old Russia

Cosmodrome

Mothyards

"Whooo~!" Tobias hollered as he twisted the handlebars of his Sparrow, accelerating as he raced ahead of Carmen. The two of them flew through a desolate open plain where the remains of various aircrafts were scattered about, but Tobias paid no mind to his surroundings. He was far too absorbed in riding his Sparrow!

"Geez, can you tone it down a little?" Carmen barked at him. "You've been screaming like this since we got on our Sparrows when we landed!"

"Can't help it, I'm king of the world right now!" Tobias shouted in return with a bright grin as the two of them charged up a steep incline, approaching the site of their mission. Resting at the top of this large hill was the Lunar Complex, the entrance of which was guarded by a Fallen Captain and a pair of Vandals. As these enemies came into view, Tobias turned his Sparrow to the side to come to a stop so that he could engage them on foot. But Carmen had another idea.

Pushing down on the throttle, Carmen raced past Tobias, making a bee line toward the Fallen.

"Carmen, what are you doing?!" Tobias yelled, but she didn't give him a response. The Fallen perked up hearing the roar of Carmen's Sparrow, quickly drawing their weapons to begin firing at her. Carmen was undeterred by this as she continued her approaching, going right through the weapon fire.

Eyeing the Captain, Carmen labeled that as her first target. Raising her legs to put her feet on the seat of her Sparrow, Carmen smirked as she leapt into the air just before making contact with the Captain. The beast gave a deafening roar as the Sparrow pierced its torso, carrying it off into the building where it soon crashed, exploding on impact. Distracted by the sudden removal of their leader, the Vandals stared at the entrance of the complex which the Captain had disappeared into, unaware of the Hunter that was still in the air above them.

Pulling out a pair of throwing knives from the kit on her waist, Carmen twirled in the air, throwing out both of them at the remaining Vandals. As she landed on the ground, the two Vandals sunk to the ground as well with a knife buried in their foreheads, clearing the entrance to the Lunar Complex.

"Damn." Tobias said softly as Carmen dusted off her hands with a shrug.

"Some king of the world you are." Carmen commented as Tobias approached her. He shot her a narrow glance, but after seeing her skewer a Fallen Captain with her Sparrow, he didn't have anything to say.

"Like you're one to talk Carmen. You come across as such a brute abusing your Sparrow like that." Her Ghost commented.

"It's not like my Sparrow is going to complain." Carmen muttered in response, gaining a sigh from her Ghost.

"My sensors are picking up on the data center we're looking for." Tobias' Ghost called out, refocusing the group of their first objective.

Their short meeting with Xander 99-40 had resulted in them receiving two missions. The first of which involved a journey into the Lunar Complex. The only building had been standing here since the Collapse, and according to Future War Cult, it was linked to an array station that had been reactivated by the Guardians not too long ago. There was a possibility that this building might have some clues as to why the array station had been shut down during the Collapse.

Venturing into the building, the two of them pressed through a number of damaged corridors before arriving in a small room that had a number of large terminals in it.

"Alright Ghost, the stage is yours now." Tobias said as his Ghost appeared along with Carmen's. The two drones got to work immediately, reactivating the consoles and accessing them to see what they could pull from it.

"Hmm. So the team that used this room was responsible for the maintenance of the software within the array station." Tobias' Ghost explained. "We're only scratching the surface here though. There were various times that worked within this building, but I think the terminal we're looking for is on one of the upper levels."

"What do you need from that one specifically?" Tobias asked curiously as their Ghosts returned to them.

"This terminal contains entries that are dated up to the Collapse. Hopefully those can enlighten us on what took place in the array station before the Collapse took place."

"Okay, sounds good to me." Tobias said as he looked toward Carmen who was waiting by the entrance to the stairwell that would take them to the next level. But the walls of this corridor was corroded and filled with jagged crystals that had an eerie glow.

"Why is this place so freakin' creepy!" Carmen shouted as tentatively looked up the dark stairway. Her Ghost quickly activated the night vision setting within her interface before it began to scan the floor above them.

"I'm not detecting any enemies, but according to the Vanguard records, this building used to be occupied by the Hive." Her Ghost explained as Tobias took the lead, heading up to the next floor.

"It looks like we cleared them out though." Tobias commented as they arrived at the next room where he could see bullet holes in the walls and consoles, along with numerous scratches on the floors. Most of the terminals here were too damaged to be used, so the group pressed onward to the next floor. Upon arriving at this room, their Ghosts immediately pointed out the terminal they were looking for. It was placed on top of a platform, and it was clearly larger than any of the ones they had seen below.

"Good luck." Tobias said to his Ghost as it began work on the terminal, sorting through the vast amount of information it had been retaining. They all stood in silence for a while, Tobias patiently waiting to see what his Ghost had gathered. On the other hand, Carmen was pacing back and forth, unable to stay calm. She didn't like it here one bit.

"What's taking so long?" She snapped at them, approaching the terminal where their Ghosts had been hard at work.

"Calm down Carmen, we're working as fast as we can. But there's been a few complications." Her Ghost responded as it turned to face her. Both Guardians perked up at the news.

"Complication?" Carmen repeated.

"Like what?" Tobias asked.

"This array station was directly linked to the interplanetary defense network that had been established during the Golden Age. But it was shut down as soon as the Collapse began." Her Ghost continued.

"So the array station went down before the Collapse? Have you figured out what happened yet?" Tobias inquired now.

"No, not just the array station. The entire defense network was shut down." His Ghost stated, causing Carmen furrow her brow.

"Wait, why would they shut down the defense network when they needed to defend themselves?" Carmen asked incredulously. "Who would be stupid enough to do something like that?"

"Rasputin." Her Ghost called out.

"Rasputin? The heck is that?" Carmen said as she looked around at the group for an answer.

"Rasputin is an AI Warmind. He was built during the Golden Age along with other Warminds to protect humanity. According to these logs, he initiated a total shutdown of the defense network along with a few of the other Warminds. But there's no explanation as to why he gave this order." Her Ghost went on.

"So what does all of this mean?" She asked.

"Well at the moment it doesn't really mean anything. But I feel like we should go over to the commander center of the array station to see if we can learn anything about Rasputin." Tobias' Ghost said, getting a nod of agreement from Carmen.

"Whatever gets us out of here quicker." She said thankfully now that they were finally leaving this old decrepit building. "Let's go!"

Carmen hopped over the banister behind them, beginning to jog in place since she was ready to go. But glancing back up at Tobias, she discovered that he wasn't moving at all.

"Yo Tobias, are you coming?" She hollered at him, snapping him out of his thought .

"What?" He asked, turning around to discover that she already had some distance on him. "When did you get over there?"

"Come on, we're leaving. Are you going deaf?" Carmen asked in him cheekily.

"Nah, I'm fine. He said, shaking his head as he jumped down to join her as well. Walking alongside her now, Tobias could help but let his mind wonder. Rasputin sounded so familiar to him, but he couldn't figure out why.

"Hopefully with the creation of Rasputin, our Golden Age will last forever."

Who said that to him? Tobias placed a hand against the chin of his helmet, struggling to figure this out. With an exasperated sigh, Tobias shook his head and tossed this thought out of his mind. He couldn't remember, but he was certain that he wasn't making this up. Could Diana's hunch about him have been right? Was he alive during the Golden Age?

"Huh, well I think the two of you are going to like this?" Tobias Ghost noted as they entered a long corridor that they could feel a breeze passing through.

"What's up?"

"Remember we have also have a second mission to complete. This one involves investigating some remnants of the House of Wolves that have been lurking around the Cosmodrome. They were last reported sighting was at the central hub this array station, where we're currently heading." His Ghost explained, getting a nod from Tobias.

"Nice, two birds with one stone." He said. Carmen had been stealing all the action too, so hopefully if they were going after the Wolves there would be enough to go around.

Arriving at the end of this corridor, the two of them exited the building much to Carmen's delight. They were now resting at the bottom of clearing between buildings where they could see signs of a battle.

"Oh crap!" Tobias exclaimed at the sight of the building to the left. There was a massive Hive Seeder that had destroyed a portion of the structure, as if it had been dropped down onto the building.

"A Hive Seeder!" Carmen shouted as she drew her weapons.

"Weapons down Carmen, there's nothing to worry about." Her Ghost stated. "That Seeder was cleaned about by the Vanguard right after it dropped. It hasn't seen any activity since Crota was killed."

"Whoa, wait a second, Crota was killed?!" Carmen shouted as they continued through the field. She had heard tales of the disaster on the Moon while she had been training with Saladin. All of the Guardians that had been lost to Crota's sword. How the Moon had been deemed off limits and yet things had changed drastically. She really had gone to the future! "Oh that's crazy, who took him out?"

"It was Undaunted actually, the fireteam you're working with now." Her Ghost added.

"No way~, were you there for that too Tobias?" She asked him, excited to hear the story of how they defeated Crota. But Tobias shook his head in response.

"Nope. You'll have to talk to Niko or Diana about that one." Tobias said, although he wanted know more about this as well.

"It was quite the story according to their report. But we'll have to come back to this later. I'm already detecting enemies within this building, so stay on guard." Tobias' Ghost said as they approached the entrance to the Terrestrial Complex. Just entering the building though earned the attention of the creatures that had been housing themselves there.

"Yup, those are Wolves alright." Tobias commented as he spotted the banner that hung from the ceiling with the insignia of the Wolves on it. It was almost like they were marking their territory with it. Vandals and Dregs began to step out from their hiding places, weapons raised at the pair of Guardians. After inspecting the banner, Tobias noticed that he could see the Fallen perched on the beams up there as well, glaring down at them.

"Two of us against like…thirty of them." Tobias noted as he drew his hand cannon. "What do you think of those odds?"

"That sounds pretty bad." Carmen replied with a grin. "For them."

Tobias frowned as he tucked away his hand cannon onto the small strap around his waist. He had seen Niko use one of these so effortlessly, and even Carmen was using one right in front of him with no trouble at all, but he couldn't aim at all with it.

Carmen told him to pace his shots, and make sure that he lined up the sights with his target, but he was still missing. Not to mention the weapon kicked so hard after each shot that it was difficult to follow up if he had to fire quickly. Just like when he was first using his scout rifle.

They had succeeded in clearing out the entrance to the Terrestrial Complex, and had gone in further where they could definitely label the place a den for the House of Wolves. Tobias had ample opportunity to shoot his hand cannon, but he was very jerky as he struggled to use it. It was only slowing him down.

Rather than switching his primary weapon though, Tobias decided to invest some time into using a secondary weapon, a fusion rifle. It was worth a shot, and Tobias was pleased with the way it functioned to say the least. Using a fusion rifle allowed him to rely more on his abilities rather than his weapons. With the burst fire on a fusion rifle, accuracy wasn't the end all by all, especially since just one bolt from it was usually enough to waste his opponent. He could toss around Vortex grenades and dive in with his fusion rifle to clean up the mess. He liked that thought.

"Once we get out of this room, it's a straight shot to the control station." Carmen's Ghost called out. Ducking in and out of cover, Carmen gunned down the Wolves with ease.

"Boom, headshot!" She proclaimed as another Vandal dropped to the ground with a hole in its forehead.

"Tch, show off." Tobias muttered as he raised his fusion rifle, but as he began to charge the weapon the Dreg he was aiming at fell to the floor with one of Carmen's throwing knives in its neck causing Tobias to waste a round. "Dang man, so greedy!"

"You're just too slow." Carmen replied a she blew a raspberry at him. She then bounded off the wall to flank a pair of Dregs that had been focusing on Tobias. Pulling out her tanto, Carmen lashed out at the closest one, severing the arm that held its weapon before raising her hand cannon to put a pair of bullets into its chest. Hearing its partner scream in pain, the remaining Dreg turned with its shock rifle aimed at Carmen. But before it could fire at Carmen it was vaporized by the bolts from Tobias' fusion rifle. "Good shot."

"I still don't get how you use that thing." Tobias said as he motioned to the hand cannon she held.

"What about it?" Carmen asked as they continued out into the large balcony that over looked the wide structure that pointed up toward the skies above.

"Well I like my scout rifle because there's an actual scope that zooms in on my target. When I'm using a hand cannon I'm relying on my eyes and the sights." Tobias explained. "It might just be my vision or something."

"Everyone has their preferences. That's why there's so many different types of weapons and sub categories. Give something else a shot, like a pulse rifle."

Tobias shrugged and accepted her suggestion. His Ghost quickly swapped out his weapons, placing a pulse rifle in his hands, and Tobias immediately felt more natural just hold it. Having both his hands wrapped around the frame of the weapon felt right, although he now understood the freedom gained from having a hand cannon since you could wield the weapon with just one hand. Hopefully using a pulse rifle would feel better though.

"Whoa!" Tobias exclaimed after pulling the trigger. The burst of three shots caught him off guard, but he instantly thought of pelting the Fallen with this pulse rifle, and he could definitely get behind that thought.

"It looks like you've never fired on before, so it takes some time to get used to the burst fire. But pulse rifles are deadly in the right hands." Carmen commented with a smirk.

"Aww yeah." Tobias said in response as he looked down at his weapon. He was definitely going to figure out how to use a pulse rifle to its fullest potential.

"Oh my, it looks like someone beat us here." Carmen's Ghost noted. The small drone was far ahead on them, inspecting the bodies of the Wolves that were scattered about the area. Someone else had already passed through the slaughtered the Fallen here.

"Who else would be here?" Carmen asked as she and Tobias began to travel up to the control station now, observing the carcasses that lay about.

"Damn, no mercy." Tobias said as he eyed a Captain that was pinned to a column by numerous throwing knives. Entering the control station now, the two of them began to look around but before they really had a chance to inspect the room two figures jumped down from the ceiling above them.

"Look out!" Carmen called out as she drew her tanto, using it to intercept the blade that her attacker was using. It was a Hunter that stood in front of her, wielding the same weapon as well. The two blades meet with a resounding clang while Tobias found himself staring down the barrel of a shotgun held by a Warlock.

"I surrender!" Tobias declared. He wouldn't be able to draw any of his weapons in time.

"Weak sauce." Carmen muttered as she and the Hunter continued their stare down.

"Put your hands up then, I don't want any funny business." The Warlock ordered. Tobias' eyes twinkled as he began to raise his arms, throwing his forearm into the shotgun to knock it up leaving the Warlock unprotected. Seeing the opening now, Tobias kneed the Warlock in the stomach.

"Move Carmen!" Tobias called out as the Warlock hunched over from the blow. Grabbing the back of his robes, Tobias threw the Warlock forward at Carmen who quickly leaped out of the way for the Warlock to crashing into his teammate.

"Hehe, nice one Tobias." Carmen said as they looked down at the pair of Guardians that were on the floor, groaning and complaining.

"Come on guys, you weren't supposed to get embarrassed by Undaunted's newest members." A new voice called out as a third Guardian jumped down from the ceiling. This one was a Titan.

"Oh shut it Zeke, we didn't even want to do this in the first place." The Hunter mumbled as she was helped to her feet by the Warlock.

"Quit being such a killjoy Sheryl." Zeke shot back. "Axel, you thought this was a good idea right?"

"I said that I liked the idea of measuring ourselves against Undaunted, but attacking them was foolish." The Warlock responded, causing Zeke to deadpan.

"Alright, I'm lost now! What the heck are you three freaks goin' on about?!" Carmen shouted at them, receiving their attention. Zeke, the Titan, gave a nervous chuckle in response as he turned to face Carmen and Tobias.

"We haven't met yet Carmen, but they call me Zeke." He stated, introducing himself. "I'm the leader of fireteam Salamander, the only fireteam out there to rival Undaunted."

Carmen narrowed her eyes as she sized up the group skeptically. The Hunter and Warlock had caught them off guard, yet Tobias easily turned the table on them. There was no way that this group was as good as the actual members of Undaunted.

"I doubt that." Carmen said, causing both Sheryl and Axel to roar with laughter as Zeke's dropped his head. Carmen then pointed toward Axel and Sheryl. "First of all, neither of you were even going at us seriously so we turned things around easily. I have idea if you're the real deal or not."

"I knew you guys weren't even trying!" Zeke exclaimed causing Sheryl to roll her eyes.

"Well, I'll go out on a limb and tell the truth." Axel said as he raised his hand. "We're not rivals with Undaunted. We're not even in the same league as them. We look up to them though, and one day we'd like to be on the same level as them."

"After hearing that they added two new members, we thought we use you guys as a measuring stick to see how we stack up to them." Zeke explained before looking back at his two partners. "But certain people that it was dumb idea."

"Because it was!" Sheryl shot back at him. "Attacking them isn't the way to get on their good side."

"The measure of a Guardian is proven on the battlefield." Zeke stated. "This was the only to see how far we've come."

"Whatever~" Sheryl replied.

"So can I asked what the three of you are doing here?" Tobias' Ghost asked them as it took shape beside him. It was rather odd to run into another fireteam that was waiting at their destination. Zeke responded with another nervous chuckle.

"Well, I was kind of, listening in on the missions you guys received from Xander." Zeke explained.

"You guys were stalking us?!" Carmen shouted as she pointed at them.

"Not us." Sheryl said before motioning to Zeke. "Just him."

"Wow, you're just going to throw me under the Sparrow like that?!" Zeke exclaimed as he raised his hands in his defense.

"That's not the issue though, the reason I'm asking is because we're conducting an investigation about what took place in this array station during the Collapse." Tobias' Ghost cut in. "I'm curious to see if you all managed to gather any clues."

"Uh, no sorry. We didn't exactly have the details on this assignment. We just knew where you were going, and when we got here we ran into the Fallen so we cleared them out." Zeke explained as he looked around the Fallen they had slain.

"Well thanks for hogging all the action." Carmen muttered, receiving an elbow from Tobias.

"Hey, they just saved us a few minutes so be thankful. Besides, I want to know more about Rasputin anyway." Tobias said, immediately gaining the full attention of fireteam Salamander.

"Did you say, Rasputin?" Axel asked as they all drew closer now.

"Indeed he did. Our investigation of the Lunar Complex led us here. Some of the logs we found there confirmed that Rasputin shut down this array station during the Collapse, and now we're trying to determine why he did that." Tobias' Ghost went on.

"Oh crap, this could be out big shot." Zeke noted as he turned to his teammates.

"Big shot?" Tobias repeated as he looked at them.

"Yeah man, Undaunted always lands all of the big missions. Whether the Vanguard ordered it, or their dumb luck, they're always in the spotlight." Zeke explained, causing Tobias to raise his eyebrow. "But now lady luck is finally looking our way!"

"Just think about it, if we find a new lead that takes us to Rasputin, that'll put fireteam Salamander right up there with the names people actually remember." Axel added almost gleefully as their heads became inflated.

"Not to burst your bubble or anything, but we're the ones who actually found this lead. But I'll be happy to add that you attacked us in my report." Carmen pointed out causing three of them shrink back down. "I'm sure everyone will remember you guys."

"Oh come on now; we can work together now. After all, I'm sure the two of you could use a little guidance considering you're newer Guardians. Am I right?" Zeke asked them as he now stood between Carmen and Tobias, placing and arm around aech of them.

"Pfft, I'd rather be led by a headless Vandal." Carmen said to him as she stuck out her tongue.

"Ignore her." Carmen's Ghost interjected as it formed as well. "The more the merrier, especially with the direction this mission is heading in."

"Al-right! Now that's what I'm talking about!" Zeke held as he threw a fist into the air. "Let's get moving then, what do we have to do?"

"Now that we're in the control station of the array, I'm sure there should be something we can use to see exactly what took place before the station was shut down." Tobias' Ghost explained as it led them across the room to a lonely terminal that was against the far well.

"Is Rasputin, like, alive?" Axel asked curiously.

"We're not certain at this point. But I think the answer to all our questions is here." Ghost replied before it began to tap into the terminal.

"So can anyone tell me a little more about Rasputin?" Tobias asked, surprising fireteam Salamander.

"You don't know Rasputin?" Axel asked incredulously. Tobias shook his head in reply.

"I'll fill you in. Rasputin is an AI Warmind. He was built with the intention of protecting humanity during the Golden Age as human life began to expand out into the system. As we spread out, no one really know what was out there beyond Earth so a defense network was established around the system that still stands to this day." Sheryl explained, providing them with this brief history lesson. "You can think of the Warminds as commanders of this network, but all of them fell during the Collapse. Rasputin is the only known Warmind that the Vanguard has been tracking but they haven't had much luck in a while. The defense network is dormant around the system, but if we can find and reactivate Rasputin, the Guardians will have a powerful ally on our side."

Tobias nodded his head slowly. With all of the enemies he was learning about today, it sounded like the Guardians needed all of the help they could get.

"Just think man, reactivating Rasputin will be huge! The Vanguard might have to give us some kind of Medal of Honor or something." Zeke pointed out causing his teammates to look up hopefully at the prospect.

"Hmm, that's interesting." Tobias' Ghost noted, gaining everyone's attention.

"Did you find something, like Rasputin?" Zeke inquired.

"Unfortunately, I didn't find anything related to Rasputin. But I can confirm a few things now." Ghost continued as the group of Guardians quieted down now. "The array station was reactivated by a fireteam not too long ago, reestablishing its connection to the defense network across the system. But as Sheryl said, there's no Warmind present to take control of the network. It remains dormant."

"Dang man." Zeke muttered.

"But there are reports here dated to just before the Collapse. Reports that were actually made by Rasputin himself." Ghost said, causing them all to perk up.

"What did he say?" Sheryl asked now.

"According to these reports, long range sensors had picked up on an anomaly that was approaching our system. Rasputin met this anomaly with his outermost defenses but they were utterly destroyed. This is mankind's first meeting with the Darkness." Ghost explained to the group. "Unable to stop the Darkness, Rasputin began to launch all sorts of protocols, one of them being to shut down the defense network in the face of certain doom."

"Why would he do that though, wasn't there like a group of scientists who could make him fight?" Carmen asked, wondering how an AI could do something of this caliber.

"It seems as though, Rasputin possessed a mind of his own. In earlier reports, humans always provided a measure of supervision over Rasputin's activity. But as the Darkness approached, you can see a vast difference in his decision making. Almost like, he was trying to preserve himself rather than humanity." Tobias' Ghost went on, surprising the group.

"Are you serious?" Sheryl whispered.

"That's ridiculous." Axel said.

"Damn, I never even thought that Rasputin might just turn his back on us." Zeke noted softy.

"If we can even find him." Sheryl muttered as the mood around them dampened. They had gotten so hyped over this, but now all of it was gone in a moment's notice. Tobias felt kind of bad that they had gotten their hopes up.

"Well uh, I guess better luck next time guys." Tobias said, trying to offer some kind of support. The members of fireteam Salamander looked toward him now.

"Man, screw Rasputin!" Zeke shouted, causing Tobias to cringe. "If he doesn't want to help us then that means there's more asses for us to kick!"

"Damn straight!" Axel added as the energy returned to them. "We just gotta keep slapping around the bad guys and our big shot will come along!"

"That's right." Sheryl said. She didn't quite match the energy of her two teammates, but three of them started giving each other high fives as if nothing had happened.

"Come on guys, let's head down to the Forgotten Shore and start another training sessions!" Zeke declared, getting a cheer from his comrades. "Do you guys want to join us?"

"For real?" Tobias asked, furrowing his brow.

"Yeah, like her Ghost said, the more the merrier." Sheryl replied.

"Heh, sounds good to me." Carmen said with a grin.

"Okay, I'm all for it then." Tobias said with a nod. Even though this fireteam had admitted they weren't quite as good as Diana and Niko, there was always something that Tobias could learn from them. He wouldn't let this opportunity to go to waste.

Forgotten Shore

"Hi-yah!" Zeke shouted as he lashed out at Axel with a side kick.

"Hi-yah?" Axel said as he used his forearm to block the kick. "We're not in some old kung fu movie man."

The two male members of Salamander had immediately rushed off into a sparring match after they had arrived at the Forgotten Shore, leaving the pair of Hunters with Tobias. The three of them stood a considerable distance from Zeke and Axel, although they could still hear the two of the shouting as they traded blows.

"Alright Tobias, class is in session!" Carmen hollered at Tobias to get his attention.

"Sheesh, what are you screaming for?" Tobias asked her.

"Well I'm the teacher so I'm in charge, and this how I teach." Carmen replied causing Tobias to snort.

"Whatever you say, sensei." Tobias said to her causing her to smile.

"Now that's more like it." She declared. "So before we begin Tobias, let me ask you a question."

"Yeah, go for it."

"Is there any reason why you rely so heavily on Arc Blade and Nova Bomb?" Carmen asked, recalling when she had seen him duel with Skolas.

"There the only moves I really know." Tobias replied as Sheryl stared at the two of them, completely dumbfounded.

"Hold on a second, Arc Blade and Nova Bomb. Something doesn't sound right there." Sheryl stated as she looked at Tobias.

"Oh, you probably don't know." Carmen commented before she motioned to Tobias. "This guy is some kind of freak of nature, he can use any subclass he wants to."

"You're kidding me." Sheryl said softly as she stared at Tobias, completely bewildered. Was such a thing possible?

"You'll see in a minute. But hold on, I'm not finished chewing him out yet." Carmen stated as she focused on Tobias again. "So like I was saying, you spam Arc Blade and Nova Bomb. Obviously you'll find success doing that, but you don't really use any of your other abilities, or your weapons for that matter. You don't have a neutral game."

"What do you mean by that?" Tobias asked her.

"Think back to when you were fighting that Kell. You ran out of stamina at the most crucial moment because you used all your energy to sustain Arc Blade for a long period of time. You can't do stuff like that unless you have other Guardians making Orbs of Light for you." Carmen went on. Tobias gave a nod, remember that Diana had explained a tactic like that to him on Venus. "So that's why you need a neutral game, to conserve your energy for the key moments."

"Alright then, so what's a neutral game?"

"Everything else basically. Hand to hand combat, casting over shields, general weapons skills, the list goes on. You can use these at any point in the battle without severely depleting your stamina, that way you can use your supers to sway a battle in your favor." Carmen continued in matter of fact tone, proud that she sounded so official as an instructor.

"Awesome, just show me what I need to do?" Tobias stated as he took a moment to look at each of the Hunters in front of him.

"Gunslingers have a really strong neutral game because we emphasize using our weapons above everything else." Sheryl began, recalling that Carmen had asked for her help in instructing Tobias on his path to become a Gunslinger. "Through intense practice, Gunslingers refine their weapon handling skills to the point where we're miles ahead of every other class. That alone can be a game changer when you're in a pinch."

"We also do a lot of knife work too." Carmen added as she whipped out on of her throwing knives. Tobias briefly remembered Arron saving him with a throwing knife during his only Crucible match. He definitely wanted to be able to use one of those effectively.

"So what are waiting for, let's get started!" Tobias said energetically.

The group of five sat around a small campfire that had been put together by Zeke. Each of them had taken off their helmets to relax a bit now that their day was coming to an end.

"Wow Tobias, you're amazing." Carmen began with a snicker. "I didn't think it was possible for someone to be so pathetic as a Hunter."

The members of Salamander snorted, trying to hold back their laughter.

"I wasn't that bad." Tobias retorted, crossing his arms in front of his chest.

"Oh yes you were." Sheryl cut in with one eyebrow raised. She was a light skinned woman with dark hair that was cut short save for her bangs that framed her face. Oddly enough she wore a pair of glasses whenever she removed her helmet. She could recall wearing glasses before she became a Guardian, and she didn't feel right without them, even though she didn't need them.

After her first experience with Tobias, Sheryl was actually disappointed. They had seen the report of Tobias fighting Skolas to a standstill when he and Undaunted had gone back in time. But to see him now, she could clearly see that Tobias was no Hunter. It was clear that he still had ways to go in a lot of areas, but there was no denying that he was quite the prospect. She could see why the Vanguard had entrusted him to Undaunted.

"Don't worry though Tobias, I'll turn you into a Gunslinger. Even if I have to break you." Carmen stated as she closed one of her hands into a tight fist. "I just hope we don't die from old age first."

The group cracked up at this while Tobias glanced out at the horizon where he could see the sun steadily disappearing into. The skies above them were golden with a soft breeze passing through. Tobias felt relaxed right now. There was nothing pressing that had to be taken care of, and he was finally getting a chance to sit back and look at the world he was trying to protect. It was beautiful, even in its current state. He could only imagine what it would be like it if the Darkness had never ravaged these lands.

"Psst, Tobias." Zeke whispered to him.

"What's up?" Tobias asked as he leaned back at bit. Zeke was a young man with light skin as well, appearing to be in his mid-twenties with a thick neck that had bulging veins. His hair was cut low and he possessed the shadow of beard.

"Does Diana ever, talk about me?" He asked tentatively. Tobias raised a brow at this.

"What do you mean?"

"Like, has she ever mentioned me whenever she's talking with you guys?" Zeke pressed.

"Uh…no I don't think your name has ever come up." Tobias said, causing Zeke to drop his head with a sad sigh. "What's the matter?"

"How clueless can you be Tobias?" Carmen asked as she rolled her eyes.

"What?" Tobias asked as he looked around at the group, all of which were giving him a funny look.

"Oh my gosh…" Carmen muttered. "Obviously he likes Diana."

"Well how was I supposed to know that?" Tobias asked rather defensively, getting a chuckle from Sheryl and Axel.

"Don't fuss over that. Guardians don't get much time for things like dating anyway, and Zeke knows that." Axel pointed out. Axel was an Exo that was just as tall as Tobias, with a white face plating that possessed a pair of black racing stripes that traveled down the center of his face.

"Besides, Diana barely knows he exists." Sheryl said, earning a glare from Zeke.

"Hey, we've spoken a few times! I'm just wearing her down!" Zeke proclaimed, causing Axel and Sheryl to burst into another fit of laughter.

"Yeah, good luck with that Casanova." Axel said to him with a grin.

Soon the group broke up for the night to sleep. Tobias accepted the night watch for tonight, giving him some time to use the peace and quiet to recall everything that they had taught him today.;

"Believe me, after a lot of practice with your weapons, they start to feel like an extension of your body. We call that the Gunslinger's Trance." Sheryl explained to him. "Your aim gets better, you reload faster, it's pretty awesome!"

Sheryl and Carmen had shown him some of the more advance techniques that Gunslingers could use, but all of that was built off of strong foundation. In order to develop these skills he would have to practice a lot more with all types of weapons. He wanted to be able to handle any situation he was in.

"Carmen, quit standing around! Go with your mother!" A tall and burly man boomed with his back pressed against the front door of their household, using all his strength to keep the door shut and their attacker outside.

"I'm not leaving you!" Carmen screamed in return as she looked up at her father.

"I said go! There's no time for this! If you leave with your mother, there's a chance you can make it to the transport." Her father shouted before wincing since there was a loud thud against the door. Her father found himself being moved as door was forcefully pushed open despite his effort. "GO!"

"And what about you?!" Carmen asked him.

"Carmen, hurry!" Her mother hollered to her from the back entrance through the kitchen. She stood in the doorway, a small girl in her arms. Looking back to her father though, Carmen saw as he was tossed aside. The front door was thrown open, revealing a terrifying Fallen Captain which roared as it stepped into their house.

Carmen felt her heart stop as she stared up at the beast that had raised his shrapnel launcher at her. She had but a moment to take in everything. She could see through the open door that the rest of the settlement was under attack. She could hear the roar of the flames, and screams from other houses that were under attack.

The Fallen were slaughtering everyone.

Her father gave a shout as he jumped to his feet, throwing himself at the Captain to tackle it with all of his might. But this barely moved the Captain who now looked down at him pressed up against its torso. Stretching out the fingers on its free hand, its claws extended which it then buried into the body of Carmen's father, getting a gasp of pain from him. Hunching over now as the Captain ripped its hand out of his torso, it swatted him aside much to Carmen's dismay.

"Daddy!" Carmen cried out as the Captain raised its weapon, pulling the trigger with no hesitation. Her father was engulfed in flames.

The Captain then looked toward her, glaring at her with its sharp eyes. It then raised its weapon, and Carmen's world turned bright red.

Carmen awoke with a fright, gasping for air. Looking around, she realized she was resting with the main chamber of jumpship on one of the bunks. She was alright.

Taking a few moments to catch her breath, Carmen placed a hand against her chest where she could feel her heart racing.

"God I hate this dream." She muttered as she got off her bunk, deciding to head out for a walk. The ramp to her ship dropped down for her to exit, immediately gaining the attention of Tobias who had been standing guard.

"Carmen?" Tobias said as she walked past him, ignoring him. "Hey, what's the matter?"

Jogging to catch up with her, Tobias placed a hand on her shoulder to spin her around so that she was facing her. She looked up at him, and he could see tears that were threatening to escape from her eyes.

"Are you okay?" Tobias asked, but she shook herself free from his grip and continued on her way, leaving him at their campsite.

"Just let her go for now." Her Ghost said as it formed in front of Tobias, blocking his sight of Carmen.

"Can you, tell me what's going on at least?" Tobias asked curiously as he leaned to right to take another look at the small Hunter as she left.

Carmen quietly walked along the rocky coastline of the Forgotten Shore, cursing mentally as she wrapped herself in her arms.

"Every stinkin' time I have a good day, I have that stupid dream." Carmen mumbled as she kicked a small stone in front of her into the water.

Sleeping was already difficult for her, and rotating night shifts may it even harder for her to maintain her sleep cycle. The last thing she needed was to waste any time that she could spend resting properly. And yet, here she was. Wide awake, because a nightmare scared her more than any enemy she had fought as a Guardian.

She had been having this dream for years, and even now it still left her terrified. But now she was angry as well. Angry at herself for being so helpless the day the Fallen had attacked her home. She couldn't do a thing to protect her family, or herself. She was so weak back then.

If only she had her powers as a Guardian back then…She could've saved hundreds of lives in that settlement. And perhaps, she wouldn't be so lonely.

"Damn it, why did I have to be so weak!" Carmen screamed at the skies, falling down to her knees. She was alone now…because she wasn't strong enough back then. Placing her bottom on the ground, she pulled her knees close to her chest and wrapped her arms around them.

"I'm sure you already know this, but the sky won't talk back." Tobias stated, causing Carmen to whip her head around in search of him. Tobias stood behind her, clearly concerned about her.

"What do you want?" She asked him softly, turning away from him now.

"Well since you're out here having a discussion with the sky, I thought you might appreciate having someone to talk to." Tobias said as he dropped down beside her, taking a moment to admire the moon above them.

"And what's that going to do for me?" Carmen asked him as she sniffled.

"It'll help you relax a bit, and give you some perspective." Tobias replied.

"That's a load of crap. Being sensitive gets you nowhere." Carmen told him, causing him to raise his eyebrows.

"And who told you that?" He asked her.

"That's none of your business." Carmen said as she wiped away her tears, although they were quickly replaced. "Damn it, will you stop already!"

"What?" Tobias said.

"Not you, my freakin' eyes." She muttered, becoming flustered because her tears wouldn't stop.

"You Carmen, it's alright to cry. Everyone has to eventually." Tobias stated.

"Shut up. I'm not crying…it's just the stupid rain." She mumbled, getting a snort from Tobias. There wasn't a cloud in the sky. Leaning over a bit now, Tobias bumped his shoulder into hers, causing her to look at him out of the corner of her eyes. As soon as they made eye contact Carmen looked away from him. "Will you just go away, I want to be alone."

"I'm pretty comfortable here. Besides, you haven't told me if you're okay yet." He pointed out.

"I'm fine!" She snapped at him. "I'll be just fine, on my own!"

"Why do you want to be alone though? That doesn't sound like any fun if you ask me."

"Because…because I don't have anyone." She admitted as she dropped her hands from her face, accepting defeat. There was nothing she could do about her tears. "I've been alone since I became a Guardian."

"Wait, didn't you say that Lord Saladin was your mentor?" Tobias asked her.

"That's all he was, and that's all he wanted to be. I thought I could get close to him, but he wanted nothing to do with me outside of our training sessions." She explained, placing her chin on her knees. "No one ever cared about me. I did everything on my own since I became a Guardian."

"But are you on your own right now?"

"Yeah. All the people I cared about died before I became a Guardian. And anyone I knew as a Guardian is probably dead since I've gone to the future." She explained to him.

"So what does that make me, chopped liver?" Tobias asked with a grin, getting a funny look from Carmen.

"What about you?" She asked in return.

"Well I'm here with you, aren't I?"

"You're just a chaperone. But you don't really care about me." Carmen said scornfully. "No one does."

"Hey hey, look at me." Tobias said as he placed a hand on his chest. "I don't know much about myself really, and Diana, Niko and Briggs knew even less than I did. But they took me in, accepted me as part of the team and have had my back since."

Tobias then pointed at her.

"You're a member of Undaunted now too. And if there's one thing I've learned from them already, it's that we always look out for each other." Tobias declared. "We're there for each other, and if one of us falls, there's always someone there to pick them up. We're never alone."

Carmen remained silent as she stared at Tobias. She really wanted to just ignore everything that he just said, but as she looked into his eyes, she could see the sincerity in them. And then she began to recall what she had seen of Undaunted already. With the loss of their commander, they were really looking out for one another.

"What I'm saying Carmen is that you're a part of this team. So we'll be there for you, that's a promise okay?" Tobias went on as he extended an open her hand toward her. Carmen stared at his hand for a moment before she broke down, wailing loudly.

Tobias didn't say a word as he placed a hand on her back, trying to soothe her.

Guardians led a tough life, most of which was buried underneath the unyielding threat of the Darkness. They all had to support one another if they were going to succeed!

Tower

Hall of Guardians

Cayde yawned audibly as he stretched a bit, paying no mind to Ikora and Zavala as they watched him.

"It's good to have you back Cayde." Ikora said, getting a small nod from the Hunter Vanguard. He was last of the three to return from his encounter with the House of Wolves. He had gone to Earth's Moon to lead the effort against the Wolves there. The Fallen had dug down into the caverns beneath the surface of the Moon which had been built by the Hive. It took a considerable effort to clear out the Wolves that had encamped themselves there, but they were successful in removing the Wolves before they could establish themselves with in the Moon.

"So what did you call this meeting for?" Cayde asked. He had been looking for to getting some much needed rest, but as he got out of his jumpship he was greeted by a pair of Titans who informed him that his presence had been requested already.

"It concerns Tobias, the Guardian that Diana Amano returned with a few days ago." Zavala explained. Cayd looked up in thought, trying to recall who this was.

"This is, that weird Titan right?"

"Yes, although we've determined that he's not a Titan." Zavala replied, peaking Cayde's interest right now.

"What makes you say that?" Cayde asked.

"Before we answer that Cayde, I have a question for you." Ikora interjected. "How familiar are you with the City's archives?"

"Not very." He admitted openly.

"I think it'd be a good idea if you brushed up on our history when you get the chance." Ikora stated. "But the reason I was asking, is because some of the earliest entries in the archives date back to the end of the Collapse. Specifically before the Last City had been built."

"Okay, what about it?"

"The first people to arrive at the Traveler reported that there was a man that was protecting it." Zavala explained. "They say that he wielding all sorts of powers, from casting shields to a flaming gun. Abilities that match what the Guardians are capable of today."

"So what are you getting at?"

"Based on these reports, it's clear that-that Guardian could use any subclass. Tobias is also capable of doing the same." Ikora revealed, leaving Cayde a bit dumbfounded.

"Hold on, when did that happen, and how come I didn't get a memo?" Cayde asked as he looked at the other two Mentors.

"We discovered this not too long ago. Neither of us had an opportunity to look into this before the hunt for the Wolves began. Obviously that took priority." Zavala explained to him.

"Okay, so let me get this straight. That new Guardian, can use any subclass." Cayde clarified, getting a nod from Zavala.

"But he's not exactly a new Guardian. The Speaker also informed me that Tobias has been fighting the Darkness for centuries already. His abilities match that of a Guardian people encountered before the Last City was established. I don't think this is a coincidence." Ikora went on. "Tobias is that Guardian."

"Now I'm not going to doubt you or anything, but what does all this mean?" Cayde inquired as he looked toward the Warlock who had taken over this meeting.

"I'm not certain yet. I've been going through the records, and from it I've gathered right after our first encounter with the Hive on Earth, Tobias ventured up to the Moon and he disappeared there. This sparked the investigation of the Moon, which led to the Battle of Mar Imbrium. Tobias was never found after that, which is why I'm so unsettled about this." Ikora explained.

"About what?"

"Based on what the Speaker told me, Tobias is more significant than any other Guardian. He disappeared without a trace, and search for him was put to rest after the Battle of Mar Imbrium. Then all of sudden he returns with no memories." Ikora said as she looked at Cayde and then to Zavala. "I feel as though, there's something more to this."

"You might be reading into this one too much Ikora. He could've been like Eris. Got his ass handed to him by some Hive god, and spent a few decades roaming around the Moon until he found his way out." Cayde suggested, causing Ikora to roll her eyes.

Zavala remained silent however as he thought about the information. It may have only been a hunch, but Ikora was usually spot on with her speculating. And Zavala couldn't deny it either, it did seem like something was going on in the background. He couldn't explain it really. It was just a feeling in the pit of his stomach.

Someone…or something was out there, pulling the strings.

A/N

Unfortunately, this chapter was just dropping some hints of what's to come. The next chapter though is the official start to the next arc, and I'm really excited about it. I haven't dropped any hints as to where this is going, so I'll just go ahead and say that I'm moving into Taken King, although this is going to go way off from what we saw in game. I hope you guys enjoy it! :D

As always, thanks for the support, and happy trails fellow Guardians.