Here it is everyone, the conclusion to the vanilla campaign. Next up is the raid and then I’ll be releasing the Dark Below and a side series at the same time. There’s not much left to say but enjoy! [i]Chapter Twenty One: Heart Attack[/i] “So she really did talk to you, too?” I asked, looking down my scopes at the Vex in the distance. “She was so frustrating to deal with,” the Ghost answered, hovering between me and his Guardian. The Guardian just took a moment to nod at me before looking back down his own rifle’s scope. “Tell me about it,” Rush mumbled, floating at my other shoulder. “And you have no idea who she is, either?” I checked. “I wouldn’t be surprised if she was some Future War Cult fanatic,” the Ghost huffed. “I have enough of those in my life,” Rush griped, referring to Drew. “Well, the Stranger’s been right so far,” I lowered my scout rifle and stood, “You ready?” Guardian, as I had taken to calling him since he told me no name, stood beside me and nodded again. “We are so ready,” his Ghost affirmed. “Alright…” I gazed at the gate to the Black Garden a moment longer, taking in its intimidating size. An army could march through there. It was likely that an army was waiting for us. “Let’s see how indestructible the Vex really are.” “Really?” Rush critiqued, “Trying at cool one-liners?” “Now’s not the time, Rush,” I sighed. “Not time for thinking up dumb lines either,” he quipped. Guardian suddenly jumped down from the stone ledge we were on, leaving me to drop the argument with Rush and follow. We sprinted tirelessly over the sand, approaching the cluster of stone Vex structures in front of the gate. Several Minotaurs waited amongst them, but the first of them were caught off guard as we darted between the blocks and engaged. Guardian smashed the closest into one of the flat-sided blocks with a Shoulder Charge and worked on finishing it off as I Shoulder Charged the next in line. Finishing my Minotaur with a shotgun shell, I quickly turned around to see Guardian had finished off his and was now backpeddling while shooting at two more. Another Minotaur teleported into sight around a corner, so I shot down its shielding as it stormed up to me angrily. Dodging the Vex’s arm as it tried hammering me into the ground, I flung out my palm and unleashed a pulse of energy that busted the Minotaur open against a column. A quick check confirmed that Guardian had scrapped his targets and was now focusing on the last Vex, a Hydra that had stubbornly positioned itself between us and the gate. Before I could go for an angle around the Hydra’s shield, a rocket hissed through the air and blasted a hole in the giant’s hull, sending it crashing to the ground. “It’s a bit scary how fast you handle everything,” I commented. Guardian walked forward confidently, a tilt of his head towards me showing his amusement. “He should meet Keis,” Rush suggested, “They’re both mute and terrifying.” “Someone else has to deal with a Guardian that doesn’t talk?” the other Ghost questioned. Both were out and about now that the threat had passed. “I could use one that talks a bit less,” Rush sighed. “I’ll trade you,” Guardian’s Ghost offered. “Hey,” I complained, and Guardian looked at his Ghost disapprovingly. “What? I was just kidding,” the Ghost told him. Dismissing his Ghost with a wave, Guardian started towards the gate to the Black Garden. “I hope this works,” the Ghost thought aloud. It felt even bigger close up. Its metal frame like a wreath buried in the stone, it was large enough to fit several Hydras side by side and just as tall. We were tiny next to it. As we grew close to the space enclosed by the ring, the air was filled will a hum and the light began to grow distorted around us. I looked to the edges of the portal and saw that hazes of swirling light and energy were bursting out to form the portal rather than the usual solid field of white. A few more steps and everything was obscured from sight in the brightness. Suddenly, everything cleared. Now we were amongst a completely enclosed space of Vex design, colored in cool grey instead of the sandy brown we had been looking at a moment ago. Healthy green plants and moss grew over the stone and metal. There wasn’t even a Vex gate behind us, and only one side of the enclosure we were in was open to continue through. “Where are we? If this is the Black Garden, it’s not on any known map of space and time,” Guardian’s Ghost observed, “I guess we just keep going.” “Can’t get a connection to any channel outside of our own,” Rush reported. “They must have found a way to separate this place from reality,” I observed. “They can do that?” Rush gawked. “Not sure,” I shrugged, “But it seems like that’s what this is. There’s also a possibility of some field disrupting your ability to find our relative location. I wonder where they learned how to do this?” Guardian began walking forward, undaunted by our newfound remoteness or by what might await us down this one-way path. He was bold, to be sure. Guns ready, we walked down a few short steps and were greeted by a stationary Goblin around the first corner. Cautiously, we approached the unmoving Vex. It’s head was tilted down and it stood with arms peacefully at its sides. “They’re in some kind of stasis,” Ghost commented. “Fascinating,” I came close enough to touch and began inspecting the specimen, “It must be similar to the stasis that Hobgoblins induce to protect themselves. We’re not the proper stimuli to awaken it.” “Proper stimuli?” Rush questioned. “It’s waiting for something,” I elaborated, “But whatever it is, it’s not a Guardian intrusion scenario.” “Yeah, well… I’m creeped out now,” Rush shuddered. Grinning at his uneasiness, I turned to find that Guardian had stopped only a few feet away, looking down a zigzagging corridor lined with many more inactive Goblins. “Okay, way more creeped out,” Rush gaped. “You and me both,” Ghost replied. I hadn’t stopped at the sight, and Guardian walked alongside me after I caught up, clearly unafraid as well. “They’re not going to do anything,” I assured the two Ghosts. The walkway straightened out for a short stretch, a perfectly arranged row of Goblins on either side, but when we came into sight four of the Goblins stirred. They slid out of their ranks and were joined by a Minotaur and a few Harpies that came from around the next bend. “William we stimulated them!” Rush shouted as he and Guardian’s Ghost vanished. That made me snort in laughter involuntarily. It only took several moments to gun them all down and move on. “Guess I spoke too soon,” I chuckled. “You shouldn’t be happy about that,” Rush scolded. We entered a small room where a Minotaur woke from its stasis and was joined by a wave of several other Vex that teleported into the space. They fell quickly as well. “You’re really good at this,” I made small talk with Guardian as we continued on. He finished reloading his rifle and made a small shrug. “Yeah, guess it is part of he job,” I interpreted, “But you’ve already done plenty of things no one else was able to.” He looked at me pointedly for a moment. “Well yes I have, too,” I dismissed, “But that’s not my point. You always end up on the right track and nothing can stop you. It’s perilous for you too, I know, but destiny doesn’t seem to be so much on my side and I wouldn’t ha-“ “I’m sorry, are you guys having a CONVERSATION?!” Rush interrupted. “We were,” I huffed at his rudeness. “HOW?!” Rush gawked. “Even I can’t read him like that!” Ghost exclaimed. “Body language and cues,” I explained. “You’re getting full phrases out of shrugs and looks!” Ghost pointed out. “There’s light up ahead,” I pointed, not caring to continue that discussion. Hopping down from a ledge, we proceeded up a long flight of stairs and through a large rectangular doorway of sorts. The closer to the exit we came, the heavier the air felt on my body. The Darkness was thick here, and I felt something…something sickly nearby. We left the cover of the Vex enclosure, and as our eyes adjusted to the brightness we found ourselves staring out across endless fields of roses atop a maze of metal walls. The sky was a deep blue, with wispy green light that highlighted the horizon. “It’s beautiful,” I breathed, taking in the perfect geometry of the Garden and its coating of lush foliage. The Vex architecture had seemed like an invading plague in the jungles of Venus, but here life and metal grew hand in hand. If not for the foreboding sensation of wickedness here, I would’ve thought this to be a good place. A haven for the Vex may be a peaceful place, but I knew that it did not permit peace to anything that wasn’t Vex. “There’s something extremely dark down below,” Ghost reported, “I think we found the Black Garden’s Heart.” Ch21 Pt2: https://www.bungie.net/en/Forum/Post/247349204/0/0 ToC: https://www.bungie.net/en/Forum/Post/212710816/0/0