An errant wind blew across the mountains, tugging at the Echidna's hair. He disregarded it, continuing to stand vigilant over the Master Emerald, as he always had.

It had been 3 months since the Metarex were defeated. Knuckles hoped everything would return to normal. He went back to his usual duty, which was normal enough for him. Sonic and Eggman continued to spar with each other- for awhile, at least. Eggman hadn't even been seen in almost 2 months. Knuckles just thought he was planning something big and wanted nothing to do with it. It had also been awhile since he had seen Tails. Rouge had temporarily stopped harassing him, as she was searching for Eggman, still believing he knew Shadow's whereabouts. As long as she left him alone, it was fine by him.

But staring over the forests before him, something seemed... odd. He couldn't quite place his finger on it. Maybe the past months had changed him. Being sent to another dimension, fighting an alien empire and preventing the destruction of the universe... everything seemed rather boring now.

Maybe this is what Sonic feels like, he mused. He can't hold still for more than a few seconds.

A few seconds passed in an eternity.

Then he saw something. A sphere of blue lightning, hovering above the ground, just a few meters in front of him. Knuckles was oddly attracted to it. Cautiously, slowly, he descended the stone stairs leading up to the Master Emerald and approached the glowing ball. It began to grow more intense, and a black shroud began forming around it. He leapt back just as it made a blinding flash, and he was thrown to the ground.

Knuckles dragged himself to his feet, and turned around to see a large robot facing him, several meters away. It was at least six times as tall as him, with long, thin limbs connected to a rather disproportionate body. A faint purple Aura surrounded it, and it had a single red eye that stared straight towards him. Several tense seconds passed.

Then Knuckles noticed the large gun in its right hand.

"Eggman," he muttered, and leapt straight towards it, fist raised. He made contact, only for a magnetic force to launch him right back. He flipped through the air and landed on his feet, and noticed that the aura surrounding the robot glowed brighter. Undeterred, he ran towards the robot again as it started shooting at him, large purple orbs sailing through the air and detonating around him, throwing him off balance. He once again made a lunge for it, swung his fist- and it sailed through thin air.

He had lost sight of it, as if it had disappeared into thin air. Then he heard an awful, robotic shriek coming from behind him, and he wheeled about just to see the colossus swing its arm, making contact and sending him flying. He slammed into the ground, but managed to get back up.

Now he was on the defense, running as fast as he could, just trying to avoid whatever this thing was throwing at him and comprehend the situation. Lets see. It can't be hurt- it has a shield of some sort. It can teleport. Its strong, and it has a big gun.

After a few laps of just running in circles, however, his patience wore thin.

And I'm sure it'll die if I just punch it enough, he thought, and once again charged.

In the distant future

A lone Sparrow speeder bike shot across the jungles of Venus, following a makeshift trail just along the edge of the Shattered Coast in the Ishtar Sink. The Guardian piloting it ignored the potshots taken towards her from Fallen scouts and Vex constructs.

She was looking for something.

"You sure it's around here?" she asked.

A robotic voice sounded in her head. "Almost positive. Our information on the Vault is dated and vague, but it should be somewhere along this trail. Keep following it for... Look out!"

A large, stationary Vex gun platform, called a Cyclops, suddenly materialized straight ahead of her. Its eye glowed with energy, and a bolt of void plasma fired straight towards the Guardian. With barely any time to react, she stood up and hurled herself off the bike just before the bolt made contact with the ground beneath her. The shockwave wrecked her Sparrow and knocked her off-balance. Tumbling through the air, she focused her Light away from the metal monster.

A split second later, she teleported to the ground, landing rather ungracefully, sprawled out on her back along the side of the cliff just about 10 meters from her enemy. The Cyclops fired at her again, and she let herself fall just before an explosion went off where she was a fraction of a second ago. Grabbing onto a rock outcropping, she took a second to regain her bearings before triggering the thrusters in the ankles of her boots, shooting upwards. She flipped through and landed squarely on her feet, facing the Cyclops, scout rifle drawn. A horde of bipedal Goblins had warped around it, and they began firing at her.

She returned fire, aiming for the exposed power core in their stomach and narrowly dodging the projectiles hurtling towards her. A few of the robots exploded before the Cyclops sent out another shot. She once again teleported, this time a more coordinated blink, sending her behind a rock well out of the blast radius.

She swapped out her magazine and cycled the bolt before vaulting on top of the rock. She put several more shots towards a Goblin, causing it to shut down and keel over. The Guardian then leapt down, just as the Cyclops shot at the rock she was on, shattering it. She charged straight forward, gun ablaze. The Vex returned fire, most of their shots simply being deflected off her shields. Three of them threw grenades right in her path. Triggering her boot's thrusters, she shot into the air, dodging the grenades and retaliating with an arc grenade of her own. She hurled the grenade before blinking backwards, trading ground for viable cover behind another boulder. The arc grenade landed in the center of the Vex and took a quick scan of the area. It then sent a bolt of lightning out, which chained between three more of the Goblins, overloading their systems and destroying them.

The Hunter quickly peeked out of cover. Only a few Goblins left- and still that Cyclops. She holstered her scout rifle. This would take a bit more firepower.

Focusing every ounce of Light and willpower into her raised hand, it manifested as a brilliant Golden Gun made of pure Light. Wheeling out of cover, she placed a shot straight into the eye of the Cyclops, interfering with its targeting and causing a Void bolt to be shot into the air, drastically missing its target. Another shot pierced it, and it went haywire, spitting Void bolts all around and destroying most of the remaining Goblins. One final shot fully pierced it, and it violently exploded, scattering its debris across the area.

The assailants dealt with, the Guardian's supernatural weapon dissolved. After gazing at her handiwork for a few seconds, a small, floating, star-like robot materialized next to her. "I like admiring art as much as the next Ghost, but can we keep going?"

"Thats so like you, Ghost. You never take time to enjoy the little things in life." She pulled off her hood, and removed her helmet. "Like a pile of dead Vex."

She had short, untidy brown hair and unusually bright blue eyes. Red paint marked a wide X across the center of her face. She wore a slight, ambitious smile, and was rather sweaty and dirty, clearly showing days, if not weeks, of intense exploration in the unforgiving forests on Venus.

Her scouting armor was of Rustburner make, being almost entirely white and grey, with limited armor plates allowing for a fair mixture of resilience and mobility. The helmet had an atmospheric filter, and was connected to nutrient and adrenaline supplements stored in her armor, allowing for continued, uninterrupted exploration in toxic environments without rest, food, or water. Her Atropos-style hooded cloak was pure white, matching her armor, and was gridmarked with triangles. The rear of the cloak angled to one side, only covering half of her back. The Scout Rifle strapped to her back was an advanced model, issued by the Vanguard to their most elite Guardians.

She began walking towards the ruined Vex ahead of her, removing her cloak.

"...really? Is that a priority right now?" the Ghost asked, floating along behind her.

"You know the rules- 'First, check your cloak for damage. Second, inspect yourself for major wounds.'"

Although her armor clearly showed signs of wear and tear, her cloak was nearly pristine. Cloaks were more than just decorative cloth, they were a symbol- a unifying symbol of Hunters, of individuality, and of companionship. Its often said, 'When a Hunter takes up the cloak of a fallen comrade, this is a vow.' Hunters cared for their cloaks more than anything- except, maybe, their Ghosts.

"Well," her Ghost continued, "your Sparrow is wrecked. It will be a little while before I can Transmat a new one. Looks like we're walking the rest of the way."

"Fair enough." Satisfied that her cloak was intact, the Guardian threw it back on, though she left her helmet off and the hood down. Only a few bruises. Still, that was a pretty sloppy fight, she thought, then smirked. Well, maybe 'massacre' is the correct term.

"Incoming transmission from the Vanguard," said the Ghost. "Patching you through now." The Guardian sighed and put her helmet back on her head.

"Hey Sapphire, Cayde-6 here, just wanted an update on your status. Been a couple days." The transmission was somewhat broken and static-y, but the familiar, friendly voice of the Exo Hunter Vanguard was still audible.

"Yeah, this is Sapphire," the Guardian said back. "Just ran into a Cyclops." Sapphire observed the wreckage in front of her. "Nothing I couldn't handle."

"So you haven't found anything? Not even the Vault?"

"No, but I might be getting close. I'll contact you if I find it."

"Alright. Let us know if something unusual comes up. We need to find what made the Vex go on the offensive, and they're most at home on Venus.

"I know, Cayde."

"And what's your status?"

"I'm fine. Been scavenging for ammo, nutrient supplements are running low, but I still have them. No major injuries. I can probably stay out for at least three more days, if I can find food. I'm gonna be heading into a dark zone in a few, so don't be worried if I drop out of touch for awhile."

"Glad I caught you when I did, then. I'll be on my way." responded Cayde. "Oh, and uh, one more thing... be on the lookout for another Guardian, possibly operating in the same area."

Sapphire stopped walking. "...whats so special about this Guardian?" There hadn't been any recent reports of missing Guardians in her area, and most could fend for themselves or seek her out anyways...

Unless...

"You'll know him when you see him. Cayde-6 out."

Sapphire paused for a minute. She knew what Cayde-6 meant. He had a thing for Legends. Before being saddled with Tower duty, he had been hunting for the Vault of Glass, just as she was now.

"Oh no," said her Ghost.

But there was one particular Legend. Even the Warlocks dismissed it sheerly as preposterous rumor, less credible than stories of the Exo Stranger. But Cayde-6 believed it. Stories of an ancient, legendary Guardian.

He came before the Collapse. Some say he caused it. Others say he's trying to prevent it.

He had an unusual interest in the Vex. Reports of him were highest in areas where Vex were active.

He was the first Guardian, or an Agent of the Darkness

Immortal.

Invincible.

"Please tell me he couldn't mean..."

Sapphire whispered. "The Black Guardian."

Knuckles narrowly dodged another series of blasts from the construct and delivered another blow to it. This time anticipating the shield's effect, he hit the ground and immediately sprung towards it again. The robot teleported forward several meters, and Knuckles missed. He wheeled about and struck again. Its shield nearly depleted, it raised its hand and swung towards him. Knuckles ducked and attempted another upwards strike. It countered by bringing its own fist straight down, slamming into Knuckles and blocking the attack. Knuckles struggled to hold its weight above him, surprised by its own physical strength. He made one final move, forcing its arm aside and making an uppercut straight at its head.

The shield finally broke, and its head shattered. Knuckles landed behind it, smiling and turning around to face it. The robot stood, electricity crackling over its surface. He waited for it to fall over, defeated. But after a few seconds, it still stood, then turned towards Knuckles again

"You've gotta be kidding me."

It let out a horrible, enraged shriek. Knuckles prepared to once again attack-

-then a blue blur shot ahead of him and tore clean through his adversary, shearing it in half at the waist.

Already knowing what was coming, he groaned in frustration.

"C'mon, Knucks. We've beat bigger things before."

Sonic was leaning against a tree, wearing his typical grin.

"I didn't ask for your help, Sonic. I had that fight," he growled.

"Well, then I just sped up the process. No need to get mad."

"What do you want?" Knuckles had run out of patience.

"Just a little help, thats all." Sonic dashed up to the wreckage and leaned up against it. "These things have been showing up for days. Thought I could get someone who could hold his own in a fight. I might've been wrong for choosing you," he teased.

"And what are they?" Knuckles looked closer at it, disregarding Sonic's disparaging comment.

"Thats the problem. I don't know. Noone does. They just came out of nowhere."

"So were they made by-"

"-Eggman? Probably."

"Then why don't you go find him yourself?" Knuckles started returning to the Master Emerald. The robot dematerialized, and Sonic fell to the ground.

"Look. I know you're not a huge fan of following me around on these things." Knuckles turned to face Sonic, whose tone had become oddly serious. The hedgehog pulled himself off the ground and dusted himself off, his smile gone. "But these things... whatever they are, they're just... I don't know." He looked at the burned spot on the ground, shaking his head. "I don't see how Eggman could've gotten so many. They show up everywhere. There's entire armies of them."

"Whats the point?"

He faced Knuckles again. "They're pure evil. I saw them level an entire town. Killed everyone who didn't escape. Then they left like it was nothing." Sonic swallowed hard and closed his eyes. Knuckles could tell that, whatever he saw, it was horrible.

"I tried to save everyone... Pointless mass murder isn't like Eggman. But if he's responsible for this..." he paused for a moment.

"I need your help." Sonic's eyes shot open.

Knuckles sighed. He couldn't stand having innocent people hurt.

"Maybe I can leave the Master Emerald for a few days-"

"Alright! Lets go!" Sonic took off in a flash.

"DAMMIT SONIC!" Knuckles ran after him, off on another unwanted adventure. This is gonna suck.

You have no idea, Knuckles. What comes next is shooting, stabbing, shooting, time travel, space magic, shooting, romance, betrayal, shooting, alternate realities, shooting, shooting, and SPOILER ALERT Tails getting killed (I'll let you decide which of those are serious)

Anyways, heres the first chapter of my Destiny crossover. Also the first thing I've ever actually written and published. I want this to actually be a good story, so go ahead and give an honest review. Don't just complement me for being able to put words in a box (but don't dis it just because you hate Destiny or Sonic or Penguins or what-have-you)

Thanks to FroZenHyBrid on Sonic Fanon Wiki for prereading.

Chapter 2 is in the works. You'll learn a little more about Guardians and the Vex (I suppose you could Google it, or you've played Destiny, but wheres the fun in that?)

That is all. For now...