Light Does Not Yield

by Penguin1673

[Sequel to Witches and Warlocks] After his misadventures in the Boiling Isles, Royal-6 has finally returned home. However, the world has moved on without him, and he finds himself struggling to keep up. There are rumblings from the Vex Domain, the machinations of Savathûn are closing in, and it appears that the Demon Realm isn't quite done with him yet.

26. Lords of War

From the ashes of war, I arise to unleash death upon the foes of Man. I am unyielding rage. I am merciless fury. I am the vengeance of Angels!

Yeah, I've been a bit hyped for Space Marine 2, if you couldn't tell. Letting that devour my free time at the moment. But man, it has been a busy month since I last uploaded. The semester has started; I've moved out, been looking for a job, and just generally don't have a lot of time to write on my hands. Well, not much time to write this, I have plenty of time to write for my classes. Despite that, I'm still managing because I'm just that good.

If you enjoy it, feel free to leave a review saying what you liked. If you hate it, feel free to leave a review saying what you didn't like.

I'm too mentally spent to come up with something funny this week, I'll try again later.

---

Chapter 26: Lords of War

---

"We are Cabal. We eat the mountains. We drink the seas." - Empress Caital of the Cabal addressing her people before their pilgrimage to Sol

---

Sol had seen many disruptions over the last month. The Witch Queen had been severed from her worm and was now free to run rampant, the Demon Realm had been dragged into the system and suffered at the claws of the Hive, and now Mars had returned. The Red Planet, alongside several others, had vanished as part of the Black Fleet's opening assault on Sol. Now, baffling Sol's brightest minds, it has returned. Yet the planet was scarred, deep gouges in the fabric of reality carved into its surface that blurred the lines between now and then.

A lone sparrow raced across the scarlet dunes. Its Guardian rider crouched low, pulling his scarf close to try and keep the dust from slipping into his armor. It didn't work; he could already feel the grains worming their way into the cracks between the plates.

As he soared, he passed by the ruins of an ancient Human city reclaimed by the sand of time. Temporal tears showed a glimpse into the city at its peak, a bustling metropolis that could have housed countless thousands. Farms dotted the rifts in the plains, their crops blowing in the wind. Just ahead and to the left was a mesa standing defiantly against the dunes.

"I'm picking up a lot of interference from that mesa," his Ghost, Mirage, said in his ear. The Guardian nodded and instantly changed course. Ikora Rey had deployed the Hidden to scour the returned Mars for any anomalies, and as their newest recruit, he was eager to nab the biggest catch.

A cloud of dust shot into the air behind him as he pushed toward the mesa, his cloak whipping in the wind. Reaching the base, he dismounted and immediately began to climb. He jumped between outcroppings, aiding his jumps with Light. Ancient stone was ground away beneath his feet as he scaled higher and higher. Nearing the top, he made a leap for the lip of the edge, only to fall a few inches shy. Acting quickly, he summoned a knife of Void Light and buried it in the rock face.

"Close call," Mirage said in her usual sing-song voice.

"Well, try not to sound too worried," he replied. "I almost thought you cared for a moment."

"I knew you'd catch yourself," Mirage whistled as he climbed the last hurdle. Pulling himself up, he dusted his armor off and stretched. He wasn't quite at the top, but the source of the anomaly was close. As a matter of fact, it was right in front of him. A wall of stone as black as the gaps between the stars awaited him. Darkness curled around it, seemingly inviting him. The wall opened, sliding into itself as though the door didn't truly exist. The hall was drenched in shadows leading downward into the mesa's heart.

The Guardian reached up and tugged off his helmet. Some dust and sand spilled over his chest piece. He wiped off his face, trying to free the sand that had seeped into his facial hair. Some had even nestled behind his pointed ears, proving to be a constant source of aggravation. As he rubbed his face, he jostled his earring, a small mirror that served as a magic amplifying device.

"Mirage, contact Ikora," he said, looking into the depths of the alien structure before him. "Let her know we've found something that requires her immediate attention."

---

"Recent efforts have pushed the Hive to a stalemate," Paladin said from behind the podium. Camera lenses stared unblinkingly at him as he spoke to the press. There were a few flashes of photography that his optics easily filtered out. "Reinforcements from the Last City have proved invaluable in our effort to secure our borders. For that, they shall forever have my gratitude. All citizens are advised and encouraged to avoid leaving their towns unless absolutely critical."

A flurry of reporters spoke up, each trying to get their questions heard above the others. Paladin looked at the mob momentarily before pointing to one in the crowd. She stepped forward, holding out her microphone.

"Should citizens be concerned about the recent spike in Vex activity?"

"Vex incursions have been increasing, but our outpost at the Gateway is holding strong," Paladin said. "Additional reinforcements have been deployed. Rest assured, should the Vex try to break through, we shall be there to bar the gate shut."

Paladin held up his hand to shield further questions as he left the podium. As he walked backstage, he rubbed his faceplate as though he could tear the exhaustion free from it. He found a seat and practically fell into it. The last few weeks had not been kind to the Isles. Hive forces had been fought to a standstill, but the cost had been steep, and they would not be pushed any further. The increased activity from the Vex wasn't helping. Things had been too quiet for too long, and now it was all catching back up to them.

"Meeting go well?" His brother's voice reached him, and Paladin looked up as Royal sat beside him. The Warlock's armor was dented and stained. His robes were torn and singed. Even Lament, slung across his back, bore signs of wear. Lancer was already repairing his gear, but the damage was still evident. Paladin sighed and planted his face in his hand. Royal nodded. "That bad, huh? The front isn't much better."

"What brings you away from it?" Paladin asked. "I thought you were on a one-man crusade."

"Mars has returned." Paladin started, looking up at his brother. Royal nodded and continued. "We don't know how or why, though Ikora has her suspect. What's worse is that the Cabal are already resuming their efforts to capture the planet. The place is swarming with Hidden, but Ikora wants Guardians on the ground. She requested Luz, Amity, and I specifically."

"It seems you have her faith," Paladin mused.

"More like we're properly motivated," Royal said. "I hate to leave you during such a crisis…"

"Go, you are needed elsewhere," Paladin said. "We will manage." The two rose from their seats, and Paladin set an armored hand on his brother's shoulder. "Should you find Savathûn, promise me one thing."

Royal nodded. "Of course, what would it be?" Paladin stared into his brother's optics with righteous fury.

"When you kill her, make it hurt."

---

Ikora's ship tore through the void as she bore toward Mars. Luminescent tears in space-time shimmered as she swooped into the lower atmosphere. Her ship soared over the dunes as she neared the Enclave. Tearing over the Martian desert, she transmatted into the camp. A half-dozen Hidden agents were present, moving supplies or consulting maps. She approached one—the Hunter who had found this place—and spoke.

"Augustus, where is she?"

The Witch, the first of his kind to be inducted into the Hidden, tilted his head toward the obsidian monolith half-submerged in the dust. Ikora had snatched him from the Isles, right under Paladin's faceplate. It may have been duplicitous and underhanded, but having an agent who could easily blend in with the Witches had its uses. His skill with illusion magic certainly didn't hurt, either.

Ikora nodded and approached the towering doorway. Gus finished going over his supply manifesto and joined her, walking a few feet behind. Eris Morn emerged From within the dark tunnel, cradling her chunk of Hive chitin.

"Your theory was correct," she said, gesturing to the room behind her. "The relic is of pyramid origin, there is no doubt."

"Word is out about Mars," Ikora said, cutting straight to the chase.

"I need more time," Eris replied.

"The Cabal are mobilizing," Ikora asserted. "We need to-" Her words were drowned out when the ground began to shake. The air filled with the distinct roar of engines, and smoke choked the skies. A colossal cabal warship flew overhead, its horns blaring as it carried a massive cannon underneath it. The Hidden scattered, ducking under cover as rocks were shaken free and fell around them.

"Secure the camp!" Ikora shouted, striding toward the ledge to better observe the Cabal as they flew past. In the distance, the Cabal lowered the cannon into place, slotting it atop a large gun encampment. Smaller drop ships flew around the base, ferrying troops and supplies down to the surface while a small fleet waited in orbit.

"It seems they have another target," Eris said, joining Ikora as the cannon lit up and began to pivot. It aimed at the open air between the two camps, pointing at nothing.

"What are they aiming at?" Ikora questioned. No sooner than the words had left her mouth, the air began to ripple and distort. It folded inward, and in its place was a spot of patina bone. The spot grew, revealing a massive crescent-shaped ship fashioned from organic material. Eris narrowed her three eyes as she watched the ship manifest into being.

"Savathûn."

While the others watched the Hive ship slide into place, Gus looked away to monitor a ping he had received. He quickly analyzed it before turning back to Ikora.

"Ma'am, additional craft entering Martian airspace. They're Guardians."

Ikora breathed a slight sigh of relief, "Good, they're here." She opened communication with the ships and spoke. "Iris, is that you?"

"You know it," the Young Wolf replied from her ship. "Got the others you requested with me. I was gonna ask why you called us out here, but I think I see it now."

"Stay low and drop two clicks away from the Cabal base," Ikora ordered. "Disable the gun, then get aboard Savathûn's ship."

"Understood," Iris said. "Over and out." The line went dead, leaving Ikora to stew in her questions.

---

"So that's where Savathûn crawled off to," Amity muttered, gaping as they flew under Savathûn's ship. "It's a lot smaller than I thought it would be."

"You should see Oryx's Dreadnought," Iris said. "Thing was huge. Blasted away a pretty damn appreciable chunk of Saturn's rings." She fell silent as she pressed a few buttons on her interface. "Move in and touch down. We'll split into two teams. Amity, you're with me."

"Copy that," the Witch responded, adjusting her heading to match Iris's. Luz and Royal peeled away. The two teams would move to pincer the Cabal like the mythical crabs of Old Earth.

"I don't like this," Luz said. "There's too many unknowns. Why is Savathûn's here? Why is she broadcasting her presence? How is Mars back?"

"So many questions," Royal remarked. "Just like a Warlock. I wish I had answers to give." Despite his easy words, his fingers were tightly gripping the throttle of his ship. The two transmatted onto the ground, landing in a cloud of dust as their ships steered away.

Before them was a desolate field of ruined buildings. Spliced with the decay were fields of crops. Wisps of temporal energy trailed through the air as Luz drifted forward, staring at the rift in awe.

"What is this?" Luz asked, sticking her arm into the rift and feeling the crop. It bent beneath her touch. Irrigation pipes were suspended overhead, as pristine as the day they had first been constructed. Royal didn't reply, staring at the hollowed-out shell of the city that once stood here.

"Guardians," Ikora said, the radio sparking to life. "Eris and I have established Hidden operations at the Enclave. Iris and Amity have already touched down to the north. What's your position?"

"Some kind of crop field near an old city," Luz said, stepping through the rift.

"What you see is a window into the Golden Age," Eris said. "Mars has returned with temporal instabilities, and Savathûn's presence here is no coincidence."

"We believe the reappearance of Mars drove her out of hiding, and our intel says she may be in a weakened state," Ikora said. "The Cabal fleet is blocking the flight path onto her ship. We need you to find a way up there and track Savathûn down."

"This may be our only chance to strike," Eris added. Luz tore her gaze away from the temporal rift and looked at Savathûn's ship dominating the horizon.

"Then we better not waste any more time," she said. "Royal, we need to go." The Exo bowed his head toward the city in mourning before moving to catch up with her. The two ran past the ruins of the city and into the Martian wilderness.

"That city had you captivated," Luz said. "Something on your mind?"

"It's nothing," Royal said tersely. "Let's just focus on getting through the Cabal. Then, we can get to Savathûn."

"If you say so." As they marched, they drew close to a small Cabal scouting party. The tall aliens wore bulky scarlet armor that meshed with the Martian sands. A few wore large fuel tanks on their backs as they carried powerful flamethrowers. Some smaller Psions darted across the ledges above them, prepping their sniper rifles. Royal and Luz slid behind cover, and Luz drew her hand cannon.

"Alright, I'll move up to the ledge and take out the Psions," she said. "You stay back and give me covering fire. Those Incendiors could be a problem if they corner us, so we'll need to stay…" She turned to look at Royal, only to find his spot completely vacant. She glanced over cover just in time to see the Warlock charging the Cabal lines with a trail of fire behind him.

Royal was on the first Legionnaire before the alien could even bring his rifle to bear. Royal's burning fist plunged through the Cabal's chest, melting armor and searing flesh. Royal discarded the body and spun, slinging a wave of fire from his hand. An Incendior tried to retaliate with a concentrated burst from his own weapon, only for Royal to roll away from the trails of magma. He fired two shots into the Incendiors fuel pack, and the Cabal transformed into a miniature sun.

"Traveler damn it," Luz hissed as the Psions took up a perch and leveled their rifles on Royal. She quickly flew up beside them and fired a burst of blinding energy. The Psions recoiled, and Luz set upon them. She slammed the first into the ground before overloading the second jump pack and sending him flying into the rock wall. The third managed to reorient himself and leveled his rifle on her. Luz fired a shot into the weapon, sending it flying from the Psion's hands. She followed up with a swift roundhouse that sent the Psions sprawling into the dust. A quick check revealed that they were still alive. Almost certainly injured but not dead. They didn't deserve that.

Royal, for his part, did not share that sentiment. He had viciously dispatched the main bulk of the Cabal scouting party, leaving them lying in bloody piles. He had the last Legionnaire pinned and was violently beating the Cabal to a pulp. Luz heard bones and armor crack beneath Royal's fist. The alien's panicked motions became less and less prevalent before he finally fell limp. Soon, the only motion came from Royal's fist slamming into his face.

"Royal!" She shouted, gliding down to him. Royal didn't hear her, continuing to lay into the Legionnaire. She grabbed his arm, stopping him. "He's already dead!"

The Warlock stared at her before looking down at the Legionnaire in his hands. He shook his head as he finally loosened his grip and let the body fall into the sand. He backed away from the alien and looked over the path of carnage he had left.

"Are you with me?" Luz asked considerably more gently now that he had calmed down. Royal nodded numbly. "What was that? I've seen you go nuts on Vex before, but this is something else."

"I already told you," Royal said. "It's nothing. We have to keep moving; the others are counting on us." He briskly strode past Luz, moving for a propulsion cannon in the distance. Aurora and Stringbean joined her, each perched on or above one of her shoulders.

"That can't have been healthy," Aurora said. "Something's eating him up." Stringbean hissed, and Luz nodded in agreement.

"You're right; we'll deal with it later. We can't afford distractions right now." The two slipped back into wherever they went as Luz tried to catch up with Royal. He dragged the cannon into position, aiming it at the nearest point of the Cabal base.

Iris's voice broke over the radio. "We're at the outskirts of the Cabal outpost. Met some mild resistance, but they weren't anything we couldn't handle. How about you two?"

"We're in position and about to move," Royal said. "By the time you arrive, there won't be any Cabal left."

"I'll take that as a challenge," Iris said. "Over and out." Royal didn't wait, already stepping into the propulsion cannon and flinging himself at the Cabal outpost. Luz sighed and followed. The Cabal saw them coming and were establishing a defensive line by the time they arrived. A wall of Phalanxes held their energy shields out, overlapping to protect themselves and the Legionnaires behind them. The barrels of their rifles poked through the shields, and each pull of the trigger sent a spray of explosive bolts at them. A Centurion barked orders in their alien tongue before leaping into the air with some aid from his jump pack.

Royal rushed the Phalanx wall and raised his hands, projecting a circle of fire before him. The Cabal's bolts melted and then evaporated before hitting him, allowing him to easily close the gap. Luz threw a grenade behind the Phalanx wall. Lightning coursed through the Cabal ranks, leaving them disoriented and vulnerable to Royal's charge. He tore through them with Lament, slicing and carving with minimal resistance. The Cabal tried to stab him with their own wrist-mounted blades, only for Royal to weave through them. The Centurion opened fire with his Bronto Cannon, raining Void blasts down upon the Warlocks. Royal flung a fireball at the Centurion that he easily dodged by canceling his jump pack.

The Centurion crashed down on Royal like a meteor. His wrist blade gouged a deep cut in Royals' chest, forcing the Warlock back. His shield flickered as Luz opened fire with her hand cannon. A quick flick of the wrist activated the grenade function of the blade, and the Centurion launched it at her. Luz dove behind cover as it burst, flinging shrapnel in every direction. Royal sprayed his SMG to overload his shield as the Centurion brought his cannon to bear. Before he could fire, a single round punched through the Centurion's helmet, spraying blood from the exit wound. The Centurion keeled over, dying without so much as a whimper.

"Jackpot," Iris said with a smirk, holstering her revolver as she walked closer. Amity jogged up behind her, sweeping the area with her pulse rifle. Iris offered a small wave in greeting. "Well, fancy meeting you guys here."

"We need to get inside and neutralize that cannon," Royal said, ignoring the greeting. "If we don't cripple the Cabal offensive now, we'll be stepping into another war on Mars at a time when we cannot afford that."

"I don't see why we don't just let the Cabal blast Savathûn out of orbit," Amity said as they pushed inside the facility. "Let them do our dirty work for us. Enemy of my enemy and all."

"And let them establish a foothold on Mars?" Royal asked. He shook his head. "The enemy of my enemy dies next."

"I think I have an idea of how we can handle both problems," Luz said. "We need to find whatever is powering this base and the main cannon control console."

"I like where this is going," Iris smirked. "Fortunately, we've got a console right here." Iris approached a small terminal and pulled out her Ghost. Hajime scanned it, extracting whatever information he could.

"This terminal won't give me access to the gun," he said. "But it will tell me where we need to go." As the Ghost did his work, bright red lights flashed as an alarm blared. Hajime spun his shell, ignoring the alarm in favor of his work. "The Cabal also know we're here and have initiated lockdown. They're on their way right now."

The Guardians quickly took up defensive positions as the Cabal rushed toward them. Amity planted a waist-high barricade while Luz readied her machine gun. Doors above and around them opened, and the Cabal poured in. Dozens of slug rifles pounded their defenses, and the Guardians quickly returned fire. They exchanged volleys while Hajime siphoned as much data as he could. Eventually, as the Cabal force thinned, the doors opened once more. A hulking Colossus in bulky white armor stomped through. He raised an arm to shield himself from Luz's machine gun. The bullets bounced off his armor as he reached onto his back and pulled free a powered slug thrower. After taking a moment to rev up the barrels, he opened fire.

"Scatter!" Iris shouted, rolling out of the way of a veritable storm of bullets. Amity tried to summon an Abomination, only for the golem to be torn apart in a hail of gunfire. Royal attempted to charge the Colossus. He retaliated by clenching his fist, sending a signal through his armor to unleash a flurry of disorienting missiles. Royal staggered under the blinding flash, leaving himself open to being smacked over the head by the Colossus's weapon. He buckled beneath the larger alien. The Colossus planted his barrels against Royal's chest and pulled the trigger. The Warlock was practically torn in half as the bullets flung him away.

Narrowing her eyes, Luz discarded her machine gun and pressed her hands together. Abyssal energy swirled between her palms. Gravitational waves lashed out as she compressed it into a sphere. Holding the ball of Void energy in her hand, she flung it at the Colossus. The Cabal faced the encroaching Nova Bomb with grim determination, firing into the stellar mass. It did little to save him as the Nova Bomb tore him apart on a molecular level.

"When did you learn to do that?" Amity asked, slightly slackjawed.

"Pretty recently," Luz said. She set a hand over her stomach as it grumbled. "Still takes a lot out of me. I could really use something to eat." She dug a few ration bars out of transmat and scarfed them down while Royal got back to his feet, freshly repaired and resurrected.

"Sounds like I should've been a Warlock," Amity muttered. "Hey, Iris, are we good to go?"

"Looks like it," she replied. "Hajime got everything we need. Sending you the data now." Luz inspected her HUD as Aurora pulled up a map of the Cabal base.

"Looks like our destinations are spread out," Royal mused. "If the Cabal know we're here, it's only a matter of time before their fleet sends reinforcements."

"Sounds like we're short on time," Amity said. "Think we should split up?"

"We may not have a choice," Iris chimed in. "Royal, Luz, you two get to that command center and do whatever you're planning on doing. Amity and I will take out the base's reactor once you're clear."

The four quickly split up, moving to separate wings of the base to complete their tasks. The Cabal were ever alert for them, slowing Luz and Royal down with defensive fortifications and machine gun encampments.

"After Queen Mara's ritual, I thought Savathûn would try to lay low," Aurora said as they pushed through a squad of Phalanxes. "Why is she showing herself again so soon? It seems reckless for the supposed God of Cunning."

"Savathûn is nothing if not meticulous," Royal answered. "She wouldn't be so brazen if she didn't think she held a winning hand."

---

A squad of Cabal legionnaires patrolled the halls, holding their slug rifles at the ready. They guarded the entrance to the reactor chamber, knowing that it had to be protected from all outside threats. Unfortunately, their resistance would ultimately mount to nothing when Amity came tearing around the corner. Her armored boots slammed against the metallic floor as she held her shield up. The Cabal opened fire, doing little to slow the charging Witch down. Amity crashed into the nearest one, instantly atomizing them. She whipped her shield around, slicing through a second. It bounced off the wall, cutting down two more. The fifth readied his arm blade and tried to stab the Titan. Amity caught his fist against her vambrace and pushed back. Before either could move, the tip of a blade sprouted from the Legionnaire's throat. He gargled as blood filled his lungs. Iris withdrew her sword, and Amity threw him to the ground.

"Alright, this is reactor bay," Iris said. "If Hajime's info is correct, which it always is, we'll need to get access codes from the Engineer to open the shielding. From there, just unleash hell."

"Don't suppose they'll just hand it over without a fight, do you?"

Iris snorted. "You've clearly never fought the Cabal before."

"Just a few back on Earth. Ran into them shortly after being raised," Amity said. Iris tilted her head before nodding in understanding.

"Alright, fair enough." She drew her hand cannon and pulled back the hammer. "Follow my lead."

"By all means." Amity stepped back as Iris walked through the door. In an instant, the Cabal waiting for them opened fire. Iris dashed between bullets, firing her weapon and weaving in and out of the shadows of the dimly lit reactor chamber. Amity moved in behind her, blasting away with her pulse rifle. The Cabal took their losses with ease, moving more up to fill in for those who fell.

"Where's the Engineer?" Amity asked, trading her rifle for a pair of gauntlets as a Phalanx tried to bash her with his shield. As she did, a Colossus in brilliant golden armor stomped forward.

Iris swiftly disemboweled a Legionnaire, "Right there." The Engineer revved his powered slug thrower and opened fire, spraying metallic death all over the room.

"That's the Engineer?" Amity shouted, raising a shield to protect herself. "Seriously? Why is an Engineer so strapped? I never got to carry a freaking death machine around my workplace! My dad would've killed me."

"That's just what the Cabal do," Iris replied. "You've faced worse than this." Amity grit her teeth as the force from the bullets steadily pushed her back. Magical goop hardened around her ankles to hold her in place. Eventually, the Engineer had to stop firing lest he melt the barrel of his gun. Iris dashed forward, cutting at the Engineer with her blades. The Engineer swung his weapon to force her back, only for Iris to leap over him. Her blades glanced off his armor, leaving shallow gouges. The Engineer turned and caught the Hunter in a backhanded smack, sending her into the wall. He jammed the barrels of his weapon into her gut and prepared to pull the trigger. Iris simply grinned and gestured past the Engineer.

"Behind you."

The Engineer seemed to remember that there was a second Guardian and began to turn back around. Before he could, Amity brought her shield down in a one-handed grip, vertically bisecting the Engineer from head to toe. The two halves split away and Iris gently dropped to the ground. She reached onto the Engineers belt and pried off his access card while Amity wiped some blood off her armor.

Iris cast a gaze over the Cabal bodies strewn around the room. "You know, I'm surprised you're so comfortable with all the killing, especially considering what I've seen from the other one."

"Should I not be?" Amity asked. Iris shrugged as she walked over to the security console and began typing.

"I've heard about you cheating the system," she replied. "Conniving a way to keep your memories. Normally, the Light washes all that pesky stuff away. Makes us better at doing the job."

"I had to watch the Vex invade my home as a child," Amity said, her gaze hardening. "Then, the Taken and the Collector. I've seen what this war did to the Guardians I knew, what it did to my home. I'm fresh out of mercy."

Iris gave a slight nod as she accepted Amity's reasoning. "I also heard that you and a certain bird haven't exactly been seeing eye to eye."

Amity grimaced and looked away. "Yeah. I'm… not proud of how I treated Crow. I wasn't really in the right spot mentally. We've come to an understanding."

"Good," Iris said. The terminal beeped as the reactor's shield slid open, exposing the blazing core. "Otherwise, I'd have to hurt ya."

"Wait, what?" Amity asked. Rather than respond, Iris pulled out a few explosives and chucked them into the spinning turbines of the reactor. They stuck to the blades and began to beep. Iris grinned and resealed the door.

"Time to make ourselves scarce," she said, ignoring Amity's uneasy expression. "The Cabal will be pouring back in any second now." She briskly set off, moving back the way they had come. Amity watched her go for a moment before following.

"Man, what is it with Hunters saying weird shit."

---

The final Legionnaire guarding the lift dropped to the ground, a cauterized fist-sized hole burned through his gut. Royal stepped over the alien's body and approached the console operating the lift to the cannon's control room. Luz joined him, panning the entrance behind them with her hand cannon.

Royal gestured for her to hop on the lift as Lancer finished overriding the Cabal's lockdown. The lift slowly creaked into motion before it took them upwards. Royal inspected his rifle magazine while Luz swayed on her heels.

"So… Cabal," she said. "Haven't fought these guys before." Royal didn't respond, sliding the mag back into place and pulling back the bolt to check the chamber. Luz frowned slightly and looked out the window as they shot upward. "You seem to have some history with them."

"I don't want to talk about it," Royal said, tuning the scope on his rifle.

"Look, if we want to succeed, I need to be sure you're on your A game," Luz said. "If something's eating away at you—and something always is—I deserve to know." Royal suddenly stopped working on his rifle and sharply turned to face her.

"Shut up."

Luz flinched at his abrasive tone and shrunk away from him. Royal closed his optics and sighed wearily. He set a smoking hand on his helmet faceplate.

"Sorry, I'm not mad at you. I'll tell you later. Just please drop it for now, alright?" Luz nodded as they reached the top level. The door before them opened to the guns command center. It was a small room filled with computer screens. A door to the rafters outside waited across the room. A lone Psion was interfaced with the weapon through a psychic helm. Luz began to step forward, only for Royal to hold out a hand and stop her. He put a finger over his mouth and approached the Psion. Its body twitched slightly as it relayed mental impulses, shifting the gun to target Savathûn's ship.

Royal's hand snapped out in a blurred flash of motion. He grabbed one of the cables plugged into the Psions interface and tore it out. The Psion thrashed violently in his seat as the link was severed. His mind was sliced, split across his body and the gun. After a few brief seconds, the Psion fell limp. Royal shoved him off the seat and pulled over an interface.

"That seemed… violent," Luz said uncertainly.

"It was all just muscle spasms due to random electrical discharges from his brain," Royal said, typing away on the screen. "He was dead the second I pulled the plug. Swift. Painless. Better than he deserved, but I couldn't risk him locking us out." He stepped back from the terminal and gestured for Luz to take over. "I've overridden the Cabal's safety protocols. We have full control. It's all yours."

Luz grinned and stepped up to the screen. She assessed the information the gun crew had taken of Savathûn's ship before adjusting her aim. It took a second for her to get the hang of the Cabal interface, but eventually, she was locked in on what appeared to be a landing dock that sprouted into the center of the crescent.

"Alright, gun's locked," she said, standing up from the seat. "Now, we get on that ship."

"You still haven't told us how we're doing that," Royal said. "Care to illuminate me?"

"We're shooting ourselves on board," Luz said proudly. "The cannon is primed, and we're the projectile. Aurora will wait here to pull the trigger." Royal seemed surprised by her idea. He stopped to think before slowly nodding.

"That's… actually a really good idea," he muttered. "The Cabal won't suspect anything if it's their gun opening fire. And by the time they do find out, it'll be too late." He gave Luz a proud smile. "How very Gordian of you." Luz grinned before heading toward the door.

"Was she always this reckless as a kid?" Lancer asked.

Royal shrugged, "Think she learned it from me or Eda?" The two looked at each other momentarily before nodding and speaking in unison.

"Definitely Eda."

He quickly joined her outside on the rafters where a few Legionnaires were putting up some meager resistance. Violent, frigid winds whipped at the top of the gun, causing the shin metal platform to quiver. Luz flung a bolt of lightning at the nearest Legionnaire. He twitched as his armor and body were overloaded. The electricity chained to the other nearby Cabal, and they all fell to the ground. More opened fire from the rafters above, forcing them to sprint onward.

"Heads up, the gun isn't set to fire without a proper payload," Aurora said over the radio. "Your bodies won't quite cut it." The two Guardians reached the end of the platform, where a final console oversaw the loading mechanism.

"Can you override the control?" Royal asked, approaching the terminal as Luz crouched behind cover and opened fire on the Cabal.

"These commands are baked into the gun's function," Aurora said. "It would take hours for me to shift through it, and, honestly, I'm not all that great with computers to begin with." Royal cursed as he mashed the console's buttons.

"It'll require some intense rewiring to bypass the loading mechanism," he said. Luz flinched as several slugs slammed into the crate she was hiding behind. The bolts exploded, spraying the catwalk with shrapnel.

"You can rewire it, right?"

"No," Royal said. He pulled back a fist and set it ablaze. "Be ready to run." He plunged his fist into the console. The wires and circuitry melted under his fist. The weapon groaned as its loading mechanism was sundered. The breech began to slide close, and both Warlocks took off. They sprinted toward the gun as the Cabal continued firing upon them. Reaching the end, they leaped into the air. They narrowly slid through the gap just as it closed, sealing them inside.

The muffled sound of Cabal barking orders reached the two as they stood up. The inside of the cannon was laced with some kind of powder, likely whatever chemical propellant was used. Royal turned to Luz and nodded.

"Aurora, fire when ready," Luz said. Her Ghost whistled in response. There was the distinct sound of her transmitting back to Luz as the cannon prepared to fire. Luz fidgeted awkwardly as she waited for it to fire. "I'm really starting to have second thoughts about this."

"I'm just surprised you had a first," Royal replied. Luz opened her mouth to respond. The instant she did, a deafening boom rattled the stars out of the sky. The cannon buckled as it fired, propelling the Guardians out of the barrel and into the sky. Luz bit back a startled scream as her ears rang. The world seemed to shake apart as she hurtled through the air.

Royal managed to reach over and jostle her shoulder mid-flight. He shouted something, but Luz couldn't hear it over her own sore ears and the rushing winds. He pointed ahead as they soared past Cabal ships. Luz looked forward and realized that they were rapidly approaching their destination. The two Warlocks flooded their legs with Light to kill their momentum. Gradually, they slowed down and landed like a gentle breeze.

Luz's knees buckled on contact. Her legs felt like jelly as she sank to the ground. Beside her, Royal simply stretched, more than used to this kind of exertion.

"Oh, Traveler, that was such a bad idea," she whined from her spot on the ground. Royal snorted and offered her a hand.

"Please, you've charged into a Pyramid ship before. That was nothing." He hoisted Luz back to her feet as the buzzing in her legs receded. Once he was satisfied she wouldn't collapse again, he thumbed his radio.

"Iris. Amity. We've made it onboard Savathûn's ship. Whatever you cooked up down there, feel free to let it shine."

"Copy that," Iris replied. "We've already cleared the blast radius. Put on some sunscreen and enjoy the fireworks." The line went dead, and all fell still for a moment. Then, the cannon shook again. However, this was not the result of the barrel firing another payload. Instead, the cannon and the entire base were consumed in a massive fireball. A shockwave crashed through the air, shaking the Guardians to their core. By the time they had reoriented, the base was nothing more than a pile of smoldering ruins.

"Impressive work," Ikora said. "We could feel the shockwaves. That should serve as quite the deterrent."

"I'm sure the Cabal could see it from orbit," Amity replied. "We'll regroup at the Enclave. Stay safe, you two."

"Safe?" Luz replied jokingly as Royal took a few cautious steps forward. "In Savathûn's home turf? We'll see what we can do." She killed the feed as Royal crouched beside the brutalized body of a Cabal Legionnaire. He ran his hand over their body and looked at a few gouges that had been cut into the bone-like platform like deep scars.

"These guys look like they ran into you," Luz said as Royal stood up. "Appears the Hive aren't interested in visitors."

"That's not what concerns me," Royal said. He pointed to a gouge a few feet away. It pulsed with purple energy that stoked Luz's power. It felt familiar. It felt… warm.

"That's Light," she realized. "Real Light." True to her words, Void Light pulsated on the ground, lingering like an infection. It was no mere energy born of the fundamental forces of the Universe. It was no facsimile crafted from the Hive's magic. It was no pale shadow or depleted reservoir. It was Light, pure and potent. Luz reached down to touch it before looking back up. "Think another Guardian made it here before us?"

"That's impossible," Ikora said over the line. "Perhaps we've acted too hastily... There are too many unknowns."

"Savathûn is the god of cunning," Eris replied. "To wait for a moment where her intentions were clear… we would wait forever."

"None of this makes sense," Royal muttered. "Mars returns. Savathûn reveals herself. Now, this." He gripped his rifle tightly as he stared at the entryway before them. "This has to be a trap of some kind."

"Then what's the plan?" Luz asked.

Royal sighed and glanced back at her. "Spring the trap."

"You need to pull back," Ikora objected. "Just until we can provide more backup."

"Ma'am, with all due respect, when are we going to get another chance?" Royal asked. "I doubt Savathûn will ever let us get this close again. Besides, you and I both know that reinforcements aren't coming. With the war in the Isles, Guardians are stretched too thin."

"We can handle this," Luz said. Ikora remained silent for a while before sighing.

"Very well. Should you see Savathûn, you know what to do."

Royal voiced his affirmation and killed the connection. Together, the two Warlocks entered Savathûn's ship. The halls inside were narrow and cramped, twisting and winding in on themselves, making it hard to keep track of where they had been. They had to jump across platforms, swing from chandeliers, and—much to Royal's chagrin—push through tunnels of running water to keep moving forward. A haze set into their minds, weighing them down with the weight of Savathûn's trickery. Everything, even the very architecture itself, was designed to distort and confuse them.

Luz took note of the architecture as they went. It was similar to the usual Hive style of sharp, organic construction. The walls were made of bone or some other similar ossified material. However, Savathûn's ship was far more lively, with clumps of bioluminescent material illuminating the damp halls. Small growths of some vernal plants crowded the crevices.

They walked in silence, accompanied by nothing save for the sounds of their boots on the ground, distant rushing water, and their own doubts dragging them down. The shadows bent around them. Occasionally, Luz would see a Knight melt out of the wall or a pack of Thrall rushing them. She would raise her weapon, only to blink and find nothing at the end of her barrel.

"I really don't like this place," she muttered. Royal wasn't faring much better. The Exo was jumpier than usual. Fire dripped from his feet, and he left burning footprints in his wake. Luz supposed that, at the very least, that should make it easy for them to find their way out.

As they neared a corner, Royal suddenly held up a clenched fist. Luz acted instantly, putting her back against the wall and holding her hand cannon close. Royal carefully peered around the corner. As he did, a third set of footsteps reached them. A lone Acolyte stalked down the hallway. His body was coated by a strange, translucent field that shone like lightning. He drew closer to the corner, oblivious to the Guardian's presence. Royal held out a hand to tell Luz to stay still. He waited for the Acolyte to draw closer and closer until…

The instant the Acolyte entered his range, Royal lashed out. His fingers wrapped around the Acolyte's arm, his grip as strong as a Hunter's tethers. The Hive could barely cry out in surprise before Royal dragged him to the ground. He wrapped his fist around the Hive's neck and tore out the Acolyte's throat. Luz winced at the gory display as Royal stood back up.

"A simple cut would have sufficed," she whispered.

Royal shrugged. "To what end does it matter?" As the two spoke, the energy rippling over the Acolyte began to coalesce. It grouped together and lifted off the body, floating in the air. It molded itself into the shape of a small, winged creature forged of Arc. The two Guardians stopped and stared as the moth spread its wings. The construct began to shine like lightning. It flew toward the Guardians, bristling with electricity. Royal's hand cannon snapped up, and he fired. The moth exploded, wreathing the hallway in Arc Light. The sound of his gun echoed through the hallways.

"So much for being sneaky," Luz said. "There's no way they didn't hear that."

"Wait, did you see that moth?" Aurora asked. "It was coursing with Light. Not corrupted Light either. This was… pure."

"First the Void Light outside, now this," Royal said. "Is this what Savathûn has been doing since the ritual? Draining and caging the Light?"

"We won't know until we find Savathûn," Luz said. "We need to keep moving." Royal glared at the Acolyte before nodding, and the two took off once again. The halls continued to warp in ways that defied logic. They encountered a few other Hive patrols scattered throughout the tunnels, along with more of those strange moths.

They passed through a hangar filled with dormant Tombships. The Hive were here en masse, likely acting on Savathûn's marching orders. The Guardians hid near the entrance as a Wizard directed packs of Thrall. On the other side of the hangar, the door was sealed by Hive runes.

"Savathûn's magic is potent in this ship; whatever barriers the Hive have put up won't come down easy," Lancer said. "Do you guys have any ideas for getting past that lock which doesn't involve just shooting it?"

Luz inspected the room again, taking note of the scattered barrels filled with fuel. If the records she had read were correct, it was quite volatile fuel. She glanced back at one of the Tombships as it drifted out of the hangar and grinned.

"Yeah, I think I have an idea."

Royal followed her gaze and seemed to pick up on where she was going as a second Tombship prepared to depart. "My, aren't you crafty today."

"What can I say? I'm feeling inspired." She moved closer to the entranced as Royal took aim with his rifle. He centered the stack of fuel containers in his sights and waited for the Hive to draw closer to it. The Wizard floated through the air, her back to the Guardians. She hissed something, pointing at the stack of fuel. An Acolyte walked over to the barrels and reached out to grab one. Underneath his helmet, Royal couldn't help but smirk.

His shot rang out with a brilliant ping. The Solar-infused round soared through the air as straight as the sea horizon. It hit the stack of barrels with a metallic clang. The first sparked briefly before being consumed in liquid fire. The others soon followed suit, igniting in a chain reaction of fire and death. A large chunk of shrapnel from one of the barrels tore through the Wizard's shields and buried itself in her skull.

While the Hive screamed in anguish and surprise, the two Guardians took off. They sprinted across the hangar toward the Tombship as it was released and began to drift away. Luz jumped, enhancing her glide with Light, and barely managed to wrap her fingers around the lip of the Tombship. She reached out and caught Royal's hand in her own. Her muscles screamed as the Exo threatened to drag her down with the weight of his body. Grunting in exertion, she began to swing back and forth as the ship flew onward. Eventually, she reached her zenith. She flung Royal overhead and on top of the Tombship. He quickly pulled her up behind him, and she collapsed onto the smooth ship.

"I hate to interrupt your rest, but we need to keep moving," Royal said, pointing back toward Savathûn's ship as they drifted away from it. "There are a few external platforms nearby that we can land on."

"Hooray," Luz said, her voice strained with exertion. With a groan, she forced herself back up, and the two made one final leap. Royal aided his flight with a burst of Solar fire. A Knight patrolling the walkway tried to raise his shredder, only for his head to be personally introduced to the heel of Royal's boot.

More Hive opened fire as the frigid Martian winds tore at them. Luz stepped forward, slamming her palm into the ground. Spikes of Stasis crystals shot upward, blocking off the narrow ledge. Royal used their momentary reprieve to draw Lament and gun the engine. Luz balled her hand into a fist and slammed it into the ground once more, unleashing a shockwave that shattered the crystals. The nearest Hive were shredded by a storm of icy fragments while the rest were shredded by Royal diving at them with his sword.

The last Knight keeled over, falling off the ramparts to a long drop as they reached the end. Luz glanced over the side, drinking in the beauty of Mars. Directly beneath Savathûn's ship was a circular maze of raised stone, the imprint of where the Traveler last touched Mars centuries before. To think that she had been alive to witness the Travelers arrival. How old were those stones? What secrets of the Light might they hold? Perhaps that was why Savathûn had chosen this of all places.

They reentered Savathûn's domain, though it seemed they were drawing close to the Witch Queen. Her magics felt more potent, laced into every atom of the ship. But it was joined by something else… something noticeably Dark. As they rounded the corner, a large obelisk made of jet-black stone darker than the vacuum loomed over them. It drank in all the light in the room, devouring all warmth and hope. It almost resembled a pair of legs, severed right at the waist.

"That's a Darkness relic," Lancer noted. "Like the statues in the Collectors Pyramid. Looks like Savathûn kept a few souvenirs." Royal approached the relic, inspecting it for any clues. It came to life as he approached, sliding to reveal a hidden compartment. Furrowing his brow, Royal reached inside and withdrew a large rectangular chunk of obsidian-like material. The material was drenched in Darkness, but it was not Dark itself.

"Another gift of the Pyramids," Royal muttered. He tightened his grip on the object before sending it to transmat. "We can't afford distractions now. Savathûn is close; I can feel it."

The two Warlocks held their guns at the ready as they entered into a large open room. Plants of ashen wood and scarlet leaves grew in neatly organized rows, framing two massive spines that sprouted from the ground, curling together to frame a portal. And there, directly in the center of the room, was the Witch Queen herself.

Savathûn was massive, easily five times Luz's size at least. Her three eyes burned green with Hive magic. The thick chitinous plates that coated her body gracefully expanded and contracted as she moved. A pair of colossal moth wings stretched to the side, granting her flight. Her head was framed by a crown, denoting her status at the top of the Hive pantheon.

Royal was already bringing his rifle up, ready and willing to take the shot. Unfortunately, Savathûn had already slipped into the portal and vanished from sight. The portal snapped shut with a crack, and the room fell silent.

Royal leaped down from their perch and sprinted to the portal. Luz slid down the side of the wall, moving with greater care. Royal stood before the portal, trying to find some way to reactivate it. He wouldn't let Savathûn go, not when she was so close.

While Royal tried and failed to relight the portal, Luz heard a nearby set of doors click open. A towering Hive Knight stormed through, glaring at the Guardians. His bony armor was pearl white and far more elaborate than most other Knights. Whoever he was, he must be important.

The Knight growled as he slammed his fist down atop her. Luz buckled, her vision blurred by the force of the blow. She stumbled back from the hit; this Knight had some serious power backing him up. Before she could reorient herself, he brought his arm back up and backhanded her. Luz was sent flying into the portal frame, gasping as the air was knocked out of her lungs. Royal snapped to the Knight and instantly went to charge. The Knight responded by raising his cannon and planting a shot in Royal's chest.

The Exo retaliated with a burst of flames that the Knight easily wove around, firing more shots from his boomer. The explosive bolts cracked like thunder as they hit the Warlock, driving him back. Luz pushed herself back to her feet, preparing her power. She unleashed a scything blast of Arc Light that hit the Knight dead center. He howled as the lightning scoured his flesh.

Royal went to capitalize, revving Lament as he charged the Knight. Luz's power receded as he lunged at the Knight. Lament swung downward, its engine screaming and its teeth eager to tear the Knight's flesh. Then, it stopped.

A jolt of shock ran through Royal's body as his strike met resistance and was halted. He looked up to where Lament had been stopped by a shield. But this was no ordinary Hive shield, forged from the same bone as everything else they made. No, this was made of pure Void Light.

"What?" Was the last word to leave Royal's mouth before the Knight's other fist slammed into his gut. He buckled, only to be sent sprawling by a second strike to his back. He tried to scramble back to his feet as the Knight flung his shield. It sliced through Royal's neck with ease, severing wire and servo in a shower of sparks and metal. Royal's body fell limp, and the Knight turned his focus to Luz.

Luz scrambled as the Knight summoned two more shields and charged. A salvo of bullets was easily deflected. A blast of lightning was batted aside. Nothing she threw at the Knight phased him as he closed the gap. He swung, bashing her over the head with his shield. Luz staggered as her helmet was shattered and blood ran down her face. The Knight swung again, sending the Warlock to the ground. She fired another beam of electricity that the Knight once again blocked. A third swipe disoriented her enough for the Knight to pull her into a bearhug. He squeezed, slowly crushing Luz, all while glaring at her with those burning, hateful eyes.

Luz screamed as her spine snapped. At this rate, the Knight was going to tear her in half. Lightning flooded through what parts of her body she could still feel, and her eyes glowed a brilliant blue. This would not be where she died.

Luz screamed once again, defiance overpowering everything as she grabbed the Knights head and dug her thumbs into his lower eyes. The Knight joined her symphony of screams as Luz pumped lightning through her hands into his skull. The Knight spasmed as his muscles locked up. His eyes melted, and his brain was fried by Luz's sheer might. At the crescendo, his skull exploded.

The Knight's body fell limp, dropping the still-paralyzed Luz. She gave a slight groan as he fell backward. Aurora was already repairing her pulverized bones and nerves. Across the room, Lancer finished reviving Royal. However, much to her shock, there was another Ghost in the room with them.

Above the Knight's body was a vile facsimile of Aurora. Where there should have been a smooth grey core, there was instead a ball of green fire. Four lengthy prongs of Hive bone sprouted in a crude mockery of a Ghost's shell. But most damning of all, Light poured from the contemptuous creature.

Luz immediately lashed out, wrapping her hand around the core of the Hive Ghost and dragging it away from its Guardian. The creature hissed and bucked in her hand, trying to tear free of her grasp. She struggled to hold on, the strength of her grip gradually failing.

"Luz, you have to destroy it!" Aurora shouted. "Look at it! That thing is not like me!" Luz looked at her Ghost, horrified. Aurora's gaze was as hard and uncompromising as a Sentinel's shield. She looked at the Hive Ghost again. Light was still pouring from the wretched thing, spilling into the Knight. His body had already been repaired; she had to act soon.

Closing her eyes, she whispered an apology and wrenched her fist shut. The Ghost's scream was cut short as it was crushed. The spines of its shell fell to the ground with a dull, lifeless clack as its core was reduced to vapors. There was an eruption of Light that forced Luz back. The Light in the Knight's body faded, and Luz dropped to her knees. Her eyes were hollow as she stared at the Knight's body.

"That… thing was a perversion of the Travelers' gifts," Aurora said. "It left you no choice."

Those words bounced around her head as she stared at her hands. She had killed before, but this… this was different. She may as well have severed her own arm for how it felt. A creature born of the Light was dead by her hands, and no platitude or justification she could muster made the feeling of revulsion fade. Stringbean gave a soft, comforting hiss, and Luz looked down at her for a moment before burying her face in her hands and sobbing.

Royal stared at the body of the Knight, his jaw still agape as he forced himself back to his feet. It took the sound of the portal reigniting to snap him from his stupor. He glanced at the swirling gateway before the sound of Luz's sobs reached him. He was instantly in motion, rushing to her side. Slowly, he knelt beside her and wrapped a gentle arm around her shoulder. She instantly dove into his chest.

"What have I done?" Her voice was scratchy and filled with raw emotion. Royal, much to his shame, had no answer to give. Rather, he glared at the portal as it taunted them. Savathûn had stolen the Light—their one defense against the horrors of the Universe—and infused her warriors with it. On this day, Light had slain Light, and the stars themselves would bend from this unnatural wrongness.

After a few minutes, Luz's tears dried. Royal slowly helped her up. She managed to tear her gaze from the Knights body. Sorrow faded, giving way to fury. Fires burned in her palms as she met Royal's gaze.

"Savathûn needs to pay."

Royal nodded, and the two stepped through the portal. There was a flash of magic, and reality began to bleed away. Green fire consumed all of Luz's senses as the world faded. With a start, she crashed back into existence, staggering under the disorientation. Her mind was swimming; whatever that was, it wasn't anything like usual transmat.

Her joints popped as she drew to her full height, taking in the sights and sounds around her as her senses returned. They found themselves in a garden of sorts, with a long path barrred by Hive runes to one end and a large temple on the other. More crimson plants sprouted from cleanly ordered stills, perfectly contrasting the pearlescent spires and cathedrals that stabbed into the sky. Off in the distance, the horizon was dominated by a large bowl-like structure that was too vast for Luz to take in all at once.

"This place is teeming with Light," Lancer reported as Royal shook the fog from his head. The Ghost gave a wary, cautious beep. "I can feel it leaking from everything. Could this be Savathûns Throne World?"

"A Throne World cast in a mold of Light?" Royal questioned. "Would that even be possible?"

"Not molded," Lancer said. "More… reforged. Like a fresh coat of paint over the walls." Luz looked around as they conversed, investigating the Throne World. The air was laden with a strange coolness, similar to that feeling when Savathûn had invaded her mind. It was a cool psychic stream—undeniably dark but not inherently malicious. Savathûn's presence was everywhere, imprinted on the plants, the sky, and even the ground they tread upon. She supposed it made sense; this place was a reflection of her mind. The imprinted energy was most potent in the nearby temple. Reason dictated that was likely where the Hive God lurked.

Royal set a hand on the side of his helmet as he activated his radio. "Ikora, we've made it into Savathûn's Throne World. Please advise." A burst of static cut at his audio receptors, causing him to physically recoil. "Ikora, comm check: one-two." Royal waited, only to be answered with silence. He lowered his hand and turned to Luz. "Can't get a signal here; the connection is too weak. Our first priority should be to establish a transmat zone."

"Unfortunately, we're fresh out of transmat beacons," Lancer said. "No comms, no drop point, no plan."

"That's not true," Luz onjected. "We do have a plan. Find Savathûn."

"I wouldn't say that's a plan," Lancer said. "More a general mission statement. Love the energy, though."

"Then we push on and bring Savathûn's down," Royal said. "For the Isles. For the Reef. For everything she's done." Luz met his gaze and nodded sharply. Everything else was secondary; Savathûn was the only goal that mattered now.

They moved slowly, keeping their weapons drawn as they carefully watched for any Hive presence. Surprisingly, the garden was completely abandoned. The doors to the temple swung open as they approached, doing little to soothe Luz's nerves. The walls were painted with iridescent light that shimmered like a kaleidoscope. They ascended a flight of stairs toward another set of doors. Royal reached out to open them only to freeze when Savathûn's voice boomed around them.

"How did you find the strength to destroy something so like you?" She asked, her voice coming from every nook and cranny until it bombarded them like a swarm of moths. "To stare into the mirror and kill what stared back?" The doors before them slid open, allowing the two access to the inner sanctum.

Within the chamber, Savathûn was busy at work conducting some ritual. Her back was to the Guardians as they took up a defensive perch. Her wings were spread wide, beating the air to hold the God aloft. A dozen Acolytes were crouched around her, holding their weapons overhead like an offering. Royal quickly signaled Luz and the two sprang out of cover, Light blazing. Fire and lightning scoured Savathûn's flesh, pulling her from whatever profane ritual she was conducting. She held up a hand to brace herself before seeming to smile. There was a flash of light, and Savathûn vanished. The Acolytes she left behind weren't so fortunate, incinerated and electrocuted by the Guardian's assault.

"Damn it all!" Royal cursed. "The coward slipped away again." As he spoke, a small point of Hive magic appeared before the two. They backed away as it expanded before finally coalescing into a Knight, similar in appearance to the one who had been protecting the portal. Another Lightbearer Hive stood before them, Solar fire licking his body. With a roar, he summoned a colossal battle axe forged of celestial fire. He slammed it into the ground, unleashing a molten wave from the impact point.

Dodging the wave of death, Royal didn't waste any time summoning his Dawnblade and meeting the Knight in melee. Their weapons met again and again, showering, searing sparks around the room. Fire fell like rain, scorching the room. The two locked blades and pressed, trying to overpower the other. Royal was slowly pushed back, the ground beneath his feet melting as he dug in.

While Royal struggled to hold back the Knight, Luz soared overhead. A crystalline staff sprouted from her fingers. She thrust it toward the Knight, firing a blast of entropic power. Ice crept over the Knight's body, robbing him of his energy. He gave one last growl before he was frozen in place. Royal let his sword fade and drew back his fists. He ignited his hands and flung them at the frozen Knight like meteors. The Knight's cage shattered, sending the Hive Guardian stumbling back.

Before he could recover, Luz slid into action. Light erupted from her body, lashing at the Knight hungrily. The fire in the Knights eyes faded, fully extinguished, and he collapsed to the ground. His Ghost emerged, desperately trying to restore his Guardian. Royal was too quick, wrapping his fingers around the corrupted thing and crushing it. There was another burst of Light as Royal's soul screamed against the sheer wrongness of what he had done, but he knew he had no choice.

"So ruthless." Savathûn cackled at them, her voice radiating from the walls and pouring into their minds like molten gold. "You truly have no heart."

"Show yourself!" Royal shouted. "Answer for what you've done!"

"Very well." Savathûn appeared in a flash of blinding magic. Light emanated from her body as she leered at them. Arc energy flowed between her fingers like a mocking call to the Guardians. She had stolen this power from the Traveler and was now turning it against its chosen.

The Warlocks scattered, diving for cover as Savathun summoned a flurry of lightning strikes. The ground exploded wherever the thunder fell, spraying razor-sharp fragments across the room. Royal rolled back to his feet, his body blazing. He struck the air, launching fireballs at Savathûn. He didn't wait to see if they landed, already spinning into a wide, sweeping kick that sent a wave of fire at Savathûn.

The Hive God braced herself, letting the fire wash over her body. Lightning bolts from Luz hit her arms, forcing her back. When the lightning receded, she lowered her arms just in time to see Royal leaping at her with Lament gunned and his optics brimming with hatred. He swung with all his might and met Savathûn's neck with a wet, meaty thunk. Lament's teeth whirred, sawing through chitin and flesh. Savathûn didn't beg, didn't scream, didn't even twitch as Lament severed her head from her shoulders. Her body fell to the ground with a dull thud. Royal landed atop her, raising her severed head in his free hand.

"It is done," he whispered.

"I know you're strong, but that was too easy," Lancer muttered. As soon as the words were uttered, three more Savathûns appeared before the Guardians. Threads lashed out of the ground, latching onto Royal's arms and ankles. Luz tried to rush forward, only to find herself similarly bound. The threads bypassed her armor and cut directly into her flesh as Savathûn held her in place.

"It did seem too easy, didn't it?" The apparitions cackled. "Better luck next time, o Guardians mine." Royal screamed in rage as the Throne World swelled, growing brighter and brighter until all sensation left. Then, everything went black.

There was a brief flash of weightlessness. Royal sense gradually returned to him, and he suddenly became aware of the fact that he was rapidly losing altitude. A glance to the side showed the unconscious body of Luz beside him, and a glance down revealed that they were quickly running out of air. He dragged Luz close, cushioning her with her body, and braced for impact.

He slammed into the ground with the force of a Cabal drop pod, tearing a small canyon into the soil. Luz was torn from his grip, sent flying by the force of the impact. Royal crashed through a boulder, shattering his midsection. He scrapped against the ground, gradually arresting his momentum. He came to a stop in a scattered heap of dismembered parts. Still alive and in crippling agony, he let his head tilt to the side.

"Fuck, that hurt." He groaned as Lancer's soothing Light shone over his body, reknitting his body and tying his limbs back on. After a second, he forced himself up, pushing the wave of nausea out of his head. He stumbled toward Luz, limping as he tried to favor his still-damaged leg.

"So far, you're zero for two when it comes to crash landings," Lancer said. "You and the ground do not get along."

"I'm getting better," he grunted. "Didn't die this time." He stopped above Luz as she began to stir. His face tightened in pain as he knelt beside her, offering her a hand. "Come on. Get up." He spoke in a soft, soothing voice. His anger was still there, but it would have to wait for later.

Luz accepted his hand and rose. Sand and loose rocks fell off her armor as she shook the rattle from the impact out of her skull. Their radios gave a burst of garbled nonsense, still disoriented from the crash. Luz coughed in pain.

"Luz, are you there? Are you alright?" Amity asked. Luz looked to Royal, and her shoulders slumped.

"Alright may be overselling it, but we're still in one piece. If you could get us a lift, that would be appreciated. We've got a lot to talk about."

---

Amity wiped the dust from her visor as she tore over the Martian dunes. Iris was just ahead, her cape dancing in the wind. They rode up a slope toward the Enclave and into the Hidden camp. Arriving at their destination, they dismounted.

Amity tore off her helmet and immediately began dusting the sand out of her hair. This armor was supposed to be airtight—sealed to operate in a vacuum. How grains ended up in her scalp was beyond her.

Ikora jogged over to the pair. "Good, you're back. The Cabal have been withdrawing from their post and retreating back to orbit. Have you received any word from the others?"

"Not since they went inside," Iris responded. "I'm not getting a thing from them. Could be that Savathûn is jamming them. Or they could be dead." She uttered those words as casually as one might mention the weather. Amity felt her heart clench at the thought of Luz and Royal being trapped in that place. She forced herself to calm down; they were both capable Guardians. They would be fine. They had to be.

Ikora nodded before turning to her Hidden. "We need to secure the launch site. With the Cabal fleet retreating, we can get aboard Savathûn's ship. Fyra, Danton, move in and establish a transmat zone." A Warlock and Titan both nodded and immediately ran off. Ikora turned to a nearby Hunter. "Augustus, get Zavala on the line. I need to let him know that the Cabal are falling back."

"Augustus?" Amity asked as the Hunter approached a holo-communicator. She quickly looked him up and down before glancing at Ikora with a raised eyebrow.

"Ma'am," Augustus said. "Lines all yours." Ikora nodded and approached the hologram. While she spoke with Zavala, Augustus turned to the newcomers. He tilted his head toward Iris before turning and looking Amity in the eye.

"Hey, Ams."

Amity grinned. "I knew it." The Hunter reached up and undid the clasps on his helmet. Pulling it free, Gus stared back at Amity. Amity clapped him on the shoulder, staggering the Hunter a little. "Never thought I'd see you again. I don't suppose you…" Her voice trailed off, leaving the unasked question to hang in the air.

Gus shook his head. "I recognize you from your file. The Hidden are thorough. They've combed through everything the Isles has dating as far back as the Coven Era." He gave a slight grin. "I helped them get their hands on most of it."

"I never heard about this," Amity said. "How did you even get the clearance? You would've had to go through Paladin."

"What the big man doesn't know won't hurt him," Gus said. Amity was about to inquire further when a wave of energy erupted from Savathûn's ship. It washed over the camp like a fierce wind, pushing against the Guardians. Amity looked up at the foreboding vessel with worry in her eyes. She could barely make out something being flung from the ship, slamming into the ground and kicking up a cloud of dust.

"I just lost connecting with the Last City," Ikora said, making her way over. "What just happened?"

"Luz and Royal just popped back online," Iris said. "I'm trying to raise them on comms, but the lines are spotty."

"Luz," Amity said, thumbing her radio. "Can you hear me? Are you alright?" There was a brief moment of garbled nonsense as the radios attempted to stabilize. Eventually, she heard Luz coughing in pain. She repeated her question, and Luz responded in a weak voice.

"Alright may be overselling it, but we're still in one piece. If you could get us a lift, that would be appreciated. We've got a lot to talk about."

---

The Hidden didn't take long to find the stranded Guardians and return them to the Enclave. By the time they got back, they had managed to physically recover from their crash landing. Mentally speaking, they were still scarred. Luz huddled close to Royal, staring at her knees as they rode to the Enclave. Royal, for his part, glared at the sands as though he could burrow a hole with nothing but his gaze.

Ikora stood before the two as Amity offered them each a drink. Luz gratefully accepted it while Roya merely held up a hand. The Warlock Vanguard's eyes were inscrutable as she inspected the two. "What did you find?"

Amity turned to face him. "Can't this wait-"

"We need to know," Ikora interrupted. "What did you find? Did you encounter Savathûn?"

"We did," Royal said, struggling to keep his voice low. "Or at least avatars of hers. We destroyed one, then three more showed up and sent us packing."

"Anything else?"

Royal took a shaky breath and opened his mouth to speak. However, before he could, Luz cut him off.

"A Hive Knight wielding Void Light." Her voice was shaky, and she was still staring at her knees. "It had a Ghost. Same as any other Lightbearer. I- I crushed it. With my own hands." Her breath hitched, and tears threatened to spill down her face again. She put a hand over her mouth as Royal wrapped an arm around her shoulder. He removed his helmet and activated a projector built into his visor. It shone a holographic recreation of the Hive Sentinel bearing his twin Void shields.

"The Hive have stolen the Light," he said. "After the first Knight, there was a second one wielding a Solar axe. Even Savathûn's puppets wielded it." He glared at Ikora as though challenging her to question him. "It was no illusion. I could feel it."

"That's impossible," Iris said. "The Traveler has never granted the Light to another species." She paused as Amity coughed into her fist. "Present company excluded. It would never give it to the Hive of all species."

"We found something else," Royal said. "A statue, Pyramid in origin. It gave us this." He pulled the strange blade and tossed it to Iris. The Hunter caught it and turned it over in her hands.

"It's Pyramid alright," she said. "Same material as the one on the Moon. Any idea what it actually is?"

"I may have an idea," Eris said, leaning over Iris's shoulder to inspect the object. Iris couldn't help but lean away from the woman a little. "Present it to the relic within the chamber. There, we may test my hypothesis."

Eris led Iris and Royal into the tunnel while the others stayed behind to debrief and rest. The walls opened to allow them passage, sliding into themselves in a way that defied physics. They approached a large table sculpted from dozens of chunks of multicolored stone. A large pendulum swung overhead, moving back and forth in an almost hypnotic manner. Eris gestured to the table and Iris placed the blade on top of it.

"The Darkness has proven capable of manipulating the mental to alter the physical," Eris said. "Look no further than Stasis. It draws upon your mind to create something tangible." As she spoke, the blade began to violently shake. It flashed between its current state and another far more intricate form. Eventually, the flashes stabilized and faded.

The object had been transformed into a long, elegant spear. It was easily as tall as Iris—which, granted, was not all that difficult to achieve. Its blade curved into a flawless point. A large guard sat between the blade and grip, housing a gun component. A trigger sat near the guard.

Iris grabbed the weapon, noting how her fingers fit into the grip perfectly, almost as though it had been made for her. She gave it a few experimental swings, feeling the weight and heft in her body. It was heavy but not in a cumbersome way.

"The relic draws from psychic imprints," Eris said. "Pulling from the depths of our minds. Giving memories shape. This is the byproduct. A weapon born of Darkness and forged in Light."

Iris set the butt end on the ground and leaned again the glaive. "Sounds like the perfect Savathûn-killing weapon."

Royal stared at the weapon, looking it over from shaft to blade. He recognized that glaive. Once, it had belonged to his brother.

---

Within the Vex Domain, Outcast rested. The battle to secure the gateway to the Isles had been a bitter nuisance, an unwanted distraction from his mission. But it was done, so now he could begin the next stage of his plan.

He observed the Isles, simulating their lands and watching how the defenders repelled his scouting parties. They believed themselves to be stemming an unstoppable tide when, in truth, they had faced nothing but his probes. He was more than content to let them believe what they wanted while the Hive bled them dry.

The thought of the alien scourge would've made his lip curl if he had been capable of such a thing. He would not be bested by them. The prize would be his and his alone. Their ritual to drag the Demon Realm into Sol had been unexpected and somewhat irritating, but it was nothing he couldn't plan around.

Within him, he could feel the Minds writhe. With a sigh, he rolled his hand. Three towering Vex constructs appeared before him, bound by chains. Synegorus—because, of course, it would be one of them—leered over him. The other two, Fathoria and Aedon, were static.

"Enslaver Prime," Fathoria was the first to speak. "This one does not understand; why do you refuse to march?"

Aedon gave a few sharp beeps as it calculated possibilities. "Theoretical: The Demon Realm is beset by Hive forces. Practical: They can ill afford a war on two fronts. Data analysis confirms an 87.31% chance of complete strategic victory."

Outcast sighed, rubbing his faceplate. Minds were intelligent but so infuriatingly uncreative.

"Reconsider your calculations, factoring in Guardian presence," he said. Aedon twitched, crunching the numbers.

"Former statement: Retracted."

Outcast rose from his seat and paced before the towering Minds. "The last time the Vex mounted a massed assault on the Isles was thoroughly and resoundingly repelled." He cast a disgusted glance toward Synegorus. "And that was after months of subterfuge against three Guardians."

"Your assessment is inaccurate," Synegorus growled. Outcast gave a sharp bark of mocking laughter.

"Oh, yes. Let us not forget how you also failed against a group of children and powerless Witches."

"The presence of the Collector could not be accounted for," Synegorus growled. "He disrupted our stratagems."

"A proper general does not make excuses," Outcast lectured, wagging his finger at Synegorus like he was disciplining a young recruit. "But then again, you're not a general."

"This unit was designed to purge our network of all Enslaver variants," Synegorus said.

"You're an overgrown janitor with an inflated ego," Outcast shot back. "The most impressive thing about you is that you even have an ego to begin with. I didn't know that was possible." Synegorus snarled and tried to advance, only for the chains to dig into its metallic flesh. Outcast rolled his optics, more than done with the Mind's continued rebellion.

"Allow me to illuminate you to proper strategy," he said, turning away from the writhing machine. "We shall have our invasion once I am satisfied with the information I have gathered. But, unlike you, I can appreciate subtlety. I have no desire to manually exterminate every blade of grass. No, I envision something far more elegant. A simple throw of the switch. A far more Gordian approach, one might say."

"And the Lightbearers?" Fathoria questioned. Outcast extended his hands outward. All around him, replicas of his siblings formed of glowing red data stepped out of the walls. There were hundreds of them, stretching onward as far as the eye could see.

"I think you will find that I am more than capable of dealing with a handful of Guardians," he said. "Especially ones as unremarkable as these Witches." Satisfied with his response, Fathoria and Aedon withdrew back into his subconscious. Synegorus glared as it was physically dragged back inside him. Outcast returned to his seat, resting his chin on his hand.

"Paladin. Venator. Scholar. You are running out of time, dear siblings."

---

Immediate advantages of writing an expansion story versus a seasonal story: The expansion campaign is still in the game. I can go replay the missions, feel out the pacing, and just have a much better structure to work with. I've probably spent a few hours just replaying the Communion alone.

Immediate disadvantage: These things are looooooooooooooooooooooooong. This chapter is almost 15k words, and the others I've written aren't much shorter. And, of course, I just had to combine the Investigation and the Ghost into one chapter. I've completed that chapter, as well as the Communion at the time of writing this. Going forward, I'll likely be switching to uploading every other week, if even that. We'll figure it out as we go.

Now, Destiny news. We've got an actual roadmap for Frontiers. It looks... neat, I guess. Not much to say until we actually get some concrete information on what the content will look like. But we've still got a few more episodes to go before then. Speaking of episodes, Echoes has been rather unimpressive from a story standpoint so far. Gameplay has been alright, but nothing revolutionary. Just good. I have a lot of problems with the narrative that I might get into at a later date. I've been struggling to see what I could even add to the first two acts.

Lastly, 10-year anniversary event. Cool. I'll be checking it out, but there's nothing to really say yet.

Elthreee: For your first chapter on a dungeon, I think you did well writing. There's only so much that you could do with them though, but I'm sure putting your own twists in them will still make them fun to read and I can't wait to see what you do with the rest of em.

And screw the Fallen Shield section, and a gajillion middle fingers to R-M80.

I'm glad people have enjoyed Grasp of Avarice. As I said, it was a nice challenge. And honestly, the Fallen Shield sucks so bad. There's a reason why I kept it so short.

davisjustus99: Damn, didn't expect luz fo be the first to be the one to show the Grasp of Avarice. I know that joke was cheap. Ayways give Amity something like Arbalast or Lorentz.

Rest assured, I have Amity's exotic well in mind. No spoilers though.

Rebiele: Wow, what a chapter. Honest, I was annoyed that you were doing a GOA chapter, as I didn't think it was possible to make an interesting short story from it aside from the bottles, but I was VERY wrong. Honestly one of my favorites so far! I think you nailed this and I think you should consider writing short stories from other pieces of content similar to how you did it for this dungeon. Nice work :D.

Second of all, the Praxic order lore is extremely interesting to me in the game due to how recent expansions (such as the Witch Queen) pretty much sent the order in shambles. We saw the perspective of Shayura in the trials loot with the lucent hive and we saw how Aunor handled hunting those who sought stasis, though not her reaction to the hive either. I'm bring this up because I think it would be interesting to see a clash between Royal and members of the Order considering how much of a Light zealot he has been in the past like them. Do you think it might be possible to have that be a sub plot?

Well, that's all very nice to hear. I'm glad I was able to surprise you like that. Thank you for the kind words. As for a Praxic Order subplot, I must confess to not being particularly well read on that corner of Destiny lore. I don't know if I have the room to cram a subplot like that into the story. However, Royal's "faith" will be something we put under a microscope over the span of Witch Queen and Lightfall.

BlueRoseLevi: That was a great adaptation of this wacky inflatable arm flailing dungeon, my favorite part was when the traps bamboozled the fireteam, the take on the mechanic of the dungeon was a neat way of handling it, and finally Luz has her signature exotic let's goooo

Thank you, thank you. Always love the traps, makes bringing someone through for the first time so much fun.

GodzillaMaster: You did a great job with this dungeon. A fun read for the most fun and annoying dungeon

And now we get to start The Witch Queen expansion. Definitely looking forward to that

And a final thanks for the final review. Looking forward to what I get to doo with Witch Queen.

---

Luz screamed as she hurtled to the ground, freshly propelled from Savathun's ship. She tucked her body as best she could and braced for impact. She slammed into the ground like a meteor, leaving a trail of destruction in her wake. She skipped over the ground, bouncing and rolling with the impact. Eventually, she slammed into the side of a mesa, cracking the stone.

With a pained groan, she flopped to the ground. After a second of wallowing in agony, she forced herself to her knees. Her bones cracked, and her muscles whined as she looked to the heavens above.

"Traveler, please, I never wanted to be a pilot. No more flying."

Her prayers were answered when Royal came screaming to the ground beside her, smashing into the ground with a loud crunch. Luz stared at him, mildly horrified, before looking back to the sky with a raised eyebrow.

"So, was that a yes or a no?"

Somehow, Royal exploded, sending limbs in every direction. Luz ducked under his left arm as it buried itself in the wall she had crashed into. She stared at it for a moment before sighing and nodding.

"Amen."