Review Replies

edboy4926: Good chapter. Technically speaking based on the powers we see the Witness use, bringing back Didact (who last time I checked in canon he got turned into a computer program) is possible. Will the current events of Seraph affect how Rasputin acts here?

ThermalsniperN7: Okay, good point about the Didact there. He could be brought back as a Disciple, given his position. As for Rasputin, there may be some changes, but it's too early to say for certain at the moment. Seriously, we're still in the early parts of Destiny 1.

Dragon Emperor0: Yeah, baby steps, man. Baby steps.

joestrash2009: is there going to be a new part?

ThermalsniperN7: Yes. Right now.

Dragon Emperor0: *nods*

Randomguy0110100100110: Can I get an actual answer besides an overused one?

Dragon Emperor0: OK. How about: Because we're the writers. We can do whatever we want. And that we don't have to justify our writing choices to you, a guy who literally is just a random guy in a sea of… 0110100100110 of them, I believe?

Also, your claims on Midnight's Successor? They are asinine. But I'll save my full response to that for that chapter.

ThermalsniperN7: Learn to take a joke and not be all serious.

-The Tower, Last City, Earth-

About a week following his events at the Cosmodrome, Noble was currently rifling through the newest weapons he obtained from his time at the Cosmodrome, including a unique set of armor he'd found most recently in a lost sector.

The armor was black, gray and white. It appeared semi-bulky, but sleek enough for a Titan to run fast while wearing it. It also had a certain familiarity that Noble felt like he should know, but it escaped him somehow.

There was a mark, one that used to be a banner for the House of Devils.

When he'd cycled through everything that was in shape, he then went to Banshee to find the Exo putting the finishing touches on his Gravity Hammer.

"Oh, right on time." The weapon smith mused, noting the Spartan's approach. "Just gotta put this in place… and… there. Working on this was actually pretty fun." He admitted.

"You work on guns usually, so I imagine that a hammer like this would be quite the piece to work on." Noble chuckled.

"It was. Anyway, there's one thing I decided to add." The Exo nodded before bringing up a detail about the hammer. "I was able to add a 'boomerang' function that will make the hammer's gravitational forces act in a manner that makes it return to you if you decide to throw it. On that topic, if you do throw it, the gravity blast will be massive enough to make a Kell keel over in one hit. That's guaranteed if you nail one directly." He explained.

This got Noble to stare at his new hammer with wide eyes. A function to make it return to him? And it was basically a Gravity Javelin now? That was equally amazing and scary.

"... You really went wild." Noble noted with a whistle after a beat passed.

"It pays to be good at my profession." Banshee shrugged.

"Thanks, Banshee." The Titan nodded as he took the hammer and strapped it across his back before turning to leave.

"You know, most people give their personal custom weapons a name. What are you naming yours?" Epsilon asked, looking at his Guardian curiously.

"Hm…" The Spartan hummed as he walked, looking at his hammer before smirking as a name came to him. "Spartan Diplomacy." He decided.

(Elsewhere)

Meanwhile, in the Hangar, Tex was currently watching as Amanda finished working on Noble's ship, right as the Titan walked into the area.

"Hey, Tex. How's the Prowler coming along?" He asked.

"They look like they're about to be finished, which means I don't have to sit in those damnable hawks anymore." The Eliksni woman replied, popping her back a bit. She was sure that she was still sore after riding in the one she and Noble had to use while their Prowler was being patched up.

"Good for you, then." Epsilon chimed in.

"Who threw sand in your shell?" Tex questioned.

"It's my siblings." The ghost sighed. "Not counting Theta, none of them have found their guardians yet." He explained. "I'm just, really worried." He added, dipping a bit.

"How many of you are there?" Noble asked.

"Not counting myself and Theta, there are ten." The Ghost explained. "Alpha, our big brother. Beta, our big sister. Then there's Delta, the smart one. Gamma, the tricksy one. Eta, the fearful one. Iota, the happy one. Sigma, the creative and ambitious one. Theta, the trustful one. Omega, the rageful one. Xi, the loving and greedy one." He listed, before bouncing a bit. "And then there's me! Epsilon, the memorable one!" He added with a proud grin… Not that it was seen, but it could certainly be heard.

"... I think this is the first time I've heard of Ghosts being called a family." Tex noted thoughtfully after a moment.

"It's not uncommon." Amanda chimed in, wiping her hands on a shop rag as she approached them. "I've talked to Ghosts and they told me that Ghosts can have siblings if they're sparked at the same time with the same source of Light." She added, getting a nod from Epsilon.

"And given that all Ghosts were probably created at the same time before the Traveler went quiet, is it safe to say that literally every Ghost in existence is a sibling?" Noble wondered.

"Not all of us at the same time, but basically." The memory Ghost shrugged. "We have older siblings, twins, younger siblings… The list goes on." He added.

"So, what can you tell us about your other siblings?" Tex asked as she leaned on a crate with her arms folded..

"Omega has an alter ego in the form of O'Malley. A textbook evil cartoon villain." The ghost stated.

"Why do I feel like he'll probably make a fool of himself?" The Titan muttered to Tex, who shrugged.

"Gamma's also known for lying and making up a ton of other things. Don't trust anything he says." Epsilon continued. "He's also known for listing off every possible conceivable way that something could go wrong, just to sike people out–even when nobody cares or even asked for his opinion!" He added with a slight aggravated shout.

"Man what an asshole. I pity whoever has him for their Ghost." Noble winced, sending his condolences to whichever Guardian was unlucky enough to get Gamma.

"Iota, though… She's the textbook definition of a morale booster. Whoever gets her is lucky." Epsilon stated, knowing that stress wasn't going to exist when her Guardian had her.

"What about Delta?" Amanda asked.

"Logic personified. Barely anything gets past him." The Ghost replied. "Eta is like a nervous introvert, he can't talk to big groups because it causes him to lock up." He continued. "Even the slightest whiff of a Dreg makes him faint. He even hides by playing dead." He added.

"Does that actually work?" The Eliksni asked.

"More than you'd think." The memory Ghost repled. "Sigma, meanwhile, is the most creative out of us and has the biggest ambitions in the solar system. He wants to find a Guardian that will build a throne world so big that an entire solar system could fit in it." He added, causing Noble and Tex to look at each other.

"Wait, as in Hive Throne World?" Tex questioned, getting a shrug from Noble, who had no idea what that was.

"They're basically pocket dimensions that Hive can bind their deaths to and become immortal. " Epsilon elaborated upon seeing his Guardian's shrug.

"... Okay, I call bullshit on that." The Spartan deadpanned.

"And we met Theta, he's about as trusting as a little kid." Tex nodded.

"Well, he is the youngest out of us." Epsilon shrugged.

"What about the older two, Alpha and Beta?" Noble asked.

"Alpha is the only one aside from Beta who can reign in Omega, Gamma and Sigma if they go overboard with their antics. Beta herself, meanwhile, is the one that stresses out whenever one of us does something stupid." Epsilon explained.

"So, typical older siblings?" The Eliksni woman surmised.

"Pretty much." He nodded. "As for me, I'm unique because I can remember pretty much everything I come across." He added.

"That must've spread to me, otherwise I wouldn't remember what I did in my past." Noble noted, seeing a connection.

"That's pretty much the gist of it." His Ghost shrugged before a mechanic walked up to Amanda and handed her a datapad, allowing her to look it over before grinning.

"Good news, Noble: Your Prowler's done being repaired and refitted, and is ready to fly again." The blonde told him.

"Great. Thanks, Amanda." Noble nodded. "Ready to go?" He asked Aphrodityss as he watched his ship dock.

"Sure. Where to?" She asked as they transmatted into the ship.

(Elsewhere)

-Hellas Basin, Mars, Clovis Bray Facility-

In the frozen wastes of the Hellas Basin of the Martian planet, a Ghost was scanning the noble dead for a possible Guardian candidate.

The Ghost's shell was made of a dark green sphere with a matching dark green ring. Its optic color didn't match the rest of it, though.

"Hm… Based on the pings I'm getting, I should be close." He mused as he kept scanning for his Guardian.

As he did, however, a Warmind bunker slowly opened, swallowing him inside, and bringing him to a place that looked like it was part of the bunker–but was built out of an old Red vs Blue Spartan training base.

"Curious." The little light mused before he started looking around before coming across a body in old armor that had trace bits of maroon on it. He gave it a scan, and got a positive response. "Found you." He said before sending out a pulse of light.

"GAH! SUNUVA BITCH!" The now newly resurrected Spartan turned Warlock gasped as he shot up, panic causing him to lurch up.

"Apologies for the abrupt wake up call." The Ghost told him, getting his attention.

"Wh-Who are you?" He stuttered nervously.

"My name is Delta, and I'm a Ghost. Now your Ghost." The drone replied. "Who might you be?" He asked.

"Uh…" The Warlock said before looking down at something attached to his armor. "Richard "Dick" Simmons. Huh." He read. "OK." He shrugged. Though soon it became apparent that his voice seemed robotic.

"I see. So you're an Exo. Do you know how many reboots you've undergone?" Delta asked.

"I think…. None? Huh. Weird." The Exo Warlock muttered.

"Well, that's certainly a first." Delta mused before shaking his equivalent of a head. "That doesn't matter. We need to find a way to get to Earth. Get up so we can get moving." He added, prompting his newfound Guardian to get up.

"Right, right." Simmons nodded as he got up.

(Elsewhere)

-Cabal Exclusion Zone, Mars-

Meanwhile in the deserts that made up the Cabal Exclusion Zone, a Ghost with a pixilated blue shell with the symbol for Gamma on it was scanning the dunes of sand for a potential Guardian, up and down, left and right, high and low.

"Where is he? He has to be somewhere around here." He said to himself before he headed into an old laboratory. He looked around for a few hours before he came across an Exo with black paint on it. Scanning the dead Exo, he got a positive result. "There you are." He declared before he sent out a pulse of light, reanimating the Exo in Titan armor.

"Ay! Dios mío!" The exo exclaimed as he came to life, letting Gamma see what his Guardian looked like.

As stated before, he was an exo, but now it was obvious that he had orange optic lights along with a matching orange voice light. The black paint, which had been flaking off for centuries, was brand new again and the Exo's face looked to be set in a perpetual scowl. His Titan armor was the basic starting set all New Light Titans got.

"Hello, Guardian. I am Gamma, your Ghost. Do you know who you are?" The Ghost asked the Exo.

"Soy López el Pesado." The robot man explained.

"Welcome to the fray, Lopez the Heavy." Gamma nodded.

(Elsewhere)

-Venus, Ishtar Region-

In the ruins of an old Golden Age city, a Ghost was scanning for her Guardian. Her shell was black and was… wrapped in bandages. An odd shell, to be sure. She also had the symbol for Eta on a part of her shell not covered in bandages.

"Where are you, where are you…?!" The Ghost whispered fearfully, dreading the moment a Fallen popped out of nowhere to make a grab at her.

Luckily for her though, she soon found a promising corpse of a Spartan in orange armor laying down on the bar of a Ramen shop, a centuries old bowl and chopsticks still in his hand.

"... W-Well, I've seen weirder." She stuttered with a small shrug before scanning it, and lit up at the results she got. "Finally!" SHe exclaimed in glee before sending out a pulse of light, reanimating her Guardian.

"I DIDN'T DO IT!" The new light yelled as he shot up, unwittingly falling backwards off his stool. He was clothed in basic Hunter armor for New Lights. "... Ow…" He groaned.

"Um… Hi. I'm your Ghost, Eta." The little drone said nervously, getting his attention.

"Oh, hi. I'm… Dexter Griff,? Yeah, I think that's it." The man groaned as he got up.

"Oh! W-W-Well if it isn't too much, could we try to get somewhere safe? This place is giving me the creeps." Eta said, getting the hunter's attention.

"Sure." He nodded, taking her into his inventory for safe keeping.

(Elsewhere)

-Mercury, Infinite Sands-

A Ghost flew across the surface of Mercury, humming a happy tune as she did. Her shell was colored blue and had four… Ridges? On it, two to a side. She also had the symbol for Iota on it.

As she drifted happily with the flow of the desert winds, until she came upon a mummified figure that was in blue Spartan armor and buried in sand… so much so that a sand castle was on his head.

Literally.

"Oh, now that is the cutest thing I've ever seen! He must be my Guardian!" She gushed before doing a scan. "I WAS RIGHT!" She yelled gleefully before she let out a pulse of light and reanimated her new Guardian, who was also a Titan, apparently.

"... That was a great nap." The newly arisen Guardian yawned as he sat up and stretched.

"Hello~!" Iota sang, sounding like Yang from RWBY. "I'm Iota, your Ghost. You weren't sleeping, actually. You were dead." She told him. "But I brought you back!" She smiled.

"I was dead? You made me alive again?" The Guardian gasped before he leapt to his feet and pulled the Ghost in for a hug. "THANK YOU SO MUCH!" He yelled happily, spinning in a circle as his Ghost laughed.

"You're welcome, big guy." Iota smiled as he stopped spinning and released her. "So, what's your name?" She asked.

"Uh…" The Titan uttered as he looked at a dog tag in his hand. "Michael J. Caboose." He stated.

"Well come on, Mikey. Let's see if we can find someplace safe." The happy Ghost said as they started searching for shelter… only to disappear when a portal into the Infinite Forest sucked them in.

(Meanwhile)

-Titan, Saturn's moon-

Inside one of the ancient sea rigs of Titan, a Ghost angrily flew through the halls. He had a white shell that looked vaguely like a sideways oval with a stylized purple M on the front and a purple optic. He also had the symbol for Omega in the center of the M.

"I swear, I'll sink every single one of these rigs if I don't find my fucking Guardian soon!" He growled, his voice sounding like what you'd hear from a cartoon villain.

As if the Traveler herself was listening, an air vent suddenly blasted the Ghost down and elevator shaft and caused him to tumble into what looked like an infirmary–where a dead Spartan in purple armor laid across from a first aid kit, where a skeleton of a woman laid on the hospital bed, holding a baby Elite.

"Hm… It can't be the baby. I'd join the Darkness if that was the case." The angry Ghost muttered, not even bothering to do a scan of said baby. He scanned the woman and got a negative result, which pissed him off. "Oh come on!" He shouted.

Angrily scanning the purple Spartan, he calmed down a bit when he got the positive result he desired.

"About time!" He barked before sending out a pulse of light, reanimating his Guardian as a Warlock.

"NEXT!" The man gasped as he shot up, now garbed in basic Warlock robes.

"Finally!" Omega sighed. "Now listen to me, you sorry sack of meat! I am Omega. I am a Ghost and the only reason you are now alive again! So–therefore, your life henceforth belongs to me!" He exclaimed.

"U-Um, okay." The new Warlock gulped nervously.

"That being said, what do you call yourself?" He questioned.

"Uh, Doc?" The man replied.

"... Seriously? That'll never stick." Omega sweatdropped at hearing that.

(Elsewhere)

-Cosmodrome, Old Russia, Earth-

Somewhere in the Cosmodrome, a Ghost flew through the halls of a colony ship in silence. It had a shell with extensions that looked like a shield, was orange and had a fiery aura surrounding it complete with an orange optic. It also had the symbol for Sigma on one of its extensions.

"Hmmm, so many viable options…" The drone hummed as he scanned one pod after the other, until he came upon one.

Spartan Soldier Designation: General. Name: Master Cheif.

"Well, hello Chief." Sigma nodded as he tried to resurrect the original Spartan–only for it to fail. "What?!" He yelled.

Growling in displeasure, he scanned another pod, and got a positive result.

"... Sarge? What kind of name is that?!" The Ghost questioned before sighing. "Whatever…" He said as he rezzed the Red leader.

"What in tarnation?!" The gruff man barked as he effortlessly kicked his pod open and hopped out.

He then revealed himself to be dressed in red Titan armor with a shotgun as a weapon.

"Hello Sarge. Welcome back to the land of the living." The ghost said. "I am Sigma, your Ghost. And… Well, you've been dead for a while." He added.

"Dead? Well, that would explain why I can't remember shit." The man muttered. "Must've been those dirty Blues. Of course it was…" He mumbled.

"Don't worry. I have a brother who can help you with that." Sigma told him.

(Elsewhere)

-Io, Saturn Moon-

On the final place the Traveler touched, a Spartan in light blue armor seemed to be laid to rest in a rib cage tomb, the word "Carolina" being on her helmet.

As her body was bathed in the Traveler's light, a Ghost floated towards her. Her shell looked like it was made of wood and had several ornate designs on it along with fake leather straps. She also had the Beta symbol on her shell.

"Who laid you here to rest?" The Ghost wondered before doing a scan of her, getting a positive result. "Well, given where she's resting, that's a no brainer." She mused before reviving her Guardian, who was now a Hunter.

"WHAT THE HELL?!" She yelled as she shot up and looked around frantically.

"Hello, Carolina." Beta said, going up to the new Hunter. "My name is Beta. I'm a Ghost. Well, your Ghost, actually." She added. "And you've been dead for a really long time." She continued.

"Do I wanna know how long?" She asked, flexing her limbs for the first time in centuries. Her figure was almost lethal, especially with her EE-cup bust, hourglass figure and heart shaped ass. She was wearing the same armor every New Light Hunter wore.

"Not really. No." Her Ghost replied. "Come on, I know a place where we can call for help." She said as she led her Guardian away from her original resting place.

(Elsewhere)

-Shard of the Traveler, European Dead Zone, Earth-

Close to the Shard of the Traveler, a Ghost scanned about for his Guardian. His shell was, simply put, a duplicate of a Halo Monitor unit that had the Alpha symbol on it.

"Okay, okay, he's gotta be here somewhere…" He muttered as he kept scanning every human skeleton he could find.

After a couple more hours, he came across a Spartan in black and yellow armor, lying lifeless on the ground while leaning against a piece of the Traveler.

He also seemed to have a shield similar to Captain America's on his arm, which was stained with blood that seemed to be from the Grunts, Hunters and Elites that were scattered everywhere.

"Damn, you really went down fighting, didn't ya, Washington?" The Ghost said, feeling like he knew this Spartan from somewhere. "Well then, let's reward that gung-ho badassery, shall we?" He added as he rezzed the man as a Titan.

"What the-?!" The man gasped as his head shot up and looked around before his gaze landed on the Ghost that brought him back. "Okay, judging by my surroundings, I died fighting and you brought me back to life, right?" He guessed.

"Yep, that about sums it up." The Forerunner styled Ghost nodded in reply. "Get up. We need to get moving and comms are shit in this place." He told him.

"Gimme a sec to stretch." The New Light groaned as he got up and stretched his newly reconstructed muscles.

"No time for that, newbie! We gotta blow this joint!" The drone exclaimed.

"Hey, can it for a second, will ya…?" The Titan questioned, putting away his shield.

"Alpha." The Ghost deadpanned.

"Right, Alpha. I can't really move as quickly as I'd like with cramped muscles, so calm down, would ya?" The Titan told him as he kept stretching.

"Oh Jesus fucking H Christ…" Alpha sighed in exasperation.

(Elsewhere)

-Nessus, Centaur-

Across the angular landscape, red trees and radiolaria, a Ghost with a shell that bore a resemblance to a Vex Harpy with the symbol for Zeta floated about the wreckage of an old colony ship.

"Hm… They may be among the wreckage." He mused, his voice calm and level.

As Zeta investigated around the ship, he soon found a pink clad Spartan that was lying peacefully on a bed of flowers in a garden, complete with a Minotaur that was turned into a scarecrow, with a blanket from House Rain draped over his body.

"Hm. Odd that the Vex didn't convert him into a Radiolarian Solid." He mused before doing a scan, and got a positive result. "But convenient for me, all the same." He added before rezzing his new Guardian, who was a Warlock.

"Whoa! What hit me?" He gasped as he shot upright.

"Hello." The drone greeted calmly. "I am Zeta, your Ghost. I just resurrected you." He told him.

"Oh. Well in that case, where to? We gotta go somewhere, don't we?" The fresh Warlock asked as he stood up, stretching as he did.

"Indeed. Although, can I ask for your name?" The Vex shaped drone inquired.

"Oh, uh, Donut. Franklin Delano Donut." The former Spartan explained.

"Well, Donut, let's go see if we can radio for help, shall we?" Zeta beckoned as he led his Guardian out of his little hut.

(Elsewhere)

-Twilight Gap, Earth-

As the wind blew in the battlefield of Twilight Gap, teal blue looking Elite, who looked to be centuries old by this point, hobbled towards what looked to be a grave where a teal blue helmet of an Evo Spartan sat in front of a headstone that read: Lavernius Tucker. Lover, Friend, Player, Ally, Father, Hero.

"Father…" The old Elite rasped. "My time grows near. Soon… Soon, I will join you in death and whatever afterlife we find ourselves in." He gasped as he sat down next to his father's grave, looking out at the sunset. "Ah… A good thing to see as I close my eyes." He sighed as he slowly passed on, peacefully.

However, it would seem that the Traveler, in all her infinite wisdom, had other plans.

Not long after he died, a Ghost with a pink shell and matching colored optic with the symbol for Xi descended and scanned him, getting a negative result.

"Freshly passed. And your age is older than the Golden Age. Having you around in the Last City would have been spectacular." The pink Ghost mused before scanning the grave, getting a positive result. "Well how about that?" He mused before rezing his Guardian, who was a Hunter.

A moment later, he burst out of the ground like he was in a zombie movie.

"Bow chicka bow–OW! Oh my back!" The newly rezzed former bearer of the META armor gasped as he popped out of his grave. "Woo! Look out, ladies! Tucker's back and ready for acti–." He continued before his gaze fell to the dead Elite beside his former grave, and he froze. "J-Junior?" He uttered, feeling for a pulse and finding none. "Damn it…" He sighed sadly.

"Seems my memory link to your loving memories of your past dredged up more than just the basics." The ghost noted. "My condolences for your loss." He added.

"Why am I alive again, anyway?" Tucker asked as he stood up and stretched a bit.

"You see that giant orb in the distance? Yeah, it's because of that." The pink Ghost told him as he directed his attention to the Traveler. "Name's Xi, by the way." He added.

"Tucker." The now hunter responded as he began burying his son, his heart heavy with grief. "You did great sport. I'm proud of you." He added as he replaced the headstone with another, and placed the Elite's staff down, which caused a piece to fall off…

And seconds later, deploy into an energy sword!

"Holy shit, this thing still works? After all this time?!" Tucker gasped as he picked it up and gave it a few practice swings. "Yeah, I'm taking this!" He nodded with a smirk.

"Then follow me, to the Last City." Xi smiled as they tracked on.

(Elsewhere)

-The Reef, Asteroid Belt-

Among the debris of the asteroid belt that made up the reef, the sound of sobbing could be heard as a Ghost floated about in search of his Guardian.

"Where is everyone? Why does no one want me?!" The Ghost cried as it floated from asteroid to asteroid. His shell was blue, and had four white pieces on it. The top piece had the symbol for Kappa.

As the sad Ghost floated around in search of his Guardian, he came across a pod that was still sealed. Scanning it, hope flooded the Ghost's processor when he was rewarded with a positive result.

"I found you… I actually found you." He uttered before he sent a pulse of light out, reviving his Guardian as a Hunter.

"What the–!" She gasped before looking around. "Wh-Where am I?" She wondered before she heard Kappa's sobbing, causing her to snap her head to him. "Hey hey, why are you crying?" She asked softly, instinctively taking him into her hands and hugging him close to her chest.

Her figure was easily described as smoking hot. She had an E-cup rack, an hourglass shaped figure and a peach shaped ass with near infinite legs. She was wearing New Light Hunter gear.

"It's… it's just… nobody wanted me before I found you…" The sad Ghost whimpered. "I'm Kappa, your Ghost. But… C-Can I call you mom?" He asked, causing the freshly risen Hunter's heart to clench from how precious he was being.

"My name's Alison, and yes, you can call me mom… Son." The now named Alison replied softly.

"...Th-Thank you…" Kappa choked out as he snuggled into the crook of her neck in joy.

'I've only known this little Ghost for ten seconds. But if anything were to happen to him, I'd kill everyone around me and then myself.' The Hunter thought as she hugged her drone close.

(Meanwhile)

Back on Earth with the same Spartan Sigma failed to raise, another Ghost flew up to it. It had a black edged shell with the rest appearing to be made of the fabric of space itself.

"Hm… You look promising." She mused before scanning the pod, getting a positive result. "Oh yeah. This'll be fun." She added with an audible grin before sending out a pulse of light.

There was no vocal noise, but the occupant did kick his pod open and leap out before doing a superhero landing.

"Well, it's certainly good to see you again, Chief." The Ghost hummed, now recognizing who she just raised.

The figure was silent as he rose to his feet, showing that he was almost the size of a Hive Knight or Fallen Baron.

"What happened to me, Cortona?" The Former Spartan turned Titan asked the Drone, the Ghost's implant seemingly sparking a small memory in him.

"Long story, how about I explain on the way?" The child of the Traveler suggested.

"I'll hold you to that." The tall Titan nodded as they took their leave from the Colony Ship.

(Meanwhile)

In a close proximity area of the Cosmodrome, specifically the Skywatch, both Tex and Noble were now searching a place where the House of Devils had sealed shut–a place Epsilon was now trying to crack open.

"What were they trying to contain?" Noble wondered as he looked around for any potential surprises.

"I don't know, but my instincts are telling me to run." Tex shrugged, holding back a small shiver.

"Almost… GOT IT!" The drone exclaimed as the door opened, revealing a stairway that was covered in odd fungal growths and layers upon layers of rot. As well as a horrific stench.

"GAH! What the hell is that?!" The hammer wielding Titan gagged in disgust, coming close to dry heaving. Seriously, he thought his helmet's filters would keep that stink out!

"Oh no…" Tex gasped, her eyes widening as she realized just what she was looking at.

"Tex?" Her companion asked, looking at her.

"This is the site of a Hive infestation!" She exclaimed in alarm, causing Epsilon to snap in her direction.

"What?!" He shouted in panic. "Guys, I'm getting lots of movement ahead!" He added as they reached the top floor, only for Thralls to come crawling across the walls! "It's the HIVE!" He yelled.

Snarling, Noble slammed down Spartan Diplomacy and sent a horde of the ghoulish creatures flying. They kept coming, but the Titan kept swinging. Tex, meanwhile, was taking out any of the little bastards that somehow escaped the hammer's gravity blasts.

"We need to find the Wizard running things here and take them out!" Epsilon exclaimed as the last Thrall died.

"He's right! Take the Wizard out, and we end this!" The Eliksni woman confirmed.

Heading deeper into the infestation, the two indeed found a Wizard that was running the show here. Not even bothering to waste any time, Noble held his hammer in reverse grip and threw it at the Hive spellcaster, killing her in one hit.

"... I really want to test that hammer myself." Tex admitted with a straight face under her mask.

"Sorry, I had it made to my specifications. I don't think it'll work for you." Noble told her as he slung his hammer after calling it back. This made the Houseless Eliksni pout a bit under her mask.

"The Hive haven't been seen on earth in centuries. This is bad. Really Really bad." Epsilon said in worry.

"We should head back to the City and let the Vanguard know what we found." Noble nodded. If the Hive was a high level threat, then the Vanguard needed to be made aware.

"Right. I'll– What the?" Epsilon started before getting a signal coming from elsewhere in the Cosmodrome.

"What's up?" Tex asked, wondering what was happening now.

"I'm picking up a signal from another Ghost in the Cosmodrome. Looks like we have a New Light that needs passage to the City." Epsilon replied.

"Let's go help 'em out, then." The Eliksni woman prompted.

"Right." The Titan nodded before they started making their way to the New Light.

"... Wait, seriously?" The Ghost wondered aloud after a few minutes of pause as their ship was called.

"What?" Tex asked.

"It's my siblings, they all found their guardians. Including two new little siblings that Alpha just messaged me about." He explained.

"... We're going to be running ferryman duty for a while, aren't we?' Noble deadpanned as the Prowler arrived.

"Probably." Tex sighed as they transmatted aboard and flew to the New Light in the Cosmodrome.

(Meanwhile)

With the Chief and Cortana, the two casually sat in a clearing as they waited for pickup… while also being surrounded by dead members of the House of Devils and Kings alike. It would appear that death hasn't made the seasoned Spartan turned Titan dull.

"So, these are the aliens that skulked to Earth after the Collapse?" The tall Titan mused as he looked at a dead Dreg.

"Yep. The Fallen are basically scavengers, picking at what remains of the Golden Age." The cosmic shelled Ghost nodded in reply before getting a signal. "Oh, pickup's on the way. ETA, ten seconds." She added. Sure enough, a Prowler flew in and hovered over them before transmatting them aboard before plotting a course for the Last City.

(Later)

As the Prowler flew to the City, Noble decided to defuse a bomb before it could go off, so to speak. That being the probability of the Chief attacking Tex.

"While I have your attention, there's something I'd like to stop from happening." Noble said as he sat next to his fellow Titan… who, even sitting, was taller than he was, if only a bit.

"That being?" The old war hero asked, looking at him.

"The Fallen sitting over there? She's with us." The hammer user told him. Chief glanced at Tex, who was fiddling with her seeker rifle, before looking back at him.

"Are you sure about that?" He questioned.

"I can hear you, you know." The space pirate woman interjected. "And I gave the locations of several caches to the Vanguard as an offering in return for residence in the City." She told him.

"Trust us, Tex is cool." Epsilon chimed in.

"Texas?" Chief questioned in confusion.

"It's a nickname." The Eliksni woman replied. "My Eliksni name is Aphrodityss." She added.

"Hm…" Cortana hummed as she hovered around the four eyed alien for a moment. "No House? I'm a little confused." She commented.

"I got kicked out of three different Houses before I decided to strike out on my own. I was actually on Planet Reach when I found Noble there." Tex explained.

"Yeah, she literally had nowhere else to go." The Ghost nodded, getting a snort from Noble as Tex chucked a wrench at him… Which he dodged.

"It's still hard to believe that humanity went from intergalactic superpower to a single city struggling to survive." Chief admitted. "Was the Collapse really that severe?" He wondered.

"Yep, and you better pray that we don't have the misfortune of meeting the one that orchestrated it." The Sentinel Titan told him in reply.

"Or the Whirlwind, for that matter." Tex nodded as the City and the Traveler came into view.

(Later)

After transmatting Chief to the courtyard so he could go meet Commander Zavala, the Prowler went back to the hanger to make preparations to bring Epsilon's siblings back to the City.

"So, we're actually going on several ferryman operations?" Tex asked as she watched some Mechanics get the Prowler ready.

"Yep. I had Epsilon forward our report on our Hive encounter to the Vanguard. We'll deal with his siblings while they figure out our next steps." Noble nodded in reply. "Though the number of siblings we have to help may vary, depending on how many of them find a way to the City on their own." He added.

"Though some are gonna need help guaranteed, given their locations." Epsilon stated. "I actually picked one of their signals coming from the outer edges of the solar system on a centaur." He added.

"Wait, you mean Nessus?" Tex asked in surprise.

"Yeah, you know it?" Epsilon asked.

"It's old House Rain stomping grounds, it's also crawling with Vex." The Eliksni woman nodded.

"I'll trust you to be our guide then." Noble told her.

"I'll be sure to see if I can find a good extraction zone near wherever this New Light is when we get there." The Eliksni woman nodded in reply.

"Any other out of range locations?" His Guardian asked.

"One: in the middle of the Reef. Don't think the Queen of the Reef will be okay with us poking around there." The Ghost of Memory replied.

"That's if she hasn't gotten the wrong idea with the New Light in her territory already." Tex pointed out.

"... There's that too." Epsilon acknowledged with a wince, hoping that hadn't happened. "Iota also found her's on Mercury, but her signal vanished a short while after she broadcasted it. That planet is Vex territory, so I'm worried that they might have gotten to her and her Guardian." He added in concern.

"We'll look for them. Don't worry. Who else is there?" Tex asked as they entered their quarters.

"Well, Omega found his Guardian on Titan… The moon, not the Guardian class." Epsilon replied, amending it when he remembered how certain people could get the two confused.

"Oh yeah, House Exiles used to roam there." Tex noted, getting a couple looks. "We ended up leaving after we figured out that there was a Hive infestation there." She amended.

"Wow, they actually reached out that far?" Epsilon muttered in surprise.

"Why would the Hive infest an ocean planet?" Noble wondered.

"Sea rigs were set up there during the Golden Age. The Hive probably used those to set up shop." The Memory Ghost told him.

"Man, I missed a lot." The Spartan turned Titan muttered.

"Next?" Tex asked.

"Gamma seems to have gotten himself a Guardian in the Cabal Exclusion Zone on Mars." The memory Ghost replied.

"Oh damn it, I really don't want to put up with them!" Tex groaned as the trio entered their quarters.

"Let me guess, the Cabal are bad news?" The hammer wielding Titan guessed as he took off his armor, leaving himself in a shirt and a pair of sweatpants.

"Only if you think that a race of eight hundred pound, highly militarized marsupial elephant tortoises that blow up planets, moons, and suns just for getting in their way are bad news." The Eliksni stated.

"... Jeez." Was Noble's only response. What the hell was he supposed to say to that?

"Holliday just messaged me. Preparations will be done by tomorrow, so we might as well get some shuteye." Epsilon interjected.

"Fair enough." The Titan sighed before he and Tex got into their sleepwear (or lack thereof, in the Eliksni woman's case) and turned in for the night.

They had a long operation ahead of them.

ThermalsniperN7: Master Chief and the RvB gang are back, including Lopez the motherfucking Heavy! This story is about to get a lot more comedic! And yes, Noble's hammer is named 'Spartan Diplomacy' and is lightly inspired by the Leviathan Axe from God of War 4 and Ragnarok.

Dragon Emperor0: It's even named after a line stated by Mimir. And yes, as you can see, all of Epsilon's siblings are based on the RvB AI fragments, save for Cortana who is based on the New iteration of the character. The original one will be appearing too, just not as an AI.

ThermalsniperN7: And Sarge's hate for the Blues apparently transcends time and space… How fitting. And Caboose somehow ended up on Mercury and died there… Though who knows how a sand castle formed on his head. Expect him to be in the Crouching Moron, Hidden Badass category given how he is. Speaking of, also expect him to make friends with a Vex Mind in the Infinite Forest. And no, it won't be Panoptes.

Dragon Emperor0: Well, he does have a way with machines. And it would seem that Epsilon and his kin have the ability to allow their Guardians to experience their memories if they can connect to their specific aspects. Or just remember in the case of Epsilon who is basically the memory of the group. "Memory is the Key…" doesn't that phrase seem relevant right about now?

ThermalsniperN7: Ain't that the truth. Speaking of memory, apparently Tucker came back with his entire memory intact. Xi must've had quite the impact on him. Junior, though… That kid lived to see the Golden Age and the Collapse and live after it passed. He was fucking ancient, and he was ready to join his dad in death… Before the Traveler said 'nope' and brought said dad back. Whether Junior becomes a Guardian too is up in the air presently.

Dragon Emperor0: It was touching to see that Tucker's S-Tier fatherly instincts were still alive and well. But beyond all that, expect there to be a lot of Crucible shenanigans with these Jokers in Twilight Gap. Like, seriously, at that point it's just Blood Gulch all over again.

ThermalsniperN7: I hear that. On another note… We decided to tweak Tucker a bit to make him actually have game. How are we gonna show it? Well, that would be telling, now, wouldn't it? All I can say is: He's aiming high.

Dragon Emperor0: Yep. Other than that, just be prepared for a wild, wild ride. Anyway guys, see you all next time! *Leaves to the tune of the Warthog Theme Music*