Heads up, this is a long one
Chapter 34: Into the Deep
The familiar sounds of the hangar - the whine of engines, the clang of tools, the shouts of work crews - filled the air as Adam approached his ship. Amanda Holliday stood before Wilt, wiping grease from her hands as she ran through final diagnostics on her datapad.
"Well?" Adam asked, his tone carefully neutral despite the anticipation building in his chest.
Amanda looked up, a satisfied smile crossing her face. "She's ready. Better than ready, actually." She gestured for him to follow as she walked around the ship. "New quantum-forged hull plates, completely rebuilt engine core, and vacuum seals that'll hold even if you decide to fly through another Hive energy barrier." She paused, fixing him with a pointed look. "Which you won't, right?"
"No promises," Adam replied, though there was a hint of amusement in his voice.
"Figures." Amanda shook her head, but her smile remained. "I also took the liberty of upgrading your nav systems. The new quantum positioning array should let you track dimensional anomalies more accurately. Figured that might come in handy where you're headed."
Adam's hand brushed against Wilt's hull, feeling the familiar resonance of a ship that had carried him through centuries of battles. But there was something different now - a hum of new potential beneath the old connection.
"The cost-" he began, but Amanda waved him off.
"Already covered," she said. "Lady Rose stopped by earlier this week. Said something about 'investing in the future.'" She grinned. "Must be nice having friends in high places."
Adam's jaw tightened slightly. "Ruby didn't have to-"
"But she did," Amanda interrupted. "And you know why." Her expression grew more serious. "This isn't just another mission, Adam. Whatever you find on the Dreadnaught... you're going to need every advantage you can get."
Blush materialized beside him, her crimson eye scanning the ship. "The modifications are impressive," she noted. "Amanda's work is exceptional as always."
"Flattery will get you everywhere," Amanda laughed. Then, more seriously: "Just... try to bring her back in one piece this time? I've grown kind of attached to this old bird."
Adam nodded, his pale blue eyes reflecting the hangar lights. "Thank you, Amanda. For everything."
"Yeah, well," she turned back to her datapad, though not before he caught her pleased smile, "someone's got to keep you reckless types flying. Now get out of here before I think of more upgrades to add."
As Adam began his pre-flight checks, he could feel the difference in Wilt's systems. The ship hummed with renewed purpose, ready to carry them into whatever darkness awaited. The path ahead was uncertain, but at least now they had a proper vessel to face it.
The Dreadnaught waited. It was time to bring Jaune home.
Wilt's cargo hold hummed with restored power as the team settled into their jump seats. The space was cramped but serviceable, equipment and supplies secured against the bulkheads. Through the viewport, Earth's blue curve began to recede as they climbed toward orbit.
Oscar stood braced against a support strut, the tome secure at his belt as he pulled up a holographic projection of the Dreadnaught. The image flickered in the hold's dim lighting, casting strange shadows across the gathered Guardians' faces.
"One last review," he said, his voice competing with the engine noise. "The Dreadnaught isn't just a ship - it's a throne world pulled into reality. Normal physics, normal space... they don't work quite right there."
"Define 'not quite right,'" Yang asked from her seat, Escape Velocity secured across her knees.
Penny spoke up from where she was running system checks. "Corridors that should connect, don't. Rooms appear and disappear. Distance and time become... uncertain." Her usually cheerful voice carried a rare edge of concern. "When we went after Oryx, we lost entire fireteams to spatial anomalies."
"And now it's been sitting empty," Blake observed, her ears twitching at the ship's various sounds.
"Not empty," Ruby corrected from the pilot's seat, her hands steady on the controls. "It was built as a temple to Sword Logic. It draws darkness to it, like a wound draws infection."
Weiss leaned forward, studying the hologram intently. "Like those Taken we encountered in the EDZ?"
"Worse," Pyrrha replied grimly. "The Taken are stronger there, closer to their source. And they're not alone." She reached out to indicate specific sections of the projection. "The ship itself is filled with traps - both physical and metaphysical. Oryx spent eons perfecting ways to break intruders."
"Break them how?" Yang asked, though her tone suggested she already knew the answer.
"It gets in your head," Oscar explained, his hand unconsciously touching the tome. "Shows you things. Makes you question everything you believe about yourself." He paused, choosing his words carefully. "The Darkness there... it's like a living thing. Hungry. Patient."
The ship's hull creaked as they passed through the upper atmosphere, the sound emphasizing the weight of his words.
"We'll need to reach the throne room," Ruby called back from the cockpit. "The barriers between realities are thinnest there. If we're going to find Jaune..."
"That's where Savathûn will be looking too," Blake finished quietly.
"Exactly." Pyrrha's expression was grim in the hologram's light. "We're not just racing against the ship's defenses - we're racing against her forces."
"Then we stay together," Yang declared firmly. "Watch each other's backs, keep each other grounded."
Oscar nodded, but his voice remained serious. "Understand - this may be the most dangerous mission any of you have undertaken. If anyone wants to back out..."
"Not happening," Weiss interrupted, Randy's Throwing Knife gleaming in her lap. "We find Jaune. Together."
The ship's engines shifted pitch as they achieved orbit, Earth now a distant blue marble behind them. Ahead lay Saturn, and the ancient horror waiting in its rings.
"Plot course for the Dreadnaught," Ruby commanded, her silver eyes fixed on the void ahead. "Time to bring our friend home."
Wilt turned toward the outer system, carrying its crew of hunters and hunted toward whatever darkness awaited. They had trained for this, prepared as best they could.
Now they just had to survive what they found there.
In Wilt's cockpit, Adam waited until the autopilot had engaged before reaching beneath his seat. He withdrew a small wooden box, weathered with age and secured with intricate locks. His fingers moved through the complex unlocking sequence with practiced precision.
The box opened with a soft click, revealing a hand cannon nestled in faded velvet. At first glance, it could have been mistaken for Rose's twin, but there was something wrong about it. The metal was darker, almost hungry-looking, with sickly green growths emerging from jagged tears in its frame. Corrupt Light seemed to whisper from its barrel - a weapon that had been twisted into something that should not exist.
Thorn. The infamous weapon of Dredgen Yor, and those who followed his dark path.
Blush materialized beside him, her crimson eye reflecting the weapon's sickly glow. "Are you sure you'll need that?" she asked quietly. "We swore we'd never use it again."
"If that corrupted Knight is any indication of what Savathûn has waiting for us..." Adam's hand hovered over Thorn's grip, not quite touching it. "We may need a weapon that understands corruption to fight it."
"That's dangerous thinking," Blush warned. "Thorn has a way of... changing those who wield it."
Adam's jaw tightened. "I know. I remember what happened to the Shadow who tried to claim it." His pale blue eyes remained fixed on the weapon. "But if we're walking into the heart of corruption itself..."
"Then we fight it with Light," Blush insisted. "Not with weapons of sorrow."
"Sometimes," Adam said softly, "you need to fight darkness with darkness." He finally grasped Thorn's grip, lifting it from its velvet bed. The weapon seemed to pulse in his hand, recognizing its wielder after so long.
"Just... be careful," Blush said, her shell rotating with concern. "Ruby trusted you with that weapon for a reason. Don't let it change you again."
Adam carefully lifted Thorn from its velvet bed. The weapon seemed to pulse in his hand, recognizing its wielder after so long. With practiced movements, he attached the corrupted hand cannon to a concealed holster at his lower back, hidden beneath his coat. No need to worry the others with its presence. Rose remained visible at his hip - a symbol of redemption - while Thorn waited in shadow, a last resort he hoped he wouldn't need.
"I won't let it control me," he promised Blush quietly. "But I'll use whatever tools necessary to bring Jaune home."
He closed and locked the wooden box, storing it away as Wilt carried them toward Saturn's rings. The weight of Thorn pressed against his spine, a reminder of darker days and the thin line between using darkness and being consumed by it.
Wilt shuddered as they passed through the Dreadnaught's outer barrier, reality itself seeming to twist around them. The massive ship's halls stretched endlessly in impossible directions, green fire casting sickly light through ancient passages.
"There," Ruby called from the cockpit, indicating a vast chamber ahead. "That's our landing zone."
"Multiple contacts," Blush warned, her scan highlighting writhing forms in the darkness. "Taken signatures. They know we're here."
The ship touched down with a grinding halt, metal screeching against chitin-covered deck plates. Before the engines had fully cycled down, the air itself began to ripple and tear. Spheres of pure darkness materialized around them, each one birthing twisted horrors that moved with stuttering, wrong motion.
"Something's different," Penny notes, her Wings of Sacred Dawn casting light through the gloom. "The Cabal... they're gone."
"You're right," Pyrrha confirms, studying the ancient halls. "During the Taken War, this place was crawling with their forces. They'd established multiple beachheads trying to understand the Dreadnaught's weapons."
Adam's eyes narrow as he surveys the scene. "Savathûn's forces must have cleared them out. She wouldn't tolerate any interference with her plans for this place."
"Form up!" Yang shouted, Escape Velocity already roaring as she provided covering fire for the others to disembark. The Taken Thrall that emerged first dissolved into nothing as her rounds found their mark.
Blake flowed from shadow to shadow, Nightfang's blade wreathed in void energy that seemed to match the Taken's otherworldly presence. She carved through their ranks with precision, each strike guided by weeks of training.
Weiss had taken a high position, Randy's Throwing Knife cracking out precise shots that dropped Taken Knights before they could fully manifest. Her movements were controlled, deliberate - exactly as they'd practiced.
"Captains!" Penny warned, her Wings of Sacred Dawn flaring as she took to the air. Multiple Taken Fallen emerged, their forms trailing darkness as they unleashed waves of corrupting energy.
But they'd trained for this. Ruby's Arc scythe materialized as she cut through space itself, her blade finding gaps in the Taken's defense. Pyrrha moved in perfect sync with her, years of experience evident in how they covered each other's angles.
Oscar's Light pulsed with scholarly precision, each burst carefully measured to disrupt the Taken's connection to reality. Adam's Rose sang counterpoint, its rounds burning away corruption with Solar fury.
"Push forward!" Yang called out as she ducked under a Taken blast, her shotgun ending the Captain that fired it. "We need room to establish a perimeter!"
They moved as one unit, months of training evident in their coordination. Blake's shadows complemented Weiss's precise fire, while Yang's aggressive advances were perfectly timed with Penny's aerial support. Ruby and Pyrrha carved paths through the horrors while Oscar and Adam secured their flanks.
But the Taken kept coming, reality tearing again and again to birth more corrupted forms. Each one moved wrong, existed wrong, their very presence an offense against natural law.
"The chamber!" Oscar shouted over the chaos. "We need to reach the inner door before-"
A massive sphere of darkness erupted in the center of the chamber, reality tearing wide as something massive began to emerge. The air itself seemed to scream as a twisted fusion of Hive Knight and corrupted Light started to take form.
But Oscar was already moving, centuries of experience evident in his reaction. Void Light erupted from his hands as he launched himself skyward, his form blazing with barely contained power.
"Get to the door!" he commanded, his voice carrying the weight of authority that had once guided the first Vanguard. "NOW!"
The Nova Bomb left his hands like a miniature sun of pure void energy, its path cutting through the corrupted space. It struck the materializing horror dead center, the resulting explosion of Light and Dark sending ripples through reality itself. The emerging Knight's form shattered, its corruption scattered before it could fully manifest.
Yang led the charge through the chaos, Escape Velocity clearing their path. Blake and Weiss moved in perfect sync beside her, their weapons dropping any Taken that survived Oscar's devastating attack. Ruby's scythe carved them a final path to the massive door as Penny and Pyrrha secured their flanks.
Adam reached the door controls first, his hands flying over the ancient mechanisms as the others provided covering fire. With a grinding screech of metal and bone, the massive portal began to close behind them.
The last thing they saw before it sealed was Oscar landing gracefully among the void-scorched remains of what had almost become their first real challenge. His Light had prevented whatever horror Savathûn had waiting for them - at least for now.
"Well," Yang said, catching her breath as they secured their position, "that was one way to make an entrance."
"The Witch Queen knows we're here now," Oscar replied grimly, rejoining the group. "That was just the welcome party. The real horrors are still waiting."
They had their foothold in the Dreadnaught, but the battle had only begun. Somewhere in the impossible depths ahead, answers waited - along with whatever nightmares Savathûn had prepared for them.
At least they'd made it inside. Now they just had to survive what came next.
The corridor opened into a vast chamber that seemed to defy physics. Platforms of bone and metal hung suspended in space, some rotating slowly while others phased in and out of reality. Far below, an endless void promised a long fall for any misstep.
"Oh no," Weiss muttered, peering over the edge. "Please tell me we're not..."
"Welcome to your first proper jumping puzzle!" Penny announced cheerfully. "The Dreadnaught's full of them. This one's actually pretty straightforward - just time your jumps with the platform rotations and watch out for the ones that disappear."
Yang stared at the impossible geometry before them. "You call this straightforward?"
"It's all about rhythm," Pyrrha explained, moving to the edge. "Watch." She launched herself into space, her movements precise as she landed on the first platform. A quick series of jumps took her gracefully across three more before she reached a larger section that seemed more stable. "See? There's a checkpoint here at the halfway point."
Oscar adjusted his robes. "Shall we?" Without waiting for response, he blinked across the gap, his Warlock abilities carrying him smoothly from point to point.
Ruby's laugh echoed through the chamber as she followed, her movements more dramatic but equally effective. Adam went next, his jumps economical and practiced. Penny flew across with her wings spreading Solar light, making it look effortless.
Blake studied the pattern for a moment before attempting it herself. Her natural agility served her well as she made the first few jumps, though she had to catch herself with a void-enhanced recovery when one platform phased out just as she landed. She made it to the checkpoint, slightly winded but satisfied.
"Come on!" Yang called out, backing up for a running start. "How hard can it- AHHH!" Her first jump carried her too far, missing the platform entirely. Her Ghost materialized her back at the start a moment later.
"You need to account for the momentum," Pyrrha called helpfully. "Try using your Light to adjust mid-air."
Weiss approached it like a mathematical problem, carefully calculating angles and timing. Her first attempt ended with her blinking directly into a rotating platform. Her second had slightly more success before she misjudged a disappearing platform's timing.
"This is undignified," she declared after her third resurrection.
"You should have seen Teric-3," Penny called back, giggling at the memory. "He was with us during the Taken War - tried to Thundercrash straight across and ended up spinning through space for ten minutes! Sylvara had to void-tether him back to solid ground!"
"It wasn't quite that long," Pyrrha added with a warm smile. "Though he did insist we never tell Lord Shaxx about it."
Yang made another attempt, this time managing the first few platforms before overcorrecting and falling short of the checkpoint. "Okay, okay, I'm getting it... sort of."
Blake watched from the checkpoint, her ears twitching with amusement as her partner made increasingly creative attempts to cross the gap. "You're thinking too much about it," she called out. "Feel the rhythm!"
"Easy for you to say, miss perfect landing!" Yang shot back, though she was grinning as she lined up another try.
Weiss finally made it to the checkpoint after her sixth attempt, her usually perfect hair slightly disheveled. "Not. One. Word," she warned as Blake tried to hide her smile.
"Wouldn't dream of it."
Yang let out a whoop of triumph as she finally stuck the landing at the checkpoint. "Ha! Take that, stupid space physics!"
"Very impressive," Penny called from the far side. "Now you just have to do the second half!"
The look of horror on Yang and Weiss's faces made even Adam crack a slight smile.
"Don't worry," Ruby assured them. "The next part's much easier!"
"Somehow," Weiss muttered as she prepared for the next section, "I don't believe you."
But they were learning, adapting to the Dreadnaught's impossible geometry. Each attempt brought them closer to mastery, even if the path there involved a few falls into the endless void.
At least their Ghosts were getting plenty of practice with resurrection.
"Alright," Pyrrha said from the checkpoint platform, pointing toward the next section. "The second half's trickier - the platforms phase out in sequence, so you need to time your jumps with the pattern."
"You've got to be kidding me," Yang groaned, watching as segments of bone and metal winked in and out of existence in a complex rhythm.
Penny launched herself forward, her Wings of Sacred Dawn glowing. "Watch the pattern - it goes left, center, right, then repeats. Just follow the flow!" She demonstrated, her movements graceful as she crossed the void.
Oscar went next, his Warlock abilities letting him blink through the sequence with scholarly precision. Ruby followed, her scythe materializing briefly to help her swing between particularly distant platforms. Adam crossed with economic movements, never wasting a single jump.
Blake studied the pattern intently, her ears twitching as she tracked the timing. "I think I see it..." She moved like a shadow, each leap perfectly timed with the platforms' appearance. A final void-enhanced jump carried her to safety.
"Show off," Yang muttered fondly, then took a deep breath. "Okay, here goes nothing!"
Her first attempt ended quickly as she jumped for a platform that phased out mid-leap. The second got her halfway before she mistimed the sequence. On her third try, she almost made it before a slight miscalculation sent her spinning into the void.
"You're getting closer!" Ruby encouraged. "Just remember - trust your Light!"
Weiss approached the challenge with renewed determination, her previous failures only strengthening her resolve. She blinked across the first gap successfully, then the second, but the third platform phased out just as she landed.
"The timing's off," she declared after rematerializing. "It's not a simple pattern - there's a slight delay in the third sequence."
"Very good!" Penny beamed. "The Hive built these trials to test more than just agility. You have to understand the underlying logic."
Yang made another attempt, this time letting her Solar Light guide her movements more than pure calculation. She made it three-quarters of the way before missing a jump, but her progress was evident.
"Better!" Pyrrha called out. "You're feeling it now rather than just thinking about it."
Weiss finally completed the sequence on her fourth attempt, her relief palpable as she landed gracefully beside the others. "That was... actually somewhat exhilarating," she admitted.
"Come on, Yang!" Blake encouraged. "Just like we practiced in the Crucible!"
Yang took a final deep breath, then launched herself forward. This time, she moved with fluid confidence, her Light carrying her from platform to platform in perfect rhythm. Her final jump brought her to a triumphant landing among her teammates.
"Ha! Nailed it!" She pumped her fist in celebration. "Take that, space magic!"
"Well done, all of you," Oscar said warmly. "Though I suggest we keep moving. The Dreadnaught has much worse challenges waiting than just jumping puzzles."
"Worse than this?" Weiss asked, straightening her robes.
"Oh, much worse," Penny replied cheerfully. "Wait until you see the ones with the disappearing platforms AND the gravity reversal!"
The collective groan from Yang and Weiss echoed through the impossible space as they pressed deeper into the ancient ship's depths.
The group emerged into a vast ceremonial chamber, its architecture a twisted fusion of bone, metal, and otherworldly materials. Two massive totems rose from elevated platforms on either side, their surfaces covered in pulsing Hive runes. Between them, a central platform held what appeared to be some kind of ritual focus, its purpose unclear but radiating malevolent energy.
"The Totems," Pyrrha said quietly, her weapon ready as she scanned for threats. "This was one of the first real challenges we faced when pursuing Oryx."
Blake's ears twitched as she moved forward cautiously, Nightfang's blade gleaming in the sickly green light. "It's... quiet. Too quiet."
"The Hive are gone," Oscar observed, his hand unconsciously touching the tome at his belt. "But their magic lingers. Can you feel it?"
Yang shifted uncomfortably, Solar Light flickering around her fists. "Yeah. Like... pressure. Something watching."
"The chamber remembers," Ruby explained, her silver eyes scanning the shadows. "Places like this, where the Hive performed their darkest rituals - they hold echoes. Remnants of what was done here."
Weiss approached one of the totems, Randy's Throwing Knife ready as she studied the glowing runes. "These markings... they're different from the ones we saw earlier. More... deliberate."
"Death songs," Adam said grimly, Rose tracking unseen movement in the darkness. "The Hive used this chamber to sing reality apart, to create gaps between dimensions."
"Perfect," Yang muttered. "So we're walking through their interdimensional torture chamber. Great."
As they moved deeper into the chamber, the air grew thicker, heavier with unseen presence. The totems' glow seemed to pulse in rhythm with their footsteps, as if the very room was alive and aware of their intrusion.
"Stay alert," Penny warned, her Wings of Sacred Dawn casting warm light that pushed back the shadows. "Just because we can't see the Hive doesn't mean their traps aren't still active."
They proceeded with practiced caution, their movements coordinated from months of training together. Each step was measured, each angle covered. The chamber's oppressive atmosphere pressed against them, testing their resolve with every moment they spent within its corrupted confines.
A sudden flicker of movement caught Blake's attention. Her ears flattened as she spun toward it, Nightfang raised. "Did anyone else see that?"
"Movement in the shadows," Adam confirmed, Rose tracking the same direction. "But no clear targets."
"The chamber's playing tricks," Oscar said, though his own weapon remained ready. "The Hive built this place to break intruders mentally before destroying them physically."
Ruby's scythe materialized in her hands, Arc energy crackling along its edge. "Stay focused. Remember your training. Whatever this place throws at us, we face it together."
Yang's Solar Light burned brighter, pushing back against the chamber's oppressive darkness. "Right behind you, sis."
They moved forward in tight formation, their Light a beacon against the ancient evil that permeated every surface. The path ahead led deeper into the Dreadnaught's impossible geometry, toward whatever horrors still waited in its depths. But first they had to pass through this place of ancient ritual, where reality itself had been wounded by centuries of dark magic.
The ancient chamber where the Warpriest once stood guard stretched before them, its vast space now occupied by something far worse. Five Deathsingers hovered in a pentagonal formation, their forms wreathed in sickly green energy. Around them, dozens of lesser Hive moved in coordinated patterns, maintaining some kind of ritual.
"Multiple Deathsingers!" Penny called out, her Wings of Sacred Dawn flaring as she took to the air. "They're shielded!"
The team moved with practiced coordination, taking positions around the chamber's perimeter. Yang's Escape Velocity roared as she attempted to suppress the support troops, while Blake's void-wrapped form slipped between shadows, looking for weaknesses.
"Those shields," Weiss called out, Randy's Throwing Knife's rounds sparking harmlessly off the barrier. "They're not Hive magic - they're corrupted Light!"
Ruby's scythe carved through waves of Acolytes, but even her Arc energy couldn't penetrate the Deathsingers' protection. "We need to break those shields before they complete whatever ritual they're performing!"
Oscar's void Light and Pyrrha's precise shots had similar results - the barriers held firm, pulses with a sickly fusion of Light and Dark that seemed to absorb their attacks. The Deathsingers began to sing, their voices building toward something terrible.
"The shields adapt to our Light," Penny observed, her own weapons having no effect. "They're using our power against us!"
Adam watched from his position, Rose's rounds proving equally ineffective. His jaw tightened as he came to a decision. Without a word, he holstered the hand cannon and reached beneath his coat, drawing forth a weapon that seemed to drink in the chamber's sickly light.
Thorn's barrel gleamed with hungry purpose as he took aim at the nearest Deathsinger. The corrupted hand cannon barked twice, each round trailing sickly green energy. Where their Light had failed, Thorn's corrupt power shattered the barrier like glass.
"The shields!" Blake called out, recognizing their chance. "They're vulnerable!"
Adam's movements were precise, economical as he shifted targets. Four more pairs of shots rang out, each one breaking another Deathsinger's protection. The weapon seemed to pulse in his hands, eager for more.
"Now!" Ruby commanded, understanding in her silver eyes as she glimpsed the weapon Adam wielded. "Take them down!"
The team struck as one. Yang's Solar Light erupted as she crushed one Deathsinger. Blake's blade found another's throat while Weiss's precision ended a third. Penny and Pyrrha coordinated perfectly to eliminate the fourth, while Ruby's scythe claimed the last.
Silence fell in the chamber as the last echoes of battle faded. Adam carefully holstered Thorn, letting his coat fall back to conceal it. He could feel the others' eyes on him, questions in their gazes.
While the others secured the chamber, Oscar caught Adam's arm, pulling him aside. Ruby followed, her silver eyes sharp with concern at Oscar's unusually grim expression.
"That weapon," Oscar said quietly, his voice heavy with recognition. "Thorn. I never thought I'd see it."
Ruby's eyes widened. "Thorn? The weapon of Dredgen Yor?"
"A copy," Adam corrected, his jaw tight. "From when I walked with the Shadows. After the Iron Lords fell, after watching so many Guardians die their final deaths... I needed alternatives. The Light wasn't enough against what we were facing."
"You were a Shadow of Yor?" Ruby's voice held surprise but not judgment. "All those centuries you fought beside me..."
"It was before," Adam explained, unable to meet her eyes. "After losing so many in the Great Disaster, I searched for other ways to fight the darkness. The Shadows offered answers, even if they were the wrong ones."
"The corruption could have consumed you," Oscar noted grimly. "Like it did so many others."
"It did," Adam acknowledged. "But sometimes you need weapons that understand darkness to fight it." He gestured to where the Deathsingers had fallen. "These barriers of corrupted Light... no pure weapon could breach them."
Ruby studied him for a long moment, processing this revelation about her old friend. "Why didn't you ever tell me?"
"Some shadows are better left buried," Adam replied quietly. "But now..." He looked down at where Thorn rested beneath his coat. "Now we need every weapon we can find, even those born from darker times."
Blake's voice carried from across the chamber: "Area's clear! We should keep moving."
As they rejoined the others, Ruby touched Adam's arm briefly. "We'll talk about this later," she said softly, but there was no anger in her voice - only the weight of understanding how far they all might need to go to face what waited in the Dreadnaught's depths.
Yang opened her mouth as if to question further, but Blake caught her eye and shook her head slightly. Now wasn't the time. They had survived this challenge, but the Dreadnaught held worse horrors ahead.
Still, as they pressed forward, Blake couldn't help glancing at where Thorn rested beneath Adam's coat. Sometimes, it seemed, you needed to fight darkness with darkness. She just hoped the cost wouldn't be too high.
Whispers seemed to echo from everywhere and nowhere, just on the edge of hearing.
"Watch your step," Penny warned, her wings casting flickering light across the toxic pools below. "And whatever you do, don't listen to the voices."
"What voices?" Yang started to ask, but then she heard it - a familiar laugh that shouldn't be there. She spun around, Escape Velocity raised, but found only shadows. "Ruby?"
But Ruby stood several meters away, conferring quietly with Oscar about their path forward. The laugh came again, and Yang's blood ran cold as she recognized it - her mother's laugh, mocking and distant.
Blake's ears flattened against her head as shadows began to move wrong. They twisted into familiar shapes - White Fang masks emerging from the darkness, Adam's old mask prominent among them. But not the Adam who stood with them now - the one from before, consumed by hatred and rage.
"It's not real," she whispered to herself, gripping Nightfang tighter. "Just the chamber playing tricks."
Weiss's scholarly composure cracked as she saw her father's disapproving figure materialize from the toxic mist. Behind him stood Winter, turning away in disappointment. She raised Randy's Throwing Knife, but her hands trembled.
"The pit feeds on fear," Pyrrha explained, her voice steady and grounding. "It shows you what you're afraid of becoming - or not becoming. Don't let it in."
"Easy for you to say," Yang growled, still tracking the phantom sound of Raven's laughter. Her eyes had started to take on a reddish tinge.
"Focus on what's real," Adam commanded, recognizing the danger signs. "Remember your training. Ground yourself in the Light."
But the visions grew stronger. Yang saw herself consumed by rage, burning everything around her. Blake watched her own form fade into shadow, running away again and again. Weiss faced an army of Schnee Summons, each one a perfect reflection of the legacy she'd never lived up to.
"Together!" Ruby's voice cut through the hallucinations, her silver eyes blazing. "Join hands, form a circle. Let your Light connect."
They did as instructed, creating a ring of joined hands. Ruby and Oscar channeled their centuries of experience, while Penny and Pyrrha added their own hard-won strength. Adam's grip was firm, anchoring, as he shared his Light with the others.
"Feel each other's Light," Oscar instructed. "Know what's real. The visions can't touch you if you don't let them in."
Slowly, the phantoms began to fade. Yang's eyes returned to their normal color as she squeezed Blake's hand. Blake's ears gradually lifted as the false shadows retreated. Weiss's breathing steadied as the disapproving figures of her family dissolved into nothing.
"That's it," Penny encouraged. "The pit tries to isolate you, make you face your fears alone. But you're not alone."
"We're stronger together," Pyrrha added. "That's why fireteams matter. Why we trained you to fight as one."
Finally, the worst of the visions passed. They broke the circle but stayed close, their Light still humming in harmony.
"Well," Yang said, trying to inject some levity into her shaky voice, "that was fun. What other lovely tourist attractions does this place have?"
"Don't tempt it," Blake warned, though she managed a small smile.
"The worst is yet to come," Oscar cautioned. "These were just echoes. The deeper we go, the stronger the corruption becomes."
"Then we stay together," Weiss said firmly. "No matter what we see."
They continued their descent, but now they moved as one tight unit, their Light a beacon against the darkness. The pit's whispers continued, but they found them easier to ignore when they could feel each other's presence.
The real challenges still waited ahead, but at least they had learned this lesson - in the Dreadnaught, isolation was death. Together was the only way forward.
The second jumping puzzle loomed before them - a treacherous expanse filled with vanishing platforms and gravitational anomalies that could turn any jump into disaster. At the far end, floating orbs of energy crackled, their pulses distorting space itself in ways that made Weiss's scholarly mind hurt just looking at them.
"Oh no," Yang groaned as she watched Penny effortlessly glide across using her Wings of Sacred Dawn. "Not another one of these."
"This one's fun!" Penny called back cheerfully, her wings casting warm light across the impossible space. "The gravity shifts add an interesting variable to the timing! Plus the platforms phase in and out of reality in a lovely pattern!"
"Your definition of 'fun' needs serious examination," Weiss muttered, already trying to calculate trajectory angles in her head.
Pyrrha demonstrated next, her movements fluid and precise as she navigated the chaos. She touched down gracefully on the far platform, making it look deceptively simple. "Just watch for the energy pulses - they'll throw off your trajectory if you get too close. And mind the gravity reversals!"
Ruby went next, her scythe materializing to help her swing between platforms. She made it look almost elegant, though she had to resurrect once when a gravity shift caught her mid-leap. "Oops! Not quite like I remember from the old Crucible days!"
Oscar watched her technique carefully, his scholarly mind already analyzing the patterns despite his weakened state. "The gravitational distortions follow a mathematical sequence," he observed. "Though after a long time between realities, my calculations might be a bit rusty."
"Just try not to scatter your consciousness again," Ruby teased gently, helping steady him as he prepared for his attempt. The tome at his belt hummed softly as he channeled his Light.
Adam moved next, studying the challenge with the careful precision of someone who had spent centuries exploring dangerous ruins. His movements were economical, practiced - though this was his first time on the Dreadnaught, survival skills translated well. Blake's natural agility served her well despite a couple of falls when platforms phased out beneath her. Her void abilities helped her recover gracefully at least.
Then it was Yang and Weiss's turn.
"Right," Yang said, backing up for a running start. "How hard can it- AHHHH!" The platform vanished just as she landed, sending her plummeting into the void. Her Ghost brought her back moments later.
"The timing," Weiss began, studying the pattern with intense concentration. "If we calculate the gravitational vectors and platform phasing sequence..." She blinked forward confidently, only to get caught in a sudden gravity reversal that sent her spinning into empty space.
"Less thinking, more feeling!" Ruby called out encouragingly as they rematerialized. "Let your Light guide you!"
"Easy for you to say!" Yang shot back, making another attempt. This time she made it halfway before an energy pulse knocked her off course. "You're not the one dying every thirty seconds!"
"Want me to count?" Blake offered helpfully from the other side. Her ears twitched with poorly concealed amusement.
"Don't you dare!"
Weiss's next attempt ended when she blinked directly into a vanishing platform. "This is completely undignified," she declared, dusting off her robes after resurrection. "I am a Warlock. We are supposed to be masters of traversing space and time!"
"Tell that to the void," Yang quipped as she fell past.
"You should have seen Pyrrha's first time," Penny giggled. "She tried to throw her spear to create an anchor point and it just kept going forever!"
"That was ONE time," Pyrrha called back, though she was smiling. "And we agreed never to mention it to Lord Shaxx."
"Oh, he knows," Ruby grinned. "There's security footage."
"WHAT?"
After Yang's fifteenth death and Weiss's twentieth, even their Ghosts seemed amused. "At least we're getting lots of practice?" Flare offered as he brought Yang back again.
"Not. Helping." Yang grumbled, but she was grinning despite herself as she lined up another attempt.
"Perhaps if we coordinated our jumps," Weiss suggested after her twenty-fifth resurrection. "The gravitational anomalies might be more predictable with multiple variables to analyze..."
"Weiss," Blake called out patiently. "What did we learn about overthinking in the Crucible?"
"That it gets me shot?"
After what felt like an eternity of deaths and resurrections, the team finally regrouped at the end of the cursed jumping puzzle. The massive doorway to Oryx's throne room loomed before them, ancient runes pulsing with sickly green light along its frame. The air itself felt heavy with darkness, pressing against their Light like a physical weight.
"Everyone catch their breath," Pyrrha advised, her voice carrying the quiet authority of experience. "This is the point of no return."
Yang was still brushing off her armor from her final successful landing. "If I never see another disappearing platform again, it'll be too soon."
"Agreed," Weiss muttered, trying to restore some dignity to her appearance. Her Ghost helpfully materialized a small mirror for her.
Blake's ears twitched as she studied the entrance. "The darkness is... different here. Deeper." Her void Light rippled in response, like shadows within shadows.
"The throne room exists in both our reality and the ascendant plane," Penny explained, her usually cheerful voice taking on a more serious tone. "The boundaries between dimensions are thinnest here."
Ruby stepped forward, running her hand along one of the runes. "Just like the stories from the Great Disaster. The Hive's power always grows stronger near their thrones."
Oscar's tome hummed softly as he analyzed the doorway. "The architectural patterns match some of the texts I studied in my... scattered state. This isn't just a door - it's a dimensional anchor point."
Adam remained silent, but his hand rested on his weapon as he scanned the entrance with the wariness of someone who had survived centuries by never letting his guard down.
"Everyone remember the plan?" Pyrrha asked, checking her own equipment one final time. "Once we're inside, there's no turning back. The dimensional seal will lock behind us."
The team nodded, their earlier levity fading as the reality of what awaited them settled in. They had all heard the stories of what happened to Crota's first challengers. Of how many Guardians never returned from similar throne rooms.
"Form up," Ruby said, her voice steady. "Fireteam positions. Watch each other's backs in there." She looked at each of her companions in turn. "Whatever happens, we face it together."
Yang rolled her shoulders, Light beginning to simmer beneath her skin. "Well, his interior decorator clearly needs work. Let's go redecorate with some Light."
Even Weiss managed a small smile at that. "Preferably without any more jumping."
"No promises," Penny chirped, though her weapons were already materializing around her.
As one, they stepped toward the threshold. The runes flared brighter, responding to their presence. To their Light. The darkness beyond seemed to pulse, like a heartbeat. Like something waiting.
The throne room of Oryx beckoned. And eight Guardians - some ancient, some new, all determined - prepared to answer its call.
The massive doors groaned open, ancient mechanisms shifting with otherworldly sounds. As the team entered Oryx's throne room, they were immediately struck by the sheer scale of the chamber. The ceiling stretched up into darkness, while dim green flames cast eerie shadows across the ritual circles etched into the floor.
At the chamber's center, two towering figures hovered - Ritual Weavers, their forms so massive they dwarfed any Wizard they'd encountered before. Shields of impossible density wrapped around them, bending light and shadow as they conducted their dark ceremony. Their hands wove complex patterns through the air, hive runes swirling around them in sickening patterns.
"Those shields..." Weiss breathed, already analyzing their composition.
Before she could finish her thought, Yang opened up with her auto rifle, the bullets seemingly absorbed by the Ritual Weavers' barriers without effect. The rest of the team joined in, their combined firepower - even Ruby's scythe energy - having no visible impact.
"Well that's not good," Penny observed, her usual cheerfulness dampened by concern.
Movement drew their attention to the corners of the room. Four Wizards emerged from the shadows, each protected by shields similar to those they'd encountered with the Deathsinger. Behind each Wizard, a pair of Knights materialized, their cleavers gleaming with fell energy.
"Those shields," Adam said, his voice carrying the weight of recognition. "They're connected to whatever the Ritual Weavers are doing. Like the ones before."
Blake's ears twitched as she tracked the enemies' movements. "We need to break their connection first."
"I can handle that," Adam replied grimly. He reached beneath his coat and drew forth Thorn, the corrupted hand cannon seeming to drink in what little light remained in the chamber. Its barrel gleamed with hungry purpose as he took aim. Two shots per Wizard, each round trailing sickly green energy as it flew. Where their other weapons had failed, Thorn's corrupt power shattered the shields like glass, the barriers dissolving into whispers of darkness.
"Now!" Ruby called out.
The team split smoothly into practiced groups, engaging the now-exposed Wizards and their Knight guardians while the Ritual Weavers continued their ceremony above, untouched and seemingly unconcerned by the chaos below. The throne room erupted into a storm of Light and darkness as the battle began in earnest.
As the last Wizard fell, a ripple passed through the chamber. The oppressive barrier surrounding the Ritual Weavers wavered, then shattered like smoke in wind. The massive Hive entities paused their ceremony, finally acknowledging the threat below.
"The shields are down!" Penny called out. "Now's our chance!"
"Together!" Ruby commanded, Arc energy already crackling around her form. "Hit them with everything!"
Yang moved first, Solar Light exploding from her core as she leaped skyward. Her body became a comet of pure flame as she slammed down in a devastating Fist of Havoc, the Solar variant of the attack creating a massive explosion that rocked the entire chamber.
Blake's Void Light sang as she unleashed her Shadowshot, the void anchor catching both Ritual Weavers in its suppressing field. Purple tendrils of energy wrapped around them, making them vulnerable to the assault to come.
Weiss's form crackled with Arc energy as she entered Stormtrance, electricity chaining between the trapped Hive entities. Her Light carved through their defenses with surgical precision, each bolt finding its mark.
Oscar's Nova Bomb erupted from his hands like a miniature sun of void energy, its path cutting through space itself before detonating between the Ritual Weavers with devastating force.
Ruby's scythe manifested in a burst of Arc Light as she launched herself upward, becoming a storm of slashing energy. Her blade carved through reality itself, each strike leaving trails of lightning in its wake.
Adam raised a single blazing sword of Solar Light - not the typical fan of blades, but one massive weapon of concentrated power. He hurled it with devastating accuracy, the projectile burning like a comet as it pierced through one of the Ritual Weavers.
Penny took to the air, her Wings of Sacred Dawn blazing as she entered Daybreak. Solar swords rained down from her position, each one finding its mark with deadly precision.
Pyrrha's Sentinel Shield manifested last, but with unique purpose. Instead of the usual defensive barrier, she charged it with void energy and launched it spinning between the Ritual Weavers. The shield ricocheted between them again and again, each impact more devastating than the last.
The combined assault of eight Guardian supers - a symphony of Solar, Arc, and Void - proved too much even for entities of such power. The Ritual Weavers screamed in ancient Hive tongues as their forms began to dissolve, their death throes sending shockwaves through the throne room.
When the Light finally faded and the dust settled, only scattered wisps of darkness remained where the Ritual Weavers had been. The team regrouped, each of them breathing heavily from channeling so much power at once.
"Well," Yang managed between breaths, "that was definitely better than the jumping puzzle."
As the echoes of battle faded from the throne room, Pyrrha felt an unusual sensation from her belt pouch - a subtle vibration that seemed to pulse with purpose. She reached in and withdrew Juniper, Jaune's dormant Ghost, who was trembling with energy despite her hibernating state.
"Oscar," Pyrrha called out, drawing everyone's attention. "Something's happening with Juniper."
The team gathered around as Pyrrha carefully held the Ghost in her palm. The vibrations grew stronger as she took a few experimental steps toward the chamber's edge, where Saturn's massive form filled the void beyond.
"She's responding to something," Oscar observed, the tome at his belt humming in harmony with Juniper's vibrations. "Try moving around the perimeter."
Pyrrha walked slowly along the edge of the arena, paying close attention to how Juniper's trembling changed. The Ghost's shell quivered more intensely as she approached a specific section where the throne room seemed to blend into space itself.
"Here," Pyrrha said, stopping at the point where Juniper's vibrations peaked. "It's strongest in this exact spot."
Oscar moved closer, his scholarly focus evident as he studied the area. "The dimensional barriers are incredibly thin here. Juniper might be sensing something - or someone - through the gap."
"What should I do?" Pyrrha asked, hope and uncertainty mingling in her voice.
Oscar considered for a moment, his centuries of research into dimensional boundaries coming to bear. "Try manifesting your Light - not as a weapon, but as pure energy. Focus it into the space where you're standing. If there's a connection to wherever Jaune is, Juniper might be able to strengthen it."
The others stepped back, giving Pyrrha room to work while remaining close enough to help if needed. She took a deep breath, closed her eyes, and began channeling her Light into the space around her. Not the focused power of a super or the sharp edge of a weapon - just pure, raw Light, like a beacon calling out across realities.
Suddenly, the space where Pyrrha stood warped and twisted, reality itself tearing open with a sound like breaking glass. A rift materialized - not the sickly green of Hive magic, but something between Light and Dark, neither one nor the other.
Through it stumbled a figure in gleaming blue and white armor, the massive frame of Hammerhead clutched in his hands. For a moment, he stood upright, then his strength seemed to leave him all at once. As his knees buckled, Pyrrha moved instantly to catch him.
"I've got you," she said softly, supporting his weight as he slumped against her.
His helmet turned slightly toward her face, and through obvious exhaustion, he managed to whisper a single word that made her heart stop:
"Jolder..."
Then his head fell forward as consciousness left him, his body going completely limp in Pyrrha's arms. Hammerhead clattered to the ground beside them as Juniper's shell suddenly burst with Light, the Ghost finally awakening after centuries of hibernation.
The others rushed forward, but Pyrrha barely noticed them. She held Jaune's unconscious form, her mind reeling from that one word. She knew about Lady Jolder - one of the original Iron Lords, lost to SIVA centuries ago. The woman Jaune had loved and lost in his early Guardian life.
And in his confusion, in his exhaustion, he had seen her face and thought...
"We need to get him stabilized," Oscar's voice cut through her thoughts, practical concerns taking precedence over emotional ones. "That rift passage may have drained him completely."
Juniper was already scanning her Guardian, her newly awakened shell spinning frantically. "Lord almighty, look at you," she fussed, her southern drawl thick with motherly concern. "Your Light's barely a flicker, sugar. What in heaven's name have you been doing to yourself? But praise the Traveler, at least you're alive - my sweet boy is finally alive."
The rift sealed behind them with a sound like a sigh, leaving them in the relative quiet of the throne room. They had found him. They had brought him back.
But as Pyrrha held him, that whispered name echoed in her mind. Jolder. Even after centuries trapped between realities, some wounds never fully healed.
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