I was still asleep when some slight noises tried to wake me up. Instead, I just rolled over. "S***!" I sat up to realize I fell off my rocky bed that was four or five feet up. James looked up from what he was doing. "Nice..." he said as he went back to work. I stared at him for a moment. "Well, now that I am awake, what's the plan?" I asked as I got up. Morin, sitting in the back of the cave, was polishing his shotgun. "We are making our assault on Oryx..." I looked to Dakota, and all he did was nod. We had packed up all our gear while James prepared us a breakfast. He fixed us bowls of oatmeal packets, that he oddly kept with him, and Susan provided us with different fruits. "Bon appétit." Said James as he handed out the last bowl. "Thank you." We all said simultaneously. It tasted really good actually. We had to fight the worms away from our meal. As we ate, thrall shrieks filled our ears. I thought I heard one try to enter the cave with us. "They can't smell this, can they?" I asked as I watched the entrance. "Don't believe so... But be wary." Answered James. One thrall finally grew brave enough to venture into the cave. Sadly, its bravery was not rewarded. Morin grabbed the frail beast's head and twisted it backwards. The body fell limp without a sound. Morin was extremely tense, and I know why. I did. "Vestian Outpost, this is Wolf Pack actual. We are beginning our assault on Oryx. If you receive this transmission, please relay it to the Vanguard." T.C. tried to establish a connection for Dakota, but no reply. James setup his radio scanner again and studied it. "Captain, I can't locate the source, but I've identified the issue." "What is it?" Asked Dakota. "It's not Saturn's radio storms, someone has been deliberately jamming our signal. Guardian tech." James sat back, waiting for Dakota. Dakota rubbed the back of his neck. Smoke slowly rose from Dakota's shoulders. "You have to be f***ing kidding me! Who the h*** would be doing this?!" "No idea, Sir." James placed his head on his hands. "Why would someone jam us..." I dropped my head in frustration. "Arc. That exo was against us the whole time..." I thought about the events. "He has no reason to sabotage our mission." Dakota looked at me, skepticism filled his voice. "Think about it. We had no contact with the outside world, a random person claims that [i]we[/i] have been missing for four days and gives us a way to kill Oryx, [b][i]then[/i][/b] he about assassinated me when we were on to him." Morin and James looked to Dakota. "Alan's right. That exo seemed a little strange around us. Like he didn't want us knowing his little secret." Said James. "But for what reason?" Asked Dakota. "I don't know, Sir. Maybe more will come to light in time." Said James. Dakota stood up. "One battle at a time. First, let's get this deadly game of chess out of the way." Morin, James, and I stood up as well. We left the cave and walked to the rupture. The tall structure loomed ahead of us. "What do we need to find?" I asked. Dakota turned around to look at me. "We need to find the statues. They-" "Captain?" James interupted. We all turned around to see the rupture glow a bright green. Dakota turned back to the rupture. "Someone has welcomed us in. Odd." Dakota calmly led us through the gate. We were teleported into a large cooridor. As we walked down (up) the pass, odd lanterns would light up from our proximity. "These are cool. They look interesting." I said. "We approach the throne room of the King of demons.. yet you are in awe of his lights?" Asked Morin as he walked just ahead of me. "....It's the subtle details.." I replied. "Quiet. Taken just ahead." Said Dakota. We reached the end of the hall, which opened into a massive area. On the far side, a huge, white beacon lit our way. It was a sight to be seen. "What are you talking about, 'quiet'?" Colt asked, flying ahead. I tried to stop him, but he slipped through my fingers, like he always did. Colt flew above the Taken and turned into a fog light. A bright beacon, spinning, telling Oryx that we were here. The Taken screeched and walked towards us. Colt flew back to me, a grin on his face. "Well, Oryx should be rolling out the red carpet for us..." I couldn't look at him. "Captain! Let's go!" Yelled James. "Several Taken below us!" "Go, James!" Yelled Dakota. "Yes!!" With a smile, James ran to the edge of the stairs. A large storm formed over him, and arc energy sparked across his body. James leapt over the edge, as a massive lightning bolt connected with his fists! A loud explosion marked the deaths of several of Oryx's minions. "Well." Said Colt. "Shall we follow?" I asked. "Yes!" Dakota jumped down as well, so did Morin, and so did I. We rushed across the bridge. Two wizards flew towards us. Luckily. I summoned my golden gun. One bullet broke the first wizard's shield, the second killed it causing it to explode, and the third bullet broke the other wizard's shield. Dakota pulled out his sniper rifle and shot it once. "Thanks, Alan!" A sword knight rushed towards us. Morin punched it in the chest to stager it. The knight reeled in pain as Morin shoved the barrel of his shotgun into its stomach and shot. The knight fell to its knees as blue blood painted the ground around it. Morin grabbed the knight's head and pulled it down as Morin raised his knee. The door at the back of the room roared alive as it slowly opened. "Progress. We're making progress." I said. We walked up the stairs and entered into another chamber. A rupture was the centerpiece of this chamber. We walked around for a moment, trying to understand where everyone was. "This isn't right." Said James. "No. I don't like it." Dakota looked around the chamber. A loud laugh filled the air and a smokey image of Oryx looked at each of us. "Alinun! Bring these 'warriors of Light' to me! I will show them truth!" "Who's 'Alinun'?" I asked. To answer my question, several Taken were summoned into the room. And Phantom was leading them. "Wow. When will you freakin' die?!" I yelled. Phantom was jittering a lot more than usual, and his shoulders were tense. "He looks pissed." Said James. Five Taken captains lobbed large orbs of Darkness at us! "Whoa! What the h*** was that?!" Yelled Dakota. "Where's everyone at?" Asked James. "Guys?! What just happened?!" I asked. A shroud of Darkness covered our eyes. We were all blind! After a moment, the shroud went away, but what I saw was terrifying. Phantom caught me by the throat and hoisted me up. "You have resisted my will for too long!" He slowly crushed my windpipe as I struggled to loosen his grip. "Wait... 'Your will'?" Asked Dakota. "I thought you were bound by Oryx." "That's not important.. at the moment!" I yelled. My vision slowly dwindled. Phantom threw me against a rock in the room. I climbed it for support. James ran back to reload his rocket launcher. He ran back to the crowd and fired twice. None of the Taken died, all were saved by shields. "D***!" Yelled James. He switched to his auto rifle, but two Taken minotaurs grabbed James' arms. "I don't f***ing think so!" Morin jumped in air and broke the head off of one minotaur. "Thanks!" Yelled James as he punched the core out of the other minotaur. I ran back to the fight, but Phantom appeared behind me, took my arm and flipped me over his back. I couldn't move from the impact. Phantom stood over me with the shotgun's endless barrel aimed at me. "You are of no use to me..." "No!!" I heard Dakota yelled as he shot at Phantom. The bullets passed through him as if he wasn't there. Taken captains threw even more of the Darkness orbs, blinding the team. Phantom looked back to me. "Your Light will not save you here..." "Yes, it will!" I tried to double jump away, but Phantom force pushed me against a wall. "Ow!" The first shotgun shell obliterated my shoulder. The next, in my chest! "Alan?!" I heard James call. They still couldn't see. I gasped for air as I fell to the ground. The rock I had laid against was painted red from my blood. I watched as Phantom walk back to the other Guardians and throw a nova bomb in their general direction. That was the last that I saw.