Phoenix: The Apeiron Crusade

by Fireteam Pluto

By Neeb. A mysterious enemy from the Vanguards' past has returned seeking vengeance. Their foe can make even the most powerful guardians quake with fear. Can the Tower's lovable idiots conquer this new and unique adversary? Set after Phoenix: Heat of Moment.

9. Chapter Eight: From Suffering To Glory

Chapter Eight: From Suffering To Glory

Night had fallen on Venus. Fireflies the size of outstretched hands lit the thick rainforest in a random, yet uniquely bizarre, display of bioluminescent beauty. The crumbling Vex ruins erupted from the overgrown fields of weeds and vines like many broken fingers from the earth below.

Nestled in the hollow of a massive tree, Simone sat back and admired the ambiance around them. Perched just at the edge of a sheer cliff face, she had a perfect view of the rollicking brown waters a thousand feet down that drowned a once-great city. She looked up to the sky, absent of a moon yet lit with an abundance of stars. They shone like reflecting diamonds in the dark expanse of sky.

Thaddeus, however, was much less at peace with their situation. He leaned against the trunk of the tree a stone's throw below her, arms crossed and fingers squeezing into his arms in barely contained anticipation. He checked his gear too many times, hoping to pass the time faster. He tapped his dagger's handle, his rapier's hilt, and the butt of his rifle slung over his back. He sighed and allowed the silence to grow overbearing once more before going through the motions again.

"Knock it off." Simone said softly, not bothering to look down to him.

"You know I hate waiting." Thaddeus hissed back at her.

She shrugged in response, not caring if he could not see it.

He leaned the back of his head against the tree and looked up to the sky. He tried to appreciate the landscape around them, but his itching trigger finger made his mind race with want of bloodshed. He looked out across the narrow valley, to the tall cliffs dripping with vines and sprouting weeds through rock. To the towering Vex monuments on the horizon. To the muddy streams cutting through the land.

Simone sighed and spoke again, this time trying to allay her teammate's impatience. "We'll be at it again when the others arrive."

He groaned, "We work better on our own. We've never needed an escort before."

"Orders are orders. Besides, it's only two of them."

He turned to look at the sea that stretched on for miles, the gently crashing waves reflecting glittering starlight. He grumbled, "Lead off this ground, and let us make further search our quarry."

"Complaining won't get them here any faster." Simone shook her head.

The two hunters had been patrolling the Ishtar Sink for the better part of two hours, getting a lay of the land and a handle on threats and resources that Judas may have had access to. Forgotten ruins, Golden Age research outposts, Fallen camps. They had not found any leads, nor did they expect to. Only half an hour ago were they contacted by Cayde-6 with new orders. Orders, much to Thaddeus's chagrin, to wait for reinforcements.

The steady light hum of small engines caught their ears. Thaddeus visibly perked up and watched for the approach.

Swerving over the landscape to follow the river of the valley and avoid the thick tangle of the jungle around them came two single-passenger vehicles that hovered just above the ground. Their riders wove around rocks and over the shallow stream side by side. The one on the right's vehicle left a trail of deep red light in its wake, the other left one of blue. The soft hum of their engines slowed to a quiet halt as they coasted the last dozen meters to the tree on the cliff where the hunters waited for them.

Thaddeus eagerly hailed them over and beckoned Simone to come down from her perch on the branch high above. The riders approached and dismounted in quick fashion, letting their vehicles idle where they left them. They were both male, and Thaddeus could barely make out the colors they wore in the faint light. The one on the right wore a long golden robe cinched at the waist and trimmed with dark red flames at the hem of his coat, his helmet featured a wide V-shaped visor; he was very distinctly a warlock. The one on the left wore heavy brown armor, a plain white sash hung from his hip, and his helmet featured no visor, only a slightly protruding face plate; he was clearly a titan.

"To thee and thy company," Thaddeus addressed the nearer man, the warlock, as he approached. "I bid a hearty welcome."

Simone dropped down from the tree next to Thaddeus. "You must be the ones Cayde sent. I'm Simone, and this sack of wind is Thaddeus." She rested her hand upon her teammate's shoulder and jostled him slightly.

The warlock stopped and nodded. He stepped in close to grab Thaddeus's hand and shake it earnestly. "Hola. Me llamo Don Rafael Luciano Solórzano y Vela." His voice was tinged with a Latin accent, and he let the hunter's hand go after a moment. "But you may call me Don Rafael Solórzano, if you would prefer."

"No." Thaddeus replied plainly. "No thank you, Don."

"Rafael, if you must. Don is a title." The warlock's posture stiffened, and he spoke quickly as if offended. "Though I am quite pleased to make the lady's acquaintance." He glanced to Simone and nodded in greeting.

She bit back an insult before addressing the titan. "What about you, big guy?"

The titan looked to the three of them, his shoulders nearly twice as wide as Rafael's or Thaddeus's, and looked Simone in the eye-or where she imagined his eyes were behind his helmet. "Brick." He said simply, his voice a low baritone.

Thaddeus gave him an incredulous look. "That's it?"

Simone scoffed. "Your parents must have hated you."

The hunters chuckled to themselves for a moment before Brick spoke up. "Not my real name."

"Oh?" Rafael looked to the titan, intrigued. "A mysterious alter ego lies in his psyche, it seems."

"Can it possibly be dumber than 'Brick'?" Thaddeus asked, obviously rhetorical. He composed himself and managed, "I'll bite. What is your real name?"

Brick sighed. "Roy." He looked out to the horizon now. An ominous rumbling of thunder crashed over the landscape from across the sea. "But I learned my lesson. Call me Brick."

The other three guardians gave each other quizzical looks, then shrugged almost in unison.

Thaddeus cracked his knuckles. "All right, let's get back to work."

"Ah," Rafael interrupted him, "Now that introductions are finished, I was instructed to contact Ikora for further details. I regret to inform you that we are not under Cayde's direct employ, but the respective Vanguard representatives'. Now," He held his palm up and his ghost, with a bright white pointed chassis and aqua blue eye core, materialized before him. He spoke almost tenderly to it. "Lucinda, would you kindly call Ikora, ¿por favor?"

"Of course!" The ghost responded with enthusiasm and its segmented body separated from its core as it made the call, flashing intermittently as it looked about in wonder at the scenic nightscape around it.

The four guardians waited with bated breath as the call connected. At last a voice, grainy but steadily growing in clarity, answered.

"Hello?" A woman asked. Then, as if to someone else, "Get in here. Close the door. And blackout all other communications."

The four guardians shared a nervous look to one another. What was going on?

"Uhh," Rafael started, "¿Hola, profesora Rey?"

The woman's voice returned to the forefront, though she still seemed distracted. "Rafael," she paused as if to contemplate finishing saying his entire name, then promptly continued on. "Have you successfully rendezvoused with our hunters?"

"Si." Rafael affirmed. "Awaiting further orders."

"Excellent." Ikora Rey cleared her throat and the sound of shifting papers and books could be heard on the other side of the call. "Though we have disturbing information. We -" Her voice trailed off even as she yelled to something in the background, "I SAID CLOSE THE DOOR!"

"Seems bad." Brick offered the group. They shared a silent, mutual agreement.

Ikora composed herself and continued on. "We've lost touch with Cayde since he left this afternoon, but he can't have gone far. What is more pressing, however," She took a deep breath before continuing, "Is that we have received a message directly from Judas-33, your target."

"A direct correspondence? Have you tracked it?" Thaddeus asked too excitedly.

"Yes." Ikora was quick to answer. "He's not far from your location. I'm sending you the coordinates now."

The blinking light of Rafael's ghost, Lucinda, morphed to form a small three-dimensional holographic map of the current terrain. It shifted to the east and settled again, showing a similar section of the cliff face, with a multitude of Vex gate structures amid the towering ruins.

Ikora went on, "He sent the message from just outside the Vault of Glass. It is a particularly enigmatic source of power for the Vex, and he may have already found a way inside. Traveler knows what secrets he could unleash from that place."

"Sounds like a trap." Simone clenched her jaw.

"It likely is, but intended for us." Ikora assured her. "He is banking on the Vanguard coming to challenge him directly, and he knows it would take us time to get there."

"He doesn't know about us." Thaddeus offered.

"Noted." Ikora almost seemed to sigh in relief. "You four will trail him and clear the way for us."

"Permission to engage?" Simone asked.

Ikora shot her down. "Not granted. Follow him and keep us updated."

Simone and Thaddeus gave each other sidelong glances before shrugging in indifference. Rafael and Brick shared another nervous glance.

"Pardon, mistress." Thaddeus remarked with verging giddy satisfaction, "I will be correspondent to command and do my spiriting gently."

Ikora responded in kind. "Be subject to no sight but thine and mine, invisible to every eyeball else. Go, hence with diligence." She laughed lightly to herself before addressing the rest of the group. "Find the Vault, find Judas. You have your orders, guardians."

Lucinda's light flashed bright once, then blinked out and the ghost was left floating blankly above Rafael's palm. She looked to her warlock expectantly.

Don Rafael Luciano Solórzano y Vela straightened the high collar of his robes and recalled his ghost back into his being. He turned on his heel and strode toward his sparrow vehicle, beckoning the others to follow and whistling in a high pitch as if to catch their attention further. "We go, my friends!"

The four of them raced through the overgrown tangle of jungle flora, jutting brown rocks, forgotten Vex monoliths, and bubbling streams of vivid blue lava through cracks in the rarely used mountainside trail. The warlock and titan led the way and brought up the rear, respectively. The hunters, riding matte black sparrows with muffled engines, wove through the undergrowth effortlessly.

They banked hard to the right through a halfway collapsed arch of brown and gray craggy stone, and were met with the sight of a massive outcropping of Vex construction built into the mountainside. They navigated through the boulders and over the lazy stream of water weaving through the site. The ancient architecture was more pronounced on the right side, replete with fallen pillars and broken stonework. That side seemed to thrust out and was capped with a sizeable Vex teleportation gate on the overhanging end. On the left was an alcove dug into the rock, with small doorways that led further into a dark network of tunnels. Stairs ascended from the left and descended from the right to converge in the middle, which was dominated by a huge brass-colored circular door. It was wide open.

Between all three points of focus was a large, disjointedly put together obelisk that shot a thin beam of light toward the door.

The guardians dismounted their sparrows, their ghosts promptly dematerialized the vehicles, and they began making their way up the left side.

Rafael nearly jumped and drew his assault rifle at the sight of a Vex goblin unit. He levelled the squared barrel and let a volley of bright white supercharged ballistics fly into the thing's belly, and it crumpled over nearly torn in half. He saw others. He turned, fired. He paused. "They are not fighting back." He mused, finally getting a sense of the scene before him.

The Vex units, goblins, hobgoblins, minotaurs and harpies all, were completely still as they stood in a circle around a stone plate, just outside a glowing, waist-high white ring of holographic Vex light that shimmered and flickered in a grid-like pattern. They kneeled with their heads bowed, perfectly still and paying no heed to the guardians, with the exception of the one that Rafael had blown away. It crawled along the ground weakly before the light in its eye faded black.

"What is this?" Rafael wondered out loud as he skirted around the ring of prostrate robots, beckoning the others to follow him. "Are they in some kind of stasis?"

Lucinda chimed in loud enough for all of them to hear. "Negative. Stasis indicates that they are in a resting, anticipatory, or otherwise effectively shut-down state. These Vex are perfectly aware of their actions and surroundings, and are simply choosing not to act upon outside stimuli."

"Choosing, or being forced?" Simone whispered, her hand hovering over the handgun on her hip.

"Unable to detect the intention behind their actions." Lucinda stated simply before Rafael called her back.

"Interesting." Thaddeus pondered, following the group up the stairs. He turned to Brick, "What do you think?"

Brick only shrugged.

Thaddeus hummed softly. "I don't know what I expected."

"Quiet, all of you." Rafael held a hand up and peered forward as he approached the apex of the rocky, broken slope up to the central platform and the door beyond. "It's the same here."

They edged around the ring of Vex and approached the massive, wide-open door of the Vault of Glass.

"What do we do?" Rafael addressed the group.

"Go in and hunt him down?" Thaddeus offered.

"Not so easy, my friend. No one has ever entered the Vault of Glass and returned." Rafael looked to the plucky hunter.

Thaddeus shrugged and brushed past the worried warlock. "Suit yourself, Don. Come on Simone, let's go find Judas."

"My name is -" Rafael started and began to follow the hunters into the cavernous maw, but a queer rumbling beneath the stone stopped him short. The metal rings that made up the door began to turn and shift like the gears behind a clock face. He looked on in horror as they shifted and compacted themselves, their thinner gaps on the topside slamming shut. He shouted, "It's closing!"

Thaddeus and Simone broke out into a sprint. Rafael and Brick followed, significantly slower. The two hunters made it inside and turned around to watch the warlock and titan approach. Rafael nearly lost his footing on the cracked stairs that led to the gate, but managed to catch himself before falling on his face. As the door closed in from the outermost edges and the central barrier materialized and began to swing down, the two men had to dive into the dirt in order to clear the gap as it slammed shut behind them with a ringing gong that seemed to echo on forever, growing fainter as it carried down the steadily narrowing cavern. It faded to near silence in the tunnel as Rafael picked himself up from the ground.

Brick rose up and banged on the metal door, his fist pounding on solid material that offered little sound or acoustics. Not only was it closed and locked, it was solid and dense. He turned to address the group, cocking a thumb back over his shoulder to the door. "Won't open." He said simply.

"That was fun." Thaddeus laughed lightly and looked longingly down the steeply sloping tunnel into the Vault. Greenery persisted even here in the near-total blackness. The sound of rushing water could be heard not far off. "Let's go deeper, shall we?"

"Is no one else concerned that we have been trapped in a place no one has ever returned from?" Rafael asked as he tapped the side of his helmet to access his radio. A curious garble of mixed voices came through his headset, nigh unintelligible. He cursed under his breath and tried to boost his frequency. He needed to contact Ikora about this development. A high-pitched scream assaulted his ears from across several channels as he scrambled to mute the incoming frequencies.

The other guardians seemed to also be fiddling with their radio equipment. Thaddeus responded, albeit late, "Ha, no. I thought Cayde was bluffing when he said the Vault of Glass was real, but here we are. I couldn't be happier. Besides, we've gotten out of worse, right Simone?"

The woman only shrugged in response as she looked to the ground blankly, tapping the side of her helmet as well.

"I highly doubt that." Rafael hissed. "Everyone, listen." He adjusted the settings on his helmet radio, "Switch to short-range only, it will keep the interference minimal and allow us to communicate. I cannot contact the Vanguard. If we must continue forward to complete our mission, so be it."

The hunters nodded and switched their radios to short-range frequencies without hesitation.

"But Ikora said keep her updated." Brick stated, doing the same.

Rafael sighed and looked first to the titan, then to the door, dejectedly. Almost to himself, he muttered. "Obedezco, pero no cumplo. Let's go."

With that, Thaddeus and Simone led the way deeper into the depths of the Vault of Glass.

II

"And then - then she says…" Koru Sen trailed off for a moment, staring at the small shot glass filled with amber liquid in his hands. Somewhere, deep in his mind, he thought that it would be a bad idea to drink it. He was beyond the point of listening to that part of himself. He lifted it to his lips and downed it in one mouthful, forcing the burning liquid down his throat with a mighty effort. "And then, she… Wait, where was… where was I again?" His words came out slurred and sloppy as he slammed the glass down on the bar.

Cayde-6 glanced over to the warlock and shrugged, sipping his neon-green mixed drink slowly. He motioned for the barkeep frame, who hurriedly approached him.

The frame spoke in its usual dulcet, mechanical tone. "What can I do for you, patron?"

Cayde held up his glass, half full, and swirled it for emphasis before pointing to Koru Sen, who was now pressing both of his palms against the bar to steady himself on his stool. "Uh, this goes on his tab. Thanks."

The frame nodded once in assent. It turned to Koru now. "Patron." It paused. "Mr. Sen, would you like to be notified of your increasing debt?"

Koru looked up to the frame, his golden eyes glazed over in dull inebriation, and sat up straighter, though his rocky and ill-controlled body made his movements fluid and jerky simultaneously. "Hey, now, now… I… Sure whatever you said. Later. Fuck you."

The frame nodded again, poured the warlock another shot of the poison of his selection, and continued washing glasses at the other end of the bar.

"Okay so where was I?" Koru wondered aloud again. Cayde almost answered him, but the warlock continued before he could give him a response. Koru reached out and clumsily grabbed for Cayde's shoulder, sidling up closer to him at the bar and using the hunter vanguard as a prop to keep himself upright. "Right, right. So then, she says, 'oh no, don't call me, I'll be busy sucking off my ex, A.K.A. the whole Crucible' or something."

Cayde grimaced and gingerly lifted Koru's hand of his shoulder, letting it fall away quickly with the younger man's balance so impaired. Nonetheless, Koru simply stumbled closer and wrapped his arm around Cayde's shoulders. "I really doubt she said that." The hunter tried in vain to verbally wriggle out of this predicament.

"No, no." Koru shook his head a little too hard and laughed to himself, throwing his head back. "Ah, no. She might as well have though. I mean, like…" He paused and looked down as if to think, his eyes darting about for a moment before they settled on the shot glass. He reached out and quickly drank the whiskey in that one, too. "I mean, who knew she was such a slut?"

"Uhh." Cayde shrugged weakly, trying to pull away from the wasted warlock as well as he could without simply getting up and walking away. "Everyone?" He answered.

"You would say that. You know, you never believed in us." Koru scowled at Cayde and prodded him accusingly with his index finger.

"I barely know you." Cayde responded. "Half the time I don't even remember your name."

"Oh, suuure." Koru let the syllables drag on in sarcasm. "I know it's completely, totally… hundred per cent… completely because you want her, too." He edged closer to Cayde and brought his face disconcertingly close to the hunter's.

Cayde took a sip of his drink as nonchalantly as he could, looking Koru in the eye with his cyan optics, before answering. "Why's that?"

"Because!" Koru roared, not without a smile, "she's hot! Beautiful." He looked away and nearly pushed himself off of Cayde. "Perfect." He slumped down in his stool. "And she left me."

Cayde looked down to the rippling drink in his hand and tossed it back, finishing it and setting the glass down on the bar. He called to the bartender, "Hey, service here!"

Koru continued on with his lamentations, this time affecting a higher-pitched voice as if to mock Eve. "'You don't get the big picture, you don't get me, we're two different people'… pfftbth…" He sputtered out a sound of utter disregard with pursed lips. "It's all a code for, like, me having a tiny dick or something."

The bartender perked up and came over to Cayde. "How can I assist you?"

Cayde ignored the rambling warlock next to him and waved the empty glass to the robot. "Give me a Cytherean Sunrise, double dose of vodka, on the rocks."

Koru wordlessly beckoned the frame to pour him another shot of whiskey, pointing down to his glass and nearly thrusting it in its face.

Cayde rolled his optics. Still, he was pleased that the frame attended to his order first. His new drink glowed a fabulous array of warm hues, violet, orange, red, and yellow, in a thick semi-frozen swirl. The robot dropped two ice cubes into the glass and garnished it with a sprig of mint. He grinned and took a sip, savoring the taste that only barely masked the sting of the vodka.

Koru watched the shot being poured and scoffed. "You know she blocked me from all her social media accounts? Who does that? Like, what? So… so rude."

"People who don't want creepy exes stalking their profiles?" Cayde answered simply, taking a sizable gulp of his Cytherean Sunrise.

Koru started to tip his shot back but Cayde's hand shot out and grabbed his wrist, forcing his hand still mid-drink.

Cayde tried to pull the warlock's hand away. "I think you've had enough, little buddy."

Koru strained against Cayde's grip and nearly stumbled a few times, but managed to catch himself. He reached out and tried, unsuccessfully, to pry the hunter's metal fingers off his wrist, then proceeded to bat at his arm.

Cayde almost laughed at the pathetic gesture as he took another sip of his drink. "So listen,"

He was interrupted by Koru backhanding the glass in Cayde's hand away from his mouth and across the room. It crashed to the floor, shattering into a hundred or more glittering shards. The spill of glowing alcohol pooled on the ground around the remains of the cup. The bartender bolted upright and hurried out to the floor with a mop and paper bag in hand.

Cayde looked down to the spilled alcohol aghast. Without turning to Koru, he coldly spoke, "You're lucky that was on you. So listen," He turned to Koru now, holding the warlock's wrist in a vise grip, and plucked his shot glass from him with his now free hand. The warlock watched in confused and mounting terror as the hunter downed the whiskey without a second thought, slammed the glass on the bar, and stood up to face him eye to eye.

"Uhh," Koru stumbled over his words and tried to pull away. He wasn't able to.

"Look, I didn't start day drinking to listen to your problems, kid." Cayde's voice dropped low and he stepped in closer to Koru now. He smelled the whiskey on his breath, tinged with mint. "Some of us have real shit to deal with, all right? So get your act together."

Koru nodded wordlessly, the fire glinting in his eyes as embers. He brought his other hand up to steady himself on Cayde's shoulder.

"Now quit moping around. You'll never get pussy again with that attitude." He shoved Koru away, sending him sprawling clumsily to the ground. Cayde turned to the bartender, "Hey, cut him off and-yeah, damages are on him."

Koru looked up at the ceiling for a moment. His whole body felt hot, on fire. "You don't know shit."

"Yeah, sure." Cayde replied, obviously aggravated.

The warlock rolled over and pushed himself to standing again. He stood swaying unsteadily and his face was flushed, nearly violet. He looked to Cayde and took a mighty step forward, cocked his arm back, and threw a wild punch at his face.

Cayde rolled his optics and caught the punch, holding the warlock's fist tight.

"Hey!" A voice called out. Male. The tense guardians looked to the entrance of the bar to see Phoenix standing up straight and walking stiffly over to the two of them. Commander Roy followed, still wearing the bright pink coat. "What's going on?"

Cayde didn't take his eyes off of Koru. "Oh, thank god." He sighed in relief. "Get this guy out of here. He's been giving me a hell of a headache."

"I didn't know you could get headaches." Phoenix remarked as he approached the two of them.

"Yeah," Cayde said, obviously disappointed. "Me either." He threw the warlock's fist aside and pushed him toward his teammates. "He's your problem now."

Phoenix stepped away as the stumbling warlock crashed into Commander Roy. For his part, the titan did not budge and caught him in his arms.

Roy smiled down at Koru. "Been day drinkin'? Knew you were a pirate."

Koru scowled up at Roy. "You… This is your fault. You fucker."

"Uhh, what?" Roy looked to Phoenix, then to Cayde, but got nothing beyond shrugs from the two hunters.

"You, we, I… fuck!" Koru yelled as he wormed his way out of Roy's grasp.

Phoenix groaned, "We don't have time for this, you ninny! We need to go to Pluto. Cayde said."

That gave Koru some pause. He stood, woozy, staring at the ground. "Uhh… yeah, no, fu-fuck…. Fuck that. Not flying… not flying ten hours for you fucks."

"Come on, man, we gotta go." Phoenix urged him.

Koru started shambling away back toward the bar. "Uh uh, nope. Fuck that, fuck you…" He turned to look over his shoulder to stare at Roy. "Fuckin'... had to fuck my girlfriend, didn't you?"

"Yes?" Roy asked as an answer, confused.

Koru's legs nearly gave out from under him as he turned around again, approaching the other members of Fireteam Pluto. He slapped his palms on each of their chests, and glowing runes, drawn with uneven and crooked lines, radiated out from beneath his hands. "I wish I… I wi-wish I never met you."

Phoenix frowned. "You don't mean that, Korry-poo." He tried to say sweetly, "We're your friends. And we have to go."

Roy looked to Phoenix, mouthed the words 'I got this' with a wink, and held Koru by the shoulders at arm's length. "Koru." He said. "You know I love you."

Koru tossed his head back and laughed, and he found it too difficult to raise again. He tried to look back to Roy quickly. "Pffbth, guess so-someone has to."

He looked back to Roy just in time to catch the titan's heavy fist directly in the temple. A single smacking sound rang out in the bar and the warlock's body fell limp in Commander Roy's grasp. The titan lifted the unconscious warlock into the air and hoisted him up onto his right shoulder.

Phoenix gave Cayde a wave and fired his finger guns at him playfully as he led the way back up the stairs to the hangars. "Fireteam Pluto, move out! To Pluto!" he exclaimed excitedly.

"Yeah! Pluto stuff." Roy agreed, carrying Koru one-handed over his shoulder as he followed.

Cayde-6 watched them go and sat back in his stool, shaking his head. He looked to the bartender frame, which had now finished cleaning up the mess Koru had made. "Can I get another one of those?" He asked.

As the frame was getting back to work and fixing another drink for him, his ghost materialized in front of him in a flash of light.

"Urgent call from Ikora Rey." Flower, his ghost, stated simply. It remained floating over the bar, staring at him with its pastel pink eye.

Cayde groaned and laid his head down on the bar, shutting his optics hard. "Duty calls, I guess. Answer it."

III

"What happened here?" Simone asked the question that lay at the tip of all of their tongues.

They stood on a stone platform jutting from the cavernous wall, overlooking an infinitely dark abyss that fell beneath them. Across a short gap and a long fall was another outcropping, this one constructed with both Vex architecture and the natural cave as foundations. Massive pillars and walls rose up to the impossibly high inky blackness above and extended down to the nothingness of below. Flanking the area were floating blocks of uneven gray stone. All around the scene, corpses and remains littered the ground.

Rafael stepped to the edge of the narrow platform they were gathered on, looking down at the resolved carnage below. Directly beneath them a glowing white structure hummed softly. He could see another similar construct to the left. Beyond the central one, stairs descended into a one-way pit surrounded by short walls. Beyond that, however, was another brass-colored Vex door. It was wide open.

After a glance to either side, Thaddeus stepped forward and stood next to Rafael at the edge of the precarious drop into the void of infinity. He clapped the warlock on the back firmly, almost reassuringly. Rafael nearly jumped backward as if he expected the hunter to shove him over the precipice. Thaddeus laughed. "Faith, sir, you need not fear."

Rafael took a frantic step back, nearly directly into Brick. "I would sooner stay here. I don't see a way back up."

Thaddeus shrugged and jumped off the edge of the platform without a word further.

The three remaining guardians scrambled forward to watch his descent. Thaddeus somersaulted in the air and seemed to jump on nothing as he thrust up through the air on quick sole-mounted gravity displacers. He landed with the grace of an acrobat, pausing to turn and offer a showman's bow to his audience.

"What do you see?" Simone asked her partner as he finally appraised his surroundings.

"Bits and pieces of a battle. A huge one." Thaddeus responded with awe into his headset radio. "Vex, of course, and also Hive."

"Hive?" Rafael asked incredulously.

"Did I stutter?" Thaddeus shot back. "Whatever this Judas guy has up his sleeve, apparently he brought his Hive friends with him. And these glowing pillars here have a direct power line to that door over there… Wait, hold on."

Rafael murmured, "This requires further investigation."

"Agreed." Brick nodded once, stepped forward, grabbed Rafael under one arm, and jumped down to the platform below. He activated his armor's lift ability to slow their descent about halfway down.

"Bad touch!" Rafael started to struggle against the titan's grasp, but once he glimpsed the endless fall under his feet, he clung onto the brute tighter. Distantly, he heard Simone laughing even as she joined them on the descent toward the ground.

Thaddeus waited for them to touch down before he continued. He waved them over to the pit surrounded by walls on three sides and stairs on the front-facing end. Centered on the ground was a raised circle of Vex design. Resting upon it was the huge, easily twenty-feet tall, carcass of a Vex hydra unit. Its gleaming silver body, which at one time could float and resembled nothing so much as a legless crustacean or other large insect, was caved in and broken apart in some places. Its central eye, still glowing a brilliant blue hue, stared up blankly at them as they approached its prostrate form.

"And whatever this thing was, it was guarding the door." Thaddeus kicked at the torn and melted chassis weakly. The hydra seemed to whine in pain and agony, though its stare did not abate.

Simone looked around and took note of the dozens, no, she thought, hundreds, of bodies littering the ground around them. Most of them were Hive footsoldiers. Thrall, acolytes, and knights. A large percentage of the carnage was centered around the two glowing pillars. She duly noted the third tucked away to the right side of the pit. An eerie silence of the dead overcame them for a moment.

"This Judas," Rafael asked, "He can control the Hive?"

"It would appear that way." Simone answered him.

"Hmm." The warlock dipped his head in thought for a moment. "He must have overcome this challenge with brute force. If he was able to muster an army, he used it here to swarm the Vex, and this gatekeeper."

Simone nodded in agreement, but pondered in curiosity. "Perhaps he doesn't have much left of his army."

"No matter." Thaddeus said as he jumped up, grabbed the edge of the pit and hauled himself up. He looked to the beckoning, wide-open door. "I'll seek him deeper than e'er plummet sounded. We don't have time to waste here." He looked down to them and nodded to the door. He watched for a moment as they ascended the other side of the pit via the stairs and circled around to meet up with him. "Follow, I pray you."

Thaddeus stepped over the low rim of the door and began making his way down deeper still through a winding cave. Pools of green cloudy water bubbled and steamed in standing puddles. A trickle of water coursed through the cave under their feet. The path wound right and left and back again, the cloying darkness closing in on them in the confined space.

At last the group emerged into a wide open area. The narrow tunnel led to another cluster of cubic architecture jutting in uneven steppes from the wall of the cave, and emptied into an immense ravine. Darkness permeated here as well, shrouding anything further than almost directly in front of them in a haze of enigma. They clambered down the short outcroppings of rock and approached the edge of the abyss.

Thaddeus looked down and could not see the bottom of the ravine. Halfway down the sheer cliff face gave way to a gradual slope. About thirty feet down he saw another level of the terraced rock face with a long platform extending out over the darkness. Simone joined him at the edge.

"It almost all makes sense, doesn't it?" Thaddeus could not hide his growing excitement. "We're walking where no one has ever come back from."

Simone looked from her partner to the abyss and back again. In some regard, this was the happiest she had seen him in a long while. In another, she recognized what a terrible situation they had gotten themselves into. "Also where we may never come back from." She added.

"That's the beauty of it all." Thaddeus mused wistfully, staring out into the nothingness of the ravine. Only the walls of the cave were visible. "Who knows how deep this place goes? It's a once in a lifetime opportunity. We might be the first people to come back from this point, you never know. And even if that's the case, we'll never have walked out from the Vault. Because we'll be completely different people after this."

Rafael piped up from behind them, "Do not forget our assignment, mi amigos. Our target is somewhere here."

"Somewhere below." Thaddeus's voice gave away a grin.

Rafael hesitantly approached the ledge, careful to remain a few feet away from it at all times as he joined the hunters. Brick followed with less caution.

"He's right." Simone affirmed both of their statements. She glanced to Thaddeus. "How are we getting down?"

Thaddeus pointed to the cliff face beneath them and the sloping, craggy rock face that it morphed into a short distance down. "You can ride that all the way down." He stepped forward and dropped off the ledge, landing nimbly on the one thirty feet below.

"Wait," Simone called out. She never finished what would only have been in vain. It echoed throughout the chamber. She watched as Thaddeus nearly sprinted toward the long platform that peered out over the void. "Damn it, Thad!" She yelled as she jumped from the ledge as well, hugging the rock face and sliding down it frantically, keeping her eyes on her teammate even as his form faded into the blackness. "Thad!" She cried out again.

Rafael and Brick watched in amazement as the two hunters rushed into the darkness. They gave each other a quizzical look as Simone yelled after Thaddeus.

Thaddeus only laughed in response. Rafael saw him reach the end of the platform and leap from it like a madman throwing himself from a rooftop. He spread his arms wide and fell in a dive to the ground below. Rafael looked down only to catch the last fleeting glimpse of Simone as she slid down the rocks deeper into the mysterious ravine.

Brick crossed his arms over his broad chest. "Hmph." He made a noise as if wondering aloud.

"What are those idiots doing?" Rafael muttered under his breath. "What are we going to do?"

Brick turned to look at him, his nearly featureless helmet betraying no hint of emotion. "Gotta follow." He said simply before hopping down and following Simone's example, slowing down enough to look up to Rafael as he dug his boots into the crags and scree.

Rafael rolled his eyes and followed suit.

The descent seemed to take forever. They lost sight of the cave below. Fear gripped Rafael as he looked down, barely keeping Brick and Simone in his view. His heart dropped into his stomach. He could not see the bottom of the ravine. For all intents and purposes they were sliding into the abyss itself.

At last he thought he could catch a fleeting glimpse of the floor of the ravine. Thick, misty clouds shifted and seemed to swallow the other guardians in front of him. He yelled out to the lot of them, "¿Ves algo? What do you see?" He was greeted to faint silence for a brief moment until he heard Simone's echoing string of curses return. He sighed.

"Thaddeus!" Simone's shouts seemed nearer now as he broke through the layer of clouds. "Sei un stronzo! Cazzo!"

Rafael looked down to see the ground nearly rushing up to meet him. He dug his heels harder against the stone and tried to slow his rapid descent. He saw Simone storming off and climbing up a rise in the rock while Brick touched down and brushed himself off.

The warlock took a moment to admire the view beneath him. A snaking lazy river the same methane-rich yellow color as the earth around it meandered through the valley's floor. Pools of it rose in bubbling ponds set in naturally formed terraces. A jutting rock rose up in a standing pool of water and only barely blocked the entrance to a nearby cave that looked just barely big enough to squeeze a guardian through. To the left a waterfall crashed down with thick water. To the right the river extended beyond the bend, lit by a bright red light. He glanced above to the clouds, a pale dark blue in the lack of light here. It all took his breath away.

Rafael alighted gently to the floor and joined Brick in examining his immediate surroundings more closely. Simone had now reached the apex of the large boulder and continued with a stream of nigh-unintelligible foreign vulgarity.

The warlock and the titan crept around the boulder the hunter had climbed. Their boots splashed in the water softly as they sent ripples through the mineral-rich soup. Rafael led the way, running his left hand along the rock wall as he did so. They rounded around a boulder and saw the mouth of another cave leading deeper into the mountain. It split off in two directions, separated by an immense rise of rock from the ground. Off to the right it led to another section of the cave, as well.

Rafael paused when he heard Simone cease her tirade and leap down to join them. She closed the short gap in seconds, looking about and appraising the room quickly. Beyond her soft footfalls and the monotonous gurgling of the hot springs, a second curious sound broke the silence. It came intermittently but steadily with a high pitch, like a bird's call. As he continued further around the corner toward the mouth of the large cave, it grew louder.

He stopped when he saw the Vex harpy unit. He stood still. It was the source of the strange noises, he was sure. It floated, completely still, in the air. Its body was angled and shaped into a triangle, with trailing tendrils of flexible metal floating behind it. Its large eye, in the front and center of its form, glowed a brilliantly blinding blue. The front half of its body was a deep black that gradually faded to a curiously glowing white at the tapered back ends. It was staring almost directly at them.

"What in God's name is that thing?" Rafael muttered, only halfway to the rest of the group.

From above them and to the left Thaddeus spoke up in a harsh whisper. "Keep your voice down." He peered over the edge of his short vantage point. "I don't know what they are, but we need to get past them."

"Kill them." Brick offered, sounding notably offended that the thrill-seeking hunter hadn't thought of the plainly obvious solution already.

Thaddeus paused for a moment. "That wouldn't work too well," He dropped down into a crouch and picked up a few loose, palmable stones from the ground. He looked to the weird harpy unit, cocked his arm back, and tossed the stone at it. It sailed through the air and landed with a thud directly in front of the thing.

The harpy's gaze was locked toward them until the stone hit the ground. Its gaze snapped down to look at the rock, its eye flared even brighter, and in a flash of light and a high-pitched screech, the rock it was looking at blinked away out of existence. After the disturbance was erased, it turned back to the right and looked out into the hall again.

"Still want to punch it?" Thaddeus asked sarcastically.

"Kinda." Brick responded, this time with less conviction.

"What are our options?" Rafael asked.

"We could feed the titan to it." Simone offered with a sly inflection edging toward humor. Though Thaddeus laughed, neither Rafael nor Brick joined in.

Thaddeus took up the other rock he picked up and tossed it at the creature again. This time it landed on the ground about ten feet in front of it.

The harpy's eye snapped up to look at the rock. This time, however, it did not erase it. It stayed looking at it as the hunter continued whispering.

"It's damn near blind, but it can hear almost anything." He explained, "So we can get close if we're silent. Sneak around it."

Rafael inquired, "Si, pero… what are the odds it simply didn't want to get rid of the rock?"

Thaddeus scoffed. "I was chucking rocks in front of it the entire time Simone was calling me dirty names. That's how I figured it out. When it looked toward all of you and you didn't die, I figured it couldn't see that far. Been testing its range for a few minutes now."

"And if there are more of them?" Simone asked, looking down to check her gear, patting her belt and kneeling down to inspect her boots. If it were as high-stakes as Thaddeus made it out to be, she would not take her chances.

"Keep our distance." The hunter pointed to the center boulder that split the path. "If we get high ground, even better. I can lead you through and we can make it if you trust me and keep up."

Rafael and Brick looked to the strange harpy nervously.

The warlock nodded his assent. "Lead the way, then, el capitan."

Thaddeus cracked his knuckles and hopped down from his perch above them to land silently at the head of the group. He whispered sternly. "Directly behind me at all times. I'll try to take it slow, but no promises."

Brick nodded. "Okay."

Simone looked to the three of them now. "I'll go ahead." Her confidence showed through her calm as she planted her fingertips on the wall next to them, seemed to pull herself up the wall, and press the toes of her boots to the wall in similar fashion. She pulled herself up the wall as she crawled along the rocks, climbing along the cavern in a remarkably insect-like fashion. As she neared the ceiling she effortlessly continued on, weaving through the stalactites with silken movements.

Rafael and Brick gawked as she picked up the pace, scurrying into the cave and disappearing behind a jagged rock.

"She'll be fine." Thaddeus assured them and tapped Rafael on the shoulder. "Let's get going."

The three of them crept along the ground slowly and quietly as they approached the first harpy. Thaddeus led them behind a nearby rock for cover, edged around it, and peered around the pointed stalagmite. His breath nearly caught in his throat. Ahead, perhaps only ten feet from the center rocky rise, was another of the freakish harpies, staring directly at the first.

Thaddeus glanced to the guardians behind him and pressed an upraised index finger to his helmet where his lips would be. He took another look to the path ahead and then stepped out into the open. He hurriedly made his way to the center boulder, with a low front-end that sloped to rise high in the cavern, and took furtive nervous glances to either side. Both of the harpies' eyes were locked on him. Shit.

But they did not screech. Their rhythmic synthetic chirping seemed to pick up in tempo, but they took no further action. He held in a sigh of relief and stepped up onto a low, squat rock. He stretched out to take a bigger step and propelled himself up onto the huge stone. From there, he noted with cheer, it was an uneven but easily climbable ramp.

He took a few more steps before looking back to check on the others. Brick had managed to clamber up onto the boulder, but had had to stop and help pull Rafael up. The warlock's boot scraped hard against the rock and sent a whining, shrill sound through the cave. He paused in complete stillness as if anticipating the harpies' dreaded ire. Silence overcame the room again. He sighed in relief and finished hauling himself up to the boulder.

Thaddeus nearly screamed. His fingers twitched. If the warlock had been caught by the harpies, he mused, he would not had helped the man. He would have laughed. No matter, he thought, we need to continue forward.

They climbed up the rocky ramp to its apex. Thaddeus looked down to see two more harpies flanking the hall at the bottom of the rock twenty feet below. Again the path split at a crossroads separated by another massive stone. He looked across the way. The next rock was too far away to jump to safely, but he saw a gray stone ledge of Vex design reaching down from the ceiling. He steeled himself and took a leap through the air over the harpies, landing upon the ledge and quickly propelling himself off of it toward the second rock. He landed nimbly and turned around. Would the others make it?

Brick activated his armor's lift capability and cleared the gap easily. He took a moment to align himself upon the ledge, then jumped again and landed next to Thaddeus. He watched Rafael attempt the same.

Rafael took a deep breath, but it came out in a ragged, nervous exhalation. At last he took the leap. He activated his armor's glide ability and managed to stay aloft enough to bypass the ledge altogether as he floated through the air, slowly, toward the rock the other two men had planted themselves on. The whistle of wind emanating from his boots called the harpies to gaze up at him, but they did not see him. His boots made a pathetic sputtering sound as his ability to float through the air began to wane. Frantically, he reached out for the edge of the rock and managed to find some purchase before his glide ability died completely. He hugged the ledge and scrambled to keep himself from sliding off and into the harpies' gaze. He kicked his legs uselessly and struggled to pull himself up. Just as Brick reached down to help him up, he managed to swing his right leg over and used it to roll onto the rock safely. He stared up at the ceiling blankly, his breaths short and heavy.

Thaddeus nodded in approval. He had known a rare few warlocks able to keep up with him, and while Rafael was by no means a gymnast, he was capable enough despite his inherent lack of speed or ability to jump. The hunter looked to the next section of the cave. It was a rounded dome of rock. In the center was a strangely well-lit structure of cubic Vex design propped up on a flat platform. He saw Simone tenuously perched upon a higher ledge of the structure. Her eyes were locked on something below.

The three men followed her gaze and saw another glowing harpy, this one bobbing through the air, moving across the ground around the structure slowly. It's chirping was reminiscent of a pleasantly hummed tune. It meandered through the cave and dipped down slightly with the slope of the ground.

Simone looked to Thaddeus and pointed directly to the right, where the harpy was. Even as it moved, her hand did not. Then she raised her hand with three fingers, brought one down after a beat, then a second, and at last balled her hand into a fist.

He nodded.

She leapt from the ledge she was perched on and dropped to the ground silently. She disappeared behind a natural stone pillar, but he caught a fleeting glimpse of her as she rounded a corner and disappeared.

Thaddeus very quickly waved for the others to join him, hopped down to the cavern's floor, and ran toward where she had pointed. He saw the glowing white back end of the harpy a stone's throw from him as he approached. He did not look behind him to ensure Rafael and Brick were following this time. He ran his fingertips along the wall and took a sharp turn into the alcove he guessed Simone had found.

He slipped into the tight cavern wordlessly. Simone watched only long enough to see her teammate had made it before ducking low under a slanted pillar that almost blocked the way forward.

Thaddeus followed suit and only glanced back when he heard the other men stumble into the tunnel. They fumbled and managed to follow easily enough. After a tense walk down a gently sloping tunnel carved from a now-dry river and Vex mining equipment, Rafael broke the silence. "Dios mio," He nearly panted, "How many more of them do you think there will be?"

"Should fortune favor us, none." Thaddeus remarked dryly.

The path circled back on itself once, twice. They passed a mostly buried Vex pillar at the bend.

"Why would they even build this place?" Rafael asked. "And why include so many death traps?"

"Treasure." Brick answered simply.

"Perhaps." Rafael shrugged.

The small cave emptied into an expanse of nothing. A flat platform extended out a few feet before dropping about ten more to a slightly larger one beneath. The four of them looked across the sea of empty space with sinking hearts. Far across the way a huge wall of smooth stone rose up and cut into the void with defiance. It was marked with narrow ledges.

"Any ways across?" Thaddeus looked to Simone hopefully.

Simone scanned the room. To the left was another rock wall. To the right the wall of their side of the cavern extended some distance before turning around a bend. However, the opposite wall, which they no doubt needed to reach to continue, seemed to float in the abyss wholly separated, and by a large enough distance to not be able to simply jump the gap, from their current chunk of rock. "No." She responded.

A strange chittering noise sounded off almost directly ahead of them. Suddenly, a Vex block of stone appeared with a flash of cubic light, floating in the air a ways from the ledge.

"Curious." Thaddeus approached the edge of the platform.

Another chittering sound, and a second platform materialized on the other side of the first, a similar distance away from it as the first one was from them, and a short distance below it. After a moment, the first platform disappeared in another flash of light. The second platform remained floating until a third formed and caused it to leave, as well. They watched this cycle repeat itself, transfixed, until the platform was level with the lowest ledge of the opposite structure's wall.

The final platform disappeared far below them.

The guardians looked to each other confused, but hopeful.

The first platform materialized again.

Thaddeus jumped up and landed upon it. He glanced back and was pleased to see them all doing the same, even Rafael. He laughed. "Hopscotch all the way down, my friends."

"Yes." Brick replied stoically.

"Si." Rafael muttered nervously.

"Looks like fun," Simone mused.

The second platform appeared, and they had just enough time to drop down to it as the first one blinked out of existence. It repeated again, again, again. The cycle was the same as it was when they first watched it. Jump, land, wait. Jump, land, wait.

At last the final platform materialized beneath them. They leapt onto the ledge and nearly hugged the back wall, glad to be away, however scant the distance, from the drop into an endless freefall. They edged along the wall's ledge for what was surely far too long, and made another drop to solid ground below with much less hesitation.

The group, led by Thaddeus and Simone in the front, wound around a huge supporting pillar. Their boots kicked up clouds of light, airy dust as they strode through the ancient structure. Ahead was a long, gently sloping staircase. Uneven stairs were cut directly into the stone. They ascended with careful steps and entered a nearly pitch-black hallway.

Rafael brought up his palm and summoned a fiery ball of energy to light the way. The walls glowed with ambient, dim, flickering flames all around them as they proceeded deeper into the darkness.

A second stairway, much shorter and thinner, led the way up to a towering wall that featured a triangular pattern carved and set into the stone.

The four of them stopped at the apex of the stairs. Brick knocked on the door to no avail.

Rafael pondered the structure. "A door, locked."

Thaddeus ran his fingers along the grooves of the triangle carved into the rock. "There must be a way to open it."

"We can't have beaten Judas here." Simone crossed her arms as she watched Thaddeus and Brick attempt to pry it open. "Unless those harpies got him."

"If they did, then we'd be wasting our time." Thaddeus groaned and stepped away from the door. He drew a serrated knife from his belt and tried to dig it into the grooves and pry the plates apart.

A soft hum rumbled through the stone, solemn and alien in its melody. Thaddeus and Brick stopped their fruitless attempts at forceful entry to pause and listen. A gentle, and not wholly unpleasant, vibration began to grow stronger beneath their feet. They each took a step back from the door.

Thaddeus spoke, "What harmony is this? My good friends, hark."

The triangular patterns upon the door flared to life and glowed a bright blue. The stone plates separated further from the inside out, and with the rumbling groan of stone grinding against stone, the door opened and spilled the light of the chamber within upon them.

IV

"What choice do we have?" Zavala asked, poring over construction reports from the engineer corps. He frowned and signed off on another materials requisition to bolster the southern sections.

"Little to none." Ikora replied with a displeased grimace. She scrolled through a litany of scholarly reports sent to her data pad. Only one of them held any information of value: that the western and eastern sections of the City's wall had been outfitted with automated machine gun turrets. The rest were glorified excuses for unproductivity. She sighed.

"When do we humor him?" Zavala looked up to Ikora, his bright blue eyes stern and weary.

She looked to him, then over his shoulder to the afternoon sun as it dipped down below the horizon. "Soon. When night falls, we'll be well on our way to Venus. I've contacted miss Holliday to make the necessary preparations for us."

"Excellent." Zavala nodded and looked back to his reports. "I never thought we would have to do this, Ikora. When I made that call, I didn't see this coming. If I had..."

She did not let him finish his thought. "There is no sense in lamenting the past. We need to learn from what we cannot change." She raised her head up and straightened her back. "Are you almost finished?"

"Yes." He did not look up from his work.

She nodded wordlessly and called out to one of the thin frame robots working on a termine against the wall. "Horatio, please fetch Lord Shaxx and Eris Morn." She commanded it.

The robot stood up straight and immediately made its way out of the room without a moment of hesitation. Ikora watched it go for a moment.

"Have you thought about what you're going to tell them?" She asked almost absently. She consciously forced herself not to look over the many tomes in front of her. They had revealed little insight into their current predicament, anyway.

"Have you?" At last Zavala pulled himself away from his reports and stood up tall. He forced himself to walk around the table to join her at the opposite end. The time for work and planning was done. Now was the time for action.

"Somewhat. The truth is less than savory." She clenched her jaw. "We could be throwing it all away."

"If we are, we'll make it a worthy sacrifice." He stepped in closer and looked down to her with a softer gaze.

Ikora almost smiled through her scowl. Despite the circumstances, Zavala was ever the stalwart and selfless guardian.

The silence was broken when Lord Shaxx stepped into the Vanguard office with the calculating swagger deserved of his station. Behind him, Eris Morn slinked into the room with hunched shoulders, holding her floating green ball of energy close to her chest.

Lord Shaxx straightened his shoulders and descended down the stairs in steady rhythm. He hailed each of the vanguard with a deep nod of respect. He spoke softly and with measured dignity. "Good afternoon, Ikora. Commander Zavala. To what do I owe the sudden summons?"

Eris Morn could not help but add her voice to the conversation. "Do you require more translations?" She cleared her throat and let out a string of guttural, phlegmy sounds accented with what sounded like chitters and clicks. She smiled to herself but it quickly faded. "The Hive language is a horrid thing, yet it provides useful insight."

Lord Shaxx took a step to the side away from Eris.

Ikora and Zavala shared a look before the warlock vanguard spoke. She did not bother answering Eris. "An urgent situation has surfaced that requires our immediate attention. We felt that it would be best if the two of you were made aware of it."

Shaxx crossed his arms over his broad, heavily armored chest. "Say it, then."

Zavala spoke this time. He abandoned even the notion of subtlety now. "Judas-33 has returned. He is amassing a Hive army and has recently sent us a communication from the Vault of Glass on Venus. The two of us and Cayde are mobilizing to stop him before he can claim its power for himself."

Lord Shaxx was silent for a moment. Then, "That's a suicide mission. It should be me."

Zavala shook his head. "We need you here at the Tower."

"No one can hold a wall like you can, Commander."

"And no one can break an enemy's ranks like you can, Lord." The titan vanguard looked to Shaxx's visorless helmet with an unblinking resolute gaze. "But this is my fight, not yours. And the young guardians are not yet ready for a war. Your work is not yet done."

Shaxx tilted his head slightly. "Is yours?"

Zavala frowned. "Any titan I've taken under my wing could fill my boots, I'm confident."

Eris slid into the conversation, her words grave and her voice coarse. "Is it wise to send all of you? So much of the Tower's leadership could be destroyed with one ill-fated step."

"That is precisely why we've called the two of you in." Ikora responded. "There are no other options in this matter, as we are the only ones even aware of the truth about Judas. Another team could be compromised just by virtue of giving them the information. In our absence, Lord Shaxx shall be the acting vanguard."

"And what use will I be?" Eris asked. "I have lost my Light. Some of you believe I have lost my mind, as well." Her gaze lingered long on Zavala.

The warlock vanguard looked to Eris, staring into her alien eyes hidden behind a veneer of thin cloth. "As a scout. You can sense approaching Hive for if, and when, Judas brings his army to bear."

"When you fail, you mean." Shaxx stated grimly.

"It should not be left unaccounted for." Ikora looked to him. "You know as well as we do that he cannot be taken lightly. Especially now."

Shaxx nodded. "I understand. Is it only the three of you?"

Zavala answered. "We assembled a reconnaissance team to scout the Vault for us ahead of time. We have since lost contact with them, but we plan to rendezvous with them once inside."

Eris barely contained an outburst of macabre laughter. The never-ending stream of black tears rolling down her face seemed to thicken. "No matter the descent, the outcome is the same."

"So you'll be off, then?" Shaxx looked to the setting sun now. "Time is of the essence."

Zavala nodded.

The two titans reached out their right arms and grabbed forearms in silent farewell.

The two warlocks nodded at one another wordlessly as they watched the men.

At last Zavala saw fit to break away from Lord Shaxx. The crucible handler stepped aside to let the vanguard ascend the stairs out of their office. Zavala and Ikora stepped up the stairs and out of the office side by side. They did not look back to see Lord Shaxx and Eris Morn watching them leave.

Ikora tapped on the earpiece she wore and spoke to her ghost out loud, "Hypatia, call Cayde."

Her ghost, Hypatia, materialized in front of her and bobbed in rhythm with the warlock's steps. Its chassis was a cloudy gray, its center core a vivid turquoise. Its voice was decidedly feminine and haughty. "He's screening his calls."

"Override his firewall, then." Ikora ordered her ghost as she and Zavala stepped up into the Tower's central plaza during the fading light of day.

"Understood." Hypatia replied happily.

Within a moment, Cayde had answered. His voice was distant, strained. "What's up?"

"Get to the hangar now."

"One step ahead of you on that one." Cayde responded groggily.

Ikora continued without humoring his response. "We received word directly from Judas in the Vault of Glass. We've sent the recon team ahead of us."

"Did you get a babysitter for the Tower?"

Ikora grit her teeth, but she knew what he was asking. "Lord Shaxx." She replied simply.

"Eh, you could've done worse." Cayde remarked flippantly. From the other end of the call she heard him address someone else, "Hey, can I get that to go? Thanks." He spoke to Ikora again. "All right, I'm on my way. But you guys are driving us there. See ya in a bit." He ended the call before she could tell him any more.

The warlock and titan vanguard stepped down the steel stairway into the large open-air Tower hangar. Guardians milled around the scene, going about their business with the repair crews or each other after landing. The meandering throng parted for the vanguard as they made their way across the floor of the hangar toward the gray ship awaiting them. It was a sleek design, adorned with the vanguards' symbol under the right wing. Attached to the underside on either side were several heavy mounted weapons. Leaning against its hull near the loading bay was Cayde-6, holding a comically tall glass, easily four feet long, in his hands that was no doubt an alcoholic beverage. He was conversing with a woman in dingy work clothes with blonde hair and pale skin. She was Amanda Holliday, shipwright for the Tower's registered vehicles and expert mechanic.

Amanda waved the two of them over with a smile. "Well hey there, I got her up and runnin' as soon as I got your call. Tried calling your pilot, but he said ya'll told him to take the day off. Should I be worried?"

Cayde managed to pull his drink away from his mouth long enough to answer her. "Not at all, just a routine outing."

She laughed. "Ha, right." She turned to Ikora and Zavala, snidely remarking, "You're takin' him to a 'farm', right? Where he can laugh and play all day? Mama did that to a stray cat I brought home once."

Even Zavala could not help but crack a smile at that. He patted her on the shoulder and shook his head. "Nothing like that. Thank you for doing this on such short notice, miss Holliday."

"Of course, it's my job after all. Holler if you need me, you know where I'll be." She waved goodbye and walked away, shouting out to the other mechanics and frames who were caught gawking, "Get back to work! I don't pay you to waste my time!"

The three vanguard looked to each other for a moment. Cayde sipped his drink through a straw even longer than the vessel, peering over the tiny pink paper umbrella adorning the rim of the glass.

"So let's get going." Cayde suggested as he stepped onto the extended boarding ramp. "You guys can roshambo for who's gonna fly. I need a nap."

Ikora followed Cayde into the hold of the ship, looking over her shoulder to see Zavala closing the ramp behind them. "We need to discuss our contingencies en route, Cayde. The recon team went dark as soon as they got into the Vault. We could lose outside communication. Do you have orders set for the hunters in case Judas attacks?"

"See," Cayde explained between sips of his drink, "Hunters don't really have orders they get from me. More like suggestions. I might be able to hand off a few missions now and again, but it's kinda like herding cats. Only the cats have guns and dashing cloaks."

"What does that mean?" Ikora asked as she took her seat at the pilot's helm. Cayde remained standing behind her. She turned her seat around to talk with him.

"It means they're trusted to do their own thing, get their own jobs done however they see fit. I just sign the paperwork at the end of the day. But they did all get a missive, if it'll calm you down. When the distress call goes out, every hunter in the system will come running to defend the Tower. Pray that doesn't happen."

Zavala approached from the back, checking the side compartments and computer systems absently. "And if it does, is your secret weapon ready?"

"You'll have to elaborate on what you mean by that." Cayde chuckled. "I have at least a dozen secret weapons, and those are just the ones I remember."

"Phoenix." Ikora grumbled and started the warm-up sequence for the ship. Her ghost hovered over the control panel, activating systems as necessary.

"Oh, right. Him." Cayde paused and took a long drink from his glass. The liquid was nearly completely gone, leaving him sucking mostly air through the long straw.

"We could use his power to good effect against Judas." Zavala remarked as he took his seat in the co-pilot's chair. "Is he ready for that, Cayde?"

"Uh, no." Cayde looked down to the ground for a moment. "He's not. And Judas knows what he is. He took the inverse prism."

That stopped Zavala in his tracks. "You mean he was in the Tower? Our office?"

"Yeah. He infiltrated in the night, took the prism. I think he met Phoenix, too. He knocked him out cold, put him in a coma, in the Speaker's office." Cayde admitted, his pride audibly deflating with each word.

"Why is this the first time we're hearing this?" Ikora asked.

Zavala muttered under his breath, "Who knows what damage he could have done?"

"Because I was trying to fix it before I had to tell you. Of course, that's kind of irrelevant now." Cayde shrugged. "I sent him and his team on a mission far away. Somewhere Judas can't get to him. Where he'll be safe until this all blows over."

Ikora stared ahead as she primed the ship's engine, looking out to the beckoning golden sky bathed by the light of the setting sun. She lifted a corner of her mouth in a smile. "You sent them to Pluto."

"Bingo." Cayde gave her a congratulatory thumbs-up. "We'll just have to hope that whatever we have will be enough to stop him. I mean," He set the empty glass down in the cupholder in front of Zavala, "I believe in us. So let's get it done. After a nap."

Cayde turned and walked to the passenger hold, laying down on a firm bunk and shutting his optics at last. Zavala clenched his jaw and shook his head, double-checking the systems and instruments on the ship's dashboard. Ikora set the course and activated the main thrusters of the ship, sending them rocketing forward out of the hangar and into the sky.

The ship flew smoothly through the air and rose higher toward the vast expanse of space.

V

The triangular door seemed to fold in on itself with a steady rumbling grind of stone upon stone. Light flared briefly in the engraved geometric pattern before entire sections of it slid into the wall in front of them.

With a silent hand motion, Brick ordered the four of them to take cover behind the walls, bathed in shadow still. They obliged quickly, darting into the darkness as the pale blue light of the next chamber spilled into the hallway. Brick pressed his back against the wall and peered around the corner, careful to keep as concealed as possible.

This chamber was undoubtedly the final room on this path through the Vault of Glass. The entry's stone platform extended only a stone's throw before branching off to the left and right. Uneven stairs led to hollow Vex portals. Easily a half dozen doorways fed into this room. In the center of the chamber a floating stone block, able to comfortably sit half a dozen people, hovered above a drop into the infinite abyss with eerie stillness. Ahead, beyond the Vex portal gates, the pathways met again in a large, flat central area dominated by huge stone pillars of stone and metal. Beyond that, a massive staircase rose up into the blackness, flanked by indomitable arched pillars of glittering stone like glass.

In the center area beyond the floating platform a lone male figure stood facing away from them, silhouetted by the light of a Vex construct directly in front of him. In his right hand was a long staff capped with a cross.

The four guardians looked to each other from across the doorway. Thaddeus and Simone on the right, Brick and Rafael on the left. This had to be their quarry, Judas-33.

Brick gave another order, and stepped out into the light. He took quiet steps forward and lifted his right hand into the air. He signalled Simone and Thaddeus to move right, then motioned for Rafael to come left. The others followed direction without a word, ducking into the shadows of massive stone blocks and the alcove of stairs. Rafael drew his assault rifle, Simone her sniper rifle, Thaddeus his pistol, and Brick his shotgun.

The man in black in the center of the room bowed his head. He spoke down to the ground, but his voice echoed across the entire room. "Friends, why did you come? To seek me?"

Brick stood tall and stepped forward toward the edge of the drop into forever. He held his weapon, a hefty shotgun painted vibrant orange and blue, in the crook of his arm. "Just me." He announced, though his voice seemed to be swallowed by the air itself.

The man in black was definitively a warlock. Clad in a black robe with a belt cinched at the waist, the hem of this garment was tattered and frayed. His helmet was round and solid black. What looked like two snakes were wrapped around his left arm as he raised it up to the bright light of the Vex construct in front of him. He turned around to face Brick, silhouetted by the blinking, pulsing lights. He looked to Brick for a moment, then turned his head slightly to the right, then to the left. Brick's stomach dropped when he realized the warlock was looking in the directions of Rafael and Thaddeus.

"You lie." The man in black scoffed and looked up to the ceiling. "Come to the light, my flock."

Warily, Rafael was the first to reveal himself from his hiding spot. He stepped out from behind a stone block and looked to the other warlock with his rifle raised. After a moment, Thaddeus did the same, holding his pistol at his hip, ready to fire. Simone peered out from behind her cover in the alcove of the stairs, but did not reveal herself fully.

"Wondrous." The warlock stepped forward as well, looking across the gap to the four of them. He took careful note of their weapons. "Stow your weapons, for all who take the sword will perish by it." He nodded to the firearms in each of their hands.

The four guardians looked to each other with growing uncertainty. At last, Rafael relented. He spoke, "If you'll do it, too."

The warlock laughed. "My staff is a tool. One that is sadly necessary. Do you know who I am?"

"A wanted man." Brick called out in response.

"Judas-33." Rafael added. "A rogue guardian."

"You are not wrong." Judas shrugged. "But your cause is weak and unjust. Are you?"

Rafael scowled and looked to his teammates. They had also put away their weapons, though he noticed that Brick's fists were clenched tight and Thaddeus's hand hovered over the hilt of his sword. He looked back to Judas. "You are an enemy of the Light, Judas-33. We must apprehend you. Will you comply?"

Judas laughed again. "Is there no honor left beneath the Traveler? You all know my name well, yet I do not know yours." He held his hand out in greeting. "And are the vanguard so alien now, without my guiding hand?"

Brick spoke. "Brick." He pointed to Rafael, "Rafael." He pointed to the hunters, "Thaddeus and Simone. There."

Rafael cleared his throat. "If we must exchange pleasantries, I much prefer you learn my full name. I am Don Rafael Luciano Solórzano y Vela. I shall gladly bring you to justice on behalf of the Traveler." He smiled with a wild, cocky grin behind his helmet.

"Why do you boast in evil, o mighty man?" Judas scoffed then promptly ignored him. He looked to the hunters, still mostly cloaked in the shadows. His gaze lingered on them for a long time. "By Immah most high," His voice dropped low, yet still echoed across the chamber. "Is it true?"

Thaddeus and Simone looked to each other. Thaddeus shrugged but humored him. "Aye. The pleasure is, of course, all yours." He bowed slightly but never took his eyes from Judas.

"It can't be." Judas stared transfixed at the two of them. "Your voice is the same." He looked to his hip, "That damned sword, of course. Tell me, then, what is your sword's name?" He stepped forward and leaned over the edge of the infinite drop to inspect him further. "If you're who I think you are, it should be named 'Temptress'."

Thaddeus was silent for a long time, standing still and looking Judas up and down. At last he broke the silence. "It is. How did you know?" He gripped the hilt of his rapier and shifted into a draw stance. "No one knows her name. Well," He amended, "I have told it to Simone, and to my enemies before they taste her."

"It seems we have much to discuss." Judas broke his gaze from them and held his arms out. Swirling vortices of violet and black energy swirled around his feet and lifted him from the ground and carried him across the gap to the floating stone block in the middle of the chamber. He alighted easily and looked to them all. "I trust the vanguard are on their way now? Perhaps you have some time to talk before they arrive." He tapped the butt of his staff on the floor between his feet and released it. It remained floating in the air, planted on the rock and held aloft by invisible hands. "This shall be neutral ground. Come, and parley with me." He walked around the staff, looking to each of them. His gaze lingered on Thaddeus and Simone.

The four guardians regrouped opposite Judas, whispering softly to one another in the halfway decent cover of a thin pillar of stone that rose up to the ceiling.

Rafael cursed under his breath, "¡Puta madre! What the hell is going on? How do you know him?" He thrust an accusatory finger in Thaddeus's direction, scant inches from the visor of his ornately engraved helmet.

"I don't." Thaddeus whispered harshly and batted the warlock's hand away. "I don't know what's going on, either. What do you think, Simone?"

Simone glanced to Judas, who was standing still and waiting patiently for the group to come to a consensus. A chill ran up her body. "I think we should do it."

"Why?" Brick asked, thoroughly confused.

"Because we can distract him until the vanguard arrives," Thaddeus offered.

Simone nodded in agreement. "And for my part, I consider it better to be adventurous than cautious."

"¿Porque no los dos?" Rafael asked indignantly. "I'll listen and be ready in case he tries anything underhanded."

"You think he would?" Thaddeus wondered almost absently.

Brick answered for the warlock, "Yes. I'll watch, too."

The hunters each nodded and broke away from the others.

Thaddeus and Simone each jumped across the gap to land upon the floating stone platform and approached Judas in the center. Rafael and Brick followed, but kept to the edge of the block, watching intently.

Judas seemed to breathe a sigh of relief and reached up to pull off his helmet. He raised his head, his metal features were sharp and angular. His left optic was a pale yellow, his right was a brilliant red Vex optic that had been transplanted from a hobgoblin unit. His crimson paint job was scuffed and scraped away in many places, leaving streaks of silver across his features. He came as close to smiling as he could. "Please, let me see your faces." He nearly pleaded with the hunters.

Rafael and Brick gave each other sidelong glances. The warlock shook his head softly as if to assure the titan he would do no such thing. Brick wordlessly agreed.

The hunters, however, assented.

Thaddeus pulled his royal blue hood down and pulled his helmet off first. Like Judas, he was also an exo. His face was thin. His metal finish was the color of tarnished gold, and his optics glowed a vivid green. His optics met Judas's. He nearly recoiled at the intrusive scrutiny the Vex one gave him.

Simone bowed her head and removed her helmet. Like Judas and Thaddeus, she revealed herself to be an exo as well. Her face was long and its features seemed somewhat softer than the mens'. Her finish was a cloudy white, and her optics glowed a brilliant, bright red. She looked to them each in turn.

Judas's voice caught in his throat as he took the sight of them in. "I thought I had lost you forever."

Thaddeus leaned away from Judas and held a hand up to stop him from approaching closer, apparently spreading his arms wide as if to embrace them. "First, how the hell do you know us?"

That stopped Judas mid-stride. "Right." He stepped back and looked to them again, aghast. "You don't know… What are your designations now?"

"Thirteen." Simone offered.

"Sixteen." Thaddeus.

"God on high," Judas muttered. "When I knew you, you were four and three, respectively."

Thaddeus gave Simone a glance. "Why don't I remember him?"

Simone shrugged.

"What was the earliest thing you remember?" Judas inquired.

Simone answered. "I… waking up. I remember waking up in a black room. Only Thaddeus was there."

Judas continued, "Were your ghosts there, hovering over you? Did they bring you back?"

"No." Thaddeus replied. "Just the two of us."

"How long ago was that?"

Simone pondered for a moment. "Maybe a year and a half ago?"

Judas sighed and bowed his head low, pressed his palms together and muttered under his breath. "Monsters, the lot of them." He looked up to them. "I will speak plainly, now. While I wish your comrades were not present, that cannot be helped." He cast sidelong glances to Brick and Rafael. "Once, you were both guardians in the Tower." He paused. "Alongside me."

Brick audibly gasped.

Judas continued. "We served together on many missions, battling the forces of the Darkness, as well as becoming renowned champions of the Crucible." He paused to let his words sink in. He looked to them hopefully. "We were the premiere fireteam, and the first all-exo unit in the vanguards' employ." He stood up straight and proud. "Fireteam-"

"Gehenna." Thaddeus finished for him, testing the word in his mouth.

"That's what Cayde called us." Simone added. "The name he knew us best by."

Thaddeus tilted his head slightly, looking to Judas. "But how is it that this lives in thy mind? What seest thou else in the dark backwards abyss of time?"

Judas nodded and his voice dropped low. He shut his optics hard. "I was deceived, and you were dragged into it. I was exiled. Alone. I had no idea what fate befell you… I tried searching, but I could not find you. I gave up hope that either of you were even still alive."

Simone crossed her arms. "I'm trying to remember, but nothing's coming to mind. How can we be sure you're telling the truth?"

Thaddeus countered her. "He knew Temptress, Simone." He turned his attention back to Judas. "Wherefore did they not that hour destroy us?"

Judas shook his head. "The vanguard… There is no faithfulness in their mouths, their inward part is destruction, and their throats are open tombs. Though they are twisted, evil infidels, they are also soft. Death is not their preferred torment. It is too merciful." He looked to them and his voice grew hopeful again. "But I have at last discovered a cure for the minds of others. Perhaps it could reverse the damage the sinful have wrought upon your memories?"

"Is it possible?" Simone asked. "Even if it is true, could you do it?"

"I'll do it." Thaddeus immediately agreed. "If it means answers, then yes."

Judas nodded. "I am willing. Kneel, and be cleansed."

Thaddeus took a knee and bowed his head low without a word of objection. Simone, though slower to comply, did the same. She kept her eye on Thaddeus.

Rafael yelled, "¡Idiotas! What are you doing, he could be lying!"

"Probably is." Brick added.

"Silence!" Judas shouted each of them down. "Have the gates of death been revealed to you? Have you comprehended the breadth of the universe? Tell me, if you know all this." He looked down to the hunters kneeling before him. He pressed the palms of his hands on the crowns of their heads. He nearly whispered, "Whatever I tell you in the dark, speak in the light."

"Enough!" Rafael roared and raised his rifle at Judas. "Don't fall for it, ¡mi amigos!" He squeezed the trigger and let loose a flurry of charged particles flying through the air.

Faster than the bullets, however, Judas looked up and materialized a deep indigo and violet shield around himself and the hunters at his feet. Rafael's volley punched uselessly into the domed shield, absorbed by its energy.

Satisfied, Judas again focused on the two before him. "Do not fear any of the things you are about to suffer." His Vex eye flared a bright blue for a moment and his hands trembled. His fingers gripped the hunters' craniums and they each seethed with pain as he released a flow of energy into them. He hung his head and leaned upon them for support. The hunters gasped in pain and roared in agony beneath him.

Brick brought up his shotgun and attempted to blast through the violet shield surrounding fireteam Gehenna. Rafael raised his left hand and sent a gout of roiling flames at the bubble. Buckshot pellets bounced off harmlessly. Fire spread out but could not consume it.

As quickly as they howled out in pain, they were silent. Thaddeus leaned heavily on one knee, Simone had doubled over and dropped both of her hands to the ground to keep herself from falling over entirely.

"What did you do to them?" Rafael demanded as he stepped away from the bubble. He looked to Brick.

The titan grunted and stowed his shotgun, but just as swiftly produced a heavy rocket launcher. He hefted it up, jumped backwards and activated his lift ability to stay aloft in the air above the ground. "Move!" He rested the weapon, a gold plated single-tube explosive, on his right shoulder.

Rafael hurriedly ducked out of the way and followed Brick's lead in jumping off of the platform. He jumped toward the entrance and took point under the floating titan. "I thought warlocks couldn't use a ward of dawn shield. What did he do?" The warlock repeated.

"Think later!" Brick yelled. He pulled the trigger and launched a high velocity rocket at the glowing bubble. It exploded an instant before it made contact, erupting into a vortex of spiraling, deep violet particles and smoke.

Brick alighted next to Rafael just as the smoke from his rocket cleared. The ward of dawn bubble was gone, but Judas remained standing defiantly.

Judas plucked his staff from its place in the center of the platform and took a step backwards. He did not look away from the hunters. "Rise, my friends."

The hunters did so, slowly at first. Thaddeus shook his head violently. Simone massaged her temples gently. Neither of them spoke.

"Tell me," Judas's voice was strained as if he were exhausted. Visibly, Brick could tell he was struggling against the urge to use his staff as a crutch. "Do you remember now?"

Simone lifted her head. "Yes," she spoke softly, "Yes, Judas. Everything." She dropped to her knees before him again, this time in deference. Or perhaps, Rafael worried, reverence. "I am ready and willing to follow your banner again, if only you would raise it."

"Wondrous." Judas nodded in appreciation. "Thaddeus-16?"

Thaddeus stood tall and stretched his aching back. He rolled his shoulders before speaking. "Aye. A plague upon the tyrants that I served. I'll follow thee, thou wondrous man." He bowed low and grasped Judas's right hand, kissing it gently with his metal mouth.

"Rejoice." Judas said simply. "You always did have a flair for the dramatic, Thad."

Thaddeus laughed and stood up tall again, breaking his act. "Ah, but what an appropriate choice of words, no?"

Simone rose and giggled. "Careful Judas, he'll be kissing something else soon."

Rafael backed away further from them. His back bumped into the wall. He raised his rifle. "Brick, what do we do?"

Brick finished reloading his rocket launcher and readied it again. "Fight."

"Que joder, I was hoping you would say 'run'." Rafael summoned a ball of red-hot energy in his left hand and tossed it onto the platform. It erupted and tendrils of licking flames shot out toward the three guardians upon it.

Brick fired a second rocket at them.

Thaddeus, Simone and Judas were each rocked by the lance of fire that pierced their chests and set their armor ablaze. Audible pops echoed through the chamber as their protective shields were broken. Thaddeus and Simone stepped aside and looked to their assailants.

Judas raised his left hand and a deep black void flared out from just beyond his fingertips. He watched with muted expression as the second rocket was swallowed into this vortex. He closed his fist, the black hole disappeared, and he opened it again with his palm up. The vortex reappeared and the rocket shot forth from it, directly back at Brick.

"Fuck!" Brick exclaimed and dropped his rocket launcher. He planted his boots on the ground and spread his arms wide as he summoned up his own ward of dawn shield, in the form of a ten foot tall wall directly in front of him. The rocket connected with the light construct wall and exploded in a shower of void-energy charged sparks.

Judas spread his arms again, raising his staff high. Energy swirled around his feet again as he lifted himself up and back to the central glowing Vex pillar. "Rip the light from their ghosts." He ordered the hunters as he turned his attention back to the Vault of Glass's inner mechanisms.

"Aye, my commander." Thaddeus drew his rapier, Temptress, and its blade crackled with electricity.