Jayla stared at her Warlock as he settled on the ground next to Asher and leaned against the wall, breathing heavily. Merin floated out of his hand and started scanning up and down his body. "Your hood activator is broken again... you need to stop getting slapped by Minotaurs-"

Asher sat up and began tinkering with Darren's hood. "Remain still, Assistant, if you wish this to be done quickly. It appears the tertiary connector has come loose again…"

"Darren, what happened to you?!" Jayla was shocked. "How did you get yourself in this much trouble?!"

Darren stared at her. "You try holding back the Vex yourself for days!...Right?" He looked up at Merin.

"It's been just over 24 hours." She answered.

Darren leaned heavily against the wall and closed his eyes. "That's all it's been?..."

Asher firmly took his shoulder and tipped him forward so he could see the hood activator at the base of his neck and Darren rolled his eyes.

Jayla knelt next to him on his other side. "Darren, we jumped right in after you. It couldn't have been more than a 3-5 minute delay, at most."

Darren shook his head. "Time passes differently in here...or at least in this pocket of the Pyramidian."

Jayla's eyes widened. "We're in the Pyramidian?"

Darren nodded. "Asher confirmed. But not a part that anybody has been to yet, i don't think. Or maybe they have, and the Vex have changed it...I don't know. All i know is, this part seems...isolated somewhat, but it's still absolutely infested with Vex and they're all out for blood. Asher has waited here, working on the gate to see if he can force an open window back out from this side. You see...we can't get out."

Jayla sat back on her heels, trying to process everything he said.

"So...5 minutes is basically a day here...and...We...can't get out?"

Darren shook his head. "Not until the gate opens from this side. Asher said it used to happen on a regular interval, which is why he was comfortable going back and forth occasionally. But it's malfunctioning."

Jayla was trying hard not to panic. She was starting to think she had made a mistake. "So in the meantime...we fight hoards of Vex, while no one knows where we are, for...a lot longer than they realize?"

Darren nodded. "...in a nutshell. We're safe for the moment because we have control over this gate." He nodded to the second gate across the room. "i think it's part of the malfunction. They can't open it from their end; we can only open it from our's. But I'm sure it won't take them long to find a work-around, so we need to move quickly. We have to find some way out of this pocket so we can contact the Vanguard, or we have to go back thru this gate when it opens from this end. Either option is fine. Because of the time delay, we can't communicate with them until we get out."

Jayla continued nodded while he talked. "So we're stuck here. What is this going to do to our Light?"

Darren looked at Merin. "We've had some issues with that already. I carry enough emergency supplies to sustain the entire fireteam for 6 months, everywhere we go, so quite honestly, we're not nearly as bad off as we could have been-"

Jayla stared at him. "SIX MONTHS?! When on earth did you ever think we would be trapped in a situation like this for that long? Enough that you needed to carry supplies for such a circumstance EVERYWHERE?!"

Darren rolled his eyes. "I like to be prepared. Sue me. Anyhow. Things like food and water won't be a problem, as long as we ration carefully. Asher has no Light, so his physical needs will be more demanding than our's. Which is why i've elected to have him supervise the gate and let me know immediately if it opens from this end. If you let him adjust your comm frequencies, we can communicate with eachother while in this delayed-time pocket."

He sighed " This is where things could get tricky. We just need to be careful...Merin thinks it would be best to conserve our Light for emergencies only. Be careful with our use of abilities...and revives only. No healing unless it's physically hampering our ability to fight."

He winced and touched under his eye gingerly. "We'll have to let bruises and cuts heal on their own."

Jayla was amazed. "And you figured this all out in 24 hours or so?"

Darren smiled a bit. "When you leave two scholars to fight for their lives, you'd be amazed what they can do in a day. All set, Asher? I want to show them what we're up against."

Asher nodded and Darren stood up. "Be cautious, Assistant." He warned him. "Your work thus far has been...adequate, and i have no interest in training a new assistant at this time."

Darren nodded and smiled. "Yes sir."

"Darren," Jayla looked up at him. "Are you sure you're alright? L.J and i can look around; i'd rather you take a minute-"

"I'm fine." Darren reassured her. "I'm feeling better now that you are here. Your light strengthens mine, and makes this more bearable."

His hood activated and flickered a bit. "Let's go."

Jayla activated her helmet and the three guardians stepped up to the second gate, with Darren in the middle and L.J and Jayla on either side of him.

"At your leisure, sir!" Darren called.

Asher began entering commands into the tablet he was holding, and the gate activated.

Darren looked at his fireteam. "Welcome to the Pyramidian."