Destiny 2 - Anax Was Here

Foreword: I've been especially active in the r/DestinyJournals subreddit as of late, and began writing a number of different shorts. I'm going to start re-posting them here.

The Hunter regarded the fall below them. It wasn't that the tower was tall, per say, so much as that it was treacherous. Nearly sheer surfaces, the frequent threat of an enemy spotter taking a shot, other hazards that one might collide with if one slipped, a seemingly bottomless void below... It was dangerous. Which was, of course, exactly why the Hunter was doing it. Anything worth doing was challenging.

"I know I say this every time," Cyrano grumbled, "but this is really stupid."

"And yet," the Hunter replied, "you keep saying it as if this time I'll come to my senses. What's that saying about insanity and doing the same thing over and over?"

Cyrano rolled his optic. "You come back to the Dreaming City once every three weeks to do this, knowing that it's just going to get erased by the curse, and I'm the one who's insane?"

The Hunter shrugged again. "It's not as if I'm not trying to help keep the Taken and whatever else is loose from taking over the Dreaming City. I am working while I'm here."

A click of the heels together deployed a small blade from the toe of the Hunter's boot, allowing a better foothold for the next series of leaps up the tower. This brought a large Taken Blight to just below the Hunter's hood. A pair of knives were drawn out and used to maintain a grip as the blight was navigated around. The Hunter hummed slightly as the climb went along.

Cyrano called out. "Vandal. Position bravo." They had this down to a science by now. The Taken tended to show up in specific places. The Hunter pulled out a throwing knife, swinging out with one hand still gripping the climbing knife, and let the throwing knife fly. Across the way, the Taken Vandal let out a fading shriek as it collapsed.

"If what they say is true," the Hunter's Ghost mused, "and Savathûn really is watching everything that's going on in the Dreaming City--"

"--why doesn't she deploy her Taken in a different way to stop me?" The Hunter shrugged, leaping further up the tower, sliding between two blights. "What does the Witch-Queen care about a solitary Guardian climbing a tower for no real reason?" The Hunter paused, securing footing, then leapt again, reaching a window's lip. "Let me know when the Hob spots me."

"Will do, should be--" Cyrano stopped, and then the Ghost's voice sounded puzzled. "Where is it? The Hobgoblin's not there."

"Should be at... either echo or foxtrot," the Hunter reminded him.

"It's not there." Then Cyrano's voice went shrill. "Two Hobs! Echo's firing!" The Hunter cursed, drawing a hand cannon and swinging out again to fire twice at the called-out position. The Taken Hobgoblin's shot hit the window above the Hunter, before it collapsed inward from the two-tap. The retaliation swarm spiraled out, and the Hunter had to jump up to the sill and then dodge aside again.

"Where's the other Hob?!"

"Up high! Across from the summit!"

The Hunter cursed as the line rifle fired past, singeing the cloak. "Dammit, I just got this Regalia cleaned!" The hand cannon barked twice more, and the Hunter spun aside again to avoid the retaliation swarm. The Hunter tsked, examining the singe, and turned to Cyrano. "So that was new."

"Probably a good idea if we hurried up," the Ghost suggested. The Hunter nodded and leapt up again, knife digging into the lip of the last window above.

The Hunter crouched, glancing around and into the window. "Enemies in there?"

Cyrano peeked inside. "Looks clear."

The Hunter nodded and started to swing in through the window, only to have to immediately dodge back out onto the ledge as a Taken Ogre bellowed and blasted energy from its misshapen face. The Hunter snapped out a Golden Gun and blasted the monster into cinders, then glared at Cyrano. "I thought you said it was clear!"

"I said it looks clear!"

The Hunter sighed. "Well, how does it look now?"

The Ghost looked again before swiveling back. "Looks clear."

Grumbling, the Hunter swung through the window, hand cannon at the ready. When no Taken emerged to attack, the Hunter stood up and took out a knife. Cyrano sighed as his Guardian set to work, scoring the polished stone around the room. "Again, this is stupid and pointless."

"It annoys Dûl Incaru," the Hunter replied cheerfully. "So that makes it worth it." Work finished, the Hunter turned back to the window. "Come on. By my estimation, the curse reset was about ... what, two hours ago? She should be back soon."

~

The Eternal Return stretched out her arms and neck with a series of morbid cracking noises as her chitin shifted. The resurrective nature of the Ahamkara's curse meant that she remembered everything that transpired from every iteration of it. While below and in the mortal plane, the twilight folk's corsairs fell into despair and resignation as they were locked into repetitive actions, Dûl Incaru remained patient and collected. Her mother, the Whisper Queen, had a plan, and she was key to it-- either her death would be the engine that drove future schemes, or she would unlock the way into the twilight folk's hidden sanctuary.

The Lightborn came every three spans, every time the curse cycled. They'd become exceptionally efficient at killing her and her Fatesmiths, but she remained committed to the task which the Queen Her Mother had set her. She held no anger at the Lightbearers' continued persistence in slaughtering her. She held no frustration at her lack of progress at breaking into the Distributary. She had faith-- not in the Logic or the Worms or the Deep, but in the plans of She Who Was Subjugant To None. Nothing would tweak her annoyance.

Then the Hive Witch paused as she looked at the pedestal in the throne room. There was a knife embedded in the stone. Scratched into the surface of the pedestal beside it was a design like a stylized dragonfly, with the words 'LOOK AT THE WALL.' An arrow helpfully pointed in the right direction.

Dûl Incaru narrowed her eyes and turned to look toward the indicated wall. More scratches were visible there, the same dragonfly design, with the words 'LOOK AT THE CEILING.'

She knew this was some Guardian trick, something like one of their pranks, like they were known to pull upon one another. But following the trail to the end would allow her to acquire knowledge about the Lightborn, and knowledge was always of worth to those of the High Coven. She looked up to the ceiling of the chamber, where the dragonfly symbol was carved again, with the words 'LOOK AT THE FLOOR.'

Dûl Incaru glared at the words before turning her gaze downward. While learning more of how these Guardians thought was a worthy pursuit, they seemed to take pleasure in making themselves completely unpredictable. She glanced down.She was floating above the dragonfly this time, and she saw the words 'LOOK AT THE DOOR.' 

With a snarl, she turned to look at the door through which the Lightborn would enter, expecting to find them waiting there. But instead, the dragonfly was scratched again, with the words 'ANAX WAS HERE.' Next to this was a mirror, propped up there atop two more knives. When Dûl Incaru looked at this, she saw a shape moving in the mirror behind her.

It was a Hunter-Guardian clad in Dragonfly Regalia. As the Eternal Return watched, the Hunter looked up from the scope of Izanagi's Burden, gave a cheeky salute, then pulled the trigger.

Dûl Incaru did not have enough time to finish swearing before the bullet came out through her forehead.

~

Cyrano turned to the Hunter. "Okay. I'll admit, that was worth it, Anax."

The Hunter smiled. "Wasn't it, though? Now come on, let's get back to the Tower."