Chapter 24

"What are we going to do?!" Carmen was the first to respond to Saladin's statement. Panic filled her voice as she looked around the room in search of something that might let them escape this bitter ending.

But no matter what they could try to do, they were trapped beneath the palace.

"Can't we tell them to stop the particle cannon?!" Carmen asked as she turned to her fellow Guardians. Zeke's head snapped up in response as his gaze became fixated on Carmen.

"Are you out of your mind?! My team was wiped out so that we could shoot down that stinkin' Blight above us! I'll be damned if we let this chance slip away." Zeke stated sharply, surprising all of them.

"Whoa, easy man." Niko said as he approached the Titan, reaching out to place his hand on Zeke's shoulder. But Zeke batted away Niko's hand before turning away from them. His teammates were gone forever. He wouldn't let their sacrifice be in vain.

"Ghost, what about our one way transmats? Can't we use one of those to get out of here?" Diana asked as her small companion formed in front of her.

"A one way transmat can only be used for one person, and each raid team only received one to get Eris in here." Her Ghost explained to them.

"So getting out of here was never part of the plan." Niko noted as he exhaled heavily.

"The Vanguard hastily designed these transmats for this mission. We're lucky that there was three so that each team could be in possession of one." Ghost said as it turned to Niko.

"And it's not like they could account for us getting trapped down here." Saladin added, but Niko remained silent in response.

"So this is it?!" Carmen shouted at them. "We're just going to die down here in a freakin' hole?!"

"It's a worthy sacrifice Carmen." Saladin said as he turned to face. "Your life was given up to ensure that the Earth would be safe to house humanity once again."

Carmen bit down on her lower lip so that she could swallow an outburst. It was of no use now, especially if she wanted to scream at Saladin.

The ultimate goal of this mission was to bring mankind back to Earth, and taking out the Blight above was priority number one. A few Guardians could be lost for the greater good of everyone else.

Neo Chicago

The Mulligan

Within the belly of the Mulligan was the commander center of the base. A room that was packed with monitors, operators, consoles and a constant exchange of information from the base to the Guardians out in the field. Normally the effort of everyone present in this room was split among the fireteams they were overseeing, but today everyone was working in unison, doing what they could to assist the Guardians as they were now making their escape.

Gale stood at the center of the room, along with some of the other commanding officers as the battle approached its climax.

"Nightingale-1, how long until the particle cannon is ready to fire?" One of the commanders asked him, gaining his attention. Gale's optics seemed to zoom in as he looked away from the commander for a moment, retrieving the information that he was looking for.

"Six minutes. It's still cycling." Gale responded. The commander gave him a nod of thanks before placing a hand on his headset, opening a channel to Commander Zavala.

"Commander Zavala, the countdown has reached the six minute mark. Have you and your fireteams returned to the transport?" The commander asked with a small smile. Everything was going perfectly. But his smile soon faded as the situation was explained to him. "They're trapped!?"

The commander remained silent, although his exclamation gained the attention of those around him.

"Quickly, someone bring up the tracers on the raid teams." The commander barked at the operators below. It just a few moments a map of a fortress was projected onto to the main screen, gaining the attention of everyone in the room. The could see the signal of Zavala's team which was already located in the transport, but the other two raid teams were nowhere to be found. "Where's the other raid teams?"

"Both teams announced they found the source of the incantation. They disappeared off our radars right after that." An operator called out to them.

"Expand the parameters then, do everything you can to try and get a reading on their location!" The commander shouted as he stared intently at the map. Soon enough the display began to expand as they searched for anything that could be tied to the raid teams.

"I'm picking up something, although there's a lot of interference." One of them yelled as the map finally showed it as well. "I got seven life signatures, down in a small room."

"Why are they so far below the fortress?" The commander exclaimed as he studied the map.

They were miles beneath it. Far down into the Earth's crust.

"That's probably why we lost contact with them." The operator suggested.

"But that doesn't explain how they got down there. There's no tunnel connecting them to that room." The commander noted. He wasn't a Guardian though, so he was unfamiliar with the Hive. Perhaps there was some sort of portal that took them there? And now they had no way to return…

"That doesn't matter." Gale interjected suddenly, gaining the attention of the commanders. He had already studied the particle cannon extensively, as well as what he was targeting. If his calculations were correct, there was a very small possibility that they could survive the blast since they were so far beneath the surface of the Earth. "They might survive. The initial hit on the Blight will cushion the impact with the Earth afterward. The cannon may not reach them."

"Are you serious?" The commander asked, causing Gale to look up once again, double checking his math.

"I can't say for certain. I don't know the composition of the Blight, but there's still a chance." Gale stated with a nod of confidence.

Reef

10 Hygiea

It had been nearly a week since most if not all of the Guardians had left the Reef with the announcement that they intended to reclaim Earth. It had been an anxious time for mankind. Homesickness plagued them all as they all looked back on their former lifestyles that they enjoyed while on Earth. Any news on the Guardian's effort back on Earth caused them to hold their breath, hoping to hear of success.

But not a soul imagined that they would be able to see a live broadcast of the Guardian's assault on the Hive Fortress. Thousands had gathered in the central plaza, including Trisha and Cody. The large monitors that had previously been used by the Awoken were now displaying various parts of the battlefield as the Guardians fought against the Hive and Taken. And finally, after hours of fighting, Commander Zavala called for the particle cannon to fire.

The anticipation began to grow. This would be their first victory against the Taken. And everyone was eager to see it.

The monitors began to display the particle cannon orbiting Mars. There were gasps from the audience at the sight of the massive weapon as it cycled, charging up to fire.

"Thirty seconds and counting!" An operator declared.

The cannon began to roar as the light coming from the barrel of the weapon became unbearable to look at. There was a buzz among the crowd as the ten second counter began. Some began to say a quick prayer, others raised their hands earnestly hoping for the best.

"Fire!"

A blinding ray of light exited the particle cannon, violently shaking the camera that had been recording this. Everyone got to see this beam of light rush off for the Earth before that camera shut down from the interference created by the particle cannon.

"Impact in ten…nine…"

The broadcast quickly changed to new view, one that was orbiting Earth. But even though this perspective was from outer space, everyone could clearly make out the Taken Blight as it hovered above the fortress.

This time the audience began to count down in unison with the operator, everyone raising their hands above their heads, as if they were trying to offer what support they could from here. The ray of light came crashing down on to the Blight, splitting the clouds on its entry through the atmosphere.

"Impact!"

Everyone became silent as they watched. The clouds that had been surrounding the beam began to spiral around it as though it were the eye of a hurricane. Nervously some of the people shuffled on their feet while others stood on their tip toes trying to ensure that they could see the monitors, waiting for the verdict.

"It was a clean hit!" The operator declared, and the audience roared with approval. "The Blight is gone!"

The heads of the raid team perked up at the announcement of the Blight being hit. They had been scattered around the room, unsure of how to accept their impending demise.

"You heard them right?" Shaxx asked the group as he rose to his feet.

"Yeah." Niko muttered in response as he stood up. "We got a couple of seconds before it reaches us now."

"Any last words?" Diana asked as him curiously, but Niko shook his head in response.

The room quaked suddenly, surprising all of them.

"That must be the particle cannon!" Shaxx exclaimed as they all looked up.

"This is it!" Saladin shouted.

'Tobias, stack your bubbles!' A voice called out to him suddenly. Tobias looked around in confusion, unsure of who's voice it was. 'Stack your Ward of Dawns! You won't survive otherwise!'

"Guys, gather up! We have to stack our bubbles!" Tobias roared as rushed to center of the room where he quickly summoned a Ward of Dawn. The ceiling of the room began to turn bright white as the particle beam approach them, but fortunately it didn't take the others a moment to realize what Tobias was doing. All of them came scrambling into the protective shield while the remaining Titans added their own as well. Huddled together within the dome, the eight Guardians looked up at the blinding light that came crashing down onto them.

"Zavala, we should assume the worst going into this." Ikora suggested as she studied the Titan Vanguard that stood beside her. The two of them were located within the main chamber of their aircraft with the base open for them to see the battlefield below. It wasn't often that anyone would see the Titan Vanguard so distraught over his losses during a mission, but Ikora had noticed that Zavala had taken a particular interest in fireteam Undaunted.

Zavala remained silent though as he looked down at the remains. What had once been a vast Hive fortress had been reduced to a barren terrain. Everything for miles had been wiped right off the map, but Zavala still held onto the sliver of hope that the raid team under the map had survived.

"I want as many teams down there as possible. The point of impact should take us directly to the chamber they were in." Zavala explained as he motioned for the pilot to keep moving. He couldn't give up. Zavala couldn't deny that he had strong attachments to this raid team. He had worked extensively with Undaunted, not to mention both his former mentor and comrade were down there with them.

"This is Cayde here, I found the spot you're looking for, not that it was really that hard to find. I just had to look for, you know, the giant hole in the ground." Cayde stated over the comms as he peered into the dark pit. There was a massive crater where the particle beam had hit the Earth, with a deep pit at the center. His Ghost had confirmed that it traveled down into the Earth's crust, so this had to be what they were looking for.

"We're on route." Zavala said as the coordinates were given to the pilot who quickly took them to Cayde's location. Descending down to the Cayde and pair of Hunters he had with him, Ikora and Zavala jumped down to the ground to join the group.

"Do you have any readings on them?" Zavala asked immediately as he approached Cayde.

"At the moment, the only life force I can detect is Tobias'. As I'm sure you know, his presence is overwhelming, so it could very well be smothering the others. But at the same time he might be the only one that's alive down there as well." Cayde's Ghost explained to him.

"Well then, looks like we're going down then." Cayde noted as he looked toward his fellow Mentors.

"They're buried down there though. Portions of the pit caved in on them, so we'll have to dig them out." His Ghost informed them. It wasn't going to be a quick rescue, that was for sure.

"Come on, we can fly down." Ikora stated as she motioned to their aircraft. The group of five quickly jumped back into the cabin of the ship before ordering the pilot to take them down into the hole. The pit was incredibly wide, with more than enough from for their air transport to descend into.

"We're close." Cayde's Ghost declared as they all looked down at debris that was preventing them from going any further. "But you'll be digging from this point forward."

"Let's move!" Zavala said as he jumped down. It was an uneven and unsteady surface, but it was far from enough to stop Zavala as he fueled his fists with Arc Light. These boulders and stones were nothing for his Storm Grip as he began to power through them. Just one punch was enough to shatter a boulder that was same size as him.

But the process was long and tedious as they worked. Ikora, Cayde and the other Hunters turned to their Solar abilities, beginning to melt down the chunks of Earth that rested in their path. Zavala stood at the center of the operation, working down through the center until he finally raised his fist and drove it into an object he couldn't break. Grimacing as a sharp pain ran through his wrist, Zavala shook it off before pushing aside some of the surrounding stones aside.

He could feel his chest begin to swell as he saw that he had hit a purple shield. A Ward of Dawn!

"We found them!" Zavala announced as he forgot all about the pain in his hand, beginning to break through the remaining stones above the Ward of Dawn until there was nothing that could pose a threat to the Guardians within it.

The bubbles faded away, revealing the team inside of. All them were in good condition!

Zeke, Shaxx and Saladin all gave a high sigh as they dropped to the ground. It had been hours since they had placed those Ward of Dawns, and it took every ounce of their strength to maintain them. Just withstanding the power of the particle cannon had drained them, but then they had to keep going with the weight of the earth that had caved in on them. These three Titans were absolutely exhausted at the moment.

Saladin though took a moment to glance at Tobias who was standing upright, speaking to Cayde. Even with this test of endurance the four of them had just completed, Tobias was the only one standing at the moment. In fact, Tobias had done most of the heavy lifting for them after the initial blast. His Ward of Dawn was the outermost one, taking on most of the weight. Clearly whatever power Tobias had tapped into was far beyond their current capabilities.

"Is everyone alright?" Zavala asked the group as he got everyone's attention.

"We're not, dead!" Carmen screamed as she jumped for joy, unable to control her excitement.

"Some bumps and bruises, but like Carmen said. We're not dead." Niko added as he gave Zavala a thumbs up. Zavala felt a smile creep up on his face as the other members of Undaunted did the same. They had done it once again.

"This Commander Zavala speaking. We've found the raid teams beneath the fortress. They're safe and sound!"

Cheers erupted over the comms at the success. But as the raid team began to climb into the aircraft, they all failed to notice a shadow scale the walls of the pit, escaping out into the barren plain above them.

Neo Chicago

The Mulligan

The Courtyard

Celebration broke out as the Guardians returned to the Mulligan, enjoying their victory of the Taken. But this was short lived. As much as they wanted to relish in the moment, the Vanguard couldn't allow this. They couldn't be content with just this one victory. This war was far from over.

"Guardians, we still have a lot of work to do!" Zavala announced after silencing the crowd.

The Blight over the fortress was gone, but the Taken still occupied the eastern hemisphere. But with this Blight gone, the Taken's ability to summon an endless supply of troops was gone. The Vanguard was clear to launch their campaign to wipe them out completely. But there was also work to be done on their side of the globe as well. The Fallen that remained on Earth fled to this the ruins of North and South America, and they still posed a threat to mankind and the Traveler.

The Guardians would be dividing their efforts, although the Taken was clearly the larger of the two.

"I will acknowledge that you all did an excellent job destroying the fortress. Take a few days to rest and recuperate, and then contact Xander 99-40 when you're ready to go back into the field!" Zavala stated before turning away from the crowd. He took a moment to glance at Cayde and give him a small nod for the Hunter Vanguard to take over from here.

"You heard the man, you've got a few days off. Don't get too drunk!" Cayde called out, causing everyone to burst into cheers.

Hall of Guardians

The Vanguard Mentors stood in their small headquarters accompanied by the Speaker, Shaxx and Saladin. Each and every one of them had gathered for one reason. To see the recording of Tobias and Titus' duel that Saladin's Ghost had captured. Ikora couldn't believe what she was seeing as she saw Titus in action. He mirrored the abilities of the Guardians perfectly, but it was clear that he was born in the Darkness. How was this possible?

As the recording reached its climax, Tobias disappeared within the light, unearthing an untold power. Their chests became tight once they could see him again, adorned in white. With this newfound power, Tobias overwhelmed Titus and annihilate the Taken that filled the chamber. Even though Shaxx and Saladin had seen this in person, it still sent chills down their spines.

Both Saladin and the Speaker had been around much longer than the other Guardians present, but they had never seen the Light shine so brilliantly from one Guardian.

"Does Tobias understand this power that he tapped into?" The Speaker asked curiously as they watched Tobias summon a sword of Light to handily defeat Titus.

"The only thing he said is that he is certain it's the Radiant light." Shaxx replied.

"Why the interest?" Ikora asked as she glanced at the Speaker.

"It's similar to how he fought after the Collapse. Although I can confirm that it was never to this extent." The Speaker explained, causing Zavala to perk up.

"Are you saying that he's stronger now than back then?" Zavala inquired. The Speaker looked up for a moment, considering everything he knew before giving Zavala a slow nod.

"I think so." The Speaker stated.

"With this kind of power, I don't think there's anything he can't accomplish." Saladin noted as he thought of the Iron Lords during their prime. Undaunted was becoming very, very powerful. He had high hopes for them had what they could do against the Darkness. They might even be the ones to defeat it.

"And what should we call this power?" Shaxx asked as he looked around at the group. Such a fearsome power surely deserved a name.

"His, Radiant Form." The Speaker said with a nod of approval. Ikora glanced at the Speaker again before giving a nod of agreement. She could only hope that they would be seeing more of this from Tobias in the future. To defeat Oryx, they would need this power.

Cayde was uncharacteristically silent as he studied this recording. He was leaning the table with his elbow, supporting his chin with one hand. But as he watched Tobias, he raised this hand to cover his mouth to make sure none of them could see the smile developing on his face. He was concocting plan, with Tobias as the centerpiece.

The streets of Neo Chicago were barren and empty for the most part. The population of Guardians and people working for the Vanguard could barely breathe some life into the City despite the celebration they were having. With their numbers, the festivities became nothing more than a block party downtown where some of the bars were located.

The Guardians provided everything that they needed for this little celebration, drinks, meals, music. All of it was taken care of. The members of Undaunted found themselves in a large dance club where the music was blaring as dozens of Guardians were packed onto the dance floor having a good time.

Despite their being a lack of people there to provide services for the Guardians, they filled in these positions, making drinks and meals as they partied. Undaunted found themselves in a dance club where the music was blaring as dozens of Guardians were packed on the dance floor enjoying themselves.

Diana clapped her hand audibly to the final beat the song that was playing, letting out a cheerful whoop. Most of the people on the dance floor looked up at the DJ who was waiting for his partner to tell him what should be played next. During this small interval, Diana looked back at her dance partner who had been keeping up with her surprisingly well even though she had been dancing for more than an hour straight.

"You said you we're that good of a dancer back at the banquet Tobias, but you move pretty well." Diana said to him, getting a chuckle out of him.

"I just listen to the music." Tobias replied simply, shrugging his shoulders. He just moved to the beat.

"You're not tired or anything are ya?" Diana asked him, giving him a smile as the next song began.

"Of course not." Tobias replied as he took her by the hand and spun her so that they were facing the same direction now. Diana was a bit surprised with Tobias suddenly taking the lead, something he hadn't done all night, not that she was going to complain about it.

Standing on the large stairway that led down to the dance floor, Carmen eyed Diana and Tobias with raised eyebrows.

'Hmm, this might come in handy later.' Carmen noted with a devilish grin before tapping her companion on the shoulder. Gale quickly turned around at Carmen's touch, beginning to follow her as she led him to the top of the staircase to the area that Carmen had been searching for. "Finally, the bar."

The two of them approached the long counter where a pair of Guardians acting as bartenders were serving up drinks like there was no tomorrow. Fortunately the two of them found a pair of empty seats beside he counter which they quickly took before waving over one of the bartenders.

"Anything in particular?" The bartender asked her.

"No preference, but make it special though." Carmen replied with a small smile before looking at Gale. "Do you drink, anything?"

"Not that I know of. And I'd prefer if my circuitry remained dry." Gale responded with a shrug.

"Alright." Carmen said as the bartender got to work. Carmen had taken Gale under her wing since they had returned from their battle, informing the Exo of how things had changed since it had been sealed in the Seraphim Vault centuries ago. Now that Gale was the newest member of their fireteam, it meant that Carmen was no longer the 'baby' of the team. They couldn't pick on her anymore.

The bartender approached Carmen again, placing her drink down in front of her along with a stirring straw. Carmen smiled broadly as she stared at it, taking a moment to stir before lifting the glass. This would be her first drink. A sip of the good life.

"What the hell are you doing?" Someone asked suddenly, startling her. Niko stood beside her with a smirk, earning a shout from Carmen for surprising her.

"I was just having a little drink, that's all." Carmen replied before frowning at Niko who continued to smirk at her. This only seemed to irritate her as she set her drink down. "What?"

"Don't give me that Carmen, you know exactly what I'm going to say." Niko said as snatched her drink away. "You're not old enough to drink."

"Hey!" Carmen shouted, reaching out to attack Niko but he palmed her forehead to hold her back. Carmen began to swing, but her arms were way too short to reach Niko as he threw his head back, downing her drink in just a moment. Gale smiled at bit as he watched the two of them interact, it was quite amusing.

"Phew!" Niko exclaimed as he raised his eyebrows before setting down the glass. Niko then called for the bartender who approached the three of them. "She underage, don't give her anything."

"Will you stop with this crap Niko! I'm old enough to go to war with you, but you won't let me have a drink?!" Carmen asked him.

"Oh, you can have a drink." Niko said as he motioned to the counter of drinks the bartender had access to. "Just not any of that."

"You suck!" Carmen shouted at him as she turned away from him with a huff.

"Uh, are you okay Carmen?" Gale asked her tentatively after a few moments. She wasn't speaking to either them now though. This caused Niko to sigh as he rolled his eyes.

"Here, since you did so well on the mission, I'll let it slide just this once." Niko said as he placed a can on the counter for Carmen.

"Yes! You rock Niko!" Carmen exclaimed as she spun around to snatch the drink he had given her. But her happiness quickly faded as she read the contents with the can. "Cream soda!? Niko, you suck!"

Niko roared with laughter as Carmen balled her fists and began to hit his shoulder. He then looked up to spot Diana and Tobias approaching them.

"Oh man, this is awesome. I haven't had a night out like this is ages." Diana said before she came to a full stop to stare at Carmen who was beating away at Niko's arm as he laughed loudly with Gale watching on curiously.

"Should I bother asking?" Tobias asked Gale as he took a seat beside the Exo.

"I don't think so. You'd probably be saving yourself some time." Gale noted, earning a chuckle from Tobias.

"So are you having fun?" Tobias asked him, causing him to look down in thought.

"Am I supposed too?"

"Well you are the big hero here today. Without you we wouldn't have had the firepower to take out the Blight, or level their whole stinkin' fortress." Tobias said with a laugh. "So yeah, I think you should be enjoying it. All of this is happening because of you."

"Oh…okay." Gale said before he glanced at Carmen who was still struggling with Niko. A grin took shape on his face as he watched her swing at Niko. She was fun to be around, especially when compared to all the years he spent in stasis within the Seraphim Vault.

Tobias gave Gale a pat on the shoulder, glad that he was enjoying himself. But a tap on his shoulder gained his attention. Behind him stood a burly Titan.

"Zeke?" Tobias asked, getting a nod from him.

"Can I talk to you?" He asked, causing the rest of Undaunted to go silent as all of them were listening now. "In private?"

"Uh, yeah, sure." Tobias said as he rose from his seat to follow him.

The two of them went outside of the club they had been in, heading out into the streets where they walked in silence for a bit.

"I never got a chance to tell you I'm sorry Zeke." Tobias began, causing the man to become unnerved. "Your teammates were really good to me too. I'm gonna miss them."

Zeke was silent for a few moments as he studied Tobias skeptically. He wasn't sure what to think of Tobias at the moment. That man that they fought below the fortress, he looked exactly like Tobias. Why was that?

"You don't have anything to do with their deaths, do you?" Zeke asked Tobias, causing Tobias to raise his brow.

"What? How would that be possible?" Tobias exclaimed.

"I'm not really sure, I was just asking. But that thing we fought, the guy you beat." Zeke said slowly. "I knocked off his helmet before you guys got there, and I saw his face. I saw…your face."

Tobias felt a sudden chill as Zeke came to a stop, looking at Tobias directly now.

"He looked just like you." Zeke said as his hands began to tremble. "I need to know, who he is."

"I, don't know." Tobias stated.

"So, you're not him." Zeke clarified.

"No! Not in a million years, no!" Tobias said firmly. "We're not the same person. I would never turn on my allies."

"But you don't know that guy."

"The only thing I know is that his name is Titus and he works for Oryx. Besides that, I don't know anything. But I can assure you that I have no ties to him whatsoever." Tobias continue . "That's why I took him down."

Zeke stared into Tobias' eyes, searching for anything to make him doubt this statement, but his eyes were unwavering. And Zeke saw Tobias land the killing blow to Titus. Whoever this Titus was didn't matter at this point. He was dead.

City Perimeter

Airfield

At the perimeter of the Neo Chicago was the airfield where a majority of the ships the Guardians parked their ships while they were in the city. As the Guardians partied in the city though, a shadowy figure slipped into one of the ships and took off, leaving Earth's orbit in a matter of minutes.

Sitting in the cockpit after placing the ship on autopilot, he looked down at his chest where he could still see the whole that had been punched through his torso by the sword Tobias was wielding. The wound along with the cracks extending from it still glowed white from the Light. Placing the tip of his fingers on area of his chest the glowed, he was forced to pull away almost immediately. It burned just at the slightest touch.

Tobias' power was growing, but this wouldn't be enough.

"He can go so much farther, but right now I'm nothing compared to him right now." He said to himself. "I need more power to push Tobias past his limits."

A/N

Hey all, it's snowing! Both in real life and at the Tower for me :D. I still haven't managed to get my hands on a Y3 Icebreaker yet, but I'm still trying. And I'm also one of the those people that somehow suck at SRL, don't ask me how. Racing games have never been my forte.

In other news I have a beta reader now so much thanks for his support. We plan to work through all of my earlier chapters as well to fine tune them, so updates may be a bit slower for a while. But the coming chapters are bulky, and I hate to hold out on you guys for too long, so keep an eye out! As always, thank you for reading and I'll see you all next time.