If you missed the last chapter, you can find it [url=https://www.bungie.net/en/Forum/Post/218425950/0/0]here[/url], or if you need to find a previous chapter, you can find them all in the [url=https://www.bungie.net/en/Forums/Post/218618986?sort=0&page=0]Table of Contents[/url]. Enjoy the story and if you like it, a bump would be greatly appreciated! If you have any questions or corrections, comment or message me anytime, I welcome any and all feedback. *** My mother told me stories about the Moon when I was little. About the Hive. About Crota. About the doomed Guardians who attempted to stand against him. These creatures became the fuel for my childhood nightmares, and I’d often wake screaming in the middle of the night, certain I’d just felt the touch of rotten bone on my skin, dragging me down into their lair beneath the lunar surface. I learned soon after though of the many other forms the Darkness takes, and for a long time I’d nearly forgotten about the whispered terror of the Hive – until I found myself living my nightmares during the past few hours. But like every cruel test life forces us into, I bury the fear and keep moving forward. I bury the sorrow I feel for our fallen Guardian. I bury the anger I feel for the wasted journey that’ll only result in escaping with our lives if we’re lucky. I bury the cold fingers running themselves up my spine as we move deeper into the maze of alien caverns that twist throughout the Moon. And I bury the guilt gnawing at me still. But I can only bury so much. Djido’s Ghost hovers next to me as we halt at an fork in the tunnels. It scans right and left, shivering with uncertainty. “Which way?” I ask, forcing my voice down an octave to compensate. “Left….no….no, right,” Ghost replies. “I thought you’d been down here before?” Nas asks. I can hear the edge growing inside him, too. Solis whimpers behind us, only Kenedi maintaining his composure. “Yes, many times,” Ghost responds. “But the Hive have changed their tunnel patterns already.” “So you are lost,” I reply, barely holding in the anger that rises out of fear. “No, no,” Ghost responds, slightly agitated. “Just….yes, left it is.” It flies forward, light shining as it scans the tunnel ahead. I follow it, the others falling in behind me. We travel for a few moments, quiet as we can, barely daring to breathe. When we do manage, the stink of the Hive nearly suffocates us. Ghost falls back, hovering next to me. “How much further ’til we’re out?” I ask. “It shouldn’t be much further,” it responds. “You’re pretty indecisive for an AI, you know that?” Ghost halts, twitching in midair. “What?” “Djido told me the same thing,” it responds, and I could almost swear I feel its loss. But I bury it like everything else. I keep moving, ignoring the Ghost as I gaze tensely at the tunnel ahead, wiping cold sweat from my hands before clenching my weapon again nervously. But the Ghost isn’t done with me yet. “Ia,” it says. I’m surprised how much it hurts to hear his Ghost say my name. “What?” “Now that Djido’s….” it begins, but I cut it off. “Not now,” I interject tersely, focusing my whole mind on our escape. But the Ghost won’t let me. “I’m sorry,” it responds. “But he didn’t want me to save him. I…I have no Guardian now.” I look back quickly to the others – they’re watching the tunnel, ignoring the Ghost. Annoyance replaces my anxiety momentarily as the Ghost keeps bobbing in the air next to me. [i]Why won’t it go bother one of the others?[/i] I think ruefully. [i]Solis could use it more than I could. What use do I have for a Ghost without a Guardian?[/i] “I’m beholden to the Traveler’s will,” the Ghost continues. “I must serve the Light.” “Good for you,” I respond, distracted. The voice in my head just keeps screaming [i]Shut up![/i] to the Ghost, but I bury it. Losing composure serves none of us. “I must serve a wielder of the Light,” it continues as the voice in my head gets louder, fighting my attempts to push it down. “Perhaps I can serve you?” “I’m not a Guardian,” I respond through gritted teeth. “How much further?” It mercifully turns and flies ahead a short way, scanning, then flies back. “Just up ahead,” it answers. “And I know you’re no Guardian, but perhaps – “ [i]Shut up! Shut up! Shut up! [/i]The voice in my head keeps screaming and I struggle with all my will to bury it. “Just get us out of here,” I snap. It finally goes silent, though I know it’s only temporary. We exit the tunnel and enter a large cavern. Ghost looks around, scanning. “Where are we?” Nas asks. “The World’s Grave,” Ghost responds. “Not far now to an exit.” I can see the others sigh with relief. Solis still drags behind, ears down, mournful. I walk back to her, placing my hand on her shoulder. She looks at me – no words need to be said. I’ve never been partial to the Fallen, but Solis is different. There’s a tenderness inside her you never see in the other Eliksni. “We will remember him,” I tell her, trying my best to be consoling. She sees my effort and nods, understanding. We’ll have time to grieve later. Inside, though, I can’t help but feel the twinge of guilt again, the same thing I’d been thinking since I realized he wasn’t coming with us: [i]I brought him in. I found him, and I vouched for him to Seren. It’s my fault.[/i] I fight to bury that voice, too, but it’s a little more resilient and louder than the rest. I focus on staring at the rock formations to ignore it. Ghost flies back to hover beside me as we move cautiously through the World’s Grave. “Ia,” it begins. [i]Dammit, Ghost,[/i] I scream inside, [i]stop trying to be my friend![/i] “What,” I answer through gritted teeth, the grating voice of the Ghost pushing the last of my limits. “I promised Djido to look after you – “ “Then just get us out of here!” I hiss back. “Of course, but after –“ I can’t take it anymore. “There is no after!” I shout. I can’t help it. The walls within me crack. This Ghost isn’t mine. It’s not my responsibility. It didn’t choose me. It chose him. And without a Guardian, there’s no point in having a Ghost. “There is no us, there isn’t anything after we get out of here! You’re going back to the Tower to find some other zombie to play doctor for! Do you understand now? I DON’T WANT YOU!!!” My last words echo around the cavern, hurling them back at me. Everyone freezes. The echoes finally dissipate as we all remain rooted, eyes open tensely, staring around. My heart skips in my chest as I immediately regret my outburst. Seconds pass like hours as we wait, holding our breath, for any sounds of life in this tomb – … Nothing. I breathe an audible sigh of relief. I catch the eye of Nas and see him looking at me sternly. [i]Oh don’t even[/i], I think. [i]You try keeping composure when this thing keeps buzzing around your head.[/i] I give him a look and he mercifully doesn’t pursue it, looking away. Solis and Kenedi gaze elsewhere pointedly. None of them see the Fallen claw stretching out from the crevice behind me until it’s too late. The stink of the Captain suffocates as it grabs me, growling menacingly as its friends emerge from their hiding places, surrounding my crew. I struggle against my captor, panic threatening to completely shatter the cracks in the wall within me. But I’m no match for the Fallen’s strength, and it keeps me pinned close to its hulking body. I stop struggling enough to see Solis fighting its friends, hear the desperate shots that Nas and Kenedi manage to get off before the green-armored Fallen have them pinned, too. Solis growls and rages against her opponents, but there are too many – within moments, they’ve slammed her to the ground, one of the Fallen’s claws clasped around her ether mask threateningly. The Exile holding me leans down, purring into my ear. I fight my revulsion as I look around for the Ghost – it’s gone. [i]Unbelievable. Some servant[/i], I think angrily. [i]First sign of trouble and it bails[/i]. Fighting to keep the tears of anger and fear from my eyes, I finally look back at the Exile, putting everything I’ve got into the look of rage and defiance I force to my face. It laughs at my attempt, and speaks, its growling, rasping voice like a faulty engine in my ears. “[i]Anger good, but will not save you.[/i]”