You've Got Time ( a Destiny Story)

The Second Time Around

Think of all the roads
Think of all their crossings
Taking steps is easy
Standing still is hard
Remember all their faces
Remember all their voices
Everything is different
The second time around

You've Got Time - Regina Spektor

-

Glass Throne, Vault of Glass, Venus(?)

Everything was set. All they had to do was summon and kill the Gatekeeper (or Gatekeepers, plural, Azra wasn't too clear on that part), kill it (or them), and mess around with the conflux enough to summon Atheon, then kill it. Then they'd be done.

Only one issue: they would certainly need the Aegis to survive the fight(s), but...

"So where is the relic, exactly?" Tapio asked. The room before them was beautiful and fascinating, but noticeably free of Kabyr-tinted pools of Light.

Azra closed her eyes and focused. There was Veera, neon lights and rain-washed asphalt. Her Light was the most familiar. The other five colored the air, too- mint tea and the smooth pull of a knife through wood, dusty earth and fresh green things, plasteel and the clouds on a winter night, sewing needles and orange sodium lamps. A dozen other sensations assaulted her as the Light reflected and refracted and reacted to its surroundings.

She knew what she was looking for. And there, just on the edge of perception, like footprints eroded by time-

That wasn't a good metaphor. The slight tinge of Kabr's Light in the space was as eternal as always. Steel and fury and the hair-raising moment before the lightning hit.

"There," Azra pointed to a portal platform, "and there," to the other one.

"You mean the inactive portals that don't lead anywhere because they're just big rings of metal?" Tapio said. "The two inactive portals?"

"In theory, multiple copies of objects should be able to occupy the same moment in time," Wahida pointed out. "Moreso here, where time is not as fixed."

"Two shields are better than one," Veera mused. "Alright. Tapio, take Azra through the first one. Then Azra can take Sylas through the second. We will stay here and keep your path back open."

The two Hunters looked at each other and shrugged. At the edges of her perception, Azra felt the slight spatial hiccups that preceded Vex teleportations. "They're coming," she warned. The other five readied their weapons. The two Hunters made eye contact through their visors. "So. All or nothing, Tapio. Let's go."

Spark had the portal opened already. Azra grabbed Tapio by the wrist and together they jumped through.

-

Almost immediately, she could feel the Darkness clinging to her like pond scum (and she'd fallen in quite a few ponds in her day). There were Vex here (because of course,) but her eyes were immediately drawn to the source of the Light she'd sensed even with the portal closed.

Kabr stood there, blazing like the heart of a lightning strike. He looked lost. His armor was no longer the battle-scared Titan plate. It was more... bronze. The single red eye on his helmet gave Azra the chills.

There was also a Hydra there. Azra pulled her Staff from the space between realities and got to work. Tapio's Golden Gun sang a savage song as it cut down Oracle and Hobgoblin alike.

Then there was nothing left between Azra and the always-doomed Titan. She came to a halt, Arc petering out. Only when she walked close to him did he react. He spoke suddenly. His voice stuttered like a corrupted recording. "Their/our/their desire is not malevolent it is survival she is/was/is wrong there is no evil there is no despise there is no SEPARATION there is harmony inside if you/you/you allow it."