Echo Mesa, Io
"We're exiting warp space. Io's inbound."
Aashir stirred. The circuitry of his mind mimicked the feeling of a twist in his gut. How long has it been? He remembered the memorial for Ulan-Tan. How Ikora had invited him personally, despite being so young. He remembered how taken he was by the moon around him and the planet that filled half the sky; Jupiter, terrifyingly massive and sitting heavy over their heads as if it could tip over at any time.
Despite his apprehension, part of him wanted to explore, see just how much Io had changed in the years since, even if he knew it wouldn't be much. Only Vex crawled across the moon and they were few and far between. Those observed by Hidden, researchers who had gained permission and Hunters who had not noted them to be relatively inactive. Whether that was related to the Sol Divisive, Aashir supposed they would find out.
The ship lurched and Io bloomed into view, a bright green gem against the backdrop of Jupiter and what little of empty space that could be seen behind it. Aashir waited for the ship to assume a smooth path downward, then he stood and went over to the weapons locker.
"Call from Aveline," Fel said.
"I'm listening."
Her voice replaced his Ghost's. "How do you want us set?" she asked. From her voice, she was striding around her ship, getting herself ready.
"If we are to receive a welcome, I don't expect it to be warm," he said. He pulled a shotgun from the locker, a stack of shells and began to load. "Whatever we get, be ready to repay it in kind."
All three ships broke the Ionian atmosphere and the wall of clouds eventually disappeared. Aashir attached the shotgun to his back and went over to the window. He noticed straight away what the reports had been saying. The Vex have made no progress in mechanizing this world, the mountain formations he could remember were unchanged, not a hint of metal glinting off them. Part of him was too unsettled to be glad for it, especially given the states of Mercury and Venus. What was stopping them here?
Once they were over the Rupture, Josef whistled. Aveline agreed, murmuring, "I see where they got the name." A pause. "Not very inventive, is it?" To which her brother snorted.
The Pyramidion towered over the rest of the landscape. He remembered how it used to intimidate him. He had never seen Vex by this time. He had seen images of Mercury and his Ghost had found him in a part of the Ishtar Sink that the Fallen controlled. It daunted him to think that he would be expected to fight against creatures capable of creating things like this.
Since then, he's dismantled hundreds of Vex. For defense, for research, for the satisfaction of that screech they make right before they explode in a shower of radiolaria. Now, the Pyramidion unnerved him for a different reason. Going over to the dashboard, he unlocked one of the compartments and revealed the Gate Lord's Eye, staring back at him. The red light flashed and faded like a slow heartbeat. His Ghost and the Awoken both assured him that there was nothing within that could be used to track or spy on them but he still didn't like having it on his ship.
"When we touch down, keep the ships close, in case we need to make a quick exit."
Josef asked, "What sort of trouble are you expecting?"
"Aside from the Vex?" Aashir sighed, "I can't be sure."
"The Heralds?" Years as a spy hadn't softened Josef's bluntness.
"Maybe. We are holding their key."
"Been wondering about that for a while now." In the background, weapons were being readied. "It's just strange that they haven't interfered in what we've been doing to gain access to the Garden. They didn't step in after Daniel's crew took out the Gate Lord nor when they went to charge the Eye."
"One Herald alone would have been enough," Aveline agreed, "And that's if Pride didn't decide to step in himself." A pause. "Pride could take it from us now, if he wanted. Which we know he does."
"I'm aware we might be walking into a trap." Aashir was already on edge. "But we're in a tunnel with one way forward. Just…be ready. And if they do come for it, try to escape but…we need to prioritize the Eye. The clan needs this key."
The ships draw close and cease movement just a few feet above the ground. Fel takes him out of the ship and Aashir is greeted by a cloud of white sand and yellow dust, kicked up by roaring engines. Aside from a few new craters, the view from the ground looked the same as from the sky; little had changed.
When Josef landed beside him, he took a slow look around. When his eyes landed on Jupiter, he craned his neck so far up, he had to stumble to keep from falling on his ass. Aveline joined them last and when she saw what he did, she was much less quiet about it, a quiet curse slipping from her lips. Under his breath, Josef told his Ghost to start taking pictures.
"Enough. Eyes forward." The Pyramidion loomed, a massive construct that stood high over half the mountains that bordered the Rupture. Blackened Vex metal formed two spires leaned against each other, the shape of a triangle. Its base was a wide open pit, shielded from sunlight but kept bright by machinery that had been implemented when the Vex carved out the stronghold for themselves. At its very center was a sealed door and before that, a thin strand of light emanated from the ground. If Aashir had to guess, that would have been their point of access.
Aashir signaled for them to approach, taking point, leaving the ships to idle where they were. A thought crossed his mind about the ships being attacked and the Eye being destroyed. He quickly shook it from his head but increased their pace. They came to a stop at the edge overlooking the Pyramidion's base, which somehow seemed even more cavernous up close.
"Josef, you'll stay here," Aashir quietly said, "Watch the ships and our backs. Aveline…" He pointed to a ledge jutting out of the wall, directly above the door. "Can you reach it and keep watch from there?"
Aveline took only a moment to determine a route around the mouth of the pit. Then, she began to pace backwards. "I can make it."
Aashir paused to settle himself. Then, alone, he dropped down into the pit. Right after, Aveline sailed over his head, jumping again to reach the next ledge, moving from one to the other in quick succession. Aashir continued his way down, blocks of stone jutting from the rocky wall serving as a staircase. When he finally reached the ground, it was metal instead of stone that rang beneath his boots. "Alright. Bring the Eye to me."
Aashir held out his hands and after a second, the Eye appeared within. His arms immediately moved to bring it closer to his chest, shifting to hold it in one arm so he could hold a hand cannon in the other. He could feel its warmth through his armor. He looked up at the strand of Vex data that stood between him and the door, its brightness illuminating the pit and throwing the shadows into the far corners. He began to cross the space between him and it. Aveline stared down from above, rocket launcher primed.
The Eye warmed further as he drew closer to the dataspire. It began to feel as if it were vibrating. When he was close enough, he found the light almost blinding but through the glare, he could see that it was like the many crystalline structures one would see on Vex architecture, just created to be the width of a strand. Fel appeared over his shoulder and glided close, circling it. Aashir holstered his gun and held the Eye in both hands, its red light pulsating in his face at a faster speed now. "Fel, how do we want to proceed?"
Eye still on the datastream, Fel answered, "I was reviewing footage from Erek's and Daniel's Ghosts from when they went to charge the Eye."
"And what did you learn?"
"That Erek needs professional help. And that the Eye should just need to make contact with the spire and interface from there. All you have to do is hold it in place."
Aashir steeled himself, then he stepped forward. The Pyramidion hung over his head like Jupiter, as if ready to fall and he could feel its pressure on the back of his neck.
He held the Eye out, placing it in the center of the stream. In his hands, the Eye suddenly shuddered, wrenching itself out of his grip and hanging in place, suspended by nothing.
"Huh. Guess you don't need to hold it."
The gun was already back in Aashir's hand. Fel began to circle the floating Eye, a beam of Light shooting into the metal sphere. "Careful, Fel. We don't know what we could wake."
"Just…ensuring…the connection. Ah! There." Fel pulled back. Still suspended, the Eye began to twist and spin until its lens pointed up, the datastream piercing it. There, it remained, quietly rotating in the air.
"Requesting an update, Aashir." Aveline's voice startled him.
"Eye is responding to the Pyramidion's spire. It's suspended in the air by…something. We don't know what."
"The datastream holds signatures that match the ones we registered on Mars as well as a few others," Fel added, "Maybe other Pyramidions, the Infinite Forest. It's connected to them all. Now we just need to access it."
"Think we should have brought Kayla along," Josef murmured.
"No. Ikora never would have agreed if we had suggested that." Kayla may have glided through the Cabal computer systems with ease but the Vex were orders of magnitude beyond them.
A thought flashed through his mind. Fel looked away from the Eye and up at him. "I don't know, Aashir."
"You don't know if you could do it?" Aashir thought back.
"I don't know if I have the strength to wade through that kind of information. Don't let the spire's size fool you, the data that has been condensed into it is massive."
Aashir looked up at Aveline, who had her eyes on Josef and the ships. "Could you share the load with other Ghosts?"
Fel followed his eyes and thoughts. Then he said, "Maybe."
"As in you're not sure?"
"As in let's find out."
"Both of you, to me," Aashir called. Aveline sent the launcher back to the ship and dropped. Behind, Josef landed heavily on the ground, jogging to reach them. "Listen closely, Fel has a plan."
"Esila, Hernan, the data is of too high a volume to get through on my own but I think it will become more manageable if the load is split between the three of us.
Both Ghosts appeared and drew closer. "How do we go about it?" Esila asked.
"I'll tap in and run the query. When I signal, open and I will send each of you chunks of data. Hopefully, pieces of three will be enough."
"Hopefully, you don't break it. Or yourself." Hernan opened his shell, pieces of his frame rotating around a sphere of his Light. Esila did the same. Hernan spoke up again. "The Vex must know we're in their network now. Are they really going to just let us take this information?"
"As far as they're aware, it's a Gate Lord asking for it. As long as they don't grow suspicious…and I move quickly, we should be clear." Light shot from Fel's eye into the Gate Lords. "Enough. Prepare yourselves."
Looking over the Eye, Aashir could see the internal mechanisms shifting around within, as if the thing were still alive rather than Fel manipulating a piece of its corpse like a marionette, wearing its proverbial face like a mask.
The Guardians kept close, shoulder to shoulder, a protective circle. Minutes moved like days as Fel searched and searched and searched. Aashir wanted to ask but he already knew the answer and bothering him would only slow him down.
Finally, Fel said, "Alright. I've isolated the stream coming from the King's Gate." Aashir felt the Ghost steady himself. Then murmur, "Ready."
A beam of Light connected Fel to the Eye. The datastream piercing it pulsated once and then, Fel groaned, staggering in the air as if the world had just been dropped on his head. Aashir moved even closer, kneeling, ready to catch the Ghost should he fall but through extraordinary effort, Fel remained in the air. When he spoke, his voice was static. "Hernan! Get ready!"
Fel twisted around and shot a beam into Josef's Ghost. Hernan staggered back once it made contact, bumping into Josef's chest after he too had stepped forward. Hernan fell into Josef's hands, reforming, eye blinking rapidly as a roaring stream of new information flooded his mind.
Fel took only a second to shake himself off before returning to the stream. He established the connection, pulled the data and this time, turned to Esila. Her reaction upon receiving the data was the same as the rest of them, Aveline having to dart out one hand to catch her before she could hit the ground.
Fel turned back one last time. He was trembling with exhaustion now. Aashir brought up his hand and placed it flat beneath him, letting him rest while he pulled the last of the information. "Isolate what you need, " Aashir told him, "Purge the rest."
Fel groaned and Aashir felt his weight come to rest in his palm. Aashir pulled away from the Eye. Looking down at him, he could see his Ghost's eye flitting back and forth, as if reading words darting past in the air. Guilt pricked him. He shouldn't have allowed this. They should have found another way. But before he could give the order to purge, Hernan spoke up, "I think I've got it." His voice was weak but clear. His eye had begun to settle.
Esila began to unsteadily rise out of Aveline's palm and eventually, even Fel seemed to stabilize. "That was risky," Aashir murmured.
"It's alright. Just a lot of junk to off-load."
Aashir wanted off this moon. The pressure on his neck was heavier now, almost squeezing. "What do you all have then?"
Hernan lifted out of Josef's hands. "Images. And streams of different thoughts. They seem blurry, like thoughts. I see…I see a dark green sky. A field of red flowers. And mountains, far in the distance. Quiet but….a beating heart?"
"I hear the heartbeat. I feel the thoughts too," Esila said, "There's…a lot of them. Differing but connected. But I can only feel them for a short while. Then, they cut off and I feel emptiness. Lost."
"But it's only for a short while. Something fills the void." Fel shook in Aashir's hand. "I can see pictures by the others but…I can't picture this. My mind can't even create an image to take its place. It's just nothing…but it's definitely something." Fel snarled in frustration.
"Settle, Fel," Aashir told him, "Do the best you can."
"I am. This 'nothing', I can't see it. But I can hear it. It speaks in a way the thoughts can understand and…they turn towards it. They start to experience something they never have before; reverence."
"The minds are the Vex, that much is clear," Aveline said, "And 'reverence'? Like…worship?"
"Yes. Worship, that's it. This 'nothing' is offering something to them. The thoughts consider taking it for themselves but they know they can't. They think of trying to mimic it but they know they can't. It's offering something they've wanted as long as they could remember and all it is asking in return is for themselves."
"What is it? What is it trying to give to the Vex?" Aashir bit out, voice raised in impatience.
Fel turned to him, his voice dropping so low, he could barely be heard over the hum of the machines.
"Salvation."
Aashir's hands open and close, open and close. Then, he ordered, "Purge all data except the absolute necessities. Compile and archive." He stepped around his Ghost and grabbed the Eye, ripping it from the datastream. It grew heavy in his hands. The machinery within stopped moving.
"Something breached the Black Garden a long time ago. Cut the Vex in there off from the rest," Josef mused. Then, he looked up. "But not from here. What's the Pyramidion have to do with the Black Garden?"
"The door never opened." Aveline looked up as well. "Do you think it would be a good idea to try?"
"We've done enough for today," Aaashir said, "Best not to push any further."
"Are we done here then?"
"Make for the ships. The Vanguard needs to hear about this."
The others shared a look but began walking. Aashir waited for Fel to transmat the Eye before following behind at a distance. The twins had already begun to climb when Aashir was halfway. Fel floated uneasily over his shoulder, still purging himself of the data. Aashir still felt heavy. He felt wrong. Like there was a pit, a bullet lodged in his chest that refused to kill him. A hand on his neck, squeezing…
That pit suddenly jumped into his throat. Out of the smallest corner of his eyes, he saw a glimmer of color. A blood-red ruby buried in a deep cave that caught just the smallest ray of sunlight.
Whatever it was, it dragged Aashir's Light to the surface. Reacting purely on fear and instinct, Aashir twisted to face it, hands alive and coursing with Solar fire.
But there was nothing there. "Aashir?" As soon as he had sensed Aashir's panic, he had returned to him.
"Nothing," he accidentally said aloud. His voice trembled just slightly. He snuffed out the flames and cleared his throat. "Nothing. Let's go." To the others, he said, "Take off at will."
With difficulty, Ashir pulled himself out of the pit, Jupiter greeting him once again. He didn't stop to rest, all but jogging towards his ship. Despite orders, Aveline's and Josef's ships still hung beside his', his team waiting for him to board. He did, the world shifting around him in the span of a blink. He went over to the dashboard, unlocked the compartment to see the Eye there, its light once again a slow rhythmic beat.
The others began to pull away. Aashir had his ship turned in the direction of the sun and then set on autopilot. His exhaustion was beginning to dig in deep. He turned down the lights and fell into the pilot's seat. For the first time, he felt himself daring to relax as they pulled away from the ground, the Echo Mesa and Io itself. But he couldn't fall asleep. Anytime he threatened to, the red would flash in his mind's eye. Either way, Fel had finished compiling the information and now, he needed to figure out how to make it into something more coherent. The ship's NLS drive engaged once they were out of the moon's orbit and quickly, Io shrunk into nothingness behind them.
Josef's voice came through on comms. "Any thoughts on how we're gonna discuss this?"
"Been having thoughts since we left." Aashir opened his eyes and shook the heaviness from his body. "Fel and I agree with what you all said before. Seems like the Sol Divisive were part of the Collective until something severed their connection to the rest. The reason I think the Ghosts couldn't see it or picture it is that they were looking at it through the Vex's eyes and the Vex couldn't make sense of it."
"The only kinds of things the Vex can't make sense of is…" Josef breathed, "Us. Is this…thing like us?"
"More than likely, the inverse."
"The Darkness."
"When the Vex made contact and saw they couldn't take or copy what they wanted from it, they turned to supplication instead. This thing, this Dark Heart, must be feeding them, empowering them and in turn, they protect it. That would explain their frenzy on Mars. Like fanatics."
"It's a source of power, is what you're saying." Aveline sounded as if she had been in the middle of a deep nap. "If Pride were to get a hold of it, turn it against the Traveler…"
"It's just a theory."
"A horrible one, which makes it more likely to be true."
Ikora hummed, her fist pressed against her lip. "If this is true, it would be the most direct move Pride has ever made against the City."
"Indeed." Zavala stood near a window within the small room they had agreed to meet Aashir and his team in. Only Cayde was missing, allegedly seeing to other matters. Below, the City went on about its day, as if their world wasn't teetering on a razor's edge. "But why such bold moves now? He's always dedicated himself to secrecy."
"Aro knows who he is now. There's no point in remaining hidden." Ikora approached the table, an image of the King's Gate projected at its center. "If Pride turns this power against the Traveler and it fails to defend itself, we'd lose out Light and be left defenseless. As would Aro. Young and inexperienced as he is, his latent power is still our best hope against the Heralds."
"All the more reason the Black Garden needs to be breached and this…heart destroyed." The Commander turned to them and his eyes softened. "You've all done good work and deserve the rest you've earned," he said to them, "But you know as well as I what is at stake." Zavala squared his shoulders. "Daniel's fireteam will return to the City within the week. Aro's and Mira's teams will soon depart for Mars and will likely return around the same. Take this time to recuperate while you can. You may all be standing before the King's Gate sooner rather than later.
Aashir's team was dismissed. The Commander left with them, speaking with Josef in low tones while Aveline walked on ahead, intent on finding a meal and a bed. Aashir was just about to follow them out the door when he heard, "A moment, Aashir."
He froze. Then, he took a step back from the door and turned. Ikora met his eyes and held them as he approached the opposite side of the table. Then, she broke eye contact and began to pace, her hands clasped behind her back. "It seems you were right about the Pyramidion," she said, "This is valuable intel."
Aashir bowed his head slightly. "Thank you, Master."
"Intel we might have missed had Cayde not convinced me to let you go," she continued. Her pacing paused, her eyes faced the window. Then, she turned back to him. "Perhaps I have been too harsh as of late."
Aashir spoke past the lump that gathered in his throat. "Not undeserved."
To which she replied, "Maybe. But enough that it may also be clouding my judgement." She resumed pacing. "You must understand, I've never had to deal with agents going rogue. Most Hidden are Guardians. There are contingencies, of course, but most are so severe, they border on unacceptable. None of which I would have visited upon you, Josef or Aveline." Ikora sighed. "I suppose it would serve me well to remember that what you did was for a good reason. And that things have worked out. Two of the Heralds are dead, Wrath(A) is subdued, Asura is returned and the Vault is disabled. But we cannot continue to rely on such luck," she told him, "Especially when everything seems to be coming to a head. I know you know that."
"I do. I understand."
She nodded. "Good. When you've returned from the Black Garden, you and I can speak more on this. And on how to go forward. For now, go on, take your rest."
Aashir bowed his head again, lower this time and when he left the room, he felt lighter than he had when he entered, than he had in months. That he managed such a feat in the face of what was coming was impressive, even to him. Hoping it would last was asking too much.
Shino traipsed one way around the sparring ring, sweaty and smiling. Opposite him, a Hunter, newly risen, freshly bruised and panting, moving the opposite way, doing his best to keep as much distance between the two of them as he could manage.
Shino suddenly stopped walking. The Hunter did as well. Then, grinning even wider, Shino began to move the opposite way, forcing the young Guardian to do the same. Some found this childish, all found it amusing. Even his opponent, chuckling under his breath.
Then, Shino charged, and the Hunter no longer found it funny. A massive man in comparison to most around him, how he managed to launch himself off his feet with so little warning remained a point of contention even amongst those who fought against him the most often.
Shino reached for him and the Hunter darted back, hoping his smaller frame would be of some benefit. It was. Shin missed his grab. But then, the young Hunter got cocky and believed he could get in a quick strike to an exposed part of Shino's torso before Shino could correct himself.
It wasn't a mistake to believe he could connect the hit. No, his mistake was in believing he'd get away with it. Knuckles struck flesh and the Hunter moved to take back his arm.
Shino had it first. Then, he had his leg. Then, the young Guardian was sailing through the air, ass over head, striking the floor of the ring so hard with his back, everyone surrounding it winced and groaned. None louder than the man whose Ghost now needed to knock several spinal disks back into place. Until that was done, he'd be unable to stand, winning Shino the match.
From high up on the rafters, Jessie gave a slow clap. But only because Shino's back was turned to her, arms raised to the cheering crowd and strutting about like the world's sweatiest show pony. After his ego stroking was complete, he went back over to the Hunter and helped him to his feet, raising his arm to the crowd; a reward for being the only New Light brave enough to face him all afternoon.
Shino slipped from the ring, pulling a spare shirt from his bag and a sweat rag for his dripping forehead. When Jessie called his name, he lifted the rag where it draped over his eyes and turned towards her voice. As soon as he spotted her, he made his way over, clambering over each step. "How long have you been up here?" He called as he climbed.
"Long enough to see you take several good shots to the face. I'm aware of how little that narrows it down.'
"Well, if you were hoping to get me in the ring…"
"Embarrassing you would do nothing for me." Jessie shifted over to make room when he came to sit. He grimaced as he did. "Amir having trouble healing you?"
"He says the bruises help him sleep," Amir answered before Shino could. "I just wait for him to go to bed before I start healing everything."
"Don't look at me like that," Shino said, suddenly and humorously defensive, "Shaxx and Josef say the same! What, it's not like that for you?"
"No, Shino, I don't bruise like overripe fruit." She gently pressed her elbows to his ribs. He nearly jumped out of his seat. Amir sighed and drew in close, a compromise seemingly made to let him at least seal the cracks in his ribcage. "You guys are heading for Mars soon, right?"
"Soon. Wanted to get in a bit of fun before work takes over my life. Again." He shook his head and threw the rag back over it. "Shame we won't be able to compete in the Banner from this point."
Jessie hummed. "Katrina's not glad about it, I'll say that."
Shino laughed. "'Not glad about it'. Mira's been in a shit mood all day." Heavy shoulders shrugged. "For the best, honestly."
"Why do you say that?"
"We wouldn't have lasted much longer."
"Oh, that. So I've seen."
He shoved an elbow into her ribs, forgetting and quickly remembering that she was made of metal. Rubbing his elbow, he shrugged again. "I don't know, we feel…off as a team. Like we can't stay on the right foot, no matter what we do."
His tone, the sudden quietness to his voice, made Jessie grow just a bit more serious. Katrina spoke regularly with Mira, Sora with May and between them, a common topic seemed to pop up quite often.
"Is this about Aro?"
The shift was subtle and immediate. Brow tightened, shoulders rose slightly, forearms and hands flexed, eyes darkened. All at the sound of a name. Almost as if he were aware of these reactions, Shino seemed to force himself to relax. "Can I ask you something?"
Jessie blinked. "I'm listening."
"What do you think of…everything? Everything that's happened, I mean, to you and your team?"
"Ah."
"Don't think I've ever really asked before," Shino mumbled as an explanation.
"Well, you already know about how. It was an accident of sorts, like with your team."
A small laugh escaped him. "Sort of like mine," he intoned, "Until we learned the truth."
Jessie felt an uncomfortable lump well in her throat. "Right. Well, for us, it wasn't anything so…extreme. One little instance of curiosity led to this. We all deal with it differently but we are dealing."
Jessie turned her eyes down towards the ring. New people were within and around it now. She leaned back to rest against the wall behind them. "Katrina rankles against it, naturally. At the same time, Sora seems to have embraced it. They call Warlocks 'warrior-scholars' but she was always more scholar than warrior. Ever since we learned about the Heralds and Pride, she's begun to spend a lot of her free time in the library and labs. Learning different topics, delving into a bunch of different fields, like she's scouring every source of information she can for something that could give us an edge."
For the most part, Sora's efforts amounted to little. At least, according to her; the Goliath tank was an exception to the rule. Undead Lightbearers infused with and wielded by the Darkness like marionettes were beyond any Guardian's expertise. She said that it did raise questions on the possibility of Guardians who could wield both Light and Dark but their situation remained a unique one.
"Since we're being honest…" Jessie leaned forward to rest her elbows on her knees. "I think Sora does it because she feels guilty. It was her curiosity that led us to investigate the temple. We encountered the Heralds out front and…"
Shino's eyes lowered. "At least you all survived."
"Barely," Jessie replied and she knew how hollow that sounded. Shino likely wished they could have had even that much. It was touching and heartbreaking, how much Shino missed his friend.
When he spoke again, his voice hardened. "And about Aro?"
Jessie turned her head and stared at him for a while. Then, she decided to turn it on him. "What do you feel about Aro?"
Shino's brow furrowed even deeper. "I never saw his face when it happened. All I ever felt was this pressure. Made it hard to breathe. I had never encountered anything like it before or since. At least until Pride showed himself on Venus. Showed himself and took us down like we were nothing."
Jessie remembered little of that day. She recalled the deliberations made by the rest of the clan and the decision that was reached. She remembered landing on Venus, traveling to the Vault's entrance, engaging the Heralds; how it took several of them fighting for their lives just to keep Greed on his own at bay.
Then, a flash of red, like blood catching light. Then, the cold. Next thing she knew, she was waking up on her ship, every part of her coursing with pain. 'Nothing' was giving them too much credit.
"Mira confirmed it for us, when we returned to the Reef," Shino continued, "It was him that day. Communing with the Hive. When we tried to rescue May, we stumbled right in on them." He shook his head. "If it weren't for the eyes and that…pressure, I'd think it was Pride walking around the Tower, speaking with the Vanguard, staring at me from across the way."
Shino looked angry and more vulnerable now than she had ever seen him, his hands clasped together and pressed to his mouth, slight welts left where teeth pressed into bright blue skin, a leg shaking against the metal of the rafters.
She turned away, if only to grant him a modicum of privacy. "Since we're still being honest," she started. Then, she sighed, her voice dropping low. "I'm not sure how I feel about Aro. Deep down, I can't really find it in me to treat him any differently but at the same time, I feel like I should."
Shino scoffed. "He and Pride caused the Collapse. Hard not to feel some kind of way about that, even if Marie had never been killed by his brother."
"I just want to do what's right, Shino. The wilds are hard, even for a Guardian. I spent seven months scrounging around Venus before Delos and I found a way off-planet." She gestured to the ring, the people around it. Her people. "I'm protective of this City. It's my City and the Heralds, they threaten it. Katrina doesn't like any of this and Sora blames herself and wants to compensate but in my eyes, all of this would have happened anyway. At least by being aware of it, I can be on the front."
"And you prefer it that way?"
She shook her head. "Oh, there's no contest. I'd much rather see a threat coming. As for Aro…what I see in Sora…and maybe a bit in myself, I see in him. He's compensating, trying to make up for his past."
Shino's face tightened again. "He can't. This is just too big-"
"But he can try. And he is. I know you see it."
Shino's eyes turned away.
"His team saved mine. Wouldn't be here discussing Aro with you if Aro and Asura and Crona hadn't shown up when they did. The Heralds needed him alive and he was willing to risk himself just to give us a chance at getting away. Just like me, Aro really just wants to do what's right," she said, "And if it's not enough, well, he'll just keep trying and trying. Until the past is made up for. Or it gets him killed."
That did it. A crack in his stony features. Jessie leaned in. "I'd rather it not be the latter. Not sure about you-"
"Of course not," he snarled before catching himself.
She shrugged. "For Daniel's sake, at least."
At that, Shino chuckled softly, trying and failing to cover it with a cough. But now the walls were coming down in their entirety. Shino rubbed his chin, his face softening little by little. As was his voice when he spoke again. "I haven't spoken to him in a long time."
"At all?"
"Well, not entirely. But the few times I did…" He let out a breath. "I'll speak to him. Soon. I've just…just got some things I need to work out for myself."
Shino rose to his feet, knees audibly protesting and started down the rafters. He stopped and turned. "Thanks, you know, for listening. Even if you disagree. It's not really something the others have been doing as of like."
"When this is all over," she nodded to the ring, "I get first crack at your skull. We'll see how grateful you are then."
He guffawed, loudly enough to catch eyes and Jessie waved him off. "Good luck, Shino."