Commander Zavala rests his closed fists on the Vanguards' table in the Hall of Guardians. His forehead creases in thought, before glancing up at the Guardian and his fireteam.
Kallios stands directly opposite Zavala, Daphne floating beside him, a hand at his hip.
Adrestus, a warlock wearing black robes and Obsidian Mind, idly toys with Void energy in their palm as they sit on the stairs with a leg pulled up to their chest.
A hunter, Diana, sits on the railing that overlooks the central area of the hall. Her legs swing back and forth as she uses a throwing knife to pick dirt out from under her fingernails. The venomous beetle of Khepri's Sting juts out from her forearm.
Heirax, a titan bearing the Crest of Alpha Lupi, stands on Kallios' right. With crossed arms, he gives a somewhat disapproving look at Diana and Adrestus.
Avrina, a warlock equipped with the gleaming, golden Sunbreakers, leans against the wall behind Kallios, beside Diana's kicking legs. She puts a hand out to stop her twin's childishness.
Apollo, a titan with Ruin's Wings adorning his shoulders, stands on Kallios' left; his full height towering over the others at the table.
"Zavala?" Kallios asks, breaking the silence of the Commander's stirring thoughts.
"My apologies." Zavala sighs. "I want to get this right. You're suggesting you and your fireteam delve into the Vault just as Kabr and his fireteam did. Before they were all killed."
"It's not gonna end up that way," Kallios insists. "And this threat— Zavala, we can't just ignore it."
"We're not ignoring it," Zavala counters. Anger bleeds into his words before he reels it back in. "We're biding our time."
"Time that we do not have," grunts Heirax.
"What the old man said," echoes Diana. She hops down from the railing and lands smoothly on the stone. She squeezes between Kallios and Apollo. "That report I filled out was all eye-witnesses. What's happening under Venus is unexplainable, Commander. We have to go there. It's our…" The word 'duty' catches on the tip of Diana's tongue, but she pushes past it. "We have to."
"I cannot risk all of you!" Zavala roars as he slams a lightning-clouded fist onto the table. Thunder booms, the sound and force silencing all chatter in the hall.
"With all due respect, Commander, what you want doesn't matter here," says Adrestus, rising to their feet. Void energy dissipates from their fingertips. "We're the only fireteam skilled and experienced enough to investigate Venus."
It is then that Ikora speaks. She does so carefully, slowly, methodically, choosing each word with care. "Zavala, they're right. We've read the reports. If this threat goes unchecked. it would spell doom for the entire City."
"Feel weird admitting this, but for once, I agree with Ikora here," chimes Cayde. "My two favorite hunters going on a dangerous mission to a location we have no information on doesn't sit all nice and happy with me, but we don't have a choice. They're the best chance we've got at stopping the Vex before whatever their planning happens, Zavala."
Commander Zavala clenches his jaw. But eventually, he relents. "Very well. You depart tomorrow at 0900."
[;]
"Never thought I'd see you get riled up about something," Kallios says to Diana as they all file out of the Hall of Guardians.
Diana slides her helmet off, her long black hair falling in tangled waves. Her kaleidoscopic eyes turn to him, almost staring through him. "It was because of the witnesses," she says. "Those reports were terrifying, Kal."
"Yeah. I know." Kal stares out at the view of the Last City. At what they were meant to protect. Out of everyone in the fireteam, Kal knows what the Vex are capable of. The dangers that they pose to the City. To the Traveler and its Light. The Black Garden forever reminds him of what could have been.
"Kal, we're gonna head to Bungee's Jump," Apollo calls. The fireteam stands beside the big man. "You coming?"
Kal goes to nod, but— out of the corner of his eye— he catches a glimpse of glittering white fragments in space-time. A sign. A message. From the Exo Stranger. Turning to his friends, he shakes his head. "I'll celebrate after the mission; I'll see you tomorrow morning."
Apollo nods. "Let's get moving. The Guardian wants to be left alone."
Kal flips him the double-birds as they leave.
"That wasn't very nice." Daphne transmats in front of him. "Why'd you blow them off?"
"Our… friend wants to meet us. I think." Kal looks at the space where he first saw the fragments of space-time. By the entrance to the Tower's hangar, they still float there, glittering like tiny piles of pale glimmer.
With Daphne floating beside him, Kal follows the path left behind by the Stranger. It takes him through the many bays of the hangar, until they eventually reach a secluded hideout, if only existing because of its lengthy distance from the Tower.
This was his last meeting place with her. After he destroyed the Black Garden.
Kal stands at the edge of the hangar, overlooking the orange and gold skyline of the Last City, his hands behind his back.
A buzzing sound whirs from behind Kal.
The barrel of a gun presses against his lower back, followed by the click of a safety being pulled. "Your back and your Ghost exposed, Guardian? You're getting comfortable," the Stranger says.
"Oh really?" Kal questions.
"Yes, re-"
A solar knife flashes into both of Kal's hands; he catches the barrel of the Stranger's gun between them. He shoves the barrel away from him while flipping himself over the Stranger, landing smoothly behind her, pressing the blades of his knives against her metallic throat.
The Stranger raises her hands in surrender.
The knives in Kal's hands burn away like flashpaper as he releases her. "I thought I'd never see you again," he says.
"The Darkness would've prevented that," the Stranger murmurs, turning to face him. "Nevertheless, I need to ask you something."
Kal motions for her to continue.
"Are you planning to enter the Vault of Glass?"
"Yes." Kal doesn't spare a wandering thought as to how the Stranger knew of the plan. He chalks it up to time travel.
The Exo Stranger crosses her arms. "Very well."
"That's it?"
She nods.
"Can I at least get an explanation this time?"
The Stranger shakes her head, but she smiles slightly. "You didn't like the last one I gave you?"
Daphne floats up beside Kal. "Neither of us did. We just went along with it."
"Well, you'll have to go along with it again this time." The Stranger takes a few steps backwards. "Be careful, Kal. The Vault is a dangerous place."
"I know. I've faced the Vex before."
"What lies beneath Venus is far more than just 'the Vex,'" the Stranger says. "The last thing I need is you repeating what happened to the original fireteam that went in there."
Kal cannot resist as he says, "Gonna miss me?"
The Stranger flinches. A moment of uncharacteristic hesitance hangs in the air between them, but she quickly overcomes it. "Whatever convinces you to be careful," she says.
"Thanks for the warning."
The Stranger gives him a small, casual salute. "I will see you again, Guardian. In the meantime, join your friends. There's still time for you to catch up with them."
The Stranger dissipates into the stream of space-time, leaving nothing behind.
Kal sighs as she leaves. "She's right, isn't she?"
"Yeah. She is."
[;]
Excitement brews within the four walls of Bungee's Jump as Kal leans against the railing on the rooftop. He nurses a glass of synthetic whiskey. Daphne sways beside him, her shell expanding and extracting with her movements. Despite the sound beneath them, the din of conversation and the City, Kal hears Daphne hum in time with her dancing.
Kal glances at her and smirks. "Why so chipper?"
"Trying to distract myself from the feeling of impending doom."
"Mm. There's the Daphne I know." Kal drinks some of his whiskey.
"Are you not terrified?"
Kal shakes his head.
Daphne sighs. "Why are you this crazy?"
Kal grins at her. "Well, Daph, unfortunately for us, we both know you like crazy."
"That I do."
Kal clinks the side of his glass against Daphne's shell. "To each other."
"To each other," Daphne echoes.
A series of heavy knocks reverberate on the stairwell's walls that lead up to the rooftop. A soft voice— Avrina's— follows, "All alone up here again?"
"Not alone," Kal says. "Daph's here."
"Fair enough." Avrina steps up beside Kal. Her long blonde hair flows in the wind, her exposed sun-tanned skin shines under the soft light of the glow-globes, and her golden-blue eyes gleam as she turns to look at him. "What's our plan, Captain?"
"I'm not sure," Kal says. "Haven't thought that far ahead yet."
"He never does, Av," reminds Daphne. "You know him."
Avrina chuckles. "So the same plan as always then: get there, shoot our way out, and hope for the best."
Kal shrugs. "It hasn't failed us so far."
"Because we've had good intel so far," Avrina counters. She looks out at the skyline of the Last City. She folds her hands over one another as she continues, "We know nothing right now, Kal. We're not just going in blind. We're going in blind and deaf, without air support or back-up, and we're fighting the Vex."
"We've done that before."
"No, Kal. You've done that before," she corrects. "Not us."
"You're underestimating yourself."
"Kal—" Avrina clicks her tongue. "That's not it. We're not underestimating ourselves. You're overestimating us."
"I know what you— all of you— can do, and you can do this."
Avrina rolls her eyes. "Kal. You…" She trails off into a deep breath before continuing. "I just want you to realize what you're asking us to do, alright? Because you know we'll do it. We'll stand and fight with you. No matter what. Just think about what you're asking of us. That's it. That's all I want."
Kal holds Avrina's gaze for a long time. "I know. I know what I'm asking."
She nods once. "Good." Avrina reaches over and steals Kal's whiskey glass. She drinks it, her face souring for a second, before she hands it back to him.
"When did you start drinking?"
"Since now."
Kal rolls his eyes. "We need you sharp for tomorrow, Av."
"I'll be fine. It was just one sip."
"Should I leave you two lovebirds up here?" Heirax calls out from behind them.
Avrina's cheeks tinge with pink.
Kal glances at her and Heirax. "You can."
Heirax salutes him. "Enjoy your night, Captain."
"Stop calling me that. And stop saluting me!" Kal calls back as Heirax leaves. Then, he turns his full attention to Avrina. "Something you wanna tell me, Av?"
Avrina leans fully against the railing, her arms folding over each other. She sighs. "Nothing without a lot more drinks."
Kal chuckles. "Alright. I won't pry."
Avrina steps closer to Kal. "Are you worried about tomorrow?"
"Can't afford to be," Kal says frankly. He glances at Avrina. "Sorry."
She moves to lay a hand on his shoulder— on her captain's shoulder— but she hesitates. She instead lays it on the cold metal railing. "Don't be. I was just asking."
"Thanks. I appreciate it."
"Kal," Av begins. "I won't pretend to know what's going through your head. I just want you to know that no matter what, we'll be by your side."
Kallios nods. "I know. Thanks."
"Good." Avrina pushes off the railing and steps away from him. "I'll leave now, with my dignity still somewhat intact."
"No one's asking you to."
She shrugs. "I'll leave you to your thoughts, Captain."
As she slips away, moments before he knows that she is out of earshot, Kallios calls out to Avrina. "Keep being a ray of sunshine, Av. I need that more than anything."
There is no response, but Kallios knows— perhaps because he is a Hunter— that she hears him and his words.
"Are you sure about this?" asks Daphne. Quietly. Carefully. "Just letting her go like that?"
"When am I ever sure of anything?" Kal whispers. He stares out at the Last City. At the Traveler. At their God. "There's so much we don't know out there. So much to discover and fear. All because of the Darkness. Because of our enemies."
"It's too dangerous to try," Daphne finishes.
Kal purses his lips. It is more than enough of an answer. For both of them.
Daph taps his shoulder with the side of her shell. "Let's go home?"
"Yeah. Let's go home."
[;]
Kal and Diana stand back-to-back on the Vex plate. His hand cannon, Venation III, cracks with every bullet fired as it blows Vex goblins into fragments and radiolaria. Diana's Fair and Square bursts down the remaining Vex.
A Vex transmat field appears to Kal's left. He draws Icebreaker, his aim snapping right at the core of the Praetorian. The laser blasts through the Praetorian, erasing it from existence.
"Nice shot!" Diana comments as she switches to her shotgun to kill two goblins.
"Thanks!" Kal dodges backwards and ignites his Golden Gun. He fires off all six shots into a mob of goblins and Praetorians.
"How much longer do you think, Captain?" Heirax asks over the radio.
"The spire's almost done building from the looks of it," Adrestus answers from their viewpoint on the upper ridge of the entranceway. "Should be about…"
A low groan echoes throughout the small valley, followed by a whoosh of Vex energy. The spire ignites; the spherical entrance begins to unwind.
As the fireteam clears up the remaining Vex units while making their way to the entrance, Kal and Diana wait for them where the bronze sphere once existed, catching a moment to breathe for themselves.
Diana slings her weapon across her back, the magnets snapping her pulse rifle into place. "So," she begins, "I heard you rejected my sister."
Kal stares at her incredulously. "Rejected is a strong word."
"Don't wanna talk about it?" She asks, challengingly.
"How about you don't tell me what to do?"
"How about you start thinking about others for a change?"
Kal clenches his jaw. He pushes past Diana and enters the Vault beyond the entranceway. An amalgamation of Vex architecture and Venus' caves greets him. His face sours beneath his helmet as he presses on. He keeps his hand cannon at low ready, tapping the side of his helmet to activate his flashlight. He moves carefully through the caves before stopping before a massive pit that falls into pale nothingness. The cave continues further ahead to his left.
The rest of his fireteam joins him.
"Let's keep moving?" Adrestus asks as they walk behind Kal.
"Yeah, let's—"
A spark of white, fragmented energy— the same energy that he saw at the Tower— just beyond the chasm cuts Kal off. He walks toward it. As he reaches it, the spark vanishes before reappearing below him.
I can't believe I'm actually considering this. The things I do for her… Kal sighs. Then, he jumps off the edge of the platform and into the chasm.
"Kal—!"
He turns around to face the panicked voice. It is Avrina. But as he turns around, he spots a darkened path, underneath the platform he— and his fireteam— were standing on, through some vines and overgrowth.
Kal jumps again in the air, twisting his body before landing smoothly onto the hidden pathway.
"I'm fine!" He calls out. "There's another way here. When you jump, it'll be behind you." He takes out his knife, cutting the vines off, watching as they disappear into the void.
The rest of his fireteam follows, each one easily landing onto the pathway that was hidden from them.
"How'd you know this was here?" Adrestus asks as they all continue further into the Vault.
Kal shrugs. "A hunch. And Daphne said she caught it on her geo-map scans."
Adrestus chuckles. "Hunters' intuition, I guess."
"You could call it that."
The fireteam reaches the end of the tight pathway as it opens up into a larger chamber. Platforms and greenery dots the chamber, with pale yellow lights that illuminate the way to descend further into the Vault.
"Guys!" Diana calls out higher up in the chamber. "There's a chest up here!"
The fireteam all rushes to her, jumping, hovering, or floating their way up. Diana opens the chest. Six purple engrams spill out of it. Everyone picks up an engram, their ghosts appearing to decode it.
Kal receives a gray-tinted hand cannon named Fatebringer.
Diana finds Praedyth's Timepiece, and her twin, Avrina, finds Vision of Confluence.
Heirax decodes Corrective Measure, a machine gun, and Apollo is given Found Verdict, a shotgun.
Adrestus' engram unboxes into Atheon's Epilogue, an auto rifle.
"Good loot," grunts Heirax.
Everyone checks their guns, their ghosts transmatting away their old ones as they fit their new weapons onto their person.
"Ready to keep going?" Kal asks.
"Yeah."
"Wait!" Daphne transmats in front of the fireteam. "There's information coded into your weapons. I found remnants of it in Kal's weapon. Could I… Could I see everyone else's? See if I can complete the code with them together?"
The fireteam presents Daphne their weapons. Her scanner cone appears, her shell spinning and whirring as she moves the scanner over all the weapons.
"Done," she says. "Uploading it to the fireteam network now."
The decoded information appears on their HUDs. They read it in horrified silence. They learn of what happened to Praedyth, to Kabr, and Pahanin. Of Praedyth's cruel fate. Of Kabr's sacrifice to create the Aegis. Of Pahanin's dreaded escape.
Adrestus is the first to speak. "Lost… to time..?"
Kal grits his teeth. This is what she meant. The Stranger had warned him of. The fate of the original fireteam— of Kabr's fireteam— and how he should avoid it. "Alright," he begins. "Does anyone want to back out now?"
The others in the fireteam flinch at the suggestion.
"If you do," he says. "I won't blame you. This is… more intense than we could have ever imagined. I don't think any of you agreed to this expecting the chance to be wiped from time. From history. From memory. If you want to leave, then do so knowing I will never fault you for it."
"Captain," Heirax says after a long quiet. "None of us are going anywhere. We came here to stop the Vex. No matter what."
Avrina bobs her head. The rest of the fireteam nods in agreement.
"Alright," Kal says, glancing at Avrina. "Let's clean up this Vault."
[;]
Kal stares at the overgrown stone of the Venus gate through the scope of Icebreaker. The faint white-blue bubble that emits from the Kabr's Aegis, held by Apollo surrounds him and Diana.
"Back right, back left," Avrina's voice calls through the radio.
"Copy," Diana says.
The Oracles appear. The Hunters' aim snaps to the Oracle in the back right of the room. A perfectly synchronized shot echoes in the chamber. Then again. And then a final time as the last Oracle is shattered.
The uncontrollable vengeance of time fills their hearts and weapons. Apollo, Kallios, and Diana leap through the blue Vex gate, joining the rest of the fireteam as they all fire rockets, bullets, Nova Bombs, Gunslinger beams, and solar grenades at the gleaming glass body of Atheon.
Their unending, furious barrage, fueled by the spirit of Kabr, the Legionless and his fireteam, brings Atheon down to his knees. The massive minotaur collapses. It falls forward, digitizing into utter nothingness.
Everyone, every member of the fireteam, glances around, weapons raised, waiting for something else to come crawling out of the timestreams. To ambush them just as they thought they had secured victory.
"Area is clear," Daphne announces.
Diana and Apollo cheer loudly, their yelps and cries echoing throughout the time throne room. Adrestus puts their hands on their hips and sighs. Heirax's shoulders ease up.
Avrina turns to Kal, who she is standing beside, and pulls him into a tight embrace. She presses her helmet against his. "We did it," she says quietly, only loud enough for him to hear her.
"Yeah," Kal replies, smiling beneath his helmet. "We did." He pulls away from Avrina, then turns to the rest of the group.
Apollo detaches the Aegis from his forearm, leaving it behind in the center of the throne room where they found it after slaying the Gatekeeper.
"Uh, guys?" Diana interjects from her position atop one of the many pillars in the room. "There's engrams at the top of the throne room."
The Guardian's fireteam claims the treasure of the Vault of Glass. On their return to the Tower, they are hailed as heroes, venerated as legends, their efforts forever written into history and lore books.
[;]
Kal stares at his fireteam celebrating in the Bungee's Jump. Diana, Heirax, and Apollo drink and laugh loudly. Surrounded by other guardians and even a few civilians, they retell the tale of the raid on the Vault of Glass.
How they conquered the Templar, and their first encounter with the Vault's Oracles; how they traversed the Gorgon's Labyrinth and the horrors that awaited them there; how they learned to navigate the timestreams created by Atheon; and finally, how they slayed Atheon with the shattered remnants of Kabr's Light and the vengeance it so desperately wished for.
And, of course, the guns and armor they found.
Apparently, Kal's Fatebringer was capable of causing enemies to explode in solar flames on a precision kill. Other guardians, even those in his own fireteam, stare at the weapon, green with envy.
Eventually, the energy in the room is turned to Diana as she unveils the weapon she found in the Vault.
An Exotic. The Vex Mythoclast. Its completely alien structure seemingly perfectly fit for human hands, its ability to reshape time into a usable energy akin to a fusion rifle, it was unlike anything anyone in the City had ever seen before.
"And there she goes," Kal says, leaning back into his seat. He glances at Avrina. "You gonna stop her?"
The celestial twin shakes her head. "Not this time. She's having too much fun."
"Fair enough." Kal takes another sip of his whiskey. "So, I was thinking about doing some scouting tomorrow in the Cosmodrome. Wanna come along?"
"Just the two of us?"
"And our Ghosts, but yes. Just us."
Avrina smiles. "I'd love to. That sounds like a good time."
"I'll swing by at—"
A collection of white energy by the stairwell cuts Kal off. It is the Stranger's signal once again.
"Kal?" Avrina asks, bringing him back to reality. "Is everything okay?"
"Sorry," Kal stutters. "I… I'll be right back. I need to check on something." He stands up, leaving his drink on the table and slipping away towards the stairwell.
The white energy dissipates when he reaches it, but another appears at the top of the stairs. He follows it. Once he reaches the rooftop, he sees the Stranger standing against the railing, her back to the Last City, her arms crossed as she looks at him.
"You all survived. Good," she says.
"I didn't know that your expectations were so low." Kal walks to her and stands beside her. He crosses his arms and rests them on the railing.
"They always are. But that's besides the point. The Vault will not be the only challenge you and your fireteam will face."
"Can I get a due date on the next one, at least?"
The Stranger chuckles. "Not this time, Guardian."
"Not enough time to explain?"
"Something like that."
Kal sighs. "Well, it would be too easy if I knew, wouldn't it."
"Perhaps." The Stranger rests a hand on his shoulder. "Rest easy while you still can, Guardian. Your fight against the Dark is far, far from over."
"I'll do my best."
"You always do," the Stranger says. She lets him go.
"And, uh, Stranger—?"
"Call me Elisabeth."
A pretty name. "Elisabeth, then. Thanks. For sharing what you can with me."
"You're welcome. Stay safe, Kal," she says. Then, she steps backwards and vanishes into pale light.
Kal draws a slow, deep breath before releasing it.
A cough snaps him out of his thoughts.
Avrina stands behind him. "Who was that?"
Fuck.
[;]
"This is bullshit, Kal. You don't just— just ask me out like that and then go and chase some other woman!"
"It's different, Av. And she's not just 'some other woman.' She… She really helped me out a few times. And she was part of the reason why I even destroyed the Black Heart. Without her, the Traveler probably would've had all of its Light drained." Kal sighs. "I'm sorry if it looked that way."
Avrina crosses her arms, glancing away for a moment. "It's fine. I'm sorry for jumping to conclusions."
"No hard feelings?"
"None, captain." Avrina purses her lips. "I do have a question though. Do you actually want to try this? Try going on dates, try being together if it comes to it, and so on? Because as much as I want to, the last thing I want is for you to force it."
"I'm honestly not sure. I don't know if I'm forcing it either. I don't think that I am," Kal says.
"If you're not sure, then you're forcing it. At least that's what I think." Avrina smiles, though there is a sadness that colors it. "I would rather be friends than exes, Kal."
"I see."
"And besides," Avrina breathes. "You love this Elisabeth more than you could ever love me, I think."
Kal scoffs. "Love? I don't think I love her."
Avrina shrugs. "I could be wrong. But I doubt it."
Kal rolls his eyes. He had only learned of the Stranger's name— of Elisabeth's name— only minutes ago. There was no way he could be in love with someone whose name he only learned so recently. "Anyways, Zavala still needs me to run those patrols later. Offer still stands."
"As friends?"
"Yeah," Kal says. "As friends."
The left side of Avrina's upper lip quirks up into a sly smile. "I'll pass."
"Goddammit, Av."
Oh yes, Kallios. You are most definitely not in love with the Stranger.
I promise that the Mass Effect stuff will be here soon! Anyways, onto review replies!
Draedon's Forge: Here is your long-awaited continuation.
Nitroman98: Thanks!
CheesusChrist15: I appreciate it :
FattyTormNezarec: Nice name! Also yes, the Balance thing is a little loopy but there is a purpose to it!
Crazzytony:Thank you! More is coming.
sniperbro1998: Eheh. Mayhaps...?
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