[b]Episode One[/b] [i]After Petra Venj accidentally killed nine Guardians in an airstrike many years ago, the City had sent two of their most powerful Guardians to kill the Queen in secret. They failed in their mission and were locked away inside the Prison of Elders. Now they have been released and corrupted, still hell-bent on completing their task to kill the Queen. Only the Vanguard can stop them now. But it won't be easy taking down Warlocks that have unearthed every last secret to their Light-given power. I'm finally back from a hiatus! Due to demand, this is my first non-canon series, so the plot and lore of this story does not line up with the actual lore of Destiny. Keep that in mind. So there will be new characters, but most characters in this story are familiar. Enjoy![/i] “A time will come,” Mara Sov hissed in a voice every bit as cold and dark as her surrounding chamber, a voice utterly devoid of fear, “when acid and fire seem like tender ministrations to them. I will, then, watch them beg, but stoppered to their cries will be my ears, and dried to dust the wide lake of my mercy.” Of course, the Queen was talking about the Nine: mysterious beings Petra Venj knew nothing about herself. Mara believed they were behind the Fallen rebellion and the trouble it had brought upon her people. The Queen’s storm-sea eyes sparkled. “Petra,” she said. “The Myria twins have been released from the Prison of Elders. I will not die here. Not yet, at least. You must put an end to them.” “I shall, my lady,” said Petra. “They have not abandoned their mission to kill me,” said Mara, voice clear and sweet as the rising and falling notes of a distant flute. “Go and protect the Reef. Protect your Queen.” *** The Twilight military installation was aflame. Corsair soldiers hung in the dead of space, armor bent, life drained from their bones. Half of the First armada lay in ruin among the Reef’s battle stations. [i]How could these twins cause so much destruction?[/i] thought Petra, sadness aching in her veins. They were mere Guardians, sent from the last city to assassinate the Queen after Petra accidentally killed nine of their own in an airstrike. The twins were so powerful they had been secretly locked away in the Prison of Elders. Most of the Awoken people had no idea they even existed. One figure drifted out of a burning husk that used to be a terminal. She had sallow skin and glowing red eyes, all emotion scrubbed from them. Her white hair was swept down her back until it reached just below her thighs. A team of Corsairs drifted forward, hand cannons aimed. “No, you fools!” screamed Petra. The woman raised a hand and a slender line of fire throbbed, as though someone had slashed open the world and beyond it lay another world, one filled to the stars with unquenchable fire. She flicked a finger and the line of fire ripped through the Awoken soldiers, turning them to ash. The unnatural fire disappeared, leaving its writhing lines seared on Petra’s vision. The Sunsinger continued to move forward, the ash from Petra’s fallen comrades dusting her skin-tight armored suit. Petra tightened her jaw. “Send them in.” Several seconds later, a trio of jumpships rounded past a burning installation. They didn’t even have a chance to fire their weapons when they stopped in mid-air, so fast it was as if time stopped. Their forms were covered in a violet glow. A second figure drifted past the first Guardian, almost identical except for her bright purple eyes. She moved her hand and the jumpships moved to the lilt of her fingers. Petra stared and gripped her Vestian Dynasty sidearm. All at once, her shame and helplessness boiled over in a burning wash of black fury. She moved to stop the Voidwalker by any means necessary, but two hands grabbed her shoulders, holding her in place. “The Warlock, too strong.” Petra turned her head to find Variks the Loyal and two Paladin commanders. “No longer in the Light,” he growled softly. “Corrupted. Not worth it, to fight.” The Voidwalker woman grinned. “You wish to fight me, second human?” “I’m no human,” said Petra, knitting her brows together, hands trembling. She wished to do battle with the Guardian, but knew she would die. She silenced the beast within her. “You have no power. You might as well be one.” Variks tightened his grip. “Provocations,” he warned. “Are you blind?” asked the Guardian, voice lapidary as polished stone. Petra ground her teeth. “What?” “You must be,” she responded, moving the jumpships around her like toys. “It is a pity your eyes went bad so early, or you might see more clearly the power you confront.” The Voidwalker spread her arms and the jumpships were launched away to crash into already burning space stations, exploding on impact. Petra bit her cheeks, tasting the salt of blood in her mouth. There was nothing she could do. The twin Guardians drifted forward. Variks grunted an inaudible command. Light flashed and Petra blinked, realizing a barrier had been set before her. She looked around and found four Reef starships along the perimeter of their location. She hadn’t even noticed them move into position. They had surrounded the twins and trapped them in a four-walled forcefield. “This won’t hold us for long,” said the Sunsinger. “Not like last time.” Variks growled. “Message from Queen,” he said. “Retreat. New mission. Go to the city, one with Great Machine. Ask for assistance. They will not refuse, or war.” Petra shook her head as the bright and indifferent flames shimmered the air, watching the twin Warlocks stare at her, their dark power hanging about them like a mantle. Her mistake was still costing Awoken lives. It had to end. And it would end with those two dead. She would make sure of it. [b]Episode Two Coming Next Monday[/b] [b][url=https://www.bungie.net/en/Forum/Post/100362914]DESTINY FAN FICTION ARCHIVE[/url][/b] [b][url=https://www.bungie.net/en/Clan/Forum/823422]JOIN GROUP FOR FAN FICTION UPDATES[/url][/b]