Part 5 “What was that?” Ghost said. The three of them reemerged in an oddly familiar room. It was exactly the same room they had just occupied but somehow different…The Guardian took a looked around. The walls were semi-transparent so the Guardian could see through them. The wall on the left in particular caught their attention so the Guardian walked towards it. As the Guardian approached the wall, they saw themselves. A mirror to mirror effect. Many Guardians, many rooms over and over again. “Where are we?” The Guardian said in a low whisper. The Hydra stood in the middle of the room as it watched the Guardian explore. The Hydra began to commune with Ghost. Ghost started to speak for the Hydra with its wealth of information. In a very plain voice, Ghost said, “We are in a distant timeline, an alternate dimension of the Heretic Gatelord prison. This Hydra and its fellow companions are solely responsible for containing the Heretic Gatelord. The Heretic has been contained because of its corrupt objective of breaking free from the Singular Vex Mind. Its sole objective is to become ‘the one true mind’. Its goal is to take control of the Vex Network and all of the Vex’s capabilities. To counteract this insurrection, the Hydra have been designated to be on guard to prevent its escape. They have been waiting for this event. The Vex foresaw that if this event would come to pass, the Heretic Gatelord would likely be released by the Lightbearer Anomaly.” “Anomaly?” The Guardian asked quizzically. “Yes, you are the Anomaly. The one consistent variable capable of repeatedly thwarting the Vex. You are the one that the Heretic needed. However, the Hydra have created a failsafe. For the Heretic to truly escape, it would require a Lightbearers assistance, unknowingly. And if it came to that the Hydras would intervene and work with the Lightbearer Anomaly. The group of Hydras will aid you in defeating this Heretic Gatelord.” “How?” The Guardian asked. “The Heretic will be impervious to your weapons and even your light. However, the Hydra have designed a tool to surpass its fortifications.” A small vex plate shaped itself on the floor in the centre of the room. The Hydra floated and spun to the right to face the Vex plate. The Guardian approached the Hydra and stood beside Ghost who was between them. They all looked at the plate which had finished forming and in the centre, a weapon scrambled together. A flash of light and the weapon finished forming. It floated and spun serendipitously, so it could be examined from all sides. “A pulse rifle..” the Guardian whispered to themselves. Ghost spoke, “The Hydras call it Hydras Sacrifice.” “What does it do?” The Guardian asked curiously. “Hydra’s Sacrifice is an Arc pulse rifle. It shoots weaponized Vex Radiolarian Fluid projectiles and has the potential to shock combatants into brief paralysis.” “Weaponized, Vex Milk. Interesting. Can it do anything else?” The Guardian asked searching for more information. “Of course. Once enough energy is gathered, the weapon can transform into a miniature Vex gate. This gate can release a shockwave that stuns powerful targets. Wield it. And experience its power.” The Guardian stepped forward and took another step onto the plate. The weapon stopped spinning and slowly floated into the Guardians hands. A flurry of Vex portals sparkled around the room. “What happened?” The Guardian asked. The Hydra and Ghost floated to the top of the stairs to witness what was about to happen next from the vantage point. “Harpies are coming to antagonize you.” Ghost spoke for the Hydra quite simply. “Destroy them and experience the weapon.” Several waves of Harpies emerged and curiously floated around the Guardian. A few of them stopped, flared their wing plates and fired bolts of solar lasers. The Guardian evasively sprinted and slid out of the line of fire. They sprung back on their feet and ran to the left side of the room. They quickly surveyed the Harpies and formulated an attack. The Guardian opened fire on a cluster of harpies who had not yet had a lock on them. The Guardian squeezed the trigger and the weaponized Vex milk projectiles effortlessly tore through the Harpies arc shields. A cascade of arc shields popped and vanished like a string of fire cracks. The Guardian targeted the closest Harpy and landed a series of 3 round bursts into its eye. White hot veins of Vex milk spread over the Harpy. The Harpy cracked and broke into several fragments that laid on the ground. Gradually the pieces began to glow a bright white along with a familiar sound that triggered an explosion. The Harpy exploded and caused a chain reaction which caused two other explosions of the two Harpies that floated too close. “They exploded just like Hydra’s do”..the Guardian thought to themselves. The Guardian had grabbed the weapon from the plate in the centre of the room. They ran to the left and attacked the group of harpies in the left corner of the room. Now that the left corner of the room was clear, the Guardian turned and headed for the back wall, working their way clockwise around the room. The Guardian ran a good distance. Two clusters of Harpies teleported and floated in front, cutting the Guardian off. The cluster of Harpies on the Guardians right opened fire first so the Guardian targeted them. The same result, the Harpy that was hit first triggered an arc shield pop setting off several Harpy shields. Four shields gone and four still intact. The Guardian took down one Harpy which effectively took out another. The Guardian opened fire on a Harpy that was wounded significantly and to their surprise, the Harpy twitched and shook. The Vex milk immobilized it in place, making it an easy target for a Hydra explosion. The Guardian finished the stunned Harpy which was now in pieces, growing to a charge. The Guardian positioned themself so that the downed Harpy was between them and the remaining 5 Harpies. Two Harpies engaged forward and flared their bodies on either side of the downed Harpy. Before they could open fire, the Harpy exploded popping their shields which turned them into two golden plumes of destruction. A large pool of Vex milk crackled and burned. Without any respite, the Guardian took aim on the three remaining Harpies and finished them quickly. The Guardian walked forward to where the Harpies had been. They scanned the room as they walked through the remains. They could see the Hydra and Ghost patiently watching on top the of the stairs at the entrance of the room. In closer proximity to the Guardian, an army of Harpies were merging to their position. The Guardian took a step back and felt a surge of energy enter from their heel and flow through their body. The ammo counter on the weapon replenished itself to full. Additionally, another meter on the weapon pulsated indicating that it was fully charged. The Guardian peered down at their feet and they had stepped in a pool of Vex milk. The stunned Harpy had left it behind after its defeat. The Guardian smiled to themselves at the newest revelation of the weapon. Over the comms channel the Ghost spoke for the Hydra, “Yes, touching pools of Vex milk replenish and charge the weapon…it is charged. Now use it.” The Guardian did not know how to ‘use’ the weapons special ability. But simply thinking of using it, the weapon spiralled in front of the Guardian and broke down into many pieces. It gathered along the Guardians wrists and lifted the Guardian a metre off the ground. The rest of the pieces formed into a Vex gate above the Guardians head and spun rapidly. With a single thought, a shockwave of energy tore through the air causing complete chaos for every Harpy in the room. Every shield popped and an army of dazed Harpies convulsed in place. The Guardian dropped to the ground and was met with the weapon back in their hands. A follow up 3 round burst repeatedly rang on the closest Harpies red eye and triggered the largest Harpy chain reaction the Guardian had ever witnessed. The room stood still. Various Harpy parts were scattered across the floor. Pools of Vex milk sizzled and crackled. The Guardian ran and jumped their way to the stairs to the meet the Hydra and Ghost. The Hydra and Ghost teleported to the bottom of the stairs and met the Guardian. “You have successfully completed this simulation. Would you like to run the simulation again?” The Hydra inquired through Ghost. “No.” The Guardian replied. “When you are ready, we will proceed to your timeline and vanquish the Heretic Gatelord.” “I am ready to return and stop this Heretic.” The Guardian said with determination. Just as they entered, their matter spiralled together and with a blip and a pop they vanished from the alternate simulation space and reemerged back at their original timeline. I post Part 6 & 7 (Tuesday July 30) I posted Part 8 & 9 (Wednesday July 31) Tomorrow I will be posting the final Part along with the weapon details! Hope you have enjoyed! Just posted part 10 the conclusion! Thanks for reading!