As their sparrows approach the perimeter, Variks walks out, leaning heavily on a cane. Gus and Rezic hop off and walk up to the old Fallen, scanning the camp at the same time. A few dregs and vandal are milling about nearby, but other than that the camp is quiet.
“Variks,” Rezic says with a nod, “We’re in a bit of a hurry. What do you know about the location of Elsie Bray?”
“On the run, yesss? Hear lots about two guardians on Vanguard channels.” Rezic and Gus share a nervous glance. The warlock slowly tilts his head, as if to say I told you so, but Gus looks away. Variks is an opportunist. He’ll keep their secret if there is some advantage for him.
“We’re looking for a friend of ours that was lost. The Vanguard doesn’t know we’re here, but if they find out, you can expect the Helm to darken your skies. They’ll want to learn why and how a guardian could have vanished. I’m sure you’d rather not have that type of presence brooding over your operation here,” Rezic says while motioning around him. “Speaking of which, is Zavala aware of these hidden camps you have around the moon? I wonder what you’re up to…” Rezic then rests his eyes on the Fallen leader, waiting for his response. The nervous clicking coming from Variks can only mean that he’s considering everything the warlock has said. Gus stands still, leaving the battle of words to them.
Variks breaks eye contact with Rezic and looks at the dregs nearby taking apart an unknown ship component. They’re happily whispering back and forth, oblivious to the conversation next to them.
“The stories of Rezic Cuj hold some truth. Variksss will not speak of you to Zavala and the Vanguard.”
Rezic nods, sharing a quick, reassuring glance with Gus.
“Thank you, Variks. Can you tell us where the Pyramid has gone? Or where Elsie has gone?”
Variks takes a few steps towards a large crate and slowly sits down on it. He gestures for the two to sit, but Gus keeps his position, where he can see the rest of the Fallen. His uneasiness around them is only amplified by the stress he’s under. Rezic, on the other hand, takes the offer and sits across from Variks.
“House Salvation has scavenged much Golden Age technology from Mars. Building many great ships in the hopes of starting a new war with the Vanguard. Eramis remains frozen, yes, but they have moved her to a secret location. Fallen are arriving from all over the system to follow her. From every dark corner of Sol.”
“What does that have to do with the Pyramid?”
“House Salvation believes the secret to freeing Eramis lies within. Scouting parties at first, but they were easily destroyed. More Fallen were sent, with big machines, to fight against the darkness. That’s when the ship fled. During that terrible fight. Elsie began searching. She is close.”
Rezic looks over at Gus. The titan is as still as stone, unwavering, as he hears the same thing Rezic has: their chance at resurrecting the ghost might be in the wind unless they can find the Stranger. The only other known pyramid in Sol is on the Moon, and that is surely impossible to get to with the Vanguard stationing the Helm there to investigate the Leviathan. No, their path remains on Europa.
“Have you been in contact with her?” Rezic asks.
“Yes, but you must do something for me.”
Rezic stares back at him, waiting for the request.
“When you make it to the Pyramid, kill every Fallen you see. Eramis cannot rise again. She will doom us all.” The words are said with very little emotion, and now it’s Variks’ turn to stare back at Rezic, adding to the seriousness of his request. After the defeat of Eramis, Variks benefited from the dysfunction that followed, but with House Salvation regrouping, his world is at risk.
“We’ll make sure of it.”
The words catch Rezic by surprise as the titan steps forward, crossing his arms tightly across his chest, armor scraping against itself while he flexes his strength. The nearby dregs look nervously at him. The seriousness of his words is understood without translation.
“Thank you, guardian. One day, Variks will repay the favor.” He nods and rises from his seat, walking towards his tent. Rezic looks at Gus, but Gus is staring straight ahead, into the flaps that Variks passed through. A moment later, he returns with a small electronic device. “Coordinates are encrypted here. Your ghost will be able to decipher.” He nods as he hands it over to Rezic.
“Thank you, Variks. Stay safe,” he replies.
The guardians walk back to the sparrows in silence. Tyr cracks the encryption and displays the waypoint on their HUDs. The location isn’t very far, but it’s in uncharted territory. Thankfully, the trip over is uneventful, but the heavy silence lingers between the two guardians. This cat and mouse game is growing weary on them both, and right now spirits are low. With the Pyramid ship gone, and only Elsie to rely on, the belief that a wall has been placed in front of them is hard to ignore. As they arrive at the waypoint, that concern grows deeper.
Dead Vex litter the area. The silver lining is the lack of Fallen bodies, but the number of Vex is concerning. Rezic hops off his ghost and Tyr appears next to him.
“Scan the area, Tyr. Harker, you too. Gus, let’s see what we can find.”
The ghosts split up, scanning the broken Vex machines for any indication as to how they arrived at their current state. Rezic scans the ground, hoping to decipher the foot tracks leading away from the battle, while Gus scans the horizon, trying to solve how the battle may have started. Rezic follows a faint trail towards a nearby collection of boulders. It’s hard to call it a hill, but with the snow piled on top of it, it resembles a large nest of some kind. As he approaches, he can see a gap between two boulders hiding a hole that leads underground.
“Tyr! Some light over here, please.”
The ghost floats over, scanning the footprints as he goes, finally arriving over Rezic’s shoulder. He shines a light down into the abyss, which bounces back to show a path leading down.
“Gus, over here. We have something.” Rezic descends slowly, his gun out but held loosely in his hands. Before long, the thunderous steps of Gus can be heard behind him. The tight rock walls of the passage occasionally scrape against the titan’s armor as he maneuvers the path with the subtlety of an ox.
Eventually, it opens up, and Rezic scans the small chamber from left to right when suddenly the barrel of a gun is shoved into his face.
“Who are you?!” the wielder asks in a hushed tone. Rezic keeps one hand under the barrel of his gun, and slowly raises his other to hopefully convince them he’s not a threat. Gus’ large presence soon fills the entryway and he sees the gun pointed at his friend. His response is quick, and very threatening, as he raises his shotgun and points it straight at the exo’s head.
“Put. It. Away.”
Gus is so tunnel vision he isn’t sure where the words came from. All he knows is that he doesn’t trust this current threat, and he’s not going to give her a chance to do anything.
“Gus, I said put it away. We need her help. She’s not likely to give it to us with a shotgun in her face.”
Finally, Gus looks to Rezic and sees his visor pointed in his direction. The request came over their private channel. Elsie is still standing with her gun at Rezic’s face, waiting.
“Elsie, I apologize for my friend’s brashness, but we’re here for your help.” This time Rezic’s voice comes through his external speakers. Elsie flinches ever so slightly at the mention of her name. She stares hard at Rezic, seemingly trying to read his face through his helmet. Gus lowers his shotgun. She responds by doing the same.
“I still receive Vanguard communications, you know,” she says while taking a step back. Rezic breathes a sigh of relief and quickly scans the small room they find themselves in. Another path leads away in the back, but there is a small cot and a crate with a computer on top behind her. His eyes rest on her again.
“So you know who we are,” he says matter-of-factly.
“More or less,” she says while pulling a folded chair out from behind the crate and sitting down on it. “I’m sorry, but I only had time to grab one chair when I left my camp in the middle of the night.”
“What exactly happened?” Rezic asks.
“I’ll keep it short. House Salvation figured out a way to infiltrate the Pyramid. It took a few days, but eventually, the Pyramid had had enough. One day, while the Skiffs descended on it, dropping off platoons of Fallen, it emitted an incredibly dangerous pulse that destroyed everything around it, including my camp. When I rose from the rubble to look in the direction of the ship, it had disappeared. I’ve been looking for it ever since.”
“So, you don’t know where it is, either.”
“I didn’t say that.”
She lets the words hang in the air. Rezic shifts his weight from one foot to the other, while Gus stands, still as a statue.
“This one doesn’t talk much, does he?” she asks, gesturing towards the titan. Rezic opens his mouth to speak, but Gus beats him to it.
“I do my talking in other ways.”
Rezic shoots him a look, debates opening the private channel to scold him, but decides not to. Gus casually looks over at Rezic and the two guardians hold a look for a few moments before turning away from each other.
“I can tell there’s some tension here,” Elsie says to break the silence. “I’m guessing you both want to visit the Pyramid. I’ll share with you, if you share with me. Tell me why.”
“You first,” Gus says.
“That’s not how this works, Titan. I have something you want. You need to make it worth it for me.” She sits back, waiting for the answer.
Rezic produces the “dead” ghost from his pack, and holds it out in front of her. Gus turns and stares at the warlock, trying to figure out why he would openly share such an important piece of information. No one else knows about the existence of this dark ghost, and Elsie is hardly a trustworthy individual; at least in Gus’ eyes. Rezic ignores his impatient stare, maintaining eye contact with Elsie.
“Do you know what this is?” he asks. Elsie has shown no emotion since the reveal, but hasn’t taken her eyes off the ghost. She must know what it is, Rezic thinks to himself.
“Where did you find that?” she asks.
“That hardly matters now, does it? We’re looking for someone. We believe this can lead us to them.”
“It won’t help you. It has no reason to.”
“So you know what it is, but you won’t tell us?” Gus finally speaks up, taking a step toward her. If she refuses this information, I’ll tear it from her circuits myself. He flexes his fists, imagining her floating fish crumbling between his fingers. As if called forth, the being appears next to Elsie and floats towards the ghost in Rezic’s hand.
“I’ve seen these in my future. The very future I’m working to help you ignorant guardians from stumbling upon. This,” she says as she points to the ghost, “could be the downfall of you all, and you want to resurrect it? It’s more than foolhardy, it’s downright idiotic.”
The guardians exchange a quick look, both trying to determine how to achieve their goal, but each in their own ways.
“We’re looking for our friend. She’s been…lost to us. We just want her back,” Rezic says.
“She traveled into the Pyramid?”
“Yes. Looking for something, but I’m not sure what. We just want to search for clues, and hopefully find her.”
Elsie eyes the ghost again, obviously uneasy in the presence of it. As she looks up to the warlock, her face shows a sense of pity. However, her answer doesn’t change.
“The ghost is not your answer…but I know what it feels like to lose someone close to you, and the uncertainty of whether they are alive or dead. I’ll take you to the Pyramid, to look, but please, I beg you: do not resurrect that ghost.”
The tone of her voice conveys the seriousness of her request. Rezic stows the lifeless machine and nods to Elsie. He understands her circumstances, and respects her opinion, unlike Gus. He clasps his hands behind his back. “Thank you.”
“I hope you can find peace in that death-filled machine,” she says, referring to the Pyramid. She stands and gestures towards the path behind her. “I’ll lead the way. Stay close.” She turns and disappears into the dark corridor.
Gus grabs Rezics arm as he steps forward to follow her. Within his private channel, he risks the question.
“You said we have to resurrect that ghost. How do you plan on doing that with her over our shoulder?”
Rezic turns to face Gus. “Trust me on this, okay?”
He turns and follows Elsie into the corridor, leaving Gus in the small chamber. How can he be so reckless to lie straight to her face like that? Reluctantly, he squeezes into the opening of the passage while Harker illuminates the path ahead.
After an hour of navigating a labyrinth of icy cliffs and tunnels, the guardians find themselves in a large chamber twice the size of the one near the Asterion Abyss. Their light only reaches so far, until Elsie shoots a flare into the openness, and in the bright-red flash the black, rigid corner of the immense Pyramid can barely be seen. As the flare descends towards the corner, the nearby ice walls reflect the light up the face of the ship, giving a haunted look to the scene. The flare fizzles out, returning the group to inky blackness again.
“Well, that was dramatic,” Gus says. Rezic steps up to Elsie.
“Thank you for your direction. Now, how do we get over there?”
“There is a ledge in the ice that extends out towards the Pyramid on the right. I would suggest going there. Hopefully the Pyramid beckons you like it has before.” She turns to head back towards the tunnel they exited.
“You’re not coming with us?” Gus asks. The Stranger stops and turns to the titan.
“No, titan, I am not. Since my arrival to this timeline, I refuse to enter the wretched ships in the hope that it keeps my future from aligning with this one. No good can come from me intervening.”
Gus looks to Rezic, who shrugs his shoulders as if to say I told you so, but Gus doesn’t draw attention to it. “Fair enough,” he says and starts walking towards the right. “Thanks for all your help, Stranger,” he yells over his shoulder.
“I apologize for my friend,” Rezic says, “but he doesn’t play well with others.”
“He’s skeptical. I can appreciate that.” Her demeanor slightly changes. “Be careful, Rezic Cuj. This place may not provide the answers that you’re looking for. It may just create more questions and heartbreak.”
He bows his head before responding, wondering at how truthful her warning may end up being. Regardless, Tissea would never give up on the two of them, so they can’t stop searching for her, no matter how dark the path gets.
“Thank you, Elsie.”
Rezic jogs up to Gus to catch up to him. On cue, Gus turns to see his friend slow to a stop next to him. In the distance, he can see the Exo Stranger walking back towards the path they came through.
“Everything alright?” he asks.
“Just another warning is all. You know she hates this place.”
“I didn’t realize that much. Did you know the whole time she wouldn’t come with us into the Pyramid?”
“I had a very strong feeling. Come on, we shouldn’t waste any more time.”
Writing by Adam 