If you missed the last episode, you can find it [url=https://www.bungie.net/en/Forum/Post/223267687/0/0]here[/url], or if you need to find a previous episode, you can find them all in the [url=https://www.bungie.net/en/Forum/Post/220441594/0/0]Master Post[/url]. Please give a bump, upvote, or leave comment if you enjoy this and any other chapter! *** There’s a moment of silence, then Loren leaps to his feet and screams, his voice reverberating around the Well – “HELL YEAH!!!!” Solis and Anixias jump and glower at him, but he just keeps laughing. “Oh, thank the gods, that’s over. And here I thought this was gonna be – “ He looks at me just as the Aegis starts to disappear from my hands. “Whoa, whoa, wait, no, no, no!!!” he rushes over to grab it from my hands, but it’s already too late – he falls to his knees next to me. “No, no, no, no, no!!!” “Fascinating,” Kenedi says, eyes wide as he stares at where the Aegis used to be. “Relax,” I tell him. “That wasn’t the one we came for anyway.” “Huh?” he asks, looking up. “The one we came for is deeper inside,” I explain. “We couldn’t take that one anyways.” “Huh?” Loren asks again, scratching his head. His Ghost, though, shivers with understanding. “The ones from Atheon’s chamber,” she whispers. I nod as the others look from her to me curiously. “There are more?” “All times converge here,” I tell them cryptically. “This place is both out of time and in all times. There are many different Aegises, but there’s only one that we can theoretically take.” “The one from the future, right?” Alma finishes. “Theoretically?” Loren chimes in. I nod to Alma again as Loren groans and the Eliksni’s faces fall. Kenedi seems to be the only one enjoying himself. “Wonderful!” he exclaims. “An adventure into the lost world of the Vex [i]and[/i] a journey through time?” I give him a bemused look. “Then let’s get moving. There’s miles to go before we sleep.” Kenedi positively squeals from the reference, as I knew he would. As the rest of the team grudgingly follows us deeper in the Vault, though, I keep my eyes on Kenedi, wondering how much he knows about how the Vex manipulate time, how much he knows about everything, and how much he’s keeping to himself. I take the lead, moving through the large, circular door that the Templar was guarding, as the rest of the team follows. Deeper and deeper through the caverns and growth I lead them, finally reaching the impending drop. “Hell no,” Loren proclaims flatly as he peers over the edge. “Nooooooo way.” Solis and Anixias growl and whimper as Kenedi studiously peers over the edge. “Hope everyone has their boosters on,” he says casually. I snicker despite myself, and he looks at me curiously. “What?” “Just hang onto me,” I tell the team, and they huddle closer as I hit my transmat button. Instantly, our bodies dematerialize into wisps of translucent particles, reconstituting themselves below. Loren immediately begins running his hands over his body before seizing his Ghost and checking her over, too. “Cut it out!” she whines, pulling away from him and scowling as Solis and Anixias shiver slightly. “Amazing!” Kenedi exclaims, staring transfixed at me. “That kind of technology shouldn’t even be available yet, how can you – “ “No time,” I cut him off with a wave. “And keep quiet. We’re going through the Gorgon’s Maze next. Don’t make a sound, and don’t move until I tell you to.” They nod and fall in line as we wind our way through the rocky path. I can still feel their hesitation and questions, but they seem to know better by now than to question me down here. [i]Good[/i], I think, almost condescendingly. [i]Only Kenedi and Alma might have a chance at comprehending what our goal is, but not even they’d understand everything. As long as I can keep the grunts from – [/i] “So what’re these Gorgon things then?” Loren whispers suddenly. I wheel around and slap a hand over his mouth. “Shut up, you idiot!” I hiss back. “No sound!” But a sudden whirring echoes around the rocks nearby, and I motion for everyone to drop. Hugging the rock we’re up against as close as we can, I peer carefully around the edge – and see a Gorgon hovering a few meters away, tendrils undulating in midair like it’s underwater, eye glowing as it searches back and forth for signs of intruders – I look back to Loren, putting a finger to my mouth and shaking my head as I see him start moving to peek out himself. For several breaths we stay that way, and then I finally hear the Gorgon drifting past. I peer over the rock carefully and see it retreating. “[i]That[/i] was a Gorgon,” I hiss menacingly to Loren. “If it senses us, if it hears us, and especially if it sees us, we’re done – they operate ontologically, meaning if they see us they can write us out of existence. Even if we manage to kill one of them, that makes the others stronger. We have to get through here without them spotting us.” Loren gazes seriously back at me, and mercifully nods. “They spot us, they kick us out of reality. Got it.” I wave to the others as we take off again, slowly working through the labyrinth, making as little noise as possible. Every few minutes, we spy another Gorgon and hunker down until it passes, but in less time than I’d expected, I see the final tunnel just up ahead. “Last tunnel,” I whisper back to my teammates. “Just after this we’ve got the disappearing platforms, then – “ [i]Splash![/i] We all freeze as our eyes collectively fall on Anixias, bringing up the rear – she looks equal parts terrified and apologetic as she slowly drags her foot out of the small pool of water – Whirs and clicks echo around us, drawing closer as a sinking feeling hits me. [i]Just my luck…[/i] “Move!” I hiss to them. “Take off down that tunnel and stop when you see the disappearing platforms. I’ll lead them away and circle back to join you.” All of them nod and take off, finally working in unison. [i]Too bad it might take me getting killed[/i], I think, growling to myself. I listen to their retreating footsteps, take a moment to center myself, then bolt from my cover, sprinting quickly down an alternate route, firing my weapon into the ceiling while I run. “OVER HERE!!!!” I bellow as I run, splashing in the water at my feet. I hear the Gorgons approaching, and sprint in a different direction – a few more turns and I duck behind a rock, trying to keep low and quiet to throw them off. A Gorgon hovers right past the rock, scanning left and right, looking for me – I pull myself closer to the rock, hoping it doesn’t look too far – [i]CLANK!![/i] A sound echoes from nearby, and the Gorgon hovers toward it as I feel my heart sinking. [i]Don’t tell me…[/i] Suddenly, a small, geometric shape hovers quickly to me, and I shake my head with both gratitude and exasperation as Alma approaches. “Come on!” she whispers, and I follow her without argument as she leads me back to the group. Down the tunnel, I see them all waiting for us – as we slow to a stop, I nod gratefully to Alma. “Thanks, Little Light.” “No problem, Toaster,” she quickly replies, shutting her eye quickly, like she’s trying to wink. “All right, only the platforms left and then the real work begins,” I tell the group as I retake the lead. “Make sure to time your jumps, I’ve never figured out what’s below the platforms so I doubt I’d be able to even try and transmat you out.” “Lead the way,” Loren says, and I look back at him with bemusement. “No quips or arguments now?” “Hey, I just wanna get out of here as fast as I can,” he says casually. “You seem to know the way out, so I’ll follow your lead. For now.” I size the pirate up curiously. [i]I wonder if he even suspects why he’s really here…[/i] I shake my head, chuckling. “I wouldn’t expect any less.” We follow the path toward the platforms the rest of the way in silence, and within moments we see the first of the vanishing monoliths. “Time your jumps so that you take off immediately after me,” I tell them. “If everything’s timed right, we should all land on each platform and have time to get to the next without anyone falling.” “[i]Should?[/i]” Solis growls pointedly. “How many times you done this before?” Loren asks, peering over the edge. [i]Should I tell them?[/i] “Enough,” I settle on, watching the space for the first platform. “Be ready.” The platform materializes into existence. “Now!” I bolt for the platform, hearing feet slapping the ground behind me – I take a flying leap – And land on the first platform, already scoping out the next one and counting the sound of feet landing behind me – [i]One, two, three, four –[/i] “Next one!” I shout as it pops into existence – I run and leap again, landing, repeating the same steps for each platform in turn – [i]One, two, three, four –[/i] The team lands behind me as we near the end – “Two more!” I shout as the next one materializes – I jump and land, looking around for the next one as – [i]One, two, three –[/i] I look back quickly and see Solis leaping off the platform to join us just a few seconds too late – [i]She’s not going to make it –[/i] “Jump for the next one!” I scream to the others as I bolt back for her – they follow my orders as I dive to catch Solis, her upper arms catching me just in time – “Hang on!” I shout to her, struggling to pull her up – a growl sounds behind me as Anixias shoves me out of the way, grabbing Solis and pulling her up. “No time!” I shout as I take off running, the Eliksni following behind me. “We’ll all need to jump!” I look ahead to the next platform as the team leaps off it and onto to solid ground – they all turn back to watch us as the ground starts disappearing beneath our feet – “NOW!!” I cry as we hurl ourselves into the void.