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Taking a deep breath to ease the tension that tightened his chest, Corin peered down into the opening. He had pushed back memories of the last time he had been her, beneath the Northern Wild's expedition and of the terrible things he had witnessed. He was not sure if it was the vast emptiness of this wild land, or a deeper, less physical sense that caused him to tense up at the threshold. One of his companions gestured to the rock around them, scared and melted by drills and possible laser picks.

"So one was here recently." Unlike Corin, the other Guardian was heavily armored. The Exo N3RV3R-3, more commonly called Nerve-3, he wore the heavy and intricate armor of a Titan, the defenders of the Wall and Protector of the traveler. His ghost, the robotic entity who could repair them if the worst were to come, was as articulate as his partner's armor. He looked around, mechanical shoulders lifting and falling. "Scavengers?"

"This is our territory. Why would they feel?"

"Probably because they did not want to get caught, which shows their guilt." Latika-22 had joined in the conversation. "They probably thought they were breaking New Monarchy's laws by returning, there is nothing of importance here."

A female exo and a titan, except while Nerve-3's armor looked more like a work of art, hers was covered in dents, scratches and decades of battle. Her ghost's shell was in the same shape of her armor, and stayed close to her shoulder.

"I would not say that," a singsong voice spoke up.A Hunter, and the forth member of their team had reviled herself. She was a blue skinned Awoken with glowing white eyes and matching hair. She was less armored then the two titans, but more than Corin. "Their is plenty of spinmetal, for those who know where to look."

"Sanadra," Latika-22 said with a sneer so vile and hateful that it was almost palatable. "I thought you were scouting, not lollygagging."

It only made sense that two Titans who wore the Mark of No Tomorrow, a gift from the Future War Cult, would despise a Hunter who wore Orbit's Cloak of Exodus. The three factions in the city, Future War Cult, New Monarchy, and Dead Orbit all signed a peace treaty eons ago in order to stop the bloodshed and repair the last city on Earth. All three had kept to the truce with only minor hostility towards one another, but they were not above tempting Guardians with better weapons and gear in order to win them to their side.

"I was," Sanadra said with a smile, clearly ignoring Latika-22's sour mood. "Turned back to make sure you didn't loose our only warlock."

"Please," Carin said. He could already feel his face starting to warm. "It was you three who wanted to come to the Northern Wilds. I am merely as... an interested party."

It was Ikora Reys that had ordered Corin to accompany Nerve-3 on their secretive comings and goings as of late, though the Exo had been hesitant to oblige. This was merely the first chance that had presented itself for them to travel together.

"I do not wish to return to Executor Hideo without a full report."

"What is there too report?" Latika-22 asked, waving a mechanical arm to encompass the deserted settlement. "So undesirables have raised their slum here. That is all."

"We have seen only the surface," Nerve-3 said. "We should go a little deeper to make sure there is not another rebellion growing out in the wilds."

For once, Nerve-3 looked uncomfortable. The mechanisms in his face twitched only fractions, but Sandra picked up on them and struck.

"What does the Executor want with this region anyway? Spinmetal is easily enough to find."

"He thought the city would prosper if we put fortresses out in the Wilds."

"Bold choice," Sanadra muttered. "Considering it's his."

"I disagree," Said Carin. "It is the most obvious choice. A sign that the Traveler has returned to mark the land with its presence.

They passed down tunnels that had once been ground metal, now marked by stains of corrosion. The air had turned acrid, forcing Sanadra and Carin to done their helmets. Carin paused for a moment, one hand at the side of his head. He felt something stirring beneath them. Something that he had not felt for a long time, but familiar all the same.

"Are you okay?" his ghost chimed in. "Do you need to rest?"

"No," Carin grimaced, pushing the feelings aside. "Lets continue."

They continued to plunge into the darkness, their ghosts allowing the only light. They followed the tunnel for some time, encountering all signs of excavation and construction. Where collapsed walls had been hauled away, and heavy steel bulkheads to improve the structure. As they descended the air grew hotter. Becoming almost stifling. The stench grew with it, though they saw no cause for the reek. The passage ways and chambers that they passed were free of waste and filth. Nerve-3 made no remark on that fact, though Carin believed that was due to the Exo's lack of smell. He and Latika-22 glanced back at Sanadra and Carin.

With the heat and stench also came an oppressive sensation, as if each step was taking them closer to a ghastly fate. The deeper they delved, the stronger the feeling, though the rest of his party seemed unaffected. Both Exo Titans still kept their taciturn position, while Sanadra still had her carefree skip in her step.

"Wait!" Carin's sudden warning caused his party to stop in their tracks. Nerve-3's hand moved to the hand canon at his belt. A moment later, a long low breath resonated up the tunnel, issuing from a distance the rank air stirring which breathed every few seconds. "Do you feel it?"

A natural dread started to seep from Carin's body, a chill spreading up his spine. Latika's fingers drummed along the barrel of her pulse rifle, while Nerve-3's body clicked with nervous ticks, and Sanadra started to hum an Awoken drinking song of all things while prepping her rifle. Carin extended his will, the unknown energy known as "Space Magic" dancing in the pupils of his eyes. He reached out a hand, fingers splayed as if probing as if probing at one of the walls.

Slowly, Nerve-3 drew his weapon.

It was better not to say what had happened before, so the Warlock laid. "An minor echo... nothing more."

Carrin looked at their Exo leader, noticing that his kind could show fear. Even Latika-22 seemed afraid.

"You look flustered, Nerve. What is wrong?"

"I-I-I Cannot go," he choked out. "I... I... I must..."

Nerve-3 shook uncontrollably, eyes darting to the left and right seeking to the doom that was coming for them. He started to retreat from the corridor.

"We have to go back... this was a mistake." Latika-22 voice was breaking. Even with her experience, weapons and armor could not give her the security she desperately needed.

Sanadra, throughout all of this, was able to keep her cheerful composure. "Ghosts of the past, Latika. Just what our brave Warlock said."

Her words were more to help her companions then herself. Carin had never seen a Titan act this way before, let alone an Exo. But then, neither of them had faced the depths of the far wilds before.

"Nothing to be afraid of," said Carin. "Mere memories."

Nerve-3 and Latika-22 staggered away. Neither one of them followed as they heard the dull thud their heavy boots fading back up the tunnel. Carin had grave skills. His memories crowded with numerous, voracious thralls and something terrible, unnatural, and undead lurking beyond, but he pushed on. Ikora had sent him here, and if it was important to her it was important to the Speaker. Sanadra stayed because she knew the terrors better than any other guardian, and her loyalty was unquestioning. But something had drawn the ire of the Executor to this place. Carin did not have to rely on space magic to sense the waves of strangeness coming from the passages ahead.

There was familiarity here, a presence that Carin and Sanadra knew all too well. The foulness around him did not feel like a warning, though the Titans had felt it as such, but more like a welcome.

But why now?

Had the scavengers unearthed something that had been missed by the routine purges?

It seemed unlikely that they would have without that horrific aura being noticed when they chose this place.

Was it really this that had caused two veteran Titans to flee?

What was Executor Hideo thinking?

Was it a regular land grab that the factions were so found of doing?

Or was it something darker and more twisted then that?

Too many questions without answers.

Carin's enhanced hearing could hear the echoes of sparrow shuttles flying off. Carin and Sanadra broke into a run, heading for the surface.

Something was coming. He could feel it now. Like acid breath on the back of his neck. He had not noticed that Sanadra was gone. Carin had not heard her scream in terror, or if there was even one. It spurred him on more. The others had to be told. He had to raise the alarm. The Darkness had returned.

Description
Taking a deep breath to ease the tension that tightened his chest, Corin peered down into the opening. He had pushed back memories of the last time he had been her, beneath the Northern Wild's expedition and of the terrible things he had witnessed. He was not sure if it was the vast emptiness of this wild land, or a deeper, less physical sense that caused him to tense up at the threshold. One of his companions gestured to the rock around them, scared and melted by drills and possible laser picks.

"So one was here recently." Unlike Corin, the other Guardian was heavily armored. The Exo N3RV3R-3, more commonly called Nerve-3, he wore the heavy and intricate armor of a Titan, the defenders of the Wall and Protector of the traveler. His ghost, the robotic entity who could repair them if the worst were to come, was as articulate as his partner's armor. He looked around, mechanical shoulders lifting and falling. "Scavengers?"

"This is our territory. Why would they feel?"

"Probably because they did not want to get caught, which shows their guilt." Latika-22 had joined in the conversation. "They probably thought they were breaking New Monarchy's laws by returning, there is nothing of importance here."

A female exo and a titan, except while Nerve-3's armor looked more like a work of art, hers was covered in dents, scratches and decades of battle. Her ghost's shell was in the same shape of her armor, and stayed close to her shoulder.

"I would not say that," a singsong voice spoke up.A Hunter, and the forth member of their team had reviled herself. She was a blue skinned Awoken with glowing white eyes and matching hair. She was less armored then the two titans, but more than Corin. "Their is plenty of spinmetal, for those who know where to look."

"Sanadra," Latika-22 said with a sneer so vile and hateful that it was almost palatable. "I thought you were scouting, not lollygagging."

It only made sense that two Titans who wore the Mark of No Tomorrow, a gift from the Future War Cult, would despise a Hunter who wore Orbit's Cloak of Exodus. The three factions in the city, Future War Cult, New Monarchy, and Dead Orbit all signed a peace treaty eons ago in order to stop the bloodshed and repair the last city on Earth. All three had kept to the truce with only minor hostility towards one another, but they were not above tempting Guardians with better weapons and gear in order to win them to their side.

"I was," Sanadra said with a smile, clearly ignoring Latika-22's sour mood. "Turned back to make sure you didn't loose our only warlock."

"Please," Carin said. He could already feel his face starting to warm. "It was you three who wanted to come to the Northern Wilds. I am merely as... an interested party."

It was Ikora Reys that had ordered Corin to accompany Nerve-3 on their secretive comings and goings as of late, though the Exo had been hesitant to oblige. This was merely the first chance that had presented itself for them to travel together.

"I do not wish to return to Executor Hideo without a full report."

"What is there too report?" Latika-22 asked, waving a mechanical arm to encompass the deserted settlement. "So undesirables have raised their slum here. That is all."

"We have seen only the surface," Nerve-3 said. "We should go a little deeper to make sure there is not another rebellion growing out in the wilds."

For once, Nerve-3 looked uncomfortable. The mechanisms in his face twitched only fractions, but Sandra picked up on them and struck.

"What does the Executor want with this region anyway? Spinmetal is easily enough to find."

"He thought the city would prosper if we put fortresses out in the Wilds."

"Bold choice," Sanadra muttered. "Considering it's his."

"I disagree," Said Carin. "It is the most obvious choice. A sign that the Traveler has returned to mark the land with its presence.

They passed down tunnels that had once been ground metal, now marked by stains of corrosion. The air had turned acrid, forcing Sanadra and Carin to done their helmets. Carin paused for a moment, one hand at the side of his head. He felt something stirring beneath them. Something that he had not felt for a long time, but familiar all the same.

"Are you okay?" his ghost chimed in. "Do you need to rest?"

"No," Carin grimaced, pushing the feelings aside. "Lets continue."

They continued to plunge into the darkness, their ghosts allowing the only light. They followed the tunnel for some time, encountering all signs of excavation and construction. Where collapsed walls had been hauled away, and heavy steel bulkheads to improve the structure. As they descended the air grew hotter. Becoming almost stifling. The stench grew with it, though they saw no cause for the reek. The passage ways and chambers that they passed were free of waste and filth. Nerve-3 made no remark on that fact, though Carin believed that was due to the Exo's lack of smell. He and Latika-22 glanced back at Sanadra and Carin.

With the heat and stench also came an oppressive sensation, as if each step was taking them closer to a ghastly fate. The deeper they delved, the stronger the feeling, though the rest of his party seemed unaffected. Both Exo Titans still kept their taciturn position, while Sanadra still had her carefree skip in her step.

"Wait!" Carin's sudden warning caused his party to stop in their tracks. Nerve-3's hand moved to the hand canon at his belt. A moment later, a long low breath resonated up the tunnel, issuing from a distance the rank air stirring which breathed every few seconds. "Do you feel it?"

A natural dread started to seep from Carin's body, a chill spreading up his spine. Latika's fingers drummed along the barrel of her pulse rifle, while Nerve-3's body clicked with nervous ticks, and Sanadra started to hum an Awoken drinking song of all things while prepping her rifle. Carin extended his will, the unknown energy known as "Space Magic" dancing in the pupils of his eyes. He reached out a hand, fingers splayed as if probing as if probing at one of the walls.

Slowly, Nerve-3 drew his weapon.

It was better not to say what had happened before, so the Warlock laid. "An minor echo... nothing more."

Carrin looked at their Exo leader, noticing that his kind could show fear. Even Latika-22 seemed afraid.

"You look flustered, Nerve. What is wrong?"

"I-I-I Cannot go," he choked out. "I... I... I must..."

Nerve-3 shook uncontrollably, eyes darting to the left and right seeking to the doom that was coming for them. He started to retreat from the corridor.

"We have to go back... this was a mistake." Latika-22 voice was breaking. Even with her experience, weapons and armor could not give her the security she desperately needed.

Sanadra, throughout all of this, was able to keep her cheerful composure. "Ghosts of the past, Latika. Just what our brave Warlock said."

Her words were more to help her companions then herself. Carin had never seen a Titan act this way before, let alone an Exo. But then, neither of them had faced the depths of the far wilds before.

"Nothing to be afraid of," said Carin. "Mere memories."

Nerve-3 and Latika-22 staggered away. Neither one of them followed as they heard the dull thud their heavy boots fading back up the tunnel. Carin had grave skills. His memories crowded with numerous, voracious thralls and something terrible, unnatural, and undead lurking beyond, but he pushed on. Ikora had sent him here, and if it was important to her it was important to the Speaker. Sanadra stayed because she knew the terrors better than any other guardian, and her loyalty was unquestioning. But something had drawn the ire of the Executor to this place. Carin did not have to rely on space magic to sense the waves of strangeness coming from the passages ahead.

There was familiarity here, a presence that Carin and Sanadra knew all too well. The foulness around him did not feel like a warning, though the Titans had felt it as such, but more like a welcome.

But why now?

Had the scavengers unearthed something that had been missed by the routine purges?

It seemed unlikely that they would have without that horrific aura being noticed when they chose this place.

Was it really this that had caused two veteran Titans to flee?

What was Executor Hideo thinking?

Was it a regular land grab that the factions were so found of doing?

Or was it something darker and more twisted then that?

Too many questions without answers.

Carin's enhanced hearing could hear the echoes of sparrow shuttles flying off. Carin and Sanadra broke into a run, heading for the surface.

Something was coming. He could feel it now. Like acid breath on the back of his neck. He had not noticed that Sanadra was gone. Carin had not heard her scream in terror, or if there was even one. It spurred him on more. The others had to be told. He had to raise the alarm. The Darkness had returned.