Hey guys, here's part nine of the Journey Home! Sorry it took me a while to write, but I've been a bit busy lately. In any case, here's [url=https://www.bungie.net/en/Forums/Post/223478191?showBanned=0&path=0]part eight[/url] if you missed it, or, if you're looking for a different part, here's the t[url=https://www.bungie.net/en/Forums/Post/222615264?showBanned=0&path=0]able of contents[/url]! Stay classy, Guardians! Three days later, the Sunbreakers arrived at the village gate, as promised. Simon, as usual, was in the lead. “Open the gate!” he shouted. The villagers quickly pulled the wooden palisade open. Simon held his helmet in one hand, his weapon in the other. He smiled. “Glad I didn’t have to open it myself this time,” he said. “Good; you’re learning hospitality.” Oren walked up to him. “Can you do what you say?” he asked. “If you’re asking whether or not I can kill Fallen, the answer is yes, I can,” Simon said. “Let me see what you’ve got.” “I want your word,” Oren said. Simon rolled his eyes. “Is this really necessary?” he asked. “Yes,” Oren said, “it is. Swear by whatever it is you hold dear that you’ll keep your end of the bargain, and we’ll keep ours.” Simon sighed. “Fine,” he said. “I swear by my light that we’ll kill your Fallen for you if you give us our glimmer. Are we done now, or do you want me to pinky-promise as well?” Oren made no reply, but walked towards the center of the village. Simon and his companions followed. Alesha watched as Oren gathered the titans by the small mound of glimmer in the village center. “This is all the glimmer we could find.” Simon inspected the pile, his face inscrutable. Then, he looked up at Oren. “I’ve had people try to shortchange me before. But this?” he gestured at the pile. “This is just bloody insulting.” “This is what you wanted!” Oren said. “This - glimmer - stuff! This is all we could find!” Simon shook his head in disgust. “Wildlings,” he said. He looked around the village. “This barely covers the Captain from the other day,” he said. “Let alone two hundred Fallen!” “What more do you want?” Oren protested. Simon smiled. “What do I want?” he asked. “Well, now you’re asking the right questions, mate.” He spread his arms out. “You seem like good people - you really do. And I want to help you! But I can’t do that without compensation, now can I? Because that’s just not fair.” Oren looked down at the ground. “What do you need?” he mumbled. “Well, how about we start with everything you own, and go from there,” Simon said. “Alright, mate?” Oren blinked. “What?” “Look, I’m sure you’ve got some good stuff here,” Simon said. “Some of those weapons didn’t look too bad - and even Wildlings like you probably have some old Golden Age tech lying around - even if you don’t know what it does, eh? And, you’ve got food, I know. You’ve gotta be able feed yourselves, eh? “So here’s the deal.” Simon looked down at Oren, a mad grin on his face. “Me and my mates here, we go own a shopping spree, alright? We something we like, we take it. And maybe, just maybe, it’ll be enough to cover your expenses.” Oren paled. “I - I can’t do that.” Simon pursed his lips. “Well then,” he said. “We’ll just have to let the Fallen have it. Be a real shame, but ah well.” He walked up to Alesha, and looked down on her. She backed up into the side of a house, trying to get away from his piercing gaze. “They’ll kill the children same as the adults,” Simon said. “Tsk tsk. And after I went through all the effort I went through to save her the other day.” He turned to Oren. “But the choice is yours, I suppose.” A silence descended over the village. Beads of sweat dripped off Oren’s forehead, but for a moment, they seemed to cease their descent, as though time itself had been frozen by the Sunbreaker’s threat. Then, a noise broke the silence. A sound that was nothing like Alesha had ever heard before. The only thing she could compare it too was the air on a windy day - but even that sounded much, much different. Alesha looked around, and finally found the source of the noise - a strange triangle, speeding through the sky. “What is it?” she wondered aloud. The triangle slowly came closer, and Alesha quickly realized that it was fairly large - at least thirty feet long. It was also a light green color, and two red spots appeared on it’s far edge. The triangle zoomed over the village, stopping suddenly just outside the main gate. Alesha and the other villagers quickly ran towards it. The Sunbreakers hesitated for a moment, and then followed. The triangle floated in the air, about twenty feet away from the main gate. Suddenly, there was a flash of blue light, and another metal man appeared on the ground. His armor was blue, and in place of a hammer, a sash was clipped to his waist. on the other side, a hand cannon was holstered, and another weapon was slung across his back. “Friends of yours?” Oren asked. Simon made no reply. “Bloody Pilgrim Guard,” he muttered. “Everybody get back!” The villagers gave Simon a wide berth, but they watched as the other metal man advanced towards the village. Alesha made her way toward the front of the crowd, desperate to see this new arrival. Simon smiled, and spread his arms wide. “Erling!” he said. “Fancy seeing you here!” The metal man walked through the gates, and stopped. “Simon,” he said. “Busy extorting more villagers, I see?” “Extorting is such a strong word, Erling,” Simon said. “I prefer. . . propositioning.” The metal man stared at Simon. “Leave,” he said. “Now.” “Listen here, Erling,” Simon said, the smile dropping from his face. “I found these people. I got here first, not you. I own them.” “Why don’t you let these people decide that for themselves, Simon,” the metal man said. “Beat it.” The two men paused. The metal man sighed. “Come on, Simon,” he said. “What do these people have to offer you anyways? Besides a soul, perhaps.” “I do too have a soul,” Simon said. He smiled. “It’s just black as soot.” The new metal man shook his head. “Look at them; they can’t afford to pay your fees. What are Sunbreakers like you even doing, milking a place like this? Unless. . .” He stroked his metal chin. “You’re desperate, aren’t you?” Simon’s face darkened. “Watch what you say next, mate,” he said. The metal man chuckled. “Come on, Simon,” he said. “What happened? Did you abandon a contract, like the coward you are?” “Let’s just say me and my mates here didn’t kiss the right asses,” Simon said. “Ten year suspension.” Simon spat on the ground. “And don’t you dare call me or my friends cowards ever again, you hear? Or I swear by the Light that I’ll make you regret it.” “Must’ve been pretty bad, for Ouros to kick you out of the nest for a year,” the metal man said. “I said, drop it,” Simon said, his voice icy. The metal man was silent. “Better,” Simon said. He walked up to the new metal man. “This village is my claim. Now sod off, before -“ Without saying a word, the metal man grabbed Simon’s arm, twisting it around. Simon screamed in pain. His armor cracked, and Alesha heard the sound of bone snapping. Holding Simon’s arm behind his back, the metal man pulled the Sunbreaker to his chest, produced the hand cannon from his waist, and held it against Simon’s head. “Drop your weapons or your boss dies,” he ordered. The two other Sunbreakers instantly drew their weapons, and pointed them at the metal man and Simon. “Not a problem,” one of them said. “His ghost can just res him later.” “How much do you wanna bet that I can take out his ghost as well?” the metal man said. “Hell, I can probably get at least one of you before I go down. Maybe both.” The other two Sunbreakers exchanged nervous glances. Simon’s face was red with pain. “Just do what the bastard says already!” he said. “Simon -“ one of the Sunbreakers began. “Just do it!” The Sunbreakers uneasily put down their guns. “Better,” the metal man said. “Now get out of here.” “If you think we’re leaving you with him -“ one of the Sunbreakers began. “You’d be right,” the metal man replied. “Now go. Before I change my mind.” The two Sunbreakers walked out of the village palisade, glancing back at Simon and the metal man. The metal man kept watching them until they reached the tree line, and then let out a loud breath. “Well,” he said, “glad that’s over.” He let Simon fall to the ground, where he landed face-first in the mud. Oren looked up at the metal man. “Okay,” he said. “Now who are you?” The metal man looked up at Oren. Slowly, he took his helmet off. Underneath it was a bald man with a red beard ringing his chin, and two piercing blue eyes. “My name is Erling,” he said. “And I’m a Guardian.” “What’s that?” someone asked. “Are you like those Sunbreakers?” Erling frowned, and looked down at Simon, who was trying to push himself off the ground. He stepped on the armored man, forcing him back down. “In a manner of speaking,” he said. “But mercenaries like the Sunbreakers give other Guardians a bad name.” “I think that’s quite enough name calling,” Simon grumbled, lifting his face out of the mud. Erling ignored him. “I’m here to get you all to safety,” he said. “There’s a place - a place where you won’t have to worry about the Fallen ever again. You will receive medical care for your sick and injured.” He looked around. “And I will take you there.” “This place,” Alesha asked, “what’s it called?” Erling looked her in the eyes. They reminded her of Uncle Tom’s eyes - sad, loving. . . and safe. “The City.” [url=https://www.bungie.net/en/Clan/Post/1371758/223913009/0/0]Part Ten[/url]