A melodic chime echoes in Kal's room. He stirs once before sitting up in his bed. The patterned drizzling, trailing of rainfall stains the window to his right as he rises to his feet.

"It's Elisabeth," his Ghost, Daphne, states just before she transmats before him. She blinks once, expanding her shell, rotating it, then shrinking it again. "And it's urgent, it seems."

"Urgent?" Kal asks. Things were never urgent anymore. They'd purged the Hive, erased the Vex, united the Cabal, and destroyed the Witness and its Disciples.

Urgency was a thing of the past. Of a time before they found Balance between the Light and the Dark.

"Patch her through," Kal says to Daphne as he puts on a pot for some coffee.

The Young Wolf, waking up at 11 A.M. to put on coffee, Kal's lip quirks up in a small smile. Despite it being the past, it wasn't that long ago when he and his fireteam were staying up for weeks on end with nothing but the Light fueling their bodies.

"She's not calling," Daphne says. "She's actually here."

Kal almost drops his mug on the floor. "What."

Daphne bobs up and down, flicks her gaze to the door just as it slides open.

Elsie Bray steps through the threshold, marching toward Kal. Her gleaming blue eyes narrow as she stares at him for a moment too long. After the war with the Witness— the saga of Light and Dark— Elsie changed her appearance.

Instead of the blue and gold cloak and form-fitting, flexible clothes she once wore, she now wears an Omolon jacket paired with a simple black shirt and a pair of black pants.

"Put a shirt on, Kal."

"It's my house."

She relents and glances around the apartment, eyes darting about.

Kal pours his coffee out. "What's the rush?"

Elsie finds what she's looking for: a small console that Kal keeps at his bedside. "You need to hear this."

Kal watches, his arms crossed, coffee mug in one hand, as Elsie punches a series of buttons on the console before inserting a thumb-sized chip into it.

She steps back as Kal approaches.

"Where's this coming from?" Kal asks.

Elsie puts a finger to his lips to silence him. "Just watch."

The console hums to life and begins to play something back.

A transmission.

"The reports coming in are unlike anything we've seen. Whole colonies have gone dark. We've lost contact with everything beyond the Sol Relay," a voice says.

"Whatever this is," a deeper one continues. "It's incomprehensibly powerful."

"You brought me in to confirm what you already know: the Reapers are here." Charisma oozed from the voice— a leader, a commander. Like Zavala.

The transmission pauses, echoing into silence before it comes roaring back with sounds of gunfire, screaming civilians, massive explosions, and every sound that both Kal and Elsie were far too familiar with.

Then, it cuts out again. Permanently, this time.

Kal sets his mug down. "Where did you find this?"

"As a fragmented data set in one of the Witness' old pyramids," Elsie says. "This was all I could piece together after cleaning it up."

"The Reapers," Kal repeats. When the Commander had said it, she'd done so with a level of reverence. Of respect. And while she'd done her best to hide it, there was also fear.

The Reapers were far too general of a proper noun. All of humanity's enemies were dealt with at this point, and if there was a new force brewing on the horizon, Kal would hedge his bets on the next generation of Lightbearers.

"Any ideas, Little Light?"

"None whatsoever," Daphne says. "The Reapers could mean anyone. Or anything."

"I'll go to some of the Guardian haunts and ask around," Kal says. "See if anyone's caught wind of these guys."

Elsie nods. "I'll do some digging in the Bray Archives. I'm sure Ana and I can find something."

"Sounds like a plan," says Kal, smiling.

Elsie tilts her head. "Care to explain the smile?"

"Just brings me back," he explains. "A bit of action here and there feels nice."

Elsie just rolls her eyes. "Only difference is that you aren't as green as when I first met you."

"Guess we can chalk that up to having killed a few gods since then," Kal jokes.

"Fair enough." Elsie chuckles as she detaches the chip from the console and slips it into her pocket. "Alright. Keep your line open for my communications." She makes for the door.

"Be careful, Elsie," Kal calls out.

"I will," Elsie replies softly before slipping through the door, out into the rain once more.

[;]

The door to Bungee's Jump, one of the Last City's many Guardian pubs, slides open. Kallios steps inside, glancing around.

All conversation in the pub stops with his entrance. Whispers fill the room—

"It's the Guardian—"

"That guy who killed Xivu Arath—"

"The Young Wolf…"

Kallios walks up to the bar. "Hey, Happy."

Happy-2, the exo bartender and owner, glances up from wiping a shot glass clean. He smiles at Kal. "Good to see you again, Kal. It's been awhile. The usual?"

"No drink today, sadly," he says, meaning it. "I'm here on business." Kal half-sits on the barstool.

"How can I help?"

Kal leans forward. "Have you heard anything about The Reapers?"

Happy-2 hums. Then, he replies, measuredly. "No. Can't say I have, but it doesn't sound like something in Sol."

Kal frowns. "It's not."

Happy-2 nods. "You're in luck. A fireteam of six just got back from Charon."

"Charon? Pluto's moon?"

"Yes."

"Where are they now?"

"Rooftop," Happy says, pointing up at the ceiling.

Kal stands up. "Thanks, Happy."

"Don't mention it, Kal." Happy-2 bobs his head. "And good luck."

[;]

Before Kal heads up to the rooftop, he hears laughter and conversation reverberate down the stairwell.

"Alright, your turn Joker."

"Fuck no; I'm not drinking that shit."

Raucous disapproval follows the rejection.

"Come on!"

"Just one shot— it's not gonna kill you."

"We all had one, you fucker."

"Like Winter said: it's just one shot."

Kal smiles to himself and leans against the wall of the stairwell. He listens to them for a short while.

Laughing and chuckling fills the stairwell once again, as the one who drank— Joker, probably, says "Traveler's piss that tastes awful. Where'd you even get it?"

"It's from the Eliksni."

"That's their alcohol?"

"Well, no. Not exactly."

Silence.

"Please tell me I did not just drink liquified Ether."

"You did not just drink liquified Ether."

Kal smirks. Then, he heads up the stairs to join the fireteam. As he reaches the top, he sees them all gathered around a large table, chairs are pulled up to the table.

There are two titans, two warlocks, and two hunters. The fireteam's helmets rest on top of the table, beside the spherical bottle of liquid-Ether. A few of them have their ghosts out; the little lights gather a few feet away from their guardians, conversing with each other.

At his arrival, the guardians and ghosts facing the stairs all stare at him in shock.

One of the fireteam is on her feet, her arms spread. "Look on the brightside, Joker, we made it back from Charon in one piece, and we're back in the Last City."

The hunter tries to speak up. "Uh, Haldr..?"

Haldr, the titan puts a hand up. "Hold on, Ina, I'm having a moment right now." She continues on as Kallios watches, a hand on his hip.

"We should do something this weekend to celebrate! Any ideas?" Haldr asks.

"Haldr…" A warlock trails off. She points behind her friend, at Kal.

Haldr turns around, and— "Oh, Traveler's shit, when did the Guardian get here!"

"Since you started your speech."

Haldr's cheeks shimmer with light; an Awoken blush. "Well, uh… Sorry about that, sir." She goes to sit back down on her chair.

Kal waves her off. "It's alright— no apologies needed. Mind if I sit down?"

"No, not at all."

"Nope!"

"That's fine."

"Sure!"

Kallios glances at each of them as he pulls up another seat. "Is there something wrong?"

The guardians all look at each other, then one of them— an exo warlock with a light blue frame, responds. "None of us expected to meet you so soon. I think… I think we're all a little starstruck right now, is all."

"A little?" The hunter asks, sarcasm oozing from his tone. "The Guardian— the one who killed the Witness, every Hive God, Ghaul, Calus, Rhulk, and—" The hunter scoffed, cutting himself off. "He's pretty much the best hunter we're ever gonna get. So yeah: 'a little starstruck' is an understatement."

"Joker, I assume?" Kal asks.

The hunter's eyes widen. "Yeah. How'd you know?"

"How did the liquid-Ether taste?"

The fireteam, everyone besides Joker, erupts into laughter once again. But it dies quickly as they all glance at Kallios, who merely smiles.

"You can all relax," Kal says. "I'm just a guardian. Like the rest of you."

"'Just a guardian,'" Joker echoes.

Haldr, who sits beside the hunter, drives her elbow right into his side. Joker's shield breaks.

"I assume there's a reason you're meeting with nobodies like us, though," Winter says. "Are we in trouble?"

"No. Far from it, actually."

"Oh. That's good."

"But before I continue, I'd like to get all your names."

"I'm Haldr," the awoken titan says. Her light purple skin shimmers as she glances at Kal.

The exo warlock nods. "I'm Winter-1."

"Joker," the black-haired human hunter says.

The awoken warlock with lightning blue skin and eyes raises his hand. "Name's Volt."

"I am Ignis-3," says the exo titan with a black frame and bright orange eyes.

"And I'm Dancer-1," introduces the exo hunter with a gray frame and gleaming green eyes.

"And I'm Kallios." He smiles. "Daphne, mind introducing yourself?"

Daphne transmats beside Kal. "I'm Daphne: this idiot's ghost."

The fireteam's ghosts all stare at Daphne, blinking, their shells spinning around.

"Let's get down to business," Kallios says. "Daphne, play the transmission for them."

Daphne bobs up and down. "Replaying transmission."

As it plays, every member of the fireteam listens intently. But confusion is the only emotion on their faces as it comes to its horrifying end. Confusion, fear, and even horror. Except for one.

"The Reapers?" Ignis-3 tilts their head.

"Doesn't sound familiar…" Joker trails off.

Winter-1 places her hands on the lap of her robes. "I… I think I remember reading something about the Reapers before."

"On Charon?"

Winter-1 shakes her head. "No. It was in a Vex grid network on Venus."

"Vex..? Before we got rid of them?" Haldr speaks up.

"Yes." Winter crosses her arms. "In the Vault of Glass."

"What do you remember about it?" Daphne asks.

Winter's eyes spin. "Not much." She slowly gets up from her chair. "I'm sorry. I— I need to go." Grabbing her helmet from the table, she strides away from her fireteam and rushes down the stairs.

"Winter—!" Haldr calls. She sighs. "Sorry, she's… She can get like this, sometimes. But it's rare."

"I understand," Kallios says. "I'll find her again. But the rest of you: you haven't heard or seen anything about these Reapers before?"

The fireteam collectively answers in variations of, "No."

"Sorry we couldn't be of more help," Joker says to Kal.

"Don't worry." Kallios waves him off as he stands up from his chair. "All of you: take care and keep your eyes and ears peeled for any new information you find on these guys."

The fireteam all nod in agreement.

"It was nice meeting you, Guardian," Ignis-3 comments as Kallios makes his way to the stairs.

"You too." Kallios waves at the fireteam one last time before slipping away.

"Do you have her location?" He whispered to Daphne.

"Yes. She's making her way out of the City."

Kallios eyes narrow.

He needed to find Winter-1.

[;]

Elsie's voice crackled through the radio. "We've found nothing in the archives."

"Nothing?" Kal asks as he makes his way to the outer side of the Tower. He looks down the side of the wall— to the earthy forest floor beneath it.

His sniper rifle— a custom Silicon Neuroma— transmats into his waiting hands. He scopes in, searching for any sign of movement.

"Nothing," Elsie echoes. "Have you had any luck?"

"I think I've got a trail," Kal says. "A member of a new fireteam said she remembers reading something about them in a Vex network."

"What'd she say?"

"That she doesn't remember much. Before leaving the conversation."

A pause. "Are you tracking her?"

There. Kal spots Winter— a set of pale blue robes weaving through the trees just beyond the walls of the Last City. "I've got my eyes on her."

"We need that info, Kal."

"I know. But I'm not going to hurt her over it."

"I didn't ask you to," Elsie says. "Just… remember what might be at stake here."

"I know." Kal clenches his jaw. "Alright, I'll radio you again once I've got something."

"I'll check what few Vex grids might still be active in the meantime, then." Elsie sighs. "I feel like I'm getting too old for this."

"That goes for the both of us." Kal smirks. "Take care, Elsie."

A gentle hum. "You too."

The radio goes silent.

Kallios focuses his senses, letting his consciousness flow freely. The verdant green energy of Stand slips between his fingertips.

He thrusts his hand forward, a tether of green sticking to a point in the open sky. Kallios swings forward, wind whistling in his ears, his cloak flapping behind him.

As he reaches the apex of the swing, he releases the tether, entering a rapid free-fall.

Kallios flips himself around, extending his arms to his sides. Strand gathers in his palms as he descends upon Winter-1.

Winter-1, either through coincidence or fear, stops in her tracks to look around. Then, she glances up at Kallios just before he lands in front of her. Strand energy explodes out from the ground, breaking the earth beneath him.

"Winter," Kallios says, staring her dead in the eyes. "We need to talk."

[;]

Winter-1 and Kallios sit opposite each within a small cave some miles from the Last City. Daphne floats beside Kal before she hovers closer to Winter-1.

"Why did you run?" Daphne asks.

Winter-1 crosses her arms. "I… I was afraid, I think."

"Why?"

"I never thought I would have to tell someone else about it," she says quietly. "It's something I've known for… for so long that I almost forgot about it. Until you showed us that transmission that mentioned the Reapers." She shivers at the name.

"Why did you hide it?"

"Fear, maybe?" Winter-1 half-asks. "I don't know. Like I said, I thought I'd forgotten about it, but it all came rushing back when you brought it up."

"Explain that to me."

"Well, it's like… It's like reliving a memory," Winter-1 says. "A memory that doesn't exactly feel like mine."

"Like a dream?"

Winter-1 nods. "But different. More… vivid. Almost real. Whatever that means."

"What did you see in this dream?"

"I… was walking in a forest of dead trees," she says rhythmically, almost melodically. "And I could see oily shadows clinging to those trees. There were voices too, I think. Quiet ones. Soft ones. Ones that…almost sounded like children, I think. And…" Winter-1 trailed off into silence.

"It's alright, Winter," Daphne coos. "You can stop now. You can let it go."

Winter-1 lets out a quiet sob.

As Daphne comforts the crying guardian, Kallios steps out of the cave and immediately radios Elsie.

"Kal?" she asks once the radio patches through.

"We need to go to the Vault of Glass."

[;]

Kallios and Elsie transmat onto Venus' Ember Coast at the same time, both wearing their full combat loadouts.

As the many eyes of Omnioculus peer out from Kal's chest plate, and with Le Monarque at his back, Elsie couldn't help but say something.

"It's been some time since you've used that equipment," she says. "I think the last time was—"

"Killing Xivu Arath," Kal finishes. A grim look crosses his features.

Elsie's eyes soften for a moment. She rests a hand on his shoulder. "We'll figure this out. Together. Okay?"

Kal purses his lips, but nods nonetheless. "I know. We always do."

"Daphne," Elsie calls out. "Mark the Vault on Kal's HUD and summon his sparrow, please."

"One sparrow coming right up," chirps Daphne, transmatting the sparrow in front of both Elsie and Kal.

"I drove last time, cowboy," Elsie says. "It's your turn."

"Yes ma'am," Kal says, smiling as he mounts the sparrow. A moment later, Elsie joins him, wrapping an arm around his waist.

Kal revs the sparrow and it surges forward, causing them both to lean back from the force.

Ever since the Witness invaded Sol, no one was sure the planets it Took would ever be returned. But almost immediately after its death— if you could even call it that— Venus, Io, Titan, and Mercury, returned to the Sol system. As if they had never left.

"Hey look," Kal says, pointing at the Ishtar Academy as they blast through the Ishtar Sink. "That's where we met."

"Yes. It is."

"What'd you say to me, again?" Kal thinks. "I don't have time to explain why I don't have time to—"

Elsie clamps her metal hand over his lips. "Stop talking and drive, Guardian."

Kal nods and turns his attention back to the bubbling orange lakes and overgrown pathways of Venus.

"Daphne, run a scan for any Vex signals," Kal says.

"Range?"

"Local," he answers as he turns the handle on his sparrow, banking around a corner. "Then switch to planetary if you don't get a ping."

"Planetary, Kal?" Daphne double-checks. "Are you sure?"

"Just do it, Daph."

"On it," she replies.

"Local and planetary scans?" Elsie asks from behind him. "Kal, the Vex are gone."

"I know. I'm just…" Kal trails off.

"Okay," Elsie says. "I understand."

It isn't long before they reach the gates of the Vault of Glass. The massive, circular, hammered-brass entryway is wide open— it has remained that way since Kal and his fireteam first cleared the Vault all those years ago. Who knows how many other guardians entered the Vault after them, seeking to claim the treasures of the VEx for themselves.

In the sparrow, both Kal and Elsie ascend the cliff on the left side of the Vault's approach. Kal twists the handle of the sparrow, bringing it to a smooth stop just in front of the Vault's gate.

Elsie dismounts first as Daphne chirps on their radio network.

"No Vex signals on any local channels," she states. "Swapping to a planetary scan now."

"Not even from the Vault?" Kal asks.

"You know I can't scan anything in there," Daphne says.

"Right," murmurs Kal. "I… Sorry." He closes his eyes for a moment. "Let's head inside then," he says.

Elsie steps up to him. "What about the planetary scan?"

"Ditch it," he says. "I doubt we'll find anything anyways."

"Canceling planetary scans now," says Daphne just as she transmats Kal's Fatebringer and Elsie's auto-rifle, Quicksilver Storm, into their waiting hands.

The Young Wolf and the Exo Stranger delve into the remnants of the Vault of Glass.