If a scientist were to explain what Reef is, they would try to use the most sophisticated words possible. People who live here would simply say that it is their home. You see, The Reef is not exactly a natural place. It is a conglomeration of various kinds of stone fragments, sometimes also large pieces of shipwrecks, in the asteroid belt, which have created a place viable for life. Sure, there are no fauna or plants here, but with the right technology it was possible to live here.

The Reef is not under the jurisdiction of Solana's government, but is ruled by the Awoken royal family. It was this race, when they tried to cross the border of the galaxies a few thousand years ago and failed miserably, that created this place. However, despite that it's hard to meet an Awoken here. It is much easier to see a representative of the more peaceful Eliksni or other races here.

It is also the location of the Prison of the Elders, a place where very dangerous criminals are placed and judged according to ancient Eliksni customs, which are enforced by the House of Judgment and sanctioned by the Awoken Queen, Mara Sov.

And this is where our heroes go.

After landing at the harbor and crossing the footbridge, Ratchet saw a huge building. It was completely made in the Eliksni style, which gave it uniqueness. As the father and son duo approached the entrance gate, they saw two people standing and talking whom Lombax quickly recognized.

"Aunt Petra! Uncle Cayde!" the boy shouted, causing both people to look at him and smile.

Petra Venj is 30 years old, young by Awoken standards, woman with a slender but muscular body, pale purple skin, short red hair, and a blue eye, the other being covered by an eyepatch. She wears a black and pink jumpsuit with white shoulder pads and a leather belt with lots of knives and gun magazines.

Cayde, or rather Cayde-6, is an Exo and one of the three leaders of the Vanguard. He deals with matters related to reconnaissance and eliminating dangerous creatures. His robotic body and eyes are light blue. His attire is light scout armor with a hooded cloak, all colored in dark brown. He also has a revolver that looks identical to the one Clyde has.

"Hey, hey, hey! Who am I seeing here! Howdy, kiddo, how are you?" asked the robot-man who approached Lombax and hugged him tightly.

"It's okay, uncle. And you? Zavala still has a stick in his ass?"

Hearing such words from his friend's son made Exo laugh. Next for a hug was Petra who took the teenager gently in her arms.

"Hello Ratchet. How are you doing? Did you missed me?" the woman asked.

Clyde watched the whole thing happen with a smile on his face. He was relieved that his son could be happy, despite such a painful loss of the Lords and Lilith.

The Exo and the Awoken woman then greeted their friend, or in Petra's case cousin. They both asked him how he was doing, to which he replied that he still regrets not going with others, but he will be okay. He then asked Cayde why he was here since the Vanguard agents shouldn't have arrived yet, to which the Exo replied that he was visiting Petra when this whole situation happened.

Recognizing that fate was on their side, the three adults began to devise a plan of action. Petra, who is one of the captains of the prison guard, said they have permission to eliminate anyone who has stepped out of their cell or cryo pod. She also informed that at the very bottom of the prison there are very dangerous Fallen Barons who cannot be released at any cost. With this in mind the four headed to prison to end this riot.

For the next several minutes, Ratchet lost count of how many criminals he had killed. There were so many of them here. Eliksni, Hive(dark beings from different galaxy whose bodies are covered in chitin and can use their own dark magic), the Cabal (a rhino-like race also from another galaxy) and many other races. This was enough to make the entire prison even more chaotic than normal.

Upon entering the building, the four separated. Ratchet was supposed to help the Awoken corsairs, which are infantry of an Awoken army, fight criminals, while the others engaged in activating lockdown procedures to keep other prisoners from getting out.

At some point, Lombax heard that someone was trying to contact him via communicator. So he ducked behind the nearest cover and answered the call.

"Ratchet here. Who's calling?"

"Hey kid! This is Cayde. Listen, I need your help. I'm in the control room in section D. Get here as soon as possible."

The Exo then hung up. Ratchet rolled his eyes and jumped out of his cover and started running to the coordinates given to him.

On the way to his mechanical uncle, Ratchet came across a minigun-wielding Cabal. Wanting to deal with him quickly, the boy used his power and soaked his omniwrench with it, turning it into an electrified battle staff. Despite much training with Iron Lords, Lombax could not fully replicate the abilities of the Lightbearers. If he and a Guardian recruit were to fight and were to use the same abilities, the recruit would win easily. Despite this, Ratchet was still a grim reaper to the criminals here.

After a dozen or so minutes, the young man reached the control center, where he saw his uncle behind a glass in the overseer's booth.

"There you are. How was a trip?" Exo asked without looking up from the terminal he was using.

"Ehh… I've seen worse. Nothing a .44 magnum wouldn't kill," replied Lombax, shrugging his shoulders and twirling the Rose revolver on his finger. Then he looked at his uncle. "How's your progress?"

"I'm trying to block the release sequence, but this stupid computer is asking me to press the red button. There is none here!"

"What about a wall behind you? There are some buttons," Ratchet pointed.

The Exo turned and yelled.

"THEY ARE ALL RED!"

"Then press all of them!"

Cayde decided to do so and began to press them like crazy. After a few seconds, all the switches turned green.

"Huh… It worked. I'm good." His triumph was interrupted by the screech of Hive members who appeared in the room where Lombax is. Exo quickly ran to the console to activate the defense systems while Ratchet fought the monsters.

After a few minutes, the room was clear and the teenager could take a small break from the fight. Unfortunately, it was not the end of a mission. Cayde informed the boy that Petra needed help in section E. And so Ratchet went there.

Running through the corridors and fighting the criminals, Lombax reached his aunt, who didn't seem to need help after all.

"What are you doing here? You were supposed to help the corsairs!" the woman shouted, taking her knife from the Fallen's skull and then throwing his corpse into a pile of similar ones.

Ratchet explained that Cayde had directed him here, thinking Petra might need help. Petra cursed under her breath, but decided not to send the boy away and accepted his support. And so everything was fine for the next few minutes.

Until they saw Clyde falling.

Despite his calmness during conversations with others, Clyde's soul was still filled with rage and regret. All of it at himself for not being with his friends and wife on the day they go to the bunker. Maybe that would make a difference, he thought. But it doesn't matter now.

He decided to unload all his anger on the approaching opponents. He either treated each of them with throwing exploding knives, bullets from his regular revolver, or using Light to create a Fire Revolver, also known as the Golden Gun.

Either way, his opponents had no chance of survival.

More than an hour after he separated from the rest, Clyde reached Section E, where the very dangerous Fallen were below. So he went to the control center of this section to see if everything was ok, but when he saw on the terminal that the capsules were opening down there, he ran in that direction without hesitation. However, he knew that the way down the stairs would take him a long time, so he decided to do something crazy. He jumped on the piece of building he was holding on to the ropes, and then shot at one of the ropes, sending everything flying down. During the flight, he managed to see his son and his cousin. Seeing their worried expressions, the man made a two-finger salute in their direction, and then continued to fall.

Once he was close to the ground, Clyde jumped off and landed on the ground. Hard.

"Ouch. This will leave a mark." said the man, getting to his feet. He then looked around and saw, to his horror, that the pods were empty. He quickly tried to contact the others, but something interrupted him. "Apparently this spectacular landing blew my coms."

Second later, the man heard something moving in the shadows. He quickly drew his revolver, the Ace of Spades, and took aim. He stood there for a moment, but nothing happened.

Until a moment later.

"Oh shit."

Suddenly an Eliksni, smaller and larger like Captains and Kells, began to emerge from the shadows. They looked different from their brethren. Their bodies lacked natural armor and their skin was as pale as a corpse's. Their veins were visible and dark as pitch. The smaller ones had whatever they could get their hands on, while the larger ones had more advanced weapons, such as rifles or spears.

"This is where the dark music comes in," commented the Awoken Man.

Clyde watched them all and, despite his nervousness, spoke to them in a controlled voice.

"Okay ребята(rebyata). We're going back to the cages." - but when no one listened, the man drew his weapon and commanded in a loud voice. "I said, go back to the cages!"

Clyde's next few minutes could be described as a mission to survive. The smaller Eliksni charged at the man in hordes while the bigger ones watched. For the Awoken man this whole struggle was already tiring. Despite many years of fighting, even for him numerical superiority can lead to the end.

At some point, the smaller Eliksni began to retreat, and the sound of their feets was replaced by something larger and heavier. As Clyde turned around, he saw one of the larger Fallen holding a metal ball on a chain that was on fire. The alien then made a swing that hit the Iron Lord and sent him crashing into the wall, completely demolishing it.

Clyde lay on the ground, sore all over. Ordinary attempts to get up resulted in great pain.

He had had enough.

A footsteps suddenly caught his attention. He froze as he looked towards the source of the sound.

"Hello…Clyde."

In front of the Awoken man was Lockdown, a bounty hunter robot that can change parts of his body into various weapons, ranging from blades to sniper rifles. His dark gray frame, green eyes, and skull-shaped head made him fearsome to his victims.

Seeing one of the most dangerous individuals in the galaxy, Clyde tried to get up, but the blade thrust into his torso quickly immobilized him and made him let out a loud scream of pain.

"It's been a long time since we saw each other, right?"

Before Lockdown could hear any words from his victim, he felt bullets hit his body. He turned his gaze towards the shooter and saw a young Lombax running towards him. Without thinking for long, the Bounty Hunter with a quick leap towards the teenager and drove the blade into his body.

"Ratchet!" Clyde shouted seeing his son on the robot's blade.

Lockdown then turned his other arm into a cannon and fired into the wall, revealing the outside of the prison. Then with a swing of his bladed arm, he slid Lombax off and hurled him out of the building and into space.

Seeing that he had one problem solved, the robot approached the last Iron Lord man who was trying to get up. But he didn't let him and pinned him down with his leg.

"I'll kill you! I will murder you! You hear me?!" shouted Clyde.

"Yes…I hear. And I don't care." Lockdown said coldly. He then transformed his hand into a pistol and shot the man in the head, killing him instantly.

His task was completed, and as proof of his victory he took Clyde's Ace of Spades and crushed it, then threw it next to the Iron Lord's body.

Now it's time to get these Eliksni out of prison.