A/N: I'm just gonna let you guys read, so...
Enjoy?
()()()()()
(Flashback)
In the clearing of a forest, two figures could be seen. There was a boy, seemingly in his late teens, sitting down on the grass with a girl in her early teens laying down on his lap. She was bleeding profusely from the stomach, and a discarded bullet was laying in the grass beside her, covered in blood.
"Brother? Have you ever wondered what it's like to see the Earth from the stars?" The girl asked, looking up to the night sky, the billions of stars shining down onto the clearing like spotlights onto the pair.
The boy, shook his head, before gently placing a finger on her lips. "Shhh. Save your energy. The pain-killers should be taking effect, but you're still bleeding." He said, applying pressure with his free hand. However, the blood wouldn't stop, and there was no way the ambulance that he had called would get here in time. He looked over to the body of the thug that had tried to kidnap his sister. A black pistol lay in his lifeless hand.
He turned his attention back to his sister. She was fading, and he knew it. But like a child, he helplessly clung to the hope that she would live to see tomorrow. To live so that he could cook her favorite spaghetti and hot dogs. To live so that he... so that he couldn't feel guilty that he wasn't there for her. He wasn't there, when she needed him the most.
"Caleb. I love you. P-Please know that... that I... I don't blame you... at all... So... so please... don't blame your... yourself..." The girl clutched the boy's chest weakly, and he desperately grasped his sister's hand.
And then, her hand...
Went limp.
(Flashback end)
()()()()()
The memory sent a shiver down Caleb's spine, the Exo shell shaking along with it. He was currently walking through the halls of he base following the ping that his teammates were giving off. A few moments later, he found them standing outside of the entrance to a large circular room.
Caleb's mood darkened. 'This is it.' He thought. He watched as Sandra walked into the chamber, Aurora following soon after. Caleb followed silently, not wanting to speak. Suddenly, the commas crackled to life.
"He is here!" Eris said from the other side.
A large ghostly image appeared in front of the three, and a feeling of pure dread and fear came down upon Caleb.
It was of Oryx, the father of Crota, and the Taken King. "Light! Give your will to me!" He bellowed, his voice echoing in the small chamber.
Sandra and Aurora backed away, while Caleb just stood there, fear still restricting his movements. Oryx looked at Caleb, and made a sound similar to that of a dark laugh.
"Oh, it is the slave! How unfortunate for him!" Oryx exclaimed, making a deep laugh afterwards.
Sandra and Aurora's heads whipped towards Caleb, who's helmet was blocking his facial expression from the two. Caleb was almost crying inside, but stopped himself.
"Slave?! What does he mean?! Caleb, answer me!" Aurora yelled, stomping over to him and grabbing his shoulders.
Suddenly, a dark light started to form around his neck, and Aurora gasped at what she saw as soon as the light dissipated. A pitch black bone collar with a single broken chain link surrounded Caleb's neck.
"N-No... Impossible." Aurora whispered. Sandra was staring at Caleb, but he couldn't tell what was going through her mind. She turned to Oryx, and made a low growl.
She spoke, her voice cold and threatening. "Let him go."
"Oh? You think you are worthy to face me? I have taken entire worlds! A few measly guardians could never hope to defeat me!" Oryx bellowed, his voice shaking the building.
"I'm sorry..." Caleb murmured into the comms, before the link dropped and Caleb stepped back. He then used his Warlock Melee and knocked Aurora back a good ten feet. The Titan fell to the ground, unconscious.
Sandra whipped around and pointed her gun at Caleb. "What are you doing?!" She yelled at him over Oryx's laugh.
Caleb turned to her, and slowly took off his helmet. His Exo face was revealed to her, but it began to move. It started to collapse in on itself, until it stopped at the neck. Sandra stared in shock as she witnessed a human inside an Exo. But she was in even more shock when she saw his face.
He had handsome features, with pale skin, pure white hair and one violet eye. Starting from his right eye, there was a swirling mass of black, blue and white energy replacing his eye, and it continued to form what looked like a crack along the right side of Caleb's skull, stopping just above his ear. Suddenly, his left eye turned blue, and he shot a bolt of blue lightning into the ground. He floated in the air, his hands holding want looked like orbs of pure lightning.
"I'm sorry, Sandra." He mouthed. Sandra read his lips, and suddenly, she got it. She pointed her gun at the image of Oryx and fired off two bullets.
"Let him go!" She yelled at the image. Oryx laughed again.
"But if I do, then his dear sister will die, won't she, Caleb?"
Sandra turned to see Caleb flinch, but he nodded reluctantly. "Yes, Lord Oryx."
"See?"
Sandra once again stared at Caleb. "How do you know that that person is even your sister!?" She questioned.
"I saw her body, preserved in a Hive cell. It is her. I remember her like it was only yesterday." He replied sadly.
"Forgive me." Caleb said as lightning struck Sandra, and she blacked out.
()()()()()
Unknown Location:
Sandra floated in an empty void. It was pitch black except for her body, and her body was glowing a light blue hue. She looked around her and found Aurora a few meters away from her, floating just like she was. She tried to call out to her, but no sound came forth. She tried again, same result.
And somewhere, hidden within the endless void, an entity quietly chuckled to itself.
()()()()()
Back in Phobos:
Caleb kneeled in front of the Echo of Oryx, teeth clenched behind the visor of his helmet. "It is done. What would you have me do with them?" He asked, not entirely wanting to hear the answer.
The Echo gave a short, yet deafening laugh that shook the immediate area. Caleb looked around. Aside from him and Oryx, there were five Taken Centurions, six Taken Phalanxes, three Taken Knights, and ten Taken Psions, all of them kneeling before the Echo.
"Send them back to their precious tower. As a message. Even the guardians, are not safe from the Blight." The Echo gave another cruel laugh before vanishing in a swirl of black, blue and white Taken energy. Caleb turned to the Taken forces around him. The occasional shiver went through their bodies as their wills were controlled.
Caleb walked through the small gathering, the Taken moving it of his way. He stopped when he came to the unconscious bodies of his... 'Teammates.' He looked down at them, an expression of aching regret etched onto his face, before he held out his hand and pointed it to them. A few seconds passed, and they vanished into thin air. As they did so, he took out his old notebook, and caressed it's cover, before opening to the first page. It was blank. He took out a pen and wrote on the page.
"Forgive me."
The notebook, burned away in a swirl of Taken energy
()()()()()
At The Tower:
The unconscious forms of Sandra and Aurora landed with a thud in front of the Hall of Guardians, right at the top of the stairs. A few seconds went by before a Hunter, themed in gold and white, noticed the pair as he was exiting the Hall. He rushed up the stairs and knelt next to them.
"Hey!" He exclaimed, shaking Aurora in an attempt to wake her up. She didn't wake up, and as the man was about to call for help, a notebook, about the size of a Golden Age cell phone, fitted with a leather cover, fell down onto Sandra's stomach. The Hunter looked at it before hesitantly picking it up. He flipped it to the first page, and written in neat, cursive writing, the words, "Forgive me," were written.
"Hey! I need help over here!" He called out. All of the guardians in the main courtyard gathered around the pair. A male Titan, themed in blue and yellow, and a female Warlock, themed in red, black and white, stepped forward. The Warlock took Sandra and the Titan took Aurora, and they both went to the Medical Ward. The Hunter took the notebook back into the Hall and straight to Ikora.
"Ikora," he said, causing said Warlock to turn. Ikora was about to greet him when the Hunter held up the notebook.
"We had two unconscious Guardians out front. Few seconds later, this notebook appeared. Look at the first page."
Ikora did so, and read the words out loud. "Forgive... me? What-what does this mean?" Ikora asked, still looking at the page.
"I don't know. Should we check the action feeds on the two Guardians?" The Hunter asked. Cayde, who had been listening in, nodded to the Hunter.
"Go do that. Ikora, look through that and tell us what you find." Cayde ordered. Ikora rolled her eyes before focusing on the job at hand. The Hunter nodded and rushed off to the Medical Wing to retrieve the action feeds.
()()()()()
Later, in the Tech Wing:
The Hunter, his helmet now off, walked into the Conference Room of the Tech Wing. He had a darker complexion, with startling blue eyes, signifying his status as a Bladedancer. He had black hair done into a tight buzz-cut. As he waited for a select few of the Guardians to arrive, the Hunter summoned his ghost, it's vibrant orange shell spinning around the center sphere.
"Rey, you got the video feeds?" The Hunter asked his ghost, Rey.
Rey made a motion similar to a nod. "Yep. It's all set Hugh." Rey replied.
Hugh sighed. "Thanks."
After a few more minutes, a Guardians slowly started to trickle into the room, before it was jam packed with Guardians. Hugh cleared his throat, and the chatter in the room quickly died down. As soon as all was quiet, Hugh begun.
"As you know, earlier today, two Guardians, a Titan and A Hunter, were found unconscious outside of the Tower in the courtyard. The Vanguard has told us that these two Guardians were part of a three-man fire-team that was sent to Phobos to investigate a Cabal distress signal. The third member is unknown. However, after watching the action feeds myself... Well, it's better if you see for yourselves." Hugh steps back from the front, allowing a large screen to lower down from the ceiling.
The image of two Guardians, a Titan and a Warlock, pops up on the screen. "This video is from the perspective of the Hunter of the team, Sandra Oaks." Hugh explained, before stepping back once more, this time starting the video.
()()()()()
Video feed, inside of Phobos Base, in the large room:
"Light! Give your will to me!" The image of Oryx bellowed, the feed shaking a bit.
Suddenly, Oryx turns to the Warlock, and laughs darkly. "Oh, it is the slave! How unfortunate for him!" Oryx exclaimed, the feed shaking again. The feed picked up he sound of a sharp gasp coming from Sandra within the helmet. The video shows the Titan grabbing the Warlock and shaking his shoulders, before the Titan steps back in what looks to be shock. Sandra is heard growling, before saying, "Let him go."
"Oh? You think you are worthy to face me? I have taken entire worlds! A few measly guardians could never hope to defeat me!" Oryx bellowed, his voice shaking the feed.
The Warlock then says something in the comms, which the camera picks up.
"I'm sorry," the Warlock says, before he uses a melee, knocking back the Titan as well as knocking her out. The video then shows Sandra pointing her gun at the Warlock.
"What are you doing?!" She questions the Warlock, but the comms link has already been dropped.
The Warlock turns to Sandra, before slowly pulling off his helmet. His face is shown, revealing handsome features, with pale skin, pure white hair and one violet eye. Starting from his right eye, there was a swirling mass of black, blue and white energy replacing his eye, and it continued to form what looked like a crack along the right side of the Warlock's skull, stopping just above his ear.
The Warlock's left eye turns blue, and he shoots a bolt of lightning into the ground. He begins to float in the air, balls of pure lightning in his hands. The Warlock mouths something, before sending a bolt of energy hurling towards the camera.
The feed cuts out for a few seconds, before returning back in a hazy mess. Through the static, the Warlock can be seen caressing a notebook in his hand, before writing something and dropping it. Then the feed shows the Tower.
()()()()()
Conference Room:
The Guardians all stared in shock at the screen. Ikora, most of all. "I-Impossible." She murmured under her breath. She had just witnessed a Stormcaller for the first time in all of her years as a Guardian.
Hugh stood quietly in the corner of the room. He stepped back up to the front once he decided everyone had gathered their wit. "The most disturbing thing about this," he started, before rewinding to the part where the Warlock revealed his face.
"This Warlock seems to possess the same power that Oryx has. It's either that, or it is a fail safe to execute him. In any case, Guardians must now be wary. If this can happen to the 'White Knight', of all people, then it can surely happen to other Guardians as well." Hugh informed. He paused to let everyone collect their bearings.
Suddenly, one of the Titans, a male clad in bright orange and brown armor, stood up. "Who is the White Knight anyway? I don't remember ever hearing of him." The Titan asked. There were a few murmured agreements before they were silenced by Hugh.
"The White Knight was one of the first Guardians to rise. Right alongside Osiris, Ikora, etc, he helped in pushing back the Darkness in order to build the City. He is described as wearing mostly white armor, and, until recently, his race has been an unknown for nearly a century. Earlier this week, the White Knight was revealed to be an Exo, but, according to the video, there is a human underneath that Exo shell." Hugh explained.
The room burst into chatter shortly afterwards, cries of "That's impossible!" repeatedly resounding through the room. Hugh waited before he cleared his throat loudly, causing a few of the Guardians at the front to quiet down, the rest following soon after.
"I know that it is unlikely that a human can live in an Exo, but obviously, this footage is proof against that." Hugh's argued, gesturing to the screen.
Ikora suddenly stood up and walked to the front. "Believe it or not, this has happened before." She announced, shocking everyone in the room once again.
"Well, it wasn't released to the public, but it was researched upon. Mr. White was the first test candidate of the project. I only caught a glimpse, but I saw him enter the Exo that he wears now," Ikora paused to catch her breath, "the main goal of the project was to further add more to the capabilities of the human and awoken body through the use of Exo technology. However, the project was quickly shut down after the reported deaths of over 15 consecutive test subjects."
A Warlock in the front, dressed in white and orange robes, stood up. "But if that's the case, then how come Mr. White is-" she was cut off.
"He was able to directly interface with the technology. No one knew how he did it, even he, himself. But the other test subjects failed to do so, and were killed because of it." Ikora explained.
"He ran from the corporation that had been handling the project when they tried to dissect him and study his body to see if there were any anomalies. That is why he is out in the wild as of late. The last time he was ever seen before today was years ago, at the Tower." Ikora added.
Another Guardian, a Hunter, spoke from the back. "So what? Are we going to capture him? If he's a Taken Guardian, we need to know how to prevent that from happening to us." The Hunter reasoned, gesturing to the Guardians in the room with his hand.
Ikora nodded, before looking at Zavala. "I will be issuing a capture on sight order on him later today for all Guardians not present at this moment. But for the time being, the Vanguard will be searching for any clues as to his whereabouts. You are dismissed." Zavala said, before leaving the room with Cayde and Ikora.
Cayde walked faster to catch up to Zavala until they were side-by-side. "So what's the plan?" He asked.
Zavala looked ahead without blinking, seemingly in thought, before he spoke.
"Bring in Fire-team Blaze."