S1-160
Nothing Left to Say
6:41 PM
03/11/3273
The Tangled Shore
Spider's Safehouse
Music
Destiny 2 - Tangled Shore
Michael, Samus, and Spyglass had regrouped with City Hawk 723 in the Spider's hidden bunker, waiting to hear what Petra has to say. "After the war, everyone in the Reef mourned our Queen and our prince... except me. I didn't believe they had died. I couldn't. But then... Uldren returned. He told me he could hear the Queen's voice in his head. That's when I knew he was changed. I could have prevented all of this, but instead, I hid him away in the Prison of Elders, and now Cayde is dead, the Reef is in ruins, and I've confirmed that Uldren is on his way to the Watchtower. It's now or never."
Before Michael could make any sort of response, the Spider spoke up. "So that royal runt Uldren wants into the Watchtower. I always wondered what secrets and treasures the Awoken stashed in that ersatz spire, but my friendship with Queen Mara, while she lived, stayed my hand. Well, that and a locked door. Thus I am honor bound to send a selection of my finest to help you find that ever-elusive closure. I must say... I cannot wait... to see how this ends."
"Pilots, we must return to the IMS Colossus to rearm and reload." Spyglass stated.
"Copy. Spider, begin the assault against the Scorn. This conflict ends today."
"{You know what's down there. The Watchtower. The Fanatic. Uldren. The end. Justice or revenge, Uldren deserves what's coming to him, but... Michael, the 'why' of what we're doing is as important as the 'what'. I don't know what you're thinking, but remember that.}" Rocco stated as the Fireteam left the bunker.
7:19 PM
03/11/3273
The Tangled Shore - IMS Colossus
Drop Pod launch bay
Music
Titanfall - OST 29
Onboard the IMS Colossus, the voice of Spyglass could be heard over the PA. "Vice Admiral Spyglass to all IMC forces, the traitorous prince Uldren Sov has been charged with the death of Cayde-6, Hunter of the Council. Our mission is to locate him, and neutralize him. Fikrul, the Fanatic, is the leader of the Scorn, and there is a strong likelihood that he will be there as well. If you encounter the Fanatic, he will attempt to impede your progress toward Uldren Sov. Neutralize him. Strap in."
The Drop Pods opened up, each allowing four occupants to step inside and buckle up. Once full, they sealed back up and spiraled down, ready to deploy.
Various Pilots were heard on the comms.
"Anvil-1 is a go."
"Anvil-2 standing by."
"Anvil-3 is good to go."
"Anvil-4 is a go."
"I hate this part!"
"Cut the chatter! Initiating drop sequence!"
The Drop Pods were then launched directly at a targeted sector within the Tangled Shore.
An onboard AI spoke. "Separation confirmed."
Through the window, the Tangled Shore was visible.
"Stand by. Approaching shock layer." The Drop Pods penetrated the atmosphere of the Tangled Shore, entering the sector.
The Tangled Shore
The Watchtower
Beneath his helmet, Michael started mouthing the countdown out of habit. "Impact in three... two... one... mark." The Drop Pods crashed down, their hatches opening up to allow the Pilots within to head out into combat.
"{Approaching the Watchtower on foot.}" Rocco said over the comms.
Petra was on the line. "Approaching by air."
Pilots left and right were absolutely annihilating the Scorn, leaving no enemy survivors in their wake. Amidst the chaos, Michael, Samus, Jenny, Spyglass, Dane, the Exo brothers, and the Shadow rushed ahead.
Music
Destiny 2 - The Fanatic
A booming voice called out. "You enjoyed killing them?"
The Fanatic appeared, summoning forth a large force of Scorn, only for Spyglass to use a Shadowshot, tethering them all and clustering them together so Mark-18 could send them back into nothingness. "EMBRACE THE VOID! WELCOME TO OBLIVION!"
"You enjoyed putting them in dirt, where you belong? Did it make you feel good? Kaniks. Reksis Vahn. Yaviks. Pirrha. Araskes. Hiraks. Elykris." The Fanatic was enraged, but while Fikrul was blinded by his anger, Michael had learned to control his own rage, using it to fuel the fire of the Burning Maul, which he used against the Fanatic. "Tell me. I wish to know how I will feel when I kill you." The Fanatic vanished as the last of the Scorn were wiped out.
Suddenly, the entire group was tethered by Fikrul's staff and were being pulled into the Watchtower.
"I will pay any price... to be there when you die." Once the Fanatic's hold on everyone was broken, Michael formed the Daybreak and jabbed it into the ground, creating a healing and empowering rift.
The Fireteam stepped into the Well of Radiance, then opened fire upon the Fanatic, completely overpowering him.
The finishing blow was by Samus, who took the shot with a charged blast, bringing the Fanatic down and out for good.
"The Scorn... are... forever..." With that, Fikrul was dead.
Samus [Plasma Beam] The Fanatic (Scorn)
Music
Destiny 2 - The Watchtower
"{We did it. Only one name left. Uldren Sov.}"
"It's time to end this. For Cayde. Pilots, no one has stood where you are since the Queen closed these doors. Yours are the first outsider eyes to ever see this place." Petra transmitted.
Further inside was a strange machine, which Rocco examined. "{This is a communication device, but the coordinates it's broadcasting to... shouldn't exist.}"
"Keep moving. I'll get to you as fast as I can."
Up ahead was a strange rift of dark energy, and everyone stepped through.
Ascendant Plane
Just after the Fireteam entered the Ascendant Realm, they heard a voice that had not been heard in a long time. "Open the door, brother. Open the door." It was Queen Mara Sov.
Uldren's voice was heard after. "I can't... No..."
The way out appeared ahead.
The Tangled Shore
The Watchtower
"{The line between dimensional planes is thin here.}" Rocco could not be any more correct.
Up ahead, Taken appeared, only to recognize and bow to the Shadow, awaiting his orders. "⏁⏃ ⟒⋏! ⟊⍜⟟⋏ ⍜⎍⍀ ⏃⎍⌇⟒! ⊑⟒⌰⌿ ⍜⎐⟒⍀⏁⊑⍀⍜⍙ ⏁⊑⟒ ⟒⎐⟟⌰ ⍜⎎ ⏁⊑⟒ ⎅⏃⍀ ⋏⟒⌇⌇ ⎎⍜⍀⟒⎐⟒⍀!"
The Taken vanished, but Michael's helmet had managed to acquire a single ID.
SCANNING...
NEW ENTRIES
1: Zuuan
Taken by the Voices
Beyond that room was a strange chunk of crystal. "{This crystal doesn't match anything in the City's geological database.}"
"It wouldn't. You'll see." Petra transmitted.
Taken Thralls showed up, looked at the Shadow, then un-showed up. "The more, the merrier." He plainly put.
Rocco then examined a nearby tree. "{This tree is very old. Is it from before the Collapse?}"
"Just after. It was planted to commemorate the arrival of the Awoken."
Ascendant Plane
"Obey me. Free me." The voice of Mara Sov could still be heard within the Ascendant Realm.
The Taken were falling under the Shadow's reign, becoming one with his will as he passed by.
"Free me, o' brother mine!"
"No. No no, no, no! Something's wrong!"
SCANNING...
NEW ENTRIES
1: Sorvok
Taken by the Voices
Sorvok opened the way back out of the Ascendant Realm, joining the Shadow's army.
The Tangled Shore
The Watchtower
After trekking through the halls some more, the Fireteam encountered some sort of Ascendant creature.
SCANNING...
NEW ENTRIES
1: Voice of Riven
While the Taken fell in with the Shadow, the Voice of Riven resisted his influence and attacked.
Music
Destiny 2 - Voice of Riven
"Target sighted! Thirty meters!" Michael called out, Spitfire at the ready.
Mark-18 created a Well of Radiance, followed by Samus using her Ice Beam which was followed up by a Super Missile.
The echoing screams of Uldren could be heard as the Chimera took damage.
Once Hayden-10 landed his final Golden Gun shot straight into the Chimera's gaping maw, the Fireteam was warped to the Ascendant Realm.
Ascendant Plane
Wasting no time, the Shadow opened a rift back out.
The Tangled Shore
The Watchtower
Mark-18's Well of Radiance was still there, so everyone still had a source of increased damage output.
Uldren's voice was heard again. "SISTER! HELP!"
The Voice of Riven tried to send them to the Ascendant Realm again, but the Shadow blocked it with a Taken Vandal's dark shield.
Spyglass had then unleashed a Blade Barrage, staggering the Voice of Riven. However, that wasn't enough.
The Chimera grabbed the IMC Vice Admiral, and it was about to chew him up and spit him out.
Music
Metroid: Other M - A Daring Tactic
As the Voice of Riven was about to chomp him to bits, Spyglass began glowing orange.
"What the..." Michael was confused, but then realization hit him. Spyglass was about to self-destruct! "SPYGLASS! NO!"
Spyglass detonated, finishing off the Chimera, sending it screeching back into the eternal void.
Spyglass [Suicide Spectre Explosion] Voice of Riven
[Suicide Spectre Explosion] Spyglass
Music
none
The Voice of Riven was no more, but Spyglass had just exploded.
Without warning, he reappeared, and in perfect condition. His systems may have registered a successful self-destruction, but they were also registering that he was online and at full functionality.
"Sp... Spyglass?"
The Vice Admiral looked at Michael, then gave a thumbs-up. "Don't worry. I took into account that my Ghost remained with me. Self-destruct mode was merely the most logical option, considering the circumstances I was in."
"You KNEW your Ghost would bring you back after you blew up?!"
"Affirmative." Spyglass was known to review every available fact and detail before making any form of risky decision. Initiating self-destruct mode while in the grasp of the Chimera was no exception.
Music
Destiny 2 - Thin Line
Uldren was spotted right nearby, trying in vain to crawl away, having been regurgitated by the Voice of Riven upon defeat.
Everyone went to confront him, weapons aimed. Michael found the Ace of Spades on the floor, so he held that instead of his Spitfire.
"Congratulations. You have my undivided attention. Now where's my sister?" Uldren asked.
It was then that Petra joined in. "She's not here, Uldren, and if she was, this would be a whole lot easier." She had her Vestian Dynasty sidearm aimed at Uldren.
"So... This is to be a reckoning."
Rocco spoke up. "{Wait! Not like this. Look at him. He's finished. Even with everything he's done, we can't just-}"
"YOU HAVE NO IDEA WHAT HE'S DONE!" Petra spat, interrupting Michael's Ghost. "If Cayde was here, I know what he would do, Pilots. Do you?"
"Yes. What would the notorious Cayde-6 do? You have his gun. Seems you get the last word." Uldren, the traitor he had become, was right. Michael had the last say in the matter. Uldren then tried to sit up, but his strength was too far gone. "Everything I did, I did for her!" Much to everyone's slight aggravation, Uldren chuckled. "Funny. The line between Light and Dark is so... very thin. Do you know which side you're on?"
Michael pondered this question, mentally asking the Traveler. There was no response. The IMC Pilot began to lower the Ace of Spades, then came to that conclusion of clarity. Michael raised the Ace of Spades, pointing it at Uldren, then nodded. He knew which side he was on. The right side.
Uldren closed his eyes, ready to accept his end.
Michael then pulled the trigger.
Michael [Ace of Spades] Uldren
7:36 PM
03/11/3273
Planet Earth - The last City
Courtyard
Music
Destiny - The Tower
City Hawk 723 had returned to the City on Earth, and Michael went to Zavala. "Do not think for a moment that I shed a tear over... Uldren's death. In another life, I would've killed him myself, but we are Guardians. One life is nothing when weighed against the lives of an entire people on the very precipice of extinction. When you pursued vengeance into a foreign dominion, you put all of those lives at risk. The death of Uldren Sov will have its consequences. Maybe not today, maybe not tomorrow, but the day will come. I hope we will survive it."
His words angered Michael to a significant degree. "Good luck joining the Pilot ranks now, you thankless, imbecilic, moronic excuse for a leader."
Now Zavala's mad. He glared angrily at Michael. "What did you just call me?"
Michael grabbed Zavala by the collar of his armor, forced him on his knees, and stared him down, his voice dripping with rage. "You heard me." With that, Michael tossed Zavala on the floor and walked off.
From that experience, Zavala had one thing to say as his Ghost, Targe, appeared. "I think my desire to keep our eyes solely on our people and nothing else has made the Traveler's Legend... hate me."
"{Give him some time to cool off. He's probably still carrying some lingering hostility as a result of Cayde's death. I'm sure he'll come around and apologize.}"
"What if I am the one who must apologize?"
"{Still. Let him calm down.}"
Michael made his way over to Banshee-44, handing him the Ace of Spades. "You did it. Ace's yours now. I'm glad. Cayde would be glad too, but Ace... Oof. Ace is in rough shape. Ain't seen this kind of corrosion since... since... can't remember. Anyhow, Cayde kept spare parts in his old personal loot stashes. Yours too now, by rights. Track 'em down, bring me the parts, we'll get this piece purring again."
"Give me the coordinates and I'll find the pieces."
Zavala, choose your words carefully. The civilians are not all that matter, even you of all people should know that.
Michael is now on the hunt for the pieces of Cayde's weapon. Not only that, but the Shadow will be going on his own to investigate the Dreaming City. Its curse will be broken by his skeletal hands.
See you next time.