"We have found new ways to weaponized curiosity. Pathways into the darkness." - Grimoire of the Warlocks

It was Harley's own mind that woke him the next morning. Images of the angry eyes of the Sol Progenies and the Garden's Heart ran through his thoughts, causing him to jerk awake. He shook his head, trying to clear them from his mind before rising from his bed with a sigh. He saw Prism's eye begin to glow from her spot on the dresser.

He dressed in his casual clothes, then sat on the couch, processing the events of the day before. He still had so many questions, not only about the Vex but also about the mechanics of being a Guardian that his experiences had brought to mind.

Prism hovered over. "Good morning," she said.

"Hey Prism..."

"What's wrong? You sound...distant."

Harley gave her a small smile. "Nothing. Just got a lot on my mind."

"You're not thinking of becoming a Warlock, are you?" she joked, "Because I think Cayde would be pretty disappointed."

"Don't worry, I'm not… Can a Guardian even switch classes?"

"No, not really. The class tends to match the strongest personality traits of the Guardian... I suppose it's possible in theory, but no one ever has."

Harley sighed. "See? That's the thing... I've done all this stuff but I still don't know about things like that. How am I supposed to be a Guardian if I don't even understand what it means?"

"But you do know what being a Guardian means. You've known from the day I revived you."

"But how could I possibly know and still have so many questions about everything?" He rose and made for the door, Prism alongside him.

"Perhaps if you asked me, I could try and answer some of these questions."

Harley opened the door and they stepped out, making for the plaza. "Well, I find it odd that Guardians are willing to charge straight into a fight they know so little about. Why is that?"

"Actually, I think I can answer that one. You see, the Light shines brightest in the souls of those suited to heroism, so naturally, they are the easiest for Ghosts to resurrect."

"Suited to heroism? Or suited to war? ...You know what? Never mind... Sorry, these have been eating at me for a while... Why don't Guardians remember their pasts?"

"Unfortunately, I can't answer that one. I believe it has something to do with how long the Guardian's been dead, but who knows? Some remember more than others."

"So then the parts we can't remember. Are those dead?"

Prism's shell mimicked a shrug. "I don't know."

"Then...who's to say Guardians are the same as they were when they died? What if we're imitations of our former selves, the ones who died?"

"I advise you not to think on that too much," said Prism, "There are some things we'll never know the answer to."

"Like where the Traveler came from?"

"Actually, that is one thing we know something about... Bits and pieces from old records. The Traveler came from a different system. We know the Fallen were chosen by it at some point, it was known to them as the Great Machine. There are tales of a disaster, something they call the Whirlwind... Some say that's why the Traveler left. To save itself. Of course, those are the opinions of only a few people."

"Wait, but if the Traveler did leave before, what's to stop it from leaving again?"

"Nothing… No, hold on… Actually, there is a rumor…" Prism glanced furtively around, "Someone, a Guardian actually, brought up the idea that the Traveler did not remain on Earth by choice. I myself do not agree with their theory, but you wanted answers… They maintained that the Traveler was crippled… Crippled by none other than Rasputin."

"Rasputin? The Warmind that's supposed to protect Earth?"

"Yep. They believed that when the Traveler was confronted with the Darkness, it attempted to flee Earth. Rasputin realized that its departure would mean extinction and utilized all means necessary to 'coerce pseudo altruistic defensive action.' Not my words, by the way… Therefore, the Traveler would expend the last of its power to protect itself, and by extension, humanity."

Harley shivered. "That's pretty heavy. Whoever proposed that must not've been very popular… But if that theory is true, do you think the Traveler would be angry at humanity for crippling it?"

"I'm not sure. But that doesn't really matter, because it's only a theory."

"Yeah… Hey, is there a library around here?"

"Certainly. I'll direct you."

Prism studied Harley as he poured over records. They were in one of the older sections of the library and the only ones in the building. To tell the truth, Prism was getting a little uncomfortable. Not with the library, but with the extent of Harley's intensity as he scanned the information in front of him. She'd suggested doing other things multiple times, but he'd turned them all down, intent on whatever he was looking for. Prism nearly sighed in relief when she heard footsteps heading in their direction. Finally! A distraction! Not that she hated learning things, but Harley had been acting a bit strange. First, he asks all those questions and now he's searching the library for...what, exactly? She looked up as the owner of the footsteps approached.

"A Hunter in the library? The world must be ending."

Harley looked up, concentration ripped away by whoever had just spoken. "Hasn't it already? Isn't that why there're Guardians in the first place?"

The newcomer arched an eyebrow. She was an Awoken, as told by her light teal skin and glowing white irises. A strange pattern of black specks enclosed her eyes and crossed her nose like a mask. Her hair was shaved so short that it was nothing more than a black shadow across her scalp. From her long maroon robes, Harley deduced that she was a Warlock, making her the first other Guardian he'd seen since he'd arrived.

"I heard about you," she said offhandedly, "Word has it the Vanguard made a big fuss 'cause you're the first new Guardian we've had for a while now."

"That's me."

She nodded. "Well, I'm Raedryon. Raedryon Korrin. You can call me Rae."

Harley nodded back. "Harley Hayden."

"Harley, huh?" She thought for a minute before shaking her head. "Doesn't fit you… I think I'm gonna call you... Ace."

Harley blinked. Something about that was familiar to him, comfortable even. It was almost like a half-remembered dream. "...Why?"

She rolled her eyes. "Uh, I dunno. Maybe I think it sounds better. Or maybe it's 'cause of that." She pointed at his right arm.

Harley looked down in confusion, eyebrows shooting up when he saw that the small mark on the inside of his wrist was not a birthmark like he'd thought it was when he first noticed it. Upon closer inspection, he saw that it was much too defined and even. Now he felt stupid for thinking it was a birthmark. "My...tattoo?"

"Duh."

He frowned at her. "Why would you call me Ace because of a heart with a stem?"

Rae groaned. "For real? That's not a heart, Einstein. It's the Ace of Spades. Y'know...from playing cards?"

"Oh." Harley examined the mark again. "I didn't know... Anyway, was there any reason you stopped by? Other than to give me a nickname?"

"Not really. Just got back from a mission. Bazzle said we're taking the day off, so I came here. The end."

"So there are other Guardians here."

Rae rolled her eyes. "Duh. You're a real genius. Did your Ghost not let you in on that or something?"

"No! I just haven't seen anyone else, that's all," said Harley defensively. He narrowed his eyes. "Speaking of Ghosts, where's yours?"

"Not that it's any of your business, but he's incorporeal right now… Shard? Come out and say hi."

A Ghost appeared at her side, its shell an inky black. "Hello," he said, "I heard you go by Ace."

Harley glared at Rae.

"Well, I guess I'll be going… Let you get back to whatever you were doing."

"Fine. Maybe I'll see you around."

She snorted. "Yeah, maybe. C'mon, Shard. See ya, Ace." With that, the Ghost and Guardian turned and left.

Harley shook his head as he watched them disappear down the aisle. "Can't believe it took me this long to meet another Guardian."

"Yeah," said Prism, "You know… Ace does have a nice ring to it."

"Don't you start. I'll never be able to hear 'Ace' without being reminded of this moment. 'Heart with a stem'..." He shook his head. "I'm an idiot."

It was more than two hours before Prism got another break in her extreme boredom. Suddenly, Harley sat up, looking excited about something.

"Prism! C'mere!"

She floated over with a sigh. "Are you finally going to clue me in on what you were looking for?"

He ignored her.

Typical. "What were you looking for?"

"Information on the Vex. You'd be surprised how little there is."

"Hardly. I'm practically a database of information." Once again, she was ignored.

"So I found out about this place on Venus. There wasn't much, but none of it sounds good. It's called the Vault of Glass..."

Prism shivered. She'd heard rumors and stories concerning the Vault of Glass and Harley was right. None of them were good.

"It's described by the Ishtar Collective as the 'Vex underworld,'" Harley continued, "And it's speculated that the Vex can control reality, time itself inside the Vault… Fun… Apparently, a fireteam of Guardians entered it at some point during the Age of the City: Praedyth the Warlock, Pahanin the Hunter, and Kabr the Titan, also known as Kabr the Legionless. It took a while to find any info on them, but I found something called the Pahanin Errata, which says a bit more. Listen to this…

'His name was Kabr. He wasn't my friend but I knew and respected him as a Guardian and a good man. He fought the Vex alone. This destroyed him. In the time before he vanished he said some things that I think should be remembered…'" Harley glanced at Prism, "Here's what it says... 'In the Vault time frays and a needle moves through it. The needle is the will of Atheon. I do not know the name of the shape that comes after the needle. No one can open the Vault alone. I opened the Vault. There was no one with me but I was not alone. You will meet the Templar in a place that is a time before or after stars. The stars will move around you and mark you and sing to you. They will decide if you are real.' Finally, he says, 'I drank of them. It tasted like the sea.'

There's nothing else here, but apparently, Kabr sacrificed himself in the Vault to create a weapon of some sort called the Aegis… The only other thing I could find on Pahanin was that he created a gun called Super Good Advice… I couldn't find anything else on the Warlock, Praedyth... Still, though, it's something."

Prism shivered again. This is not good. Next thing I know, he'll want to follow in the footsteps of those Guardians. "Why were you looking for information about the Vex?"

Harley regarded her with an intensity she hadn't seen before. "Because it's important! The Speaker thinks the Vex aren't a threat anymore just cause we destroyed the Garden, but this 'Vault of Glass' thing is much worse! You saw what the Vex did to Mercury! That could still happen here! Prism, I've fought the Vex since the moment I was revived. I can't just let this go. We need to investigate the Vault. Maybe we can learn how to defeat the Vex for good."

Prism spoke hesitantly. "Haven't you ever thought… I mean, maybe the Speaker kept this a secret for a reason."

Harley looked at her as though he thought that would be obvious. "Of course he had a reason! He doesn't want anyone investigating because he's too worried about protecting the Traveler! ...I understand that, but wouldn't it be a benefit to know more about our enemies? I mean, the Vex can mess with time. Is that not important enough for us to know?"

Prism really didn't like where Harley was taking this. "I agree, Harley. It is important. I just think the Speaker wants us to focus on more imminent threats."

"The Vex are a pretty imminent threat to me. Everyone knows what they did to Mercury…"

Prism decided to interrupt him there. "Let's go to the mess hall," she said, "You need food. Besides, we can talk on the way."

Harley nodded, accepting this. He put back the records and books and followed Prism out of the library.

A/N: So Harley's finally met another Guardian! Took him long enough. Pronunciation of her name is Ray-dree-on Kor-rin, by the way. Be sure to let me know what you think. Anyway, the next part of my story is approaching, so I hope y'all are excited. Big love to everyone who reviewed and s/o to Clare Prime of Ultra and CLouis94 for the favorite and follows 3

ConnorPerson: Couldn't agree more. He's been one of my favorite characters to write so I'm glad you like him ;)

DoomDragon2: Thank you! Once again, I don't want to give away too much, but I'll definitely be revisiting your thoughts when we get closer to the end :)

Cf96: Thanks fam ;3

Ok, so my question for you guys is: What direction do you think my story will take next? (Just curious to see where everyone's thoughts are at)

Part Twenty-Five will be out this weekend (And Part Twenty-Six might be joining it if you guys cross your fingers really hard). See you then!

- TheWolfParadox