Here's part 18 of Into the Hellmouth! This one's a little short, but it was at a good stopping point, so I figured, what the hell. Also, we have officially hit 20,000 words! I never would've thought that it would be this long, but here we are, and it's not even close to finished. Here's part 17 if you missed it: https://www.bungie.net/en/Forums/Post/204473489?sort=0&page=0 In the meantime, if you like it, give it a bump, and I'll get more out soon. Here's to another 20,000. :D Vell stopped. He turned around, and faced the warlock. “What is it?” he asked. Toland looked Vell in the eyes. “You know why I asked for you, don’t you?” he said. Vell began to tense up. “Because I’m the only reason that anybody managed to make it off of Luna alive,” he said. “Yes and no,” Toland replied. “I called you because the official story is that you cleared out the Hive with a single Fist of Havoc. But we know that that’s not the whole truth, now is it?” Vell pursed his lips. “Yes,” he said, “it is.” Toland’s expression remained blank. “I’ve been around along time, Titan,” he said. “So don’t doubt my ability to call bullshit.” Vell began breathing heavily. He began to remember. Eyas-6. Eyas-6 on the surface of the moon, the knight. The knight, the huge, huge knight and his sword. Vell squeezed his eyes shut, leaning against the wall, but the memories kept coming, and they wouldn’t stop, the memories wouldn’t stop coming! He didn’t want to remember, he couldn’t think about it, couldn’t think - - the roar of the massive knight bearing down on them, his armor a sickly yellow. He gripped a sword with both hands, as Vell and Eyas braced for a fight. The knight bellowed, and the titans began their attack, punching, dodging, shooting. Finally, Eyas delivered a brutal kick to the knight’s face, and sending it sprawling. It dropped it’s sword to the ground, and a nearby wizard prepared to blast Eyas as he fell, flailing, to the ground. Vell grabbed the sword, acting more out of instinct and gut feeling than anything else. He swung the sword over his head, and brought it down on the wizard’s head. When it hit the ground, a blaze of blue Light shot out from it, obliterating everything in it’s path. An entire section of the Hive disappeared. Guardians began running through the gap, but as Vell ran with them, he realized that Eyas had disappeared - he was gone. He had been there, and now, he was simply gone. Gone. Gone!!!! Vell’s eyes snapped open as he returned to the present. Toland was staring right at him. “So,” he said, “what really happened on the moon?” Vell sighed, and got to his feet. “Ghost?” he said. The little metal orb popped up next to him. “Yes?” it said. “Play the recording for Toland here,” he said. The Ghost seemed surprised. “You’re sure?” it said. Vell nodded, and turned away. “Just do it.” “Alright,” the Ghost said. It moved back a little ways, and projected a recording of Vell’s battle with the knight onto the wall. Toland remained passive throughout the recording. When it finished, he raised an eyebrow, and turned towards Vell. “You’re not the first Guardian to fight with a sword, you know,” he said. “Radeghast, the commander of the Iron Lords, is said to have fought with one, and used it in much the same way as you.” “Was that what killed him?” Vell asked. Toland looked thoughtful. “No. . .” he said. “I believe that Radeghast died when -“ “No!” Vell shouted, “not Radeghast! Eyas-6!” Toland frowned. “The titan in the video?” he asked. Vell nodded. Toland frowned. He sighed, and stroked his chin. “So, you think that he was killed in the energy wave that you unleashed with your sword,” he said. “That’s exactly what I think,” Vell replied. Toland stared at Vell long and hard. “I can’t say, Titan,” he said, “I honestly can’t say.” The warlock shrugged. “I suppose that it is possible that you killed him. However, it’s equally possible that he was vaporized by Hive ordinance, or that you simply lost him in the chaos.” Vell nodded, struggling to keep his face expressionless. Then, he began to walk towards the door. “Tarlowe,” Toland said. The titan turned to face him. “Know this,” the warlock replied. “Even if that titan did die because you swung a sword, you still would not have killed him. No. The murderer lies there, on Luna.” He pointed towards a window, gesturing at the open sky. “Never lose sight of who the true enemy is, titan,” he said. “Because that’s when you truly begin to lose.” Vell nodded stiffly, and walked out of the room, the door closing behind him. Toland sighed. He’d hoped that the Titan would’ve been more eager to use a sword again. How could he have known that Vell had accidentally killed his best friend? Oh, well. He’d just have to make due with what he had. Just like he’d always done. He heard a noise behind him, and whirled around, cursing. “How many times have I told you to use the door like a normal person?” he snapped. Eris smiled. “Now where’s the fun in that?” she asked. Toland snorted. “Fine,” he said. “Did you read my journal like I told you to?” “As much as I could,” she replied. “As much as you could?” Toland replied. He sounded quite offended. Eris frowned. “I’m not an exo,” she said, “I can’t just download the data into my brain.” Fair enough, Toland thought. He wasn’t used to having to share his work with anyone - besides his ghost and Osiris, that was. The Sunbreakers didn’t care much for theoretical knowledge of an enemy that they were highly unlikely to ever see, let alone fight, and the few people he’d encountered in the Wild had usually been trying to kill him. Their mistake. Toland scowled. “Well then,” he said, sitting back down in his armchair, “tell me what you did manage to learn, then.” Eris nodded slowly. “I will,” she said. Edit: Part 19: https://www.bungie.net/en/Forums/Post/205263376?page=0&sort=0&showBanned=0&path=1