Chapter 6: World's Grave
Review Replies
Randomguy0110100100110: Is that savathun since when is she here?
Dragon Emperor0: … No, that's not Savathun. That's Eris Morn, dummy, Savvy doesn't show up for any few expansions. Eris on the other hand is the inciting incident for Destiny's first expansion—of course we'd be introducing her so we can foreshadow it.
ThermalsniperN7: The three eyes must've thrown him off, buddy.
BlueLanternGoku: Female Eliksni acquired boy. Mission accomplished.
ThermalsniperN7: That's one way of putting it. And given how we've changed up our style, Elsie won't be included in that pairing.
Dragon Emperor0: Probably for the best, Eliksni seem like they're very territorial when it comes to their chosen partners…
-The Tower, The Last City, Earth-
It was one particular day at the Tower and both Alex and Vulcan were going about their usual daily business that wasn't missions or patrols.
Vulcan was going over what was new and Alex was checking on Aphrodite. The Eliksni woman's wound was thankfully healing well.
Though this was interrupted when Sentry got a ping from a patrol beacon that the Ghost had tuned into her specific communication frequency.
"Hey, I'm getting a signal." The Ghost told her Guardian.
"And?" The Titan questioned.
"Let's go check it out!" The female drone told him, bobbing in the air.
"Alright. Let's go grab Alex." The Titan shrugged as he got up, grabbed his gear and went to fetch his Hunter companion.
(Elsewhere)
Alex, meanwhile, was busy applying a special spray on wound dressing once Aphrodite's injured leg, the female Eliksni hissing at the cold while he gingerly rubbed her thigh, trying to ease her.
"Easy. It'll be over in a moment." He told her.
"I know… I just hate how painful it is to deal with." The Houseless Eliksni breathed, trying to keep her mind off the pain.
The two looked at each other as the Exo stopped applying the spray, before their eyes slowly started to close as their faces got closer and closer—until metal lips met carapaced mandibles.
It wasn't something they'd planned on happening right now, but they weren't gonna complain.
This was what Vulcan walked in on, and he made the (wise) choice of keeping his mouth shut. Interrupting a couple when they're kissing was a bad idea, after all.
The two separated seconds later and didn't notice their visitor, until Vulcan knocked on the door, getting their attention.
"... How much did you see?" The Dragon Sin asked awkwardly.
"I'll abstain from answering." Vulcan coughed. "Anyway, Sentry has a signal from a beacon of ours." He told the two.
"Okay, but why call me?" The Exo asked.
"It's on the moon. And seeing as you know the terrain, the choice seemed obvious." The Awoken man stated.
"Fair, fair." The Exo conceded with a nod.
"I'll be on your ship while you're busy, Alex. No reason to be dumb and aggravate my wounds in a firefight." Aphrodite told him.
"Fair enough. We'll probably be hitting the World's Grave again after we take care of Vulcan's signal." The Reaper nodded in reply.
(Later)
-No Man's Land, The Moon-
"Let's go." Vulcan nodded as he dropped to the ground, Sunshot in hand.
"You mentioned having a beacon. Can you send me the location it transmitted from?" Snake asked.
"No need. I can lead you to it." The Titan replied as he strode along in front of the Hunter and his ghost.
"Lead on, then." The Hunter shrugged as he followed suit.
It didn't take long for the two to find the beacon, where they also found the unconscious body of a woman dressed in ragged and dirtied garb laying next to it, clearly out cold—but alive.
"Shit, what happened to her?!" Alex cursed as he and Vulcan rushed over to the woman's body , where their Ghosts started scanning her.
"She's seen a ton of trauma! We need to get her back to the City, now!" Snake exclaimed as he finished his scan with Sentry.
"… There's evidence that this woman could have been used by the Hive as a broodmare." Sentry muttered in shock.
"I'm sorry, used as a what-now?" The Reaper blinked upon hearing that as he wondered if his audio sensors glitched for a second.
"It isn't completely out there, many Eliksni were taken by the Dark Blade Alak-Hul to increase his brood after his bride was imprisoned by the Prince Crota." Aphrodite stated.
"Disgusting." Vulcan scoffed. "Escape must've been a nightmare to pull off." He added, looking at the unconscious woman.
"Come on, let's get her home." Alex sighed as he picked the woman up. "… Oh my god, she replaced her own eyes with an Acolyte's!" He gasped.
"What?!" The Lion Sin gasped as he got a good look at the woman's face. There was a blindfold, but he could make out a faint glow suggesting there were indeed Acolyte eyes.
"Transmat her to the Eon Trespass! I'll get her as comfortable as possible!" The brightly covered space pirate exclaimed.
And with that, the three booked it back to the City.
(Later)
"Do you recognize her, Ikora?" The Exo questioned as the woman looked at the sleeping former Hunter on the bed in the City's hospital.
"I do, and I'm exceptionally grateful that you were able to find her." The Warlock Vanguard replied with a nod of gratitude. "This is Eris Morn, one of the Guardians who went into the heart of the Hive's stronghold on the moon. All of them were presumed dead when they never returned." She explained.
"Wait, you mean that off the books Fireteam led by Eriana-3?" Snake questioned, looking at Eris. "I… I knew her Ghost, Briar." He muttered.
"Were you two close?" Alex asked his Ghost.
"Yeah. We'd meet up and tell stories a lot at the time." The Hunter themed Ghost replied.
"What happened to her?" The Warlock Vanguard questioned seriously.
"We… Found indications of her having been used as a Hive broodmare." Sentry replied reluctantly, shivering as she did.
"Along with obvious signs of torture, and signs that she was scraping by after escaping her captivity." Snake nodded.
"And if that wasn't enough, she was also forced to replace her own eyes with an Acolyte's after her own were… either ripped out by a Knight or Thrall, shot out by the same Acolyte, or… Surgically removed by a wizard, while she was still conscious." Alex added.
That painted a very gruesome picture for everyone. As if getting captured by the hive wasn't enough, they had to torture you, take your eyes and use you as breeding stock.
Just one more reason to wipe the Hive out…
(Later)
After dropping Eris off at the Tower, the trio headed back to the moon to deal with getting the World's Grave.
"This place is heavily guarded. And a powerful knight holds the key." Alex told the Titan. "After that, we can get in… Where're you going?" He questioned as Vulcan walked in an opposite direction.
"Sentry's picked up the signature of a powerful Hive Relic near the World's Grave. I'm going to find it and destroy it." The Titan replied. "I'll meet you at the grave once I'm through." He added.
"I guess I'll try and deal with the Knight myself, then…" The Exo sighed as he went on his own path.
(Elsewhere)
A flash of solar light burst from Sunshot as the head of a powerful Knight—a Swarm Prince—crumbled to the ground in ash, embers tumbling to the lunar ground.
"What a joke." Vulcan scoffed.
"That's two down. Three to go." Sentry said as the Titan made his way down deeper into the Hellmouth.
As they proceeded, many of the smarter Hive that saw him tried throwing their minions at him in an effort to soften him up, which backfired and left them exposed for Vulcan to remove from the living world.
Minutes later, Vulcan neared the place where the relic was… right as a large, bulky Hive lumbered out to meet him—a giant ax in hand.
It was clearly in a class above the common Hive Knight. Hell, he couldn't even see the eyes of his new opponent.
For some reason, Vulcan found himself interested in the axe it was wielding.
"You have a nice axe." The Titan said, looking up at the Knight. "I'm taking it." He added, conjuring his hammer.
It was unclear if the Hive understood him or not, but he did laugh (or sounded like he laughed) before he charged at the Lion Sin with his axe raised. The Awoken Titan dodged and slammed his hammer into the Knight's head, forcing him to stagger back.
"Here we go." The Lion Sin said as he kept hurling his hammer at the Darkblade, smashing its armor to pieces as it was burned to a crisp over and over again.
The Knight tried to stay standing, but when you're peppered with explosions and fire, that becomes an energy consuming endeavor. Vulcan's attacks barely left any room for the Hive warrior to attack.
Ashes crumbled to the ground as the ax clanged to the floor of the Hellmouth, crumbling into a single fragment—dark as void.
"Hm… Sentry, what's your take on this?" Vulcan asked with a hum as he picked the fragment up while his Ghost scanned it.
"It's pure heladium. It takes on the properties of whatever it's near." The ghost replied.
"... That gives me an idea." The overpowered Awoken commented with a smirk under his helmet that made him look like he was a lion ready to rampage.
Which, to be fair, he kinda was.
(Elsewhere)
Meanwhile, Alex was having a similar time trying to get to the World's Grave, but stopped short as he had a Fallen Baroness from the House of Exiles at gunpoint.
"You're saying you know her?" The Exo asked his Eliksni lover.
"Her name is Sapphirix, wife of the former Kell of House Wolves, who was cast out when Skolas took power." Aphrodite nodded. "Her clutch was smashed right in front of her." She added.
"Who did it?!" The Exo growled in displeasure at the notion of such an act.
"Skolas himself. Who else?" The female Eliksni nodded.
"If I see him, he's a fucking corpse walking!" The Dragon Sin hissed before looking at the Baroness in front of him. "Let me ask you a question: Do you want to get out of the House of Exiles? Get a better life for yourself?" He questioned.
"… All House Exiles want better." The female said frankly.
"I'd ask why you haven't allied with the Last City, but I'm just gonna assume that past history contributes to that." Alex summed up.
"You machine spawn killed many innocent Eliksni. Of course the past is a reason." Sapphirix stated.
"And you killed an equal amount of humanity, I'd say we're even." The Exo nodded. "But, I think we can help each other here at least a little. Can you help me get to the World's Grave?" He asked.
"The Hive information archive?" The Baroness blinked.
"I'm actually about to hit it. I just need to kill the Knight Guarding it." Alex nodded. "An associate of mine is also heading there—after he deals with a relic he caught wind of." He added.
"You mean the Sword of Crota." Sapphirix nodded. "Yes, several of us have died trying to claim it for ourselves." She nodded.
"Well, I think those Hive guarding it are about to have the longest shortest day of their lives." The Dragon Sin said offhandedly.
"... I feel like that shouldn't make any sense." Sapphire uttered in a confused tone.
"Don't worry about it." He told her. "Take this beacon, it'll direct some evacuation ships to you and your house. They'll take you to the City." He added, handing her the device.
"I'll be sure to mention who gave it to us." The Eliksni woman nodded. "... Who are you?" She asked, realizing she never caught his name.
"Alex-7. I'm a Guardian of the Last City." He replied, holstering his cannon. "And my lover is also an Eliksni." He nodded.
"Wait, what? Who?" Sapphirix asked in surprise.
"I don't know her Eliksni name yet, but another Guardian called her Aphrodite." Alex replied.
Sapphirix seemed to nod at this before she got up, gesturing for her forces to follow and withdraw, leaving Alex alone.
And as the Exo turned to get to work, a large, red chitined Knight stepped out of a hallway, cleaver in hand, ablaze in fire.
The Hunter's hand twitched as he drew the Lucky No. 7, and pointed it at his opponent.
"Bring it on, ugly." He challenged.
(Elsewhere)
Back with Vulcan, flashes of fire and bangs of explosions rung out as Hive fell by the dozens, bringing him to a lone Hive cleaver.a
It looked like a common cleaver, but the energy pouring off of it suggested otherwise. It was clearly more dangerous than any other cleaver in the HIve arsenal.
Holstering his weapon, Vulcan took hold of the sword, and immediately felt it start to drain his light—but he resisted—even going as far to disrespect the sword by wielding it one handed.
"Its power is dark, but you obviously don't give a crap about that." Sentry chuckled, seeing that Vulcan was fine.
Moments later, the Swarm Princes arrived.
"And so it begins." The Titan said as he charged.
(Elsewhere)
Back with Alex, he was now standing before the Knight that drove him and Aphrodite off before. It was time for some payback.
The Exo started to blast the knight over and over as he kept pressing forward, round after round he fired—driving the knight backwards.
The moment he ran out of ammo for his current mag, however, the Knight decided to take his chance and charge at the Exo Hunter. Alex was quick to dodge a swing of the cleaver his opponent wielded, quickly reload and pop a pair of rounds into the Hive warrior's knees.
"This is for Eris, asshole!" He growled as he took his knife and stabbed the knight through the face, killing it instantly.
"Good work. Now we can get to the Grave… The World's Grave, not ours." Snake said, trying to make a joke.
"Meh. Three out of ten." Alex grunted, not all that impressed by the attempt at humor.
(Elsewhere)
Vulcan swung the sword down with a single strike, causing the last Swarm Prince to fall and the sword to crumble to pieces, leaving a single core behind.
"Another one?" He blinked as he picked it up.
"You already have one. Are you gonna give that one to Alex?" His Ghost asked.
"No, I think I'll keep this one." He stated, before he felt the back of his neck start to burn almost incompacitaingly badly, causing him to fall to his hands and knees.
"What's wrong?!" The Lion themed Ghost asked in concern, before she too started to feel weak, buckling in mid air before she collapsed to the ground.
After a moment, they heard footsteps coming towards them.
"There you are, my dear." A regal and almost unsettlingly seductive voice purred as a feminine figure strutted towards the Titan.
Straining to look up, Vulcan saw an olive skinned woman with white hair in a dark green-black leotard, transparent stockings and thigh high boots coming his way. What tipped him off that she must've been Hive in some way was the fact her eyes glowed the same shade of green they all shared, as well as her having a third eye.
The woman's voluptuous lips curled as she cupped Vulcan's cheek in her feminine hand, her features reminding the Lion Sin of the descriptions of Mara Sov he'd heard.
"You are growing into an amazingly powerful force of nature, O Consort Mine." The woman chuckled, her lips tickling his ear as she leaned in to get close to him.
"Who… are… you…?" The Titan groaned out.
"That isn't important." The woman told him. "All you need to know is that I am your future queen, and you are my soon to be king, my love." She purred, brushing her lips against his cheek.
For reasons Vulcan couldn't fathom presently, that kiss felt rather nice.
"Until the time comes, my dear, stay alive." She told him before she got up and walked away—the area reverberating around them—until the Titan and Ghost collapsed into unconsciousness.
(Elsewhere)
Meanwhile with Alex…
"Okay, I was a little worried that I would need Vulcan after dealing with that Knight, but this is kinda simple, really." He remarked as he defended Snake while he dealt with hacking into the info archive.
"Don't get cocky! You'll tempt them into sending something big!" The drone told him as he worked.
"… Speaking of Vulcan, where is he?" The Exo questioned.
"I have no idea, and Sentry isn't answering my calls." Snake shrugged as best as his little body would allow as he kept hacking away.
"We should find them before the Hive have a chance to regroup." The Dragon Sin said as they followed the trail to find their companions.
"Right. I just finished, anyway." The Ghost nodded as he finished pulling a copy of the World's Grave and storing it.
(Later)
Vulcan and Sentry were both still unconscious by the time Alex and Snake found them, but it wasn't the fact that they were unconscious that shocked them—it honestly would make sense given the relic that they were dealing with.
Rather it was the fact that Vulcan looked like he'd been inspected by a woman's hand while he was gone, as he was able to see several lipstick marks all over the man.
"The fuck happened to him?" The Dragon Sin asked with a blink of confusion.
"I dunno, but I'm picking up a female signature for something with Hive, human and… Awoken DNA having recently been here." Snake Eyes noted. "That could be our culprit." He added.
"Who would we even find that fits that profile?" The Exo wondered before shaking his head. "Whatever. Let's just wake him up and go." He said, dismissing the issue for now.
And as they continued to gather the man up, the same figure from before watched everything unfold from a dark corner.
"Hmmm, temporary this body may be, I think its design will most definitely serve me well." The woman purred as she turned away and went into the darkness, her body shifting from human—to something more Hive-like.
Apparently Vulcan had an admirer in the Hive…
(Later)
"This is all… Very troubling." Zavala said in a concerned tone as Alex gave a full answer report. "And you say that this… House of Exiles is willing to turn against the other Fallen to help the City?" He asked.
"They want better lives, and quite frankly, anything is better than having the Hive for roommates." The Hunter replied with a shrug. "Plus, we are in need of more allies in the fight against said invaders... so maybe it's best we try burying the hatchet… Even with past history, we really need to move on." He continued.
"I mean those guys know how to salvage better than most Hunters." Cayde chimed in. "But integrating them with the rest of the City… It'll be tough. Exceedingly tough." He noted.
"Well… I may know someone who could help. But it'll take some convincing for him to come, what with the Hive so close by." Aphrodite chimed in, an upper arm in the air.
"Will they be willing to help?" Ikora questioned.
"He's been thinking of trying to broker peace between humanity and the houses for a while, a few decades after Skolas was imprisoned during the Reef Wars—but hasn't been able to find very many Eliksni who will listen." The female Eliksni explained. "But I know him. He'll help. However he can." She nodded.
"Okay, million dollar question: who is this guy?" Cayde asked.
"His name is Misraaks, and he's one of House Wolves' only remaining sacred splicers." She explained. "He's also a lone father, so anything that could help him give his daughter a better life would surely help bring him to our cause." She added.
"A father looking out for his child. I respect people like that." Alex nodded, a sentiment the Vanguard shared. "Call him, and let him know what's happening." He told her.
"I will." Aphrodite nodded. "House Wolves has been in shambles ever since Mara Sov took over so many are being taken under my cousin's wing to avoid the turmoil that could unleash if Skolas escapes and resumes power." She continued.
"So, what is this? Is this Misraaks is making a new house of these Fallen—." Zavala began.
"Eliksni." Aphrodite corrected.
"... Right." The Awoken Titan Vanguard sighed, still having a bit of difficulty changing up how he refers to the space pirates in question. "Anyway, is he trying to build a new house for the purpose of moving forward with his vision? Or is there something else to it?" He questioned.
"All the members of his infant house are refugees and those disillusioned with the current situation of our kind. Weavers, cooks, scavengers, scribes, hatchery tenders, merchants, mothers, fathers, and hatchlings—no warriors." The lone Eliksni explained.
"Can't really mount an attack from within with those types of people." Cayde remarked. "The people of the City are still gonna be on edge, but the lack of warriors might make things a bit easier for them." He added.
"It'll take more than that in the long term, but Cayde's right." Ikora nodded, placing her hands on the Vanguard table. "Make the call. We'll handle things from there." The woman added.
"You got it." The brightly colored Eliksni woman nodded as she left to make the call from her Eliksni radio.
Change was in the air.
(Elsewhere)
Meanwhile with Alex, the Hunter had left the tower to go get his room ready, when Snake got a message from the Ishtar region of Venus.
"I have a message coming from Venus." He told his Guardian.
"Patch it through." The Exo ordered.
"Hello Alex." A voice said at the other end, causing the Exo's processors to grind to life in recognition.
"Elsie?!" He gasped. "You're-You're still alive?!" He uttered.
"Good to know that you haven't forgotten what I sound like. I could tell you didn't forget how I looked back on the moon." Elsie chuckled. "This isn't a social call. I have something I need to bring to your attention. Find me on Venus, Ishtar Region." She told him.
"I will. I'll be there." The hunter nodded.
"Good. I'll be waiting." The woman nodded as the call ended.
(Elsewhere)
With Vulcan, the man was still lying in his bed unconscious after what happened in the Hellmouth, and the green rune on the back of his neck still glowed and pulsed.
As he continued lying there, the same woman appeared again, smiling gently at his unconscious form.
"In time, you will become something truly great." She whispered, caressing his face. "Until then… My future Cinder King." She added before vanishing again.
Dragon Emperor0: Well, with all the Moon and earth missions done (minus the strikes) we can finally get Venus, Mars and such done so we can move on to the last bits and stuff before we move on to the Dark Below.
ThermalsniperN7: Yep, and then things can get a bit more entertaining. We already have Eris in the Tower, and she looks like she's gotten the shortest straw possible when it comes to hive "mercy" while she was housing with them. Speaking of housing, looks like the House of Exiles is moving into the City… And I just found a new reason to give Skolas bullets to his brain…
Dragon Emperor0: We're playing a little fast and loose with the timeline here because it was never stated when Misraaks-Kell started forming the House of Light, or when the houses that were on the back foot were forming the House of Dusk—so we're gonna try to fill in those gaps ourselves as best we can.
ThermalsniperN7: Forgive us if anything seems off with that in mind. Anyway, apparently Vulcan caught someone's eye, and I think we all know exactly who it is…
Dragon Emperor0: This'll be important going forward. Anyway, guys, see you all next time.