"I don't think we'll get a second chance at this." I sighed. "We pull this off, we can save the Traveler. If not, we're risking the chance of the the Vex seizing our worlds through the same portal we're going in through."

"And what would be the conditions of our not being able to succeed on this mission?" Maya asked arrogantly. "We can't die. We can just keep coming back to life until we win, right?"

"On the contrary," Lazarus chimed in. "the enemies we will face in the Black Garden will be the most powerful we have faced so far. Not only can they kill you, but they can ultimately drain you of your light, thus making you unrevivable."

"Oh..." Maya looked down sadly, then cheerfully back up at Lazarus. "Any last words in case you die and never come back, then?"

"Yes." He replied seriously. "Your cloak is stupid."

"Dude, don't even start. My cloak is frabjous." She retorted.

"...Alright?" He nodded, looking a bit confused.

"Anyways," I interrupted, already getting annoyed. "Let's go finish this."

~~~

"The Gate Lord's eye is still charged. Let's head for the Gate." My Ghost ordered as we landed in the Meridian Bay.

We made our way to the Valley of Kings, evading every Cabal on the way there. In less than two minutes, we were standing in front of the enormous gates we had encountered several missions back.

"The Vex are going to do everything they can to keep us out of the Black Garden." Robo warned.

Sure enough, we found the Gate guarded by several Vex, including Minotaurs and a Hydra.

Lazarus was quick to launch a Nova Bomb, eliminating a significant amount of Goblins and Hobogoblins. I bashed my way through the Goblins and opened fire on the Minotaurs with my shotgun, taking them down easily. Ivory took the Hydra, switching between her Golden Gun and Sniper, and Maya went around wielding her Arc Blade.

Throughout our combined efforts, we were able to take out the Vex quickly. The gate suddenly started to flash and whir before finally opening.

"I hope this works!" Lazarus yelled before we were engulfed in a blinding light.

We waited a moment until the light finally faded away, revealing an entirely new location.

"We were teleported...?" Ivory asked as we heard the gate close behind us.

"If this is the Black Garden, it's not on any map of known space and time..." My Ghost awed.

"Well, I guess we just keep going." I sighed as I reloaded my shotgun.

We made our way through the area, which was filled with dozens of Vex, but they didn't seem to react to our presence.

"They're in some kind of stasis..." Lazarus observed as he wiped some moss off of one to get a better look at it.

I approached a different one and tapped it roughly with my finger. It's eye suddenly shone a bright red as I did, making me jump back in shock. All the other statues surrounding us came to life in unison, and sensed us immediately.

"Damn it, Ezekiel...!" Lazarus grunted as he whipped out his hand cannon and rapidly started shooting everything that got near him. Between him and Ivory, the Goblins were cleared out quickly. "We should be more careful." He growled quietly and continued through the area.

We encountered several other statues that came to life just as we passed by, but eliminated them quickly. Eventually, we made it to a cliff that overlooked an enormous black garden.

"So it's literally a Black Garden." Ivory giggled. "I thought the name was like a metaphor for its dark power or something."

"You over complicate things." Maya joked, tapping Ivory's head with the tip of her fusion rifle playfully.

"Well there is something extremely dark down below..." Robo chimed in. "I think we found the Black Garden's heart."

We continued down, slaughtering more Vex along the way, until we came across a large force field blocking our exit.

"The Vex here are powering that barrier! Take them out." Maya's Ghost ordered.

Maya and Lazarus took out their rocket launchers immediately and went to work on the Major Hydra. Meanwhile Ivory and I took out the Goblins and Minotaurs with our primary weapons. It took a little longer than before, but we eventually managed to defeat them all.

"The barrier is down." My Ghost confirmed.

We made our way further below before coming to another stop in a large square pavilion. Some circular door sat on the far side, and dozens of Vex began teleporting around the area.

"Dead end." My Ghost sighed frustratedly. "The heart is just beyond here. This place is just one big machine. Let's try to get close to the clusters."

Maya huffed angrily and reached for her pulse rifle, something I didn't see her do often.

"Is your arm hurting?" I asked her.

"Nothing I can't handle." She scoffed. "I didn't come this far with you to sit out of a fight."

"Just don't push yourself too hard." I replied calmly, quietly convincing myself that she'd be fine.

"Start worrying about more important things." She remarked.

We pushed into the storm of Vex, taking out everything that got in our way while getting close to the cluster. Ivory quickly deployed Robo onto it as we defended them from oncoming enemies.

"I can manipulate them." Robo said reassuringly as he scanned the machine. "I just need to break their manifold encryption...That did it! Let's hit the other one!"

On a large plateau in the center of the pavilion, a massive obelisk of light suddenly began to form, taking a rectangular shape.

"It's working...a Spire is forming!" Lazarus shouted excitedly.

We fought our way to the other cluster and Maya quickly sent her Ghost to scan it.

"Let's see if it worked!" He said hopefully as he finished scanning.

The 'box' of light on the plateau disappeared, and a Spire quickly took its place. We made our way to the circular door, where some sort of conflux appeared. I sent my Ghost to activate it.

"All we need is permission to enter...as in a Gate Lord." He chuckled.

The conflux disappeared, and a small grid of light in the shape of a door appeared before us. It eventually solidified in place, then suddenly lifted high in the air. Behind us, the Spire fired a beam of light, and the 'door' broke into several smaller pieces. The light reflected off of each piece, pointing towards the circular locked door. The door eventually succumbed, each segment pushing back in eights, before the bottom half split open slowly.

"The Heart of the Black Garden..." Lazarus gasped in awe.

"Well, here goes nothing...or everything." I added, equally awestruck.

We each looked at each other and nodded determinedly before walking through the door.

What we saw inside was horrific.

The area was pulsing with electricity as three gargantuan stone statues of Gate Lords surrounded the heart, as if defending it. On the ground below, several Vex Goblins and Hobgoblins were kneeling in front of the heart in some form of worship. They slowly began activating as we walked in, as if sensing us. We froze as they turned towards us, their red lights glowing brightly as if they were angry. They slowly started to rise and advance towards us.

"Well, I guess we could say this is quite... Vexing?" I could almost feel the arrogant smirk creeping onto the Warlock's face.

Maya walked up and put an arm over his shoulder. "If one of us doesn't make it out of here, I hope it's you." She said simply.

"Aww, same to you sweetheart." He replied cheerfully.

My Ghost approached slowly me. "So... think you can kill a god?"

"Don't tell me you're afraid." I mocked playfully. "If we can kill it, it's not a 'god.'"

"Just don't get cocky." He replied before disappearing from sight.

I turned back towards the advancing Vex and reloaded my shotgun. "Split up!" I ordered.

We each ran off in a different direction and into the horde of Vex that awaited us. I could feel the brightness of my eyes intensify as I punched and battered through them, my veins pumping with adrenaline. If we succeeded in this mission, the Traveler would heal, and there would be a chance of our being able to see another Golden Age.

I leapt and hovered up high before unleashing my Fist of Havoc onto a small group of Goblins and Hobogoblins, finishing off the Vex in my area.

"Ghost, change my subclass again." I ordered. He scanned me quickly before disappearing again, and I ran towards the center of the battlefield where the others were waiting.

"Now what?" Ivory panted.

As if on cue, the Heart sent a pulse of energy to one of the statues before it. It began to shake and crack before revealing light underneath. The pedestal on which the statue stood slowly began to sink, rotating as it did so.

"The Heart is bringing that statue to life!" Lazarus exclaimed.

The rubble eventually exploded, revealing a different kind of enemy. It removed an enormous hammer from its back and proceeded to fire on us.

Ivory and I rushed behind a small overhang for cover as Lazarus and Maya went elsewhere. I quickly stepped out to hurl a magnetic grenade at the statue creature before taking cover again. I waited for a moment before hearing two satisfying explosions and a piercing cry to accompany them.

I then took out my new machine gun for the first time today as Ivory threw her own grenades at the monstrosity. Now was as good a time as ever to try it out. We stepped out together and unleashed a flurry of attacks onto it, eventually destroying it. The Heart suddenly started looking a bit smaller.

"The Heart is dying! Keep fighting them!" Robo cheered on.

The Heart sent another pulse to a different statue. It came to life just as the monstrosity before it.

It fired heavy bolts of energy in our direction, forcing us to take cover again. I was panting heavily from the rush of destroying the first one when I noticed more Goblins and Hobgoblins approaching us. I wasted no time activating my Ward of Dawn as they began to open fire on us.

Ivory jumped inside and caught her breath quickly before activating her Golden Gun and taking out an oncoming Minotaur.

I turned back to the live statue, which was firing in another direction where I assumed the rest of my teammates to be. I hovered out of the purple bubble and opened fire onto it from the air, gaining it's attention again before falling back inside. I caught sight of Maya and Lazarus before coming down; they were standing with their backs together and fighting off the Vex, each with their rocket launchers in hand. They looked maniacal, yet great fighting together.

Ivory had already left and was firing with her sniper rifle until the creature finally fell apart, destroyed.

The weakened Heart fired another pulse towards the last statue, bringing to life as well.

My Ward of Dawn had finally faded, and we were entirely surrounded by Vex subordinates, not to mention exhausted. I switched to my shotgun and covered Ivory against oncoming Harpies and Minotaurs as she continued firing at the live statue. The statue was firing towards the others, which was good for Ivory but had me increasingly worried for the others.

I punched the last Harpy, sucking its energy to heal myself a bit before taking my machine gun and turning my attention to the statue monster one last time. There wasn't much offense coming from the other side of the battlefield, which worried me greatly. Nonetheless, Ivory and I finished the job, finally having destroyed the three statues.

The coliseum suddenly began to shake violently as the Heart started to expand and falter, surging with electricity. An explosion of white light eventually washed over the Black Garden, blinding us temporarily. When my vision cleared, nothing was left of the heart but floating embers, still lit. The environment's color changed, and a peaceful quiet surrounded the Garden.

I panted heavily and turned to Ivory, who embraced me tightly. "We did it...!" She gasped.

"Yeah, we did." I smiled warmly, hugging her back. "Now let's find the others."

We stood up and walked hand in hand around the battlefield before coming upon Maya, who was desperately pumping Lazarus' chest.

My eyes widened in fear and I rushed to her side. "What happened?!" I demanded.

"He... he won't get up!" She panted, flabbergasted. "He jumped in front of a bolt that was coming for me... he won't get up!"

"Can't you do something?" I asked my Ghost desperately.

He scanned Lazarus's body for a moment before coming back up. "The darkness has consumed him. There's nothing I can do... he's gone."

I stared and the slightly charred corpse before sighing. "Well, you got your wish, Maya."

My reply was a violent shove, sending me tumbling down hard.

"Don't you ever say that again!" She shouted in a fit of rage. "I didn't ask for this...! I didn't..." She stopped herself as her voice began to tremble, but quickly composed herself and cleared her throat.

My Ghost flew between us silently, getting our attention. "The Speaker is calling us home." He said quietly.

I stared at him for a moment before pushing myself back on my feet. I gently picked up the Warlock's corpse and started walking towards the Garden's exit.

"Let's go then, girls."

~~~

We were surrounded by other members of the Future War Cult as we watched Lazarus' grave go down. There was a small graveyard next to the Tower, where they buried diseased Guardians. We were quiet as they finished burying his coffin. It had been awhile since I'd seen Maya look so anguished; she looked like she was struggling to hold back tears as she balled her fists tightly, muttering something under her breath.

The leader of the FWC, an Exo woman named Lakshmi-2, approached us after the funeral.

"Lazarus was a solitary man in the Cult." She started gingerly. "He liked to get things done on his own. He was proud; but you managed to befriend him, and to teach him what it meant to be part of a team. For that, I thank you." She pulled something out of her bag, which I realized to be Lazarus' bond, and handed it to me.

I nodded respectfully and took it, not knowing exactly how to respond.

She smiled warmly at us. "The darkness will pay for this. The Future War Cult is about to take on an entirely new meaning." She growled before finally leaving.

I wondered at her choice of words, but dismissed the thought quickly. I turned back to the grave and made a quick prayer before turning to leave. "C'mon, guys."

"Wait." Maya called out. I turned to see her placing a dead Ghost shell on top of the tombstone.

"What's that?" I asked.

"His Ghost." She replied, refusing to explain any further.

~~~

We found that strange Exo woman in front of our quarters as we went to rest. She acknowledged us immediately and approached.

"I congratulate you on your success in the Black Garden." She said approvingly before looking out towards the Traveler. "It will heal, with time. But remember that the fight is not yet over."

"What do you mean?" Ivory asked curiously.

She turned back to us with a determined look in her eyes. "I've seen terrible things born out in the Darkness. But nothing as dark as what's been sitting under your nose this entire time. Our fight is not yet over, Guardians." With that, she pulled out a strange-looking pulse rifle and handed it to Ivory. "Please, don't stop fighting for a brighter future." She finished before walking away and disappearing from sight.

Ivory stared at the weapon before handing it to Maya. "I'm sure you'd know how to use it better than us." She said warmly.

Maya just nodded and took it without a word.

"What she said was a bit strange, wasn't it?" I interrupted, getting their attention.

"Yeah, it was a bit off." Ivory agreed. "But what can we do besides keep fighting off the darkness?"

"I guess so..." I sighed before opening the door to our quarters to finally get some rest.

Fan art above by Icecream_Puppy. Thank you very much :3