Harley woke slowly to find that his head and side were throbbing painfully. When he first attempted to open his eyes, a blinding light assaulted his vision so he shut them again. But he could tell the air around him was warmer than the winds that ghosted across the asteroids. Aside from his wound and his pounding head, he was surprised to feel...comfortable.

He must be inside, though he wasn't sure where "inside" was given that - if his memory was accurate - he'd passed out in the middle of nowhere. The air smelled slightly musty and metallic. Was he on a ship? Was it possible that Prism had managed to transmat him back to the Star?

A set of footsteps crossed the room, drawing near. He flinched instinctively. He couldn't know if the person was hostile. Reason told him that if they were, they wouldn't have bothered saving him from the countless aliens that roamed the Shore. But one could never be certain.

"You awake?" a voice asked.

Harley stiffened. His mind was telling him that he'd heard the voice before. He felt a flood of different emotions upon hearing it. Pain and anger were the most prominent. Yet, oddly enough, there were hints of positive emotions as well. He forced his eyes open, ignoring how the light made them water and squinted at the vague shape he could make out.

They were on the taller side, whoever they were. They also seemed nervous, fidgeting with their hands a lot. Finally, his eyes cooperated and the figure came into focus.

It was Kyler Maddox.

In a flash, he was off of the bed, flinging himself at the other man and propelling him into the opposite wall. He pulled out a knife, pressing it into Kyler's neck. Kyler remained completely still, eyes flitting between Harley's eyes and the blade against his throat.

"Give me one reason," hissed Harley, "One reason why I shouldn't kill you right now."

Kyler dropped his gaze as he searched for an answer. His head bowed slightly in defeat.

"I don't have one."

Harley blinked in shock. That wasn't at all what he'd expected to hear. He stared into the mechanic's face, looking for any sign that he was lying. He frowned. Had Kyler always had two noses? Suddenly, the adrenaline that had gotten him up drained away. His legs buckled but Kyler caught him before he could hit the floor.

"Whoa."

He guided Harley back over to the bed and sat him down. Harley frowned again. Why was Kyler helping him?

"Is it too late to change my reason to 'you'll pass out if you try to kill me right now?'" the mechanic joked nervously.

Harley's head was swimming as he tried to sort out what was going on. Kyler was in the Reef and for whatever reason, he'd decided to help Harley. Harley looked around, taking stock of his surroundings properly for the first time.

He was in a small cabin. It had only one room filled with the basic necessities of living. A large gun leaned against the wall next to the door and a long overcoat was hung on a hook nearby. His armor and Cayde's cloak lay in a pile next to the bed. The top half of his undersuit had been pulled down so that it hung around his waist. White bandages were wrapped around his midsection, bloodstained in one area. He turned his scrutinizing gaze onto the mechanic.

Kyler looked much the same as he had before the Red War, though his hair was a little longer and his face more world-weary. A scar cut through his left eyebrow, a near miss to his eye. Judging by the shade of the skin around it, it had happened some time ago. The mechanic's clothes were dusty and well-worn, suited to the harsh environment of the Shore. Kyler gestured to the knife Harley still clutched.

"I thought I got them all. Guess I should've expected you'd have one hidden somewhere."

Harley scowled. He felt like he was missing something and he didn't like it.

"Why'd you help me?"

"Well, leaving you to die in the middle of nowhere seemed like a bit of a dick move."

Harley scoffed. "Wouldn't have been the first time."

A hurt look flashed across Kyler's face but then he sighed. "...I deserved that one."

Harley glared at him. "You deserve a lot more than that. You shot me. You lured me out into the City and you shot me. And I really thought…" He trailed off.

"You thought what?" asked Kyler curiously.

I really thought we were going somewhere, Harley finished in his head.

Out loud, he said, "It doesn't matter. But I think I'm owed an explanation. And it better be damn good."

Kyler sighed again. "You're right," he said, "You do deserve an explanation. But I'm going to warn you now; you won't like it."

Harley crossed his arms, waiting. Kyler drew a breath and began his tale.

He talked about Dalton, his adopted father, and how he had died when a group of rogue Taken that Harley's team had been tracking breached the wall near River District. How Kyler, furious with Harley, had made a deal with the Underlord - the nefarious leader of an underground criminal organization in the City itself. The Underlord had helped get Kyler into the Tower, on the condition that he killed Harley. But Kyler had let his feelings get in the way, messing everything up.

Harley learned how Kyler had received his last warning from the Underlord on the day after his birthday, ordering him to kill Harley or pay with his own life. Kyler told him about the plan he'd come up with - a way to buy enough time to escape the City without having to carry out the Underlord's orders. Once his route was clear, Kyler had gotten out of the City with Gavin's help and fled to the Reef, where he used the rest of his savings to buy the cabin.

"That's about the long and short of it… Next thing I know, I'm out collecting parts and who else do I stumble upon but you?"

Harley turned to look at Prism, who had appeared halfway through Kyler's story.

"How could you know and not tell me?" he demanded, "How could you let me continue to think that Kyler had betrayed me? Do you know how much pain that caused me? I used to lie awake at night wondering what I'd done wrong..."

"I asked her not to tell you," Kyler intervened, "I didn't want to put you even more on the Underlord's radar than you already were. Prism was acting on my wishes. Don't blame her. It's my fault."

"...I am sorry, Harley," said Prism in a small voice, "It was eating me up inside that I couldn't tell you... I could have stopped the pain and I didn't."

Harley sighed. "It's okay, Prism... You were just doing what you thought was best."

"I'm sorry too," said Kyler, "I should have told you what was going on. I was just so scared of what Fyster would do. You never deserved to be put through that and it's on me."

Harley nodded slowly. "...I don't think I can forgive you yet," he said, "But I'll work on it."

"I don't deserve it," said Kyler, "But thank you…"

His eyes darted downward and he nodded at Harley's chest. "I didn't think you'd actually keep it."

Harley glanced down at the fishhook necklace that Kyler had given him years ago.

"Neither did I. I still don't know why I kept it." He took it off, holding it out. "Here."

Kyler shook his head. "It was a gift. I guess I'd hoped that by leaving it, I was making up for everything else, in some small way." He laughed humorlessly. "It probably just made things worse for you, if I'm being honest… If you really don't want it, I'll take it back, but a gift's a gift."

Harley hesitated for a long moment before putting the necklace back on. His hands went to the bandage around his torso. Kyler started to protest.

"I wouldn't-"

Harley lifted the bandage. Instead of the jagged bullet hole he'd been expecting, he found a line of stitches. The skin around the wound bore some discoloration, but it wasn't oozing black stuff, which led him to think that he must have imagined that part.

"So what did you do?"

Kyler seemed relieved to be off of the heavy subjects.

"Well, I don't know what hit you but it wasn't like anything I've seen before. I dug the bullet out while you were unconscious. Sort of thought I should've cauterized but I was worried the burn would be too severe. So I used a bunch of disinfectants and then stitched it up. You actually woke up once, but you were pretty out of it. You said something about prison and then something else about bullets before passing out again."

Harley's brows furrowed. He didn't remember any of that.

"Thanks…"

Kyler shrugged. "I figured I owed you one. Well, more than one… I should probably take another look at it now."

He stepped forward and Harley flinched. Kyler froze.

"Sorry."

Harley shook his head. "Even if I can accept your reasons for...for doing what you did, it won't change what happened. It'll take some time to reconcile everything..."

Kyler nodded and Harley could tell he was trying not to show the hurt he felt. Harley pulled up the bandage himself. Kyler looked it over, making sure to move slowly and keeping his hands in plain sight. When he was satisfied, he stepped back.

"It looks a lot better than it did a few hours ago… Why couldn't Prism heal it?"

"It was a Devourer Bullet," the Ghost explained, "An ontological projectile that was modified to be fired from a Scorn weapon."

"Devourer Bullet?"

"Mostly used in Weapons of Sorrow. Guardian killers."

Kyler shivered. "I didn't know there was anything that could kill Guardians without killing the Ghost first."

"A long time ago when the City was still pretty new, there was a Titan who put Hive chitin on his weapon," said Harley, "Eventually, he fell to the Darkness and his gun became known as Thorn. It fired Devourer Bullets... He killed other Guardians with it and would've kept killing if he hadn't been stopped by a Hunter named Shin Malphur."

Prism bobbed in agreement. "Dredgen Yor," she said, "Thorn was the first recorded Weapon of Sorrow."

"But if it was that long ago, how are these 'Devourer Bullets' still around?"

"Dredgen Yor developed a following," answered Prism, "Other Guardians who took the title 'Dredgen' and attempted to follow his path. No one's heard from them in a while, but it's a safe bet that they're still around."

"Do you think that's who the Rifleman got the bullet from?" asked Harley.

"I suppose anything could be possible at this point."

Kyler blanched. "You fought the Rifleman?"

Harley nodded. "How do you know about the Scorned Barons?" he asked curiously.

Kyler scoffed. "Everyone who lives on the Shore knows about them... What I don't know is what they're up to."

"Most of them seem to just be wreaking havoc," said Prism.

Kyler nodded. "The usual then."

"If you're familiar with the Shore, does that mean you know who the Spider is?" asked Harley.

Kyler made a face. "Hard not to know the Spider... Wait. You're not doing business with him, are you?"

Harley nodded. "I'm helping him out in exchange for the Barons' locations."

Kyler frowned. "You should steer clear of him. He's bad news."

Harley didn't think it was any business of Kyler's if he was helping the Spider.

"Well, his Fallen backed me up against the Scorn and he's probably the only other Fallen I've met who doesn't actively want to kill me," he said, a bit defensively, "Have you actually met him?"

Kyler shook his head vehemently. "He does business with the Underlord. Meeting with him would mean broadcasting my location to the Underlord's men. I didn't come all the way out here for the scenery, you know."

"You really think he'd sell you out to the Underlord?"

"Of course he would! They're business partners. Either he'd sell me out or he'd blackmail me into working for him instead."

"For all we know, the Underlord might think you died in the Red War."

"Maybe, but I'm not taking any unnecessary risks. It's hard enough living out on the Reef as a non-Awoken. I have to go around covered up all the time in case I'm seen."

"Why?"

"They don't like outsiders here. Granted, most of them have left the Shore, but you can never be too careful."

Harley rather thought that Kyler's life on the run had turned him paranoid. He told him so.

"Only the paranoid survive," Kyler retorted.

Harley sighed. He supposed that was true enough. Particularly if you were a non-Guardian living in the Tangled Shore.

"So what made you decide to start hunting the Scorned Barons?" asked Kyler, "'Cause I'm guessing you're not doing it for fun."

Harley drew a breath before replying.

"Cayde and I went to the Prison of Elders to stop a riot. But the riot turned out to be a prison break for the Barons and Uldren… Cayde went off to stop them on his own and the Rifleman shot Sundance." His gaze was downcast. "I couldn't get down there fast to stop Uldren from shooting him."

"Shit," said Kyler, "I liked Cayde. He was always friendly to me... For what it's worth, I'm sorry." Harley nodded wordlessly. "So taking out the Barons…"

"It's personal. Not a mission."

"Makes sense."

"The Vanguard doesn't want me hunting them because they think I'll ruin the City's relationship with the Reef... They sent Bazzle and Kaedro after me to bring me back to the Tower."

Kyler whistled. "Sounds like one hell of a situation."

"Yeah." He looked to Prism. "How long do you think this will take to heal?"

She spun her segments, looking worried. "I can't say for certain. Ontological wounds like that always take longer. I can speed up the process, but not as much as usual."

Harley fought the frustration that rose inside of him. He couldn't afford to be sitting around with Bazzle and Kaedro looking for him and Uldren and the rest of the Barons still at large. Not to mention the fact that the Tangled Shore was not the ideal place to rest and recover.

"You can stay here until you're better," Kyler offered, "...Unless you had other plans."

Harley briefly entertained the idea of staying onboard the Star but decided against it. The cabin was just as cramped, but at least he could go outside.

"Thanks."

"Don't mention it… You should probably get some more sleep."

"I can't take over your bed," Harley protested.

Kyler shook his head. "You look like you're about to collapse. And I have other things I need to do, so I won't be back for a while."

"Alright. As long as you're sure."

Kyler nodded, then glanced down and frowned. "You probably shouldn't sleep with a knife in your hand."

Harley let him take it. Truthfully, he'd forgotten that he was holding it.

"Thanks again."

Kyler nodded again, moving about the cabin as he got his stuff together. Harley watched as he put on the overcoat and a cowl, pulling it up over his nose. Then he lowered a pair of dark-tinted goggles over his eyes. He looked back at Harley.

"I'll see you later."

With that, he left the cabin.

A/N: How many of you were wondering if you'd see Kyler again?