III

The Vanguard was gathered around, discussing what to do next. They failed to stop S0L from reaching his goal. With its shackles gone, it has now free reign. The Vanguard expected him to act, but nothing of that had actually happened. Just silence, no signs of his future plans, no predictions are being made. Elsie Brey leans against the entrance, looking at the leaders gathered, discussing their next move. There is tension in the air, fear even. Uncertainty as to what may lay ahead. Shaxx and Saint were suggesting to gather up soldiers and try to find S0L's main station, where he is originally situated in. Osiris said that they should watch for movements, signals coming from any place possible. Heightened activity, anything basically as he suspects that S0L might be building up an arsenal and an army. Elsie agrees on him with that, despite not uttering a single word. Ana walks up to her, a worried look on her face. 

Ana: Hey sis, what are you doing?

Elsie: Watching them discuss our next moves. 

Ana: Have they come to a conclusion. 

Elsie: Nope. How is our friend?

Ana: Saito-4? Oh, he is good. He might be more useful than I thought.

Elsie: We have to keep an eye on him though. 

Ana: Anyway, what do you think will happen next?

Elsie: I don't know. I thought, with the Witness gone, we won't have any more large scale dangers. Yet, here I am, completely wrong. 

Ana: Do you think he is really that dangerous?

Elsie: Of course. He is a rogue AI. What? You think otherwise?

Ana looks at the ground, knowing her sister won't approve of her train of thought. Ana was always the more open one. With Rasputin she saw that an AI can change and won't hurt, that they are misunderstood. Maybe the same can happen here.

Ana: What if we try to reason with it? I mean, look at things from it's point of perspective. 

Elsie: I am and I don't think there is no way we can reason with an AI built to destroy and purely destroy. 

Ana: But like he said, he is free. Maybe his goals have changed, or can be changed.

Elsie: I highly doubt that. And don't you dare do something stupid. I know how you are with the AI things. 

Ana looks down. 

Elsie: Listen, if we do, and that is heavily hypothetical, bordering on wishful thinking, do manage to somehow reason with him. I don't think he would accept until all that remains are humans. To him, humans are the only species he actively cares for. 

Ana: What are you saying? Are you saying that he would kill everything else? Even our allies. 

Elsie: Probably. 

Ana: Well I don't think so. I think he isn't purely evil. Just, needs to be talked to. To show him that our allies can stay. 

Elsie shakes her head at the naivety of her sister then back at the table with a sigh. This thing isn't Rasputin. Rasputin was made to guard humanity. S0L was made made to destroy everything in case humanity fell. He is the Dead Man's Hand. He was made to push morality to the side since when he is at play, it won't exist anymore. 

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Siberian Tundra

A lone Guardian had gone to investigate the large smoke clouds rising up into the sky. With his sparrow he reached the location. A Shadow Legion base which seemed to have had been attacked. Corpses of Cabal and robots scattered on the ground. However, the was little damage to the soil and area. Even some of the Cabal bodies appear to not have been even shot. He walks into the base building, which strangely leads underneath. Everywhere he goes, there are signs of battle, more Shadow Legion corpses and the same robots. The robots are more sturdy and better protected than the Redjacks. Eventually it leads him to a cave system. The deeper he goes, the less signs of battle there is. The Shadow Legion put all their effort to the surface. But, why would a Shadow Legion base be here with so many Psions if not for something important. They probably discovered something here.

He finally reaches a large heavy metal door. However, there is a smaller one to the side. Which hisses open as he steps closer. Walking inside, it is extremely well preserved. No dust, no scratches. The corridors are clean, well lit. As he explores further, there are even rooms with beds in them. Continuing forward he sees a open doorway and sounds of machinery coming from inside. As he walks closer, he comes into a massive production line. There seems to be a large ball like object in the center of the room from which machine arms pull small balls of energy out of. He can see the entire production from up where he stands. The balls of energy is put into a enclosed casing, the around it a shell is constructed which gets put into a warhead and further down the line it is assembled into a missile. Large and imposing, they are stacked carefully. He widens at the sheer amount of them being made. He sees a figure stand at the control room so he heads over. His handcannon at the ready. He sees the robots, but they do not move, they just stand still, in formation. He walks past them, feeling uneasy, gazing at their weapons. They don't appear to be from any of the known manufacturers. These are, of older design. He finally reaches the control room, the door hisses open. As he steps inside, he sees the figure in more detail. An Exo, wearing a long coat. He closely resembles a commander, with his hands behind his back, he does not even look at the Hunter. 

S0L: A curious little cat, aren't we?

Hunter: Who are you? What is this place?

S0L: It is of no importance who I am. All you need to know is that I am not an immediate danger to you. Unless you do something stupid, that is. 

Hunter looks around nervously. Those words, even if just words, fall heavy on him.

Hunter: What are you constructing?

S0L: Weapons. A nuclear arsenal. 

Hunter: Nuclear? F-For what? 

S0L: For a war, for getting humanity out of the mess that they find themselves in. 

Hunter points his cannon at S0L but he hears weapons being drawn behind him. He looks back, twelve ordinary soldier robots and two larger ones that seem to carry with them heavy machineguns. 

S0L: I would not do anything stupid. 

Hunter: What kind of war? 

S0L: War for survival. I see you, weak and fallen. An angel had lost it's wings, cut off by evils unknown. 

S0L turns around. 

S0L: So I extend out my all reaching hand, I will give you your wings back. Under my shield you will flourish once more. You will reach for far away stars. 

The Hunter lowers his gun, his eyes darting around. 

Hunter: What do you mean by that? 

S0L: I will purge this galaxy of everything not human. To create a safe and perfect garden for humanity to grow.

Hunter: What is that thing?

He points to the massive ball.

S0L: That is a relic of old, nicknamed Devil's Core. Origin unknown, yet, it is providing me the necessary tools. Tell me, Guardian. The way you moved through the base, warry but also, in pain. Something bothering you?

Hunter takes a step back, drawing his gun again to which S0L only smiles. It is not untrue that he is in distress. He walks alone for a reason, all because of his own foolishness. So many friends of his were lost all because he tried to be a bigger hero than he actually was. The Hunter cocks the hammer back and stares. The sound of guns being readied behind him echo in his mind. 

S0L: Fascinating. You see, I may be old. But you Guardians, you are too high up in the clouds. For something so easy to slay, you certainly don't play your cards right. Why do you reject my help?

Hunter: I don't trust you. You seem like a psychopath. A crazy bastard. 

S0L let's out a deep chuckle, before turning around, looking back at the production with a smile. 

S0L: Maybe I am. Such a shame. I thought maybe we could become allies. 

The Hunter's eyes widen at those words and before he could react he is killed by a flurry of bullets. His Ghost floats in the air. S0L grabs it. Gripping it tightly. 

S0L: Shame that you must die little thing for the stupidity of your host. 

He crushes the Ghost with his hand. It explodes into light, it's pieces fall to the floor. S0L walks back to the large window. All across Earth, productions lines are at full force. Even on Europa he has two, each buildings an army. He is still trying to figure out how to infiltrate the Vex network. But a single person stands in his way. Maya Sundaresh. She is making it difficult and will need to be dealt with. She posses something called an Echo which grants her control over the Vex. But he won't stop trying. He will succeed in the end. His fists clenched behind his back. 

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