"In its dying breath, the Traveler created the Ghosts... To seek out those who can wield its Light as a weapon. Guardians, to protect us, and do what the Traveler itself no longer can." - The Speaker

This time, Harley was not alone in the mess hall. Rae and another Guardian, who seemed vaguely familiar to Harley sat across from each other at a table near the wall, their Ghosts hovering next to them. Harley grabbed some food, then walked over to them. "Hey. Mind if I join?"

Rae shrugged. Harley took this for assent and sat down next to the other Guardian. He scrutinized him for a few moments before realizing where he'd seen him before. "…I recognize you! You were one of the ones who escorted me when I arrived."

The other Guardian turned, giving him an appraising look before nodding and sticking out a hand. "Bazzle Torelli," he said. His voice was strong and assured.

Harley shook his hand, wincing at the Titan's powerful grip. "Harley Hayden."

The Titan sat back, studying him with piercing grey eyes. Harley shifted uncomfortably. Bazzle, as he'd called himself, was broad-shouldered and strong looking, like Zavala. His skin was a warm brown and his head was shaved completely, allowing the fluorescent lights of the dining hall to glint off his scalp. He was clad in his armor, though it was much bulkier than Harley's. Titan armor. "Rae said you just got back from a mission."

Bazzle nodded. "We did."

"What was it, if you don't mind me asking?"

"We were patrolling the Cosmodrome for Fallen Walkers. As I understand it, you had something to do with that."

Harley nodded. "Yep." There was a long moment of awkward silence.

"Uh, so what abilities do you guys have?"

"I myself am a Defender."

Harley looked at Rae. She looked back impassively. "What about you?" he asked.

"Stormcaller."

"...Whoa. I'm no expert on Warlock subclasses, but isn't that one pretty rare?"

"Yeah... It's also the most useful for electrocuting annoying Hunters…" Sparks subtly danced across her fingers.

"Right… Good times."

Bazzle spoke up suddenly, as though he'd just received a message. "I must report to Zavala," he said, rising from his seat. He looked at Rae, who was cleaning her fingernails. "I'll meet you in the plaza at 2100 to discuss strategies for tomorrow's mission." Rae nodded and the Titan left.

Harley felt even more uncomfortable. "So…"

Rae looked up. "What."

"Nothing. Just wondering… Is the whole thing with Warlocks being bookworms true?"

"What's it to ya, Ace?"

He shrugged. "I dunno. Thought you might be interested in what I was looking into."

She sighed. "Let me tell you something about Warlocks… Warlocks are Warlocks because they're driven by a quest for knowledge. That doesn't mean we're all gonna be uber nerds that hang out in the library day in and day out."

Harley nodded. "I understand."

"Good… So what was it you were gonna tell me about?"

"Well, I've been looking into the Vex a bit more, and there's a lot they didn't tell us…"

Rae listened noncommittally as he told her what little he'd found out about the Vault of Glass. "Hmm."

"So whatcha think?"

"It's interesting, I suppose… You kept saying 'they didn't tell us' this and 'they don't want us to know' that… Who is 'they?'"

Harley shrugged. "The Speaker mostly. He's pretty much the top authority here, right? I mean, the Vanguard are up there, but they seem to deal more with the actual war stuff. And the Speaker has lots of influence over everybody, cause he 'speaks for the Traveler' and all."

"Mm-hm. This is fascinating, but I'm afraid I can't chat all day. Places to be and all that. So sorry, but I'll see you later."

Harley nodded. "Ok."

Rae got up and exited the mess hall. Not wanting to sit alone in the empty room, Harley left as well.

"What did you mean about the Speaker's influence?" Prism asked as they made their way towards the Traveler's Walk.

"Well, he has a lot of power over people. We don't even know if he can actually communicate with the Traveler, but as long as people believe he can, he can pretty much do anything."

"Why are you questioning the Speaker all of a sudden?"

"Trust me, it's not sudden… I've thought about it before. Granted, it was mostly when I was up cause I couldn't sleep in the middle of the night, but it's still a valid point."

"What on Earth do you have against him?"

"I just don't like that he's hiding things from us that could help us understand and beat enemies like the Vex."

"Is that what started this? The Vex? You've become obsessed with killing them ever since meeting them after Mercury."

"Gee, I wonder why? I was brought to life on a planet that the Vex had destroyed. You gotta think that would alter my worldview a little bit. If I am 'obsessed' then it's cause I've seen what they can do. You were there in the Black Garden! You should know better than anyone that I'm right. And whatever the Vault of Glass is, it's ten times worse. That's why we need to destroy it before what happened to Mercury happens to Earth."

Prism had remained silent throughout Harley's mini-rant. She didn't quite know what to make of what he was saying, but she knew something had to be done about it. Some of what he said had sounded dangerously familiar. The only thing I can do is take this to the Vanguard… I know it may be nothing, but others have pursued far lesser concerns. She turned to Harley. "Are you planning to leave the Tower at any point today?"

"Nah. Can't think of anything to do. I might tomorrow, though."

"Ok. Then you won't mind if I leave for a bit? There's something I'd like to check up on." It's not exactly lying.

"Sure. I'll meet you in the mess hall for dinner."

"Ok. I'll see you later."

Committed to her purpose, she zoomed off in the direction of the Hall of Guardians.

Prism hovered just beyond the entrance to the room the Vanguards were in. Should I really do this? She wished someone would give her the answer. All she had to go on were her instincts. They mostly told her she was doing the right thing, but she had a bad feeling it would not end well. Steeling herself, she floated into the room.

It was a few moments before the Vanguard noticed her. Cayde was the first to spot her. "Oh hey, you're Harley's Ghost, right? Prism, wasn't it?"

"Yes, that's me."

"What brings you here, Ghost?" Zavala asked.

"I've, um, been having some concerns."

Ikora raised an eyebrow. "Concerns? With what?"

"With Harley."

"And you felt the need to speak to us about them?" asked Zavala.

"Well, I felt they were things that you should know."

Ikora nodded. "Continue."

"I'm starting to worry that Harley's focusing too much on the Vex," said Prism, letting it out in a rush. While it wasn't her only concern, it was the biggest.

"Why is that?"

"He thinks they're still a threat. That they're planning something."

"I'd say you blew their plans to hell when you killed the Garden," said Cayde.

"Harley doesn't think so, despite what the Speaker told him. He's been in the library all morning researching the Vex."

Cayde chuckled. "Research? Ikora, you sure he wasn't supposed to be a Warlock?"

Ikora wasn't laughing. "Did he find anything?"

"Yes. He found a bunch of records talking about the Vault of Glass…" Instantly, the Vanguards' faces darkened. "He thinks the Vex are planning something to do with the Vault. He thinks Guardians should be sent to investigate, himself included."

Zavala and Ikora traded grave looks. Cayde spoke up. "Hey, maybe the kid's gotta point. He wouldn't be looking into the Vex without a good reason."

"Wouldn't he?" said Ikora quietly.

"Look, if all he wants to do is investigate the Vault, well, that's hardly cause for concern, right? Hell, I was interested in the Vault before I got landed with this job!"

"That wasn't all," said Prism with a sigh, "He's been saying a lot of things, asking questions that kind of worry me. But I guess it's mostly the stuff about the Vex… The Speaker told him-"

"He talked to the Speaker about this?" Zavala asked.

"Yes. He mentioned his concerns about how the Vex might have something much worse than the Black Garden. He was quite persistent. The Speaker told him to put his concerns out of his mind, to focus on more imminent threats, but if today was anything to go by, he didn't listen."

The Vanguards shared another look. Ikora turned to Prism. "Thank you for bringing this to us. We will think further on it. In the meantime, do not let Harley go to Venus. I don't want him attempting to explore the Vault of Glass."

"I won't. Thank you." Prism turned and left, feeling much lighter than she had before. However, there was a dark edge to her lightness, almost like a warning that something bad was on the horizon.

A/N: Oh boy things are really ramping up. I know what the Vanguard are worried about, but I'm curious to see if any of you can guess why. At any rate, another chapter should be going up tomorrow as long as I finish with my other obligations. Many thanks to everyone who reviewed, I really appreciate it :)

ConnorPerson: Since I'm still not sure what the future of this story will be, I have no definite answer for whether the VoG raid will happen. If it does, it won't be in this story. I guess we'll wait and see! :3

Clare Prime of Ultra: Always nice to see a new face in the reviews! Funnily enough, Ace was going to be Harley's name originally, but it didn't feel right to me when I started writing the story, so I decided to introduce it later as a nickname. And this was all before I knew anything about Cayde having a son. Once I found out, I thought about doing a story with it, but with the direction things took, I don't see it in the cards anytime soon. I'm thinking about opening up Harley's character at the end of this story in case anyone wants to write a spin-off or anything involving him. I guess I'll see if people are interested in that when the time comes. But anyway, if you do end up writing a story about Cayde's son, make sure to let me know cause I'd definitely be interested in reading it. ;D

DoomDragon2: That's a safe bet to make in almost any story. Since I can't give anything away, you'll just have to wait and find out! ;)

Cf96: Thank you, as always. Also, s/o for always finding time to review! :D

Because another chapter will be out soon, I'm going to keep the question simple: If you had to pick a theme song for Harley, what would it be?

See you tomorrow!

- TheWolfParadox