"I am the storm.
The thunder that crashes
Across the violent seas
The lightning that flashes
Among the noiseless trees
Their deceit fools not the rain
Their lies pass not the clouds
'Come, my brothers, share my pain
Find what their Darkness shrouds.'"
Chapter 5: The Grave of the Exiled
Suzie sprinted across the snow, her synthetic lungs rattling in her steel-plated chest. Her long, ochre-red cloak flapped about behind her, and the cold, harsh wind whistled through the gaps in her metallic frame. The large reddish-brown complex was coming into view. She could see that some patches of snow along the way were stained with Fallen blood. She raised a hand to the side of her pale blue face.
"G, broadcast to all fireteam members."
"On it." a small, synthetic and feminine voice replied.
"Fireteam, do you read me? What's going on in there?"
Nothing.
"Trinne? Where are you?"
Trinne spoke into the comms link, but her voice was fuzzy and barely comprehensible. "I'm… almost there. Don't worry about me… worry about Serithus."
The sound of his name hit Suzie like a brick. "Shit! Where is he? I know he's not supposed to come in yet but, he hasn't updated me on his position!"
Trinne sighed with force. "Son of a bitch."
Suzie closed the link. What the hell was he doing? Was he sulking again? More importantly, what had happened to the others? Riksis had surprised them, sure, but that was no reason not to communicate with her.
She would just have to get there in time.
The shadow loomed over her.
Walker scrambled to her feet.
The man was tremendously tall and muscular. Not in a sexy way.
In a scary way.
He looked like a hermit. His armor was not in good condition; the metal plates on his shoulders, legs and chest were covered with scratches, with only a few streaks of the original gold colour spared for visibility. A long, black and gold cloak hung ripped from his neck. Snow and dirt were rife all around his bulky figure and hair sprouted out from his jaw and upper lip, contorting like snakes into a rugged black beard.
God, Walker thought to herself. What is it with me always having to square up to tall people?
She looked down at his large black greaves, which, unsettlingly, were still grasping a long black pole with a gently curving, blue tinted blade sticking out from the end at ninety degrees. A scythe, still spattered with bright blue blood. The man's head was twitching slightly, and his mouth was slightly open. His shiny grey eyes looked glazed over and unfocused. A short, red scar ran across the bridge of his nose. Yeah, more than a little unhinged, it seemed.
"Uhh… Adam, was it?" Walker did her best to sound confident. "Look, thanks for saving us and all… but-"
"I did not save you… green-eyes. I took the Fallen soul. That… is all." The man's voice was coarse, like he hadn't spoken to anyone in a long time. "Adam Galilean was his name. I… am not he."
Walker maintained her composure. What the hell is this guy?
"Okay, okay. Who are you then?"
He breathed in deeply, and raised his scythe. Walker flinched and jumped backwards, drawing her Fatebringer hand-cannon.
To her surprise, though, he simply sheathed it on his back. She kept the Fatebringer in her hand, just in case.
"In truth... I am not sure. I must find Adam first. He's... he's out there somewhere."
What in the…
Walker was taken aback, but she was also intrigued. So much time spent alone had cracked this poor man. She suddenly realized. This man was Adam Galilean. The trauma of prolonged solitude had somehow separated him from his previous self. He didn't believe Adam existed anymore. He was obviously a Guardian, a Hunter, so… he would have a Ghost, right? If he did, then why hadn't he contacted the Tower? As if he could read her thoughts, Adam raised his open hand to chest-height for a few seconds. Walker waited expectantly for his Ghost to appear.
Nothing happened.
And yet, he spoke. "Speak to me, comrade. Tell me who these meddlers are."
A few seconds of silence followed.
"No, not weaklings, brother, just… not ready…"
More silence.
"Perhaps… perhaps they will help me find him… find Adam…"
Adam nodded and lowered his hand. At that moment, Walker knew that he was even less 'with it' than she had originally thought. He didn't have a Ghost.
He just thought he did.
"I… my brother says you can help me. To… to return to Adam… to return to my brethren… Cayde…" Adam spoke to Walker directly. He didn't sound dim, in fact his diction was very precise and his voice was becoming a bit clearer now.
"Yeah… uh… Cayde! I know him!" Walker stammered, still trying to be cautious with her words. "He's the Hunter Vanguard."
Adam's serious face lit up for a brief moment. "You must take me to him… my exile must be broken."
"Ok… but we need to find our friends first, all right?" Walker asked, feeling a little bit more comfortable talking to this behemoth.
Adam stood in thought for a few seconds.
"I accept this proposition."
Serithus slipped his black hood over his head.
At the end of the pitch-black corridor, he could see a soft light, which grew brighter and larger the closer he came. Very soon, he could hear the murmur of conversation between his intermittent footsteps.
He stopped.
The shadows enveloped him, but he could still see out of the opening. There was Walker, standing up, holding her hand-cannon behind her back. She was looking up at a tall, bearded man, who was covered in dirty golden armor and had a ripped gold-and-black cloak flowing down his back. Serithus knew instantaneously that the man was a Hunter, like himself. He was a Guardian, supposedly an ally. So why was Walker hiding her weapon?
He couldn't say he'd ever seen that armor before.
Serithus felt the adrenaline start to flow.
The man must have been a rogue.
A bandit.
The others were in danger, and Serithus was going to save the day. In his mind, he jumped to ten conclusions at once, and before he even knew it himself, his hand started to glow with Light. A short, fat hand-cannon made of fiery orange Light had soon materialized in his half-clenched fist, and he began to stroll forwards towards the opening.
His hand trembled as he raised it to eye-level.
Kabam!
Adam ducked.
The bolt of Solar Light whizzed above his head, and punched a huge hole in the other side of the rusty building with a clanking sound.
He drew his scythe and spun around towards the direction of the shot.
Two more bolts soared out from the darkness of the corridor, and with a quick spin of his blade they both pinged off to the sides in a burst of fire.
"Aaaaagggrrhhh!"
The shouted of a young, enraged man echoed out into the building and he sprung forth from the dark opening. A long, leather cloak lashed up behind him as he ran, and silver strands of hair whipped to the sides of his hood. His smooth blue face was bent into a snarl.
He drew a foot-long knife from a sheath on his chest.
Adam skillfully spun the scythe-pole between his fingers and curved it along the length of his torso as the young man's blade came swooping down.
Bzing!
The knife bounced off the scythe's edge and twirled into the air.
The blue man jumped upwards, his hood slipping off his head as he caught the airborne machete.
Adam flipped his scythe upside-down and swiftly thrust the end of the pole towards the jumping man's stomach.
With his free hand, the man parried the incoming beam and descended towards Adam from above.
Adam quickly sidestepped and the blue man landed poised on the ground. The man grunted with anger and began swatting the air near him like he was surrounded by a cloud of angry bees as he advanced.
Again, Adam crossed the scythe along his body in a defensive stance.
The machete-wielder and his scythe-bearing opponent began to exchange fire with a barrage of well-placed swings, each one clashing against the other. Finally, they reached a standstill.
Clang!
Adam's arms were crossed over each other, clenching the scythe tightly. The blue man had both hands on the hilt of his blade, pushing up against the sharp edge of the scythe.
Both grunted with effort. After a few seconds, Adam began to regain control. He pushed down with all his might and the machete was ripped from the man's hands. It clattered onto the floor.
The man stumbled backward.
Adam exhaled and with one hand, he flipped his scythe upside-down again.
Serithus' eyes widened as the huge man approached him.
He couldn't help but feel that he had made a huge mistake.
The man thrust the end of the pole forward and Serithus barely dodged it, only to be smacked in the other side of the head by a quartet of steel-plated knuckles. The man brought the pole back again, and this time he struck true.
The end of it dug into his stomach without piercing the skin, and he coughed, winded.
Serithus doubled over, and the pole came crashing down on his shoulder, denting his armor and jarring his bones. He felt a large hand on top of his head, and he began to be lifted onto his feet from the roots of his silver hair.
"Rrrraaaagggghhhh!"
He screamed in pain as the man began to lift him even higher, until his feet dangled above the ground.
Serithus swung at him, only managing clipping the end of the man's long, ragged beard.
His beastly opponent sheathed his scythe.
Walker drew her Fatebringer.
"Stop! Both of you! Stop or I'll shoot!" She shouted at them in vain.
She pointed it at the air and fired a warning shot.
No response.
Adam drew his open hand backwards and clenched it into a fist. The black, metallic knuckles of the gauntlet slowly started to spark with electric blue Light.
"Adam! Stop!"
From her right, she could hear approaching footsteps.
Crunch!
Just as the beastly man was about to land the killing blow, a two-toed, rubber-encased foot flew in from the side and crashed into his head.
He tripped over his feet and slammed onto the ground some distance away.
Serithus dropped to his knees.
Tel wrenched him to his feet.
"Get off me!" Serithus spat, and he shrugged himself free from Tel's grasp.
"What do you think you're doing?!" Walker shouted at him. "Shooting at him like that? What was going through your head?!"
Serithus groaned. "He was going to attack you… you should be thanking me…"
"You should be thanking Tel, you stuck-up knucklehead! He just saved your life."
Adam stirred on the ground beside them. He groggily got back on his feet. Walker ran to him.
"Ad-… I mean, hey, I'm so sorry about all of that…" she began to say as she ran.
"Do not be sorry, green-eyes." Adam was surprisingly calm. "I understand your comrade's fear. I… I have seen the same fear in the eyes of all beings that I encounter. But… I could have killed him if I wanted it to be so. He will not cross me again."
Suddenly, the large iron doors to the complex burst open and slammed against the inside wall.
Suzie stood in the opening, her rifle raised.
"Wh-what the hell is going on?"
"So then… it's decided. We vote."
"Who should take part? Should we allow the City's people to vote as well as the Guardians here at the Tower?"
"I should think so. They have as much of a right as we do to decide the next course of action… and I'm sure that with our decreased numbers, a population-wide vote is far from impossible."
"That's true, but… I think it would be better if that we let the City vote by itself, with no contribution from the Tower."
"What?! That's preposterous! We are the only reason we even exist! If anything, we should be the ones doing the decidi-"
"No, Zavala. Cayde makes a valid point. What do you think will happen when the Tower sees that the Vanguard has split into three? I'm not saying our respective Guardians aren't capable of independent thought… but there is a strong chance that the Warlocks, Hunters and Titans alike will simply side with their Vanguard. Do you see what I'm getting at here?"
"I… I…"
"We can't let our Guardians take sides. We all need to fight together to face the Darkness… and we won't even come close to achieving that if we can't make an unbiased decision about The Covenant. Whether they're allies, or enemies… or whatever the hell else they are, we have to stick together on this."
"Whichever path the people choose… that's the one we'll take. All of us."
"Agreed.
I'll get the Speaker."
"Okay, everyone, rendezvous at the ship, two klicks north." Suzie gave the order as they stepped out into the cold. The wind was blowing harder now, thick, dark clouds had obscured the skies and heavy flakes of ice drifted rapidly through the passing gales. The others looked confused. Suzie sighed.
"I said, r-rendezvous at the ship!"
"Wait, why?" Walker asked in disbelief. "This isn't over yet, is it?"
"Are… are you qu-questioning my orders, Walker?" Suzie stuttered, trying desperately to be firm with her subordinate. "I'm ab… I'm aborting this mission!"
Serithus grimaced, crossing his arms. "Are you trying to tell us that you're… scared, Susan?"
"Exos c-can't feel fear, Arkaness. I know what I'm doing. Too much has gone wrong, we have to abort!" Suzie began to feel more confident about raising her voice. "Walker, take Ackerman, I doubt he'll be able to walk on his own for a while. You, beard man, go with Tel. He's severely injured, but he doesn't have the Light, so he can't heal by himself… he'll need some practical surgery done back at the Tower. Seri, it seems you can't be trusted to work alone, so you come with me. I've ordered Trinne to wait for us back at the ship."
Walker grumbled to herself as she slung Ackerman's heavy arm over her shoulder and wrenched him into a standing position.
"Hey, Walker. Looks like this is the closest we've ever been, huh?" Ackerman rasped, chuckling to himself.
"Yeah, and the closest we ever will be. Don't get any ideas. Your hands come off me as soon as you're healed up, and not a second later."
"Sure, babe. Whatever you say."
"What brings you here, Hunter Vanguard?"
"We've decided that we're going to let the people vote."
"On what matter?"
"What to do about The Covenant."
"And what options have been proposed?"
"We either kill their messenger and do not let them know of our existence, fight them head on, or agree to form an alliance with their leaders."
"I… I cannot yet say which one is the Light favours, Vanguard. I will soon contact the Travele-"
"About that. We have also decided that neither the Guardians nor the Traveler should have any say in this."
"Oh. And why is that? I think… I think it is rather unwise to disregard the Traveler's wishes, after all He has done for-"
"With all due respect, Speaker, we have already discussed this. We are leaving it up to the people of the City because we fear that the Guardians may split if they are forced to vote to support their Vanguard. We can't afford to have another schism, not like the splintering of the 1st Guardian Order."
"I understand that. However, I believe that if the Traveler Himself makes a decision, then all Guardians will have the same motives, and therefore we can avoi-"
"I'm terribly sorry, but… you're making it sound like we serve the Traveler."
"I did not mean that, Vanguard. All I am saying is that, under His unified guidance and knowledge, we can work together to defeat the Darkness without regarding our actions as questionable, meaning tha-"
"My apologies, Speaker, but this is not your call to make. I came here just to notify you of this, not to ask for your permission. Your will, although it may parallel the Traveler's, has no value in this situation. We will begin the ballot tomorrow."
"I… I… I understand, Vanguard. But… you should always remember… the Traveler gave you life. And the least you could do to express your gratitude is show Him some respect."
"The Traveler didn't give me life, Speaker. It simply gave it back to me. I didn't ask to be resurrected…
none of us did."
"This is Susan-04, reporting an abort for the House of Devils Eradication mission. Will have to be completed at a later date due to unexpected complications… will be explained at time of debrief. I would also recommend that a certain Fireteam member be replaced due to… misconduct on the field of battle."
Suzie sighed as the ship began to take off. The hatch on the side whirred and slowly closed up, cutting off the sound of the howling wind and walling off the barrage of ever-thickening snowfall. Ikora wouldn't be angry, would she? No… that wasn't like her, and besides, she had never actually expected them to be able to do it. At least they had killed the Devil Archon, right?
Well, not really them. It was that Adam guy. Who was he? No-one was really in the mood to ask questions, and Walker had only given them a brief explanation. All Suzie knew so far was that he was one crazy son of a bitch. Maybe Exos could go insane. Interesting. She would look into it later.
Trinne's voice broke the silence. "So, uh... Ada-I mean, you? Why are you so eager about meeting Cayde?"
Adam breathed in deeply, closing his eyes as though trying hard to remember something. "Cayde is... was my teacher. I knew so little, once, and he showed me the way. I know that he is wary of the truth, even now... but he hides his true feelings."
Walker cut in. "What's that supposed to mean?" Adam sat looking a her for a few seconds. "And what was all that about being 'exiled'?"
"You will see, in time, green-eyes. Save your questions... the Tower awaits my return."