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(Oneshot)
“To rend one’s enemies is to see them not as equals, but objects – hollow of spirit and meaning.” -13 th Understanding, 7 th book of Sorrow.
Ikora Rey pondered the words written before her. She’d read them before, of course. They were taken directly from the Hive’s infamous books of Sorrow, preached and inscribed on the apocrypha of the infamous Dredgen Yor’s tomes. The meaning was simple enough, the Hive wanted not just to defeat their enemies, but to tear their very being apart until their enemies were no longer recognizable. In the Hive’s case, they’d often employ underhanded tactics. A kind of psychological warfare to tear their foes apart from the inside. That's what the purpose of the original Thorn was.
Thorn was a Weapon of Sorrow. Easily the most infamous of them all, it was forged from Hive bones and magic, combined with Guardian munitions - the Rose - and placed in the hands of one of their best. Slowly, this corrupted the man once named Rezyyl Azir and it converted him into the scourge: Dredgen Yor. The point of this power was to destroy us from the inside. Convert one of our best, make us watch his fall and know that Guardians were not infallible. That we were vulnerable to corruption gave us pause. It was in this rending, this tearing apart of one of our brightest lights, changing us from the inside, that brought great doubt to the Guardian’s ranks. It’s how the Weapons of Sorrow got their moniker.
This was all quite common knowledge, yet the Vanguard leader found herself retreading already traveled ground, looking for what though? The answer to a question not yet asked? A way to satisfy the insatiable? Even with the Hidden in her employ across the system she hadn’t the answers. Her quiet support of the Guardians' quest for Vengeance against the now late Uldren Sov had led to a greater evil and put a curse on the Dreaming City. In that moment, despite not pulling the trigger herself, the Vanguard Mentor had ceased to see the killer of her friend as an enemy. Sov, to her, was no foe, no opposite equal across the board. He was a blight to be scrubbed out, a fool to be made an example of. In that sense, She had seen him as an object to rend. And it was that worldview that only created more sorrow.
In that, she supposed, there was a new understanding to be gleaned from the old saying. That, perhaps in the wake of what is unknown, she and her cohort had been too hasty in their dealings. They needed to keep their eyes on the city’s interests, yes. But to look upon those interests with a more measured glance. There was no way to know for certain what might befall them next. In a world with cosmic entities, silent gods, and immortals, there never could be. One could not predict the future. So, instead the best course is to face it head on and be prepared for whatever comes next. Whether it comes from beyond Sol, or from within the City’s very own walls…
Suddenly, there was a flash of light in her private study. The Warlock did not take her eyes off the ancient text to investigate what she already knew. “I was wondering when you’d return, Hades of the First Shadow.” She said, finally raising her eyes to meet his.
“Ma’am.” Hades bowed in respect to the Warlock Vanguard. The younger Voidwalker’s helmet was off, revealing a complexion only a shade or so lighter than Ikora’s, and a head topped with curly, dark brown hair.
“I’ve completed the patrols you asked of me.” He said, rising from the bow. “I regret to inform you that the Manhattan Nuclear Zone is still very much inhospitable, even for us Risen.”
“And Old Chicago?” She asked.
“Vacant, as far as I’m aware. Not even the Eliksni have stuck around. Perhaps because there's nothing left to scavenge.”
“Perhaps.” Ikora concurred. “But, that’s new territory worth expanding to.
“Indeed.” Hades said simply.
Ikora paused. Hades was always a man of short words and comfortable silence, but his aura was different today. “Why do I feel the weight of your worries?” She asked, which prompted the armored Warlock to turn his gaze.
At first. Hades had chosen silence as his answer. But, as it seemed, the urge to speak his mind overruled his urge to remain silent.
“Well…” He started hesitantly. “On my way back from the wild, I began to feel…uneasy.”
“Uneasy?” Ikora asked.
Hades nodded. “Yes.” He answered earnestly. “I would have ignored them, but-”
“Never ignore your feelings.” Ikora said. “You are a Warlock. What is only a hunch to a Titan or a Hunter is absolute certainty to us.”
Hades raised his gaze to meet his employer’s. “Ikora.” He began. “I have faced Ascendant Hive. I fought in the Taken War, fought Ascendant Hive at Oryx’s Court. This feels…not dissimilar. And yet, different?”
“Different how?”
“Different in that it is cold. Logical. Impersonal even.” Hades paused. “The other Warlocks I’ve talked to haven’t the same sense. Which, I hope, means that I’m imagining things. But…if not…”
“Are we talking about…infiltration?” Ikora asked, the question coming off as if she’d taken offense to the mere idea. To her, a master of spies, having been infiltrated would be the single most debilitating development of her tenure in the Vanguard.
Hades lowered his gaze again. “Hard to say.” He replied. “Going off of ‘a feeling’ isn't necessarily concrete evidence.”
“Perhaps.” Ikora said. “But that does not mean you should ignore it. Whatever this is, it pertains to you.”
“Me?” Hades questioned. “I haven’t faced anything Hive or Taken since the Io tear incident months ago. And even then, Shade was the one to step out of the abyss with the Whisper, not me?”
“If not you, then someone dear to you.” Ikora offered. “One of your Clanmates, perhaps?”
“Shade?” Hades wondered. Being the owner of a now tainted Whisper of the Worm, he’d been a prime subject to be corrupted.
“Maybe.” Ikora replied. “But, in your own experience, you know the only real way to react to the call of an Ascendant - or Ascendant adjacent apparently, is to simply answer it.”
“Answer it again, huh?” Hades sighed. “Alright, then…I’ll need my fireteam.”
“Rally them.” Ikora began, placing her arms behind her. “I’ll converse with Zavala about your findings on the patrol zones. Come back to me with information regarding this threat, and we’ll discuss how to proceed.”
“Yes ma’am.” Hades nodded. With a bow, the Shadow of Primus Umbra dematerialized from Ikora’s private study, leaving the Warlock Vanguard something new to think on.
“A threat from within, hmm?” She pondered to herself, aloud. The idea sounded bizarre when said aloud, but it would not have been the first time the Hive had done something akin to this. Ikora’s eyes narrowed; suddenly grew very serious.
“To rend one’s enemies…” She said. The words lingered in the air of her study like a bad omen.
Outside, Ronin and Hades had left the Tower North and moved for their Clan quarters. As a Clan registered under the Vanguard’s banner, they had received their own living space within the Tower Walls. Inside the Barracks, the Ghost and Guardian came across a familiar face In Shade, Primus Umbra’s Co-founder, who was just who he wanted to see.
The Warlock approached Shade. He was going to tell him about what he’d sensed, but stopped when he saw the Titan deep in his own head. The support pillar he was to his friends, Hades investigated.
“Yo.” Hades Greeted the Titan.
Shade seemed to perk right up at the sight of his friend. “Oh, hey! What’s up, how’s it going?”
“I could ask you the same.” Hades said as he leaned on the couch Shade was sitting on. “You seem troubled.”
Shade’s momentary perkiness soured. “You remember the Hunter I debriefed you about?”
“Katie, right?” Hades asked. “How is she?”
“She’s fine, I just left her in the care of the Tower’s Medical wing, They’ll have that light dampener off of her neck in no time. But, I’m worried about how she’s taking it. That thing they used, it suppressed her light like the Cabal suppressed all of ours last year and she’s been fighting ever since.”
Hades could see that Shade was visibly distressed, this Hunter clearly meant something to him. “All the more reason to believe that she’ll be fine, right? We Light bearers, if there’s one thing that we all have in common, it’s that we put up a hell of a fight. They’ll get it off of her, she’ll recover, then I was thinking we could formally induct her into the clan.”
Shade perked up again, his Exo lips parsing into a smile. “Yeah, that sounds good.” He said with a bit of renewed Vigor.
“Good.” Hades said as he picked himself up from the Couch. “Come. Walk with me.” He said, and the Titan followed.
The two continued on, walking and talking. As usual Hades tended to keep things brief and concise while his friend overshared his experiences. From the Sands of Mars, Manhattan’s radioactive wastes, they caught each other up as they approached their clan’s abode, sharing a few laughs along the way. All the while, the unwelcome presence Hades felt grew stronger.
They entered the Clan’s personal quarters to the sight of their friends. Wolf and Ace sat on the Clan’s couch watching the Titan Aztecross’ personal show, where he often reviewed weapons and armor for Guardian use. Ace was particularly enthralled in the show, trying to put wolf onto it. The Hunter, however, wasn’t as into it.
Across from Ace and Wolf, Pyro sat on his own. The Hunter sharpened his knife over a workbench, allowing the blade’s discarded metal flakes to collect atop it. It was a farcry from his once home in the City, but it was his Clan’s home nonetheless and he was happy to share it with them. Even if his work rarely let him stay in it, this was home and the Warlock was happy to be there and see everyone….or rather, almost everyone,
“Hey guys! Look who I found” Shade announced as he mentioned to the clan’s sole Warlock.
Hades rolled his eyes and gave a timid wave. “Hey.” He said simply.
“Hi.” Pyro greeted without looking at him.
Wolf waved while Ace turned and said “What’s up buddy?”
Before Hades could force a response from his catalog of introverted responses, Pyro cut him off. “Oh, hey. Ryan was looking for you.”
“Oh?” Hades raised a brow. “Any idea what for?”
“He wants to debrief you on the moon mission.”
“Oh right, I was supposed to meet him for that.”
“It’s urgent.” The hunter urged. “He wouldn’t let us say, but it’s very, very important that you hear what he has to tell you.”
Hades and Ronin looked at each other. Neither had ever heard Pyro so urgent about anything.
“Ok…well, here is he?” Ronin asked on Hades’ behalf.
“He’s in his quarters.”
“Then we should go see what’s up.”
“I wouldn’t…”Wolf said. “He told us not to bother him. Kept rubbing his optics. I’d just call him out here.”
“Then I’ll send his Ghost a message.” Ronin offered.
This was all so damned strange…but Hades decided to roll with it. “Cool. Then we’ll just…wait here I guess.” He said as he took a seat on the couch,Shade joined him. “There’s something I gotta talk to you all about too, and it’d be easier if I just waited for us all to be in the same room.”
And so, they ended up waiting, their ghosts all joined them, with of course the Clan’s residential Ghost flying in to get in on the fun too.
“Hey, howzit goin?”
Hades, always happy to see the troubled light, greeted him. “Hey Cletus, what’ve you gotten into since coming back?
“I gots more bacons for the next pat roll we go on.”
“I’m sorry, did you say Pat…roll ?” Hades asked.
“He means Patrol .” Saber clarified.
“I know what he means, it doesn’t make any more sense though.”
Hades pats Cletus’ shell. “Cletus, do you mean Beacon, or bacon?”
Cletus waits a moment, deep in thought, before giving his answer. “Yes!” He responds with the enthusiasm of a small child. “Oh, and I see you brought yer flower back.” He motions, referring to Ronin.
Annoyed, Ronin responds. “Cletus, I swear on the Traveler - you’ve seen me before! You know who I am!”
“A sunflower!”
“Sunflowers are yellow !”
The other ghosts snicker at that, as the guardians kind of just let it happen. As the group has their fun, Ronin rolls his eye. “Ugh, I’m calling Ryan now.” He says before dematerializing.
In his room, Ryan rubs his eyes in the dark as Buck floats over to him and relays Ronin’s message. “Hades is outside.” He says to his Guardian, distraught. “Do you still want to meet him like this?”
“Just…give me a moment.” The Exo rubbed his eyes furiously, black liquid was now pouring out of it in a steady stream, ending in a trickle off of his chin.
This had been happening for the past few hours and has only increased since. Cold, thick and seemingly endless, the goo was starting to blind Ryan, But he had to meet with Hades. Something was pushing him, forcing him to the Warlock leader. He forced himself upright and wiped his eyes profusely. It pained Buck to see his own Guardian like this, and worse still to not know what to do about it. When Ryan waved for his help, he came scampering.
“Please…The door…” Ryan’s speech was starting to slur. He spit and black goo shot out of his mouth too. His condition was worsening with each second.
“Maybe we should put off the debriefing?” Buck wondered.
“N-no!”Ryan spat out, more goo flying everywhere.
“Hades can wait, you need a doctor!” Buck shot back.
Ryan threw a punch at his nightstand, shattering it in two. “NO!” He shouted before stumbling to the door and punching that down too. His actions were no longer his own, as he began to lumber on head first, black goo pouring out of the orifices on his head. Like a loyal ghost, Buck chased after him. “Ryan, wait!” He cried out as he zipped down the hallway.
In the main living area, the guardians and their ghosts stood at attention, alert as a distressed Ryan walked down the hallway at them.
“Ryan?” “What the hell?” Pyro and Ace said respectively.
Hades could feel that energy now more than ever, it was so very cold, and unfeeling and was coming from Ryan. But before he could do anything, Shade moved to confront his friend.
“Shade, wait.” Hades said, desperately trying to get his friend’s attention only for Shade to ignore him and move to Ryan’s aid.
“Ryan, what’s going on?” He asked, approaching him with outstretched hands.
“Get away!” Ryan roared at Shade, flailing his arms and pushing him aside like he was no one.
Black goo spewed from his mouth, it was running down his face like a faucet, becoming overwhelming, he fell to the floor, crumpling down on all fours, and looked up to see Hades there, one last time. “Help me!!” He begged before vomiting out the black liquid onto the floor. It was not long before it began to spew from his eyes and any other grooves and cracks on his head. Soon, his entire head was enveloped in this black liquid. And out of it, a tear in reality formed, giving rise to a tall, lanky form.
Arriving from Emerald screams, she was a wizard . Her robes were black and pristine, adorned by black jewelry and arcanes, joined together in a caress made of silver armor.
Pyro and Wolf recognized her immediately, tensing up the entire time. “The Wizard…” Wolf whimpered out.
“Mahren-Seth” Pyro choked out.
The Forgotten Wizard finished materializing in the Primus Umbra living room. “Lovely place you have here.” The Wizard hissed.
The Ghosts in the room dematerialized, fading from sight as the Guardians readied themselves, all of them…except for the one without a Guardian.
“You…” Mahren grinned at Cletus. “You’ll do.”
The Guardians were about to face the Wizard when she lunged past Hades at blistering speeds and snatched the Ghost out of the air, taking him in her long, spindly hands.
“Gah!” Cletus cried in anguish, he was being crushed by the Wizard.
“Cletus?!” Hades cried out in response.
“Come!” She roared. “Find us. Fathom us. Destroy us. For we are Forgotten and we only wish to be remembered.” She said before receding back into the rift opened in place of where Ryan’s head was.
“Hades!” Cletus cried out, pained, confused, hurt.
Hades erupted in a violet shade of purple that utterly incinerated the Clan’s couch. “Cletus!” He roared as he cast Nova Warp and rushed right into the forgotten Wizard’s rift without a moment’s hesitation.
The Warlock ripped into a space opposite his own. It was filled with vast reds and bright teals, this was the domain of not the Hive, or the Darkness, but the Vex: The Vex Nexus!
Hades chased down Mahren in the Nexus, flying forward, the Warlock looked like a living Nova Bomb flying across the darkened sky as Mahren toyed with him, laughing as she launched pieces of peeled reality back at him. He dodged, fading beyond them in order to catch up to her. Eventually, he nearly reached her, but the Forgotten Wizard merely kept Cletus out of reach on purpose, laughing at his futile attempts to grab his ghost as if this were one big game of cosmic keep away.
Having finally had enough, the Warlock reached with his Void emanating hand and jutted his thumb through her visor and into one of her eyes. The Wizard’s playful cackles were replaced with painful screams.
“Let him go and I’ll try to make it painless when I erase you.” Hades delivered his threat with a cold fury that Mahren did not reciprocate.
“You would dare lay a hand on me, you insignificant spark?!” She roared.
The Forgotten Wizard thrust her entire arm, down to the bicep, through Hades’ sternum. The Warlock coughed blood, but the strike didn’t kill him. Instead, it just made him angrier . The Warlock began glowing an even brighter shade of purple; rays of light tore out of his body and into the realm they currently inhabited. The Warlock gathered his hands together and coalesced Void Light in preparation for a Void Eruption that would have done far more to the Forgotten Wizard than merely poking her eye.
The Wizard dug her hand deeper into Hades’ chest, rooting around in his body until she found his heart. And, with her raking claws deep inside him, the Warlock began to see things before his eyes…
The Dreadnaught.
The Dreaming City.
The Altar of Oryx.
A Knight with Gjallarhorn parts adorning his belt.
A Shattered Throne.
The Dreadnaught’s weapon firing.
And, lastly, a massive, intergalactic explosion…
…Then, Mahren clutches his heart and squeezes until it stops .
The Warlock’s hands go limp. He lets go of the Forgotten Wizard, she tears her now bloody hand out of the Warlock’s chest, grabs his still burning body by the collar and tosses him back towards the Rift in the Nexus. The last things Hades hears are the cries of Cletus as he’s thrust out of the portal and back into the Primus Umbra living room. His body hits the wall of the Clan’s living room and he goes limp, dead.
Moments later, Ronin floats above his body, enveloping it in blue light. The light pulses, Hades’ wounds are mended, his heart beats once more and he lives again.
“Hades?” Ace asks.
The Warlock lands on the floor, sitting against the wall in defeat. Hades looks around at the concerned faces of the other guardians, Ryan and Shade had already been resurrected.
Ace moved to Hades and knelt beside him. Trying to gather the Warlock’s wits.“Hades…” The titan tried again. “Where's Cletus?”
Hades sighed. The Warlock turned to look at all the other Guardians gathered. He took a breath and gave his response.
“Cletus…is gone .”
End of Oneshot
End of Story 9 -The Taking
Primus Umbra will return in Campaign 1: The Forgotten War