Here is part 9 of Into the Hellmouth! Here's part 8 if you missed it: https://www.bungie.net/en/Forums/Post/199274379 As usual, if you like it, give it a bump, and tell me what you think! Part 10 will be out soon! Several days later, Eriana was flying over Old Russia in her ship. “So,” she said, “what is it about this site that makes it different from the last?” “Nothing, really,” Ghost said. “It simply fits the description of the last few sites; close enough to the Tower so that Toland could keep an eye on things, enough Hive activity for Toland to continue his studies, but far enough away from any major Fallen bases so that he wouldn’t have to worry about running into an army. In addition, there’ve been rumors of an unknown Guardian in the region.” Eriana sighed. The last few sights had proved to be abandoned Guardian outposts, bandits, and a even a small group of militarized refugees. She’d attempted to talk to them, but she’d had to fly off when they began pounding her ship with flak cannons. She really couldn’t blame them; one didn’t survive in the wild by being friendly. A beep came from her radar. “Approaching the site,” said Ghost. Eriana nodded. She eased back the throttle, and the ship slowed down. She looked out the windows, and saw a lonely building in front of her. It stood on a hill, facing the Caspian Sea. The top of the circular building appeared to have been blown off, leaving a jagged stump where the cone’s top should’ve been. She didn’t see any windows in the building, but judging by it’s position, it was probably an old lighthouse - she’d read about them in the Cryptarchs libraries. They had been used in pre-golden age Earth to signal a safe harbor for ships. Now, there were no ships for it to signal. “Ghost,” she said, “Initiate scans.” She heard a hum as the instruments in her ship came to life. The ghost initiated a scan of derelict lighthouse. “Hm,” it said, “I can’t find anything larger than a bird on my scanners, but I’m picking up some sort of an energy source - the concrete’s too thick for me to get any firm readings, mind you, but there’s something in there.” Eriana nodded as the ship came to a standstill over the lighthouse. “Well,” she said, “let’s take a closer look.” She looked over to her ghost. “Beam me down,” she said. Her body was transmatted to the ground below, and her ship hovered overhead. Eriana readied her auto-rifle, and took a deep breath. She walked toward the ancient lighthouse. As she approached it, she began to notice sticks poking out of the ground around the lighthouse. When she got closer, she realized that there were objects on top the stakes. She squinted. Of course, for an exo, “squinting” was more akin to zooming in with a pair of binoculars. Fallen helmets - some with the heads of their former owners still inside - were impaled on every stake. “Well, I guess we can rule out Fallen,” Ghost said. Eriana nodded. Whatever was in the lighthouse, it certainly hated the Fallen enough to put their heads on spikes. Which meant that it was probably inhabited by humans. That reassured her - at the very worst, it was a bandit hideout, and she could deal with those. She reached the front entrance - a reinforced metal door, sunk into the concrete. Above it was a Captain On the right side, she noticed a keypad. She frowned. The metal keypad and door were barely rusted - they hadn’t been part of the original structure. “Bandits wouldn’t have put this much effort into a base” she said, “and most refugees wouldn’t have the resources.” Her ghost was silent. “Well,” it said, “we were looking for Toland. And something tells me he’s just the type of person to do this sort of thing.” Eriana nodded. “Alright,” she said, “hack the door.” Her ghost obliged, and began interacting with the keypad. It grunted. Eriana frowned. “What’s wrong?” she asked. “I don’t know,” it said, “This keypad, it - it feels like it was encrypted by another Ghost.” Eriana froze. Another Ghost? The keypad was too new for the lighthouse to have been an abandoned outpost. So that left only one option. Toland. “Got it!” Ghost said. The metal door slid open, revealing a dark hallway. Eriana took a deep breath. Then, she readied her weapon, and walked into the dark lighthouse. Eriana’s ghost lit the way before her. Eventually, she found a button in the wall, and pressed it. She heard a whirring, and lights flickered on in the lighthouse. She looked around her. She was standing in a circular room, with a staircase disappearing into the ceiling on the opposite side of the room. In it’s center was a large generator, with wires coming out of it. The wires reached towards the wall, some of them ending at lamps, but most of them marching up the stairs toward the second floor. Eriana stowed her auto-rifle, and switched to her shotgun. It would be far more useful in close-quarters than the auto-rifle. Carefully, the Warlock advanced up the stairs, weapon at ready. When she reached the second floor, she looked around, and realized that she was in an armory of sorts. Around the walls of the room were tables, topped with weapons - some of them Golden Age, some of them from the City Foundries, even some modified Fallen weaponry. Beneath the tables were bulky boxes, full of what she assumed was ammunition. She frowned. “I wouldn’t have expected Toland to be this much of a weapons enthusiast,” she said. “Nor would I,” said Ghost. Eriana walked over to one of the tables, and inspected it’s contents. Behind some of the weapons, she noticed something - a helmet. Specifically, a titan helmet. Eriana frowned, and looked it over. It was a decent quality - mostly plasteel, with a titanium frame. It looked like something she would’ve found Zavala giving out to recruits. But then, she noticed the symbol painted onto both sides of the helmet - a flaming eagle. Her eyes widened. This was a guardian outpost alright - but not Toland’s. “Eriana?” said Ghost. “I’m detecting an incoming aircraft. I can’t verify wether it’s friend or foe, but it could be -“ “We have to go!” Eriana said. She grabbed her shotgun off the table, and ran for the stairs. “Why?” her Ghost asked. “Sunbreakers!” she shouted. She ran down the stairs, but her heart sank when she heard the metal door to the lighthouse slide open. She watched as a Titan in full battle gear, a fiery eagle emblazoned proudly on his chest, and a massive hammer hanging from his belt, entered the room. In his hand was a powerful-looking scout rifle, but he dropped it, and reached for his Hammer when he saw the warlock. When his gloved hand made contact with the hilt, the hammer glowed with fire Eriana tensed up her muscles, and prepared for combat. Only one Guardian was walking out of the Lighthouse - and she’d be damned if it was the Sunbreaker. Part 10: https://www.bungie.net/en/Forums/Post/199705836