Jade had spent the better part of her night planning out what she needed to get done the following day. She was well-accustomed to her job as a training instructor now, but during her first batch of Lightbearer students, she had met a young man named Elijah Joviac. He had demonstrated strong Warlock traits throughout his training, leading her to recommend him for the Warlock exam. When the time came to take the exam, he'd passed with flying colors, progressing into the next part of training where he'd chosen to follow the path of the Voidwalker. Jade later found out from another instructor that Elijah had done well in his Void-specific training. However, she'd had her own doubts.

While training him, Jade had discovered instability in his Light. Upon mentioning it to Bazzle, she had learned that Guardians with those types of anomalies were at increased risk of falling to the Darkness. This had only made her more determined to set him on the right path and for a while, she thought she'd succeeded.

But sometime after Elijah became a full-fledged Guardian, she had stumbled across an essay of his on the topic of Dredgen Yor and Hive apocrypha. Nothing had been overtly wrong with it, but something about it had made her feel uneasy. And Jade had learned to trust her instincts. Since then, she'd spoken to the resident Voidwalker instructor, Letta, about him, probing for anything that had seemed odd. The other Warlock had mentioned a few instances but while Jade felt increasingly worried, Letta seemed to think nothing of it. After all, Warlocks had a reputation for being strange at times.

Elijah was out of training now. By all accounts, he wasn't under Jade's jurisdiction. But she still felt responsible for him. That was why she made the decision to bring her concerns to Bazzle. She'd gotten up earlier than usual in hopes of catching him before training. The Titan always rose much earlier and spent time going over the training agenda in his office.

As she walked through the Tower, she mentally rehearsed how she would broach the topic to him. Suddenly, she paused, becoming aware of her surroundings. There was a great deal more people around than was normal for that time of day. She looked around in confusion. What could have happened to bring so many Guardians out of the field? She made eye contact with her Ghost, ever-present at Jade's side.

"Something's off Delta. Their Light feels muted…"

The rest of the thought was lost when she spotted the broad shoulders of Bazzle Torelli ahead of her. She increased her pace to catch up with him, everything she'd planned to say forgotten.

"Bazzle!" The Titan turned, weariness dragging at his features. "What happened?" she asked, "Why is everyone…" She wasn't sure how to finish her question. Luckily, Bazzle caught the gist of it.

He sighed heavily. "There was...an incident. It seems that Cayde left the Tower yesterday to assist Petra Venj with a situation in the Prison of Elders." Catching Jade's questioning look, he clarified. "The Prison of Elders is where the Awoken keep their enemies. There are many dangerous adversaries inside. Cayde flew out there to put an end to a riot... Hayden was with him."

"Harley? But he was supposed to be in the Infinite Forest on Mercury... He said he'd contact us when he got out."

"I won't speculate on why he left the Forest. Regardless, he and Cayde entered the prison, but the riot turned out to be a diversion for a prison break."

"A prison break for who?"

"Extremely dangerous enemies kept in maximum security holdings."

"What kind of enemies?"

"I'm sorry, Wrythal, but information about this event will be kept on a need-to-know basis until we can assess it and respond effectively. There's no telling how dangerous they may prove to us... Cayde was killed facing them down."

The Tower seemed to tilt under Jade's feet. "Cayde was killed?" The idea was impossible to her.

Bazzle nodded solemnly.

"How?"

"Sundance was destroyed." He sighed. "I'm not supposed to divulge this information, but the fatal blow itself was delivered by Uldren Sov."

Jade pressed her hands to her temples, trying to make sense of the situation. "Uldren Sov the Awoken Prince? I thought he was killed in the Battle of Saturn! How is he alive? How was he able to get close enough to kill Sundance?"

"He was presumed dead until last night, though some of the Awoken were clearly aware of his survival. As for Sundance…we don't know that it was Uldren who killed her. Sundance could have been killed by another entity before Cayde's confrontation with Uldren. The only reason we have this much information to begin with is Hayden's doing. He's the one who returned Cayde's body to the Tower."

Jade swallowed. Her insides felt all torn up. How horrible it must have been for Harley.

"...Where is he?" she asked.

"Gone," said Bazzle, "He left for the Reef as soon as he could."

"Why didn't he… He could have stopped by the Chaser quarters. We could have helped him!"

"I won't pretend to know what is going through Hayden's mind right now..." He paused, glancing at his interface. "Apologies, Wrythal, but I must report to the Vanguard." He turned.

"Wait," said Jade.

"Yes?"

"Why do you think Harley went back to the Reef? You have a theory, right?"

Bazzle hesitated. "...As I said, we can't know for sure. But I do know that he took Cayde's cloak before he left." He nodded at her. "I will see you later. Training has been canceled for today." With that, he strode off.

Jade turned back the way she'd come, feeling lost. The Vanguard had always seemed so untouchable. How could one of them be gone? She didn't even want to think about how Zavala and Ikora must be feeling. She walked back to the quarters almost in a daze. No one was around, so her teammates must still be asleep. She pondered what Bazzle had said. Why would Harley take Cayde's cloak? There had to be some kind of reason behind it. It occurred to her that Fyr might know. After all, he was a Hunter himself. She decided to ask him.

The inside of his room was still darkened. She turned on the light. "Fyr?" After a short pause, she heard him groan. The covers shifted to cover his face. "Fyr." She pulled them back.

Fyr threw an arm over his eyes. "Why are you like this?" he mumbled.

"I need to ask you something."

"Whyyy?"

"It's important. Do you know why a Hunter would take another Hunter's cloak?"

"Hmm."

Jade waited, but no further response came. She poked his arm. "Fyr."

"Ugh ok fine... Hunter cloaks... Might be like a trophy?"

That wasn't it. "Isn't there another reason? What if it was a Hunter that the other one knew and respected?"

"Oh, friends? Um, sometimes it's a promise... Taking the cloak is like saying they're gonna avenge the other Hunter. Or maybe finish something the other one started."

"That has to be it," said Jade, "Thanks, Fyr."

"Mmh..." He flapped his hand at her. "Turn off the light."

Jade left his room, turning the light off and closing the door. Now she had a better idea of what was going on. Cayde had died and Harley had taken his cloak as a promise to finish something. But what? Would he recapture the escaped prisoners? There was no way to be sure of his intentions. Jade sat on the couch in the common area, thinking. She was still in the same spot when Bazzle walked through the door ten minutes later.

Jade got up. "Any news?" she asked. The Titan met her eyes, nodding. His expression was grave. "What is it?"

"What I am about to tell you is privileged," he said, "No one outside of the Chasers can be told about this. I'm only telling you because I think it's something that you and the team deserve to know."

Jade nodded. "I understand." She wondered what the Vanguard had wanted from him.

"The prisoners that escaped from the Prison of Elders are a twisted version of the Fallen. The Scorn. All eight Scorned Barons are now loose on the Reef... We believe that Hayden left to hunt down and kill these Barons, along with Uldren Sov."

Jade nodded. That followed with what she knew. She also knew that they couldn't let Harley face the Barons alone. "We have to help him."

Bazzle shook his head. "The Reef is off-limits. The Vanguard has no jurisdiction out there. They're expressly forbidding Guardians from interfering. We can't afford to get dragged into another war. Not now."

"But what about Harley?"

"Hayden's actions are being considered a rogue operation. He was told in no uncertain terms not to pursue Uldren Sov. Yet he did so regardless."

"I don't understand," said Jade, "What are we supposed to do?"

"Nothing. Continue business as usual. The circumstances around Cayde's death are to be kept confidential. Commander Zavala doesn't want any more Guardians going to the Reef to hunt Uldren... Now, if you'll excuse me, I need to pack."

"What? Why?"

"I have been tasked with bringing Hayden in. It's not something I would choose to do, but it must be done... The Vanguard is bringing in another instructor as a temporary replacement for me while I deal with this."

He made his way to his room, leaving Jade nonplussed. She didn't understand how Bazzle could seem so blasé about the whole thing. He was being sent out to track down and stop one of his friends. She also didn't understand how the Vanguard could let the Barons tear up the Reef uninterrupted.

"What do I do, Delta?" she asked.

"I don't know if there's much you can do," replied her Ghost, "Bazzle has his orders and you have yours."

"But how can he follow them? Harley's one of us. Are you telling me he's absolutely fine with this?"

"Of course not. He's loyal to his friends. But he's also a soldier. When his superiors give him orders, he follows them... There's a reason Zavala made him a Deputy Commander, you know."

"But Harley-"

"Jade." Delta's tone was firm in a way that it rarely ever was. "I want you to use your head. I know how you feel about Harley and I know that losing Cayde was a sore blow to everyone, but think about it. The Awoken have always been their own civilization. They've never been very close to the City. Mara Sov may have opened the Vestian Outpost to Guardians, but the majority of the Reefborn dislike outsiders... Guardians especially. How do you think they'll react to one dropping out of nowhere and wreaking havoc?"

"I know they won't like it," said Jade, "But what about the Scorned Barons? Are you telling me that the Awoken are fine with leaving them to destroy the Reef?"

"Of course not. But if we want to provide aid, it needs to go through the proper channels. The Vanguard could have communicated with the Reef and gotten permission to send a Guardian strike team... One lone Guardian tearing through Awoken territory after the Barons won't look good, no matter the spin you put on it."

"I suppose..."

"Or think about it this way... The Barons aren't the only ones Harley's after. He's chasing Uldren Sov too. If you were a Reefborn Awoken - assuming you're not privy to what Uldren has done - how would you react if a Guardian killed your prince? Mara Sov's brother?"

"...You have a point."

"Situations like this are why the Vanguard only operates with all of the facts. Unfortunately, since Harley already left, they won't be able to get out ahead of it this time. All they can do is try to stop him and brace for impact."

"You're good with this stuff," said Jade in surprise.

"I had to do something while I was searching for you," Delta said lightly, "I spent a lot of time in the Vanguard's command center."

They sat in silence, both thinking over all that they had learned. When Bazzle's door opened again, Jade stood up. The Titan had a duffel bag slung over his shoulder. He crossed over to her.

"I'm not sure how long I'll be gone," he said, "I also cannot promise that I'll be able to keep consistent contact... Hopefully, my replacement will do an adequate job in my stead. If not, I'm sure you will see to it that they are corrected." He turned toward the door then paused. "I will do my best to get through to him."

Jade nodded. "I know. Good luck, Bazzle."

Bazzle nodded back. "Goodbye, Wrythal."

She watched as the Titan walked out of the Chaser quarters, closing the door behind him.

A/N: It's been some time since the last story. I hope everyone's doing ok considering the whole outbreak situation. As for story things, I'll be uploading a chapter every other day (reviews/faves appreciated). I also have my idea for the next story ready to go so I'll probably start writing that soon.

For any new readers: Welcome! All of my Chasing Fate (and related) stories are uploaded to the Chasing Fate community I created, so feel free to follow that for updates. If anyone wants to borrow my characters for their stories, I'm almost always ok with it, provided that you contact me first.

This series is cross-posted to ArchiveOfOurOwn under ArcaneGlitch. For updates and art, you can follow me on Twitter/Tumblr. For just art, Instagram. (All under ArcaneGlitch).

If you want to join my discord server, the invite code is 4zguh53. We have a bunch of artists, writers, and betas. We also have a lot of people who play Destiny.

Finally, I'm thinking of making an FAQ so if there are any questions you have or that you think would be helpful for other readers to know, send them my way!

S0UL SURVIVOR: Thank you! I'm very happy to be back.

Guest: I'm glad you found your will to live!