Chapter Text
Shin found Wolf standing in the Hall of Heroes silently. The ceremony had been over for an hour or so and Rohan's monolith stood proud in the middle of the room, decorated by his core. Digital Neomuni formed two lines as they passed the memorial, going opposite ways to pay their respects to the fallen Cloud Strider. He also saw three Hidden standing around but not near the memorial, looking at the strange grave site the Neomuni had constructed for their heroes.
"Hey," he came and stood next to her, both in their Strand gear from the fight still. Shin had gone to the Kestrel and eaten and it was the one time Wolf had declined to go with him. She said nothing and just reach over, grabbing his cloak. "You did what you could," he said, knowing she was probably beating herself up over this.
So he was surprised when she said; "I know."
Shin blinked at her and grabbed a few fingers of her hand. "You feeling okay?" he asked her.
"Yeah?"
"Usually a set back like this would have you spiraling," because Wolf didn't take failure well. She'd never failed so when she did she freaked out. Not just with Strand but during the hunt for the Witch Queen, and he'd asked Lana about the heat damage in the old apartment. She'd messed up cookies. That had been some compounding issues but still. Failure wasn't a word in Wolf's vocabulary.
She made a noise almost like a laugh or a scoff. "I am doing my best not to," she said firmly. "Fox and I talked a lot yesterday over comms, privately," she added.
"Oh yeah?" Shin had noticed stretches of time yesterday while they'd been dealing with the Vex and teaching Fox Strand where the girls were just silent. But the silent you sort of knew meant they were in private comms. It was usually when Fox needed to rest as she was too busy shouting excitedly about unraveling a Vex otherwise.
"Apparently before we arrived she'd been talking with Osiris about Strand. And she'd had a chance to talk to Nimbus briefly too because everyone else was so crazy about Neomuna. I know she seemed real hyper yesterday but she was very down to business when she arrived. I asked her if she was here as my friend, doctor, or clanmate."
"And what'd she say?"
"All of the above." Shin made a noise for her to continue. "I was glad." She took a deep breath. "I know I'm not good at this stuff," she admitted. "But Fox really helped me yesterday."
"And what was her glorious insight?" Shin asked, curious.
"She eventually told me you and Cat had the idea I needed to go have some fun time with Strand. And that helped. But it just... I just..." she huffed. "I'm a real control freak," she groaned and Shin chuckled.
"Sometimes, yeah," Shin agreed.
"When it comes to the Light I have to be in control. You've seen what it's like. You've seen what I can do. I have to be so careful and so specific and in so much control or it just spills out of me," she said it almost in anger. Shin moved to hold her hand properly, squeezing it encouragingly. "So its hard to let go. That's what Fox was helping me with yesterday. Just... realizing I needed to let go. I'm not completely there yet but she already came and lectured me about Rohan," she sighed.
"That you better not beat yourself up about it?" Shin asked.
"Yeahhhh," she sighed and also whined.
He leaned over and thonked the side of his helmet against hers. "Good. I'm glad. He was a hero. He wouldn't want you to hate yourself for his sacrifice."
"I know," she said, her voice thick. "I also feel bad because... I didn't get to know him that well and he still just trusted us so implicitly to help Neomuna. To help all the Neomuni," she didn't cry but she did sniff. "Fox said I wasn't allowed to wallow about that either. This is war. In war people die. I should know that better than anyone."
"You did everything you could. More than me and Fox could manage," he reminded her. Something about the Radial Mast had triggered that completely downed the both of them out of Strand. Wolf had been the only one able to fight through grit teeth and blood in her mouth back to the Mast to even try and help Rohan.
"I know."
"Nimbus doesn't blame you either. No one here on Neomuna does," he reminded her.
She nodded. "I know. Fox made sure that got through my thick head too," and she sort of laughed.
"Let's go to the Kestrel. Naya was asking about you. They made a new cake today just for you." Between the Strand playing and the sex they'd arrived late for dinner and the cake that Wolf had asked for from the chef's had all been eaten by the other Guardians ordering it for their own meals. Naya had been so upset she promised it wouldn't happen again.
"Just for me?" she asked.
"Well you get the first slice she said. Apparently people were already asking about it after the ceremony, wanting some comfort. She kept telling them no. Apparently one Warlock got a little cranky about it before every Scout in the dining room dog piled him." That made Wolf laugh softly. He stepped back, pulling her with him. "C'mon. Cake," he said.
"Mmm, I do like cake," she agreed and let him pull her out of the Hall of Heroes and down from the Gate and to the Kestrel.
Lunch was long over and it was just them and a single Hunter back in the corner on their pockit while picking at some bread and butter the chefs had started offering them. They sat off center of the dining room and Naya noticed immediately. "Shin, you're back," she said.
"I'm stuffed, I'm here with her," he motioned to Wolf as they both took off their helmets.
"Well you are certainly welcome to more if you want," Naya said. "Wolf, what can I get you?"
"Shin said you had cake?" Wolf asked as she pulled off her gloves.
"Cake! Yes! I do have cake," and Naya ran off back to the kitchen.
Wolf giggled. "She's fun. I like her," she said.
Shin propped his chin up on his hand, "She's nice," he agreed.
Naya came back almost immediately with a beautiful towering vanilla buttercream and jam slice of cake that was easily six inches tall. "Wow," Wolf said, purple eyes easily the size of the cake slice. Naya sat the cake down proudly, it was no thin slice of cake either. "It's beautiful," Wolf said.
"Wonderful," Naya's eyes brightened. Then she seemed to remember herself, "I didn't even take your lunch order," she said foolishly.
"I dunno if I'm going to have room after this giant slice of cake," Wolf said seriously. Shin chuckled. "Do you have milk?"
"Ah-- not cow milk if that's what you're asking," Naya said apologetically.
"No? Then how did you make the butter?"
"Its goat," she said. "Cows need too much space and as you have seen; that is a premium here on Neptune."
"I've never had goat milk... have I ever had goat milk?" Wolf turned and looked at Ghost.
"I don't think so," he said slowly and Shin couldn't help the bubble of laughter out of him.
"Have you?" she asked Shin.
"Yeah. It's... gamey," he shrugged. "Has a weird aftertaste if you're used to cow milk."
"We do have oat and soy milk," Naya said quickly. Wolf just stared at her blankly.
"What?"
"Just bring her the soy milk, especially if it's got a flavor," Shin said.
"Okay. And did you want food?" Naya asked Wolf.
"Uh," she glanced down at the menu even though it hadn't changed since they'd arrived. "I'll have the pasta," she said.
"You got it," and Naya left them.
"... What the fuck is soy milk?" Wolf asked him in a stage whisper.
"It's milk made out of soy beans-
"I may not be classically smart but I know milk comes from an animal and tofu is made out of soy beans," Wolf said, annoyed.
"You'll like it," he said.
"How do you know?"
"Because you eat anything," Shin said not meaning it to be an insult but it sort of came out as one.
"I do not," she protested.
"Yeah you don't like mushy vegetables," Shin teased her. She made a face. "You blend up soy beans in water until you have a mash, then cook it out and strain the liquid; that's soy milk."
"That sounds revolting," Wolf said even as Naya returned with not one but two cups. One for each of them.
"And an extra fork in case you wanted to help her take care of that tower," Naya said, placing it on Shin's side of the table.
"No way. She's turn me into Light ash," Shin said making Wolf flush and Naya laugh. She left. Wolf sniffed the soy milk suspiciously but Shin just rolled his eyes and took a drink. It was pretty good, less watery than plenty he'd had and had been sweetened and flavored with vanilla. "It's not going to bite you. Just try it," he said when Wolf still hadn't tried it. She suspiciously took a sip and made a face. Shin snorted.
"It's... fine," she took another taste before putting it down. "I don't know if I like it."
"I don't usually drink it straight," Shin agreed. "I bet it will taste better washing down your cake."
"Probably," Wolf said and that was the last invitation she needed to start working on her cake. Shin just sat back and out of habit pulled out his pockit. While it didn't have Vannet access apparently it could connect to the Neomuna network. "What are you looking at," as he started frowning deeper, and deeper, until he was scowling at his pockit.
Before he could say anything Naya returned with Wolf's lunch. He waited until she left. "The Neomuni also have news outlets even in the Cloud Ark. Us Guardians are all over them."
"Uh-huh."
"We have another fanclub-
"Oh for the Light," Wolf groaned.
"I only found out because there are comments underneath this article about the Sunrise Tower being operational again."
Wolf rubbed her eyes, "Don't they have anything better to do-- actually, they probably don't," she sighed. "Are they at least as crazy about their own heroes?" she asked wearily as she started eating her lunch.
Shin just looked up Nimbus and Rohan. While top results were of Rohan's early passing it didn't take much snooping to find dozens of fan pages and websites for Nimbus, Rohan, and who Shin assumed were other Cloud Striders. "Yes," he said slowly after a few minutes. Wolf made a curious noise through her lunch. "They seem to be crazy about their Cloud Striders too," he elaborated. "I just don't think we have a fanclub together in the City and Neomuna does," Shin said.
Wolf sighed, "Why does that sound like 'yet'?"
"Because it probably is," Shin agreed.
"Being a hero isn't worth the press, I swear," Wolf rubbed her eyes.
"It sure ain't," Shin grumbled and went back to reading the news, ignoring the comments.
Ghost appeared when Wolf was half finished with her meal. "Cat's sending you two on a strike," he said.
"Hmm?" Shin looked up at Ghost. "We're still recovering from Strand burnout," Shin said.
"They know but this seems more urgent," Ghost said. "The Legion have dived into the Vex Net through the hole Sam mentioned yesterday to investigate. The ones that made it back out reported Taken-
"The ones that made it back out?" Wolf asked.
"Yes. And some didn't return. Three Legion and three Hidden went in, two Scouts reported back."
"That's a lot of Guardians for one strike," Shin said slowly.
"It was exploratory, not a strike," Ghost said.
"What else did the Scouts say?" Wolf asked.
"Some claimed they heard a voice, it didn't sound Vex. One of the Scouts claimed one of the Hidden attacked them after they encountered a strange Goblin. Sid has been reporting an increase in complaints from the Neomuni in the Cloud Ark; trouble sleeping and when they do sleep they report vivid nightmares and voices they say 'sound like the devil himself'."
"Like a big scary Fallen?" Wolf asked.
"Mmm, I think its a turn of phrase we no longer posses," Ghost said slowly. "Not like House Devils. I think 'the devil' is an evil entity? And Sid says that they've also noticed higher aggression in the Neomuni as well. More citizens have been put into temporary stasis because of it."
"So we're going in there to... what? Find the missing Guardians? Figure out where the voice is-
"Find the missing Guardians," Ghost clarified. "Cat and Osiris are worried about the voice but they don't think there's much that can be done."
"Let Wolf finish her lunch and we'll get going," Shin said before she could jump from the table.
"But-
"But what?" he asked, raising his eyebrows at her.
She grumbled wordlessly and went back to her lunch. "The two Scouts that made it out are joining you for the strike," Ghost added.
"What about Fox?" Wolf asked.
"Cat reached out to her but Amelia said she's in no condition to go. Her Strand burnout is a magnitude greater than yours it seems," Ghost said with a frown in his voice.
"Well she did just pick it up yesterday and then that shit at the Radial Mast happened so I'm not surprised," Shin said gravely. "So us and two Legion. We should be able to manage, and find those Guardians. And maybe smash a big Taken Vex."
"I like smashing big Taken Vex," Wolf said quietly and Shin chuckled.
Wolf finished up her lunch and they pulled on their helmets and headed out for the Harbor. Sam sent them a way point to an area near Maya's Retreat where the hole into the Vex Net had been created. Two Guardians were nearby, helmets off.
"Why is it always you two?" Shin asked as he and Wolf pulled their sparrows up to the short cliff Eric and Savant were sitting on, waiting. They were both in the same armor as they'd been in in the Throne World, heavy leather gear emblazoned with the Scouting Legion's mark on Eric's vest and Savant's robe.
"You think anyone but a Vex guy could get out of the Network?" Eric asked, incredulous. "Also; hello, glad you could make it."
"We were at Rohan's... funeral? Memorial?" Wolf wasn't quite sure.
Eric and Savant both frowned. "Yeah, we heard about that," Savant said. "We were in the Net when it happened."
"Shame," Eric said.
"It was," Wolf said quietly.
"So what's the situation down there?" Shin asked them, leaning back to look at the strange hole in the world.
"There's some... presence down there," Savant said. "Not a Vex. Something else."
"The voice of 'the devil himself'?" Wolf asked.
"He certainly sounded like it, yes," Savant was grave. She wasn't used to seeing him like that. They both seemed grave actually.
"What happened in there? Ghost said you reported a member of the Hidden attacked you?" Wolf asked.
"Yes. We were exploring and then we came across a Goblin but it was different," Savant said seriously. "Cheyenne went to check it out because we'd only been seeing Taken until then. It... did something to her. She turned, went Radiant and started throwing swords at us. We gunned her down. Her Ghost agreed not to revive her. I inspected the Goblin but it was inert when I did."
"After that we started hearing the voice," Eric said. "First just me and Savant and then the others. The Legion and Hidden aren't spooked easily but this spooked us."
"And how did you get separated?" Wolf asked.
"I said we needed to go back," Savant said. "I could hear it the clearest. Whatever is in there is evil. The type of evil five Guardians of our caliber were not prepared for."
"You wanted to call in the big gun," Shin said, looking over at Wolf. For some reason she flushed and was grateful she was wearing a helmet.
"Or just more back up. The others didn't agree. They kept pushing forward. We saw them engage in another one of the Goblins and that's when Eric grabbed me and said we needed to go, now," Savant said seriously.
"So you think they killed each other?" Shin asked.
"Possibly," Eric said. "But if there were more of those Goblins and the others couldn't stop themselves from engaging we needed to get the heck out."
"If they knew it was dangerous why did they engage?" Wolf asked.
Eric looked at Savant. "I heard it speaking in the evil voice before Cheyenne went up to it, same with the other Goblin. It was calling to them," Savant said.
"That is...
"-Pretty fucked up," Shin finished. Yeah. What? The fuck? "And you didn't feel compelled to engage with the Goblin?" he asked them.
"No," Savant shook his head.
"I didn't hear it," Eric shrugged.
They were all quiet for a moment, digesting this. Wolf had never heard anything like this. None of them had. Something that could make a Guardian turn on their fireteam? That was scary. "Well, we can't leave them down there. At the very least we need to find their Ghosts," she said.
"Yes," Savant nodded. "We have Cheyenne's Ghost and part of her body for revive but we sent him along back to Strider's Gate. No idea what she'll be like on revive, if the madness sticks or not."
"The Praxic will have a fucking field day with that if so," Shin groaned.
"You guys can help us navigate this part of the Net? I assume you did some mapping?" Wolf asked.
"Some, yes," Eric nodded.
"It's almost useless to map the Vex Net," Savant said, "it changes."
"Not always," Wolf said. "It maintains some consistency."
"Yes," Savant agreed at length.
"Well. Let's go find those Guardians," Wolf said.
"Yes," Eric hopped down, her Ghost transmatting her smooth black glass helmet on. Savant looked nervous and Wolf frowned at him in concern. He slid down to the ground and pulled on a helmet.
"What is that" Shin asked.
"My helmet?" Savant asked back and even his speakers sounded weird. He was wearing an helmet she'd never seen. It was a Solstice of Hero's helmet, the one with the fin on top, shaded to match his brown leather.
"Why are you wearing a Solstice Helmet?" Wolf asked. It was also weird seeing him in it. She almost immediately forgot it was Savant.
"Its... the only helmet I have that's good," Savant said foolishly. Wolf stared at him.
"What do you mean it's your only helmet?" she asked.
"Well I only wear the Sin, and that's the problem-
"Even I have more than one helmet!" Shin cried, indignant. "Are you fucking stupid?"
There was a beat and then, "Yes," Eric and Savant said at the same time. Shin smacked his hand against the front of his helmet.
"Look it was spooky okay!" Savant cried. "That voice... it really freaked me out. No one else could hear it but me and the only variance in gear between me and the Hidden was the Sin."
"Great," Shin huffed.
"Let's just get into the Vex Net," Wolf said. "Eric?" Eric looked at her attentively, "You're on point."
"Fun," she said without any cheerfulness. Then she walked over to the strange hole in the world. They followed her as she held onto her hood and jumped into the hole.
"Well at least now you look the right height," Shin said to Savant as they switched from speakers to comms.
"You know our Gambit shippers-
"If you finish that sentence I'm killing you myself," Shin snarled and Wolf couldn't help the little snicker she gave as they fell through the Vex Net.
--
The Vex Net was what Wolf was expecting and not. The Taken infestation was intense and she didn't like it. Why were there still Taken here? Quaria was dead. Oryx was dead. Who was making Taken? She shuttered thinking she knew the answer: the Witness. Whatever it was. It had to have all sorts of horrible powers she couldn't even begin to comprehend.
She'd done a good job not thinking about the Witness through all this. If she did she'd just collapse and she knew it. So she just focused on what she could do. Strand. The Radial Mast. Calus. The Veil. Once Calus was dealt with and the Veil secured then she could freak out about the Witness. She and Ghost had tried to talk about what had happened on Neomuna and why it was different than the other times and he just said, 'I didn't like it. It was cold', and she'd been so horrified she hadn't been able to bring it up again. The times previous hadn't been like that. He just... forgot. This was the first time he remembered.
She was not thinking about that as they gunned down various Taken enemies. A lot of phalanxes and hobgoblins. What were they doing here? Why specifically them? Eric was leading through through a circuitous route somewhere.
They found their first dead Guardian ten minutes deep in the Net, a Scout, blown apart by the Light. All they found was their arm hanging off a block. "Well, we found them," Shin said seriously. "You recognize them?"
"No," Eric shook her head.
"Where's their Ghost?" Ghost asked. "Everyone ping." All the Ghosts did so. After a few seconds Ghost and Ghostie flew off and found a Ghost with a chipped shell poke its optic out from behind a hole it'd found.
"Are you guys safe?" it asked nervously.
"Yes! Yes our Guardians are normal," Ghost said.
"Oh good. Thank the Traveler, that was horrible," and they floated up to join the two of them. "Can I bring my Guardian back?"
"No," Ghostie said as they led the Ghost back to the fireteam.
Wolf held her hand out and Ghost nudged the new Ghost to float over to her. "Your Guardian was Legion?" she asked it.
"Yes-- oh you're the Young Wolf. That's a relief," it sagged in the air above her hand. "I have to believe he'll be okay if you're here."
"Does anyone hear that?" Shin suddenly asked.
"Hear what?" Savant asked nervously. Wolf closed her hands around the Ghost protectively as Ghost vanished back into her pocket.
"It's a voice," Shin said slowly.
"Its deep and menacing?" Savant asked.
"Yeah. I can't really make out what it's saying."
"Wait why can Shin hear it?" Eric asked. "You're not wearing a tuning helmet like Savant was."
"Sorry what?" Wolf asked.
"The Nezarec Sin is a type of helmet that acts like a tuning fork for the Light to supercharge it," Eric said. "There are various exotics that do it but the Sin is especially good at Void for Warlocks."
Wolf blinked at them, "What's the helmet made of?" she asked.
"A type of metal alloy?" Eric said, confused.
"But what else?"
"Nothing else? Its made in a foundry."
"Voice is getting louder," Shin said. "It... reminds me of Rhulk because he keeps talking about the same thing over and over again, an obsession."
"With what?" Wolf asked.
"Pain."
"Yeah," Savant said and Wolf was surprised his voice vibrated he was so nervous.
Shin turned around pulled out his Thorn and before any of them had even noticed the fully normal Goblin, shot it through the jug, shattering it. The Goblin collapsed with a clatter of metal. "Okay, voice is gone," Shin said. "I can see why it freaked you out," Shin told Savant.
"Was pretty spooky."
"It was."
Wolf looked down at the Ghost in her hands and opened them slightly, "What happened to your Guardian?"
"He tried to help the others when they fell to those Goblins. He never interacted with one. Someone who did blew him up with a some Arc Light. But he's safe. Please I promise he's safe too," it said.
"We can't take that chance right now," Wolf said solemnly. "Collect his arm but do not revive. Once we're out of here you can revive him under watch at Strider's Gate." The Ghost looked up at her miserably. It hesitated. "I'm the Young Wolf, remember? It'll be fine," and she stroked it's fin like Ghost liked too.
The Ghost nodded warily. "Y-yeah, that's true. Okay," and it floated up out of her hands and over to the arm. She watched it suck the arm into its digital storage and then fly back over to her, shimmering away as it did. Now she was carrying two Ghosts.
While she was dealing with the Scout's Ghost the others had gone over to the Goblin. Savant was squatted beside it, looking it over, while Eric and Shin stood flanking him. She went over to them. "So?"
"It's been corrupted somehow," Savant said holding up a piece of glass with some Radiolaria on it in one hand and a clearly powerful magnifying glass in the other hand, looking at the glass slide. "The Radiolaria is different than others I've looked at. Even Vex built for the extreme temperatures of Mercury or Europa don't have Radiolaria like this. It's still Radiolaria. But its been changed. I can see Darkness in it."
"Which is crazy since the Vex already have Darkness in them," Eric said as a explanation for Wolf and Shin and this was way over their heads.
"That voice is changing the Vex in here," Savant said slowly. Then he wiped the slide off and put away the magnifying glass. He pulled out a knife instead that was weird looking, it was short and dull and Wolf realized what it was for as Savant shoved it into the head of the Vex and pried off the face plate; it was a shellfish shucker. She'd seen them at restaurants. But it did the job here of opening the Vex cranium and Savant stood up with all the bits of the Vex's head exposed.
"Isn't the thinking unit the Radiolaria?" Shin asked.
"The Radiolaria is like the computing center," Savant said. "But all these chips and boards do the thinking and moving of the Vex. It processes the thousands of signals from the Radiolaria into a single thought and moves the Vex."
"So what are you looking for?" Eric asked.
"Damage to the inside. Shin killed it instantly with a shot to the Radiolaria capsule. So any damage would have been made before that."
"And?"
"I am seeing arcing, and soot."
Shin leaned over to look and Wolf did too. The inside of the Vex's head was full of chips on a board and even she knew what Arc damage did to electronics. "That's not soot," Shin said.
"No?" Savant asked.
Shin put his hand close to the cranium and they all watched as the 'soot' rose up like smoke, reaching for Shin. Savant dropped the cranium in fright. "It's the Dark. You don't have any so it didn't react to you."
"Except when he was wearing that helmet," Wolf said. "Did you hear anything, Eric?"
"A little?" she shrugged. "Whispers."
"How many Stasis users were in your group?"
"... I was the only one. Xander and Ikora are really against members using Stasis if possible," she admitted.
"Do you have your helmet still? The Sin," Wolf said. Savant nodded. "Bring it out." Savant did so. Wolf took her helmet off, took the Sin from Savant, and put it on. "You really have a HUD like this?" she asked him, incredulous.
"It's a standard HUD!" he cried.
"Warlocks are out of control," she said because it was cluttered and messy and full of stats and shit. What the fuck were Warlocks doing? "You said this was a tuning exotic?" Wolf asked Eric. She nodded.
"You don't use those," Ghost said helpfully.
"Yeah," she said slowly. She rolled her shoulders and faceted Void over her Light. The voice was immediate.
"I am pain," growled the voice that certainly sounded like 'the devil himself' as the Neomuni were putting it. "I am the shadow bursting from your own-
Wolf pulled the helmet off. "Yeah that sucks," she said. The voice was gone now but she could still hear an unintelligible... noise. She looked at the helmet. "A foundry made this?"
"Yes," Eric said. "Why it can hear the voices I have no idea."
Shin took the helmet out of Wolf's hands. "Well it doesn't feel evil," he said.
"Because you're a checker for that?" Savant asked.
"Yes," Shin said without any humor. It still almost made her laugh. "It might be the tuning aspect? Its shaped in such a way that its attuned to this force."
"Great, my helmet is tuned to an evil talk radio," Savant complained.
"At least its just the helmet, he's still going for me," Shin said and they all heard his grimace.
"But why?" Eric asked. "Yeah you use Hunger but that's no more Dark than Stasis and I am only getting whispers."
They all stood there puzzling it for a little while. Why was Shin hearing it when the other Darkness users weren't? It didn't make any sense. It made sense why Savant couldn't hear. Wolf was just staring at the Nezarec's Sin in Shin's hands when she thought about yesterday and Fox checking on him after he'd black out. The same way she had when she'd found him almost Real Dead in the H.E.L.M. "It's the bones," she said.
"What?" they all looked at her.
"You Consumed his bones you idiot," she told Shin.
"Who's bones?" Eric asked.
"Nezarec's bones. This helmet is the Nezarec's Sin. Why's it this shape?" she asked Eric.
"Uh... I'm not sure? Any Ghost want to sound off?"
"Its the shape of Nezarec's helmet, sort of," Ghostie said. "Or at least depictions of it from the Collapse."
"How do you know that?" Eric asked him.
"I got a little worried about it when Savant picked it up since Nezarec was an old scary story from the Collapse. I wanted to make sure it was just aesthetic. We've gotten new scary stories since then since Nezarec was killed so I didn't ever bring it up."
"By... who?"
"I don't know. But his helmet was shaped like the Sin."
"And you Consumed those relics," Wolf pointed at Shin.
"Look. They had to go," Shin insisted. "They were bad. It's not like I ate them. My Hunger Consumed them. The bones aren't like... inside of me or anything."
"But they still almost killed you. Hunger almost killed you because you Consumed them," Wolf said. "That's why you hear him."
"... You're not saying Nezarec is alive," Savant said.
"Who else would it be?"
"He was specifically destroyed, somehow, during the Collapse. We helped you track down his bones," Savant insisted.
"Well it seems Guardians aren't the only things bad at staying dead. We don't even know what he really is-
"A disciple of the Witness," Shin said and seemed surprised even as it came out of his mouth.
"How do you know that?" she asked.
"How do I know that?" he asked himself. "I don't... know? I don't remember," he said slowly.
"Look this is great but I don't think Nezarec is here," Eric said. "We still have Guardians to locate. That is what this mission is for, not Nezarec."
"She's right, we need to get those Guardians and get out. Nezarec is a problem for another day," Shin handed Savant his helmet back.
"I'll add it to the list," Wolf said sarcastically. It got a chuckle but no laugh.
--
They continued through the Net. They only had two more Guardians left to find. They followed the path Eric laid out and eventually did find another body. Multiple bodies. The Ghost had remade them several times as separate bodies trying to get their Guardian further away from whatever it was but it didn't work. Wolf had had this happen to her a few times. Ghost didn't just remake her once but over and over so she could see her own corpse. It hadn't been in a long time though. He only did it in desperate measures.
Shin whistled softly. "There was some fight here," he said looking around.
"You recognize him?" Wolf asked Eric and Savant.
"Titan, has to be Hidden," Savant said. "I don't recognize her personally."
"So we have a Hidden Warlock, the arm, and this Titan, who's missing?"
"Another Hidden Warlock. The Ghost we found confirmed it to be Geoff Curry, one of the Legion," Ghostie said.
"We need to find her Ghost," Ghost said. They all pinged.
"Hello?" a voice called from far off. "Are you safe?"
"We're safe," Eric called back.
The Ghost descended from on high, their shell shattered and gone, all that remained was their core. The other Ghosts flew up to them and guided them down into Wolf's hand. They fully plopped into her palm, exhausted. "It's safe," Wolf told them.
"Oh its you. Thank the Traveler. Thank the Light. I tried so hard but she wouldn't listen to me. She kept trying to go back. She kept trying to fight," the Ghost cried.
"So she was affected by a Goblin?"
"Yes. Her and Haven-7. That's who's left. Haven's a powerful Voidwalker. She and my Guardian kept trying to kill each other and I kept trying to pull her away-- she wouldn't listen to me. Something was wrong with her. I don't know. I don't know," the Ghost shuttered in her hand.
"It's okay. Shin, cut a piece of their Guardian off. One of you pull it into your digital inventory." She turned back to the Ghost, "I'm going to put you with Geoff's Ghost, okay? You're safe with me."
"Okay. Okay," the Ghost whimpered.
"Magpie has a hand," Shin reported.
"Alright. Then we need to find Haven," Wolf said. "If she killed this Guardian she's still alive."
"Only way forward is through," Eric said seriously.
"Let's go," Wolf agreed.
--
It was deeper in the Network than they'd ever been. Ghost had eventually transmatted Wolf's old Splicer gauntlet out of his inventory and onto her arm so she could keep track of the space. The Net seemed darker here. The whispers louder. Shin was getting noticeably more agitated as they went. "You good?" Savant asked him.
"Its just annoying. I can't shut him up," Shin said, smacking the side of his helmet.
They also came across more corrupted Goblins and destroyed them before they could get too close. At first they seemed like normal Goblins. Then Wolf recognized them as Fanatics, even if they still had their heads. They charged at the fireteam and tried to get in their proximity. There were also more Taken. Between the Goblins and the Taken they were in a constant firefight.
The Ghosts also pinged Haven's Ghost regularly but couldn't find her. Couldn't find Haven. But Wolf could feel her presence in the Net thanks to the Splicer gauntlet. She led on point through the Net.
Finally. They found her. She was standing an open area. Her helmet was cracked open from her fights with the other Guardians and her Ghost had never healed her. She wore the Hidden's uniform of dark teal and heavy padding like they'd seen in the Throne World. Around her were the scuff marks of Taken. So she was killing Taken but not Vex.
"Hey," Shin said before they jumped down there. "Can I just do it?"
"Do what?" Wolf asked.
"Fight her."
They looked at him. "You okay?"
"No," he growled and there was a darker tenor to his voice than usual. Not the same she'd heard when she put on the Sin. But something Dark was lodged in his throat. "This-- its driving me crazy. They're all driving me crazy."
"... All?" Eric asked nervously.
"Leave it," Wolf said. "The shades are back?"
"What-
"Leave it," Wolf said again, sharper this time. Shin just nodded and she saw him playing with the strap of his holster of the Last Word at his hip. He was antsy. "Well... you are singularly the best Guardian hunter we have," Wolf said. "Do not shoot her Ghost."
"Her Ghost isn't around," Shin said.
"You're seriously letting him fight her himself? Haven is a very strong Warlock," Eric said.
"Shin is a very strong Hunter," Wolf said back. "This is what he does." She looked at Shin, "Go take care of it."
"Thank the Light," he muttered, all Dark cloying resentment.
Shin flowed down into the open area and Haven noticed him immediately. "I still think this is a bad idea," Eric said. "What if he also gets tainted?"
"There aren't any Goblins," Wolf said as Shin engaged Haven in a duel.
"But he's hearing Nezarec in his head. And shades? What the fuck do you mean shades?"
"That is need to know information. You don't need to know," Wolf said.
"I do if it's dangerous."
"Its not."
"Says you."
"Yes," Wolf leveled her helmet at Eric, "Says me." And that was the end of it when Eric shied away. Not many Guardians could withstand the force of Wolf's authority when she used it.
They watched as Shin and Haven dueled. Or rather, Shin dueled; Haven threw grenades at him. He was an expert of getting out of the way and chipping away at an enemy. Wolf had never seen him work like this before, it was fascinating. Each crack of the Last Word found itself in Haven somewhere but she barely seemed to notice. Whatever rage was fueling her made her ignore the bullets, ignore the pain.
"Is she going to be okay?" a new voice suddenly asked, startling them all. Wolf whipped to the side and saw a Ghost with a crescent shell.
"Is Haven yours?" Wolf asked.
"Yes. I'm sorry. I didn't-- I hoped she'd get killed by the Taken and I could take her away," the Ghost whimpered. "Will she be okay?"
Wolf held out her hand and the Ghost floated over it. "Yes. She will be. We came to bring her home."
"Holy shit," Savant gasped and Wolf looked in time to see Shin with a knife jump toward Haven. Then in a complicated feat of acrobatics he slid over her shoulder, knife in her neck, then back around her other shoulder so he landed facing away from her on her front. In her hand was her whole head and helmet. He jammed the knife back into its sheath on his leg and pulled the helmet off so he just had the Exo head as the body crumpled behind him.
He started climbing back up towards them, Haven's head tucked under his arm.
Wolf had never been more attracted to him than in that moment. Holy shit what a move! It was so perfectly executed and he'd done it so flawlessly. "W-was that necessary?" Savant stammered.
"She was annoying me," Shin growled. "You found her Ghost."
"Her Ghost found us," Wolf said.
"Then here," he offered Haven's head to the Ghost. The Ghost gave a soft pitiful sound of anguish but transmatted Haven's head into her inventory. "Let's get the fuck out of here before I get more angry," he said, barely restraining himself.
"You need to relax-
"Shut up," Shin snapped at Eric. She'd never seen him snap like that. Eric flinched at being barked at.
"We're going," Wolf agreed. "Shin you're on point. Kill anything in our way."
"Good," he said darkly and followed the waypoint Ghost had given him. There were more Taken and Goblins to kill. They needed to wade out of this part of the Net so Wolf could Splice them out. Eric hung back with Savant as they made their way out.
Finally they were somewhere Wolf could Splice an opening and an elevator of light appeared. High above was another light. Their way out. "Shin, you first," she said and he stepped into the light. "You two okay?" she asked Savant and Eric as the elevator took Shin up.
"I've never seen him like that," Eric said quietly. "He doesn't usually yell and mean it."
"He's been a little extra stressed beyond this. He'll probably feel bad later and apologize," Wolf told her. Eric nodded but didn't sound like she believed Wolf. She made Eric and Savant go next so she could Splice the Net closed at the end.
"Let's not do that again," Savant said as they were ejected from the Network, spat out like bad food onto some unfamiliar terrain no where close to where they'd gone in. They were closer to the Pyramid than where they'd went in.
"For real," Eric agreed.
"Let's just... get out of here," Shin said, sounding hollowed out and tired. "Fuck I need a beer and a nap," he complained.
Wolf made an amused noise, "I'm sure Naya would be happy to hunt down a beer for you," she told him as they called up their sparrows.
"She better when she's in our fucking fan club," he grumbled and that made the others laugh. He was still in a pissy mood but not as bad as in the Network.
"First we need to drop off these Guardian parts and Ghosts to the others," Wolf said.
"Yeah yeah," Shin muttered.
Wolf turned her sparrow in the way Ghost said to go to get back to the city proper and gunned it. The others followed swiftly behind, leaving the closed Network Splice in their wake.