Hey there readers! It's been quite a while since I've published anything new, but here is the most recent chapter of TFG! Life has prevented me from being able to work on this for a while but I'm finally able to get back into it after four months. Just a side note that it wasn't any negative comment that caused me to stop (although the timing seemed too coincidental). Just know that you don't need to worry about any negative comments that come up because they don't bother me because I like my story and I know others do too. Well, I'll let you get to reading... I hope you enjoy, and as always, feel free to leave any feedback!


As soon as I had entered Earth's atmosphere, I began to head towards the Tower and hoped I would be able to dock without any trouble. As I approached the Tower, I managed to hack my scavenged communications device to use Amanda Holliday's frequency.

"Amanda, this is Xyrok, I'm requestion permission to dock."

There was nothing on the other end except for static, so I started to think my hack didn't work. I began to try the same line again when Amanda's voice suddenly came through with clear surprise and slight confusion.

"Xyrok? That's not possible, Vesair said he escaped the Vault after he betrayed that fireteam. Whoever this is, stop playing jokes and dock now so I can give you a piece of my mind."

I couldn't believe Amanda didn't even recognize my voice; I thought we had a really good relationship going. Pushing my thoughts aside, I slowly eased my ship into the docking bay. I saw Amanda as soon as I stepped out of my ship, who looked angry at first and then suddenly looked like her jaw could fall all the way down to the City.

"Hi," I said quickly and cheerfully as I raised my hand up slightly.

Amanda just stared at me with the same look for about a minute before finally saying something, "I knew lack of sleep would catch up with me eventually because now I'm seeing ghosts… And not the ones from the Traveler."

I reached toward Amanda's shoulder, but she quickly pulled away, "Amanda, it's really me. Whatever Vesair told everyone is a lie, I'm not a traitor."

Amanda's shock turned to confusion, "Why would he do that? That's not right… I need to tell Cayde."

I responded quicker than a Warlock could blink… Like I knew what she was going to say before she could say it, "Amanda, don't tell Cayde. My business here is with Vesair, and I can't afford to risk being put away if the Vanguard actually believes his lies."

"Xy, I could get in trouble if they find out you're here and I didn't tell them."

"They won't find out, just… Keep my ship hidden and act like nothing has happened."

"Xy, what –"

I began to head towards the exit of the bay as I responded, "I'll tell you everything later, just do what you do."

I left the docking bay and found myself at the central area of the Tower; Guardians littered the area with some standing in groups, others bustling about like they had somewhere to be, and an unusually long line of angry and impatient Guardians originating from Master Rahool.

I needed to go to the less used area of the Tower, the one across from the Speakers domain, and the crowded Tower made it easy to move unnoticed. I reached the door that was open a mere crack; it was here that The Coalition had called home. I pried the door open just enough to squeeze through, and once I was inside I noticed that there was nobody there. I had been there once before and it was as busy as the Tower usually was, but when I entered at that point it seemed more like it was newly abandoned.

I quickly made my way to where I knew Vesair would be normally, ignoring the silence and the loneliness. When I finally reached my destination, he was there all by himself, without any of his thug Titans with him.

"Seems you've finally made it here… Do you know how long I've been waiting for you? You sure took your time," he spoke with an evil and slightly amused tone.

"I don't care how long you've been waiting, I'm here to kill you and bring back Silla."

Vesair looked at me with a smirk, "Oh, I don't think that'll happen."

"What do you mean? Of course it –"

There was a sudden jolt of electricity that pulsed through my body and I fell to the ground, seizing. From the corner of my eye I could see three purple figures and heard a familiar male voice but couldn't remember where it was from.

"Thank you for the tip, Warlock; the Queen will be very pleased."

A smirking female face with dark hair suddenly appeared before my eyes and spoke with another familiar voice, "The Queen will be more than pleased, she will be elated. Prepare the ship, we have to get him to her as soon as we can."

It was then that I realized that these two were a part of the Queen's Guard I met on the Moon. I began to look around towards the Titan when there was a sudden flash of white before the world went black, and it felt like I was in a deep sleep.

It seems my fears have become reality, we have been betrayed. It's so dark now, but only after the little light that was left was used to hopefully save him.

Is this what happens when my kind dies? Eternal darkness, but with no sadness… No emotion at all. Just dark… So dark I can barely hear my own thoughts. Is this what suffocation feels like?

I suppose my time has been up for quite some time… One can only last so long when they are powered on lies.

When I came to, my head was pounding like a bell and my arm was somehow stuck behind my back. As my vision cleared up, I had seen a face which I had not planned to see for quite some time. It was none other than the Queen of the Awoken herself, Mara Sov, and I seemed to be kneeling in front of her throne.

Mara eventually spoke in her terrifyingly soothing voice, "It is time to pay for your crimes."

I cocked my head to one side as the pounding in my head reduced to inconsistent throbbing, "Crimes? Why, I have no idea what you're talking about."

Her brother, Uldren, suddenly snapped back with his convicting, not-so-soothing voice, "You know damn well what she's talking about." He backed down as soon as Mara motioned for him to calm down.

I pretended like I had suddenly remembered some distant memory, "Oh, you mean the ship? That was a good ship… Too bad it didn't last very long."

Mara responded with false surprise, "A confession? Well, I suppose we shall carry on with the sentence," she snapped her fingers once and two Fallen Vandals lifted me from my knees, "You will go into a cell to await your execution."

I began to attempt to struggle free from the Vandals, "Wh- Waitwaitwait, execution!? All I did was steal a ship!"

Uldren spoke up once more, "Yes, you only stole a ship, but you chose the wrong person to steal from."

I continued to struggle as the Vandals dragged me away from the smirking faces of Mara and Uldren. The Vandals dragged me into the depths and threw me in with the restraints still around my remaining arm. I don't know how long I was in that cell, but I know I slept at least a dozen times before I saw the outside of that cell again.

I awoke to the sound of banging very different from the sound that the other residents of the prison made. This banging came from outside and sounded more like a hand cannon, but with a bit more of a concussive sound. I couldn't figure out what the sound could have been coming from until the door to my cell slid open.

The figure in the door was none other than the Hunter Vanguard himself, Cayde-6. When he approached me, he looked at my missing arm with shock then look at my restrained arm with even greater shock.

"How the hell… Do you restrain a one-armed man? Technology is mind-blowing these days."

All I could manage was to give Cayde a look that told him I was tired of him and his stupid jokes. He met my gaze and sighed as he made his way around the back of me to break me free. As soon as the restraint came off, I turned around and grabbed Cayde by the throat, slamming him against the wall.

"Hey! Easy there, big guy. I came here to rescue you, you wouldn't try to kill me, right? Right?" Cayde chuckled nervously as he attempted to pry my hand away from his throat.

"How do I know you're not some sort of trick? Sent in here to make me believe I'm being set free just to be brought back in here!"

Cayde stopped struggling and looked back at me with disbelief, "I would never betray one of my own Guardians… Besides, you were always my favorite Hunter, and you still are."

I didn't want to believe him, but I knew he was right. Cayde may be deceiving sometimes, but I knew he would never betray a comrade. I decided to let him go and he dropped to the floor less than gracefully. I turned and began to pull out the Bones of Wrath when I realized it wasn't there; I still don't know why I thought they wouldn't have taken it away from me. Suddenly, Cayde stepped beside me and handed it to me, holding it by the barrel.

"I pulled this off a Queen's Guard Titan… It looked pretty unique and I know that Titans don't have the patience to use hand cannons, so I took it." Cayde paused and continued holding it as I grabbed the grip, "Also, I saw you carrying it while you were walking through the Tower a few days ago."

He released the weapon and I stared at him blankly with my mouth hung open. He chuckled and shrugged as he pulled out his own weapon and began to leave the cell. I watched him leave for a few more seconds before I regained my thoughts and followed him.

I suddenly thought back to what he said about the Titan, "Wait, so what happened to the Queen's Guard? Did you kill them? They sucked, but they didn't deserve to-"

Cayde suddenly cut me off with a raised hand, "Relax, you know I wouldn't do that." As we turned the corner, he motioned to three figures on the floor against the wall, "All I did was tell them a little bedtime story." He never told me what he did, and I never found out.

The rest of the way out was uneventful; the path was littered with subdued Fallen and Guardians bearing the Queen's colors. We left in a dropship that was floating near an unused airlock and was piloted by Amanda, and I couldn't help thinking that I should have known it was her who planned this rescue. Once we were inside the ship, Amanda slowly navigated it through the wreckage until we reached open space.

We jumped into lightspeed for only a short time before we stopped and slowly began floating through space. I began to ask what was going on before Cayde stopped me. It was silent for a while and my mind began to run wild, thinking he would throw me out of the ship or shoot me there and end my life. Finally, Cayde spoke up and I wish he never had never told me what he did.

Cayde told me of my past, that I was completely different before my mind was wiped. He said the last time it was wiped was because I lost my Fireteam that I did everything with. He told me that I didn't lose them all at once, though. The Warlock went first, he was lost in the Vault of Glass like those three Guardians that began my downfall. Cayde told me that this Warlock sacrificed himself so that the Titan and I could escape.

He went on to tell me that the Titan and I eventually grew apart because of our sorrow. I spent all my time in the Tower hanging out in the small club in the hangar, while the Titan was constantly out killing things to relieve the pain. One day, the Titan had met his match, but his Ghost had somehow returned to deliver the news. Cayde said that this news devastated me more than ever, mostly because I thought it was my fault for not being there for him.

Eventually, my sorrow got the best of me and I went to a man to have my memory reset. Cayde advised against it, he said that you can forget but your old memories would always find a way to haunt you; Now that I think back on it, they did haunt me from time to time, I just didn't know it. I went against Cayde's warnings and became a new person, free of sorrow, with only Silla at my side. He said he had told Silla not to tell me anything and even that she had changed somehow too.

At the end of all this, Cayde told me that this wasn't the first time and it wouldn't be the last. Once we were back to Earth, Amanda flew me to my ship that was parked outside the City and dropped me off there. Before they left, Cayde left me with one final piece of advice; once I killed Vesair, I should return to the Tower and begin my life anew once again. They were gone before I could say anything, and I was left with the weight of my previous life on my mind.

I lifelessly walked back to my ship, and once I entered I saw that Scav was inside with an exosuit of some sort, the one I'm wearing now. It's small enough to fit inside modified armor, but large enough to make me look like the size of a Titan in armor.

I stared for a few seconds before speaking up, "What's this? I didn't ask for anything else."

Scav shrugged, "You did not have to, I create things because I like to. This may be my greatest work to date, though; it enhances all of your abilities and gives you greater defensive capabilities."

I chuckled slightly, "Scav, I don't need this, I can defeat Vesair just fine like I am."

"You know as well as I do that he will not be the only one there… But you will not be going alone either."

"What do you mean I won't be alone? I don't have any allies besides some Fallen, and you would all be shot down as soon as you set foot on the Tower."

Scav replied with an annoyed tone, "Please, Eliksni… And I have seen something in my sleep; it could be just a mere dream that has no meaning. I have seen a Guardian who has been spreading tales about you throughout the City to children, spreading fear. This dream takes place many years beyond the one we are currently in, though. Try to remember this, and when you wake, you must look for this Guardian."

I looked at Scav with disbelief, "You expect me to believe in a dream? If this Guardian doesn't exist, everything will be pointless."

"Have some faith," he responded quietly. "Now, before you get into the suit, remove your armor and hand me your Ghost."

I backed away slightly and grabbed Silla's lifeless shell that was hanging from my chest, "What do you need her for?"

Scav simply held out one hand, "If you wish to defeat your enemies, you must make sacrifices. Anyway, you know that there is no way to bring it back."

It hurt to hear the truth, but I did know that she wasn't coming back… That fact is still difficult to accept. I took Silla's shell off the strap and reluctantly handed it to Scav. He gently took it and connected it to a power source on a desk nearby, which was also connected to the exosuit.

"What are you doing with that?" I asked as I began to remove my armor and weapon and placed them by the door to my ship.

"The material that makes up the Ghost shell can be helpful in making this power source work. The power source is needed to power up the suit."

As he finished making the necessary connections, he motioned for me to step in the exosuit. I nodded as I walked towards the exosuit and felt its rough, metal surface. I went around the back of it where it was open and I could see the wires inside glowing a very dim green color. I stepped inside the exosuit and felt it close around my back before Scav spoke again.

"You will feel a bit of a shock and you may be asleep for quite some time. I cannot say how long it will be, but I will most likely be long gone."

Before I could say anything, the wires made their connection with me, generating a shock that would cause severe spasms if not for the exosuit. This seemed to go on forever until the inside of my ship finally began to fade into darkness.

As I began to lose consciousness, I heard a voice, "Good luck, Xyrok. I'm going to miss you." Now that I think about it, I realize this was Silla's voice, but it sounded different with each syllable.

I tried to call out to the voice, but no noise came out, and I finally slipped into the darkness of my mind. Darkness is exactly what it was; I had no dreams or thoughts and it felt like I was floating through nothing. I thought I could hear voices every now and then but when I focused on them, there was only silence.

I floated like this for what seemed like an eternity, until I finally began to see a strip of light. The light began to grow and it felt like I was moving toward it, but it was actually moving toward me. I squinted my eyes and began to move my arm over my eyes to block the light, but it was already upon me.

I felt a sudden breeze of cool air on my face, and when I opened my eyes I saw that the door to my ship was open and the light of the sunrise was flooding into my ship. I looked around and noticed that the inside of my ship was dusted with snow and Silla's shell looked colorless and rusted. I sighed and looked down at the exosuit that glowed a steady green with every movement I made.

I began to wonder how long I had been out when my question was answered for me; Scav had left some sort of timer that told me it had been five years. It sure didn't feel like I was asleep for five years… In fact, I din't feel any different from when I got into the suit. I removed the wires connecting the power source to the exosuit and walked over to my ship's exit. It was difficult to move at first as the suit calibrated to my movements, but eventually became normal.

Beside the door, my armor was neatly arranged and it seemed that Scav had made it to fit over the suit. I put the armor on and looked at my reflection in my helmet before putting it on; it seemed like I had a slight bit of rust from the elements and some wires stuck out from the top of my faded green head. I tucked the wires back into my head and put the helmet on. I looked at the Bones of Wrath that was also beside the exit and decided I didn't need it before I stepped outside to head into the City.

I entered the city through an entrance often used by civilian patrols that would fight the Fallen that the Guardians didn't take notice of. Once I was within the walls of the City, I pulled out the coin from Lil and a scrap of paper with an address scribbled on it. I arrived at an apartment building and climbed the stairs to reach the room on the paper, and when I knocked on the door I was greeted by an older man.

The man simply stared at me for a few seconds before his eyes widened and he blocked himself with his hands, "Please, don't hurt me, I'll give you anything you want! Just please leave me and my family alone!"

I was so startled that I slightly stumbled backwards, holding up my hand. "Woah, woah… I'm not here to hurt you!"

A voice came from inside the apartment, "Dad, who is it? What's going on?"

The man responded nervously, "I-it's that Fallen Guardian! I think he's here to rob us and kill us!"

"W-wait! Look!" I exclaimed as I held out the coin in front of me. "Lil told me to bring this here."

The man suddenly stopped and a younger man appeared next to him, also seeing the coin. The younger man slowly grabbed the coin and turned it between his fingers. He closed the coin in his fist and looked at me once more, "So I take it she's gone then?"

I nodded once and saw a slight smile slowly surface on his face, it seemed he was happy she could finally rest in peace. The man invited me in and we talked about Lil, who he seemed to adore the whole time she was gone, I could even hear it in his voice then. He introduced me to his son, who was amazed for a few seconds, but eventually rsn off to play.

I left soon after the child had and couldn't help but wonder what it was like to have a family. I exited the apartment building and leaned against the wall of the apartment building to think of all that had happened to me. I thought of everything from the mission that started it all, to Vesair's betrayal, to the moment I stepped out of the apartment building. I couldn't believe it had somehow been five years since this all began.

After about twenty minutes, I began to leave… Until I saw you, Amber. I don't know how I knew that you were the one Scav had told me about, but I just knew. I ducked into a nearby side alley and waited until you passed by to call out to you.


Amber simply stared as Xyrok finished the final words of his story. She had a hard time believing any of what he had told her, but there was no reason not to believe him.

After some silence, Xyrok spoke up, "So, uh… What do you think?"

Amber began staring at the dead Ghost shell sitting on the nearby desk, "What do I think? I don't even know what I'm supposed to think. It all just sounds so… Unbelievable."

"I don't blame you," Xyrok said softly. "I still can't believe all this happened myself… You know what I'm going to ask you next, though."

Amber smirked, still staring at the Ghost shell, "You're right about that, and I may be about to make another stupid decision, but…" Amber looked back towards Xyrok, "I'll help you kill Vesair."