Hello, everybody, here's part 61 of Into the Hellmouth! Here's[url=https://www.bungie.net/en/Forums/Post/215657427?showBanned=0&path=0] part 60 i[/url]f you missed it, or, if you're looking for a different part, here's the[url=https://www.bungie.net/en/Forums/Post/209303839?showBanned=0&path=0] master post[/url]! As usual, if you like it, give it a bump, and I'll get more out soon! Stay classy, Guardians! Twelve Years Later Deep Space Oryx swung his sword, killing the last of the thrall with one blow. There he stood, breathing heavily on his Osmium throne. Oryx clenched his teeth, and sighed. The Darkblade’s rebellion had been a near thing. He could have dealt with the Darkblade alone, but his sisters, Xivu Arath and Savathûn, had sensed his weakness and redoubled their attacks on his frontiers. Once Alak-Hul’s invasion force had landed on the Dreadnought, they had nearly made it to the Osmium throne. However, once his foes were on the Dreadnought, they became significantly easier to put down. Echstar approached him. “My lord,” he said. “We have him.” “Alive or dead?” Oryx replied. “We did as you commanded,” Echstar replied. “He lives.” For the first time in years, the Taken King smiled. “Bring him to me.” Echstar nodded, and shouted something. The doors to the Osmium throne opened, and four knights entered. They dragged a chained-up Alak-Hul behind them. Behind them, two more knights carried his massive battle-ax. Oryx leaned down, until he was almost at eye level with the defeated general. “Hello, my foster son.” The Darkblade made no reply. Oryx stood up, and motioned to his daughters, Ir Halak and Ir Anûk. “Are there any of his brood remaining?” he asked. “Most have been exterminated,” Ir Halak replied. “Those that remain we have trapped in the Sunless Cell.” Oryx nodded. “Good,” he said. He turned back to the Darkblade. “Throw him in with them.” The knights began to turn back out of the hall. “Wait!” Oryx said. The knights paused. The Hive King walked up to the two knights in the back, and grabbed the battle ax from them. Despite it’s massive weight, Oryx wielded it with ease. He swung the battle ax, and embedded the blade in Alak-Hul’s back. The Darkblade bellowed with pain. Oryx let go of the battle ax, leaving it stuck in Alak-Hul’s hide. He leaned down, and spoke. “Are you wondering why I did that?” he asked. The Darkblade made no reply. “I did not simply do it to cause you pain,” Oryx said. “I am many things, Alak-Hul, but I am not petty. I did it so that you may know how it feels to be betrayed by your own weapon. I did it so that you too could know what it is like to be pierced by your own dark blade.” He paused. “I shall throw you into the Sunless Cell, along with all your brood, Darkblade. I shall kill your brood, one by one. And their deaths will not be quick either. You understand?” The Darkblade once again made no reply. Oryx sniffed. “After they die, I shall ground them into Khitin,” he said. “Eventually, you will be the only one left, oh Darkblade. And then I shall torture you, and grind your body away. And you shall be forgotten by my command. Do you understand, oh Darkblade? Do you understand this punishment?” Alak-Hul did not speak. Oryx snarled. “Fine,” he said. “Grovel in your silence.” He motioned for the knights to take him away. “I crushed the Argians in a week,” Alak-Hul said. Oryx frowned. “What?” he asked. “Within seven days, every Argian was dead,” Alak-Hul replied. “Their ships were destroyed. Their cities were ravaged. The planet was ours.” He looked up at the Taken King. “I could have accepted the loss of Verok, I think, but for the fact that you sent me away from her side in order to deal with so paltry a foe.” He looked up at Oryx. “I knew that you viewed me as a lesser being, Oryx. But I never thought that you viewed me as so base that I should sacrifice my purest mate in order to end such weak creatures.” “If you are looking for an apology -“ Oryx began. “I seek no apology,” Alak said. “There will be no reconciliation between us, oh Taken King. However, I shall make you repent nonetheless.” He winced with pain as the ax shifted in hi back. “Hear this, Oryx; I, Alak-Hul, Darkblade of the Hive, do swear by my worm that I shall live to see you die your final death. And you shall learn to rue my name.” Oryx was taken aback by the sheer conviction in the Darkblade’s voice. Not once in four billion years had anyone escaped the Sunless Cell. Not once. Then, Oryx steeled himself. “We shall not rue your name, Darkblade,” he said. “Because no one will remember it.” He motioned to the knights, who began to drag the Darkblade away. “Oryx?” Alak-Hul shouted. “ORYX!!!” The doors to the Osmium throne slammed shut. “Release me!” Alak-Hul bellowed. “Release me now, or when I leave this pit, I’ll gut you all myself!” The knights payed him no mind. The dragged him through the belly of the Dreadnought, and eventually arrived at the Sunless Cell. “Don’t you do this!” Alak shouted. The knights pushed the Darkblade into the hole, and watched as he fell, howling. Then, they walked away. Alak-Hul writhed in the pit, struggling to cast off his chains, but to no avail. Then, he saw something in the darkness around him. Thrall. Hundreds of thrall surrounded the struggling general. His thrall. He smiled slightly. “It seems as though I have not been abandoned after all,” he said. The thrall jumped on top of him, and began the process of removing his chains. When they were finally done, Alak-Hul stood up, grunting. Then, with one massive yank, he ripped the battle ax from his spine. He roared with pain. Then, he looked at the ax, it’s blade christened with his own black blood. He ran one finger across the blade, and noted that it was still sharp. Alak-Hul looked up at the opening to the sunless cell. “My day will come, oh Taken King,” he said. “All I have to do is wait.” And so Alak-Hul waited in the pit of the sunless cell. Eris started. She’d heard something - a sound, coming from deep within the caverns. What was it? She looked around her. Nothing, she thought. She laid her head back down on the pile of bones. Then, she heard the noise again - a sharp crack followed by the sound of footsteps. Footsteps that were slowly growing closer. Eris peered out of her cavern. At first, she saw nothing. And then, she saw a figure round the corner. The figure raised a hand cannon, and fired behind it them several times. They held the cannon in one hand, the other clutched in a fist. Several thrall emerged from the tunnel, screaming. The figure had time for one last shot, and fired. A thrall’s skull split open. The other three thrall were upon the figure, and jumped on it, scratching at it’s grimy exterior. The figure threw one thrall over it’s head, sending the hivespawn flying into a nearby rock. Then, the figure grabbed a knife from it’s waist, and slashed at one of the remaining thrall, killing it. The remaining thrall jumped off of the figure, and faced it, claws at the ready. The figure took a clumsy swipe with it’s knife, and the thrall jumped forwards, sending the figure to the ground. It screeched for several seconds, and then silenced. The figure shoved the dead hivespawn off it’s chest, and extracted its’ knife from the body. They stood up, and took several awkward steps down the tunnel. Then, they collapsed onto the stone floor. Looking around to see if there were any more Hive, Eris stepped towards the downed figure. She could hear a shallow breathing emanating from it. Eris noticed that it had dropped something in the fight. She knelt down, and picked it up. It was a ghost. A dead one, to be sure, but there was no mistaking the fractured shell for anything but that of a ghost. She looked up at the figure, and looked at it’s tarnished armor. And then, she knew what to call it. “Guardian.” Eris was momentarily startled by the sound of her own voice. It had been so long since she’d had cause to speak. So, so long. She looked at the figure once more. It was a Guardian, alright. And a hunter, if the cloak was anything to judge by. Swallowing, Eris walked up to the Guardian. It slashed at her with it’s knife. Eris jumped back. “No!” she said. “I - I’m here to help you - help you!” The arm dropped back to the ground, and the knife clattered on the stone. Eris nodded. “Yes,” she said, advancing on the downed Guardian. “Help you. I’m going to -“ she stopped. The shallow breathing she’d heard only moments ago was gone. The Guardian was dead. Eris stared at the body for a few moments, dumbstruck. Then, she reached down, and took off the helmet. She stared down at the face of a young, awoken woman. Her skin and hair were both pale white, and her unseeing eyes, were a radiant shade of purple. Eris sighed, and reached down towards the woman’s face, brushing the eyelids closed. Then, she looked at the helmet, and stared at the black visor. She remembered a time when she’d worn similar armor, and worn a similar cloak. Slowly, Eris Morn remembered. She remembered what she had been before the pit had claimed her. She remembered that she was once a Guardian. Edit: [url=https://www.bungie.net/en/Forums/Post/216752859]Part 62[/url]