The view from the tower was certainly beautiful during this time of day. With the view of the city that shines brightly from within the night, the Traveler hovering above it in the air and the starry night shining above in the sky, it was perfect. Especially for a certain Guardian.

Sitting on the ledge of a platform that overlooked the city was a Hunter-Classed Guardian dawned in blue, black and gray armor with his helmet, The Knucklehead Radar, resting by his side showing that he had long, messy blue hair, bright blue eyes and rosy skin, with a few scars that he had gained through the missions that he partaken in.

With a calm smile on his face, the Guardian sat in silence as he enjoyed the scenery in front of him, enjoying the peace and quiet that surrounded him as he can feel a gentle breeze blow through his hair. As he was taking in the view in front of him he noticed a flicker out of the corner of his eye and heard a familiar voice.

"Enjoying the view, Marcus?" A voice asked. The Guardian then looked over at the source of the voice and saw his ghost floating by his side, seeing the different look it had gained since they first found each other. Its coloring was now gray and blue and, while maintaining its three-dimensional star shape and blue optic eye, now had four spines on its shell giving it a unique look. Not as unique as the shells the other Guardians have, but the Hunter was fine with the shell he has now.

"I'm pretty sure you already know my answer." Marcus said to his Ghost with a soft grin causing it to let out a soft chuckle in response.

"Yeah, yeah, I know. But it doesn't hurt to ask now, does it?" Ghost remarked at Marcus causing the Hunter to also let out a soft chuckle.

"Fair enough." Marcus said to the Ghost with a smile before he looked back at the view of the city with the Ghost then looking at it with him. "Hard to believe it's already been three years since I've become a Guardian. Feels like it's only been yesterday." Marcus said after a moment of silence between the two.

"I know what you mean." Ghost said to Marcus. "Time does usually go by quickly whenever someone has a life as eventful as ours."

"Heh. True." Marcus said to Ghost with another soft chuckle. "Though, I can't help but miss the old days." He said softly as he looked up at the sky. "Destroying the Black Heart, slaying Crota, capturing Skolas for Queen Mara, defeating Oryx, containing Siva. I just cant help but wish I can experience all that all over again."

"But don't you still have the recordings of those battles? Why not just simply watch them again?" Ghost asked Marcus as it looked over at the Hunter in confusion.

"While I do have them, I think actually experiencing them again is a lot better than just simply watching an old recording of said events." Marcus said to his Ghost as he looked back at it.

"Oh. Fair enough, I guess." Ghost responded back to him, now feeling a bit awkward causing Marcus to chuckle softly once more. He then looks back at the city as silence filled the area between the two again.

"...Hey Marcus." Ghost said to the Hunter causing him to look over at him. "Considering how massive the Galaxy is, and how we constantly have to deal with creatures that wish to destroy what's left of humanity... you ever wonder what we might face next?" It asked him.

That caused Marcus to place a hand on his chin as he thought about it. "I have... though, I learned that it's best to keep an open mind about who we might fight next and to always be ready for anything. Otherwise, you'll only set yourself up for disappointment... and death." He said to Ghost before shaking his head. "But now's not the time for those kind of thoughts. Now's the time to relax."

"Right. Sorry." Ghost said in a apologetic tone causing Marcus to let out a soft laugh and to pat the top of it lightly.

"Ah, don't worry about it, little light. Shit happens." Marcus said to it with a grin, which caused Ghost to narrow its optic eye at him as it got closer to his face.

"I told you not to call me that!" Ghost yelled at him in an annoyed tone which caused the Hunter to laugh harder from its reaction. Marcus then moved the Ghost away from his face as he smiled at it.

"Oh, relax Ghost. There's nothing wrong with a little teasing." Marcus said to it with the Ghost letting out an annoyed sigh in response.

After all that, silence then returned as the two went back to enjoy the view of the city. Unfortunately for them, just as they were about to enjoy the view again, Ghosts parts then open up and began to orbit around the central orb where its eyes was. "Hold on. I'm picking up a transmission. From Gale." Ghost said to Marcus which caused the Hunter to let out a soft groan as he pinches the bridge of his nose.

"Really? Now of all times?" Marcus mumbled out to himself in annoyance before letting out a sigh, moving his hand away as he looked back at Ghost. "Patch him through." He said to him

Ghost nods at him before saying "Patching him through now." After a few moments of silence as Ghost worked on getting the transmission through, Marcus heard the familiar sound of an Exo.

'Marcus. We need to talk.' Gale-49s voice came in.

"What do you want, Gale? In case you don't know, I'm kinda in the middle of something at the moment." Marcus responded to him.

'Well, whatever it is, it can wait. The Vanguard wishes to speak with us.' Gale-49 responded back. That caused the Hunter to look over at his Ghost as both grew confused. What did the Vanguard want from us this time?

"Um. Any idea as to why they want to see us?" Ghost asked Gale.

'We do not know yet. But judging from how serious their tone was... it must be something of importance.' Gale responded to Ghost.

Marcus began to grow not only more confused, but also curious from his words. What would cause the Vanguard to grow this serious? The Hive? Taken? A new enemy? Whatever it is, he needed to know. Letting out a sigh, Marcus stood up as he spoke to the Titan again. "Alright, I'll be right there. Just give me a minute, would ya?" He said to him.

'Understood. Meet us by The Hall of Guardians entrance. We'll be awaiting your arrival.' Gale said before ending the transmission.

"Well, that was... interesting, to say the least." Ghost commented to Marcus as The Hunter grabbed his helmet.

"Yeah, no kidding." Marcus said to Ghost as he puts his helmet on, its holographic radar lighting up. "Well, we better get moving. Don't want the Vanguard to keep waiting on us." He said to Ghost, with the construct nodding in response before vanishing in a flash of light back into its spot in the Guardians head. He then turned and began heading off to the courtyard of The Tower.

As he walked through The Tower, he passes by the different shops and vendors that were apart of it and the many Guardians that were going about their business. As he passed them, Marcus would nod to a few of his fellow Guardians to which they would nod back in return.

Soon he arrives at the courtyard and walks to where the Hall of Guardians should be when he saw two familiar figures waiting by the entrance. An Exo Titan wearing Vanguard Mangonel armor with the Armamentarium chest piece, all colored white and blue, and an Awoken Warlock in Queen Guards armor with the Obsidian Mind head piece resting by her side.

The Exo Titans' head was colored white as it had dark blue robotic eyes with blue markings going up across his face while The Awoken Warlocks' skin was light blue and had bright neon blue eyes, with her hair light purple.

They were Gale-49 and Zirith Grel.

As Marcus walked over to his fireteam, Gale-49 then noticed his presence and looked over at the approaching Hunter. "Ah. There you are, Marcus." He said to him as Zirith looked over at him.

"Its so good to see that you've finally arrived." The Warlock said to him with a soft smile on her face.

"Yeah, sorry for not arriving sooner. Was kinda busy enjoying some sightseeing before I got the call." Marcus said to the both of them as he rubbed the back of his head.

"So that's what you meant? You were in the middle of some sightseeing?" Gale-49 asked him to which the Hunter nods in response. "Hm. Well, as I said before, it'll have to wait." He said to him before nodding his head toward the entrance. "Come on now. The Vanguard doesn't have all day." He said to him.

Marcus nods at Gale before they all began to make their way through the entrance, passing by Eris Morn and Lord Shaxx as they can see the Vanguard at the end of the hall with a holographic display of Mercury on their table. Zavala then notices them approaching and gains a small smile. "Fireteam Omega. It's good to see that you've arrived." The Vanguard Titan said to them as Cayde-6 and Ikora Rey looked over as well and smiled at the sight of them.

"We came here as soon as we could, commander." Gale-49 said to Zavala as both Marcus and Zirith were looking over at the Holographic Mercury with curiosity. "So, what's the situation? What could be so important to have caused this meeting?" He asked with a tone of curiosity.

Zavala nods at him when his face grew serious. "We've received numerous reports from patrolling Guardians on Mercury about the recent activity of the Vex. More specifically... lack thereof." He explains to the fireteam.

"Wait. Are you actually saying that they're just... gone?" Marcus asked Zavala as he raised an eyebrow. The Vanguard Titan nods at him. "Then where the hell did they go?"

"We're not exactly sure yet. But, there's a slight possibility that they might've went underneath the surface." Cayde-6 explains to Marcus causing Zirith to look over from the hologram to the Hunter Vanguard.

"Going underground?" Zirith asked him. "That... doesn't sound like something they would do." She says to her as she rests one of her hands on her waist.

"That's what we thought as well. Which is why we're sending you out to Mercury to see if that's the case." Ikora Rey says to Zirith.

"You want us to go underground to check and see if one of your hunches are correct?" Marcus asked her as he folds his arms.

Cayde then nods at the Hunter. "That's right. It may be unlikely, but we need to be sure if it's true or not. For all we know, the Vex could be planning something big." He said and looks at the holographic Mercury. "And if that's the case, we need to figure out what exactly they're planning." He then looks back at them. "And you three are our best chance on finding out what it is."

The fireteam grew silent as they process the information they were given. The idea of the Vex going underground seemed very unlikely to them. But... due to their unpredictable nature, there might be a slim chance of it being the case. And if that's the case, then that brings the question: What are they up too?

Gale-49 then let's out a soft sigh when he looks over at Zavala. "Any idea on where we can start?" He asked him.

Zavala nods at him. "While our scouts were trying to figure out where the Vex had gone to, they've managed to discover an opening that leads under Mercury's surface and found high amounts of activity around that area. They were met with heavy resistance." Zavala explains to the fireteam as a part of the hologram lit up, indicating that's the location he was referring to. "Ikora will provide you the coordinates to your Ghosts. Once there, I need you to investigate and report in anything noteworthy to us." He said as Ikora picks up a monitor and provides the Guardians with the coordinates to the opening.

"We'll do our best, Commander." Zirith said to Zavala with a nod as their ghosts gave them confirmation of the coordinates transmitted to them.

Zavala nods at her. "Good luck, Guardians." He said to them. And with that, the fireteam turn and began to make their way out of the Hall of Guardians. But as they were about to leave, Cayde-6 calls out to one of them.

"Hey, Marcus!" Cayde calls out to him causing the Hunter to stop and look over at him with a raised eyebrow. "...Be careful out there, would ya? I'd hate to loose my favorite Guardian." He said to him wholeheartedly with a smile, causing Marcus to grin at the Exo Hunter.

"Hey. Don't worry. I've handled worst." Marcus said to him in reassurance before turning away and making his way out of the hall with his fireteam. As he left, Ikora was smiling at the sight of the two hunters and looks over at Cayde.

"I see you and Marcus have developed quite a strong bond between the two of you." Ikora commented to Cayde causing him to look over and shrug.

"What can I say? Stuff like that tends to happen whenever two people train together for a long period of time." The Exo said to the Warlock Vanguard. "Besides, I can say the same thing about you and Zirith. From what I can tell, you two have a bond thats almost similar to that of you and Osiris. Except, you know, without the exile and you being obsessive about the Vex." He said to her.

"Zirith may have learned a lot from me. But our bond is nowhere close to what me and Osiris have built." Ikora said to Cayde as she developed a small frown at the mention of her old teacher.

Marcus P.O.V.

"So, considering how we have no idea what the Vex are up to, do we have a plan of action?" I asked my fireteam with curiosity as we were making our way to the hanger where our ships were waiting for us.

"Simple. We make our way to the opening, figure out what the Vex are up to, put a stop to whatever they're planning and kill any of them along the way." Gale said to me casually as we entered the Hanger.

I then saw Zirith look over to Gale with a raise eyebrow but also a small sly smile. "So, business as usual?" She asked him.

"In a manner of speaking." Gale responded to her causing both Zirith and me to let out a soft chuckle as we arrived at our ports where our ships were waiting for us. Gale's port having the Gloriole Jump, Zirith's having the Ceres Galliot and mine having the Timeless Tereshkova. As we approached our ships, I jumped into the cockpit as Ghost reappeared by my side.

"Ready to do this, Marcus?" Ghost asked me which caused me to glance over at it and let out a soft grin.

"You bet your ass I am." I said to Ghost as I flipped the proper switches causing the thrusters to turn on, during which I see Gale and Zirith's ships fly off from the hanger. I then felt the docking clamps release from my ship and I steered the vessel out the opening into the open air before zooming out into the night sky, the stars above growing bigger and bigger as I followed behind my fireteam until we breached through the Earth's atmosphere.

Once we arrived in orbit, I placed in the coordinates to Mercury into my ship which started the warp-drive to warm up. As I waited, I heard confirmation from both Gale and Zirith that their warp-drives were ready. I then see that my warp-drive was ready as well and I gave confirmation to them. After that, I threw the switch and I began to see light distort around my ship as it, along with Gale and Zirith's, shot forward, entering the warp tunnel.

Soon we exited from the warp-tunnel to reveal the machine world in front of us. Mercury, once a garden world known for its beautiful landscape, now a world made of both sand and machine, inhabited by both the Vex and the Cult of Osiris after its transformation during the Collapse.

We then brought our ships down into the planet's atmosphere and navigated toward where our Ghost's coordinates stated. Once we were close to our destination, we slowed down our ships and just as we arrived I teleported from my ship onto the ground along with the others. As we landed our ships thrusters powered up and shot back to the sky to wait to be summoned once more.

With the Arminius-D auto rifle in hand, I scanned around my surroundings to see if there were any hostiles in the area. As I do, I can see the sand covered landscape and Vex pillars that were apart of it, with some floating in midair, along with the massive beating sun that was afar on the horizon.

"Ghost. Are you picking anything up?" I heard Gale speak to his Ghost and I glance over to see him check every bit of his surroundings with his scout rifle in hand. I then see his Ghost materialize by his side wearing the Tower Watch shell as it did it's own scan of the area.

"Negative Gale. No Vex detected." Gale's Ghost said to his partner causing the Exo to lower his rifle but remained on guard just in case.

As I lowered my rifle as well, I looked back around my surroundings and, sure enough, I couldn't find a single Vex in area. No matter how hard I looked, there wasn't a single one on sight. "Man. They weren't kidding when they said there was a lack of Vex activity here." I said to my fireteam as I looked over at them and gestured to the landscape. "I mean, look at this! It's like they just packed up and left." I said to them.

"All the more reason to investigate." Gale said to me as he looked over at me before looking at his Ghost. "Ghost. How far are we from the opening?" He asked it.

"About 152 meters away, to the north east." Ghost answered Gale which caused the Titan to nod in response. As Gale's Ghost vanished in a flash of light back into his head, Gale looked back at us. "Come on, let's keep moving. The sooner we get there, the better." He said to us causing both me and Zirith to nod. We then summoned our sparrows and sped off to where the opening should be.

After a few minutes we stopped our sparrows behind an old Vex column that was tall enough to give us a clear view of the opening. As we got off, Gale-49 looked over at me. "Marcus. I need you to head up top to survey the area. We need to know how many Vex we're dealing with before we go charging in." He said to me.

I nod in response to him. "I'll be up there within a minute." I said to him with a grin before I ran up to the column. I then triple jump onto it and began ascending up.

As I arrived to the top I could see the opening up ahead, as well as some figures patrolling around it. Keeping my eye on it, I pull out a pair of binoculars. "Okay. Let's see how many of them are around." I said to myself as I look through the binoculars. As I looked around the area I could see a total of... 80 Vex, ranging from Goblins, Harpys, Minotaurs to Hobgoblins. "Oh... that many." I mumbled in shock and suprise as I lowered my binoculars.

"They... really weren't kidding with the reports." Ghost said to me from the inside of my head, shocked as well from the amount of Vex. I nod in agreement as I eyed at them.

"Marcus! You still with us?" I heard Zirith call out to me snapping me out of my shock. I then look back down to see both her and Gale looking up at me. "How many of them are there?" She asked me.

I looked back at the opening one last time before I holstered my binoculars and jumped down back to my fireteam, landing onto the ground with a thud. "About 80 in total. 40 Goblins, 10 Harpys, 20 Minotaurs and 10 Hobgoblins." I said to them as I stood up straight.

"Well... that certainly complicates things." Gale said to me.

"Yeah, no kidding." I said to him. "So, any ideas on how we're gonna get past them?" I asked as I folded my arms. I then see Gale place a hand on his chin as he goes into thought.

A minute passes as me and Zirith wait for his response when Gale removed his hand from his chin and looks over at me. "Marcus, I need you to head back up top and draw their attention toward you. When they're close enough, me and Zirith will commence a suprise attack on them from behind." Gale said to me. "Then, once we've begun our assault, I need you to provide covering fire for us and if possible I need you to use your Nightstalker subclass. Do you understand?"

"Draw their attention over to me, lure them over and provide support after you let out your suprise attack. Got it." I said to him with a nod.

"Good." Gale said as he pulled out his scout rifle. "Now, get into positions. Once we're ready, we'll begin our attack." He said to us. Both me and Zirith nod and Gale and Zirith began to make their way closer to the opening as I made my way up the column again.

Soon I arrived back on top and got into position, pulling out my sniper rifle as I get ready. "Gale, I'm in position." I said to Gale through the comms.

"As are we." Gale responded to me. "Make the shot count, Marcus."
I nod and then look through the scope of my sniper rifle, aiming it down at the Vex. I then focus my aim at one of the Hobgoblins and rest my finger by the trigger. "Alright. Say goodnight, Vex." I mumbled to myself when I pulled the trigger, watching as the bullet pierced through the Vex sniper killing it as it let's out a screech.

Third person P.O.V.

As the Hobgoblin drops dead as it let's out a screech, the other Vex stopped and looked over at the body of their fallen comrade to see that it had fallen. They then looked over at where the shot had originated to see Marcus sitting up there. Robotic eyes glowing red, they then began to make their way over to the Hunter with some teleporting forward as the Hobgoblins stayed behind to snipe him down. As the Hobgoblins aimed and fired at the Hunter, Marcus ducks down to avoid their fire.

As the Vex approached the Hunter, Gale and Zirith hid behind a Vex block as Gale peaked his head out at them. "On my mark." He said to Zirith as he held out his hand with three fingers up.

3...

2...

1...

"Mark!" Gale yelled out when they both ran from the Cube onto the Vex, Gale firing his scout rifle as Zirith hover up in the air and cast a Nova Bomb at them, destroying a group of them in the process.

The Vex's attention was then shifted towards the two Guardians and began to aim and fire their weapons at them, with some of the Hobgoblins shifting their focus on the two as well while the others kept their focus on Marcus. "Marcus! I need you to take out those Hobgoblins for us!" Zirith calls out to Marcus in the comms as she blasts through some Goblins with her pulse rifle.

"On it!" Marcus calls back to Zirith when he was shot by one of the Hobgoblins, his shield taking damage. "Gah! Damnit, you're annoying." He muttered in annoyance and aims at the Hobgoblins, shooting them down one by one.

As Gale and Zirith continue to fight off the Vex, Zirith noticed her shields about to give out and calls out to Gale. "Gale! I need a bubble, now!" She says to him as she tosses a void grenade at one of the Minotaurs, taking its shields down before destroying it.

"I'm on it!" Gale said to her. The Titan then sheathed his scout rifle and stretched his arms out at the sides. Suddenly, a void sphere appeared around the two, giving them extra protection from the Vex. "Marcus! We need your Shadowshot, now!" He calls out to Marcus in the comms.

"One pair of Shadowshots, coming right up!" Marcus responded when he puts down his sniper rifle and rubs his hands together. "This'll be good." He said to himself gleefully. He then sticks his hand out and summons his Nightstalker bow. He then pulls the string of the bow back where an arrow was formed and aims it at where the Vex were. He then let's go of the string and watches as the arrow pierces through the air before it just so happen to hit a Goblin, disintegrating it into the void. The arrow then changes into a ball of void when it tethered some of the Vex that were unfortunate enough to be close to it. He does the same action two more times which caused more Vex to be tethered by him.

Taking the opportunity, both Gale and Zirith quickly ran out of the sphere and shot some of the tethered Vex, killing them which then caused a chain reaction. As the first tethered Vex dropped dead, most of the others exploded and dropped dead as well with some being lucky enough to avoid it. Seeing that, both of them shot the remaining survivors, killing them. "How many of them are left, Marcus?" Gale asked Marcus when he took fire from some of he remaining minotaurs causing him to fall back into the sphere.

"About 30 in total." Marcus responded. Just as he said that Zirith jumped up in the air and casted another Nova bomb at a group of Goblins. "...Make that 24." Marcus corrected.

Gale nods at him as the sphere disappears. He then looks over at the remaining Vex and makes a decision. "Then I guess it wouldn't hurt to make a few changes." He said to himself. Then, as his body lit up in flames, he summons the Hammer of Sol in his hand and throws them at the Vex, with Zirith and Marcus aiding him as their numbers were quickly dwindling.

Soon there was only one Minotaur and three Harpies remaining with Gale and Zirith stood across from them. Gale then looks over at Zirith. "You want to finish them off?" He asked her.

Zirith looks over at him and shakes her head, smiling at him. "They're all yours, Gale." She said to him. Gale nods at her and looks back at the last four Vex when he pulls out a rocket launcher, aiming at them. He then pulls the trigger and fires a rocket at the Vex, blowing then up as chunks of them scattered across the area. Once his rocket was reloaded, he lowers it. "Area's secured. Finally." He said, letting out a sigh at the last part.

"Whew! That was a lot of fun!" Marcus's voice said behind them. They then turn to see Marcus approaching them with his sniper in hand. "To be honest, it wasn't as hard as I expected it to be."

"Well, don't celebrate just yet. We're only getting started." Gale said to him. "We still have to figure out what the Vex are up too." He reminded him.

"Right... right. I knew that." Marcus said to him as he rubbed the back of his helmet letting out a nervous chuckle.

Gale just rolled his eyes in response and gestured for him to follow. "Let's just keep moving." He said to him before he makes his way over to the opening.

Marcus let's out a soft sigh and follows behind him. As he does he felt someone gently pat his back and looks over to see Zirith by his side. "Hey, don't worry about it. Once we're done here, we'll be able to celebrate our victory back at the tower." She said to him as she gives him a comforting smile behind her helmet. Even though he couldn't see it, Marcus can tell that it was there and gives off a smile of his own.

"Heh... true." He said to her as they arrived at their destination to see Gale already looking down at it. As they approached him they looked down as well to see the deep, dark pit that would undoubtedly be filled with Vex. A robotic screech then echoes out from the pit

"Woah..." Marcus mumbled when he heard the screech as his Ghost materialize by his head. "What do you think is down there?" He asked.

"Uh... death?" Ghost answered Marcus nervously.

Marcus glances over at Ghost with a raised eyebrow. "Theirs or ours?" He asked it.

Before Ghost could respond Gale cuts it off. "Only way to find out is to go down there." He said to them before looking over. "Alright. We'll have to go in one by one to not draw in their attention." He said to them. "I'll go down first. Once I've reached the bottom, Zirith will follow behind. Marcus, you'll go- what are you doing?" Gale said when he cuts himself off when he saw Marcus take a couple of steps back away from the pit with Ghost vanishing into a flash of light. "...No. No, no, no. Don't you dare. Don't you da-!"

"See you guys at the bottom!" Marcus yelled out when he suddenly ran past them and leaped down into the pit. "Wahoo!" He yelled out happily as he descended deeper into the pit.

Gale and Zirith watch in silence as Marcus descends into the pit with Gale having a deadpanned expression before finally letting out a heavy sigh. "I really hate it when he does that." He mumbled in annoyance.

"Yeah, I know." Zirith says to him as she looks over. "But... it helps make him more unique, you know?" She said to him with a soft smile.

"I guess..." Gale mumbled to her before shaking his head. "Let's just get down there before he gets himself killed." He said to her. Zirith nods and they both jumped down into the pit after the Hunter. As they descended deeper, they brought out their Ghosts to provide a light source as they were consumed by the darkness.

After some time they finally arrived at the bottom of the pit and landed onto the ground with a thud. Looking around with their weapons in hand, they saw themselves inside of a massive tunnel with a few Confluxs here and there and saw in front of them... a ton of glowing red, robotic eyes glaring at them, weapons ready to kill the intruders.

"Huh. Looks like their hunch was correct." Marcus said outloud, taken aback from the amount of Vex in the area.

"Then that must mean they are planning something." Gale responded as he holsters his rifle. "Remember. Kill every Vex on sight. Leave none behind." He said as he activates his Sunbreaker super, with Marcus and Zirith doing the same with their supers.

"This is going to be one hell of a long day." Marcus mumbled to himself before they all jumped at the Vex, ready to fight.

Timeskip, brought to you by Chibi Fireteam Omega fighting Chibi Vex

After many hours of fighting through many countless hordes of Vex, Fireteam Omega finally arrived at what looked to be the end of the tunnel, seeing light ahead coming out from it. As a Minotaur drops down dead from gunfire, they press on through the tunnel to the end with Zirith adding in a fresh clip into her pulse rifle.

They then arrived at the end of the tunnel and found themselves in a massive room that looked to be empty from Hostiles. As they scanned the area, they saw that the room was filled with multiple active Vex warp gates that spread out across the area, but what caught their attention the most was the massive Vex Gate that was at the end of the room.

"Hmph. Looks like we found what we're looking for." Gale comments as he eyed at the Vex Gate.

"I've never seen so many Vex warp gates in one room before." Zirith said in awe as she eyes around the area. She then looks over at her fireteam. "Do you think they're gathering reinforcements to build up an army? If so, then for what?" She asked.

"Maybe to retake The Black Garden?" Marcus theorized with a shrug. "I mean, we've had a strong grip on it for quite a while now ever since we destroyed the Black Heart, so it would make some sense."

"That, or they could be planning an assault on The Last City." Gale said to them. "Either way, this needs to be reported back to the Tower." He then turns away from his fireteam and establishes communications with the Tower. "Zavala, this is Gale-49 of Fireteam Omega. We've managed to make our way underneath the planets surface and have discovered multiple Vex warp gates, along with a massive one. We believe that they are building up an army and are planning an assault. What their target is, we do not know. Please advise."

A couple of minutes have passed a silence filled the air between the three Guardians when Gale receives a response. "Gale, I need you to destroy those gates and to make sure they can never be used again. We can not let the Vex use them for whatever reason they carry." Zavala responds to him.

"Understood, Zavala. Gale out." Gale-49 responded with a nod before ending the communication line. He then looks over at Marcus and Zirith. "Alright, I've received new orders. We're to destroy every one of those warp gates and to make sure that they can never be used again. Understood?"

Zirith nods at him as Marcus says with a shrug "Fine by me." as he puts away his auto rifle and pulls out his rocket launched from his inventory.

Gale nods at them. "Good. And keep your eyes open. Theres a chance this could be a trap." Gale warns them before he makes his way down to the Vex gates. Zirith and Marcus follow suite as they kept their eyes around.

Suddenly, as they were about to reach the middle of the room, Gales Ghost spoke out to his Guardian. "Gale. I'm detecting a massive anomaly ahead of us." Gale quickly looks forward to see shimmering angular patterns floating around a big cloud of mist.

Eyes widening, Gale quickly yells out to his fireteam. "Everyone, get to cover, now!" They all then ran to some of the Vex pillars in the room and hid behind it for cover. Sure enough, emerging from the patterns and could of mist, was a massive Vex minotaur letting out a metallic screach. Its head, body and shoulders were triangular in shape and gray in color, and in its hand was, what looked to be, an Arc version of the Torch Hammer, ready and armed. As the three Guardians peeked their heads from the columns and looked at the massive minotaur a name and health bar appeared above it in their HUDs.

Zakren, Remnant Mind.

"Its an Axis Mind!" Zirith called out to her team only for her to pull her head back behind cover as Zakren turned its head to where she was and fired an arc blast at where it last saw her. She managed to avoid the blast but the explosion radius damaged her a bit.

"Oh, well this is just perfect!" Marcus yelled out sarcastically as he mentally cursed to himself at the situation. The Hunter then looks over at Gale. "Hey Gale! You sure you still want us to destroy the Gates with that thing here? Cause I'm pretty sure he won't like seeing us destroy them!" He yelled out to him.

Gale clenches his rifle tighter as he stared at the Minotaur. Of course there had to be an Axis mind here guarding the portals. It would make sense for them to do it. But they never had an arc version of the Torch Hammer before, so to actually see one being used was going to make things a bit more difficult.

"Alright, change of plans! I need you all to focus fire on the Mind! We can not let it interfere with our mission!" Gale yelled out to his fireteam.

"Right!" Both Marcus and Zirith said with a nod. Ziriths eyes then widen. "But we better hurry, because its heading your way!" She calls out to her team when she saw Zakren make his way over to where Gale and Marcus were.

"Wait, what!?" Marcus yelled out and peeks his head out only to see the Axis Mind towering over him with its foot up in the air, about to crush him. "Scatter!" The Hunter yelped out in shock and suprise with his eyes widened and blinked away just as the Mind stomps its foot at where Marcus once stood. As Marcus ran away from the Mind Zakren looked over at him and began to chase after him. "Oh come on!" Marcus yelled out as it fired arc blasts at him during which Gale ran from his cover with his machine gun.

"Hang on, Marcus! We'll get it off your tail!" Gale yelled out to him.

"I would appreciate it if you do it soon!" Marcus yelled out to Gale as he ran. He then yelped as he dodged another arc blast from Zakren but dod take some damage from the explosion radius. "Ow! Okay, can you not!?" He yelled at the Mind as he gave it a glare. It's only response was shooting more arc blasts at him. "Oh, fuck you!"

"Zirith, I need you to cast a Nova bomb at the Mind to distract it! Marcus, once that's done, I need you to use your Golden Gun to deal damage to it!" Gale ordered his fireteam.

"Heard you loud and cle- OW!" Marcus suddenly yelled out when he was shot by one of the arc blasts, his shield taking a lot of damage.

"Zirith, now!" Gale calls out to the Warlock. Zirith nods and runs from her cover toward Zakren and, once close enough, gliding into the air and casts a Nova bomb at it. However, instead of seeing its health go down, even by a sliver, she instead saw a light blue shield form around the Mind protecting it from any damage. Zirith's eyes widen in shock as the Mind stops and looks over at the Warlock, its red eye glaring at her.

"Its shielded... and my attack has done no effect on it? If that's the case, then how can we bring it down? There's nothing here but Gates!" She mumbled to herself. She then gasps when she saw it aim its Torch Hammer at her and before she could react Zakren fired at her causing her to yell out in pain as she was sent flying across the room.

Marcus heard her cry of pain and stops to look and see her flying across the room causing his eyes to widen in horror. "Zirith!" He yelled out to her in horror. Even though he knew that they had been in tough situations before, he'd always grow worried whenever one of his teammates were hurt. He then looks over at the Mind and glares at it as Zakren was approaching the wounded Warlock to finish her off. "Stay the hell away from her!" He yelled out when his body lit up in flames as he summoned his Golden Gun in his hand. He then fired three rounds at Zakren only to see the shield return blocking the bullets. "Oh come on!" Marcus yelled out in frustration.

Zakren then focuses its attention towards Marcus and goes after him. As it does so, while Marcus yells out curses as he ran from the Mind while shooting at it, Gale took the opportunity and ran towards Zirith, picking her up in his arms and carrying her behind one of the columns away from it.

"Are you okay?" Gale asked her in concern as he gently places her down against the column.

"Yeah... yeah. I'm fine." Zirith said to him softly with a soft groan as her Ghost was healing her injuries.

Gale nods at her as relief filled his body when suddenly Marcus blinked beside them, resting his back against the column as he pants. "Holy shit, he's annoying as hell." He muttered to himself. He then looks at his teammates. "So, uh, does anyone have any bright ideas? Because I don't think our weapons are effective enough against its shield." He said to them as he gestured to his autorifle.

"...Our plan remains the same." Gale said to him after thinking it over. "If we give it everything we got, we might be able to bring down its shield."

"...You honestly think that'll work!?" Marcus asked in disbelief. "Did you not hear me say that our weapons weren't affecting it!?"

"I did." Gale said. "And no, I don't. But there's a chance that it might pull off."

Marcus just stood there in disbelief as he stared at Gale. He then looks over at Zirith. "Zirith. You honestly don't think that plan would work, do you?" He asked her.

"Well... it's unlikely, but there's a small chance that it might." Zirith said after hitting some thought into it.

"I... you're serious. You're actually serious." Marcus said softly. He then just scoffs and turns away from his team. "Ghost?"

"The risk is high... but what other option do we have?" Ghost said to him. "There's nothing here we can use against it, and if we fall back they'll just regrow their army and make it more difficult for us to get back in."

Marcus clenches his fists as he grits his teeth from his companions words. As much as he hated to admit... he was right. They had to stay here and fight it with everything they have. If they fall back now, then it'll only get more complicated for them. Unclenching his fists and letting out a sigh, he looks back over to his team. "Fine... but I hope to god you know what you're doing."

Both Gale and Zirith nod at him and stood back up when they noticed a shadow casting over them. They quickly look up to see Zakren towering over them with its Torch Hammer aimed at them, about to fire. "Move!" Gale yelled out and Zirith grabs onto the Exos arm. Then, both them and Marcus blink out of the way just as Zakren fired its cannon at where they once stood.

As they blinked to a different part of the room Zakren looked around to see where the Guardians had gone off too when it laid its eyes on them, seeing them arm their weapons at the ready. Letting out a mechanical growl, it charges after them.

"Remember. No holding back." Gale said to his team softly as he clenches his Machine gun tightly. Marcus and Zirith nod as they clench their autorifle and Fusion rifle. They all then ran at the Mind unleashing their weapons at it.

Half an hour would pass as Omega fought against Zakren, throwing everything they had at it in Hope's of bringing down its shield so that they can destroy it. They used everything against it. Every Primary weapon. Every Secondary weapon. Every Heavy weapon. Every super.

But no matter how hard they tried. No matter how much lead and energy are put into it. It just won't. Come. Down.

"Nothing's working! No matter what we do, it just won't go down!" Zirith yelled out as she loads in a fresh clip onto her pulse rifle only to take cover as she barely dodges an arc blast that landed beside her.

"Just keep firing! It'll go down!" Gale yelled out as he as he fired another load of lead onto the Mind. But judging from the tone of his voice, it's sounding like he was becoming desperate. Of course, the shield blocked the bullets and Zakren fires at the Titan forcing him to fall back behind cover as he took some damage from the blast.

Marcus let's out a sigh as he loads in another clip into his sniper rifle. "I knew this wouldn't work." He mumbled to himself in annoyance. He looks over at Gale. "Hey Gale, any other bright ideas? Because your whole "Shoot at it until it drops" plan seems to have fallen flat on its face!" He yelled out to him.

Gale only stood there in silence as he tried to process everything that was happening around him. What else could they do? Their plan of attack had no effect on the Mind, their ammo was starting to run low and they'll end up dead if they continue to fight. He knew the risk was high. He'd expected it to be difficult. But he did not anticipate it to be this difficult.

Gale looked around at the Vex warp gates that surround them. All active and ready to be used by the Vex. To be honest, it was a miracle that not one had emerged from them. But it also made Gale more confused. Why haven't the Vex aided the Mind to ensure their death? Did they believe that it was capable enough to fight on its own? If that was the case, then it looks like they were right.

Suddenly, as if another miracle had occured, an idea formed in Gales head. It was full proof. There was no way it wouldn't work. Or, at the very least, wouldn't have some sort of effect. And in his eyes, having some effect is much better than having none at all.

"...We destroy the Vex gates." Gale finally spoke out to Marcus, eyes still on the gates.

"What!?" Marcus yelled out with widened eyes. "You sure you want us to do that!? Because I'm pretty sure it wouldn't like the sight of us doing it!"

"I know... but we're all out of options here." Gale responded to him. "Our mission is to destroy all of the warp gates in the area. And I intend to see it through." He said when he looked back at him with a serious look behind his helmet.

"...And I thought I was the crazy son of a bitch." Marcus muttered and let's out a sigh. "And how do you plan on pulling it off?"

"One of us will go out and destroy the gates with a remote detonator. The remaining two will distract the Mind to provide cover."

"And you wouldn't happen to carry a remote detonator now, would you?"

"Yes, actually. I do."

"...Well, aren't we lucky today."

"I figured I would need it eventually. Just didn't know when." Gale said to him with a soft chuckle.

"So I take it you're the one that's going to set up the explosives?" The Hunter asked.

Gale nods at Marcus. "Correct." He said to him. He then turns on his comms. "You got all that, Zirith?"

"Affirmative." Zirith responded. "But, are you sure you want to do this?" She asked in concern.

"I'm sure." Gale responded to her with reassurance. "Once you've drawn its attention away, I'll begin my part of the plan."

"...Copy that." Zirith responded hesitantly before ending communication.

Gale nods from her response and looks over at Marcus. "Better get out there, Marcus. She's gonna need you by her side." He said to him.

"Right." Marcus said with a nod and was about to move. He then stopped himself. "Oh, and Gale?" He said catching the Exos attention. "...Stay safe out there, alright?" He said to him with a soft smile.

Gale smiles back softly and nods at him. "I will." He said to him.

And with that, Marcus made his move and ran from his cover. As he did he saw Zakren attacking Zirith who was running away from it, leading the Mind away from Gale to allow his plan to take action. Seeing that, Marcus ran to the Mind. "Hey, tin can! Over here!" He yelled out to it when he fired his rifle at the Mind. It stopped once the bullet made contact with its shield and looks over to see Marcus. "Come and get me!" He taunted and shoots another round at the Mind before he began to run away from it. Zakren let's out a mechanical growl as it went after him, firing its arc blasts at him.

Seeing the mind distracted, Gale took this opportunity and ran from his cover over to the warp gates. Once close enough to one of them, he crouches down next to it and pulls out some explosives from his inventory and begun to place them around the gate. As time went on, with Marcus and Zirith continuously distracting Zakren away from him, Gale would set up the explosives on more of the gates, deciding to finish off the smaller ones first to prevent more Vex coming in.

Once the last of the explosives were set up on the last smaller warp gate, Gale took a step back away from it before he ran back behind cover, pulling out his detonator from his inventory. As his finger was close to the bottom that would activate all of the explosives, he mentally crossed his fingers as he muttered under his breath "Please work.". And then... he presses the button.

The lights on the explosives turn red and, suddenly, all of them were set off at once creating a chain of explosives that spread across where they once stood. Zakren stopped when it heard them and turns to investigate the phenomenon. What it saw, in their place, were the charred remains of the warp gates, with some of them sparking as smoke emitted from the remains.

Zakren grew furious at the sight of the gates being destroyed and was about to teleport over to the Titan when it felt something bounce off from its shield. It looked down to see Marcus looking up at him, giving it a smirk. "Can't do jack shit without your portals now, can you?" He taunted it. He then let's out a yelp when he saw Zakren pull its fist back and was about to crush the Hunter. Marcus manages to dodge just in time as the Minds fist hits the ground at where he once stood. "Yeah, okay, he's mad!" Marcus yelled out and ran from the Mind, with it going after the Hunter.

"Just hold it off for a little bit longer!" Gale yelled out to Marcus. He then looks over at the last warp gate remaining. The one that towered over the rest. "Just one left." He mumbled to himself. "Just finish this one off, and the mission will be a success." He then pulls out the remaining explosives and made his way over to it.

Soon, all of the explosives were set up and Gale takes a step back away to see if they were in the right spots. Nodding to himself in approval, he turns back over to his team and activates his comms. "Alright, the last of the explosives have been set. Once it's down, we can go home." He said to them.

"Ugh, finally! I'm starting to get tired of all this." Marcus responded causing Gale to let out a chuckle. Gale then began to run back to his cover to finish off the gate once and for all.

Oh, but Zakren wasn't having it. Once it saw Gale run away from the gate it shifted all of its focus from the Hunter and Warlock to the Titan and teleported away. Just before all of them could react, Zakren reappears in front of Gale with its foot raised up in the air.

Gale looks up in shock at the sight of Zakren, watching its foot descend upon him. He didn't have enough time to dodge it. This was it. This is the final moment for Gale-49.

Marcus's eyes widen in horror when he saw Zakren about to crush his leader and ran as fast as he could toward them. "NO!" He yelled out when he blinked.

Marcus then appeared between Gale and Zakren and, much to his surprise, shoves the Titan out of the way just as the Minds foot stomped between the two. As Gale yelled out in pain as he was sent flying away from Zakren landing onto the ground with a thud, Marcus was skidding across the ground toward the last warp gate. Before he had time to think of a plan, or even figure out what the hell is happening, his body went into the portal vanishing from sight.

Gale let's out a groan as he tried to get up from the ground when he saw Marcus went through the gate. His eyes widen when he saw him vanish from their eyes. "Marcus..." As all of what happened sunk in, he saw Zakren teleport in front of him and looks up to see it looking down at him, towering over him. It then aimed its cannon at the Titan intending to finish him off when suddenly...

"STAY AWAY FROM HIM!" Zirith yelled out when she suddenly got in between it and Gale and casts a Nova Bomb at the Mind. On instinct, the Mind teleports away avoiding the Nova Bomb. Unfortunately for the both of them, it instead made contact with the warp gate not only causing damage to it, but also setting off the explosives placed on it causing a massive explosion.

Zirith shields her eyes from the explosion as Zakren reappears away from the Warlock and watches the sight in front of it in silence. Once the explosion has died down Zirith unshields her eyes... only for them to widen in shock and horror.

The gate... it's gone. Destoryed. In ruins!

"Marcus... no..." Zirith said in shock mas tears begun to fill her eyes. She couldn't believe it. He was gone. There's no way for him to come back. This... this was all her fault.

She then let's out a gasp when she saw Zakren look over at her with its eye growing bright in anger. As it begun to approach her more shimmering angular patterns and clouds of mist appear, filling up the room. That could only mean one thing.

"We need to go. Now." Gale suddenly spoke out as he got up to his feet, eyeing the clouds of mist.

Zirith looks over at Gale in shock. "B-But, we can't just leave him! We can't just leave Marcus behi-!"

"We'll find him!" Gale cuts her off causing her to go silent. "We'll find him... but right now, we need to fall back and report back to the tower of what happened."

Zirith remained silent as she grew very hesitant. They couldn't leave him. They couldn't! He's apart of the team, and has been for three years! But as much as she hated to admit it... he was right. If they'd stayed, they would only get killed.

Zirith silently nods at him, much to Gales approval, and the both of them then turn and ran as an army of Vex arrive from the cloud of mist. As the remaining members of Omega ran from the Vex chasing after them, Zakren takes one last good look at the ruined massive gate. After a few moments of silence, the Mind then turns away from it and goes after the Guardians as well.

The Hunter will be dealt with later. Right now, it needs to be sure that the other Guardians can not interfere with its plans again.

Character profile updating.
Name: Marcus Noin
Age: 18
Guardian class: Hunter

Weapons
Primary: Ace of Spades, Khvostov 7G-0X, Arminius-D, How Dare You.
Secondary: black spindle, Stillpiercer, JabberHäkke-D, TAMAR-D
Heavy: Infinite Edge, Bolt Caster, Disassembly Required.

Armor
Head: Knucklehead Radar
Chest: KD Bogatyr 2.0
Gauntlets: KD Bogatyr 2.0
Legs: KD Bogatyr 2.0
Boots: KD Bogatyr 2.0
Cloak: Fixer cloak
Shader: Azura

Status: MIA

Awaiting further updates...