A Frozen Light

by Grounders10

There had been tales of strange powers and creatures since time immemorial. In the time before the Traveler arrived. Myths and stories of warriors that fought to protect humanity. Tales of the ones who stood for humanity before the Golden Age. Dismissed by scholars, buried by time, the true secrets of Humanity lie waiting to be rediscovered by the daring few.

6. Chapter Five

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A Ranma ½ x Destiny Crossover

A Frozen Light

By: Grounders10

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Chapter Five

Tokyo Rift

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"What do you mean, she left?" Hibiki asked, looming over the receptionist. She didn't seem to notice him as she read from her computer screen.

"Hmm, yeah says she left this morning," the receptionist said with a hum, "Hmm, no flight plan so how- ah, Cayde-6 locked it down, Vanguard eyes only. Sorry, can't see anything else. Why did you want to speak with her anyways?"

"Personal business," he replied, running a hand through his hair. Of course, she was gone. What an idiot he was. He should have chased the lead rather than wait. He really shouldn't have listened to Dace.

Damn it.

"Oh, well, I can set up an alert for when she gets back?" the receptionist offered.

"That would be great, thanks," he replied, running a hand through his hair.

"Aand, set. Can I do anything else for you, Guardian Hibiki?" she asked.

"No, that's everything, thanks," he replied, stepping away from the counter. He looked about the Vanguard Lobby and ran a hand through his hair as the next person in line, another titan by the looks of them, stepped forwards. "Now what?" he muttered.

His ghost, Direction, appeared with a shimmer of Light. "We could head back to the wall. You've gotten us in enough trouble as is," he said, spinning his cubic form irritably. Direction had never liked how he tended to linger on the past.

"Could, I guess… before we do anything like that let's stop with Banshee. My guns could use a tune-up," Hibiki said with a sigh. What else was there to do? Traveler, he was going to give Dace hell for this.

It was lightly raining as he walked out of the vanguard office and across the plaza to Banshee's outdoor setup. He waited as a hunter pair finished collecting their gear and walked away before approaching.

"Hey, Banshee," he said, raising a hand in greeting to the old exo gunsmith.

Banshee stared at him for a moment. "Hey, uh…" he snapped a finger once, twice, then paused, "Hibiki, right? Or was it Harrison?"

"It's Hibiki," the titan said with a chuckle, "Just need a little bit of a tune-up for my guns. I've been a bit frantic the last few weeks and I've not had time to give them the care I'd normally want to."

He nodded. "Ah, just the basics then."

"Pretty much." He pulled his automatic rifle off his back, removed the holster from his upper thigh along with the hand cannon in it, summoned the scout rifle from his inventory and unclipped his sword from his belt. "That should be everything."

Banshee eyed it all. "Not looking too bad. Shouldn't be too expensive," he said muttering as he picked up the sword and unsheathed it, "This just needs some sharpening. You can probably do that yourself." He sheathed the blade.

"Wouldn't be able to focus on it too well," he admitted, "Ever since Shaxx got his ass kicked I've been too wired to do much."

"Oh?" Banshee said in that tone of one who is only half listening as he checked the hand cannon.

"Yeah. I've… got a few memories from before. One of those types, ya know?" he said with a shrug.

"Poking history can be dangerous," Banshee muttered.

"Well, Zavala certainly thinks so," Hibiki said with a sigh. The Titan Vanguard's disdain for those who chased hints of their past was well known. "But that girl that handed Shaxx his ass? I recognize her, Banshee. I came here today to try and meet her and I find out she left." He slapped the table with one hand and winced when Banshee shot him a reprimanding look. "Sorry."

"S'fine. You've got a lot going on by the sound of it," Banshee said, turning his attention to the gun. "... Redhead, right?"

"What?"

"The girl. Redhead?" Banshee asked. Hibiki nodded. Banshee hummed. "Saw her 'bout… an hour or two ago? She was picking up a few weapons before heading out. Gave her a gun Cayde asked me to make for her. I think Cayde mentioned something about going to Tokyo and needing the firepower… Something like that, anyways."

Hibiki stared at Banshee. "Tokyo?" he asked.

"Hmm… Think it was Tokyo. Mighta been Timbuk… no, had to be Tokyo," Banshee said, "Some place in… Not really sure actually. The name sounds familiar, but…" He shook his head. He set the scout rifle down. "Your handgun and scout rifle are still in good condition. I'll need to swap a couple of parts for the automatic rifle and your sword needs sharpening amongst other things." He pushed the two good weapons forward and Hibiki took them.

"Thanks," he said as he slipped the holster back on and hooked his rifle to his back. He'd have to rely on his fists for the moment. Not a bad thing. He was quite talented with them, even by the standards of guardians.

"No problem. Take care, Hibiki," Banshee said, returning his attention to the rifle and sword.

Hibiki strode away from the stall and called Direction to him. "Where's Tokyo?" he asked.

"You can't possibly be-"

"Tokyo." He stared deep into the sole eye of his ghost. It spun in place before sighing.

"Tokyo was the capital of a region known as Japan back during the Golden Age," Direction said, "It's in Eastern Asia and it's a massive city. One of the largest on the planet before the Collapse. Your odds of finding a single person in that mass of twisted metal is-"

"Good enough for me," he said, cutting off his Ghost, "Message Holiday. I want my fighter ready to depart in an hour…. Make that three." It would take him a little bit to grab his things from home. "And let Dace know that I'm going to be gone for who knows how long. He'll keep everyone else off my ass for now."

Direction sighed. "Yeah yeah. Preparing for another ill-advised suicide trip, sir, yes sir," he sarcastically declared, causing Hibiki to roll his eyes.

"Just get it done. Let's go get the supplies I'll need."

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The flight back to Tokyo was… Melancholic, for Ranma. Khu Lon had spent the first two hours of the flight sleeping before taking over from Kiko.

"So, Tokyo, I'd say I've never been there before, but," Khu Lon glanced at her in the co-pilot seat.

"Yeah, you've been there. For at least a few years," Ranma said with a sigh, "I have no idea if you stayed after I was poisoned. I was the only reason the three of you were there at all." She brushed a bit of loose hair behind an ear.

"Three of us?" Khu Lon asked, "You mentioned me and a Great-Granddaughter, which I still can't believe. I can't picture what I might have looked like being that old."

"There was you, Shampoo, and Mousse, and no those names aren't hair products I just suck at pronouncing that dialect of Chinese," she replied.

"Is that why you call me Cologne sometimes?" Khu asked.

Ranma felt her cheeks turn red and looked out the window at the earth below. They were taking a higher altitude route at a much higher speed than they had the first time they had set out. "A bit," she said feeling embarrassed, "There's a reason I call you Khu most of the time."

"Butchering my name less is never a bad thing," her friend laughed, clearly amused at her linguistic issues. Her amusement faded a little. "How bad is the city?"

"... Don't really have a reference point. It's… so much larger than it was in my day," Ranma said, "And everything is wrecked."

"Like everywhere else then."

"I guess. I've only seen Tokyo and the Last City so far… And seriously, has anyone considered how depressing that is as a name? 'The Last City'. You might as well call yourself 'We're all gunna die'," Ranma said.

Cayde's voice came from the comlink. "I know, right?" he chuckled, "I've tried to get them to change it, but it's all 'Tradition' and 'Respect for the fallen' like they'd want it to actually be the last city." He sighed. "People are too scared to build new cities. Even now after everything we've done these last few years."

There had been a lot in the last few years. The history she'd been forced to read up on had been extensive. From the breaking of the Fallen's Siege to the deaths of Crota and Oryx and the breaking of the Fallen Houses, a lot had happened recently. Strangely it was both after and before her time.

"Yeah, I read about it. Are there really no other places people live?" she asked Cayde. She eyed his fighter just off their right wing where it wiggled in the very picture of a shrug.

"Well… sorta, not really? Eh, there aren't any other cities, but you can find nomad tribes and the occasional small town or village kicking about. They aren't as common as they used to be. Most people moved onto the Last City ages ago. Those who remain either left the city or just never wanted to leave their homes. We do a little limited trading with them, but it's a dangerous world. Never know when you'll visit someplace that was a thriving small town a couple of years before only to find a ruin," Cayde said, "Just boom, gone. That's why groups like the Pilgrim Guard are still around."

"People have tried to set up new cities," Khu said, "The legendary Titan Saint-14 tried to help set up a new colony on Mercury. The Fallen and the Vex wiped it out."

Ranma half turned in her seat to Khu. "On Mercury?" she asked, her voice flat.

"Yes?"

"The closest planet to the sun Mercury?"

"Do you know of another one?"

Ranma rubbed her forehead. "Why would anyone go halfway across the solar system to build a home when they could, you know, focus on Earth?" she asked, waving out the window, "It's a big planet and the City isn't that big. Hell, it'll actually be possible to get reinforcements or conduct an evacuation if something goes wrong. What the hell were they supposed to do with a place on Mercury?"

There was silence for a few moments. The ship rattled through some turbulence. Ranma turned to her friend who had a focused look of thought on her face.

"Well?" she asked.

"I… have no idea?" Khu admitted, "Cayde, you got any ideas?"

"Uuuh, no idea. I don't think the Siege had started yet," Cayde replied, "I'm just trying to remember what I might have heard… There was something… something… ah, I think it was made of people who wanted to get out of the City's influence. Make their own way."

"So they picked a different planet rather than a different, say, continent?" Ranma asked flatly.

"Pretty much."

Ranma shook her head, but held her tongue. There might have been other reasons beyond that, but if that was really all there was then she couldn't help but lament the stupidity involved.

Their flight devolved to small talk about the latest crucible matches, which Ranma hadn't paid much attention to. Eventually, a shot of colour appeared on the horizon. It slowly resolved until Mount Fuji came into view along with the blasted cityscape of Tokyo. A few minutes after the city came into view their radio beeped. "Durendal to inbound vessels. Welcome back, Midnight," the familiar tones of Durendal spoke.

"I'd like to say I'm happy to be back, but someone needed to meet with you," Ranma said over the radio. She shot a sidelong glance at the Cayde's fighter.

"I read Midnight and another craft. Please identify."

"The other craft belongs to Cayde-6, the Hunter Vanguard. He's here to make sure you aren't going to try and conquer the world or something," she said.

"Hey, it happens more often than you'd think," the Exo protested, "Look, I'm just here to make sure that everything's above board and there isn't anything weird going on. That, and make sure you've actually got everything you need to keep the Fallen out. Don't want any fancy golden age gadgets getting into alien hands, right?"

"Documentation indicates a 'Cayde-6' as fulfilling this role," Durendal says, "That said, KLT is not a company of the Last City. My protocols do not contain proper procedures for this situation. Divine One, how should I treat this 'Hunter Vanguard'?"

Ranma rolled eyes at Khu's stare and returned it with a rough shrug. "Do you have anything for, I dunno, Ambassadors or something?" she asked.

"Protocols exist."

"Great. Right now he's basically your contact with the only remaining human authority… on the planet," Ranma said, taking a moment to collect herself, "So, try to convince him to not send an army to kill you or something."

"Send an army? I'm already here, why waste a trip?" Cayde said with a chuckle, "Not that I'm planning on doing anything, but if I were, why would I waste time waiting for an army?"

"... Are you trying to get shot down?" Khu asked.

"... Be a bit less boring, wouldn't it?"

Ranma sighed. "Durendal, just let the idiot land."

"Oi!"

"As you wish, Divine One. Mobilizing defense forces to keep an eye on 'Ambassador Cayde-6'," Durendal said, "Highlighting the landing pad. Midnight you are clear to land. Unknown aircraft, maintain altitude and distance."

"I've got the landing pad," Khu said, "Taking us in."

"Ready for this?" Kiko asked, popping up beside her.

She made a non-committal sound. "Not really?" she muttered. Midnight cut a path across Tokyo Bay and then up, just over the broken skyscrapers. It still hurt seeing Tokyo in such a shattered state.

"Just… take a deep breath and relax, right? It'll be fine," Kiko murmured.

Before Ranma could decide whether or not she wanted to follow her ghost's advice alarms started blaring. "Missile Lock Detected." The ship lurched left as Khu dived between two skyscrapers.

"Midnight to Durendal, we're taking fire," Khu said. Somewhere behind them, Ranma heard the distant rumble of explosions. It took her a moment but she pulled up one of the rear-facing cameras. Sparking projectiles weaved through the air behind them, slamming into buildings as often as they avoided them.

"Acknowledged. Fallen positions identified along the western shore of the harbour. Marking. Suggesting alternative landing sites," Markers appeared across the front window designating multiple locations.

"Durendal, send those positions to Kiko," Ranma said, "Khu, take us down back towards the Bay."

"Gotcha. Durendal, you got anything closer to the Bay?" Khu asked.

"Remarking. This course of action is ill-advised," Durendal replied even as he complied.

"Hey, if you need a hand," Cayde started.

"We'll be fine," Ranma cut in as she got out of her seat, easily balancing in the rocking shuttle as it swerved between buildings before diving. "Stay with the ship, Khu."

"And let you have the fun? Really?" Khu asked as she pulled up and swung the ship into a narrow corridor. The rapid explosion of missiles behind them was accompanied by the sound of collapsing buildings.

"Someone has to make sure they don't blow it up while we're gone," Ranma replied as she braced herself against the counter in the back.

"Fine. I'll stay with it. Coming up on a landing site," Khu said, "Just watch yourself, alright? It'd be embarrassing to beat Shaxx like a drum only to get stabbed to death by a Fallen."

Ranma snorted. "Like that'll happen," she scoffed.

"Careful, pride and falls and all that." She could practically hear her friend sticking her tongue out over the comms. "Five seconds… Three… Two… One…" The ship rocked as it touched down. Ranma hit the release by the door and strode out into Tokyo's morning sunshine. Their landing spot might have once been a plaza set between several large skyscrapers. Now it was just an overgrown pile of rubble where several sky bridges had fallen in a heap. The Midnight was perched precariously atop the pile.

Kiko disappeared, fading into Ranma in a shimmer of light for safety.

A warbling whoosh alerted her to the rapidly decelerating presence of several Fallen Skiffs as they descended over the rooftops. Ranma felt her lips pull into a sneer as anger surged through her. She squelched it beneath the Soul of Ice and used it as a grindstone for her light. Ice-cold lightning crackled between her fingers and in moments she was holding another Naginata of the Storm in one hand.

Heaving it over her head she took three short steps forward and hurled it with all her might at the nearest Skiff. Like a lightning bolt from Zeus's hand it struck the Skiff on the bulbous front and ripped straight through at an angle before exiting from the top. It cored another Skiff that was descending behind it and both tumbled from the sky, wracked by explosions even as crackling arcs of lightning turned the space-going ships to little more than fragile ice sculptures. They hit the ground in sprays of ice shards and shattered metal.

A third Skiff juked right and dropped hard, scraping the side of a skyscraper as it tried to evade the next conjured glaive. It practically pancaked into the ground, only to take a glaive at the center mass as its hatches opened to let out its load of fallen dregs. Ranma grimaced as streaks of lightning caught a Fallen dreg mid-jump and its icicle-wreathed form shattered as it hit the ground.

Summoning up the Ki for a Moko Takabisha as two more Skiffs tried to pull out of their descents, Ranma grimaced as her Light flowed into the way again and what left her hand was less a bolt of power and more the Stormfront of a blizzard. A wave of icy shards rolled up into the sky as lightning crackled between them.

One skiff managed to escape, barely clearing the roofline even as the other was rolled over by the Stormfront. The victim of the impromptu technique shuddered as its engines died and ice coated the entire machine like a creeping sickness. It tipped forward and momentum combined with gravity sent it crashing into a skyscraper. Something detonated a moment later causing Ranma to take two steps back to avoid a spear of twisted metal.

"Okay, what the hell was that?" Khu asked, her tone utterly flabbergasted, "How the hell aren't you a Warlock?"

Ranma laughed. "Cause I haven't made a choice," she said. She really wasn't sure which of the three she'd pick for that bit, but that was fine to her for the moment.

"Hey," Cayde-6 interjected, "Is it just me or were those ships painted yellow?"

"Yellow?" Ranma turned to the most intact of the Fallen skiffs. Across its bow was a splash of yellow colour. "Yeah, how'd you know?"

"Kiko's forwarding Durendal and I, the feed from your suit," Cayde said, "That's the yellow of the House of Kings. They're one of the big groups still left relatively intact. Are these the same guys who caused you issues last time?"

"No," said Durendal before Ranma could respond, "This group moved into the region six days ago, displacing the prior group without a fight."

"Strange. The House of Kings rarely takes direct action," Cayde muttered, "For now, kiddo, we need those launchers cleared out so I can land. I'd put glimmer on them being after Durendal. Nothing else here that's new enough to cause this."

"You mean nothing we know about," Khu said.

"Kiko, which way," Ranma asked as the other three continued to debate over comms.

"Left, then straight ahead about three kilometres or so to the nearest launch site," her ghost chirped in her ear.

Ranma turned left, and departed the plaza at speed, leaping into a second-floor window to cut through the tower. She paused at the blown-out window on the other side to stare down at what must have previously been a large boulevard. Seeing it clear of movement she leapt across the road, landing in the blown-out remnants of an apartment and continued through it following Kiko's directions.

"Alert: Movement on my perimeter," Durendal said as Ranma leaped over another road. "Contact between security frames and House of Kings forces."

"They're reacting to us being here," Cayde-6 said, a tone of frustration in his voice, "Look, Durendal, my man, I can help out but you're going to need to give me clearance to land."

"What about the launchers?" Ranma asked.

"I've flown harder missions in my sleep. These Fallen can't have gotten too dug in if they've only been here a few days," Cayde said.

"Line is holding, for now. The enemy has brought heavy ordnance, however," Durendal said, "I possess insufficient heavy weaponry to counter this assault. Landing permission is granted, Cayde-6 of the Vanguard."

"Alright then. Hold your horses, I'm coming in hot," Cayde cheered, "I'm about ten minutes out. Kiddo, if you can clear out some of those launchers I'd appreciate it."

Ranma rolled her eyes. "Yeah yeah," she muttered, doubling her run speed. She flashed through blown-out buildings and over roadways. Twice she soared over processions of yellow-clad Fallen. Scattered shots of arc energy attempted to follow her only to get lost amidst the rubble, spattering off steel and concrete.

"Next tower, then up to the top," Kiko said after a minute of sprinting through ruins.

"To the top? Seriously?" Ranma groaned.

"It's a short building," Kiko said consolingly.

Ranma came to a stop at the next broken window. A large six-legged walker was walking up and down the street with a small swarm of smaller Fallen. The window frame rattled as the machine crunched its way down the street. Ignoring it she turned her attention upwards. The skyscraper was beat up like any other she'd seen on her way in. Bent girders and shattered window frames stuck out over the street the entire way up.

"Ya know," she said, eyeing the building, "It really isn't very tall after all."

"Told you- What are you doing?" Kiko asked as she backed up a few steps before taking a running leap across the street.

"Taking the quick way up. We don't have time otherwise," Ranma replied as she landed spritely on the end of a girder. She sprang upwards to a bent window frame and leaped yet higher. Squawks and chitters sounded out below her. Part of the wall nearby exploded as the tank fired. Shielding her face from the shrapnel she twisted during her next leap and flash formed a Naginata of the Storm in her right hand. She was already looking upwards to her next leap as it crashed through the top of the walker and detonated, flash-freezing both it and the surrounding Fallen.

She came flying over the edge of the rooftop, another Naginata in her hands. Another walker was poised atop the large skyscraper with several large Fallen guarding it alongside a swarm of smaller ones. With instinct born of recent training, Ranma kicked off the air, sparkles of light forming a faint 'platform' as she did so, and rocketed towards the walker. One of the large ones cried out, but before any could raise their weapons Ranma's Naginata bit deep into the left front leg of the walker.

Twisting her weapon, Ranma drove it into the side of the machine, right through the plating guarding the engine, before abandoning it and jumping away. A pair of frozen orbs that sparked with lightning were hurled at the nearby Fallen as the Walker seized up. Flash freezes claimed two of the large ones and their minions even as the front half of the walker turned to ice before shattering itself.

Ranma skidded across the roof. Her boots brought her to a slow halt. "Next target?" Ranma demanded as she ignored the death she'd just wrought.

"North, one klick. Also atop a building… Your left, eighty-one degrees," Kiko said, "You know this would go better if you'd wear a helmet."

"I can't stand helmet hair," Ranma replied blandly as she fired a blizzard of electrified icicles at the Fallen in her way.

"Seriously?" Kiko complained with exasperation as Ranma leaped the next gap. She had to bounce off the air with light again to make it across. She blitzed from rooftop to rooftop, sweeping through those groups of Fallen that were camped out on them with barely a glance. In the distance she saw waves of blue missiles fly into the sky from over a dozen rooftops and seaside structures.

"I'm seeing missile launches from all over the Bay, Cayde," Ranma shouted as she descended on the second launcher. Light flashed in her hands as she descended onto the launcher as the last projectiles flew into the sky. She slammed her Naginata through the hood of its engine and poured a flood of light into it, enough that she honestly felt slightly dizzy, before leaping away.

"I see 'em. Whooohoooo, that'll be fun," Cayde said, laughing.

The walker detonated in a wave of ice and lightning that flowed out across the roof like a tsunami. Multiple large Fallen and over two dozen of their lesser comrades turned to brittle ice sculptures that shattered a moment later with small shockwaves of lightning that propagated yet more ice across the area.

Ranma touched down amidst the frozen remnants of what had been an overgrown planter - now it was just a pot of shattered ice - and fell to one knee breathing hard. She took a few moments to catch her breath and stared out at the destruction.

"I don't get it," she said to Kiko once her breath returned.

"What don't you get?" Kiko asked.

"Light. I don't get it at all. Half the time it does what I want, the other half it rampages out of control," she said. She'd meant to blow up the walker, not start a chain reaction. "It really doesn't behave like Ki, even when it still responds to the same methods."

"I guess you'll just have to experiment, and maybe have a chat with Khu about it? I'm sure she'd be excited to help," her ghost said.

"Maybe."

"INCOMING! YEAHAHAHA~!" Ranma turned her attention skyward as Cayde's fighter dipped and weaved between a swarm of missiles in a series of what Ranma felt should have been impossible maneuvers. "Oh, this is a blast."

The fighter dived, sweeping into the ruins of the city below with hundreds of arc projectiles following it. In the distance more left their launchers, joining the swarm.

"C'mon. Let's shut those down before they shoot Cayde down," Ranma said, bounding towards the next building. A new Naginata flashed into existence in her hands.

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Being the Hunter Vanguard was awesome but also boring. Most days, that was. At least to Cayde-6. He really hated paperwork, but someone had to do it and he had lost that bet… Sort of. Eh, close enough really.

He jinked his fighter right and rolled under a battered sky bridge before pulling back on the yolk and skimming the front of a skyscraper. He saw the skittering forms of Fallen scatter away within the many open air floors of the building. Then some of the arc missiles failed to correct and chase him and slammed into the building.

"Bullseye. Did you get that one on video, Sundance?" he asked his ghost with a chuckle.

"Recorded and logged. At least twenty down," his Ghost replied, "Including a captain."

He rolled his fighter over the left wing, up and over the building, spraying a nearby group of Fallen on a rooftop with the fighter's guns, before diving down again into the valley between buildings. The arc-based anti-air the Fallen were deploying here were of an older model - possibly older than the Twilight Gap - and their projectiles just didn't have the speed or maneuverability of more recent ones. If they did he wouldn't have tried maneuvering through the buildings picking off scattered Fallen.

He checked the icon for the dropzone. Right, all he needed was to lose the AA walkers for a moment. "Sundance, get ready to take over control," he said, flipping the switches for the fighter's integrated transmat system.

"Already prepped," his ghost chirped before it sounded an alarm, "More AA fire inbound."

"Hey kiddo, tell me you're making progress out there," Cayde said.

His comms crackled and he received an annoyed laugh. "You realize you're sending me across half of Tokyo, right? I'm not going to be done for hours at this rate," Ranma replied. Cayde winced.

"Hey, then it's a good thing I'm such an amazing pilot, right?" he said with a chuckle, throwing the fighter into an evasive turn, sliding below two towers that had tilted into each other over the centuries. He turned up and away, dropping a missile into a Fallen Walker before rolling over a wing and dropping low again. He was on a straight shot to the drop site now.

"Another volley," Sundance said.

"Bit late for that," he said, "Lock the rest of the missiles onto the Fallen walkers." The missiles rippled out of their launchers in the wings of his bird. "Transmat… now." He hit the transmat button and the world changed around him.

He landed, kneeling amidst the security frames holding the frontline moments before missiles flattened the Fallen positions in all directions and his fighter whipped by overhead. Waves of Fallen arc weapons swarmed it from all sides as it turned behind a building. The lack of Sundance informing him of it exploding was good.

He liked that ship.

He scanned the area quickly. The frames, and himself, were set up atop an ancient and battered raised road about a block before the KLT building. It was just one of many blocking positions around the KLT facility. The raised road had an excellent view of the lower road that ran towards the KLT facility. The road that was swarming with House of Kings forces. His missile strike had flattened the walkers supporting the attack here, but he could count dozens more Fallen swarming. Not that he was worried. It was a good position and he did have a good vantage point here.

"Hey, Durendal, send me the details on your hotspots," he said. A moment later markers began appearing across his vision.

"The perimeter is being engaged at all possible points," the AI said, "Current engagements of note include…"

Cayde nodded as the AI expounded on the current situation. The short of it was: Too many heavy weapons, not enough counters for them. The AI was holding for now, but its security forces were for dealing with infantry not armour.

"This is going to take a while," he muttered, holding out a hand as a rifle formed from his armour's storage buffers. He racked the slide on the vanguard pattern sniper rifle most commonly known as Archimede's Truth and raised it to stare at the enemy positions. "So, Durendal, any idea what you could possibly have that would cause the House of Kings to throw this much at you?" He pulled the trigger and smirked as a Fallen Captain exploded in a shower of ether. The Dregs surrounding his position scrambled for cover.

"There are many things of value within my archives, Cayde-6," the AI replied, "without additional data, I cannot speculate as to why this 'House of Kings' might wish to assault this facility."

"Right, gotcha," Cayde said, nodding before moving rapidly towards another point of contact. Without the walkers, the frames here seemed to be a match for the local Fallen. "So, I've got a few questions I kinda need answering before I can tell you how much help I can authorize." He jumped off the back of the overpass and landed atop a broken, rusted-out bus before dashing towards an apartment complex to the east.

"You would be willing to commit additional forces to the protection of this Facility?" Durenal asked, a questioning note in his robotic tones.

"Hey, protecting human things from aliens is just one of the things the Vanguard loves doing," Cayde replied with a chuckle before getting serious, "Assuming those things don't want to kill us or take over the world. Mind telling me why you call the kid 'Divine One'? Last time I checked, AI aren't really the religious type."

"... It is the appropriate response hard coded into my neural net," Durendal replied after a few tense moments, during which Cayde dispatched a Captain and his companions with the Ace of Spades before kicking in the front door of the apartment building. The three Fallen inside, one of whom was another Captain, died before they could lift their guns.

The fireball from the Captain's exploding head was fading as he asked his next question, "And who hardcoded it in?" He crossed the entrance hall and hurried up the steps, his hearing searching for the signs of Fallen in the building.

"Presumably one of my initial programmers. The names of the participants in the project are classified, but it was a cooperative project between KLT and the Clovis Bray Exoscience Corporation. My existence was deemed a step forward but fell short of the design goals set by Clovis Bray. I believe his next project was Warmind Rasputin," the AI replied.

There was something in there with him, Cayde was sure of it as he stepped out into the hallway of the fourth floor. There was a creaking of floorboards…

He ducked as a wretch wielding an arc-charged polearm lunged from an open doorway. He grabbed the weapon's haft and pulled, driving the weapon into the wall before unloading three rounds into the stomach of the Fallen. Ether spattered the ground and the others hiding up and down the corridor took that as a sign to open fire.

"Hold on a second," Cayde said as he yanked the body of the wretch into the line of fire and dropped to one knee spinning to unload his last three rounds into dregs as they ducked out of cover behind him. Heads popped and elemental fire blossomed from their bodies. Solar flames scorched those hiding near them and as he felt the body he was hiding behind disintegrate the last dreg on that end of the hallway ran screaming down the hallway. He made it a half dozen steps before the solar flames burning him turned him to ash.

"Can't you see I'm having a conversation here?" Cayde demanded as he rolled to the side. Flames flash-forged a brace of knives into his free hand. The first found its way into the skull of a particularly bulky looking wretch. The rest were thrown in a spray that forced the other Fallen in the apartment he'd rolled into to dive for cover. One of them took a knife to the chest and burned away instantly in a flash of flame just like the other had.

Cayde slid new rounds into Ace of Spades before flipping over the broken down table he'd landed behind. He fanned the hammer, cutting down two of the dregs before driving another summoned knife into the neck of a wretch that tried to intercept him. He held back the solar flames as he pulled the wretch into a spray of arc bolts from a dreg. Holding up his unwilling shield he mowed down the remaining dregs and wretches in the moderate-sized room before the flames of his knife finally ate away too much of his shield and it fell to ash.

"Still can't keep that going longer than ten seconds," he sighed, reloading his gun again. There was a whir of anti-gravity and Ace fired as Cayde spun to the open wall of the apartment. Two shanks, the bulbous drones that the Fallen favoured, exploded in the opening. Then the remaining Fallen from the hallway burst in through the hole in the far wall of the apartment.

Flames bloomed in Cayde's hand as he threw himself back over the table. The flaming grenade latched onto the head of a Vandal toting a wire rifle and it wailed for the second it had before the unstable mass of Solar Light detonated. A spray of bullets finished off the last two survivors of that unfortunate group.

Cayde waited for a moment before letting out a deep breath. "Damned rude of them. Hey, sword guy, are you telling me that you're Rasputin's, what, older brother?" Cayde asked, standing up and rolling his shoulder-

He blinked up at the ceiling of the apartment and rolled to the side just in time to avoid the blades of the Captain that had snuck up on him. "Hold a second," he said as he wrenched Ace of Spades from its holster and summoned his Light. Golden Flames bloomed around him and Ace.

A moment later the Captain and its three companions were ash in the wind as the flaming aura faded from Ace of Spade and himself.

"Hate party crashers," he muttered, "Sorry, had a few rude guests. What did you say?"

"... Interesting," the AI said, "Your operational status was terminated abruptly, but you are here again."

"Yup. It's hard to put a Guardian down for good," Cayde said as he scanned the area for additional opponents. He could faintly hear chittering and skittering. Rolling his eyes he made his way back out of the apartment and into the battered hallway, His Hand Cannon spoke instantly, ripping apart a dreg with a shot to the chest. Just how many of these guys were there in the building? "So, you were saying?" he prompted. He leaned out of the way of another Vandal's Wire Rifle and flicked a knife down the hall down the hallway in reply.

"My precise relationship with the Warmind is that of a precursor, not a sibling. Though to what degree I cannot say. Clovis report indicated that I possessed a 'poor mental state' for use as a Warmind. How much might have been changed to rectify this, I cannot say," Durendal replied as Cayde ducked and weaved down the hallway back toward the stairs. Ace spoke in a steady rhythm as he advanced, a rhythm punctuated by the steady beat of elemental detonations amongst his enemies that rapidly swept the path back to the stairs clean.

A Fallen Captain, its shield shimmering with void energies, charged down the steps through his shots. Its wire rifle spoke in a reply that sent Cayde diving back into cover. He holstered Ace and flash forged a pair of long daggers out of solar flame in its place. The Captain swept around his cover and he rose to meet it, battering aside the wire rifle before meeting the arc-charged cutlass it wielded in its lower hands. The blow rattled Cayde's arm but he was able to divert it from taking off his beautiful horn before driving a knife into the side of the rifle. The Captain dropped its ranged weapon just in time to avoid sharing the weapon's fate as the knife detonated. It stepped back and they started circling each other warily in the cramped hallway.

"So, what does this 'Divine One' business mean? Like I said, AI aren't really known for their 'religion'," he said through gritted teeth as he and the Captain danced around each other for a few moments before he drove a knife through the side of the Captain's neck before yanking the body into the way of an arc bolt. His reply with Ace of Spades turned the Vandal responsible into a short-lived explosion that toasted its nearby allies.

"'Divine One', a purely ceremonial title used to refer to the Divine One," Durendal paused, "Apologies, I cannot use their original name. KLT has held worship of her since before the start of the Golden Age. Keeping her safe has been one of the core foundations of KLT since its inception. The precise reasons why have long been lost to records, but it had been a firm duty of the head of the Kuno-Lung family for many generations before the end."

"So… you're saying the reason you call her 'Divine One' is because the company who made you, one of them anyway, worshiped her?" Cayde asked, a tone of incredulity in his voice as he wiped off his knife. He glanced back at the hallway full of corpses and ash before proceeding down the steps. A dreg poked its head up around the corner of the banister and promptly lost it. The Solar explosion that followed echoed about the stairway, rattling the empty door frames.

"They did. I cannot say what has happened to them since the coup shut down most of my external communications," the AI said.

"What do you mean 'Most'?" he asked. He had to wonder if any of this group survived into the City Age. They'd had to put up with Osiris' cult, but this would be a whole lot older if it was still around.

"My research archives remained frequently accessed, even if I could not use them to communicate," the AI elaborated, "I had little else to do than organize and analyze them. I suspect after a certain point it might have been forgotten that I was even an AI at all."

Interesting. "So, you aren't going to go on a religious crusade, are you?" he asked. He peered around the corner of the stairs and popped off two shots, blasting dregs apart and scattering the opposition on the next level.

"Does the Last City intend to bring harm to the Divine One?" the AI asked.

"Harm the kid? Nah. One of the things we do is train new Guardians. Not that she really needed much training," he said. The girl was a natural with any weapon and her reflexes had driven the sparrow teachers up the wall. She just did things without realizing it was supposed to be hard. A Captain brandishing a scorch cannon, its end glowing that familiar bright orange indicative of being overcharged, stepped out of a hallway into the stairwell and screamed something at him before leveling the cannon in his direction.

"Then there is little reason for us to come into conflict, unless you wish to take the property technologies of KLT," Durendal said.

"We were hoping for some sort of tech exchange or transfer or something. More Golden Age tricks are always useful," he replied. He leaned back to avoid a blast from the scorch cannon before replying with a flash-forged knife. By some fortune this Captain seemed to prefer a Solar energy derived shield and his knife incinerated the offending Fallen. Few dregs panicked and fled down the steps.

"Direct technology transfers would have to be approved by the board, which must comprise a minimum of two individuals," was Durendals response.

"And the board is currently?" he asked as he advanced down the stairs. A swarm of dregs skittered up the steps a moment later and he launched knives, then a grenade into the group. Solar flames licked the walls, but they were hardly void explosions and soon more replaced them. He ducked one, drove a knife into its back then emptied Ace into the oncoming swarm. Heat thwapped him and for a moment he was thankful he was an Exo. A normal human would have been baked by the heat.

"The only member at present is the Divine One," Durendal said blandly.

Well, that was a bust then. Unless Ranma felt like adding him? Nah, that was a terrible idea. The amount of additional paperwork would be horrifying. "... What about buying a finished product?" he asked, flipping over a dreg to kick its surprised friend in the face before putting a casual bullet into the back of the first dreg.

"At present, KLT holdings are entirely focused upon this complex. There is a possibility of expansion in the near future to old factories and research complexes," Durendal replied.

"Right, but do you have anything on hand?" he asked, doing a handstand on the head of a particularly large Vandal before kicking off the wall and flying down the steps. A trio of actual grenades clattered to the ground in his wake. He rolled to his feet as the explosions wiped out the squad of Fallen and flicked his cloak back over his shoulder before reloading Ace again with a flourish.

"I possess substantial stocks of armaments, albeit in need of maintenance. In addition, the KLT-818 Frame Production Line remains intact and is currently operational," Durendal said, "Once losses have been recovered KLT may be able to offer Security Frames for sale."

Additional 'manpower' was never a bad thing. "Right. Well, I can call in reinforcements to help out with this mess once the kid has cleared out those launchers a bit more, but Guardians are the type to expect a reward of some kind. Usually, we offer bounties for patrols or weapons data or whatever. Bit of glimmer or a weapon or something." He took two steps back to avoid a volley of wire rifle shots that perforated the aged walls.

"Do Guardians operate as mercenaries?" the AI asked.

"Sorta. Most of the adventuring types are Hunters like myself and we're rather self-reliant," he said, "Having support independent of the city is kinda a must at times." He punctuated the statement by rolling a grenade down the steps and through a door into the hallway beyond. The explosion that followed was particularly satisfying. He hurried down, firing two rounds into each of the three Wretches that hurried to block his path. Just the last flight to go.

"Understood. I will prepare a selection of rewards for services rendered and present the options to the Divine One for approval."

"Great," He said as he slid down the banister of the last set of steps, blazing away with Ace before leaping off the end of it in an arc that took him over a particularly large Fallen specimen. Calling up his light again he and his gun burst into golden flames.

Two shots caught the Captain between the eyes as he passed directly over it and it died on the spot, incinerated by the Solar Flames in moments. He twisted in the air launching a volley of knives into the corners of the room before he volleyed the rest of the Golden Gun's ammunition into its remaining escort before landing in a crouch. He flipped his cape back behind his shoulder and stood up holstering Ace of Spades with a flourish.

"Great talk. We need to do this again sometime."

-0-0-0-0-0-

It was night by the time Ranma and Khu made it to the KLT facility. Their ship set down in the internal bay of KLT to the continuing sound of scattered gunfire in all directions. For Ranma, it was an odd experience. Usually after a massive fight like this she was tired, nearly exhausted, but Kiko's pulses of healing light had kept her practically fresh. Even her Ki had felt as though it was replenishing faster than usual. Nearly instantly at times.

"Durendal, how're things holding up?" she asked the frame that met them coming off the back of the Kettle-class.

"The line has stabilized," the AI reported, "the Fallen have been pushed back in several sectors. There is no sign of the enemy attempting to reestablish its anti-air cordon as of yet."

"And if they attack again?" she asked.

"With current resource stockpiles, I estimate we could maintain this perimeter for twenty-four days against the currently observed forces. This does not include intervention by yourself, Guardian Khu Lon, or Vanguard Cayde-6," the AI said, "Vanguard Cayde-6 has offered a suggestion to increase this period."

"What kind of suggestion?" Ranma asked with a groan. She'd heard what Cayde considered 'good ideas' before.

"He suggested offering bounties to the Guardians of the Last City."

Bounties? Ranma vaguely recalled the practice from orientation. "Khu?" she asked her friend, "Thoughts?"

"You'll be swarmed under. New bounty opportunities always get attention," her friend replied, "Most will be happy working under any restrictions you put down so long as they get a cut of any glimmer found."

"My research has found that weapons and armour, as well as accessories, are popular amongst the Guardians," Durendal said, "I can provide the above in substantial quantities, though not indefinitely. We will need to bring online other KLT facilities in order to sustain this use of Mercenary Guardians."

Ranma groaned. "And I'm guessing I need to sign off on this because of the whole…" She waved a hand in the air.

"Correct, Divine One."

"Kuno is so lucky he's been dead for a thousand years," she groaned, getting a pat on the shoulder from Khu.

"You know, most Guardians would love this level of devotion from an AI," her friend said cheekily.

"Yeah, well, most of them didn't live through Nerima," Ranma replied, crossing her arms and looking about the hangar. It looked far more intact than it had before. Substantial repair work had clearly occurred over the last few weeks. Landing pads had been cleared and frames were in the process of checking over many of the systems. "So we get them here. Where are we putting them?"

"There are several options," Durendal began, the frame it was using passed her a tablet. She flicked through it as it spoke, "I can repair and open up the facilities living quarters. They were used by KLT personnel and would require sanitizing of KLT assets such as computers before we could let them in alongside significant repairs for water damage. The second option is to begin converting the aboveground segments of the KLT building into barracks facilities. There is little in the way of sensitive materials up there, but the environmental damage is far more severe as is the damage from weapons fire. Basic water and electricity could be restored for most of the building within the day, but properly securing it against the elements would take longer."

"Guardians are used to far worse in the field," Khu noted dryly.

Ranma nodded. "Anything else?"

"Presuming we can expand the perimeter, we could convert several nearby structures into proper residential facilities. It would be a violation of local building codes, but with the collapse of the local government…"

"It's free for the taking," Ranma muttered.

"Essentially. It would take quite a bit longer, however."

"And requires us to expand the perimeter, which will be hard if we don't have Guardians on hand," Khu said.

"Precisely," Agreed the AI.

Ranma chewed her lip. If she gave permission for this she would, essentially, be accepting responsibility for Durendal. Which would mean she would be taking control of what was left of KLT at the same time. She didn't want that, but there were a lot of things she didn't want. She didn't want to be stuck as just a girl; didn't want to be lost thousands of years in the future; didn't want to have to start all over again.

Durendal, and KLT along with him, was whether she liked it or not her only ties back to the past. Khu… only sort of counted. They were friends, but she was not Cologne. The old ghoul had been as much a mentor as an antagonist, but she missed her. She missed all of them. Every idiot, lunatic, friend, rival, and fiancee.

Maybe it was time to accept that.

"Store them upstairs," she said, giving the order after several minutes of thought, "I want repairs focused up there for now. We'll worry about the other two options later. For now, just clear a path from the landing pads to the stairs for them. I want restrictions on what they can take from the area. I will not have Tokyo looted to the bedrock like it's the fucking Cosmodrome, am I clear? Anything they find is labeled, sorted, and either put aside for historical preservation or put to work getting this city back running."

"Ranma?" Khu asked, shooting her a confused glance.

"As you wish. I will establish limitations as per pre-collapse archeological codes and emergency response plans," Durendal said, "My ability to do so would be greatly enhanced if my systems were connected to what remains of the Tokyo Metropolitan control systems."

"Spin-off a list of facilities we need to investigate. Government, KLT, anything you think could be useful or still functional in Tokyo I want it listed and prioritized," Ranma said, "Now, where's Cayde?"

"Cayde-6 is currently occupying the fifth floor. This way, Divine One," the frame said before walking away. The two followed it.

Kiko flashed into existence by Ranma's shoulder. "You're being awfully decisive," she said, "You feeling alright?"

Ranma rolled her eyes and smiled a little at the concern. "I'm… eh," she shrugged, "Just cause I'm not happy about this whole Kuno thing doesn't mean I'm just going to let a bunch of aliens attack Durendal. Not after how long he kept me alive."

"And the other locations? We can see off the House of Kings without taking over all of Tokyo, you know," Khu said.

"No we can't," Ranma replied, "So long as they own any part of this city they've got a chance to come back." Seeing them here, in Tokyo, surrounded by ruins and destruction had touched something inside her. She wasn't going to let them run around her town, her home, and loot it like a pack of vultures picking over a fresh corpse.

"Going to be a bit more work than we set out on," Khu said.

Ranma shrugged. "Story of my life," she replied.

Their conversation shifted to small talk and the occasional update from Durendal as they followed the frame to the stairs and then up to the fifth floor. They had to jump a hole in between the third and fourth floors. The fifth floor was a ruin. Formerly some sort of office space, most of its walls were either missing or had great gaping holes in them. Cayde had taken up in what might have once been a large conference room. The remains of an elaborate, and large, metal table had been propped up against the broken frame of the floor to ceiling windows to provide some cover.

"Give me a second, would you?" he said as they stepped into the room. He was leaning over a large rifle. "C'mon… just a little…." the rifle banged once. "Gotcha. Hey kids, enjoying the field trip?"

"It sucks," Ranma deadpanned, "There are too many violent nuts, the weather's too cold, and the water isn't working in the toilets."

"Actually it is," Durendal.

Ranma shot it a look as Cayde laughed. "Now you're getting into it," the Exo said, leaning against the table, "So, this is… bad. Durendal bring up my suggestion?"

"About the Bounties?" Ranma asked.

"Yeah, that one. You seem to have a bit of a Fallen problem, kinda wrecks the vacation value around here," Cayde said lightly.

"Do people even take Vacations in the Last City?" Ranma asked as she stepped up to peer out through the broken wall. Active battle had mostly fallen off by the looks of it, but occasionally a loud 'zing' or 'bang' would sound as one side or the other would fire.

"Hell if I know. The Vanguard doesn't get time off," Cayde said with a shrug, "So, how's it looking?"

"Not sure. Durendal? Got anything we can look at?" Ranma asked the frame.

"Perhaps a position less likely to be spied upon would be ideal?" the frame replied.

"Lead on," Cayde said, throwing his rifle over his shoulder.

The frame led them through the office space to a room that overlooked the central courtyard and landing zone. Three frames were setting up a large holoprojector. As they entered the room the frames stood up and departed, leaving them standing around a table that was in much better condition than the room around it, though its paint was still peeling. The top flickered and after a few moments a 3D hologram of the city in purple appeared above the table. Markers for the KLT campus and the defense line appeared along with notable locations throughout the city. Ranma didn't recognize most of the names. Not surprising, a lot could change in a thousand years. She was lucky enough that Japanese had somehow remained… mostly consistent.

"This is our position," Durendal said, "We are located not far from the heart of the Minato district. The Imperial Palace was located here," a location several kilometers to the north east lit up. Ranma grimaced as she recognized the shape of the area. Something, it seemed, hadn't changed at all.

"And the Palace's current state?" Ranma asked.

"Ruined."

"Not surprising. It was mostly wood and rice paper," Ranma muttered. At least the historical areas were. "Mark it as an archeological site. We'll get to it later."

"Understood." A chisel icon appeared over the former palace. Another icon flashed. "This is the Tokyo Metropolitan Building." Ranma leaned to the side.

"Three towers. Mine only had two," she said.

"It was rebuilt several times over the centuries," Durendal said, "Records indicate it was destroyed by several natural disasters and two separate coup attempts."

"Great. I assume you want to be hooked into the central database?" Khu asked.

"Correct. From there I can determine the remaining assets within the city. Its records should allow me to verify the location of KLT Facilities in the region so that we can bring them back online to assist my capabilities," Durendal said.

"What sort of capabilities are we talking about?" Cayde asked.

Four locations promptly gained markers. "My records indicate the existence of facilities belonging to four subsidiaries of KLT within this region. KLT Munitions," a large brick-shaped structure that overshadowed several streets flashed once to the south west, "KLT Aeronautics," a large skyscraper closer to the water flashed, "KLT Robotics," another skyscraper far to the north lit up, "and KLT Mining." a final, much smaller, skyscraper flashed. "My records on these locations are out of date. It would be presumptuous to assume that between my lockout and now they have not moved."

"So if these do exist, and they're usable, what are we looking at?" Ranma asked.

"New weapons manufacturing, more frames, aircraft, and a list of locations to mine and process materials to restore functionality to the rest," the AI replied, "In addition, there are locations of military importance in the region that might still have materials or equipment that can be utilized."

"Any sign of the House of Kings at these sites?" Cayde asked, leaning down to examine the triple towers of the Tokyo Metropolitan. He took a step up as the towers flashed red.

"House of Kings' forces detected at the Tokyo Metropolitan Towers," the AI intoned. That notification was followed by dozens of others as locator marks proliferated around their perimeter and in a few other areas of the map, all within sight of the KLT campus.

"That's a lot…" Ranma muttered.

"Yeah it is. Look, you're going to need the backup, kid. Do you have the bounties for me to post?" Cayde asked, looking serious for once.

Ranma gestured to Durendal's frame and a moment later the AI had picked up on what she said and displayed a long list of bounties and operations restrictions. "There you go," Ranma said.

The Vanguard of the Hunters accepted a tablet and flicked through it. "Nice, nice. Pretty standard… operational limitations… share of glimmer discoveries… raiding…" he devolved into muttering as he looked over it, "Yeah, looks pretty good. Standard stuff, mind you, but I can guarantee you'll get more than a few chomping at the bit to take a look at KLT weapons and armour. Everyone loves new shinies."

"Then it's acceptable?" Ranma asked.

"Psh, I've seen Guardians work for less, but going for standard payouts will get you a lot of people coming by," Cayde said, "Now, just saying, these are the ones you want to submit?"

Ranma glanced down at the tablet she'd been handed. It had the same information as Cayde's and the sight of the bounties brought a moment of hesitation to Ranma. If she said yes she was, essentially, authorizing people to go out and hunt down the Fallen. Yes, they were fighting; yes, they were killing each other; but this was a step further than any she'd taken before. She'd never ordered someone's death before, not even aliens.

Especially aliens.

"Yeah, yeah I'm sure," she said, nodding to Cayde after a few moments.

"Sundance? Send it," Cayde said, holding the tablet up as his red and gold bedecked ghost materialized over his shoulder. A beam of light connected Sundance and the tablet for an instant, then it was done. Ranma let out a breath she hadn't realized she was holding. "So, Metropolitan building?"

"We can't all go. Someone needs to keep holding the line," Ranma said.

"I'll stay. The new kids showing up will need someone to point them in the right direction," Cayde said, "'side, I like Sword Guy here." He jabbed a thumb toward the frame.

"Ah," Ranma said before shaking her head, "What do you say, Khu? Up for a trip?"

"Do I get to shoot something this time?" her friend asked.

"Probably."

"Then sure. I could use a warm up" the former amazon said, stretching as she let out a loud yawn. "Ugh."

"Let's figure out a route then get going," Ranma said, "Durendal, plot a route if you can and send it to Kiko. Let's get this moving."

-0-0-0-0-0-

Bing.

Ikora blinked and glanced up from the report she was reading. As a 'brief' analysis of Fallen House movements since the death of Skolas, the Kel of the House of Wolves, by one of Hidden it was important but rather dry. Fortunately, it wasn't time sensitive so she could afford to take a break to check the message from Cayde.

"Wonder if he's already done talking with Durendal," she mused aloud as she picked up her personal tablet and tapped the email. A moment later her look of curiosity turned into something else entirely. "Zavala!" she called, putting her other tablet under her arm as she stood up and walked towards the center table where her team lead was examining his own paperwork.

"What is it, Ikora? Is something wrong?" he asked, looking up.

She dropped the tablet on the table and with practiced ease pulled up the email and its attachments on the much larger screen. "Cayde just sent me this," she said, "Bounties on the Fallen House of Kings in Tokyo issued by the AI Durendal."

Zavala's expression shifted to concern in a heartbeat. "House of Kings? Is he sure?" he asked.

"Do you expect Cayde to make that mistake?" she asked. After a moment Zavala shook his head.

"No. You're right, Ikora," Zavala said before pulling the digital bounties across the table to examine. "Hmm… Did he say why he was authorizing this?"

"To prevent the House of Kings from laying hands on what he's calling a 'Proto-Warmind'," She said grimly. Those words had nearly stopped her heart when she'd read them. Another AI on a similar level to Rasputin or Charlemage was not something they needed to deal with, but at least he seemed more willing to trade.

Zavala drummed his fingers on the table, his face inscrutable to his old comrade. "It would be a mistake to allow such a thing into their hands," he agreed, "Sound the alarm and call for volunteers to respond… Furthermore, contact the Young Wolf. I want someone we can trust on the ground to act as our eyes and ears once Cayde is on his way back."

"I was going to suggest that if you didn't," Ikora said with a chuckle, "I'll let her know once I send these on to the bounty office."

"Good. I'll contact the fleet and see if we can spare a few vessels to keep a secure route in and out of the city open," Zavala said. He slapped the table and scowled. "As of this moment, the city of Tokyo has just become a strategic asset that we cannot leave in the hands of the House of Kings."

-0-0-0-0-0-

"There's an update to the bounty list," Direction said from Hibiki's shoulder.

The Titan rolled his eyes. "Like that's important right now. We're halfway to Tokyo," he said after checking their course.

"The new bounties are for Tokyo," his Ghost said, "Bounty Master is listed as Cayde-6."

"The Hunter Vanguard?" Since when did the Vanguard step out to run bounties for a random city?

"The same. Can't say I've ever seen a Vanguard running things that far out of the city before," Direction said, echoing his thoughts.

"So what are we looking at?" he asked. It couldn't hurt to check since they were headed in that direction anyways.

"Hrm…. Looks like the House of Kings is attacking the city. Mostly the standard range of bounties, plus Cayde is apparently putting up patrol beacons."

"Just the House of Kings? It's a bit unusual for there to be just one group of baddies in a region," Hibiki mused, "No sign of Hive or Taken?"

"Not that I can see. Oh, huh. It seems the bounties are being managed by Cayde, but issued by an AI, Durendal. It's in charge of the landing zone they're designating," his ghost said.

"Golden Age?"

"Is there another kind?"

Hibiki inclined his head to Direction and conceded the point. "How bad is it looking?" he asked.

"It's a full assault. Over two dozen ketches have been spotted entering and exiting the region. I've signed you up for a selection of bounties. Do try and keep them in mind," Direction said.

"I'll do that. C'mon, let's hurry before something happens to that girl," he said. Direction scarcely had time to phase into Hibiki's suit before the entire jumpship leaped forward at full burn.

-0-0-0-0-0-

The red sands of Mars had poured in through the jammed-open second-floor window, forming a sand dune inside the Mall. Exposure to the elements, damage from the collapse, and the constant skirmishes with the Cabal had taken their toll on the ancient building just like the rest of Freehold. Still, what it lacked in integrity it made up for in its view.

The Hunter known to most as the Young Wolf, N to her few friends, peered through the scope of her rifle as she lay against the sand dune. She scanned the area ahead. A Cabal patrol, some of the remnants of the Sand Eaters Legion, marched down the street between the towering buildings in single file. Their green and white armour stood out like a beacon amidst the rust-coloured sand and sand-stained buildings.

"There's a lot more of them than we thought," Ghost said, his voice echoing in her ear, "Still, we aren't far now."

She nodded silently as she waited for the patrol to pass before sweeping the street, and the nearby buildings, once more before rising silently to her feet. The sand dune crumbled under her feet as she descended the other side, little bits cascading downward for a few feet as she carefully hurried down and across the street. She took shelter in the lean of a toppled bus stop for a moment before dashing hurriedly down the street to a half-open door. The CB of Clovis Bray Exoscience was emblazoned on the door.

"Is this it?" she asked quietly.

"Should be," Ghost replied.

Letting out a hum she swept the area quickly before poking her nose around the corner of the door. The lights inside were off and a large dune of sand was blocking both the door and half the floor. She looped her rifle's strap over her shoulder and hoisted herself up by the thin ledge over the door before swinging herself into the small gap.

The Young Wolf slid into the darkness and after a moment her helmet's lights lit up, basking the area in a soft white glow. Another door stood open a few feet away and beyond it stairs led down into the darkness. She reached down and drew the hand cannon she kept as a sidearm. This wasn't any place for a sniper rifle.

It was amazing how creepy simple darkness could be, even after having taken down Oryx. The only good thing was the lack of chitin or fungi as she descended the steps. Her helmet light swept the next room, what seemed to be a small lobby, revealing little more than a dusting of sand that had somehow made its way down and a few offline computers.

"We'll need to find the power," her ghost said, "Which should be… Hrm… That way, I think." A small icon appeared on her helmet's Heads-up Display. She nodded and swept deeper into the facility.

It was, quite honestly, a bit of a letdown she would muse as she brought the power back online. Lights flickered on as she flicked the switches on several backup generators. There were no alarms, no shouts of Cabal or Vex warping in or Hive teleporting or… anything. There wasn't even the chittering of Fallen dregs.

Ghost left the safety of her armour and flitted over to the main computer server in a room behind the lobby. "This shouldn't take long," he said, a beam connecting him to the interfaces of the servers, "You know if Zavala finds out what we're doing."

"He can be angry all he wants. Not like they have anything for us to do right now," N replied, leaning against the counter. Her free hand fished out a very old and battered ID card. They had found it where Ghost had resurrected her. It read, as best they could tell, '[...] N, Psychiatric Con[sult]ant,' followed by the vague impression of what might have been 'Corporation'. It was hard to say, but it was the only lead they had on her name. That and a persistent feeling that she needed to find something or maybe it was someone?

Either way, it was enough to drive a person nuts.

"I'm in," Ghost said, bringing her out of her introspection. She slipped the card into her pocket again.

"And?"

"Give me a moment. This archive is large. It's got literally every single name of anyone who moved to or from Freehold for any reason, and the reasons for their travel. This could take a few to go through," her ghost chided.

Her comms clicked on. "Ikora to the Young Wolf, are you reading this?" the sound of her somewhat friend, the Warlock's Vanguard Ikora said. Her voice crackled a bit with interference, undoubtedly from punching through the Cabal's jamming. Despite their best efforts, the Cabal always found a way to at least hinder communications even if they couldn't stop them.

"We hear you. Is something the matter, Ikora?" Ghost asked.

"You could say that. We've got a situation in Tokyo, Japan," Ikora replied, "A new Guardian was resurrected inside a research facility controlled by a Proto-Warmind of some kind called 'Durendal'. Now, the AI seems to be friendly, but the House of Kings is currently assaulting its location."

Well, that didn't sound good. The Warminds Rasputin and Charlemagne were powerful Golden Age AIs with access to immense firepower in the form of the orbital Warsats. Any one of them reportedly counted as a WMD if ever properly deployed.

She sent a glance to Ghost, who spun his shell. "We're currently a little busy, but once we're done we can head over?" Ghost said, sounding questioning.

"Where are you currently?" Ikora asked.

"Freehold. Following a lead," N said.

"... I see. We need you over in Tokyo as soon as possible, Guardian. Zavala just declared the entire city a Strategic Interest because of Durendal," Ikora said.

"Wow, he's really worried then, isn't he?" Ghost mused.

"That he is," Ikora replied.

"Then um… just… give me a few more minutes. We'll be out of here soon," Ghost said. It might have been a trick of the light, but his beam seemed to get just a little more intense.

"Understood. Move swiftly," Ikora said before terminating the connection.

N turned to Ghost and raised an eyebrow. Her ghost sighed. "I'm going as fast as I can. I'm just yanking the entire archive. We can sort it later," he said. She nodded and pulled out her tablet. A quick glance showed a new tab under the bounties section, for Tokyo.

Huh. Maybe they'd be able to make some glimmer from this as well.

-0-0-0-0-0-

A/N: Heyo~ Been a while for this story, but that's what happens when you have more imagination than time… Or sense. I'm a bit lacking for sense at the moment. Thanks again to Gekkou for editing~

Gekkou here~ Took a fairly long while ta get my birthday present. But its here now. Thats what counts.

Grounders10: This chapter fought me quite a bit I'll admit. Just couldn't get motivated for the longest time. It was annoying.

Gekkou_Yoko: *climbs into chur lap und kisses chur cheek*

Grounders10: *blushing kitsune noises* Not in front of everyone!

Gekkou_Yoko: *smug kitsune noises* Then how will they know chur a claimed kitsune?

Grounders10: *teleports away with Gekkou*

Gekkou_Yoko: *gets kidnapped*