Destiny 2: Frozen In Time

Chapter 3: Put Into Stasis

"You do not trust Variks, yees?" Variks asks as Spe-7, Suzuka and Gold slowly walk inside the building where he resides. "But please, put your prejudices aside, for there is a greater threat out there."

"You said that darkness walked among us... What did you mean by that?" Suzuka asks.

"You remember your friend, Taiki-9, yees?" Variks asks back, followed by insect-like chattering.

"...He's fallen to the darkness... Is he here?" Suzuka asks again.

"Yes... He is here, and so are a new group of Eliksni that seek to empower themselves with the darkness." Variks replies.

"So wait... That ice you were trapped in... That wasn't normal ice was it?" Suzuka asks.

"Yes, this was the power of the darkness." Variks explains. "We call it "Stasis". This is power in opposition to your light, given by the pyramids you know as the black fleet." He continues on.

"So who were those fallen that were using this stasis power?" Spe-7 asks.

"They were once without a kell, and then along came Eramis..." Variks begins. "They called her the ship stealer, and she was once with the house of devils... Now since they have fallen apart she has formed her own house, with herself as kell. Ever since she discovered stasis, it has led her astray... Europa was a safe have, home for us Eliksni, but stasis has corrupted Eramis. She turns obsession into opportunity and wishes to empower her followers with this dark gift..." Spe-7 looks in shock.

"This is darkness they're messing with... If something goes wrong..." Spe-7 trails off.

"Then she can build an army capable of snuffing out the light." More insect-like chattering as Variks finishes Spe-7's thought. "You must stop Eramis, for the sake of our people."

"But what about you? Didn't you come here to hide from the vanguard after the prison riot?" Spe-7 asks.

"Variks is aware of that..." The vandal mumbles. "Cayde-6 was not my intention... And not one day passes without regret... I will answer for those crimes, but not before my people are safe from Eramis. These snowstorms are very painful, yees?" He asks, noticing that Gold didn't come on a sparrow- rather she was hitching a ride on Spe-7's. "Then I present this to you... Something that was found here within Eventide..." And with that Variks produces an exotic engram for Gold, one that she takes. When she opens it, it is revealed to be a sparrow that's mostly white and black in color and it sports a strange, almost prototype-like appearance.

"This looks pretty cool! Now where do we go?" Gold asks.

"Let's go to Eventide and see where we can find Eramis." Spe-7 replies as she and Suzuka summon their sparrows and they bolt out of the building in search of the kell of darkness.

"Man this handles really well! I can finally keep up with you two!" Gold chuckles as the trio find themselves in the Eventide ruins.

"This is what's left of Eventide." Fang says. "Exos were made here... Exos like Taiki..." At that moment Suzuka slows down momentarily, remembering her friend, and the others notice.

"Suzuka-chan? Are you okay?" Gold asks, and the equine warlock quickly snaps out of it.

"Yes, I'm okay." Suzuka replies as she comes back to speed and reaches an area of the ruins that has a gravity lift. When they head up they see more fallen, but when they spot the guardians they hesitate- as if they don't want to fight. Eventually they resolve their conflicts and charge at the guardians, which results in Gold kicking them all into submission.

"What did you do that for?! I don't think they wanted to fight!" Spe-7 says.

"Well they attacked us so we had no choice." Gold replies as the trio continues forward. They then see a large dome, and Variks comes on.

"You see that dome, yees?" Variks asks. "That is a sign of our hope, but at the same time it is a sign of betrayal by Eramis." More fallen emerge and another one of the giant robots crashes down to the ground- this time it's armed with a missile pack on it's back instead of a void cannon, and it rains down rockets as soon as it spots the trio.

"Look out!" Spe-7 shouts as the trio just barely avoids the barrage and a servitor quickly emerges to shield the other fallen while the robot continues to rain down missile hell on them. "These guys just don't let up! At least we haven't seen any of this stasis stuff yet."

"Don't speak too soon, I'm picking up trails of darkness..." Twinkle mumbles. "I think this was Eramis and her stasis powers." The trio continues to push forward, and then they hear announcements coming from deep within the dome, the sounds of rallying.

"Do we dare go further in?" Gold asks, and when they head inside again they notice that there is a barrier that has no servitor guarding it- instead it bears a strange fragment of some sorts that no amount of light and bullets will shatter.

"You have to find another way, yeees? For that has been sealed by stasis." Variks says as the trio finds another way, but as they walk in, they hear something horrifying...

"Do you think they realize we're here?" Twinkle asks.

"It sounds like our enemies have arrived. Let's not keep them waiting." Eramis' voice calls out and the sounds of fallen battle cries can be heard as the entire dome comes to life.

"YES THEY DEFINITELY REALIZED! LET'S GO!" Twinkle screams.