"Only when the Traveler is extinguished will the universe be free to arrange itself, and assume, by ruthless contest, its final perfect shape, a shape which depends on nothing but itself." - XXXVI: Eater of Hope
The next time Harley woke, he found Jade sitting in the chair. When she noticed him stirring, she smiled softly. "Hi Harley."
"Hey Jade…" He rubbed his eyes. "When did you get in here?"
"Just a few minutes ago."
Harley frowned. "Why didn't you wake me up? Watching someone sleep is-" He coughed. "Super boring. And not to mention, creepy."
"You think I'm boring and creepy?" Jade asked in a teasing tone.
"Not what I meant. Don't twist my words… But I'm glad to see you."
"I'm glad to see you too, Harley. We were getting pretty worried about you."
"I'm fine. See?" Jade didn't say anything, but from the look on her face, it was clear she didn't believe him. "Jade I-" He coughed again. "I swear I'm ok."
"You don't sound ok."
"It's just this- ugh. This stupid cough. That's all."
"If you say so…" Something in her voice sounded out of place. Harley couldn't put his finger on it, but she seemed to be mentally gearing up for something. "Harley, I… have something to tell you."
Nail on the head. He should become a full-time psychic. "Ok?"
She exhaled audibly, staring at the floor. "I'm not sure this is the best time, but I feel like I should tell you that I… I had a crush on you for a while."
Harley felt his mind blank out for a second. He wasn't sure what he'd expected her to say, but this wasn't even close to it. At first, he thought she was joking. But after going over a few of their interactions in the past, he wondered how he missed it. Was he really that oblivious? Then her phrasing registered with him. "Wait. You said 'had'?"
Jade nodded. "I think your disappearance helped me finally get over it."
He smiled wryly. "What happened to 'ab-'" Cough. "'-absence makes the heart grow fonder?'" He wasn't sure why he was making jokes, but Jade had sprung this on him pretty suddenly.
"I suppose in most cases… But I've been thinking about my feelings towards you since you disappeared and I realized I don't really like you in that way. I fell in love with the idea of you and it just took me a while to realize that it wasn't fair to you or to myself."
"So you're dumping me?" asked Harley with a smile.
Jade rolled her eyes. "I can't dump someone I've never dated."
"It's probably good that you're-" Cough. "-dumping me anyway. Ever since I was revived, well… out of the things I've been focusing on, romance hasn't even made the top ten."
"It's harder for Guardians," said Jade, "The only people we can really have long-term relationships with are other Guardians."
Harley nodded. "'Cause we'll outlive normal people… Or die tragically young."
"Well, yes, but that's not the only reason... Most people have some idea of what Guardians do, but they wouldn't be able to understand it in the same way since they haven't lived it like we have."
Harley nodded. Jade's words were all too true. There were some things you could only share with other Guardians. However, there were also those that even other Guardians couldn't hope to understand. Like what happened to him. No matter what the med team said or how many notes that 'Asher Mir' took, they wouldn't see past the end results.
Suddenly there was a knock on the door. "Come in," said Harley. He was surprised when it was Cayde that walked in.
"Yo. What's cookin'?" Jade rose from her seat. "Whoa. No need to get up on my account."
"No, it's fine," she said, "I was just on my way out." She smiled at Harley. "I'll stop by again soon."
"Sounds good," said Harley, "See you later."
"See you later."
Once she was safely out of hearing range, Jade let out a heavy sigh. "What's wrong?" Delta asked instantly.
"Oh, it's… nothing. It's fine, Delta."
"Jade, something's bothering you. I can tell. Did it...have anything to do with what just happened?"
Jade's shoulders slumped slightly. "How did you know?"
"It wasn't a hard guess. But I don't understand. I would think that getting all that off your chest would be...healing? Or that it would make it easier."
"Maybe it would have. But...I'm sorry to say that I was lying through my teeth." She gave an empty laugh. "I'm not over it, Delta. What I said in there...that was probably the most unconvincing...bullshit I've ever spouted."
"Oh, Jade… I feel like I have to tell you that you just made this situation so much harder on yourself. Did you think that by telling him you were over it, you would make it go away?" Jade could only nod. Delta sighed in sympathy. "I'm sorry I can't be of much help. I don't have much personal experience when it comes to love."
Jade felt her face heat up. "It's not love, Delta, it's just… it… I don't know what it is. Anyway, I couldn't move on without closing that door first."
"All I can say is I hope your plan works. If it doesn't, you'll just suffer more for it."
"I know, Delta. I hope it works too."
"So what's up with her?" asked Cayde.
"She just-" Harley coughed. "-broke up with me."
"What?! You mean you two were canoodlin'?"
"Nope."
The Exo sounded confused. "Then why's she breakin' up with you?"
"It's a long story."
Cayde shrugged. "Whatever." He sat down in Jade's abandoned chair and leaned back, putting his feet up on Harley's bed. "S'good to see you awake, kid."
"Thanks."
"How ya holdin' up?"
"I'm ok. Should be out in a-" Cough. "-couple days."
"Good to hear. You had me worryin' y'know. A lot of us were. Ikora, Zavala, your friends. Hell, I think even Asher was worried 'bout you in his own way."
Harley smiled. "Then I guess you guys can stop worrying now."
"That's what the med team's been sayin'. 'No lasting effects.' ...Kinda hard to believe."
"Well, it's true. I'm gonna be-" Cough. "-fine."
"Yeah. You sound really convincing, kid."
"It's just my sore throat. It'll go away."
"Right. Well, then you rest up." Cayde got out of the chair and stretched out his back. "When you're outta here, make sure to come find me and we'll get a drink. Whaddaya say?"
"Sounds a heck of a lot better than my last month has been."
Cayde nodded. "Welp...gotta get back to it. I'll catch ya later, kid."
"Bye," said Harley. Cayde gave a two-fingered salute before opening the door and leaving the room.
"It's nice that you're getting so many visitors," said Prism.
Harley nodded. "Yeah… Oh, that reminds me… Someone else visited the night before Kaedro."
"You were awake? And you didn't tell me?" The Ghost sounded hurt.
"Sorry. I didn't want to bother you. But anyway, I saw the Exo Stranger again."
"What?!"
"Yeah, she was just sitting there."
"What did she say?"
"She warned me about a war."
"A war? Was she referring to the Taken War?"
Harley shook his head. "No. It sounded like she was talking about a future war. One that hasn't happened yet. But it didn't sound like it was too far away."
"Another war… Just what we need."
"That wasn't all. She also told me that my battle would come in three parts: a truth, a betrayal, and a loss."
"Hmm. Well, 'loss' could be pretty much anything. I'm not sure what she could mean by 'truth,' though. A secret? Something about the Traveler or the Light?"
"Maybe. It could be anything really. But what about 'betrayal'? What do you think?"
"The most likely people are those closest to you. The other Chasers?"
Harley shook his head. "No. They wouldn't do that."
"Oh I'm sorry," said Prism dryly, "I didn't know you were so clairvoyant." She paused. "Still… I have to agree with you. None of them seem like the type. Also, if someone's going to betray you, it would most likely be for their own personal gain. None of your teammates have anything to gain from betraying you... At least not currently."
"Maybe we should talk about this some other time. I think I'm starting to get paranoid."
"I don't blame you. It was a very ominous warning."
"It's probably not as bad as we're thinking," said Harley, "I mean, we don't know what kind of betrayal. It could be something like… I dunno, spilling a secret or something. No one said it was gonna end in my death or anything like that."
"I suppose…" Prism sounded doubtful. "We can drop it for now."
Harley nodded. "That sounds like a good idea… I think I'm gonna take a short nap. Apparently being in a coma really took it out of me."
"Alright. Sleep well, Harley."
Harley's eyes flew open. He wasn't sure how long he'd been asleep. The room had no window and no clock. All he knew was something in the room had woken him. He didn't have to look far before finding the culprit.
An Awoken man with blue skin and white hair stood next to his bed, frowning at the readouts of the machines that monitored Harley 24/7. "Uh, hello?"
"Yes? What do you want?" the man asked shortly.
"...Who are you?"
The man sighed. "I am Asher Mir and I have better things to do than answer the questions of some random Hunter."
Asher Mir? So this was the Warlock Kaedro had warned him about. "Did you… were you helping with my recovery?"
"I conducted the research on your condition and made the calculations to facilitate your recovery, yes," snapped Asher, "What does it matter?"
"Oh… Well, thank you."
Asher waved his hand impatiently. "Yes, yes. Now be quiet! I prefer to work in silence."
Harley kept silent for a few minutes as Asher continued to jot down notes on a cluttered notepad. He wondered what the Warlock could possibly be interested in? After a couple more minutes, he decided to ask. "What are-" Cough. "-you doing?"
Asher rolled his eyes and turned to glare at Harley. "I am attempting to make note of things that may be important when I write my thesis."
Harley frowned. "What thesis?"
"My thesis on the interaction between opposite paracausal forces!"
"What?"
"About how Light and Darkness react to each other," said Prism.
"To put it very simply, yes. And you, Hunter, have given me all the proof I needed to support my latest theory."
"Wait. So you're writing about… me? Aren't-" Cough. "Aren't you gonna ask me questions about what happened?"
"Why would I? My research has given me everything required. I do not enjoy interaction nor do I have need of it! As soon as my thesis is complete, I plan to continue my research on the Vex."
"The Vex? Are you going to Mercury, then? Or Venus?" "Neither! I believe the key to deeper knowledge of Vex constructs can be found on Io."
"Io?"
"Yes, Hunter. Io. Every Vex machine world contains a Pyramidion, a machinoforming engine that houses massive repositories of information and the Pyramidion on Io is the most accessible."
"You're planning to go into this pyramid-thing?"
"Pyramidion! And yes. How else will I obtain the information I need?"
"But that's-" Cough. "-suicide! The Vex can control time itself! I've been inside the Vault of Glass twice and-"
"I am aware of that! A pity none of you thought to gather data. Guardians these days have no respect for the scientific method! Anyway, I do not remember asking for your input, Hunter. You can give your opinion after you read the book my research into the Vex will produce."
"But if you-"
"You have wasted my time enough today, Hunter." He opened the door. "You would do well to read one of my books. Perhaps you will discover something of use." With that, he left the room.
Harley sat there for a few moments, trying to wrap his mind around the exchange. "So that was Asher?"
"Yes," said Prism, "Sorry for how he behaved. He's always like that."
"Talking about things no one but he can understand and-" Cough. "-insulting people with every other sentence?"
"Pretty much."
"Well, he's not the nicest person I've met… but he also saved my life so I don't mind too much."
A/N: First of all, Merry Christmas to those of you who celebrate. I was planning to upload this chapter tomorrow but I felt since it was Christmas, I might as well do it today. Harley got visits from a few more people and can I just say that I love Asher Mir as a character?
olliexdiscord: Yep, I'm getting that Jarley is a pretty big thing right now. Sadly, since developing that won't fit in with the direction this story is going, everyone who wants it will have to be patient as I'm playing the long game XP
Anyway, I wish all of you Happy Holidays and I'll see you in chapter 17.
- TheWolfParadox