Destiny: Volume 1 (Completed)

Raid: The Vault of Glass

          We made our way to Venus and back to the Ishtar Sink. Our flight was full of jokes and laughter as we proceeded throughout the sky's of the planet. Once we landed we saw ourselves in front of what seemed to be a Gate or door. "Is this it?" I asked. Ox walked over to it. "Yep. This is what I was looking for. Legend has it that a legendary Guardian by the name Kabr. He was a Titan who entered the Vault of Glass and was lost to time. I wanna pick up his trail." Ox said. "Well how in the world are we gonna get past this door to get in?" Royal asked. I looked around for any access point but came to no avail. "There's gotta be a trigger that will open up he door." I said. Alex appeared and began to do a scan of the building and the area around us. "It seems like this door functions the same as it did in the Heart of the Black Garden. It's sealed tight and can be opened with the activation of a Vex Spire." Alex said. I walked around the area and soon I saw someone sitting along a nearby platform. "Hey guys. There's another Guardian here." I said. We all walked over and stood close to him. "Hey there. My name is--"
          Before I could finish my sentence, he tackled me to the ground and pointed a gun at my head. My team was ready to open fire on him. "Wait a second! Take it easy. I'm a friendly." I said. He stood silent and still and soon he put his gun away. He got off of me and I stood up. "I keep having guns pointed to my head." I said. Good laughed a little and the Guardian spoke. "Sorry I...don't know what came over me there. You ok?" He said. "Yeah. I'm fine. Who are you?" I asked. He held out his hand. "I'm Hades. A fellow Titan of the Tower." He said. I shook his hand firmly. His grip firm and strong. "Nice to meet you Hades. I'm Parrish and this is my fireteam. Gold is over there. He's the second Warlock of the team. Ox is next to him and Royal is next to Ox." I said. Everyone shook his hand and we all looked towards the Vault. "So. Know anything about that?" I asked. "Yeah. I know how to get inside. But in order to do that we're gonna need a team. Six people should do the trick. You know anything about what's behind the door?" He asked. I shrugged. "Everything is new to me like it is to you buddy." I said. "Well I know where we can get information about the Vault. I can ask Rahool." Ox said.
          "Perfect. Go and contact him and once we have all the information we need we can make a try for this Vault."
          "We need one more person though." Royal said. "I know who could help us out." I said smiling. "Perfect. Then when do we start?" Hades asked. "Well, I'll go and find out sixth person to raid the Vault while everyone prepares. One week." I said. Everyone agreed. "Wait, Parrish. After you get our last team member what will you do?" Gold asked. "I have some studying to do." I said. My ship soon pulled around and I teleported inside. "I'll see you guys in a week." I said. I took off into orbit and made my way back to Earth. First things first was to get authorization to go on this endeavor so I went to the Tower. Once we landed I went to the Vanguard and found Ikora. "Hello there Guardian." She said as she turned around with a few books. "Hey Ikora. I need authorization." I said. She smiled and sat her thighs down. "Alright. Where to?" She asked me. "The Vault of Glass."
          "The Vault of Glass? On Venus?"
          "Yeah. I have a team of five so far and I'm about to go searching for another."
          I began to hear footsteps and soon I saw Liam. He chimed in on the conversation. "You're gonna go without me? How inconciderate of you." He said. I laughed. "Actually you were the person I was gonna ask to be my sixth person." I said. He smiled. "Well count me in. You got a team?" He asked me. "Yeah. We're gonna spend a week to prepare and maybe a little more time learning about the Vault itself." I said. Ikora smiled and placed a hand on my shoulder. "I see you've gotten everything sorted out between all of you. I wish you good luck on your travels Guardian." She said. I smiled and looked at Liam. "The rest of the gang should be here soon. You'll have contact with them by tonight. I'm gonna go study." I said. I walked back to the shipyard and hopped into my ship. "Alex, call Mara." I said. After a little time I heard her voice. "Parrish?"
          "Hey there. I have a question."
          "Ask away dear."
          "Do you have any of the books from school a long time ago? Anything about the Vault of Glass?"
          "Maybe in my personal library. Come over and I'll see what I have for you."
          "Already on my way."
          I flew to the Reef and made my way to the Queen. She stood there with books in her hand. It reminded me of long ago at school. She always had a crap ton of books. I went over to her and helped her out. "Reminds me of the golden days." She said. I laughed and we went to her throne room to look through the books. She helped me search and I took notes of what I saw. Many things like the Gorgons Maze, the Templar, and even the Oracles were listed. Alex photocopied the books for his own viewing pleasure and just in case we coke across something we don't know about. "Hey...Mara?" I said as my mind began to drift to her. "Yes?" She responded. "I was wondering...what all happened during my death? What happened to you?" I asked. It was a personal question. She looked down slightly. "I started the Reef Wars against the House of Wolves to support the Vanguard and Earth during the Collapse and the Battle of Twilight Gap. I was in search for an ally to rely on. The Reef was becoming a place that many people would not survive in. During the war, I ended up going to Ceres. The home of the Fallen House of Wolves. I was secretly helping the Vanguard from behind the scenes by putting the various houses against eachother. My goal was to prevent the House of Wolves from controlling the other Fallen houses. So. I destroyed Ceres, took control and became the new Kell." She said. "Impressive. But the Darkness did get to you." I said. She nodded and handed me a few more books.
          "I've survived of course. But in the end I was different. No doubt about it."
          "Well. Bright side is that you're ok. And I'm here now."
          "If you're going into the Vault of Glass then I'm going to hope that everything will be ok and you'll come back in one piece." She said. I laughed and took the books. "Thank you My Queen." I said as I stood up. "You're welcome Guardian. Come back once you've returned." She said. I kissed her cheek and made my leave.
          For the next week I trained and studied with Liam and Hades. Turns out that Hades was a Titan from a powerful group of people. He was apart of Saint-14's crusade during an event called the Battle of Six fronts. He was resurrected years later. I became a bit more proficient throughout the Crucible. It wasn't much progress but it was more than enough. After our week time limit was over we all landed back on Venus and we saw the Gate once more. "Alex. How do we get in." I said. He floated around and surveyed the area. "There are three platforms that we need to activate to build the spire to open the door." He said. "Alright. Royal, you're on me. Ox, you take Gold and Hades, go with Liam." I said. We all broke into our groups of two and made our way to the three different platforms. They began to activate and glow white as they formed a circle around me and Royal. "This reminds me of the Gate Lord that you summoned." I said. "Hey I'm sorry alright? At least we don't have to fight them." He said. Suddenly, Vex began to appear into the battlefield. Pushing towards us on all three sides. "Looks like they don't want us knowing what's inside. Let's go team. Defend your points." I said. They all dug into their positions and got comfy. The fight was sure to be a long one. Vex Goblins came in full force and the Vex Minotaurs came in behind them. They were hard to fight off all at once. Gunfire began to fill the battlefield. A Minotaur ended up getting behind me and Gold. It stood on the plate and it became red instead of white. "That can't be good. Parrish, take it out!" Gold said. I ran to the robot and pumped a shotgun round in it. It fell over as it fell into pieces. The plate became white again.
          "We have to keep the Vex off of the plates or we lose." Alex said. "You hear that guys? Keep the Vex off." I said. Everyone agreed in response and soon we began to play defensively. More came in full force but after a while they suddenly stopped coming. "Is that all of them?" I asked. "I don't see any on my side." Ox said. "Me neither." Hades responded. I looked around and soon saw the giant spire tha was fully built. "Wait, did anyone else notice that?" I asked. Everyone gathered to me and we watched as it began to glow and suddenly a beam of light hit the door to the Vault. We watched as it opened slowly. "Woah...the Vault of Glass. Time to explore a bit." I said. I took the first few steps inside. "Alex. Record everything."
          "Understood."
          We all began to explore somewhat small spaced cave that was within the Vault. It still was Venus but even then it was almost like a trip into the woods. We were definitely underground. Hades was picking up the pace and eventually caught up to me. "Hey Parrish. Mind if I properly introduce myself?" He asked me. I looked at him a bit confused. "Didn't you do that already?" I asked. "Well Hades is an alias to my real name."
          "Well what is it?"
          "John Econo."
          "Well it's nice to meet you John. I'll keep calling you Hades though while we're here. That ok?"
          "Yes it is. And I see you also named your ghost."
          I smiled and Alex appeared. "You might not be able to see it but he's smiling out of that helmet of his. I'm Alex." He said. "Nice to meet you Hades."
          "Nice to meet you too Alex. My ghost is named Theta." He said as he summoned it. "Hello there Alex." Theta said. "Hi there Theta." Alex replied. As we all continued throughout the Vault we began to see the more technical side of it all. "Can everyone hear me?" Alex asked. Everyone said yes. "Alright. What we're about to enter is the room of the Templar. Even among all of the Axis Minds, a specific class of Vex warroiors, This Templar is extraordinary. Fragmentary glimpses and scattered reports suggest a Hydra of impossible capabilities - a creature outside of time. It does what any other Hydra can do but of course it doesn't come without surprises. Reports show that it hold the ability to summon and execute a ritual that can wipe out any living being in seconds. The Ritual of Negation. We will encounter a few trials in this room but I don't know what they are. That's something we'll have to look forward to." Alex said. We all began to move throughout the Vault and eventually began some jumping sequences. Platforms floated in the air over a pit of nothing. Eventually we reached a small, yet open area. Three areas seem to be the hotpoints of the room. It was a bit tricky to make out but it seemed simple. The left side had a narrow area to work with along with access to the middle of the room. Right had a more open space and with a little more cover than what was on the left side. Middle was just a straight shot towards another door that goes to somewhere else. It was sealed. We all stood on a platform above what we assumed to be the battle room. We all jumped down and landed safely. Once our boots hit the ground we all heard the sound of a roaring Vex machine. The Templar had appeared. It's structure was huge. A shield covering itself. "Here we go boys. Take cover!" I shouted. We all broke for cover in the middle section as the Templar and other Vex minions began to fire upon us. It was a dangerous area.
          "Christ I didn't think there would be this many." I said. Suddenly a small mechanical figure appeared in front of us. "Is that...a conflux?" I questioned. A Vex drone ended up getting behind us and it began to glow. I shot it quickly before something happened. "What is that thing?" Royal asked. "It's a conflux. It seems like the Vex can power it by sacrificing their energy." I responded. "Well none the less guys. Don't let the Vex get anywhere near that thing!" Liam shouted. We all grouped up in threes and stood on either side of the device. Fighting off the Vex and avoiding the Templar. Eventually the strange machine disappeared. "Where did it go..?" I asked. Everyone looked around and suddenly the Templar let out a huge wave of energy. It pushes us back a little bit but Royal got the bad end of it. He fell off of the edge of the platform and Hades reached back and grabbed him before it was too late. "I got you. Don't worry. Liam, pull me back." Hades said. Liam rushed over and helped him up. Suddenly more Vex came. Alex got a chance to scan one of them. "It's a Vex Legion from the Templar. These guys are dangerous. Keep your distance." He said. We all moved around and away from the legions. They tanked our damage output and the damage they sent back to us was no joke. "Everyone get close!" Hades said. We all moved to him and he began to glow purple. He extended his arms and soon a Void barrier appeared around us. I noticed a purple light surrounding my body. "Woah. A bubble shield." I said. "More specifically a Ward of Dawn. Be careful though. It won't last forever and the Vex can easily walk inside." Hades said.
          The battle continued in various patterns. Eventually throughout the fight we began to see Vex robots without heads and with green electricity sparking from it. I shot it quickly and soon there was a pile of green on the floor. "What the heck is that..?" I asked. Alex scanned it. "I don't have any record on this. Whatever it is, we need to be careful and avoid it at all cost." He said. I nodded and the fight continued. Two spires formed on the left and right side of the room so we divided into threes and after they disappeared there was a spire on each side. Left, right, and mid. We all divided back into groups of two and fended off the Vex until they all stopped coming and the Templar disappeared. "What now?" Hades asked. The room became a little darker and soon yellow glowing orbs began to appear around the room but in a specific pattern. "The Oracles..." I heard Ox say. I looked at him as one appeared behind me. "We have to destroy them!" He shouted. I pulled out my gun and shot the glowing orbs and soon they all detonated. This process became longer and more tedious with each wave. It didn't help that the Minotaurs and Vex were all around us. Once all the Oracles were gone and no one was left to be seen, we all gathered together to recover and take a rest. "Jesus...what is up with this Vault?" Liam asked. Hades stood up and began to walk towards the center. We looked at him and we noticed a floating object floating in front of him. It looked like a shield.
          "It's the Relic of the Vault of Glass. A tool that Kabr created in his time in the Vault." Hades said. He grabs it and it begins to activate. A blue aura going around the shield. Suddenly the ground began to shake and the Templar appeared in the middle area of the room. We all ran away to one side and stayed together. Vex drones began to come out of their hiding places and soon surrounded us. We all began to attack at once and soon Hades made a run for the Templar. "Hades what are you doing!?" I shouted. He jumped up and soon fired a blast from the shield and it destroyed the Templars defenses. That was our chance. We all gave the enemy everything we had and soon it was destroyed. It was an easy fight but a stressful one none the less. The door at the end of the hall began to open and so did a chest that appeared. I walked over to it and picked up a hand cannon. "Woah...this looks interesting. Guys, there's some stuff in here." I said. Everyone came over and picked up some new things of their own. Some of us got guns and some got armor and extra materials. Once we celebrated we traversed deeper into the Vault. Eventually we reached a dead end. We all looked over the edge and saw the massive cave system below.
          "You must be crazy to think that I'm gonna jump." Ox said. I laughed. "Afraid of heights?" I asked. "A little bit. I know I can break my fall somehow but come on. That drop is insane. If we don't land right it'll kill us." He said. I rolled my eyes and jumped. I watched as everyone disappeared from view. I activated my second jump to break my fall. Gliding down safely into the cavern below. Everyone else followed but Ox climbed down. We all stood and waited for him to come down safely; laughing every time he stumbled and almost slipped off the side of the cliff. Once we all were together, we moved throughout the caverns of the Vault. "Alex, any idea where we are now?" I asked. He looked around. "This is the Gorgons Maze. We cannot be discovered here. Otherwise, we'll fall to the wrath of the Gorgons." He said. "Alright everyone. Stay close and stay quiet." Liam said. We all followed behind him in a small group and suddenly we stopped when we heard a noise. We looked around and soon saw a Gorgon. A more evolved version of a Vex Harpie. It floated around with its single eye beating red and its body shined brightly. Their noise sounded like a sonar detector.
          We all moved silently and carefully throughout the maze and began looking for an exit. Occasionally running into dead ends and corners and even back to the start. Eventually we found our exit and quickly moved in. "Jeez. That was too close." I said. We moved throughout the small tunnel until we reached another opening. Platforms were there and they appeared and disappeared with each four seconds or so. "One at a time. I think our goal is to reach the wall and walk along it until we reach that walkway over there." Hades said as he took the first leap. After his third or second jump a platform appeared for the next person. We each took our turns and soon arrived at the door to another room. We all walked inside and the room was split. A left side, a right side, and a single platform in the middle. It seemed like there were portals on the different sides but the middle sections was too open and exposed. Towards the very back of the room away from us lied what seem to be a glass like structure. Something began to materialize there as well. A giant Vex mind. Atheon.
          We all broke into threes and moved to either side. The glass like beast began to open fire upon us with rapid fire and deadly precision. "Alex, tell me how to beat this thing!" I said. "There isn't any info on Atheon. I have no idea." He said. I looked over to Ox and soon I was teleported along with two others to...Venus? We looked around and we saw the relic. I looked to see who was with me in this mess. It was Gold and Hades. "Hades, grab the relic." I said. As he went I could hear Liam, Royal and Ox. "Guys! I think I know how to get out of here. There's a portal here that needs to be opened on your end. Use one of the portals." I said. Hades joined us with the Relic in his arms and soon my vision became blurred. "What the heck...I can't see..." I said. "Me either. What's going on?" Gold asked. Hades didn't say anything but all he did was use the relic but instead of a blast it became a small dome. It cleared out vision and we could see better. "Looks like our displacement in time is effecting us. We need a portal open and ASAP." Hades said. I looked around and suddenly we saw an oracle. "Uh oh. Take it out!" I shouted. Me and Gold shot it down and soon more appeared. Once we destroyed them all we stood by the portal gate. Waiting for someone on the other side to activate. Eventually it opened and we ran through. I heard an echo in my mind. "Guardians make their own fate..." A voice said. I looked around as we went through the portal in confusion as to who was speaking. Ox and Liam stood on the middle platform and was firing at the boss. Royal helped us out of the portal. "Guys! Atheon is frozen. We need to attack now!" He shouted. We all ran and jumped to the middle platform and began to unload everything into the boss. Soon it began to move again and we were wide open. Hades used the relic to form a shield around us. "I'll cover you! Keep firing!" He said. We all kept shooting at Atheon until the shield went away. We all scattered around and went for cover. Atheon began to wobble. He was slow and weak. "One more attack like that and he's done. Alex, give me my LDR-500." I said. It appeared in my hands and took place of my shotgun. Suddenly Ox, Liam, and Hades disappeared in front of my eyes. "Woah. That's what happened to us." I said. I looked at Atheon and he was frozen in place. I heard Ox talking to me through my headset.
          "Mars! Open the portal to Mars!" He shouted. I began to move to a portal and then ran across more Harpies. These exploded when they came too close to me. I avoided them and opened a portal on the left side. Luckily enough it was the right one. I saw Hades rush out and Liam close behind. Ox came out of the portal but threw a grenade back inside before it closed. We rushed back to he middle platform and Hades handed me the shield. "You want me to use this?" I asked. He nodded. "Don't worry. I got this. You just keep him distracted." He said as he ran behind us. I channeled some energy through the shield and a bubble formed. I held it steady as everyone fired at Atheon. I looked around for Hades and I saw him above Atheon on a platform. He gave himself a running start and leaped from his hiding place. I saw electricity from around his body and with a great crash he came down to earth with a massive shockwave that finished Atheon. We watched as the glass beast fell and crumbled under his fists. The shield disappeared and everyone celebrated. I went to where Atheon stood and high fived Hades. "Nice one dude. That was insane! What was that?" I asked him. "It's called the Fist of Havoc." He said. "Incredible."
          "Hey guys! I found a chest!" Ox said. We all walked over to him and saw what was inside. Armor, weapons and new gear that we haven't seen before. Gold picked up a hand cannon that had a black and gold like design. "Woah. I'm keeping this." He said. Ox looked inside next and saw a cool looking sniper rifle. "Aw, sick! This is mine!" He said as he hugged the sniper tightly. Liam looked inside next and pulled out a Vex themed weapon. It was golden all around and it looked smooth in design. "This is...odd. It looks like a Vex was turned into a weapon." He said. He aimed away from us and pulled the trigger and the sound that it made was unreal. "Dude, this is a fusion rifle. This is awesome!" He said as he put it on his back. Royal was next to look inside and pulled out a helmet. "Woah...this is pretty cool." He said. It was a hunters helmet but with what seemed to be a targeting system glowing on the front. He took a deep breath and removed his main helmet for his new one and exhaled. "It's super comfy. I can scan things with this and it lets me know if my surroundings." He said happily. Hades looked in next and pulled out a helmet. He gasped after seeing what it was. "John what is it?" I asked. He was silent for a moment. "This...is the Helm of Saint-14. The one I fought with all those years ago. This is his helmet..." He said. I walked over to him and patted his shoulder. "He'd want you to have it." I said. He took a breath and traded his helmet as well. "It fits perfectly." He said. I smiled slightly and looked inside the chest to find a sheet of paper. "What's this?" I asked. I picked it up and Alex scanned it. "It's a schematic for a new sparrow. The S-99 Dawnchaser." He said. "Cool. Can you make it?" I asked. "Give me time." He said. I sighed and soon another portal opened. "I guess that's our way out." Ox said. We all got our things together and walked out of the portal and soon we arrived back on the surface of Venus. We watched as the doors to the Vault of Glass shut once more. The spire in the center disappeared and all was silent. Everyone called for their ships and said their goodbyes and left. I was alone on Venus with Alex. "Your sparrow is ready." He said. I summoned it and the engine roared. "Woah. This is sick." I said. I hopped on and took off with incredible speeds. I rolled around Venus just enjoying myself and soon I got a call from Mara.
          "Hargraves speaking." I said.
          "Guardian? Your gift is still waiting for you."
          "Alright. I'll be over soon."