"If the Vex exist in our future - or in a possible future - should we take this as evidence that their defeat is impractical or unattainable?" - Descendants
Harley dodged a blast from a nearby Goblin and shot at an Oracle that had just appeared. As it vanished, another chime sounded behind him and he spun to shoot down a second one. When no more chimes rang out, he deemed it safe to swap to his hand cannon, dropping his empty sniper rifle to the stone floor with a clatter.
"Snipers!" warned Bazzle.
"I got 'em!" Fyr called back.
Harley ducked as the Templar's gaze fixed on him. The Hydra was massive - easily three times the size of the ones he'd encountered before. And it could move fast.
He cursed as the Templar's blasts shook the pillar he was crouching behind. "When are we going to be able to take this thing's shield down?"
"Depends if more Oracles show up," said Rae matter-of-factly.
The comms went silent as all seven Chasers listened for the telltale chiming of more Oracles appearing. When none occurred, Harley sighed in relief.
"Where are the Vex?" said Bazzle, "They're acting unusually… restrained."
He looked around, seeing that the Titan was right. The Vex seemed to have slowed their assault, leaving only a few Goblins and Hobgoblins that were soon taken down by his allies. He holstered his hand cannon and bent to pick up his sniper rifle. As he reloaded it, he cautiously checked on the Templar's position, making sure to stay out of its line of sight.
"How the hell are we gonna defeat that thing?" Kaedro demanded, having evidently appeared next to him.
"I'm with Kay," Rae agreed, "It's not looking any more possible than the first time me and Ace saw it."
Harley turned, discovering that the rest of the Guardians had taken shelter nearby.
"We can do it," he told them. They had to. Because otherwise, they'd come here for nothing and had wasted the experience of the fireteam that came before them.
"How?" demanded Kaedro, "Ace, that Hydra's shields are impenetrable. If Pahanin, Kabr, and Praedyth weren't able to get through, how are we supposed to do it?"
Jade sighed wearily. "He's right… Kabr's fireteam was doomed to fail for that exact reason."
"There is no alternative way to destroy it," said Bazzle grimly, "We must break through its defenses or die."
Rogue scoffed. "Dyin's looking more likely to me… It'll just wait till our attack fails then pick us off one by one."
Jade turned to Harley. "Even with twice as many Guardians, I'm not sure we stand any more of a chance than Kabr's fireteam did." Her voice was apologetic.
Harley sighed in frustration. "Look, I don't want to disagree with any of you — I mean, you're right, it's not looking good right now — but Jade, you weren't the only one who read up on the Vault. I must've spent at least an entire day in the library."
"He's not wrong," Prism put in, "...I advised him against it."
He sighed again. "Well, it doesn't matter, because there's one important part of the story you're all forgetting… Kabr sacrificed himself so that any Guardians who came after him wouldn't suffer the fate. He used his Light to create the Aegis, remember?"
Rogue sounded confused. "What's the Aegis?"
Harley shook his head. "It- well, it's supposed to be a shield. A shield that can break through the Templar's defenses."
Rae scoffed. "Yeah, that's all well and good, Ace, but in case you haven't noticed, we haven't seen any magic shield lying around."
"Yeah," said Kaedro, "I mean, we're not even sure if the Aegis is real, kid. Or maybe it was and the Vex found a way to destroy it."
Harley considered how to answer. Both of them brought up good points — they hadn't seen the Aegis during their fight against the Oracles. And it was certainly possible that the Vex had found a way to get rid of it, especially given how long it had been since Kabr's expedition.
Then Fyr's voice piped up from the back of the group. "Hey, do you think that's it?"
He turned to look. The other Hunter was pointing down into the shallow pit in front of the Templar. Hovering in the center was a shape glowing with Light — as in the Traveler's Light.
The front was a small bronze diamond-shaped plate, with what resembled a red Vex eye in the middle.
"When did that get here?" asked Kaedro in confusion, "It definitely wasn't there before, we would've seen it."
"Well, it's here now," said Harley, relief breaking over him like a wave, restoring his confidence.
"Do we grab it?" asked Rogue, "There's no defenses or nothin'?"
Harley shrugged. "One way to find out…"
"Oh boy," said Rae sarcastically, "Here comes the part where Ace pulls a stupid Hunter move."
He dashed out from behind their cover, gaze locked on the glowing shield.
Almost instantly, the Templar gave a metallic screech and began to shoot. He dodged the blasts and scooped up the Aegis, managing to make it back to his friends with only a few stumbles.
"Nice!" cheered Fyr.
"The Templar just teleported!" warned Jade.
They spun just in time to see it appear behind them.
"Scatter!" yelled Harley. He ran to the right, ducking behind a wall. The group split up as the others dashed for new cover.
A wave of metallic shrieking echoed through the Templar's Well.
"Harpies! " said Rae over the comms.
"Not to be a stickler, but the Templar's shield is still up!" said Kaedro, "Ace, you'd better figure out how to work the Aegis before the Vex start getting lucky with their shots."
"Right," Harley muttered. He examined the Aegis with a frown. If Kabr had truly made it with his Light - which he wasn't doubting, given the strength of power emanating from it — then he should theoretically be able to activate it with his own.
It probably wasn't his brightest idea, but he was rather short on brainstorming time.
As if on cue, Rae piped up, "Any time this century would be nice!"
"Yeah, yeah. Let me try something…"
Feeling like the biggest idiot in existence, he stepped out into the open. As the Templar's eyes found him, he aimed the center of the Aegis at the colossal Hydra and closed his eyes. Harley tried to focus, drawing on the power of the Light within him, as though he was preparing to enter a Bladedancer's Trance.
The Aegis hummed in response. It was working.
Harley opened his eyes and released the Light. A thrum went through the Aegis as a white glowing projective was launched at the Templar. With a loud bang and burst of light, it impacted the Templar's shield. The others cheered as the shield vanished, and began to assault it with a barrage of rockets and grenades.
But after a few moments, their cries turned to those of dismay.
"What the hell?!" Jade exclaimed. Harley turned to see her encased in some kind of a glowing bubble shell.
"Did anyone else just get stuck?" asked Kaedro.
"Yeah! How do we get out?!" said Fyr.
Rogue shook his head. "I dunno, shoot it!"
Rae groaned. "That's your solution for everything."
"What? It usually works!" Rogue shot at Jade's bubble with his shotgun and it shattered, letting her stumble free. "Hah! Told ya!"
Jade snorted. "Yep. Shooting it works."
Once they'd all broken free, they focused their attention back on the Templar. But it seemed they weren't lucky enough, because it soon rebuilt its shield, making it impervious to damage once more.
"Dammit!" Harley took aim with the Aegis again but the Templar vanished right before he could shoot, appearing right in front of him. "W- holy shit!" He scrambled away, still clutching the Aegis.
Two chimes rang out, signaling the appearance of more Oracles.
"They're back!" said Rae.
"Find them!" commanded Bazzle, "Quickly."
Harley searched around for several frantic moments before finally spotting one. For some reason, the Oracle glowed red instead of the yellow they'd seen previously.
"Found one!" he called, and soon Jade and Rogue converged on his position to take it down.
"Got the other one!" said Kaedro, sounding breathless but relieved.
He sighed in relief himself. They'd found out the hard way what happened if the Oracles weren't destroyed. Both Kaedro and Rae had died before they were able to catch the mistake.
Rogue shot down more Harpies. "Whenever you're ready, Ace!"
Harley nodded and got into position. With another blast from the Aegis, the Templar's shield vanished again. The Chasers damaged it some more. This time, they were ready for the bubble cages.
Two more Oracles appeared as the Templar teleported again, and Harley called out a warning to the others.
Once they were dealt with, Bazzle told him to get into position. He jumped up onto a pillar to get a clear shot at the Templar. But that also gave the Templar a clear shot at him.
Shrieking, it turned to face him. He looked around, but there was no immediate cover. The Hydra fired, the blast heading straight for his chest. Panicking, he held up the Aegis to block it. To his surprise, the shield created a protective bubble around him, stopping the Templar's projectiles in their tracks.
Letting out a breath he hadn't been aware of holding, Harley called to his friends, "I'm about to lower its shield again! Get ready!"
After the shield went down, he found himself contained in one of the bubble cages. Acting on impulse, he smacked it with the Aegis, causing it to break.
The Templar vanished again and the Chasers hurried to find the new Oracles.
Finally, Harley took down the shield again and his friends threw everything they had at the Templar. Just as he thought its shield was about to come back, Fyr summoned his Golden Gun and shot it in its massive eye.
The Templar collapsed, hitting the ground with a crash that shook the whole platform.
Harley joined the rest of the team as they congregated in the middle, many slapping Fyr on the back.
As he approached, the Aegis vanished from his arm, leaving him feeling strangely lonely, but also slightly relieved. It was kind of a backward thing — to use a piece of another Guardian's Light. He had used the Aegis' Light, and therefore Kabr's Light, as much as his own, relying upon it to defeat the Templar.
Their victory over the Hydra proved that his faith in Kabr's creation had not been misplaced, nor had the Titan's sacrifice been in vain.
But although the Templar was now dead, Harley knew something much worse still lay ahead of them. One of the passages of the Pahanin Errata read: "In the Vault time frays and a needle moves through it. The needle is the will of Atheon. I do not know the name of the shape that comes after the needle."
He looked around at his companions. They seemed preoccupied with their victory over the Templar, oblivious to the fact that they would soon have to face something even more powerful.
Only he and Jade seemed to be holding their celebrations back. Like him, the Warlock stood slightly apart. The visor of her helmet concealed her face, but he was willing to bet her expression was as solemn as his own. After all, she had also researched the Vault. She might very well be thinking of the very same passage.
He looked at the others. "Is everyone ready?"
"Ready for what?" asked Fyr, "If you're talking food, I'm always ready!"
Bazzle seemed to be studying him. "...I believe Hayden is asking if we're prepared to continue."
There was a small chorus of resigned groaning and complaining.
Rogue gave a heavy sigh. "Aw, hell… Let's just get this over with. Where to next?"
"I only found one mention of the way out of the Well," said Harley, "This way…" He led them through a gap in the back wall, following a long path that sloped downward into deeper darkness.
After many dimly lit tunnels and a few long falls, they emerged into a larger space. Water covered the floor beneath their feet.
Fyr shivered. "...Kinda reminds me of when I was revived."
"Shh!" Rae hissed, "Do you want to get us killed?"
Fyr shook his head in confusion. "How can I kill you by just talking?"
She scoffed, voice low as she replied. "Normally, I'd make a joke about your annoying voice, but I'd rather not end up dead, thanks."
"We're in the Gorgon's Labyrinth," whispered Harley.
"Gorgon?" Fyr sounded even more confused. "What's a Gorgon?"
"...As far as we can tell, they look like Vex Harpies," said Jade quietly.
Harley nodded. "The thing is, they're apparently extremely hard to kill, so it's better if they never know we're here."
Rogue groaned. "So now we gotta sneak around?"
"Yeah. That means don't shoot, don't talk, don't run, and don't use any Light abilities. Even boosted jumps."
"We can't even use our jumps ?" complained Fyr.
"Doesn't labyrinth mean 'maze'?" said Kaedro, "How the hell are we gonna find our way through a waterlogged maze without making any sound?"
"Yeah," agreed Fyr, "We don't know the way."
Rae sighed. "That's why it's called a maze, stupid."
"There must be a record of the correct path," said Bazzle.
"You don't think we checked for that?" said Rae. Bazzle sighed, but he had clearly known her for too long to rise to her sarcasm.
"I looked," said Jade.
Rae nodded. "Yeah. Ace looked, too. Wanna know what he found?" She shot Bazzle a pointed look - at least, as pointed as a look could get through her helmet. "Same thing the rest of us found. Not a damn thing."
Harley decided to intervene before the bickering drew the Gorgons. "Look, they always tell you to stick to the left while doing a maze, so why don't we try that first?"
Rae shook her head. "Fine. But if we die, Ace, we're blaming you."
He shrugged it off. "Fine, whatever. Let's just go."
Moving cautiously, he stepped out of the water, slipping between two rocks. The space opened up slightly, and he looked around. Luckily, there were no Gorgons in sight. Even without looking back, he could tell the others were just behind him.
He led them along, following the wall, until he rounded a corner and saw his first Gorgon.
It looked like a Harpy, though it was white and blue instead of red and bronze. Long waving tentacles protruded from it, moving like snakes. He hissed a warning to the others, who stopped moving.
No one spoke.
Harley felt as though a phantom hand was grabbing his throat, restricting his breathing. The Gorgon did not appear to be looking at them. Even as he watched, it drifted off to the right, passing out of view.
He glanced back at his friends. "Keep going," he whispered.
He moved forward, dodging between a rock and the right wall of the cavern. He felt along the wall as he went, and soon encountered another tunnel opening.
On the other side of the gap was another Gorgon. This one was looking in their direction.
Slowly, carefully, Harley peered around into the right tunnel. The other Gorgon was moving down it, facing away. He looked ahead again in time to see the first one turn. That was their chance.
"On the count of three, we're going to run."
"Are you crazy ?" hissed Rae.
"Won't running alert the Gorgons to our presence?" Bazzle pointed out.
"It's our only chance to make it before the other one comes back around," he replied. He studied the path ahead of them. "Look, there's a big rock ahead of us. We can jump up so the Gorgons won't see us."
"Fine," grumbled Rogue, "I'd rather just kill 'em, though…"
The other Gorgon was still looking away.
"Now."
Harley ran out, trying to stay as quiet as he could. When he reached the rock, he launched himself upward as far as he could without using his Light, then turned to help the others follow.
Once they all stood atop the rock, they waited with bated breath as the Gorgon ahead of them went around to the left.
"It will probably make a loop," whispered Jade.
Harley nodded. "There's another rock ahead… It's not too far."
"Don't tell me," said Kaedrom, "We're gonna jump."
He nodded again, moving to the edge of the rock. Taking a moment to gather himself, he leaped across the gap, bending his knees to soften his landing. He didn't continue until the rest of the Chasers were safely across as well.
Up ahead was an even bigger rock. They would have to jump again.
Just as he was about to make the leap, a Gorgon crossed below. He froze, hoping it wouldn't look up.
Fortunately for them, it kept going along the path. He waited a few seconds to make sure it was out of range, then jumped.
Harley looked around, not sure where to go next.
"Wazzat?" asked Fyr.
Jade turned her head. "...There's a glow coming from over there." She nudged Harley, then pointed.
"A glow?" He followed her gesture over to the right side of the cavern. Sure enough, a soft glow was emanating from behind a small boulder. It wasn't very bright, but given the darkness of the cavern, it was easily the most illumination they'd seen so far. "...I'm willing to bet that's our exit."
Harley scanned the area for Gorgons. "Ok. Let's jump down now." He leaped off the rock and ran toward the light.
The rushed footsteps of the others sounded behind him.
The glowing was coming from an opening that let out into another tunnel. They followed it down and eventually found themselves standing on a ledge overlooking a huge chasm.
As he looked on, stone platforms blinked into view, lingering for only a few seconds before disappearing again.
"Well… shit," said Fyr.
"We gotta jump on those ?" said Rogue incredulously.
Harley sighed. "Looks like it." He watched the platforms, trying to get the timing right.
"Don't worry," Prism told him, "I'll count your jump."
He nodded. "Ok… Guys, we're going to jump on Prism's signal."
"Three… two… one… jump!"
Harley launched himself forward, using his Light to get him to the first platform. He heard muffled whooshing as his teammates followed.
"It's about to disappear," Prism warned, "Move in three… two… one!"
They jumped to the next platform. He looked for another but couldn't see anywhere else to go.
"There's a ledge at your twelve o'clock," said his Ghost, "About seven meters down."
He peered over the edge of the platform. The ledge she mentioned couldn't be more than a foot wide.
Rae's voice cut in, sharp with disbelief. "That's where we're gonna land?"
"You have the Light," Bazzle reminded her, "You will be fine."
"That doesn't make it any better," she grumbled.
"We can't stay here," Harley told her, "It's gonna vanish in a few seconds. See you down there!" He jumped off, letting himself fall for several seconds before using the Light to propel himself onto the ledge.
Bazzle and Rogue landed a few seconds later with a rather heavy thud.
Kaedro was the next across. "Move down so the others have room," he instructed them, gesturing further along the ledge.
Harley nodded and they shuffled down to make room, just in time for Rae and Jade to land gently on the empty space.
Then it was just Fyr. The Hunter took a running start, then he was falling toward them at terminal velocity.
"Use the Light!" Harley reminded him. Fyr propelled himself toward them in several bursts of Light, but it wasn't far enough.
He dropped past the ledge with a shriek.
"Guardian down!" said Spark a few moments later.
Harley looked around but saw no way to get down to where Fyr was. He wasn't even sure the chasm had a bottom. "How are we supposed to get to him?"
Spark appeared above the ledge, his shell expanded. "I can transmat him up here."
"I'll help," Kaedro volunteered, stepping forward. Harley watched as Spark drew Light from the other Hunter, then with a flash of Light, Fyr appeared on the ledge next to them, wobbling precariously.
"Woah!" His arms pinwheeled for a moment before he gained his balance. Fyr looked around at them. "What just happened?"
"You missed," said Rae shortly, "Let's go."
The group continued their shuffle along the thin ledge, trying not to look into the abyss next to them.
A/N: Hello, my friends! Welcome to the next part of Chasing Fate! I know this story has been long awaited and honestly, it's proven the most challenging to write by far. I've never had a worse case of writer's block before this, but I managed to get through it. I'd like to give a HUGE shoutout to my beta, EmeryldLuk, for making this mess of a story into something coherent. I don't think I've ever had a rougher first draft.
A few things before I go: I'm currently beta reading a story by CallOfTheLoneWolf called The Light of the Sword Logic. I highly recommend giving it a read. It can be found on both this site as well as
Also, I've recently made a tumblr upon which I'll be posting random stuff about the characters in this series, as well as some canon characters. Just search up "arcaneglitch" and you'll find me ;)
Finally, my upload schedule won't be as consistent as usual, so just bear with me through that. Many thanks to everyone who read my oneshots, including my triubute to Cayde: Retrograde. I'll see you in the next chapter!
- TheWolfParadox