While Angel didn’t know how long he’d been unconscious, he knew exactly how long it took him to make the emergency patch-job for his arm. Twelve hours and fourteen minutes ticked by, but he was so focused on his task that it felt like less than an hour.

The result was hardly pretty, and it was only a step beyond functional, but he was confident it would hold together. Angel flexed his fingers, grimacing at the slight delay in response and small shudder that the command sent through his arm. He looked back down at Reave, pausing for a few moments before reaching into his chest once more.

Angel found the man’s magical core and pulled the gray orb out with a squelch. He grimaced and wiped it off, then shoved it into a pocket.

With the Star Fragment still providing light, he paced through the pit, searching for anything of use. Most of what he found disappointed him. Shattered components and bones littered the ground, protruding like teeth.

He was tempted to leave immediately, but Shield’s Star Fragment was still lying around somewhere on the ground, and he was loathe to let it fall into Soul’s hands.

“Come on,” Angel said, his voice raspy. “I know you’re connected somehow. Can’t you find it or something?”

The lighting running across his arm crackled, a tiny tendril rising up and pointing to his side. Angel glanced at it, then followed the line it made. He stepped over a metal-infused skull and worked his way in the direction the Star Fragment was indicating.

A green glimmer caught his eye. Nestled in a cranny between two large rocks was a tiny green orb. It was entirely undamaged by the fall. He knelt, tearing a scrap away from his pants and wrapping the fragment before tucking it into his pocket.

“Wish you did that earlier,” Angel grumbled.

A crackle of lightning zapped him. He yelped, swatting at it fruitlessly. “Wait a minute. You were the one that woke me up?”

Lightning crackled once more and Angel grimaced. Talking to the Star Fragment without Blue was a massive pain.

“Guess you still need me for whatever it is you’re working for,” Angel said. “Can’t blame you for that, and I suppose I’m in your debt. Do you happen to know where Blue might be? I’m rather attached to that little artifact.”

The lightning pulsed once, then sank back into his arm until only a faint glow around him remained. Angel took that as a shrug. He sighed and chewed his lower lip. Soul had to know that something had gone wrong at this point, but the man still hadn’t arrived.

As much as he wanted to search for the artifact, it was a terrible idea. He’d have to come back for it later, once Soul had been dealt with. Angel stared up at the rocky wall before him. It was jagged, with more than enough footholds to climb. The problem was that most of them looked like they had once belonged to someone else.

He didn’t particularly fancy hugging a bunch of fossilized human remains, but he liked the idea of sticking around and waiting for Soul even less. With one last look at Reave’s shattered body, stripped and devoid of its Magitech, Angel turned to the wall and started up it.

The going was slow. His grappling hook hadn’t been terribly damaged in the fall, but the firing mechanism was shot. With his arm stiffened, he moved far slower than he would have liked. And yet, he still moved.

Minutes ticked by as Angel tried not to think about the haunted faces passing right before him as he climbed. Sweat trickled down his bare back and the purple glow from his scars gave the room an eerie glow.

After a few feet, all he could see was darkness. There was a faint pinprick of light far in the air above him, but aside from that, there was nothing. He trudged upward, moving his limbs mechanically.

Weariness ate at him, but he didn’t let himself slow. The magic infused within Angel’s body worked at maximum strength to keep him going. He continued up the side of the pit, ignoring the burning in his arm and leg.

Far above, the light started to grow brighter. Every inch brought him closer to it, and Angel focused himself entirely on reaching it. Slowly, the platforms that led out of the Vault slipped into sight.

Angel drew on the last reserves that he didn’t even know he had, pushing himself even harder now that the end was in sight. A few minutes later, he finally crested the edge of the floating platform and was eye level with one of the platforms.

He grunted, throwing himself from the wall as hard as he could to land on the platform. Angel landed in a roll, flopping out on the floor and gasping for breath once he came to a stop. The world spun above him and his limbs trembled from exertion.

He laid there for several minutes before finally mustering the strength to start moving again. With a sigh, Angel pushed himself into a seated position and then used one of the chairs to pull himself upright.

Angel staggered up the floating platforms. He wound his way back through the Vault and up to the exit. As he turned the corner, Angel froze. The Vault was propped open by heavy metal bars covered in runes.

Distant chatter from outside just barely reached his ears. He couldn’t tell exactly what was going on, but whoever the voices belonged to sounded pretty relaxed. Angel crept up to the entrance, ducking under the bars and padding up the sand to peek outside.

Dozens of choppers sat around the entrance of the Vault, surrounded by guards wearing full Magitech armor. A huge anchor rested on the ground. Angel traced the thick metal rope connected to it up into the sky, where a blimp cast the entire area into shadow.

“Would you look at that,” a mature woman’s voice said from behind him. Angel spun, recognizing who it belonged to just as he came face to face with her.

Magistrate Daliah gave Angel a tight grin. “And here I thought you’d gone and offed yourself. The reports didn’t sound good.”

Angel’s mouth worked, but he couldn’t find the right words. Daliah chuckled at his baffled expression.

“What are you doing here?” Angel finally managed. “Where are my companions?”

“In my tent, speaking with some of my soldiers,” Daliah replied, giving Angel a critical once over. “They told me the fight had gone bad, but I didn’t realize just how bad it was. Your arm is in shambles.”

“It was a small price to pay for what had to be done,” Angel replied, finally finding the rest of his voice. “But how are you here?”

“Aside from getting into the habit of bailing you out?” Daliah asked with an amused smirk. “I’ll let someone else explain that.”

She walked into a tent behind one of the choppers, leaving Angel staring at her in shock. A moment later, Vanessa ran out from it, skidding to a stop in front of him with a huge grin.

“Angel! I was really worried about you.”

“I am completely and utterly lost,” Angel said. “How did you find us?”

“Silver,” Vanessa replied, rubbing the back of her head with an embarrassed grin. “Mom knew he was going to go for the bracelet that controls his Serpentine Sword whether he won it or not, so she let the organizers in Molten Ridges know. They had it modified with Sympathetic runes that would act like a tracker for her, so when we found out what was happening in Blackstone, I got her to muster an army and follow after you.”

“It took a little longer than I wanted,” Daliah said. “There’s a lot of foot shuffling that has to be done when mobilizing my army so I don’t terrify all the neighboring Magistrates, and blimps are far from fast. Still, I didn’t want to sacrifice the firepower. There are still Buried Gods roaming around the desert.”

Angel shook his head in disbelief. “You were tracking us? Again?”

“If it ain’t broke,” Vanessa quipped.

Daliah smacked her daughter on the shoulder. “Talk proper when in the presence of our men. You are a Magistrate’s daughter, not some soldier.”

Vanessa turned her nose up. “Alison and your companions were fighting against some people when we got here. Mom finished them off, but they crumbled away as soon as they died. We were hoping you might know about that.”

“That would be Soul,” Angel said grimly. “You got here right on time, then. Do you know what lies below us?”

“I have my suspicions, but you will fill me in,” Daliah said, crossing her arms. “And then we are going to put an end to the Reawakening, once and for all. I have other Magistrates mustering their armies as well. We will tolerate this no longer.”