The Light Within The Darkness

Festival Of The Lost

The room Eris had stuck Immaru in was minuscule. There were no windows to watch the hours and days pass by. No electronics to hack. Just containers of decommissioned armor stacked against the far wall, and one small, empty crate in the middle of the room, adorned with a handwritten sign that simply said "YOU" and an arrow pointing menacingly downward.

It was placed there as a warning, after he was caught lurking around the more sensitive areas of the Tower. Ikora had confiscated his Shaded Shell disguise and placed a Hidden agent somewhere outside to report on his every move. She did, however, leave some blank crossword pages for him.

Immaru stared at the crate, emitting a low-pitched growl as a lone sweeper bot entered, surprising the Ghost. He circled, then scanned his random and unexpected visitor. It was standard issue, nothing special which made the Ghost huff in disappointment.

"I still can't believe Savathûn would do this to me," Immaru said to the bot as he flew directly into its face. "The nerve of it all, leaving me here as collateral. And then to ask for information? Hmph."

He watched the bot shuffle away and broom the open crate. "Then again, who says I have to share everything?"

Immaru swooped around, quickly hacking into the sweeper bot's systems. "Grab an empty kit bag from over here. Should be just the right size if I remove a little weight." As the bot complied, Immaru chuckled, shedding his standard Hive shell. "Right... time for a jailbreak."

After a few arduous attempts and one superbly acted sob story told to an incredibly gullible Ghost, Immaru eventually sauntered off in a new Constricting Shell.

In his latest disguise, he skulked through halls and hangars and workshops, scanning everything and anything he could find on his way to the Courtyard. There, he hovered among the gnarled branches of a giant tree, nearly invisible among the colorful lanterns adorning it.

He watched as Guardians meditated among the candles, the flames flickering in the breeze. Others, dressed as insects and arachnids, gleefully danced or bobbed for apples, their revelry flanked by a pair of Guardians "galloping" by with coconut shells.

It was like a goddamn circus around here, everyone dressed up, dancing and acting like utter idiots.

Immaru didn't see the appeal.

Amid the flurry of costumes and masks, his gaze finally settled on people sharing small, wrapped objects. Immaru gingerly floated closer to the base of the tree to get a better look.

"Hey, move along, pal. I saw that candy first," A voice sneered from behind him, "I called dibs on that candy. Don't make me say it again!"

Immaru turned to see another Ghost as she made a beeline for the candy on the ground beneath him.

"You—what are you wearing? You dipped your shell in... Human food?!" Immaru spat, disgust coating his voice as he stared at the food littered along her frame.

The other Ghost sighed. "It's a Caramel Apple Shell, you dolt. If you knew anything, you'd recognize how special it is."

"Looks sticky." He said dryly.

"It's a del-i-cacy. Note the elegant ornamentation of crushed toffee bits," She said and spun around to show off said toffee bits.

"If you haven't lost your self-respect yet, allow me to lose it on your behalf," He shot back sarcastically.

Her iris narrowed as she fixated on Immaru's shell. "Pff. I'm surprised your Guardian didn't dress you up like a lemon," She scoffed, floating around him and eyeing his shell with an unamused expression.