Unwilling unconsciousness was a strange sort of limbo for a Guardian, they did not sleep, they did not dream, they were only locked in their minds, stuck until their body once again decided to move itself, Light was one hell of a drug, but even the most powerful drug needed time to fix everything wrong with its host.

Aiden found himself inconceivably bored.

His first though upon emerging into his state of higher awareness was pain, pure and simple, not from the multiple wounds he had somehow received or the burnt flesh on his head, the true pain was inside of himself, surrounded by blackness that seemed to pulsate randomly, never stopping in one place for too long before it moved over towards a different section of his Light.

It hurt.

But he had held it for so long, that a little bit more of the damning evil wouldn't kill him. Yet, anyway.

What he really needed was to get up, escape from whatever place he was being held in, it wasn't death, the Hunter knew that much, but it certainly felt like a prison after being inside the void for whoever knows how long.

Suddenly, the void was replaced by a shimmering field of wavering water, the shifting between complete darkness and a sudden moving image had floored the Guardian, causing his addled mind to fall short and his "mouth" to flop open in surprise.

The image pulsated and morphed, never stopping in one spot until the liquid started to fall, shifting into a shape that brought many emotions to his mind, the leading one being a very unsteady flow of anger.

The liquid gathered together and formed the image of a certain Vex lady, whose smiling face quickly morphed into a frown when the Hunter she was visiting summoned Thorn from his mindscape and shot her still forming head off.

"That was quite rude" She grumbled as the Guardian continued to shoot the poisonous spikes into her body, realizing that the head was not a prime target anymore, although no weapon he summoned would really hurt her, it was still a rather large annoyance.

"Don't."

Bang

"Care."

Bang

"Gotta."

Bang

"Relieve."

Bang

"Stress."

Bang

"Somehow…"

Bang

"Are you done?" Vex lady asked as another spike drove itself into her chest, where several of them were quickly being disintegrated as their casters will stopped influencing them, that didn't stop the ones he was shooting from hitting her however.

"Gimme a second" He mumbled, before an Iron Gallahorn appeared in his grip, and suddenly the Vex lady had a very concerned frown on her face.

"I would like to inform you that hitting me with that would not be very wi-"

He hit her with it.

As the quality destruction of the Gallahorn did its work, Aiden willed a sunchair onto the ground and a pair of glasses upon his head, only giving a small sigh as he laid back and watched a very upset Vex lady try and reform herself into a semi decent image.

And boy was she upset.

Her body was pulsating at random intervals, and the area around her was beginning to steam with pent up energy, the Gallahorn round having did much more to her then she would have assumed, but even Oryx hadn't given the Gallahorn its respect until it opened up a large hole in his chest.

That reminded Aiden that he should really work on rebuilding his Iron Gally.

But when Vex lady summoned a very large metal foot above him, his thinking was quickly slowed as he saw her smirking face.

"Now I know what you're thinking." He said with a neutral voice, doing his best not to upset the God like being in front of him, who only raised her liquidy brow as she gazed at him with an insane amount of intensity

"Do I squish this helpless Guardian with a giant metal foot? Or do I forgive him for shooting me in the face with a small nuke?" He questioned, looking at the construct in some worry.

Her brow only inched its way up, and the foot seemed to waiver between hesitance and killing intent, but he was still alive, so that was cool.

"Now the answer might surprise you…" And while Aiden was very happy to give out the answer, Vex lady found it more important to squish him into a very red paste, which caused a lot more pain than it had any reason to.

"My everything…." Aiden whispered as his head took shape once again.

"That is why you don't shoot guests, especially ones who saved you from being consumed by your immortal enemy."

"You are like, a massive dick." She gave him a weird look.

"Like seriously, only Oryx was this much of a dick, and he was only that way to overcompensate for his tiny feet."

And, surprisingly enough, she laughed, it was low and humorless, but Aiden still gave a small mental cheer in pride.

"It has been so long since anyone has insulted me, I would wonder as to why you are so suicidal, but you Guardians fail to ever make sense, even those of you who are claimed to be intelligent." She said bemusedly, her tone was back to playful now, which was good, as Aiden did not feel like being squished by a giant friggin foot again.

"Why waste your life sucking up when you could die the next day and nobody would care? Why give respect to those who believe your some emotionless golem? Didn't make sense to me or Stitch, Vex lady." Aiden said quietly, his eyes locking with the woman across from him as several scenes of Stitch and himself fighting for the civilians of the Last City bloomed into being, each one depicting just how much the people feared them, how much they resented them.

Vex lady was quiet now, her gaze going somewhat unfocused as the Guardian showed her many of his life moments, even though she had already seen most of them.

Suddenly, she spoke, her voice was hesitant and somewhat afraid, as though she was committing a sin.

"Velandra…" She said in a whisper, watching the Guardians head jerk upward for a moment. "My name is Velandra."

Aiden opened his mouth for a moment, the playful attitude had all but disappeared, Velandra had never mentioned her name before, and he had not asked, it had seemed a bit taboo to ask of such a thing from a God, for whatever reason.

He closed his agape mouth, and he only gave a sigh, before he willed himself beside the woman and set a hesitant hand on her shoulder, careful to give her a reassuring squeeze when she tensed up at his touch.

"You always seem to be carrying this weight around, Velandra, I can see it with the way you move and talk, you can't live like that though, trust me, I learned a long time ago that living with that weight will only hurt you."

She sighed, before her head fell on the Guardians shoulder with little fanfare, his arm had to be repositioned to her back, but she seemed comfortable enough with it, so he let it slide and gave her the time she needed.

"Life is not the same for me as it is for you, Aiden. My people respect power and force, showing weakness, showing you care? it will sooner kill you then help you." She explained quietly as she simply laid there, eyes closed and breath even.

"That blows then" he said simply, shrugging his good shoulder as the newly coined Velandra gave a snort, this one actually filled with some semblance of emotion.

"It blows indeed Aiden, truthfully, you are the only person to ever speak to me like this in my terribly long life, even your kind, you Guardians were too terrified to ever show disrespect, and my people… well, they did not care for what I thought of their actions." She explained lowly, her voice getting somewhat heated near the end when her people were mentioned.

Aiden blinked at Velandra when she mentioned her people, as far as he was concerned, Vex didn't have a people, so who was she speaking of? Some hidden group that had evaded the Vanguards notice until now? Aiden shook those thoughts off quickly, he had bigger problems to think on.

"What happened to me in that cave?" Aiden inquired, blankly looking around the void they were in as he tried to ignore Velandra tensing next to him.

"That… was no mere cave Aiden, you are lucky to have even been able to call me in the first place." She mumbled halfheartedly, seeming more hesitant now then Aiden had ever seen her.

"Can you tell me what it is then? If I ever come into contact with it again, knowledge would be helpful." The question came off far more hesitant than Aiden wanted, but he needed answers about what he found down there. About who he found down there.

Velandra sighed, before she stood with a flourish, almost making Aiden fall backwards from her sudden actions, but he caught himself before that, giving her a questioning look.

She walked into the void of his mindscape and seemed to hesitate, her figure was beginning to distort the air around her, as though she was suddenly scorching hot, the very ground beneath her seemed to heat up even, turning a brilliant shade of white instead of the endless black it had been before.

Velandra sighed, before all the heat built up into an inferno, and Aiden covered his eyes as fast as he could for when the massive wave of heat hit him.

When he uncovered his eyes, he found a sight that terrified him.

Aiden saw what the cave truly was now.

He found himself and Velandra in a large open space, miles of cave filled with large crystal like shapes that seemed to draw in any light that they could, the walls and floor were drenched in a bubbling black liquid, within it was many old and ancient figures, skeletons preserved in some sick fashion as their bones were colored black, they were almost impossible to spot if you weren't looking intently at the liquid.

But what truly scared him, what made him fear for everything in the land he found himself in was waiting in the center.

It was almost beautiful in a way, filled with Darkness and small flashes of purple, Aiden could see very easily why he had been forced into that cave, why his mind had apparently succumbed to the machinations of the entity Velandra was showing him.

It was evil given form, an abomination that had taken the life from what might have been a great intelligence, twisted it and turned it into a fierce demon, something that could end him in but an instant, it was everything he had feared for Io every time he ventured into the Darkness

It was an Ahamkara.

Aiden's mind swirled, his vision started to waiver, and Velandra gave what sounded to be a shout of concern, before his vision completely disappeared and his body hit the now cooled floor with a thump.

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Aiden's body, his true body, jerked up with a shout of pain, his arms and legs were aching, his Light was drained, and Io was in the process of cleaning his cuts before he scared the Void out of her with his sudden scream.

Was she cleaning his wounds with her tongue?

His body hurt, his head did too, and the only thing that kept him from falling down and trying to sleep was the fact that Io was next to him, looking nothing like the hazy beast he had been shown by Velandra, and before the slightly taller Ahamkara next to him could find that memory, he buried it away.

"Aiden!" Io shouted, her voice carrying concern, relief, and strangely enough, rage.

"Io… please keep it down, my head is killing me." He responded quietly, achingly rubbing at his aforementioned head when a rather vicious pulse of pain hit him.

Io's reptilian face only twisted into a frown, her eyes promising a swift fury for a deed that Aiden could not honestly determine, and with a swish of her tail, she walked off towards a small camp behind two massive boulders, the night sky was in full view and the stars were shinning in the sky, the scene was completed with some discarded bags, a glorious view, and three sets of familiar eyes watching him.

Stitch was there too, so that was a thing.

While Brom, Eragon, And Saphira watched him like hawks, Stitch made his appearance in Aiden's mind again, going deep into his memory and finding what had been hidden from Io, and all that Velandra had said.

Stitch was silent as Aiden slowly got up and tried to stand, he knew his Guardian had been through something terrible, but everything that his Hunter had seen was on a different level from anything that was expected, it almost hurt to even see what that place truly was.

Finally, Aiden made it over to the others, where a very cold looking stew was sitting in the dark, with no fire, which was the height of folly, unless his friends were being chased by something.

"Friends?" Stitch asked in surprise, his emotions coming in quite clearly to Aiden, surprise, confusion, and a small bit of happiness.

"Yes, friends, and I think it's time that I told them a few things…" Aiden said lowly, his voice was calm and collected, but even he could not hide the massive hesitance he found himself feeling when the thought of revealing what he truly was came to mind.

"Aiden, you might want to wait a bit, while you were out, a lot happened, and the Ra'zac might be hunting us." Stitch said hurriedly, his voice careful and low to not disrupt his Guardians sudden eating, who was draining the soup Eragon had put out for him with gusto.

"What did you guys get into? Geez man, I leave for a few days and you manage to blow everything up." Aiden complained as the cold soup finally hit his stomach, leaving his belly filled and his body somewhat content with the offering, even if it was cold as Coldheart.

Io smacked him with her tail, which now held a lot more spikes then last time, and instead of coming up to his hip, she was now at height with his food filled stomach, and her wings had also grown by a huge amount.

He ignored the feeling of pride he felt when he saw her, and instead looked directly at Brom, who was also starring back with an unreadable expression.

"What happened while I was gone?" Aiden asked.

And he was told.

They had all escaped from Teirm and made good time to the supposed location of the Ra'zac, the decrepit and old home of evil religion called Dras-Leona, a tangled mess of buildings that supported slavery, cannibalism, sacrifice, and other such evil things.

Aiden hated it immediately.

Before they had went into the city however, Aiden had appeared before Io in a flash of light, blinding them until they could see just what had happened to his body, and from what Brom had said, it was not pretty.

Multiple cuts and bruises, a strange black liquid coating many of his objects, and his sword Quickfang cut in two from what appeared to be heavy force that neither Aiden or Stitch could explain, not to mention what had happened to his very essence.

After some vague story about how Eragon had escaped the Ra'zac and their spies, they fled the city and ended up here, where they got to the point of telling Aiden about their struggles, and then that was it.

Aiden simply sat back and sighed, while fighting the Ra'zac would have happened sooner or later, he wished to have been there to at least help the poor boy hold them off, from the way Eragon had described it, he had barely escaped with his life.

The Guardian sighed, simply sitting in silence as he contemplated all the had happened, finding the cave, running for his life, and finding the small ball that held within it a soul, one that must have spent years being tortured. Aiden reached into his pocket and pulled out the tiny fist sized stone, its Light was dimmer then before, but Aiden could feel the joy it was radiating, it was free for the first time in what could have possibly been hundreds of years, and it deserved to be happy. He smiled, more for Io to see than anything else, he was long past feeling any kind of happiness while thoughts of the Ahamkara plagued his mind.

It had been massive, reaching the top of the cave with ease, its form had been a mixture or faded grey and dark purple, and while it could have been mistaken for a dragon of the strange land they were in, Aiden felt a presence emanating from the beast that not even Oryx could hope to match, malice, anger, resentment, fear, and so many other dark emotions that it was no wonder the Darkness had found it so easy to infest the Ahamkara. Io did not need to see what might well be the last of her kind, especially considering just how much evil intentions the thing gave off just by existing, Aiden would avoid telling her for as long as he dared.

"What happened to you Aiden?"

Said Guardian sighed and shook his head, he turned to stare at Io, and she did the same, never once taking her glittering eyes away from him, as though he would disappear.

"You don't want to know Io, trust me when I say its better off being buried." He severely hopped she would see his despair, that she would understand just how much talking about this would hurt both of them. She did see it, how pained this topic would make them both, but she pushed on, she needed to know.

"Will I have to bury you with it?" Io said, her tone dead and her eyes still.

Aiden's head jerked to her, catching the attention of Brom, Eragon, and Saphira, but he was only focused on her, and the pure nothingness that flew from her side of the Link.

"Will I have to watch my Hunter take on the burden of the world again? Will I have to watch him hold up the whole of humanity and cry as everyone uses him? Will I have to watch as he slowly fades away because people refuse to treat him like a human instead of a weapon? Will I lose my best friend because he won't tell me why he hurts so much? why he keeps his darkest secrets away from the person who bet her whole life on him!? WILL I!?

Aiden and Stitch stopped, they both were shocked at the raw emotion on her face, the fear, and especially the self loathing, her eyes were filled with unshed tears and her chest was heaving, she was trying her hardest to not cry, to stand firm.

She felt as though she wasn't important to them.

Aiden lunged at her and fiercely held her, picking up a few dozen pounds of dragon and sending all the thoughts of peace and happiness he could at her, showing her so many memories and feelings, showing her exactly how much she meant to Stitch and himself.

She was crying now, her tears covering large portions of the Guardians clothes with salty liquid, but he held her all the same, he had not meant for this to happen, for her to feel this way for so long, but he wouldn't let her fall into the dark, he would give her what she deserved.

Starting with the truth.

Aiden gave Stitch a mental nod, and he waited patiently as he unlocked a specific set of memories, ones that had been blocked from Io for a long time.

He let her see.

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Aiden stood warily, his armor was scorched, his body was filled with bullets and sharp objects, and his Light was gone, nothing but a small ember keeping him from the world of unconsciousness, he could hardly stand, much less hold the hand cannon in his palm, but he stepped forward on wobbly legs anyway, he needed to finish this. The Traveler hung above him, glowing in an aura of Light, the casing that covered it was gone, obliterated with a power Aiden had not seen before, it had been magnificent.

He continued past the shell shocked Cabal, not one bothering to acknowledge the Hunter, they only stood transfixed on the broken god before them, for the first time, it seemed like they understood the magnitude of what they had captured.

His legs failed him halfway up the ramp, and Thorn fell from his grasp and landed with a dull thud on the red Cabal metal, he was hunched over and his energy was nearly spent, but he needed to go, he needed to get to the Traveler. He was crawling, trying his hardest even as Stitch told him to stop, that he had saved the City, that everything was okay.

Not until he got to the Traveler.

A small bone dropped from his hand, clutched so hard the armor around it was dented, and Aiden swore, scrambling to retrieve it, to get her back.

A hand reached out and grabbed it instead.

Aiden jerked upwards, grabbing dully at Thorn even though he knew very well he could not fight like this, and once his sights landed on the offensive hand, he saw a very familiar arm attached to it.

"Need a hand Guardian?" Cayde 6 asked nonchalantly, his arm was back, his Light was back, and he held her in his hand, either unaware or uncaring of just how much he held in his palm.

"Give her back…" He whispered, his voice ill prepared for anything else.

Cayde rolled his eyes, before he held his hand out for Aiden to grab, and after a moment's hesitation, the downed Hunter did, and Cayde held him up the best he could, but the younger Hunter was trying his best to make the arrangement as hard as possible for the Vanguard leader.

Aiden ignored whatever snarky comment he would have come up with, he was only focused on one thing now.

She wouldn't die like this.

He forcibly grabbed the fragment from Cayde's hand, and with a shove that felt like moving a mountain, Aiden pushed his former leader away and started limping up to the aura of power the Traveler was exuding, and a small part of Aiden's mind noticed that the Traveler appeared to be… alive.

"Io… I'm coming."

Cayde was no longer with him, and Aiden was fine with that, because his goal was right in front on him, and with a quivering hand and an anxious soul, he touched the being that made everything he was possible, the one thing in all of the universe that Aiden respected more than anything.

When his hand met the warm metal shell of the Traveler, a pulse of warmth spread all across his body, spreading from his head to his toes and bringing with it a sense of peace Aiden had never felt before, it was a feeling that only two people had ever given him, but one was missing.

He extended his mind towards the Traveler, hoping, praying, begging that it would hear him, that for one time in his retched existence, the Traveler could give him something for everything he had sacrificed, something that would tell him all of his pain meant something, that he wasn't just fighting for an ungrateful god.

That Io wasn't gone for nothing.

Aiden gasped as soon as his mind comprehended what he was seeing, the Traveler was a massive construct, but what he was feeling was not a machine nor a creature, what he was seeing and feeling was a pure and unmatched being, something so immense that not even Stitch could comprehend exactly what the two of them were feeling.

The Traveler was awake, and it, no… She had her eyes on them.

"Hello Aiden."

His mind was fuzzy, unable to comprehend what he was seeing, the power he was feeling, any of it, so he fell to his knees instead, the simple act brining pain racing up his spine.

The Traveler was speaking to him.

"Most guests are star struck, although you appear to be a little shell shocked as well? Too much Light usage I believe?" The Traveler shrugged, it did not have any visible form, but Aiden got the distinct feeling it had shrugged.

"Io…" Aiden mumbled, trying his hardest to stay awake, he needed to stay up, for just a bit longer.

The Traveler seemed confused, before she waved her hand and Aiden felt a small pressure in his mind, a feeling of warmth spread across him, almost lulling his nearly ruined mind towards unconsciousness, but Stitch reminded him quickly why he was here, why he needed to stay up.

He held up the small fragment of bone towards the Traveler, his arm was shaking and it was a wonder he had even managed that, but while his strength was immense, it failed him soon after, and the bone clattered noisily to the floor.

Aiden fell forward, landing on his hands as his breath hitched, he couldn't stand it anymore.

"Bring her back…" He whispered, his voice was scratchy and choked, emotion and adrenaline the only thing keeping him from crashing right there, yet still the Traveler stood there, not offering anything but a distinct feeling of curiousness for the downed Hunter.

He waited, and when he found no noises being made, he looked up.

The Traveler was not focusing on him, wasn't even using a small percent of her massive consciousness to pay attention to him, she was only staring at the City, at the home she let be destroyed, at all the lives she had let perish.

A growl came unbidden from his throat, and Aiden barely had time to think before Thorn was aimed at her, and the indistinct figure suddenly had a massive metal spike inside of her cranium.

She only twisted her head sharply to meet his gaze, and she only found rage in his eyes.

"BRING HER BACK!" He shouted, doing everything he could to keep Thorn held steadily, appearing weak now would not help her, it would not bring his friend back.

She only smiled, her face was no longer sporting a spike, but Aiden did not care, that smile told him everything he needed to know.

The Traveler didn't give a damn.

"You have no need for the dragon Aiden, she is only a tool, something that was needed for you to advance in this world, and now that she is gone, you can finally unlock your true potential." She smiled once again at seeing his horror filled face, before she continued. "I am truly sorry for your loss, but as long as she is there to bind your power, you cannot be the defender you were destined to be, and I cannot allow someone like you to lose the very thing that makes you special."

Aiden dropped Thorn, Stitch didn't even bother making a comment, because they both felt the same thing.

Heart wrenching pain.

The Traveler left him to his grief, all too happy to walk away and fix all the problems her slumber had caused, she ignored everything behind her, the rage, the pain, and the spark of power that she had caused to ignite into a burning flame.

Only when she felt an intense flash of heat behind her did she finally look and see what had happened.

Aiden stood there, his armor was the same, his weapon was the same, but instead of a weak flicker of Light inside his chest, pure Arc energy was covering every inch of his body, his normally calm and joking attitude replaced with cold hard anger.

He growled, and before the Traveler knew what to do, the Guardian was in front of her with a terrifyingly massive staff.

"BRING HER BACK!" He yelled, the fury in his words alone was enough to shake the mental landscape she had put up, and if she had not been experienced with overpowering foes, the Traveler might have felt a hint of fear at the beast she had created.

Instead, a barrier of pure Light sprung up between them, blocking off the fierce power that Aiden had summoned, and giving her a moment of respite.

"I cannot Aiden, my power is too weak, I am not as strong as I used to be, think boy! Only one thing can save her now, and it is not me." She reasoned loudly, insuring he would hear her over the deafening shouts of rage, she was slightly fearful now, the power he was using would destroy him If he was not careful, and she could see no way out of the situation except for a compromise.

"How?" Aiden asked, his tone was unpleasant, but he was not attacking the Travelers barrier anymore, and that was enough for a moment of peace.

"You are strong, stronger than any other I have gifted with the Light, but the power you wield now does not come from me, it is the power inside you, and if you were to give up some of this energy, if you were to give up a piece of your very soul. Then it is possible for your Ahamkara to be brought back."

Aiden halted himself, the energy around him was unbelievably strong, giving both Guardian and Ghost tremors with just how much energy they were pouring out, and while it was a distant feeling, it was bringing him pain to use this strange power, but he discarded it, he had higher priorities.

"How do I do it?" He growled, he had no power in this situation, but he was doing everything he could to make it seem like he did in fact have the ability to smite the being that he had spent years mindlessly defending.

"It is a painful method, you will lose something of yourself that you cannot get back, and there is no telling what could fester in the hole you would make of your soul. The chance of survival is slim should anything particularly violent gain hold." She explained patiently, she was understandably concerned, but while she could potentially disarm the Guardian before her, it would weaken her already dwindled power, and she could not afford to go into hibernation again.

Aiden however, was not deterred, his voice came back once again, a growl that had the desired effect on the Traveler, a slight hesitation that was quickly covered up. "How do I do it?" He repeated, not backing down even as his body slowly began to throb with a rather peculiar soreness.

"Simply give me your friends remains, and hold on to me, I shall handle the rest."

Aiden hesitated, Stitch did as well, what they were planning could very well kill him, Stitch had a high chance of being fine, But Aiden was going to be giving up a part of himself, a part that might kill him, there was no guarantee of success.

He looked down at the bone in his hand, the only reason he had even cared enough to get this far, the only reason he had ever cared about living, one of the only beings aside from Stitch that he would give his entire being up for. He had talked about giving himself up to save either of them, and now was the time to prove it.

He made his choice.

With a gesture, Aiden clutched onto the Travelers hand, and gasped in pain when he felt a mind numbing cold spread throughout his body, moving through his veins and blood, chilling him down to his core until the feeling of cold turned into a blistering pain that slowly but surely cut into his soul.

He screamed then, it was the only thing he could do, it was not the scream of a human or Guardian, it was the scream of an animal who found itself in unspeakable pain, and the analogy matched well, because Aiden was on the ground growling and panting as energy seemed to poor out of him. Stitch could only watch in worry as his Guardian slowly lost his ethereal glow, and the radiant power surrounding him dimmed to a small glare.

Stitch felt part of his Guardian slip away into the bone he held, he watched as suddenly a new Link was born, as Aiden and his mind both connected to a familiar conscious, a conscious that had died, and for the first time since the Red War started, Stitch felt hope.

It took only a few minutes, but Aiden was down and out by the time it was over, and on his arms rested Io, her bones restored to their resting place and her mind returned, and Stitch could only marvel at how complete the restoration was, just from looking at her muddled mind he could tell she was restored, her cognitive abilities not at all hindered.

Aiden was down, his mind and body in turmoil, and Stitch felt the aftershocks hit him as well, his Guardian had given a large chunk of his soul away, and he lived.

He ignored everything else, the Traveler waved her hand and suddenly they were in the Last City, Ikora, and Zavala jerked their head sharply upon their sudden arrival, but Cayde remained unfazed, as though he expected it.

Stitch only set himself down on his Guardians head, and for the first time in eight hundred years, he fell asleep.

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Aiden sighed as Io gazed at him in a mixture of anger and sadness, both emotions whirling inside of her until she decided to just give up and hug her Hunter limply, tears spilling from her face even as she tried to hold them in.

"You couldn't remember the City's fall because you died that day, your mind had become so dependent on my Light that when it left… there was nothing left for me to save." He whispered, clutching Io like a lifeline as they both silently cried, the other members of the group wisely deciding to leave them to their moment.

"W-why do you keep protecting me?"

Aiden looked down at the crying dragon, eyes full of many emotions at once, each one almost enough to send him over the edge.

"W-why do you keep giving me s-second chances? She stuttered, head quivering as she buried herself in her Hunters cloak.

Aiden only sighed and held her tightly, before he whispered one sentence into her ear.

"Because I love you."

Io only gasped before her crying renewed, she had known it for a long time, that he loved both of them, but to hear him say it, to finally hear the person she respected, no, the person she loved say those words sent her over the edge, and she cried not in sadness, but in joy.

Aiden sighed, laying against the large boulder they were using for cover, and he simply sat and listened as Brom spoke up after Aiden gave him a nod, confirming that the moment was done, about how the Ra'zac worked best during night, and how shifts were to be taken to avoid any surprises.

Aiden gave a grunt and lifted himself up, letting Io slowly slide down against the rock as he sat himself facing towards the camp, listening as Brom made plans for who was taking what watches.

Only, Eragon was not really listening, he was standing near the edge of the camp looking out into the darkness, and Aiden almost thought he saw a brief flash of moonlight being reflected back at him, but he shook his head when he could not find any movement out in the wild.

"Aiden, DUCK!" Stitch yelled fiercely, the only warning Aiden had when he felt an overwhelming presence appear behind him, along with the small noise of air being displaced by a weapon.

He blinked towards Brom, who also had a dark shape behind him, and saved the old storyteller from a massive headache with a swipe of his newly acquired dagger which he had pulled from his boot, making the figure leap backwards with inhuman speed

That did not stop Eragon however, and Saphira was well versed in showing her displeasure when he was knocked unconscious by the same shadowy figure that had almost taken down Aiden, said Guardian stopped himself from materializing Bolt caster when the cloaked person held a black dagger to Eragon's throat, the threat was so heavily implied that there was no other way to intercept it.

Move, and he dies.

So he didn't, Saphira and Io both stopped their growling as soon as the figure pulled the blade, even Brom stood stock still with a look of anger and fear in his eyes, whether or not that was because Eragon was hanging on the edge of death or because his life long goal of training a new Dragon Rider had a chance to be stopped was not something Aiden had time to think on.

Aiden felt the second figure move behind him, and when the foul smelling beast opened up his mouth and forced in some form of liquid, he did not fight back, he only glared murderously at the one holding Eragon, hoping that looks alone would simply disintegrate whoever dared to touch his friend.

Once the liquid had traveled all the way down his throat, the person behind him pulled out something large, and the last thing he was aware of before a massive metal object impacted the back of his head was Io looking on in anger and worry.

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Saphira's massive heart was pumping and throbbing, feeling as though the weight of the world had suddenly dropped on her shoulders, her eyes were frantically looking between Aiden, Brom, and Eragon, as soon as the male members of the group went down, all hope of saving them became very low, especially since the foul smelling monsters had tied up her wings and claws, making escape without injuring any of her companions near impossible.

Saphira's tried to calm herself, Io was also being restricted, and the Night-Walker-Ra'zac where binding Aiden up, the one human she could say with certainty would be able to rescue them from this situation.

She did not doubt Brom or his skills, but when it came to Aiden, Saphira had always thought that Brom could not fend off the Young Wolf, even in the old storytellers prime, the young warrior always seemed to know what to do in any situation, and his connection to his partner was simply astounding, although it somewhat irked her that Io and Aiden had somehow had a much stronger bond then her or Eragon, but right now, she would do anything to see the small dragon next to her smile fondly with memories of something her Rider had said.

The foul smelling Ra'zac caressed her snout and she shivered, trying her hardest to avoid snapping at the creature that held her fate in its terribly wrinkled claws, she needed to be smart now, Aiden or Brom were not awake to stop the monsters from hurting her Rider, and Io would suffer just as much if she made a wrong move.

So Saphira waited, hoping that some kind of miracle could pull them from the edge, because she could see no solution to the grave danger they were currently in.

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Waking up from unconsciousness twice in the span of a day was not fun, waking up to find you were bound and your armor was missing was somewhat crappy. Waking up to find that someone had tied up your favorite dragons and was currently threatening two of your friends? That was not going to fly.

With his limited movement or speaking options, Aiden assumed he was bound and gagged, and the cold feeling of metal on his wrists and dirty cloth in his mouth only confirmed that he was in a less than favorable situation.

Aiden silenced himself quickly, returning his breathing to what it was while sleeping as Stitch sent several light speed thoughts and images into his mind, giving his Guardian a rough idea of all the shenanigans that the revealed Ra'zac had done.

The Ra'zac were distracted, busy making very thinly veiled threats against 'the old one' which were not appreciated, while Eragon was being held very close to a knifes edge, Saphira and Io were both growling lowly as the second Ra'zac examined them, its black eyes glinting much more maliciously when they landed on the younger dragon.

Both dragons and Eragon were silenced as well, Saphira and Io with expertly made snout covers, they looked to be specifically made to hold large and dangerous animals mouth closed, and Eragon was simply tied with a few ropes and a cloth inside his mouth.

"They know I'm the real threat." Aiden sent to Stitch, wincing internally at the feeling of discomfort he felt when trying to mentally communicate.

One of the Ra'zac with a slightly scarred nose was walking towards Aiden now, its dagger was held in a threatening manner, yet Aiden did not care, the thing seemed to know he was awake and playing dead was not a solution to the problems they were facing now, so he opened his eyes and steeled his expression, betraying none of the rage and slight fear he was feeling.

The thing came within inches of his face, its breath causing the Guardians eyes to blink slowly while the rancid smell hit his nose, the odor was almost as strong as a full grown Captain after weeks of death, and Aiden gave a small smile when he made the comparison of how similar the feeling of driving a knife into a Captain would be compared to a Ra'zac.

Said Ra'zac did now take well the humor it could not see, so Aiden received a swift kick in the stomach that made a loud crack.

Aiden's breath hitched for a moment as Stitch quietly examined the wound from his sanctum inside the Inventory, and it did not sound good.

"Three cracked ribs, punctured lung, and heavily bruised stomach area, that thing packs a punch." Stitch replied angrily, his tone was enough for Aiden to try and somewhat cover up the pain his chest was in, he had experience blocking out mind numbing pain.

The Ra'zac seemed only more displeased with the downed Guardians lack of a response, but before it could make the injuries fatal for him, the second Ra'zac intervened and stopped its companion, although with the way it was speaking Aiden couldn't very well hear the exact words.

They left the Hunter be and instead went over towards Brom, who was starting to join them all in the world on consciousness, and the Ra'zac looked to be marching toward him with less than pleasant intentions.

His struggles became frantic when the two beasts pulled a knife, Brom was waking up now with the commotion, and Saphira and Io were doing their best to rouse him further, shaking and thumping their bodies against the ground, even Aiden was frantically pulling at whatever Light might have been inside him, but he couldn't reach it, the liquid they fed him and the constant overuse of his powers made it so forcing through to grab it might well be fatal.

Aiden pulled at the binds on his arm with everything he had, ignoring the stinging pain of his skin being torn by the metal binds, he needed to get up now, but the damn cuffs wouldn't let him.

"Brom! Get the hell up you old fool!" Aiden shouted desperately in his mind, the words not even going beyond his head before dizziness swallowed him, talking with someone who wasn't Linked to him hurt with the damn poison inside, but he had no choice.

With all the shaking he was doing, Aiden somewhat managed to get the cloth out of his mouth, which was the exact opportunity that he needed to shout.

"Brom! Get up now! Stop taking a nap AND GET UP!"

Brom's eyes jerked open for a moment, hazed and confused, but he saw the dagger well enough, and he did his best to move out of the way, but Aiden knew deep down what would happen, the knife was to close and the Ra'zac far too fast for him to avoid it.

Everything slowed for Aiden as he watched that knife plunge towards the old man's chest, all other thoughts drowned out, and when it came close enough to pierce his chest, Aiden closed his eyes as a brilliant light exploded across the clearing.

Aiden blanched, his vision obscured by the brilliant Light, the Razac were no better, hissing and clawing as they made motions to scatter into the night, Aiden could not see, but he felt the footsteps carelessly stepping towards him, and he shivered when a very familiar voice sounded from above.

"Looks like I found you, yah had to make it difficult, didn't you?" She said, voice smug.

Aiden simply sighed as his vision slowly cleared and he found himself staring at a very unappreciated sight, specifically, a certain Shade that was somehow even more evil looking while the moonlight illuminated her pale skin and blood red eyes.

"Well fuck."

WOOOOOOO! AUTHORS NOTES!

Hey guys! Guess which story happened to get 500 followers?

Not mine, but I did get 105 recently, so that's awesome. But seriously! Thank you guys for supporting this wacky inflatable arm flailing story, because whooo all the love makes me feel good. This chapter amps up the feels and suspense to 11, like, I was originally going to have Aiden whisper "Because you would do the same" into Io's ear, but then I watched Pokémon the movie, I choose you! And had a massive emotion trip. Ps. Holy hell was that movie amazing.

Although more reviews and likes would be awesome too. Anyway, let's get on with our regularly scheduled comment reading.

An Anonymoose: I usually only like those kinds of stories if they add some form of consequence for the MC and their actions, like if they go all Super Saiyan and blow up a planet that they are severely punished for their OP bull. That kinda thing.

ArchAngel319: I'm honestly not even sure how I'm doing what I'm doing, I usually just write what feels good and check for errors once I'm done, aside from some high school crap, I have not ever written anything like this, I'm glad you enjoy my mediocreness!

Hollydoor: Yea, Aiden's a real softy once you get past his severe PTSD and emotional baggage. And thanks for the compliment! I honestly don't know if my writing skills are that good, but its nice hearing praise for something I put my heart into.

Potato man the semi omnipotent: That is actually pretty close to the main thing, except instead of the cave doing it, it's a fifty/hundred foot tall/wide dragon that can probably destroy a planet if it wanted. (Still not sure how big I should make this sucker)

SethisawesomeGT: Only figuratively? That's not good enough! You shall be so far on the edge of your seat you might as well be off the seat! So say I weird author guy! (Glad you enjoyed the chapter)

D3rpman1015: Listen, I have no knowledge of said Red vs Blue reference, and if anyone questions the legality of said reference, know that I have no lawyer, but I am very good at arguing at people.

B.C Imperator: thank you for the care of Io, she really needs it. And trust me, I love typing this story, especially when I get the awesome power trip that comes with having the fate of an entire world in your hand! And just a friendly foreshadowing. This is not the end of scary or gruesome, I'm gonna make this story totally unsafe for younger audiences!

Guest: Velandra (Vex lady) has her moments. And Io may or may not differ from Inheritance cycle dragons, but that's not for me to say.

PS! Longest chapter in the whole diddly darn story! LIKE AND REVIEW FOR MORE EPIC CONTENT!