A/N; I am so so sorry for the wait on this! As I was writing this, the holidays were picking up where I work, and that has lead to a lot of stress. Thankfully, retail's version of Hell is over for a bit, so I was able to sit down and finally hammer out this bad boy in a few days. I made it extra long too to try and make up for the wait. As always, I hope you all enjoy it!
Chapter Five: The Hunt
All Guardians feel fear; at least the good ones. The ones that don't usually end up dead. There's a reason why only a select few live past their tenth year as a warrior for the Light. -Anonymous
"Nate, I need that Arc Blade of yours up right now!"
"I don't have the Light I need yet! Twenty seconds tops!"
"Damn it! Zack, where's your Nova Bomb?"
"Not enough Light, Sasha."
The exchange was one of several that had gone through the comms in the past several minutes since a veritable horde of Hive had shown up. Sasha had wanted to reinvestigate Crota's sanctum since it was where the Hive matron had taken such offense to Guardians being. The place had been dead on my trip through, but now with the entire fireteam present, the ugly creatures had suddenly decided to come out in droves. We rapidly found out that, while Thralls didn't have guns, their talons were covered in the same sickly green color of the wounds I'd received. From then on, Thralls were the first ones to go down, followed rapidly by any Knights wanting to drop into a melee, and then the rest of the Hive. Even Wizards were taking a backseat to their subordinates now, which was ludicrous. At least they weren't summoning shadowed Thralls anymore with the Taken subdued.
Not that it mattered much to be thinking about that while huddled behind some rocks. Felix, his bulky armor beside me, was leaning out to take down a small group of Thralls that had been continuously trying to force us out of cover. He plastered himself back behind cover as Acolytes returned fire. The Sunbreaker had yet to use the most dangerous weapon in his arsenal of weapons: the Gjallarhorn. I had seen him use it before in several Crucible matches. The rocket launcher itself was a piece of art; forged from the armor of several fallen Titans after the Battle of Twilight Gap. But what made the Gjallarhorn truly amazing was the shells it fired. Upon detonation they split into multiple homing explosives, seeking out more enemies to destroy. It made crowd control that much easier, as well as dealing with larger threats efficiently. However Sasha had ordered us all from the beginning to leave our heaviest weapons in reserve unless we needed them direly. Judging from Sasha's lack of an order, this situation did not count as being dire. What perplexed me was why she was requesting our super abilities as opposed to our weapons. We all had syntheses at will; surely that made our heavy ammo less valuable?
But it wasn't my place to question how she led. The rest of Spearhead obviously trusted her, and I wasn't about to disobey the fireteam leader. So instead I leaned out on the other side of the rock and fired off a couple of rounds, adding my own gunfire to the cacophony already present. With each enemy that went down, another seemed to take its place. Just went I thought I was going to have to have Ghost grab me a synthesis, movement from Sasha caught my eye. The Gunslinger had clearly had enough. With a loud crack, a revolver of flame materialized in her hand, flames licking her figure. In the oppressing dark of the Pit of the Moon, she became a beacon of light, and there was no mercy to be seen in her movements. She turned the corner and fired one shot, reducing one Acolyte to ash and causing an explosion that took out two more. Her second shot found a group of Thrall shrieking and running towards Jesse and Maria's group. The explosion tore them apart and reduced them to smoking chitin. Sasha's last two shots found a Knight. I was shocked as he practically ate the first fiery bolt, but the second one reduced him to cinders. Unconsciously, Spearhead had rallied to provide her covering fire when she stepped around her rock. These Guardians had been through enough trials that they had a system and an unconscious instinct of how to work together. It filled me with a new level of respect - and worry. I had a lot to live up to.
Sasha's display with her Golden Gun seemed to break the backs of the Hive. With fading screams and howls, the remaining resistance fell back into the shadows. The gun disintegrated from her hands and Sasha breathed out a long breath of relief.
"Status, team?"
Everyone gave her the green light, much to her continued relief and my own. Just one bullet wound had been taxing enough on Jesse. An entire fireteam to heal was going to strain his Light to its absolute limit if it came down to that. His brother, I knew, would help out when it was needed. When the Hive had started rushing us in large numbers, Sasha had had him and his Ghost focus on his Void abilities. All Guardians had an affinity with all of the different specialties of our classes. However all Guardians also had a special link with one of the specialties in particular. That link made it easier to call upon the abilities of that element. Sunsinger abilities would be harder for Zack to channel, whereas Jesse would be able to do it with more ease. Regardless, we were unharmed for the moment at least.
"Let's get going, Spearhead. It's a long trek to the bridge, and this time we won't have lamps to guide us."
Our Ghosts materialized to guide or ways, seven beams of light slicing through the darkness. The echoing of Hive far off still lingered, sending my senses into overdrive. Like before, the entire place felt wrong. However, it had felt like that Darkness was abating when I went down. Now it felt like the power of it was creeping back up. It wasn't near enough to drain the Light we had or stop us from harnessing that power, but it was enough that it felt like it would be more difficult to use our abilities.
"Sasha, remember when we went down into the Dreadnaught's dungeon to fight the Darkblade?" Jesse questioned with a clear grimace.
"Clear as day. You and Felix wouldn't shut up about Sparrow Racing."
Maria and Nate shared a snicker at Sasha's recap, while I could just tell that Jesse was glaring at the three of them, despite the helmet hiding his expression.
"Putting that aside, the atmosphere here is just like it was down there. It's harder for Raven to regenerate my grenades. And it's not as easy for me to summon my flames either. We should use our abilities sparingly."
So I wasn't the only one having a hard time with my equipment then. Ghost had been straining to replenish both my smoke bombs and my Voidwall grenade the entire fight. Perhaps it wasn't so strange for me to think using our heavy weapons would be a wise move first if it got tough, as opposed to throwing around our supers off the bat. Though Sasha was clearly trying to hide it, the Darkness around us had taken more of a toll for using her Golden Gun than she was letting on if the slight droop of her posture was any hint. The fireteam leader fell silent for a moment before nodding.
"Yeah, I can feel it too. We'll switch up our strategy. Heavy weapons at the ready then. Felix, I want you to save your ammo until we really need it. I only want one heavy weapon to open up at a time. Cass, your gun will be our first wave. Then we'll have Nate, Maria, Zack, myself, and Jesse use ours in that order when you run dry, and only when the situations calls for it. Felix, I'll tell you when I want you to bring out your Gjallarhorn. Now let's move," she repeated, taking point as she reloaded her Hawkmoon with a flourish. The rest of us followed along and fell into formation. Both Jesse and Zack were in the middle with Felix and Maria on either side of them. That left Nate and I to take the rear. The piles of Hive blood and bodies did nothing to sooth my growing anxiety. When I'd been here, the place had been nearly dead. Though there were still Hive present in the depths, they were scattered and unorganized. A threat to be sure, but not one as cohesive and oppressing as it was now.
The rest of the team was silent as we made our ways along the path. The only reason I could tell they were uneasy was the tightening of muscles when a long howl sounded in the dark. With how big the chamber was, the sound could have come from anywhere. Yet nothing disturbed us on our trek, a fact that became more and more troubling. The Hive knew we were here. Their matron probably knew we were here. Yet aside from the welcoming committee, there wasn't anything to stop us. From the uneasy noise Maria made, it was clear the Titan was having similar thoughts.
"This isn't right. We should be up to our necks in Hive right now, but there's nothing here."
Sasha held up a fist to halt the group, turning almost at once to look at me.
"Cass, let's get a lay of the land. This hill is the final stretch before we hit the bridge. It would be the perfect place for an ambush, and they have the high ground. Take Zack with you. If you get into trouble, he can at least stop them with a Nova Bomb. You have the light for it now, Zack?" A short nod was her response, and she continued immediately after, "only use the bomb if you feel you have no other choice. Since it's harder for us to harness our Light down here, we'll have to use it sparingly. I have a feeling that's only going to get worse the further in we go. For now, we'll focus on the immediate threat. Get going you two."
"Watch your back, Zack," Jesse added in, the comment betraying his own concern. Zack had to be smiling as he nudged his brother and nodded before the pair of us began up the hill. When we were about halfway up the pit-filled path, I halted Zack as I pulled a smoke bomb from my pocket. My Ghost immediately knew that I meant to use it for camouflage and adjusted it accordingly. While the poison was great at getting enemies out from cover, it was not the most beneficial setting to be using poison in at the moment. Without another thought I tossed it at the ground, enveloping the both of us in cloaking nanites. Near invisible now, we made our way up to the hill to the a rock that had a view on the last two lamps. Like Sasha had predicted, a small army of Hive awaited the seven of us. This time, however, there were two Wizards. Both commanded ten Thralls a piece, eight Acolytes, and two Knights acted as backups. Two of the Knights had swords, and I almost felt the burning from their swords cut through my chest piece yet again. The other two had Arc Canons, which made them, arguably, the bigger threats. A dark frown tugged at my lips. This was going to turn into a mess.
We retreated down the hill in silence, our invisibility running out seconds after we backed away from the top of the hill. The group was where we had left them, waiting in tense silence for our report.
"Ambush," I offered as Sasha came into hearing range. "Lots of Hive up top, including two Wizards this time. What do you want to do?"
The fireteam leader hummed in thought.
"Do you have your Shadowshot prepared, Cass?"
I nodded as an answer and she chuckled gleefully before motioning to Felix.
"Ladies and gentlemen, here's what we're doing. We need to break back into Crota's lair sooner rather than later. We don't have time to continuously get into prolonged firefights. So while we cover you, Cass, you're going to use that Shadowshot of yours to tether as many of the ugly bastards as you can. When you do that, Felix, you're going to pull out that lovely Gjallarhorn of yours and put the trapped ones down while we focus on the ones not tied down. Should take less than a minute. Let's do this!"
Once again her strategy had changed. The doctrine for combat she'd laid down had changed twice, and I was beginning to think she liked improvisation rather than a solid plan. I wasn't sure if I was comfortable with that. I knew for a fact my Ghost wasn't a fan of the plan since I would literally be hanging out in the open air like a piñata. But everyone else was readying their weapons. Nobody spoke up against the idea. Taking that as confidence, I took a deep breath and readied myself, feeling the hum of power rippling through my body as my Light responded to the tugs on its threads.
A second later, I was running up the hill.
Spearhead was at my back, their pounding footfalls giving me a measure of comfort. At the crest of the hill, I leapt up with two hops, expending a bit of Light for that extra height. At once I felt that power explode within me as I summoned my Void Bow. Twisting the ninety degrees to catch sight of the large group, I pulled the string back and sighted my target: the wizard furthest from our group. I released the arrow, already channeling it to create the largest possible radius to catch as many of the ugly brutes as I could. The Wizard flinched back as the shot impacted, releasing Void energy that tethered the Wizard, the Thralls, and a couple of Acolytes. Fire immediately began screaming in my direction, echoing with the enraged chattering of the Hive. Luckily I wasn't in the air for too much longer; gravity had taken hold as soon as my shot had gone off. Thankfully, my landing had me positioned behind a rock large enough to provide me with decent cover.
Of course, I didn't have to take cover for long. While fire still peppered my position, Felix leapt up, the Gjallarhorn in his hand glinting proudly in what little light we had, and a single rocket left the tube. The initial impact was catastrophic. The tether already weakened the physical defenses of anything I managed to hook. Add a rocket to the mix and it ended up being complete carnage. The thralls exploded into piles of chitin and goo. The acolytes followed suit. The wizard managed to escape the impact, but it didn't escape the Wolfpack Rounds that came screaming out of the warhead. Just as their name suggested, they honed in on the injured Hive Wizard like a pack, the screams of it fading as the final projectile reduced it to the same state of decay as its companions. Around me, the rest of Spearhead surged to cover, guns going off. Sasha's handcannon was easy to distinguish as heads exploded. Jesse and his brother had moved to a rock together, the rhythmic firing of the Red Death creating a beat all on its own alongside Zack's Last Word. Maria and Nate were working in tandem. The cracks of his sniper rifle were punctuated with bursts from her Clever Dragon pulse rifle, forcing enemies into cover while he reloaded. Felix had joined me and pulled out his own handcannon, The Devil You Know.
As for me, I took out my trusty Gheleon's Demise and started shooting. I rapidly discovered that the Firefly modification was a huge help for such a large amount of enemies. Especially as I capped an Acolyte that was more accurate than I was comfortable with. The ensuing explosion also damaged one of the sword-wielding Knights. The hard outer shell it had clearly had cracks, and as he and his companion were a mere ten feet from us, they quickly become our main targets.
"Take those Knights down!" Sasha ordered over the team channel. "Nate and Cass, put those Boomers down!"
Indeed, the Knights with the cannons had been pounding our cover from the start. They hadn't been as big of a problem until their melee compatriots came to try and force us from cover. Emphasis on try. While Nate already had been using his own new sniper rifle and switched targets with barely a second thought, I had to take the time to allow mine to materialize in my hand. Another treasure from the Iron Banner, Efrideet's Spear had been a reward during one match for coming out on top of all the Guardians present. It had been one of my proudest moments in the Crucible. Dropping on my stomach amid the chaos beyond my cover, I scooted to the side far enough to be able to see the Boomer. Despite the sword Knight being ripped to shreds by bullets, the Boomer was still out in the open to try and catch one of us in the blast radius. Unfortunately for him, it was the last action he was able to take. I lined up my shot and let the first bullet go, forcing him to flinch back, clutching at the gaping hole in its chest. It still stood, but a second shot to head changed that.
"My Boomer is down!" I reported, rolling back next to Felix as renewed fire peppered my position. Nate was next over the comms with his own report.
"As is mine. One shot one kill," he said smugly. I could imagine him blowing on the smoking barrel of his rifle.
"Alright, all Knights are down and Wizard Number Two," there was a burst of fire from Jesse's position as he spoke, and the Wizard disintegrated, "is down. Just a few Acolytes left now."
I hadn't noticed before, but with the Boomers and the Wizards gone, the volume of the Pit had reduced dramatically. Within thirty seconds, all was quiet save for the sound of us reloading. Sasha made her way over to the bridge that led into Crota's realm, now apart of the physical world with his death. The other Hunter flipped her weapon into the holster on her thigh and motioned for us to join her. We made our way over to her, guns still held relatively loosely in case something else decided to jump us. Taking a quick look over the team, no one seemed worse for wear. The worst anyone had it was a couple grazes across armor, and their Ghosts were repairing those anyway. Not even Zack and Jesse, who had the least amount of armor, weren't sporting singed robes. It was a good start to the operation.
"Now comes the hard part, Spearhead. Let's stay focused and make it to Crota's sanctum. We'll do some investigating and be home in time to watch the first Sparrow Races go off for the season," she said, reminding all of us about the celebrations for The Dawning that would begin at midnight. Another reason to make it back in one piece. The Dawning wasn't a time for mourning.
Sasha took the lead as she walked across the bridge. She raised her finger in a kind of 'oh yeah' motion and turned around, but kept walking backwards.
"By the way, nice job back there team. Nothing more satisfying than turning even more Hive into gelatin. Or ash, if you're Jesse, Felix, or myself."
The acknowledged Warlock snorted in mild amusement, but didn't protest, earning a brotherly shove from Felix. The brief period of relaxation passed as we finally made it to the end of the bridge. Swallowed up into the light, we emerged outside the door that lead to the next bridge. While it had been up and solid when I last came through here, now the bridge had disappeared. From Spearhead's reports, I knew getting it up again would be no easy feat. What made it more difficult was the Hive congregating below, stalking around pillars and rocks with an occasional growl, or screech in the case of the Thralls. Unlike with the run through the lamps, this was going to be much more challenging. There would be nearly no cover for all of us to hide behind that would allow us to stem the tide of Hive from other entrances or from the opposite side of the ravine. Worse still, staying in one place didn't seem to be an option, but it was going to be a necessary evil. The two pylons on either side of the center circle had to be triggered so the power surge to bring the bridge up wouldn't kill us all in the process. As it was, judging from Sasha's tapping on her thigh, she was thinking of how to go about the playing field too. The only advantages I could see were us having the high ground, and the element of surprise.
"Cass."
My name had me snap to attention. Sasha had turned to me slightly.
"When we first met, you told me your smoke bomb had nanites in it that could give us brief invisibility. I don't want us to all be up here just waiting for a Boomer to blow us to bits, so here's what we're going to do. When you trigger your smoke bomb, I want you and Zack to stay here. He'll watch your back while you snipe. Jesse will do the same for Nate on the opposite balcony. You boys will have to run fast to make it before that invisibility runs off," she warned with a glance at the two men before continuing.
"As for Maria, Felix, and myself, we'll jump down and hide beneath the staircase. Nate, you and Cass will take the first shots. As soon as we hear you start shooting, we'll join in. Once we clear the company here, we'll start getting the bridge up. At that point, Cass and Nate, I want you two on the rocks overlooking the entire area. You should be small enough targets if you really hug the rock."
"Only one I want to hug right now is you, Sasha," Nate cut in with an implied wink.
"Tell you what, Nate. I'll hug you when Hell freezes over and the Darkness is defeated," Sasha replied sweetly. "As for the rest of us, we're on the ground. Zack, I want you and Maria on the right pylon. Jesse, you and Felix will take the left one. I'll take the center. When the bridge is up and we take the Swordbearers out, I want Nate and Cass to move across first so they can cover us with their snipers. Then I want you to go across with them, Felix, and then we'll get you across afterwards, Zack. Then you four will activate the plate and pylons and get the rest of us across. Questions?"
None of us had any. We were ready. Of everything we'd faced so far, which admittedly wasn't much, this was going to be the most dangerous scenario so far. I couldn't even imagine what would lie in Crota's Sanctum.
"Ok then. Cass, hit us with that bomb."
I gave them a second to get into position before pulling the smoke bomb from my belt and smashing it on the ground. A msit billowed up from the impact, and at once, we were wraiths. Nate and Jesse sprinted from our position like jackrabbits, nothing but shimmering forms as they barreled down and up stairs. Maria, Felix, and Sasha leapt over the balcony, none of them using an extra burst of light to slow their descents if the ground out curses were a clue. As for Zack and I, we prowled out and laid prone just as that camouflage wore off. The barrel of my rifle barely went over the lip of the ledge.
"Ok, Nightstalker. Let's see how good your sniping is. Looks like a bunch of Acolytes, nothing too big. Pick a target and let's hit 'em hard," Nate encouraged from his post. A target flared red on my visor. He'd chosen his mark. I chose my own, steadying my breathing to take the shot.
"Three... Two... One... Now!"
At Nate's command, I fired off my own shot, not even a second behind his own. Both of the Acolytes exploded into dust, and they hadn't even fully settled on the ground before the rest of the Hive - around ten Acolytes - took cover and began firing towards our positions. The slaughter truly began when the rest of the fireteam revealed themselves and added their own guns to the fight. From beside me, Zack crawled forward and took down two of the Hive foot soldiers down with almost supernatural speed. As fast as the fight began, it had ended. As planned, we left our perches to join Sasha and the Titans. Maria and Felix had taken their positions on the pylons, and Zack and Jesse went to join them. Sasha gave a nod to Nate and myself, but motioned us to stay put.
"Nate, I want you to cross first. Your camouflage should keep you out of sight while Cass crosses. When Felix gets across, you three will get most of the attention. Once we get Zack across, I want you guys to split up and activate the pylons on your side. Felix will take the plate to keep the bridge active so Maria, Jesse, and I can cross. Get to your perches. Nate, when you see the Swordbearer drop, get ready to go."
We responded with an affirmative and moved to our positions. I had just lain down and scoped in on the door beneath our entrance when Sasha triggered the center plate. Then the screeching began. We had prioritized the same enemies now as we had during our first engagement: Thralls went down first, followed by Knights, before we dealt with Wizards and Acolytes. The strategy served us well, and soon Nate, Felix, and myself were across the were now pouring out on both sides of the gorge, and we soon had to let Sasha and the others fend for themselves as we focused on our own problems.
Knights had entered the field with Acolytes and a horde of Thralls. It took every bit of skill and experience we had to keep out of their reach to kill them, and even then, Nate had been forced to use his Arc Blade to give us some breathing room. It quickly became apparent as Zack finally got across to join us, his Obsidian Mind flashing in the sickly light, that the opposition on the opposite side was drying up. When seven guns were turned on our side, I knew it was our turn to get the pylons up. I glanced to my right and saw Nate next to that pylon. With my decision made for me, I made my way left, allowing Zack to help Felix defend the center plate. On my own, I felt a calm determination to survive settle in me. Self-assured, self-reliant, I had always fought my hardest while alone in sticky situations. What was more, I could feel that my Light was nearly strong enough for me to use my Void Bow again.
For the moment, I settled for a quick weapon switch. I replaced my sniper for my Matador shotgun, a small grin on my face at the weight of the weapon. After using a synthesis to replenish my ammo, I cocked the gun and unleashed myself upon the Hive. I ran headfirst into a melee, encouraging the minions of the Darkness to take a swipe at me with their sickly claws, only to dance out of their reach and retaliate with my knife or shotgun. I threw down a smoke bomb on a group of three Thralls rushing me, not bothering to keep an eye on them as the poison in the smoke ate at them until there was nothing but bones left. An Acolyte that slipped past my guard raked a claw down my back, causing warning alarms to blare in my helmet as my armor warned of an imminent breach should anything hit me. Thankfully, I managed to blow it's head off and slip behind the pylon as fire began sailing towards my position. Within seconds, the alarms for my armor had quieted.
Thanks, Ghost.
It's what I'm here for.
The undercurrent of pride in that thought had another smile briefly touch my face before I focused back in on the fight. The bridge was still up thanks to our efforts. A quick glance back revealed Maria, Sasha, and Jesse had finally finished off all of the opposition on their side. They were moving to help us and cross the bridge just as Felix bellowed out a warning.
"OGRES!"
Both he and Zack took off for cover as twin beams of Void energy sliced through the air where they'd been before. As soon as they left the plate, the bridge began to disintegrate. All three of the Guardians on the bridge increased their speed. Sasha and Maria had no problems clearing the gap with their jumps. Jesse, however, clearly didn't have the same fortune. His momentum gave out just short of the ledge. Instead of landing and rolling as his two companions had, the Warlock slammed into the side of the wall, his gloves barely catching the edge.
"Shit," I heard Sasha hiss as she whipped around to see Jesse's predicament. But she was forced to take cover as an Ogre focused its fire on her. I could hear her order Nate to get his Ghost to activate his camouflage, but it would take precious seconds to calibrate. Seconds I didn't think Jesse actually had. Thank the Traveler for smoke bombs. My own Ghost knew what I was doing and swapped the abilities of the smoke just as I launched it at the ground. I didn't need to look at my hands to know I was practically invisible. I leapt over a rock and practically barreled over Zack as I launched myself for Jesse's hand, my armor skidding painfully on the stone. But the maneuver paid off as I grabbed his wrist, his fingers shooting around my own as his grab on the ground was ripped away.
"Drake, what the hell are you doing?" He growled out. "I'm a Sunsinger, in case you've already forgotten."
"Wasting your Light on a useless revival won't help anybody if we get injured or you get killed later!" I argued hotly as I tugged him up. The seconds it took to get the Warlock to his feet proved to be too long for my nanites. I knew my camouflage was gone when the ground around me began to get eaten at by fire directed towards Jesse and I. The Sunsinger had clearly decided to just follow my lead as I slid to cover by a pillar that was far too close to the edge for comfort. It barely allowed enough space for the two of us to stay relatively safe. Still, while hauling Jesse up had been a bonus, we still had two Ogres and a large amount of Hive to deal with. An idea struck me.
"Sasha, do you have your Golden Gun?!"
It took a second for the other Hunter to respond, but I could see her crouch down next to Nate and Maria in order to answer.
"Yeah, why?"
"Tethered targets take amplified damage. Want to see how fast we can fry these Ogres?"
I could practically feel the Spearhead leader grinning as she slung her pistol in its holster and flashed me a thumbs up.
"I'll go when you go."
I didn't waste another second waiting to see if one of the Ogres would get a lucky shot on my companions. I rushed from beside Jesse and leapt in the air, summoning my bow for the second time of the day. An arrow materialized on the string, and I took aim at the left Ogre first. The first arrow nailed him to the ground, and that's when I heard the crash of flame signifying Sasha's entry into the fray. Revolver in hand, she took aim at the tethered Ogre. All it took was two shots for the monstrous Hive to disintegrate into flame and shadow. My second shot hit the other Ogre, and the third found a group of enemies that was harassing Felix and Zack.
Sasha finished off the second Ogre with another hop in the air, but we both landed in the open amid fire from plenty of Acolytes. Luckily, the rest of Spearhead had our backs. Renewed gunfire erupted from our side and the shrieks of dying Hive followed. Sasha and I broke for cover. Now she ended up with Jesse, and I was behind the pillar with Nate and Maria. Soon enough, we'd whittled away the rest of the Hive. I placed an armor piercing round in the chest of one last Acolyte, feeling sweaty beneath my armor. That fight had been more of a challenge than I'd originally thought. There had been far too many close calls. Worst part being that we weren't even at the Sanctum yet. Still, we had yet to actually have any injuries, which was a testament to just how skilled Spearhead was. From what I'd seen, Jesse's near-fall had been the worst thing to happen.
After Jesse gave us all a quick once-over to confirm that no one actually had any injuries, we continued through the large door that would lead to where I'd encountered the Matron for the second time. Truth be told, I was not looking forward to it. There was no way out of the hole we'd jump into unless we could transmat out. I already assumed that our transmat would be blocked the second we entered Crota's former lair. No doubt the Warlocks had explained what had happened after we'd gotten back beforehand. From the way the team stalked ahead - purposeful, unyielding - I doubted they cared for the danger. They had a job to do, and nothing was going to stop them from accomplishing it. So I did my best to walk along with them, keeping my eyes trained on our rear for any nasty surprised the Pit of the Moon wanted to throw at us. Maria was beside me, her pulse rifle glinting under the sickening lights the Hive seemed so fond of. By the time we arrived at the hole leading down into the Sanctum, everyone seemed to be on high alert. The tension sure wasn't helped as Sasha began pacing at the lip of the edge, clearly thinking. The time we spent just standing there allowed my own thoughts to roam, and nowhere good.
We had no idea what to expect down here.
You're as prepared as you're going to be, my Ghost assured me. Just focus on getting home.
He was right, as usual. And even if I didn't believe him, there was no more time to devote to an argument, as Sasha motioned us down the hole and pulled Hawkmoon from its holster. We leapt down as a group, the disgusting sludge beneath our boots splashing on our armor as we landed. I released a huff of disgust, and Maria tilted her head towards me.
"I know, this place is filthy. When we get back to town, we'll have to go shopping for armor and polish, you and I. Get a little girl time in," she offered, her voice friendly and casual despite the setting. Sasha looked back briefly with a small chuckle.
"I better be included in that girl time," she said teasingly before snapping her attention back to the entrance. From the sudden stiffening of her limbs, I wondered if she had seen something. It wouldn't be surprising if some nasty beast was waiting out there to greet us. Indeed, there was a shriek of laughter and a Hive Wizard materialized in front of us. She didn't have the same ornamental look that the Matron did, but she was no ordinary Wizard either. The horns on her head were more akin to a shield than horns, a flat expanse of chitin that, were humor called for in the situation, I would have joked about her being a bonehead. Instead, I did what everyone else had done and took cover as she flung out globs of what looked to be Solar energy before cackling again and disappearing. A symphony of Hive cries and growls followed as she disappeared.
"I don't know who this bitch is, but she's not getting out of here alive."
Sasha's growl wasn't a reassurance. It was a promise. And it was filled with such conviction that I fully understood why Spearhead followed her so faithfully. She could probably rattle the galaxy if she wanted to. She had already slayed gods; what were a few planets?
I shoved aside my awe as the Hunter sprinted forward, her cape billowing behind her. Felix was on her heels, hefting his Gjallarhorn for what I assumed was going to be our opening salvo.
"Pair up!" Sasha ordered, breaking right as soon as we cleared the giant, arching doorway. Spearhead had clearly done this dozens of times as they wordlessly went with partners. Maria went with Sasha, Felix went with Zack, and Nate went with Jesse. This left me alone, but I didn't mind much. Depending on myself was what I was more comfortable with anyway. Felix and Zack had gone up top to help Maria and Sasha, the four Guardians drawing fire from almost all angles. Nate and Jesse were handling the structure up top, making sure nothing came out to flank either team outside. As for me, there were plenty of Thralls to keep me occupied down on the first floor. Trading my scout rifle for my shotgun, I unleashed myself upon the Hive. My Voidwall grenade went out first, slicing a burning path in the midst of a group of eight Thralls that were rushing from my right. Three went down writhing in purple flames. The others screeched and moved to avoid it, a temporary fear that allowed me to deal with the four thralls rushing from my left. With no hesitation, I ran for them to put some distance between myself and the five Thralls now at my back. Hungry howls erupted from the group of four, and my weapon sang. One shot punched through the stomach of one Thrall, sending it to the ground. My knife slid effortlessly against the neck of another, noxious black blood staining my armor as it sprayed out. A vicious claw raked down my side, enough to damage the armor, but not to pierce it. A shell blasted through its face, and left me time to spin and deal with the six remaining threats. Ghost didn't need me to tell him that I now wanted my poisonous smoke. I smashed it at my feet just as the beasts lunged. One was killed instantaneously, and all but two others collapsed from the lethal venom my bomb had emitted. Before I could deal with them, I heard my name, a loud shout over the chaos that had enveloped the Sanctum. Zack and Felix had four Knights rushing their position; Felix had been the one to call for me. Ignoring the Thralls behind me for the moment, I charged to where the two men were raining fire down. One Knight fell under their onslaught, but the other three were still standing.
Ghost had repaired my armor by the time I was at the back of the first Knight. The first pump of my shotgun caused cracks to appear in the back of his head. Before I could pump another shot into his head, he caught me with a powerful side swipe that sent me flying back into the bottom of the tower. The two Thralls I had ignored were the first in the door ahead of the Knight, but one fell thanks to a well-placed sniper round through the back of the head. Thank the Traveler for Nate. The brief respite gave me the time to get to my feet and end the other one with another shell, just as Ghost began repairing the breaches in my armor the first swing from the Knight had caused. If the Knight hit me again before he was done, I'd be looking at another ticket to the medical bay of the Tower. So I played chicken and backed away towards the door as he stomped towards me. Nate's attention was clearly on the two Knights pursuing Felix and Zack now as a bullet penetrated through the skull of a Knight behind my own target. I was all on my own for this one. I waited until he was about to swing before I warped into mist and shadow, dodging to the right just as the Knight's sword cracked into the floor where I'd been a second before. I brought my shotgun off and fired two more rounds into it. My reward was the sight of it crumbling into chitin pieces and black blood. Breathing hard from adrenalin, I noticed that the rabble outside was down to a level far below what we'd started with.
A fact especially true when Sasha gave the command to focus fire on the Wizard.
"Sasha, her shields need to be brought down by specific energy types!" Maria called out. I came outside in time to find Arc and Void bullets doing nothing but bounce off of the shimmering shield surrounding her.
"Then let's feed her what she wants. Felix! Bring the Hammer down on her!"
Felix lit up at once with brilliant Solar energy, a hammer of flame appearing in his right hand. I'd seen him use the Hammer of Sol before in his Crucible matches. His aim was deadly; few had been able to kill him before he really got going with it. This Wizard was no exception. She was smart enough to see the incoming threat, but stopping him was another task entirely. A task that became infinitely harder when Felix began to actually throw the hammers. Five impacted her bringing the shield down to nothing. However another one immediately sprang up.
"Nate! I need that Arc Blade of yours up! Maria, let her have a taste of the Thunderlord!"
Two affirmatives rang out. Nate sprung from the shadow of the collapsed portal to Crota's realm, sheathed in lightning and blade cracking with electricity. As he slashed repeatedly at her, Maria hosed her down with the might of the Thunderlord, bullets flying so fast that my eyes couldn't tracked where they were, only where they impacted. Nate's Arc dance ended before her shield dropped, but Maria made up the difference as another clip of the Thunderlord slammed home. Then what I hoped was her final shield came up, a brilliant purple that called to my being.
"Cass! Zack! Take her out!"
Zack had been waiting in the wings as Felix rushed in, patience his only viable weapon against the Wizard. Now that she was susceptible to both of us, we moved in tandem. Zack ran off the platform and guided his gliding jump towards her before glowing, lethal orbs of Void energy erupted from his hands. Her screams as they took a chunk out of her shields were almost music to my ears. I followed in his footsteps, stalling in midair as I brought my Void Bow to life for a third time. Three arrows sang out. Her shield dropped.
"Everyone, open fire!"
Sasha's order brought a new volume of guns to life. Machine guns and rocket launchers came to life in a blade of glory. My old Zombie Apocalypse felt shabby next to the likes of Felix and Gjallarhorn, but it did its job well enough. Even the might of all of our heavy weapons didn't completely stall her like our special abilities did, however. The Wizard honed in on Maria and Nate's position, letting fly pulsing globs of Arc energy at the pair of them. The rubble that had originally impeded fluid movement saved their lives as they ducked behind it to ride out the attack. She turned next to Sasha, Jesse and Felix, electing to rain Solar energy down on them, forcing to three to abandon their posts and dodge into the structure to avoid getting fried. Her last targets, even with the five other Spearhead members firing at her, was Zack and I. Void energy was slung towards the two of us up on the platform opposite of Sasha and the other two men. Zack and I dodged in opposite directions. I rolled off the platform, a gasp of pain stifling itself as I smacked my chest against a rock and landed wrong on my left leg. I heard Zack shout in agony. Looking to my left, I could see him in the shadow of the pillar, clutching at the left side of his chest. Time slowed. The Wizard sensed that she could finish the Warlock off, and it would be her last ever action with how wounded she looked. But I wasn't going to give her the opportunity. Even as Jesse's panicked call for his brother sounded, I grabbed a smoke bomb off of my belt and chucked it at Zack's side. The explosion - and the nanites inside - hid him from view. That freed me up to make one good distraction.
The Wizard shrieked in anger at losing sight of her quarry, and I felt her gaze slide to me, my armor dented and my leg clearly not in a good shape to take my full weight. Ghost, I knew, would fix it in heartbeats. All he needed was time to do so. Thankfully, I wasn't alone anymore. A bellow of rage caught my attention, and Jesse raced across the platform on foot, a sword in his hand. It wasn't ornamental in any way, but it was well-cared for. The hilt was sturdy iron, the blade looked to be made of the same. I likened it to a greatsword from Earth's Middle Ages. It was an old weapon style, but still lethal, as Jesse proved as he skewered her chest with one upward stab. The Wizard screamed in agony, which was suddenly cut off with a vicious beheading. Silence fell, save for our heavy breathing and Zack's pained breaths. The second she fell into a pile of bones, Jesse was off the platform and racing for his brother, righteous flames licking at his arms. I didn't dare get in his way. A Guardian on the verge of losing control of their Light was as much a danger to the people around them as they were to themselves.
Sasha was down on the ground in a heartbeat as Jesse began healing his injured brother. I allowed Ghost to see to my leg before I left them to their devices. From the grunts and hisses, Jesse was using his healing full blast on his brother, and the other twin was not enjoying the experience. Sympathy knotted my stomach as I walked among the ruined Sanctum. New craters and bullet holes were in the area thanks to the battle, just more evidence that messing with Spearhead was fairly suicidal. My Ghost deemed it safe enough to hover beside me, every now and then flicking around my body to make sure he'd fixed my armor well enough. Everything was in working order as far as I could tell. The sprained leg wasn't bothering me either. Ghost had always been excellent at mending both armor and body when there was a need for it.
"Something on your mind, Ghost?" I finally found myself questioning.
"Nothing beyond making sure you're ready for the next fight you get yourself into. And, of course, wondering what Guardian Carrington hopes to find down here," he explained. "You and I combed this area the other day and found nothing. What makes her so sure we're going to find something now?"
"Because the Hive don't bother guarding the unimportant."
Sasha's voice cut in behind us, a swagger in her step that told me Zack was going to be just fine, and Nate on her heels.
"Jesse and Zack are resting in Maria's Ward of Dawn," she explained. "She and Felix are keeping watch while they recover. While they do that, I'm thinking we Hunters do what we do best: snoop around. Split up and search the Sanctum. Call if you find anything."
And with that, she took off to the top of the Sanctum, clearly intending to search the building. Nate and I split to opposite towers, though I knew they would yield nothing. I'd already combed through them before. But I still searched every nook and cranny to see if I actually had missed anything. As it turned out, I had missed something, but not from my search area.
"Cass, Nate, rendezvous on me at Crota's summoning crystal. Turns out, it's not just used to send a message: it's also for receiving them."
That grim line had us sprinting to find her. The crystal was dull as it had been last time, but I hadn't thought anything of it. I'd assumed it was just for calling Crota from whatever hole he'd called home. Sasha and her Ghost were standing by it, her smaller companion scanning the crystal. After a brief conversation, she turned to us, a hand on her hip.
"So it looks like that Wizard we just killed was stationed here to prevent any further intrusions into Crota's resting place. The force we dealt with was a token one. It wasn't meant as anything more than a small garrison to discourage outsiders like us. The main bulk of the Matron's forces are concentrated on the Dreadnaught right now. But she was planning to recall even these guys up there. She didn't specify why or when, but I have a feeling she's gathering all of the Hive for something big. The reports we got of Hive abandoning their fight was just step one of their temporary withdrawal."
Ice chilled my veins. Nate had clearly decided to push aside his usual flirty banter at the news.
"'Temporary withdrawal,' Sasha?"
"Yeah, Nate," she said grimly, turning to stare back at the crystal. "Something is going to happen soon, and the answer as to what that something is, is on the Dreadnaught. Let's pack up, Spearhead," she added over the comms. "Home is ready and waiting for us."