Chapter four.

The Sword and Shield.

"By the Traveler." Vlad said looking towards the gathered fleet of Awoken, some Guardians, all gathering and moving out in huge battalions from what could only be the Outpost on high alert. "How many Fallen we talking about here?" he asked trying to work out in his own head the odds in this upcoming war.

~ "Thousands." ~ Petra stated over the comms, ~ "And more keep coming."~ She added.

~ "How many Ketches were seen?" ~ Rose asked.

~ "So far, we know they have four. We think each one houses a different head of the Wolves." ~ Petra admitted.

~ "So what's the plan?" ~ Orion asked. ~"I mean, the Queen defeated the Kell before and your people killed all but Skolas last time, then after the Betrayal the dumb fucker was caught by the Crows and is being held in some unknown location at the Queen's not so tender mercy. How do we go about making that happen again now?" ~ He added unable to see the way Arielle winced at his words.

Skolas wasn't being held. Not anymore. She'd seen to that herself one night after the self-appointed Kell of Kells had been brought to the Prison of Elders. Variks still wouldn't let her back into that area of the Prison, but she knew he had the only proof of what she'd done to Skolas.

~ "We're trying to improve the plans we used before, they are a little outdated so the Prince is looking them over with the intention of making them work on a larger scale. Beyond that, well you are a Titan, I'm sure you can figure it out." ~ Petra stated.

~ "Kill anything not Awoken and don't shoot a rocket near a friendly. Got ya." ~ Orion said. ~ "Arielle you ok? You've been quiet since we left." ~

"Just thinking." The Warlock stated. "If these Wolves fight like ours did, then we might be lucky. If not, I don't think we'll do very well without some serious fire power and a lot of luck."

~ "There's the docking platform," ~ Petra stated. ~ "The Prince will be in there." ~

Arielle heard Orion sigh but said nothing, Orion would be respectful of the Prince, even if that meant he had to endure listening to the snide insults Uldren could throw at him. But she also knew that Uldren would be more focused on keeping the Queen safe to act on his own desire to torment the Guardians.

At least for now.

"Do you want me to stay with Rose?" Vakarian asked her.

"No, I will need you on the plans. Vlad and Orion can watch her." Arielle stated as they docked. "Let's do this."

Rose looked around before following them inside the designated command station, spotting Variks moving between comm monitors and frequency jammers with practiced ease, muttering to himself as he worked, around him the Awoken made mortar shells, loaded up their guns and ships with ammo of all kinds ready for battle.

The Prince himself was leant against a table, maps and images flickering in and out of focus as he listened to his Crows and placed marks down where the largest numbers of Wolves were and where the sightings of the Kell and his Captains were.

"No, that's no good to us, the Wolves out match us with firepower, we can't risk them seeing us before we are ready." He snarled hearing one report that clearly angered him as all his work was wiped out with a wave of his hand and he began to redo his entire plan. "Track any ships coming and going, and once they're far enough away from the main gathering kill them. Leave nothing behind. Whatever happens we must not let them break past our defenses." He added.

"How long has he been at this?" Arielle asked Petra.

"Since we told the Queen the Wolves were here," Petra said, "We've been working nonstop."

"Right." Arielle stated then turned to her team, "Stay here and stay out of trouble."

"You sure you'll be ok?" Orion asked nodding his head to the Prince. He'd not seen the Prince in such a state before and it worried him.

"I've done this kind of thing before," She assured. "Just wait here and please, don't draw attention to yourself."

"Alright." Orion said watching her go up the few stairs to the planning table with Petra.

Arielle took a deep breath and for a moment she let all thoughts leave her mind. She had once done this as easily as she breathed. She had been the Queen's Sword, the blade that cut down any foe or threat towards the Queen, and where Arielle had been the weapon, Uldren had been the Shield.

They had worked as a team for years before the Queen's plot had been revealed to her. She had left the service of the Queen, had left the title of the Sword behind and become just plain old Arielle the Stormcaller, a part of the Tower's defenses and a bounty hunter when the battle for the Traveler seemed to lull. But now war threatened her Queen and home once again, now she needed to be the Sword, she had to be the weapon that slaughtered the Queen's enemies once more and to do that, she had to unlock the side of herself she had locked away when she left the Reef all those years ago.

"Prince Uldren, I have returned from the Tower with further aid as the Queen requested." Petra stated and Arielle slowly opened her eyes, looking down at the map with the eyes of the Sword, not the Stormcaller.

"Good, have them gear up and head out to Calisto, I have everything covered here."

"You missed two areas." Arielle said and placed down two marks where Fallen Skiffs could penetrate the Prince's lines and drop in the Wolves. "They'd have us overrun in a matter of minutes, spilt the second battalion and have them go here and here, outfit some of the Pikes we have with better cannons and a few grenades and have them hold these areas while the first battalion moves against the Wolves, pushing them back towards the narrower canyons, easier to pick them off in there."

Uldren took a moment to look over the plan now that she had adjusted it and nodded. "Yes that would work, but only if the lines are held."

"So send up a second line once we push them back, force them into the corners and cut their numbers down with bullets and mortar fire." Arielle stated placing down more marks, "They have nowhere to go this time, Calisto's terrain works against them."

"Only if they stay in the canyons." The Prince stated.

"These Fallen don't know what we've done, what we're capable of. We have the advantage of a previous attack in our memories, we've seen the way they work. We have Variks. We're ahead of the game on this one. Our people will keep them in the canyons." Arielle stated, her tone serious and her eyes seemed to be glowing brighter.

The two held gazes until Uldren nodded, "Alright." He turned to several Awoken, "You heard her. See to it that the First and Second battalions are prepared to leave."

"You ever seen her like this before?" Vlad asked Orion in shock as Arielle continued to lay out a flawless plan of attack with what he could only describe as practiced ease.

The Titan shook his head in awe, "Never."

"Glad she's on our side." Vlad stated.

"Quiet! Quiet all of you! The Kell speaks with his Captains." Variks suddenly hissed out, carefully listening to the Fallen chatter on the comms as the whole room fell silent.

"What are they saying?" Petra asked.

"The Kell of Wolves speaks of some kind of harvesting plan, a means to remove the resources of the Moon. Parixas tells of a ship for salvaging close to their location and, some kind of enhancement to a plan." The Vandal said carefully adjusting and readjusting a dial with one hand while listening to his native tongue. "They speak of plans to raid, scout the Reef for loot or treasures. The Wolf Baroness is raged, angry that the Reef is here again, she seeks its end."

"What of Skolas?" Arielle asked, her tone deadly.

Variks was silent for a time, adjusting his equipment and then growled. "Skolas is still a fool, he insults the Reef and its people; he insults the Queen, he claims her weak and frail, tormented by death of her kin. He plots to attack before the day is done and bring this Reef to its end in swifter a time than the last." Variks stated.

"What insult does he give our Queen?" Uldren growled, knowing Variks was keeping something from them by the clear anger in the Vandal's voice.

Variks seemed reluctant to answer, but before he could repeat the insult, someone else spoke up. "He called the Queen a whore."

For the first time since they arrived, Uldren noticed Vlad, Orion and Rose, though his attention fell squarely on the female hunter, and the Ghost by her shoulder.

"How do you know that?" He heard Arielle ask, somehow keeping his anger at the insult toward his Queen in check, though judging by the lightning that was starting to travel down Arielle's arms, she was beyond angry.

"The Variks we knew made a translating program, most Ghosts have it installed as a means of listening in to comms chatter since he was busy protecting the Queen." Rose explained. "Mostly the program was only useful when Variks wasn't available to translate, but he made sure that every word the Fallen knew was translated into something we could understand."

"They think this Reef will be like the one in our world, easy to destroy. They don't know you are aware of them," Bing said.

"Awoken have darker scent, they live far from the Traveler's light and thus, do not have its scent as most Guardians do." Variks explained, "Fallen cannot smell the danger, must see you first, only have your scent when you are close to them." he added.

"What?" Vlad asked.

"He means that unless a Guardian or Awoken was stood within a foot of a Fallen they wouldn't know what your scent is and thus, don't know what you are." Rose explained, "Everything looks the same to a Fallen when you wear armour, but they can tell who's who by scent, its why even without their House banners, a Dreg who is banished from one House can't immediately join another, other Dregs will attack and chase it off unless a Vandal permits it closer."

"The Variks in your world teach you that?" Petra asked and Rose nodded.

"It took time for the program to be installed in Bing and I was curious about how he knew who was around him even when he wasn't looking." She admitted.

"This is useful." Mara Sov spoke and every person in the room turned to look at her. Her glowing blue eyes were focused solely on Bing and Rose, the Ghost having suddenly become very fearful and hidden behind Rose. "Would you be willing to share that information?"

"She means you will share it, girl." Uldren stated roughly and Arielle glared at him, "The Queen speaks as she means, or do you mean to assume her words better than she does?"

"I'll allow his interruption, Arielle. I am waiting for an answer, Hunter." Mara stated coolly, "Will you do your service as an Awoken and share the program?"

Rose bowed her head, "The program belongs to you, Your Grace. The Variks of my world made it with the permission of the Queen when she was told the number of Fallen we were facing, in my world you ruled the Awoken no matter if they came from the Reef or Earth born so by that you are my Queen here as you were in the world I came from."

Mara nodded, "You may assist Variks and your ball may share the information with him. My Sword and Shield, a meeting. Now." She walked off, followed by the Queen's Guard.

"How long was she standing there?" Bing asked and Rose brought him over to Variks.

"I have no idea." Vlad admitted.

Uldren spoke a few words to Petra before following after his sister. Arielle remained behind a moment to scan the map once more before approaching Variks' station. Her team had followed Rose and she wanted them to know that she would be in a meeting.

"I didn't know you were a strategist, Ari." Vlad stated when she approached.

"I'm only what my Queen needs me to be." Arielle replied honestly, "Variks do you need anything?"

"Not now. Help from this Hunter required for now. Assistance will help." He replied carefully attaching a wire to Bing as the Ghost hovered over a data bank.

"Keep me informed of Skolas' movements." Arielle stated and the Fallen looked up at her.

"You wish to hunt him yourself." It wasn't a question, but a statement.

"My team and I will hunt him if necessary." She stated in a tone neither Vlad nor Orion had ever heard before.

"Ari, is everything alright?" Orion asked.

She nodded and gave his hand a squeeze, "I'm fine. I have to meet with the Queen right now. I'll be back soon." Her yellow eyes fell on Variks once more, "I want the information on Skolas."

Finally he nodded, "Very well. Will inform Vakarian."

Arielle walked off in the direction the Queen and the Prince had gone with Vakarian floating beside her. Orion watched her go with a frown, "I don't know what's gotten into her."

"That is not your Arielle. She is Queen's Sword." Variks remarked as he monitored the information coming from Bing, the code looked so alike his own work he could predict the sequences and found himself rather annoyed that he hadn't thought of doing such a thing sooner.

"Sword? Like her right hand or something?" Vlad asked.

Variks nodded, "Prince of Crows is the Shield and Arielle is the Sword. They are the Queen's fury and vengeance. Deadliest weapons the Queen commands. None will escape her fury."

"So she swore herself back to the Queen, that's what she was doing here with Rose." Vlad stated.

"Arielle has promised the Queen and the Reef her aid, as well as yours." Petra stated as she stepped forward, "Arielle has always been able to compartmentalize, the Sword is not who she really is, but who the Queen needs her to be. You won't lose her." She added the last part to soothe Orion.

Vlad sighed, "The Vanguard knew, didn't they?"

Petra nodded, "Arielle's role here was never hidden from the Vanguard. It was how she met Ikora in the first place. Ikora offered her a place on the Tower when she left the Reef and she's been there ever since."

"But why did she leave if she was so important to the Queen?" Rose asked curiously.

"That is only between the three." Variks stated and Petra nodded in agreement, "We don't know. It's not our business."

Arielle entered the throne room with Vakarian and Uldren and Mara were talking to one another quietly, only to stop when the Warlock approached. "You wanted a meeting?"

Mara stood, "I am pleased to see that you answered my call. Welcome back, my Sword."

"An honour to be called upon to serve, Your Grace." Arielle stated with a bowed head.

"I need you both at your best, the Reef and the Awoken need you to let go of the issue between you two. You will discuss this now and are not allowed to leave until everything is resolved. Am I clear?"

"This is absurd!" Uldren stated.

"Is it? You two have fallen into your roles easily, but I need to know that it will last even if you infuriate one another because one of you oversteps your bounds. Does that sound absurd to you?" The Queen demanded.

"Not at all." Arielle answered honestly despite Vakarian's attempt to interrupt her.

"I shall give you a moment alone then. I trust the ball will not be an issue." Mara stated as she left the throne room.

"I'm not a ball." Vakarian huffed.

"She does it to all the Ghosts, Vakarian. Don't feel singled out." Arielle remarked.

"Why did you come back?" Uldren asked suddenly and Arielle was forced to meet his gaze.

"I wanted to run the Prison of Elders with Rose. I was angry and needed to kill something." She stated as she fought the urge to look away from him.

"I've known you too long, Ari. You would never come for something so trivial. Not the woman who fought Crota, the warrior that slaughtered Skolas."

"You aren't supposed to know about that." She whispered.

"Variks would not lie to his Kell, and my sister thought I should know what you did. Everyone else believes Skolas to be hidden away in a dark part of the Prison, but we know better. Why did you really come back?" He asked again.

"Rose told us of her world and I realized that I was concerned about my partner in her world. I may not have existed there, but you did. I didn't like realizing that I was concerned, you really hurt me Uldren."

"That had never been my intention. I truly believed you would've been happy with our decision."

Arielle laughed bitterly, "Then I suppose you never really knew me then."

"I wanted you by my side, Arielle. All the time. I saw no problem with the Queen's plan. You were the right choice, the only choice. Only the Queen commands more respect and instils more fear than you. You were the perfect candidate."

Arielle glared at him, "And as I told the Queen, you should've asked me."

"You wouldn't have agreed."

"Because trying to make me Mara's replacement, should anything happen to her, is a stupid idea and I don't want the job. There will be no other Queen than Mara Sov, and my love and loyalty to both of you should've been enough to tell you that plotting to make me her successor would end badly for everyone." Arielle explained.

There was a tense silence that Vakarian ignored as he floated around the throne room, investigating. He wanted nothing to do with the serious conversation occurring around him. This was Arielle's business and if anyone asked him about it later, he'd claim he was working on calibrations.

"You walked into the room and took control, as if you never stopped being the Sword." Uldren stated, his attempt to break the tension seemed to succeed when Arielle sighed.

"We were always a good team when it came to being the Sword and Shield. We only failed when we were a couple."

"We were fine."

"No we were not, Uldren. We never fixed anything, all our problems were pushed aside because it was more important to serve or just because neither of us really knew how to fix it. Neither of us would compromise that was for sure. We were both so sure we were right. Those relationships don't have happy endings Uldren, and ours certainly didn't." She ran a hand through her hair, "I let you go because it was best for me. I was unhappy. You were unhappy. We didn't talk about anything that wasn't work. We fell out of love a long time ago, Uldren, but you know, I was alright with that. I was content to be with you because you were my best friend, the person I trusted to have my back if we went to war. I depended on you and you depended on me. I find it ironic that my heart was the one thing I didn't trust you with."

He sighed at those words. He'd been surprised but happy to see her walk into the room and take control again, to have his other half back to fight alongside him. She was right. When it came to protecting the Queen and fighting for the Awoken, they were always in sync, but as a couple they never worked properly. That didn't mean he didn't love her, because of course he did.

"I left the Sword behind when I left here, Uldren. I was only Arielle the Stormcaller, and sometimes Arielle the Voidwalker. I became a bounty hunter, an extension of the Vanguard and a member of a fireteam. I travel everywhere with Vlad and Orion, I trust them with my life, as they trust me with theirs." She paused, "And I've given Orion my heart. I'm happy with him, even when he infuriates me because he's so concerned about proving to me and you that he can take care of me."

"Prove to me? What an idiotic thing to worry about." Uldren remarked but Arielle saw right through him.

"Don't give me that. I know what you did. Just like I know you've been keeping an eye on me."

He met her unamused glare and replied, "Well I wanted to make sure you were safe and well cared for. How was I to know the idiot was would decide to take it to the extent he has. You should've talked to him about it."

"I did, but he's determined. " She shook her head, "I let go of my anger years ago, but I did enjoy the way you got to struggle with your guilt."

"Sadist." Uldren remarked.

"You deserved it. So think we can work together even when I'm not the Sword?" Arielle asked.

Uldren's glowing yellow eyes met hers and he nodded, "Getting along with you was never in question, at least not to me. You were right, we didn't work as a couple but that doesn't mean all of my feelings for you have disappeared."

"I know, but I want you to figure out if they're actually romantic feelings or if it's just the familiarity we share with one another." Arielle stated.

"It will take a while to figure out, but we're professionals. I'll fight at your side again, Arielle."

She nodded and offered him a smile, "I'll fight at your side Uldren."

They grasped arms, a sign of familiarity and unity that they would agree to fight together, for their Queen and their people. Mara entered the room carrying a thin box and she handed it to Arielle as Vakarian floated over to them.

"What's in the box?" The Ghost asked

Arielle opened the box and sighed, "My uniform."

"It's been outfitted with the armour from the Kell of Kells. You prefer your Warlock uniform, but these are yours, rightfully earned." Mara stated.

"What happened to Skolas' cloak?" Arielle asked as she removed the uniform from the box to study it.

Mara's eyes seemed to glow brighter, "I wear that. Gifted to me by my Sword after she single-handedly defeated Skolas."

"Dark. I can appreciate the brutality." Vakarian remarked.

"I'll change, but I keep my gauntlets. I do so much more damage with them." Arielle explained.

Rose and Bing had just finished sending the program to Variks who immediately installed it into the waiting Wrex and Sovereign. They were working on installing it on into the comms for the others when the room fell silent. Everyone was looking towards the room the Queen, the Prince, and Arielle had disappeared into.

Rose's eyes widened at the sight of the Queen, awe evident in her expression. She had never see the Awoken Queen look as she did now, a statue of barely concealed rage, but there was intelligence to her rage that made her glowing blue eyes brighter. She was the epitome of righteous fury. On her left, stood Prince of Crows, Uldren, his own yellow eyes also aglow with rage. To the right of the Queen, stood Arielle, in a new uniform that Rose was certain she hadn't had with her when she walked into the meeting with the Queen. Gone was the dark blue Warlock cloak, now she bore a uniform similar to Petra's but the colour scheme was different.

Bing moved to hide behind Rose again at the sight of the Queen. "She's angry," he said, peeking out from behind the safety of his Guardian.

"I think enraged is more the word." Vlad said.

The Queen stepped forward and Uldren and Arielle walked after her, and Vlad eyed the cloak hanging from the Queen's shoulder. "That's the House of Wolves mark, isn't it?"

"Worn by Kell of Kells. Queen is Kell of House of Wolves until they turned. She is the last of the House of Wolves. The only Kell." Variks explained.

"What's up with Ari's armour?" Orion whispered.

"The Sword's uniform, dyed in the Queen's Web, the colour she chose. It shows her status as the Queen's Sword." Petra explained quietly. "She is equal in battle to the Prince, and no one but the Queen shall order her to do anything."

"The Awoken have fought the Fallen before. We destroyed them in the Reef Wars, I took control of House of Wolves and they bowed before me. We showed them mercy and gave them a home amongst the Awoken. When they betrayed the Reef and their Kell for Skolas, I unleashed my wrath upon them, sent my Sword after them as I welcomed the Guardians to our Reef. The House of Wolves fell and Skolas fell with them." Her blue eyes searched the room as she continued, "A new House of Wolves comes to our world, and they believe that they will defeat us. The Awoken do not fall easily, and this House does not know the wrath of your Queen. The Guardians fight alongside us, and my Sword has returned to my service. We are prepared to stop them. We will eliminate the House of Wolves once more and remind all the Fallen that the Reef belongs to the Awoken and Mara Sov."

The Queen listened to the roar of applause from her people. They were strong, they had survived the House of Wolves once before and they would survive it again. She could feel the presence of her Sword at her right side once more. "You will show the Fallen no mercy. Let the hunt begin. Again."

She watched.

Making note of every face she saw and every name she heard, watching every movement and change to the plans made by the Prince when the Guardians arrived, but most of all, she watched the female Hunter and her Ghost. A curious pair, these two were odd but at the same time, they had something interesting about them. Their light, compared to the bright white light of those Guardians around them was dull, a dark grey colour.

The Ghost's behaviour seemed almost childlike, hiding from the Queen of the Awoken despite the help it offered her and her people, while the Hunter seemed strangely lost in the noise around her, trying to offer whatever information she could while her Ghost was busy.

They both seemed to know what was happening and they both seemed worried, even as they, the Titan the Exo Hunter and Petra left the small station and took off toward the battle fronts, they were clearly worried by something.

Despite all this, they were not any kind of threat. She moved on and began to monitor the Fallen she had seen coming through a Rip in the air. Whatever was happening, these Rips seemed to be the source of the trouble and she would gather as much information on them and the report back to her Masters.

"Any idea what we are looking for?" Orion asked as he and Vlad lead the way towards an area of their camp where the ground seemed to sink down and allow for many hidden cracks and caves that Arielle wanted them to check.

"According to scouts and the scans we took of the area as we landed, it is littered with caves and tunnels, but we have no idea how far or where they go, if they are just a maze of Tunnels we'll be ok, but if they go on and join to tunnels near the Wolves, we will have to see to it none of the Wolves get in to our camp." Petra stated as she pulled up alongside them driving an Awoken painted Pike.

"You ok back there Rose?" Vlad called back.

"We're ok." Rose assured, "Map says we're are close." She added.

~ "Slow down or you'll shoot off the edge." ~ Arielle stated over the comms. ~ "And watch your step, the last report said the ground was unstable." ~

"Shaky ground and possible tunnels, might as well have gone to our own moon." Vlad said. "Who wants to bet we find Hive here?"

~ "Not funny Vlad." ~ Arielle said. ~ "Check the area and if it is a problem let us know,"~

"Yes ma'am." Vlad said. "Well, let's get this done." Loading his weapons.

Meanwhile, back at the camp, Vakarian was having the program installed while Variks continued to monitor the channels.

"Program is almost fully installed. Soon all Ghosts and Awoken will understand the Wolves easily." Variks stated as they reached the steep slope of the area.

"Then we move when the program installation is complete." Arielle said then looked up as a very clear and familiar cackle echoed over the comms. "Here we go."

{"Tai Raven carcass, recently bled. These Awoken are not so weak. Maybe Skolas is not so smart as he claims."} A deep and growled voice stated. {"Keep watch of the sky."}

{"The Rabid is fool. He seeks what he cannot have."} The second voice was slightly higher in pitch, but still sounded just as growled and had a sharp edge.

"Parixas and Irxis." Variks identified quietly before the channel was filled again this time, with a broken chuckle.

"What have they found?" Arielle asked.

"They are near where they said a ship was." Vakarian said searching the channel.

{"Crow ship, recently crashed. No good for scrap, too much damage."} Parixas huffed nd there was a loud crunch and small explosion.

{"Reef here still has Prince. Will be fun to kill again."} Irxis said with a chuckle.

{"Why so interested in Prince? Queen is more valuable to Awoken."} Parixas growled out. {"She is Kell to them, kill her, and Awoken fall."}

{"Queen is protected by Prince. Prince is Shield. Break shield and Queen will fall."} Irxis said with a sickening chuckle.

"She dies at my hands." Uldren hissed.

"Agreed." Arielle said, she had her own target in mind. "Anything?" she asked into the comms.

~ "Nothing yet, just lots of lose ground and signs of landslides, we're still trying to find a way into the cave system." ~ Vlad stated.

Petra noticed Bing suddenly move and watched as the small Ghost dared to drift away from Rose and look out over the land beneath them, as if searching for something, curious as to what the little Ball of light had seen after a few moments she also turned and searched the area.

"Rose." Bing said and Rose turned and looked around, "Something's wrong." He added and though Rose could see nothing at first, she took out her sniper Rifle and scanned the horizon and area again, this time slowly.

~ "Our scans show nothing but the four of you." ~ Uldren snapped over the comms, likely they were watching through Ghost Telemetry. ~ "There is nothing there." ~

"Bing's never been wrong before." Rose stated and seemed to stop searching, "And rocks don't shimmer." She added and tensed in preparation to fire her rifle, moments later the bullet shot from the barrel and blew the head off a Dreg, its cloaking device falling away as it fell from its place on the wall.

"How did you know it was there?" Orion asked Bing as the Ghost returned to Rose's shoulder. "Another Lesson from the Variks you know?" he added.

"I saw something moving, but I couldn't see it after I started to look for it. Rose has better eyes than me." Bing admitted.

"Dregs never travel alone." Vlad said. "Come on." He added heading into the caves, pausing when Rose grabbed the Dreg dragged it with them.

Back at the control point, Arielle shot Uldren a knowing look and the Prince hummph'ed. "She was lucky." Uldren stated.

"She's a survivor." Arielle corrected. "And I trust her."

Uldren would have said something had it been anyone else saying that, but Arielle did not give her trust out easily and in this instance, he had little to show the Hunter was any kind of threat and so for now, he would trust Arielle's judgement.

"Why can I hear hissing?" Vakarian asked.

"What hissing?" Arielle asked as Vakarian increased the volume of his channel so she could also hear it. "Sounds familiar. Variks?"

"Servitor interference. Signals will become faded and weak while they are within range." Variks said. "Destroy Servitors and signal will clear."

"Where are they?" Arielle said searching the area. "They can't be the ones with Parixas and Irxis, they are too far out."

"Locking into strongest signal," Vakarian said muttering to himself as he worked before his single eye flashed. "Oh dear. Petra and the others are heading right for them."

Skolas watched his crew work from his place on a high ledge, searching for any mistakes or issues that his Vandals couldn't resolve. While scouting, he had caught he scent of something and after confirming with his Kell he had taken his crew and started to dig in the area he'd found the scent in, now they were closer to the source, his two Servitors were report increased Ether readings and Skolas knew what that meant.

He'd found a live Ether Vain, a very rare natural find in any House.

Now he just had to insure it was a stable vain and then he could report it to his Kell.

One of his Vandals hissed and clicked, to get his attention as they removed the rubble and debris from around the vain. "What is it?" he asked.

"The vain is stable, but the area around it is not." The Vandal stated. "We cannot get to it without risking an explosion."

"Continue to clear the area, carefully. I will contact the Kell." He stated and moved to a quiet corner and waved one of the Servitors over, putting his cannon on his side and knelt at the Servitor. "My Kell, we have found something in the tunnels below the surface," he stated and then waited for the answer.

{"Speak Skolas,"} Virixis said.

"A life vain of Ether my Kell, but we do not have the ability to farm it without more equipment. My crew state the vain is stable, but the area around it is not, any attempt we make to harness the Ether could result in the loss of the vain." Skolas stated listening as he heard hisses and clicks behind his Kell.

A Dreg paused and hissed, looking towards a shadowy entrance of a tunnel, sure he had heard something he made his way towards it.

{"Secure the area and await my arrival."} Virixis ordered.

"Yes my Kell." Skolas nodded.

The Dreg looked carefully at the entrance, sniffing the air and growled.

"Get back to work!" a Vandal snarled suddenly.

"There's something there!" the Dreg said, "I smell it."

Skolas looked up and took a deep breath, scenting the air. Scenting Vandals, Dregs and the Ether, he also caught the metal of the Shanks he had with him and his two Servitor.

"Nothing. Return to your work." He stated. "Now! Our Kell will arrive to insure the safe extraction of this Ether and he will not be proud if you are found to be slacking." He added placing a hand on his cannon in a clear threat to show his intention if questioned.

The Dreg reluctantly returned to work, unaware of how right he had been.

Just beyond the entrance, Petra smiled in something akin to pride as Rose placed the dead Dreg against the tunnel wall, "I am starting to see why Arielle likes you so much." She said quietly.

"Is that a good thing?" Rose asked.

"I'll let you decide that." Petra smiled.

"We got no coms beyond ourselves, Servitors are blocking the channels outwards." Sovereign stated.

"So, we got a cave full of Fallen, Skolas, two Servitors and an Ether vain…" Orion said, "How do we do this without pissing off Arielle and Variks?"

"I have an idea, but it's not smart." Rose admitted. "And might get us killed."

"I don't like it." Bing said.

"What is it?" Vlad asked.

"There are some explosive tanks near the back, if we can get the Servitors over there we could take them out and open comms again… but it would mean we end up fighting and that could mean we end up fighting Skolas for just a little while before Arielle arrives."

"Have you seen the fire power he's carrying? No way we could stand against that for long." Orion said seeing Skolas two scourge cannons and the Shrapnel Launcher he was familiar with seeing.

"You have a bubble don't you?" Bing asked.

"Bubble?" Orion asked.

"That dome thing Titans do." Rose said, "The bubble."

"Your Defender ability." Vlad stated.

"Oh… Well yea that might work," Orion nodded.

"It will, if we rotate." Vlad said, "Save your bubble until we really need it, in the meantime, Rose, Petra and I can do what we do best."

"Run and hide screaming like a little girl?" Bing asked. "Because that means Rose is safe." He added before Rose hushed him softly.

"No." Vlad chuckled softly. "You are good with that sniper rifle, see if you can get high up and do some damage from up there."

"Ok." Rose said.

"But what if you die?" Bing asked. "This... This isn't like when Arielle was with us… and you've never faced the Wolves before." He added before the four ducked back for cover as a Vandal passed close to the entrance. The four tensed as the Vandal paused by them, taking a moment to survey the area and scenting the air before moving on.

"I'll cover Rose," Petra said. "You cover the Bubble maker." She added and Orion huffed at the sudden nick name.

Vlad smirked. "Deal."

Bing made a soft but clearly happy chiming sound at that plan and Patra made a note to talk with the little ball about his fears at a later time, it was odd behaviour for such a tiny ball and it could be useful information for later.

"Wrex."

"Yea?" the Ghost asked as Orion and the others prepared to move.

"Dance time."

Wrex bobbed in a nod and clicked on a music playlist that he, Vakarian and Sovereign shared for such times as this and chose a song at random.

"Kell of Wolves is on the move." Variks's voice cut the silence like a knife. "He travels towards the tunnels."

"We have two options." Uldren said, "Attack now with everything, or wait and possibly lose our best chance."

"No, we can't use a full scale attack." Arielle looked at the map, "We have no word on Skolas, no idea where he is, if we attack now with everything and he turns up with far more Fallen than we can face, we've blown it."

"What do you suggest?" Uldren asked.

"I suggest we have the Crows and Royal Guard hold off if we do attack and keep an eye out for Skolas. Just to make sure we aren't the ones who end up on the wrong end of a weapon." Arielle stated.

"And if we don't have to worry about Skolas?" Uldren asked.

"Then we have back up to take over any fallen lines or defences when this attack is over." Arielle stated. "If we show all our players in one go, we lose the element of surprise. Our trump card as it were."

"Kell of Wolves is to enter the tunnels in approximately ten clicks." Variks stated.

"Arielle." Uldren said, leaving the call to her.

"Vakarian." Arielle said after a long silence as she looked at the map.

"Yes Arielle?" The Ghost asked.

"We need something to dance too."

If Vakarian had the ability he would have smiled.

"Commence the attack." Uldren said, "Keep the Royal Guard and Crows back! MOVE OUT!"

Skolas had no idea what had happened.

One minute he is preparing for the arrival of his Kell and the next the cave erupts with an ungodly howl of noise, four intruders had burst from the tunnels and attacked, cutting down his Dregs and Vandals with ease in moments and now, he was backed into a tunnel himself, the Servitors beside him as he and the remaining members of his crew held their ground.

"Protect the Servitors!" he snarled. "Slaughter them!"

"Oh, I think he's pissed!" Orion laughed unleashing a hail of bullets on a Vandal that dared to try and rush him.

"No kidding!" Vlad said unloading a round and taking down a Dreg with a head shot, the two then darting from their place and drawing fire towards them as Rose scrambled up the cave walls and rocks like she'd done it before and tucked herself in to a tight crevasse and aimed her Sniper rifle at the furthest Servitor away from her.

"Come on you son of bitch." She hissed through her teeth, taking deep breaths to try and keep her shot straight. "Show me your eye."

"Hurry Rose!" Petra said from her place shooting down Dregs and Vandals that tried to follow Rose up the rocks.

"Come on, come on," Rose hissed and then squeezed the trigger as the Servitor turned toward she just enough for her to land a shot, aiming again as the Servitor spun from the first shot and the Eye was left open to her for a second time.

She fired again only to have her shoot blocked by a Dreg. "Shit!"

"Move Rose! Move!" Vlad yelled and Rose yelped as shrapnel came flying at her, she didn't bother to look before she leapt, somehow able to land on a Vandal's head and knock it over as she snatched up her scout rifle and use that to clear herself a path to cover, ending up back to back with Petra.

"This isn't going as planned." Rose said.

"Never dose." Petra smirked. "Having fun?"

"Ask me again when we are out of here." Rose said as they moved together towards Orion and Vlad.

"Plans?" Orion asked Vlad.

"One." Vlad smiled. "Rose! How's your super?" he yelled.

"Good to go!" Rose yelled as they reached them.

"On three, we cut the little ones down, then Orion and Petra can take out the Servitors." Vlad said, "That should get the comms back."

"Ok, who's three?" Rose asked.

"Mine." Petra said reloading her gun. "One." Rose took a deep breath and closed her eyes. "Two." Vlad adjusted his hood slightly. "Three!"

"For the Reef!"

The Fallen dropped like flies before them, like they had in the Reef wars, the brave fools who tried to stand fell swiftly and those who ran were easy pickings for the Pike riders and the Guardians who had joined them, forcing the Fallen and the Kell back towards the canyons.

Arielle couldn't help but smile, she had missed this kind of fighting. She missed the ability to just throw herself into the fight and use pure strength and skill, to use her bullets as a means to weaken forces in front of her for those behind her as she charged on, killing and maiming without pause as she ripped into the Fallen.

Everything that crossed her line of sight, was hit, be it a killing blow or a glancing injury, she never missed, feeling the energy build and coil in her chest and arms, gathering with each kill and injury she caused as she moved.

Uldren wisely did not let himself get ahead of Arielle as she moved, he'd worked beside her long enough to know that when she started to gather energy like this, he was less likely to get caught in the energy if he was at least a step behind her and judging by the smile on her face, she was not only enjoy this freedom again, but she was also going to cause massive damage.

"Fight back you fools!" Virixis snarled in fury. "Fight back!"

"Arielle."

The Warlock dipped her head in understanding, crossing her arms over her chest and with an all mighty bellow, released the lightning from within and created a broken and cracked circle on the surface of Calisto.

The battle field feel into silence, the Fallen having taken cover cowering in the canyon behind their Kell and two of his Captains while the Awoken fleet and Guardians stood ready to attack should they be needed.

Arielle and Uldren stepped aside as the Queen stepped forwards from the smoke and dust Arielle had kicked up, she waited as the Kell and his Captains regained their vision from the sudden brightness and took some great delight in the look of shock that crossed their faces when they saw her cloak.

{"You wear my House's cloak."} Virixis stated.

{"She cannot understand us my Kell, do not waste your breath."} Irxis said.

Arielle chuckled and began to crack her knuckles while Uldren toyed with his knife, a silent challenge that had come up with in their earliest days together, while their Queen spoke they would show their loyalty to her in silent threats and challenges to anyone who dared to try and seek a way passed them.

"We understand you perfectly, Irxis Wolf Barron," the Queen stated taking delight in the confused and shocked faces of many Fallen around her. "And this is the Banner of the House of Wolves that proceeded you, they came to my Reef and plotted to destroy it, but I will not allow it."

{"How do you speak our Tongue!?"} Irxis snarled in rage.

"You are not the only ones to visit my Reef from your world." The Queen stated and brought her hand up to a handle of a sword, slowly drawing the blade from its sheath.

The handle of the blade was wrapped in soft purple and golden silk that seemed to flutter in an unseen vacuum that kept the blade silent as it was drawn, the blade itself was made of a pure Awoken metal, gave off a strange eerily chilling blue glow from its edges, but down the core of the blade, was an unbearably hot aura.

"I have killed you before, Virixis, Kell of Wolves. And I can do it again, but this time, I shall make it far more painful, for the sins you have committed against my home in your own wretched world, you shall die at the Sword of Tri-herba." She vowed.

Arielle knew that blade well, forged by the rulers of the Awoken Centuries ago, passed down from ruler to ruler until it was lost to the greed and hording nature of the Taishibeth that tried to claim the Reef. Mara Sov and her brother, according to the stories, had gone in to the Raven's nests alone before she had been named Queen and they alone had returned, carrying the stolen sword.

Nothing could break this sword and none survived its deadly cut.

{"You're pathetic toys cannot scare us!"} Irxis snarled.

"Then allow me to sharpen her bite on your hides." The Queen said, with an almost sweet smile. "Come."

Parixas and Irxis charged forwards, meeting Uldren and Arielle head on as their challenge was accepted while Mara Sov and Virixis began to circle each other as the fighting continued around them.

Rose slammed her knife into the head of a Dreg and cut the throat of a Vandal with ease, letting the energy flow through her as she moved, cutting and slicing the Fallen as they came at her until at last the energy left her and she felt someone grab her by the neck of her cloak and yank her backwards out of the line of fire and into the safety of a very large purple dome.

"You ok?" Petra asked.

"I think-Oh tickly again…" Rose said trying to clear her head while shaking it. "How does Arielle get over this so fast?" She asked.

"Practice." Vlad said realizing Rose was in no shape to leave the protection of the dome he took up a defensive crouch next to her. "Stay low, we got this." He assured.

"Ok…" Rose nodded, though she still tried to clear her head of the shakes as she held her scout rifle ready, glad of the bubble that protected them from the worse of the Shrapnel from Skolas' weapons.

"Servitors down! Comm Arielle and the others!" Orion yelled.

"Arielle? Vakarian? Variks? Anyone out there?" Bing called over the comms, "We have a big Fallen Captain in these Tunnels and I think we made him mad."

~ "What does Captain look like?" ~ Variks asked.

"Big, very big! With a large crest like thing and two spikes on his back, he's wearing a mask over his mouth and there are orange things hanging form it." Bing answered.

~ "I shall inform Arielle." ~ Variks stated.

"Bing says they found Skolas!" Vakarian stated.

"Where?" Arielle asked while driving punch after punch rapidly into Parixas's face and head.

"In the tunnels." Vakarian confirmed. "And he says they made him mad."

"Tell the boys to get that fucker up here so I can kill him again." Arielle said driving her knee into Parixas's chin before back flipping away from him and landing with silent grace, sparing a moment to glace at her Queen and her opponent.

The two were almost a blur of movement, cloaks acting as a fabric barrier as sword met claws and guns, bullets seeming to have melted upon leaving the barrel of the Kell's guns while the Queen's side arm remained at her side, untouched as she twisted and swept the blade with the same grace and skill Arielle had seen her use in those few hours when Mara had allowed her to observe her practice.

She looked to Uldren and saw the Prince had thrown his usually careful and calculated stance to the winds as he and Irxis fought like brawlers, fists and feet moving and swiping blows that made bones shake and crack landing upon them both as the two moved constantly, each trying to gain the upper hand.

For a second their eyes met and Uldren shook his head. He needed no help in this fight.

{"Do not take your eyes off me!"} Irxis snarled in fury as she swung at Uldren again.

~ "Delivery!" ~ A voice yelled across the comms and from under the feet of the Awoken army, a very large and familiar Fallen was knocked into the sky and then fell unhindered to the ground.

"Nice hit." Vlad said dusting his hands off as Orion stood rubbing his knuckles, having punched Skolas with his best hand and knocked him out of the cave roof and out into the battle.

"Damn fool! You nearly brought the cave in on us!" Petra growled helping Rose to her feet now the Hunter was able to stand again.

"Could have, but didn't, now, where'd he land?" Orion asked. "Arielle will be pissed if I killed him with that."

"You didn't." Wrex said. "He's still pissed with us." He added.

"Ok, so we just make sure he's tender when Ari gets him." Vlad chuckled. "Come on."

"Looks like the Party started without us." Sovereign stated with something like a chuckle.

"Fucker! Get back here!" Orion snarled as Skolas seemed to vanish away. "Son of a bitch!"

"Well, we have plenty of Fallen to go around." Vlad smiled. "Hey Orion! First one to hundred dead Fallen choses our next destination." He called.

"You're on!" Orion shouted needing something to kill now he had lost Skolas

"Rose…" Bing said quietly as Rose dropped to a knee and took aim at a Vandal trying to snipe from the rocks. "Rose."

"Just a sec Bing." Rose assured reloading her rifle and slammed the butt into the face of a Dreg and then finished it with her knife. "What's up?"

"On the cliffs! Look!" Bing said and Rose turned, scanning the cliffs and spotting three Fallen Walkers stomping into place. "How do we get up there?"

"Easy, but you are not gonna like it." Rose said, seeing a shaky pathway to get to a suitable place.

"I don't like this plan." Bing admitted.

"That's why you aren't staying out here. Come on." Rose said taking hold of Bing and pulling him into her armour.

Petra saw the Ghost flutter away and then watched as Rose took off running through the battle field, using her scout rifle and knife to cut her way past the Fallen that didn't move in time before she started to scramble up a broken wall of rocks and jumped to a less than safe ledge seconds before it fell she jumped again and pressed herself into the limited cover it gave her.

"Cover Fire!" She yelled seeing what she was doing, and seeing the Fallen already trying to bring her down. "Cover the Hunter!" She yelled again and hit her comms. "Arielle you got three walkers above you! Watch your ass!" she warned.

"Understood." Arielle said. "Uldren! Walkers up top!" she yelled.

"Oh joy." Uldren growled, and took a moment to serve the situation, Arielle was whipping the floor with Parixas for lack of a better words; she had knocked his weapons out of his reach and was taking her sweet time beating the Captain brutally with her fists. He and Irxis were still brawling, they were evenly matched at the moment, unable to gain an advantage or ultimately end their fight and it was becoming tiresome. Through the small gaps and split seconds he was able to catch a glimpse of his Queen through the fabric dome she and Virixis had formed as they found he could see no injury to her but he knew she had landed at least one solid hit to the Kell, the Fallen blood at their feet proved that.

Something tickled the back of his neck and he had just enough time to roll out of the way as the ground where he had been stood erupted in shrapnel and dirt.

"Your dance partner is here." He stated.

"Good." Arielle growled and grabbed Parixas's head, twisting it violently to the left.

The snap that echoed seemed to anger the Baroness and Skolas, both of whom gave a savage snarl while Irxis tried to charge Arielle only for Uldren to sweep her legs and once again become to focus of the Baroness' fury.

{"You will suffer for that, Guardian."} Skolas hissed.

"I've heard that before." Arielle hissed back. "Vakarian."

"Got it." The Ghost pinged.

Orion and Vlad looked up as they heard a familiar melody echo from their comms as they covered Rose as she fired on the Walkers above the Queen alongside several other Snipers. "Ari's mad." The Titan said.

"Very mad." Vlad nodded taking out his rocket Launcher. "Rockets!" he yelled in warning as he fired at the exposed heating coils on the first Walker, watching it stagger and fall from the cliff edge. "Whoooo!"

"One down two to go! Keep on 'em!" Petra yelled. "For the Reef!" she bellowed as there was an echo of cheers behind her.

Rose sighed in relief and scanned the area readying to start firing on another Walker when she spotted the flutter of cloaks on the ground and several barrels aimed at the fast moving fabric of the Queen and Kell. "Oh no! Ari-AHHHH!" She screamed as a rocket slammed into the rocks beside her and brought her and part of the ledge down.

"Rose!" Vlad yelled watching the rocks hit the ground but Rose, somehow had managed to grab the cliff and stop herself from falling, those her right arm was hanging limp and smoking at her side.

"Rose! You're hurt!" Bing said in panic.

"Stay inside!" She hissed, "Stay inside my armour! You're safe there!"

"But you're hurt…" Bing said. "I can heal you!"

"Stay inside!" Rose growled. "It's not safe." She added. "Not yet."

"Rose, drop down!" Vlad yelled up. "I'll catch you!"

Rose nodded and after taking a breath to calm her nerves she let go and fell, stopping second before she hit the ground and let Vlad carry her to the safety of a rocked shelter. "What happened?"

"The Fallen are using Scorch Cannons." Vlad stated, "You ok?"

"I'll live," Rose assured. "How are we doing?" She asked.

"We're not dead, so that's good." Vlad assured. "Did you see anything else up there?" he asked.

"Lots of Fallen. The Queen's in the line of fire of snipers, you have to warn her!" Rose said.

"On it." Vlad said, opening his comm. "Arielle! Snipers above you! They're aiming at the Queen!"

"Shit!" Arielle snarled back flipping to avoid the heavy fists about to slam down on her as she switched channel. "Carpet the cliffs! Now!"

~ "Yes ma'am." ~

"We got Crows incoming!" Arielle yelled in warning.

"Defenders up!" a voice yelled and many void domes suddenly appeared, quickly filling with injured Awoken as the Crow ships darted overhead, opening fire with their mounted cannons and turrets, taking out Fallen with ease but also causing the already unstable cliffs to shake and crumble.

"We must move!" Uldren yelled, seeing his Queen bring her sword in a steep arching swing and cut deep into Virixis chest again only this time she also removed one of his primary arms with her swing.

"Go!" She yelled and used the Kell as a spring board as she moved, hearing Uldren at last gain an advantage against Irxis and deliver a bone breaking blow to her face before preforming a tactical retreat behind her.

"Arielle!"

"Ari get outta there!"

Arielle growled, she wanted to end this before it become too much, she had no desire to see her world go the same way Rose's had gone, and if they lost this fight, something told her that would be the outcome and so, she would finish this fight now she had to make sure none of the Wolves survived.

She and Skolas charged each other again,

"Arielle!" Vakarian yelled. "Ari we have to go!"

"Not yet." Arielle stated.

"Ari it's not safe! We'll be crushed!" Vakarian yelled again. "Arielle!"

"You can revive me." Arielle stated coldly.

"Arielle!?" Uldren yelled. "Come on!"

"What has gotten into her?!" Petra yelled.

~ "The Sword is planning to end Skolas herself once again." ~ Variks stated over the comms. ~ "She is building up her Arc Energy." ~

"Orion?!" Vlad yelled as the Titan burst from his dome and made a beeline for Arielle, "Orion you can't build up another charge so soon!"

"Yes I can!" Orion yelled back as he ran, grabbing up small balls of light that had gathered around the edges of shrinking domes feeling the charge building again in his body as he got closer and close to Arielle. "Just a little more."

Skolas gave a bellowing, agonized howl as his body was struck from all sides, the sheer force of the impact throwing him into the rapidly falling rocks of the cliff the last thing he saw before his world went dark was the storm caller falling from the air limply.

The tingling tension of the air as the dust slowly settled made everyone uncomfortable. No one could see anything, no one knew who had lived or died. Uldren felt something tighten in his chest, his Queen was safe, but where was her Sword? Where was Arielle? He looked around the rocks looking for any sign of her.

"Sovereign?" Vlad asked as he and Rose slipped past the gathered Awoken and the Ghost bounced in a nod racing over to the pile of rocks scanning them and searching them for something only a Ghost could find while Vlad followed him.

Bing scanned and rescanned Rose's arm, even as the Hunter searched the base of the collapsed rocks for any sign of their missing friends.

"Got 'em. Start digging here!" Sovereign stated and Vlad nodded heaving lose rocks and boulders aside as he worked, hearing Bing bleeping and chiming beside him as Rose scrambled up and helped him dig, until they slide down with the rocks to show a small but clear void dome.

"Took your fucking time." Orion stated as he heaved himself out of the hole they had made. "Help me with Ari." He added and Rose reached in and carefully helped to heave the somewhat sluggish and panting Warlock from the dome.

"Are you ok?" Rose asked.

"Never better. Just very worn out." Arielle nodded with a tired smile. "You're arm." She added.

"Bing healed it, I'm ok." Rose assured. "But you look like you need a long sleep." She added.

"Nah, I'm ok." Arielle tried to say as she tried to stand up on her own and then fell back into Orion. "Oh, ok, maybe not so ok."

"You over charged," Vlad chuckled. "Not like you to get so worked up." He added.

"Hush you," Arielle said and delivered a light punch to Vlad's head.

"Ow." Vlad chuckled. "Come on, let's get out of here before the rocks fall on us."

"Might knock some sense into us if they did." Orion chuckled, helping Arielle stand again. "And who knows might even give you an excuse to change your paint job."

"Hey lay off my paint, it keeps the ladies at bay." Vlad said.

"What ladies?" Sovereign asked not so innocently and then hid behind Rose as Vlad glared at him. "Can't hurt me, you'll upset Rose." He added earing a laugh from them all.

Uldren managed to keep himself from speaking as he watched the scene from beside his Queen. It had been years since he'd seen or even heard Arielle laugh so freely, even longer since he'd seen her smile.

"She is no longer yours." His Queen stated but there was something to her words that almost, almost resembled regret.

"I," Uldren began then stopped for a long time, just watching as Arielle was tended and checked by her friends, he wanted to say something to her, but it that moment, he couldn't see any way or reason to justify is intrusion into their time.

"I understand." He said at last and bowed his head.

The Queen nodded.

~ "My Queen, My Kell, the Fallen are retreating. They report the dead of the Kell and his Captains." ~ Variks stated over the comms. ~ "Your orders?" ~

"Stay on the comms Variks and have Petra organize a party and search the rubble, I want confirmation that they are all dead." The Queen answered. "My army shall return to their ships and recover, those who are not in need of immediate care will remain on the ground until we are sure this is over."

~ "Yes My Queen. My Kell." ~ Variks said.

"Come, my Shield. My Sword will return when she is rested." The Queen stated and after a powerful sweep of her blade to clean the edge of blood, she sheathed it.

"Ow, ow and ow again." Terrik groaned.

"Oh stop complaining and hold still." Zaragosa-40 said as he tended their friend. "Its just a little scratch," he added.

"It a fucking scorch cannon blast! It hurts like hell!" Terrik yelled. "OW!"

"Keep still and it won't hurt so much."

Lindor smiled, resting heavily against the Tower Wall as she panted, her team safe and so were thousands of others thanks to the fast actions of another fireteam on the way into the Tower.

The House of Devils had amassed huge numbers overnight it seemed and had charged the city walls, in a rather bold move to try and take out the tower with seemingly renewed vigour and it had only been the warning from the incoming Fire team that the Guardians had been able to swiftly respond and keep them away and drive them back after hours of fighting.

There were casualties, she knew that from the reports coming in from her Ghost, but their losses had been minor in comparison to the Fallen she'd seen them coming in waves and retreating in small groups, meaning that they would be back at another time likely to try again.

"The Vanguard were right, we are going to be facing tougher challenges now that the Darkness from Rose's world is coming here." She said.

"So what do we do? I mean if this all started because of Rose showing up, how do we stop it?" Zaragosa asked.

"I'm not sure. But right now, let's just focus on keeping the City safe and making sure no one else is hurt." Lindor said.

"Where are Arielle and the others?" Terrik asked.

~ "They went to the Reef to help the Queen, Rose went with them." ~ Ikora stated over their comms. ~ "Return to the Tower, all of you, we are sending a team to replace you while you recover and heal." ~

"Why do I get the feeling the City is about to have a huge influx of Guardians?" Terrik asked.

"Because it is." Lindor assured. "Let's go."

"Reports from the scouts indicate that Skolas, Irxis, Parixas and Virixis are dead my Queen." Petra said, "They are bringing the dead bodies here for your verification and so that Variks may confirm any differences in these wolves from the last." She added.

"Very well, insure that they are dealt with when Variks is finished with them." The Queen said. "Then go and have your injuries seen too."

"Yes My Queen." Petra nodded and bowed before leaving, passing Variks as he entered the throne room likely to give his own report.

Entering the medical area, she spotted Arielle and Orion being checked over along with Rose as Vlad carefully removed small grains of sand and dirt from Vakarian's shell with a small brush, Bing was settled in Rose's lap while Wrex and Sovereign floated overhead, content it seemed to just relax for a moment. She smiled somewhat as she watched Bing float up and inspect Rose's arm himself as her doctor finished his work and moved onto Petra, it seemed that the little Ghost was always worried for his Guardian despite the care others gave her.

"So, we beat the Wolves, now what?" Orion asked rolling his shoulders and neck slowly. "Are we just going to stay here and wait for the next attack?"

"We didn't kill all of the Wolves, so I doubt the Queen will be too happy, but knowing the history between the Reef and the Fallen, I don't doubt we will soon have more bounties to take from Petra." Vlad said nodding to her.

She nodded. "We will start hunting as soon as Variks has had a look at the dead ones to see if we need to upgrade weapons or armour." She explained. "No telling what differences these Fallen have to our normal ones."

"I don't think they are any all that different," Rose said, "just that the Fallen I know are bigger and more aggressive, and they have nasty breath." She added.

"Variks will confirm everything he needs to and then he'll likely start asking about the Fallen Houses from your world more, so if he suddenly appears at your side while you are trying to work or just as you are about to open a door you'll know what he wants. Just don't leave a door unlocked if you are working alone and he'll leave you be," Arielle said. "He walked in on me while I was adjusting a plan and nearly lost his head."

"I bet that made someone laugh." Vlad stated with a glance towards the throne room and Arielle chuckled.

"There is a reason he knocks on the doors now," She smiled.

"The Variks in our world always startled people, the fact he spoke so well and dared to tell Guardians to stop staring at the Queen was usually enough to make Guardians move on." Bing admitted. "I don't think he really liked none Awoken Guardians."

"Any reason why he liked the Awoken ones?" Orion asked.

"Because we didn't stare at the Queen and whisper about her." Rose said, "Heck one glance in her direction and we knew better than to stare, she was the Queen, the one person beside the Vanguard who could tell us what to do and we'd do it." She added.

"You'd have followed her if she asked you too? Even though you are a Hunter?" Vlad asked.

"Why does my class matter more than my race?" Rose asked, "The Queen ruled the Awoken and even though she hadn't always been so welcoming of strangers to the Reef, she didn't banish or forbid us from it and every Awoken knew that any trip to the Reef was only allowed because the Prince had his Crows watching your every move from start to finish."

"And that wouldn't have bothered you?" Vlad asked. "Knowing you were being watched at all times? No offence to those present but the Awoken Race confuses me sometimes, you live both on Earth and here in the Reef and yet there seems to be two groups of you, one for each place and you rarely seem to mix unless the Queen calls on you and even then, some of you have chosen to stay on Earth."

"Better to be watched and seen to be a visitor with no ill intention than not have someone watching and get a knife to the back if how we of the Reef live." Arielle stated and Orion nodded. "Because we live so close to the end edge of the Light's reach, many do not think we are trustworthy so we live in secrete and keep to ourselves or at least we did until after the Reef wars."

"Makes sense." Vlad said.

"And those of us who live on Earth, like me, chose to be less privet, we are more willing to co-exist with Exos and Humans because we chose to stay close to the Light and some of us do believe that as long as the Awoken are seen on earth, people will be more accepting of us and feel less like we as a whole are some kind of scary race of people that hide in the shadows like Xür and any other Agents of the Nine." Orion added. "But ultimately if the Queen calls on us, we will come and fight for her, but when she no longer needs us we leave. That way, no one argues over space and the Queen doesn't have to worry about accommodating a sudden influx of Awoken."

"Which keeps everyone happy." Petra smiled. "Speaking of the Nine, what do you think they will make of all this?"

"No idea, but knowing them, they'll be all cloak and dagger about it," Orion said, then quickly held up his hands. "No offence." He added.

"None taken." Rose said and Vlad nodded. "But to be honest, I don't think they can really do anything. I mean, the only thing I know for sure about the Nine in my world was that they had an Agent who use to sell wears in the Tower at some point and then he just, vanished." She said, "never heard much about them when I was there and what I did hear was all 'he says and she says' nothing was really certain."

"Same here, no one knows much about the Nine and the only person who could tell us anything isn't due back to the Tower for another three days." Arielle said. "And even then, he doesn't always answer the question with a straight answer."

"Like most secretive people do." Bing said. "Like that strange Exo Lady on Venus." He added.

Arielle looked at Bing, he'd mentioned an Exo Lady on Venus before but in all the footage they had watched of Rose's training, they had no seen a female Exo at all, she'd have said something but at that moment the Prince stepped into the room and waved her over.

"The Queen wishes to see the four of you." He said, "And the Balls." He added.

"He doesn't like us, does he?" Bing asked.

"No he doesn't, but I recall he isn't allowed to call us that." Vakarian said and looked at Arielle, "May I please tell him where to stuff it?"

"No. You may not." Arielle said standing and smiled as Vakarian gave an annoyed huff. "You can do it if he calls you it again before we leave. Come on."

"Thank you." Vakarian said and floated after Arielle.

"What do you think we did to make him angry?" Wrex asked Sovereign.

"I'm not sure, but he didn't look happy." Sovereign said. "Maybe he got bad news from the scouts?"

"Hush." Orion hissed softly as they entered the throne room, each Ghost respectfully taking a place beside their Guardian's heads.

The Queen was sat central in her throne with her arms resting on the armrests and her back straight rather than her usually relaxed position Vlad had seen her take in those few visits to the throne room on the outpost and she seemed unsettled with what was being told to her by Variks as the Fallen Vandal spoke quietly of something he couldn't quite make out.

She waved the Vandal back for the moment and focused on them, cold blue eyes giving away nothing as she sat with little emotion upon her face as she waited for them to come closer, though he thought he caught a small smile as she saw Arielle was walking and apparently unharmed.

"I trust you have all been tended for your injuries." She began, more of a statement than a question and after a nod from Arielle, she continued. "We have news from the field, the Wolves have scattered as they did before, but this time they have no potential Kells to follow. Thanks in no small part to your actions today and the help you gave." She said.

"It was our duty." Arielle stated and while she knew she only spoke for herself, Orion and Rose, she caught Vlad's slight dip of the head in the corner of her eye to show he counted himself in that statement.

There was silence for a time and Arielle realized something wasn't being said. "What's happened?" She asked.

"We have heard of a second attack, much larger and greater against the City by the House of Devils." The Queen stated and heard a soft but alarmed bleep from one of the Ghosts, "There were minor loses to your fellow Guardians, but the House of Devils is still a large threat." She added.

"They must have blocked all comms from the City." Sovereign said, "No way Ikora, Cayde and Zavala wouldn't have commed at least one of us to say something had happened." He added.

"There was mention of damage to the communication device, but it is being fixed from what Variks could make out of the broken message we are receiving," Uldren said. "They have begun to broad cast a looped message, likely to test their signal and channel security."

Arielle looked at Variks, who opened a loud comm.

~ "Can anyone *static* Ikora Ray of Tower one. *hiss-pop-pop-hiss* Vanguard calling all Guardians. Please respond… All Guardians *static-hiss-pop-pop* House of Devils at-t-tack. On the Walls. All Guardians please respond." ~

"If the Devils attacked the walls, they must have gotten help." Vlad said, "They haven't tried a full scale attack for two years."

"We do not think they are all the same Devils you have faced before." The Queen stated and looked at Rose. "Your information mentioned only two Houses at strength." She said.

Rose nodded. "The House of Wolves and The House of Devils. Winter and Kings were taken out by the Tai Ravens and Hunter Patrols, Exile held out until Crota woke. You saw what happened House Judgment."

"The other Houses? Rain, Stone, Scar?" Variks asked.

Rose shook her head, "According to the Variks I knew, Scar and Stone were killed off by the Kings and Winter before the Fallen reached Earth, Rain was lost in the Whirlwind."

"So there are some similarities in the history of your world and ours." The Prince said. "What else do you know of the history before you." he asked, if this Hunter could tell them of her whole history they could find what was different and insure they did not make the same mistakes and lose everything they had.

"Personally I don't know any of it, but I do have the basic history from the Speaker on Data file." Rose said and after a nod from Arielle she searched her belt pouches and opened a small data pad, "The Fallen came to Earth first, the Devils attacked and killed off everyone left in the Cosmadrone, they made it their strong hold and since then the Devils have been the last City's biggest threat on Earth. The Hive were found after a shuttle crashed on the Moon and after crew and passengers went missing they sent two fire teams in to search out the problem."

"Eris Morn." Arielle said.

Rose nodded. "Six went in but only one came out, Eris was a wreck in my world the ball she has here was tiny where I am from, no bigger than the eye of a normal Ghost and she was always warning others about what was happening on the Moon, what she knew was coming, but with the Devils attacking without pause and the call for the Awoken to go to the Reef for the Queen, the Vanguard couldn't spare the Fire teams to go and investigate right away. It was only after the Wizards started showing up on Earth that Zavala himself went to the Moon with three other Titans, in his absence we lost the walls and the Last City was over run." She explained then went back to the pad. "After Zavala's rescue from the Hell Mouth by Lord Shaxx and Lord Saladin, the war took a much worse turn the Wolves attacked the Reef with everything they had and in that battle, the Awoken forces and people were left in ruin, the Queen, Variks the Loyal, Petra Venj and a small number of her Guard were able to escape at the cost of the Prince's life and the loss of the Outpost."

"What of the Scatter?" The Queen asked.

"I have no information on that. Only Cayde and Ikora were privy to that information, Zavala was so focused on winning the Earth back he did not attended the meeting between the Vanguard and Petra about it and the Speaker was too scared to leave his room by the time the Queen arrived, trying to focus the dying light of the Traveller into a new form to try and save it."

"But it did happen." The Queen said.

"Petra mentioned it. But she never had time to tell me about it in detail." Rose nodded.

"Hmm." Uldren said thinking over all he had heard so far. "Who planned the attack to try and regain the Reef?" he asked.

"According to this, Petra, Variks and the Queen planned the attack, with the help of Eris Morn, Ikora and the Techeuns. The plan was to go in with all the fire power they could gather and act as distraction to the Wolves while the Techeuns prepared to use the Harbingers. It would have worked, if the Taishibeth hadn't swooped in and taken out the Techeuns." Vlad stated reading over Rose's shoulder. "And it was after that fight that the Queen fell into silence."

"Silence?" Uldren asked.

"She spoke only to Petra and Cayde when he brought reports about the Reef. But beyond that, the Queen spoke to no one." Rose said, "When I came to the tower for the first time, I had no idea she was there, not until I'd found Cayde and he told me to report to Petra and have my name added to the list of Awoken."

"You had a list of Awoken?" Orion asked.

"Two hundred and five Reef born ninety four Earth born including Guardians." Rose nodded. "Petra wasn't happy with the numbers but whatever she was planning it was enough to at least keep her going. Some Guardians weren't even fighting even with orders, Ikora said it was because they'd lost all hope."

"And you kept going." Uldren stated coldly and in some disbelief. "Despite your clear doom, you kept fighting." He added, wanting to see if this Hunter would crack.

"I believed we had a reason to keep fighting." Rose said. "Cayde said there was still light somewhere in the Traveler and that meant there was still hope. Hope was a reason to fight."

"Foolishness." Uldren said ignoring the glare he got from Orion and Vlad in response. "You said yourself your world knew it was doomed, why keep fighting if you know you lose?"

"Would you say the same if it was your Queen instead of the Traveler who was dying?" Rose asked and the room suddenly went very quiet, she knew she'd just verbally challenged the Prince and to anyone watching, she had also just threatened the Queen, but at that moment in time, Rose wasn't thinking about what anyone else thought, if the prince wanted to poke at her world's flaws, he was going to get the honest and raw truths from Rose even if it meant she wasn't welcome back to the Reef afterwards.

Arielle wanted to step in, but a gloved hand stopped her and instead Vlad shook his head and nodded to the Queen who rather than step in, had focused on Rose and her brother, silently listening to what was said and looked to her brother.

"A valid question," Variks said quietly then when the Prince glared at him the Queen spoke.

"You have been asked a Question, Answer it."

"My Queen?" he asked.

"You were asked a Question, to which there is a simple answer. The Queen wishes to know the answer," Mara Sov stated. "Or shall the Hunter elaborate further?" She added and turned her gaze back to Rose.

The Prince gritted his teeth and turned back to Rose himself, angry, but not willing to be beaten by the Guardian. "Explain your question girl. Carefully." He growled, wanting nothing more than to somehow cause the Hunter some pain physically.

"To the Awoken, the Queen is their leader and the reason they live, in that regard, she is the Awoken Equivalent to the Traveler. If she were the one dying, if the Reef was at the point of collapse and ruin, would you still call the will to fight for that small chance she would live foolishness?" Rose repeated her question. "Tell me, Prince Uldren, if Queen Mara Sov, your Queen and sister was the one dying of poison from the Darkness and all her people lay in ruin and despair around her, save a small handful who still fought for her name and honour, would you call their will to serve her foolishness?"

Uldren went very quiet, gritting his teeth as he realized not only had the Hunter cornered him verbally, but he was also now in a tight situation, no matter the answer, he was going to have a lot of explaining to do in private with his sister afterwards he knew that, but he also knew his answer would possibly push Arielle to remain away from the Reef again.

"Answer the Question, Uldren." Arielle said. "Or have you no words?" she asked.

"My loyalty lies with the Queen, and a sister." He said at last, knowing any other answer would not leave him in the best light of his Queen or Arielle.

"Then do not label me a fool when you know you would be no different if you were in my place." Rose stated, knowing he hadn't given her the honest answer for whatever reason.

"Please, continue your history." The Queen stated and watched as Rose searched her data file for a moment and found where she had left off, likely unaware that Variks under her instruction had already wirelessly downloaded everything from her Ghost and other devices since they had arrived and for every detail she gave, the Vandal was verifying for her with a subtle shift of weight or movement of his staff.

Despite the lack of seeing it all herself, Rose's accounts tallied up with what Variks had already read and told her and by the end of it, the Queen knew she would have a lot of work to do to keep her people and her Reef safe.

"You may return to your Tower as your fellow guardians have, but know that I may call upon you again and expect you all to answer." She said after a moment of silence waving them off.

"Of course, Your Grace." Arielle smiled and lead them out.

Variks watched them leave and then turned to the Queen and bowed, "What would you ask of me, My Queen. My Kell?" he asked.

"Prepare a message for broadcast, in your native tongue, I want these Fallen to hear their own kind that this Reef will not fall to them, not now nor ever. It belongs to me and I will not give it to anyone." She said. "And insure that the message is head by all Fallen. From Wolves to Devils, tell them we are not weak and we will fight for what is ours."

"Yes My Queen. My Kell."

"Rose, do you know what you just did?" Orion asked with a chuckle.

"Verbally challenged the Prince and threatened the Queen?" Rose answered, "I don't know what came over me…" she admitted.

"Whatever it was, it's good and it proves you aren't just going to let Uldren push you around," Arielle said smiling as she ruffled Rose's hair. "You just did something only the Queen has been able to do and make Uldren think twice about his words." She added.

"You've never done that before?" Rose asked.

"No." Arielle shook her head, "And unless I miss read the Queen's face, which I doubt, she likes you."

"Really?" Rose asked.

Arielle nodded. "We better head home, no doubt Ikora's worried about us." She added, "And maybe on the way, we might get a good chance of racing."

Bing's eye lit up and he hovered in front of Rose's face. "Please, please, please, please, please, please! I wanna see how fast our new ship goes, oh please, please can we race, please?"

Rose smiled, "If we lose you are recharging on the table."

"Deal." Bing bounced in the air.