Destiny 2: Frozen In Time

Chapter 21: Uncovering The Past

"So... You want to find Thorn to put down Taiki." Drifter says as the four talk on the Derelict. "All I'm going to say is, the vanguard is most likely NOT going to be happy that you uncovered a cursed hand cannon responsible for the slaughter of hundreds of guardians to do the deed, so please try to keep this under wraps."

"Of course." Suzuka replies. "It's not like they're going to know. Once Taiki is defeated, I'll dispose of the cursed weapon."

"That is if it's other properties aren't active." Drifter says. "What big blue told you was only a part of the story behind Thorn, if he told you anything about it's history."

"...What's the stuff that I wasn't told?" Suzuka asks.

"It wasn't just Yor that went batshit crazy." Drifter replies. "The gun was LITERALLY transformed into a weapon of sorrow just by having those hive bones grafted onto it. This means that it has a connection to the Hive, and you know how good those suckers are at controlling those who hold what they've made or transformed."

"Does that mean..." Spe-7 cuts herself off, not wanting to question the thought of having to fight a brainwashed Suzuka.

"I know what you're thinking, but Yor is dead and Thorn's connection to the Hive is weak, but they still have a chance of being able to control you. If anything, if you have the willpower, you may be able to overcome it's effects and use it for... Whatever you call justice."

"So where do we begin looking?" Suzuka asks.

"I would start looking in the EDZ." Drifter replies. "It's the last place where Yor stopped before he was killed. For all I know he could have left behind Thorn in a hurry, or he died holding onto his beloved gun. Whatever the case might be, just follow your gut- if it's nearby you'll probably feel it."

"Right." Suzuka says. "I imagine that Yor must have been roaming Trostland for these guardians... Maybe we can start from there?"

"You're very intuitive." Drifter replies. "Dead ringer for Ikora I tell ya. Now get going, before we start to look suspicious to the vanguard."

"Roger that." Suzuka says as the trio heads out of the derelict and sets their jumpships for the EDZ. While flying there Suzuka takes another look at the shock rifle she got from Atraks- the Fallen weapon appears to be reloadable, taking shock grenades as magazines, and it even has sights that she adjusts to fit her vision as opposed to the four-eyed Eliksni. When they finally drop down Suzuka has a chance to test out the Fallen weapon, using it to gun down a few dregs. The shots fired from the rifle home in on the dregs just like any other shock rifle, but instead of firing a few shots at a time Suzuka is able to fire it like an auto rifle and she can fire forty rounds before needing to reload.

"That could come in handy." Gold says. "I've never quite seen a gun work like that before."

"Me neither, but I got it from Atraks so she must have modified it." Suzuka replies. "I'm just surprised that I can reload this thing, even if it means I have to take some shock grenades from dead dregs."

"And these guys are everywhere." Spe-7 says. "You won't have to worry about running out of ammo."

"At the very least. Let's try those mines." Suzuka says as the trio heads into the salt mines. They run into the occasional Fallen forces every now and then, remembering the way they took to reach Hawthorne way back when Ghaul was still around, but when they reach the area where they would normally find the elevator there is a teleporter that they did not notice before.

"Did we see this beforehand?" Spe-7 asks.

"I don't think so, let's see where this goes." Suzuka replies as the trio activates the teleporter and it takes them to an area away from the mines and into a different part of the EDZ, an area that they had never seen before.

"This is weird..." Spe-7 mumbles. "To think that we had missed this little area up until now..."

"And it looks like somebody was camping here too. Look at that." Gold says as she notices the remains of what appears to be a campfire. The trio slowly approaches the campfire, not sure of what they're going to encounter, and Suzuka can feel her stomach churn as she approaches the remains of the campfire.

"I can feel it... The gun is near..." Suzuka mumbles as she slowly walks towards the campfire itself and sifts through the remains. She hits something that feels like a mix of metal and human fingernails, and she begins uncovering the area around it, and her eyes widen as she reveals what is underneath. "No way..."

"It IS Thorn..." Gold says. "It looks scary..." The gun itself appears to be glowing with a strange green light, possibly from the strange holes in the barrel, and the cylinder looks grotesque- opening the cylinder reveals that the gun fires actual thorns instead of conventional bullets and further examination reveals that the thorns themselves hold the light draining properties that both the drifter and Zavala had spoken of as when Suzuka touches one of them she can feel herself weaken and drop the thorn.

"This is it..." Suzuka mumbles. "This is the weapon that will help us defeat Taiki... For good."