Message from the authors: Eltyr: Hey, we're back! Sorry to keep you guys waiting; have another extra-large chapter. This chapter explores a little idea Colette had about the whole "the Darkness devoured you" thing. Now this isn't what really happens in the game, but I thought Colette had a cool idea, so we made a little story arc to explore it. Hope you guys enjoy, and please tell us what you think in the reviews! I'll be happy to pass along any messages you guys have for Colette, and flaming will be ignored as per standard protocol.

Ch10

"Luden chill." Ocena said with a heavy sigh.

*"This isn't a good idea…"*

"Look, I want to be able to fight on my own. Thane, Victor and Atom can't always be with me. Besides, we're just looking for spin metal, sapphire wire, plasteel plating and hadronic essence. You know, the stuff Avi told me about."

*"...Ocena you can't even use some of that stuff."*

"I know, but I can give what I can't use to my friends, you know." Luden didn't reply. Ocena had only gone on three scavenging missions so far with Avi, and now she was out on her own. Thankfully the Fallen in this area weren't too strong (they were only level two to three to Ocena's five), but Luden still didn't like her out on her own.

"Out on your own, young Guardian?" A chilling eerie voice inquired.

Ocena jumped and turned around. A Hunter… but he looked strange. There was something dark and inky spilling out from him like small wisps of smoke.

*"Ocena we need to go. Now."* Luden said nervously while hovering back a bit.

The Hunter cast a glance at Luden before looking at Ocena again.

"This is your first time on your own?"

"Yes… who are you?" She asked gripping her gun, she was getting an odd feeling from the man.

"... No one has ever asked me that before, they often turn and run or attack me."

Ocena frowned. "Why is that?"

"From what I recall, Fallen got me pretty good, didn't have anyone with me and I fell… woke up during the night. I wasn't sure what happened until I found some water and saw my reflection; Darkness has consumed me. It's sad really and I have no idea if this can be fixed."

Ocena gave the Hunter a look of sympathy. "You can't go back to the Tower, since you'd get killed… what happened to your Ghost?"

"No idea." He looked beyond Ocena and started to step back. "I'd best be on my way now; may the Traveler watch over you."

Then he was gone. Ocena heard footsteps behind her and saw a few Guardians she knew coming over. Ever since Ocena's fight with the Archon lots of Guardians had been coming to the Cosmodrome. They were still forbidden to leave earth except on Crucible business, but most of them didn't seem to mind: Ocena was starting to realize how cooped up they must have felt before she came along. She turned back to the shadows, but the strange Hunter had vanished; she thought she'd be used to this by now since Thane did it so often. Ocena wondered how often Guardians ended up consumed by Darkness and wondered if there was anything she could do. If dead Ghosts could be revived, did that mean that something could be done about defeated Guardians as well?

"Hey Thane?" Ocena asked once she was alone with the man. "I… met someone today while I was out." Ocena quickly explained what happened.

Thane stiffened. "You found what?" His voice was even quieter than usual. "Atmaven protect us. We should tell the Speaker at once: Guardians whom have had their Light devoured by the Darkness seldom pass through such an ordeal unscathed. There will be damage to be sure, both physical and mental, but it is possible for us to save him, provided we are able to reach him in time to purge the Darkness before it takes a hold of him." Thane seemed to shiver, and absent-mindedly ran a hand along the red hand-canon clipped to his side.

Ocena's eyes lit up. "He can be saved? I think he'd be glad to know that… but I don't know how we'd find him again."

Thane smiled knowingly. "It is fortunate for our fallen brother that I am a Hunter: even though my fellow Hunters are notoriously skilled at moving through the wild without leaving traces, I am confident that with the aid of a few of my colleagues, I will be able to track him down if you lead us to where you saw him last. But we must alert the Speaker before we do anything else: only he knows how to prepare infusions of Light with which to purge any taint that the Darkness may have left. I only pray that it is not too late to treat him…"

"I hope we can treat him to. Hey, Luden?"

The Ghost popped up. *"Yes?"*

"Send Avi a message. I'm going with Thane to look for someone and can't meet her now. And please make sure Natalie and Shiry don't find out."

*"Got it."*

Before either Hunter or Warlock could speak Luden did. *"Um… Avi was listening in: she wants to come along."*

"Oh… uh…" Ocena looked at Thane unsure. "Well since she's a Hunter Avi could help. This okay with you Thane?" She asked.

"I have no objections," Thane replied. "Ask her to meet us in the north tower near the Speaker's observatory. We need to inform him of our plans and get his blessing to pursue our current course, otherwise we will be unable to cleanse our comrade when we do finally find him."

Avi arrived while Thane and Ocena were talking to the Speaker. She waited a little ways back and listened in on their conversation the way she often did.

"It is rare that a Guardian survives the permanent defeat of having their Light devoured," the Speaker said gravely. "Many believe that dying in the process would be a far kinder fate. But he was aware of himself to the point where he spoke to you, wondered how you were fairing. This is an encouraging sign: though his Light as a Guardian is gone the Darkness has yet to take root within him." Ocena smiled in relief at hearing this. "However," the Speaker went on, "this cannot last. The few instances we have on record in which a fallen Guardian survived having their Light devoured suggest that in time such a Guardian may grow envious of Guardians who still bear the Traveler's Light. Given the opportunity and enough time, this can eventually transform into bitter resentment and outright hatred, at which point the Darkness will take hold, and we will have a monster on our hands."

The Speaker turned to his work desk and began to manipulate a complex array of exotic looking equipment. Eventually it produced a tiny sphere the size of a golf ball that shone with a warm golden light. The Speaker held it gently in his hands and brought it over to Ocena. "Young Guardian, this is an infusion of the Traveler's Light. It is made from a small mote of Light that senior Guardians generate naturally over the course of performing great labors in the pursuit of their duties. In this refined state it can sever any connection to the Darkness and cleanse the body of any taint that has already set in. Find our lost brother in the Cosmodrome and administer this to his body." A sad and weary tone entered the Speaker's voice. "I am afraid that while this will spare him the fate of being a pawn of the Darkness, there is no-way that he will ever be a Guardian again."

Ocena held the infusion in her hands for a moment before Luden stored it away. "There's nothing we can do to give him his Light back? What if another Ghost bonded to him?"

"There has never been such an occurrence in the history of our order," the Speaker answered. "Once a Ghost has chosen a Guardian it is impossible for another Ghost to bind itself to that Guardian." He trailed off at Ocena's downcast expression. "However… this would also be the first time that a Guardian who, having lost his Light, managed to return to the Tower." An unseen hopeful smile spread behind the mask he wore. "Can a Ghost bind itself to a Guardian who has lost his Light? Can an emptied vessel of the Traveler's will be re-filled? I do not know young Guardian, but perhaps if you are successful, we will find out."

Ocena smiled softly. "We'll try to find him then. Thank you." She turned to Thane and Avi.

"Shall we go?"

Avi nodded. "Yes," Thane said. "Let us be off."

About half an hour later they touched down in the Cosmodrome, and Ocena immediately lead Thane and Ocena to the area where she had seen the fallen Guardian. However before they got moving Thane crouched down on one knee, bowed his head and clasped his hands together. Ocena and Avi could hear him speaking softly.

"Atmaven, lord of thieves, I offer unto you the lives of my foes and that of the enemies of the Traveler. In return I ask that you consider the life of our fallen brother as an even trade. I do not presume to bribe you. I do not presume to know the worth you place on the lives I barter with. I do not presume to cheat you, but I do presume to offer a bargain. Almarach Ish-Tan. Farem."

"... I didn't know you had faith in that area." Avi said softly. It wasn't a surprise that she didn't as she never hung around anyone, even other Hunters.

"There are those who believe that our Traveler is itself a god," Thane said. "Civilian or Guardian, it is easy to see why. I myself view the Traveler as an entity with godlike qualities, but the faith that my order believes in teaches us that gods never allow their presence to be directly known to mortals. Supposedly this is because they wish to allow mortals to have a choice to believe in them or not, and so they work in more secret ways."

Ocena smiled at that. "That makes sense. I like that idea of gods letting people choose to believe or not. So do you think that your gods sent the Traveler here?"

"Yes," Thane replied immediately. "Unfortunately, I also believe that some of the gods do not have the best interests of mortals at heart, thus our war with the Darkness."

"...So why were you praying to the god of thieves?" Avi asked. "Wouldn't you be better off praying to a god of tracking or hunting?"

"Perhaps," Thane conceded with a nod. "However Kulcubath, lady of the hunt, is known to be very fickle, and she often delights in toying with mortals. Praying to her is like flipping a coin and hoping that it lands with the right side up." Thane smiled behind his mask. "Do not let lord Atmaven's title fool you: he and his brethren are the most skilled thieves in all creation, and thus they only steal one of the most valuable things in all of creation: life."

Avi went quiet for a moment. "So you were basically promising this lord of thieves that you'd kill a few dozen Fallen if he'd let us find our comrade in time?"

"In a sense, yes," Thane nodded. "Atmaven and his brethren are known as the deaths, and they are sometimes known to spare one life if they are offered something more valuable. As one of my mentors would say, 'only a fool tries to cheat death; better to offer a fair trade.'"

"Think this will help us?" Ocena asked looking into the dark area that Avi and Thane had led her to.

"I hear shifting… he must be in there." Avi looked to Thane as he stood. "He doesn't know me or you. But a fellow Hunter would reach him easiest."

Ocena took the hint and stepped back. "So are you both going in?"

"No. Just Thane." Avi sat on a rock and crossed her arms over her chest. "Thane would be better for this than me."

"Okay…" Ocena sat cross legged on the ground to wait. "Good luck and be careful."

"I will mention to him that you sent me," Thane told Ocena. "Hopefully from there I will be able to talk him into coming out. If the worst should come to pass and he becomes hostile, shoot his legs. Without the Traveler's Light he will not be able to heal quickly like a Guardian." Ocena flinched at the suggestion while Avi nodded grimly. With that Thane crouched down for a moment before vanishing from sight.

A soft step, softer than anyone else would hear, but he was a Hunter after all. Almost no one came in here… why was someone coming in now?

The fallen Hunter stayed in the shadows. Finally he saw who had come in: another Hunter… looking for him? Why? He became worried. There was a reason he didn't leave this spot a lot: he didn't want to harm any Guardians, his… 'illness' could control him, make him hurt others.

It took Thane a moment to spot his quarry: a moment that could have been used to kill him. Thane silently berated himself for slipping up and assigned himself an extra hour of prayer and meditation over the next week in penance. Reasoning that he needed to appear as nonthreatening as possible Thane holstered his Tex Mechanica hand cannon, though he kept his hand close to it and ready to quick-draw, something that was not lost on the fallen Hunter.

"Greetings, brother." Thane whispered. "May the Traveler smile upon you this day."

"Hello my brother," the fallen Hunter replied. "I am afraid it has been a long time since the Traveler did that for me." The fallen Hunter flinched as a wave of bitterness swept through him. Whispers of jealousy were clawing at the inside of his skull.

Thane felt the hairs on the back of his neck stand on end: the Light within him was warning him of the danger that the fallen Hunter posed. Darkness was beginning to take root; he needed to act quickly. "A day ago you met a young Warlock not far from here as she gathered spinmetal," Thane stated. "Upon returning to the Tower she confided what she had seen to her closest friends, and in her innocence she asked if there was any way to save you."

The fallen Hunter was silent for a moment. "We both know that there is only one way to save me…" He laid a hand on the scout rifle resting in the sling on his back.

"No." Thane's voice was still quiet, but it had the same intensity as if he had shouted. "There is another way. When the young Warlock spoke to her friend's one of them brought the matter before the Speaker. The Speaker prepared an infusion of Light and sent part of a tracking cadre to assist the Warlock in finding you." It was only a half-lie, Thane and Avi weren't officially associated with any of the specialized orders among the Hunters, but he needed the fallen one to believe that the Speaker deemed him important and that saving him was a priority. "The Speaker sent us and not the Renegade Hunters my brother. We are not here to harm you: we only wish to help you and bring you home."

Lies, hissed a voice in the back of the fallen Hunter's head. Kill them before they kill you. The fallen Hunter grit his teeth and tried to block out the whispers: they were getting stronger, stronger than they had ever been before. "I cannot go back," the Hunter grunted as he put a hand against the side of his head and tried to fight back against the pain. "I'm… I can hear it whispering in my head," he admitted. "The Darkness already has a hold of me. Please brother, you must destroy me before I become the very thing I once fought against!"

The desperation of the fallen one's pleas gave Thane pause. In a way he saw himself in the fallen one's place, struggling against the corrosive touch of the Darkness. He almost touched a finger against his hand cannon for comfort, but he quashed the impulse and forced himself to keep his tone neutral. "The infusion of Light can cleanse you of whatever taint clings to you. Please brother, let us at least try. Ocena will never forgive you if you simply give up."

The fallen one frowned in confusion. "Who? Oh," he nodded in understanding. "You mean the young one I met the other day?" Thane nodded. "She seemed different from the other Guardians somehow. When I first noticed her I became curious because she seems to carry herself differently. I have watched our fellow Guardians even before my final defeat, and something about her seemed different from the rest of us." He fell silent for a moment in thought. "I haven't been able to put my finger on what it is that makes her different. Until now at least." He looked up at Thane, and there was a small smile lurking behind his mask. "Despair, or rather, the lack of despair. Even young Guardians carry a hint of despair's shadow with them when they move. It spurs us on, makes us strive to drive away the Darkness, to undermine our foes, to do something, anything to turn this horrible nightmare we've found beyond our own deaths into something better. And then there are those of us who despair of never being whole again, of living our new lives as shattered echoes of who we once were before we became Guardians. But she is different: in her, I see no despair; only hope."

Thane smiled fondly and let his hand drop away from his weapon. "She is here now. If you wish, I can call her and ask her to come in so you can see her."

"...I-" The whispers started again and the pain returned. He held his head and tried to push back the feeling of darkness. He didn't want to hurt anyone… the whispers told him otherwise.

"Ocena what are you doing?" Avi asked from the rock she was sitting on.

"How did you know I moved? You aren't facing me and I didn't make a sound!"

"I'm a Hunter. We notice movement no matter how small. If we don't, something might sneak up on us out here in the field, and then we'd be dead. Are you going to go in there?"

"Yes… I just have a feeling I need to."

Avi looked at her for a moment before nodding. "If all hell breaks loose Thane and I have you covered."

Ocena walked into the dark area, she could feel some kind of waves… was that the Darkness? She came up a bit behind Thane and saw the other hunter. He looked to be struggling with something. She wanted to ask Thane what was happening, but suddenly it was as though someone else was speaking through her, as if the Light inside of her was resonating.

"What is your name?" She asked and heard a soft voice in her mind. 'Distract him from the Darkness… anger him, but do not make him lash out.'

He looked up. Ah, there she was… why that question? What did it matter anymore? He answered anyway. "Seth."

"It's good to meet you Seth. Now you are a Hunter, are you not?"

"Yes…"

"You really don't seem like one. The Hunters I know never give up. They are quietly and stoically stubborn, and they don't submit to any law but the law of the wild, let alone this Darkness. Yet here you are, barely fighting it and throwing in the towel. What kind of Hunter does that make you? A rather poor one I'd say. You couldn't look after your own Ghost let alone the people that Guardians keep safe!"

Seth bristled and the cave got considerably darker. Thane's hand once again gravitated towards his holstered hand cannon, and through the light spilling from the cave entrance he could faintly see Avi aiming her sniper rifle into the cave just in case. Though concerned, Thane was nevertheless filled with wonder: the words Ocena spoke were so at odds with her personality that it was as if another was speaking through her. But Ocena wasn't done.

"That said… you kept everyone safe as long as you could. You must have been heavily outnumbered to go down. After all, that armor of yours is of a quality I've only seen very skilled hunters wear. The Traveler is still with you; did you know that? After all you are still fighting the Darkness, you've been fighting it within yourself for who knows how long. The Traveler will never give up on you, especially not when you are still fighting. We came here to help you and we can, so long as you let us. Ignore the Darkness, you are a Hunter… no, you are a Guardian. You don't have to listen to its dark words."

The cave grew a little brighter. "I… can be saved?"

"The very fact that you still want to be saved is answer enough," Thane said. "You recognize the Darkness within you. You recognize that it is not something you want within you. The Speaker himself sent us because he knows you are not beyond help. And consider:" Thane trailed off and gave Seth a very meaningful look behind his mask. "You are no Dredgen Yor."

Seth grimaced at the name of the Guardian turned monster, but he saw the wisdom in Thane's words. If the stories about Yor were to be believed then he, Seth, was nowhere near as far-gone.

Ocena blinked as she felt the presence in her mind withdraw itself, like a gentle whisper that you weren't sure if you had imagined hearing it or not. "Luden?" she asked as her Ghost materialized next to her shoulder. "The infusion." Luden remained silent as he transmatted the infusion into Ocena's waiting hands.

*"If I had lungs, I'd be holding my breath,"* Luden said, hoping to ease the tension a little.

Ocena smiled a little. "Help me Thane? I'm not quite sure how to do this." Seth inched a little closer, ignoring the whispers and fighting the urge to attack. Soon enough he would be free from the darkness… all thanks to a young Guardian. Luden looked to Seth. Honestly he was very surprised by the situation… no, he had been surprised at what Ocena said. She really wasn't fearful anymore.

Thane walked up behind Seth and gently set his hands upon his shoulders. "Be still brother. The nightmare is ending." The voices were screaming at Seth not to trust him, but he stubbornly closed his ears to them, focusing instead on Ocena's words and how they made him feel like he once again housed the Traveler's Light within himself. However there were some things the voices said that confused him. When they spoke of the Hunter behind him they accused him of being a thief and a traitor, and Seth could not understand why. Somehow he sensed that Thane carried something with him; something dark, something that the taint clawing at him recognized as being like itself. Yet he sensed no Darkness attempting to creep into him. There were shadows in his heart to be sure, but all living things carried them; they were natural, unlike the Darkness that festered within him.

"Ocena, apply the infusion to his chest," Thane instructed. "The Darkness inside him will try to defend itself, and he may shake during the process. I will hold him still."

Ocena nodded and gave Seth a reassuring smile beneath her hood. She stepped up to Seth and held the infusion up to his chest. The tiny orb began to glow brighter and brighter, and she thought she could see tendrils of something black and smoky seeping out of Seth's armor as if some sort of unseen wind was trying to blow it away. Seth twitched and jerked slightly, his face set in a determined grimace as he fought to keep his body still. Then Ocena touched the infusion to his chest, and he felt both pain and relief at once and had to bite the bottom of his lip to keep from screaming. It felt like something painfully cold was being pushed out of his veins and through his skin, while something soothingly warm was being eased into him, and the warmth brought with it a feeling any Guardian would know: the presence of the Traveler's Light.

The infusion began to pass through Seth's armor and into his chest as Ocena continued to gently push it in, his body continuing to shake and spasm as Thane held him still. Now it looked like enormous plumes of smoke were billowing off of Seth's armor, black as tar and filling the air with a biting chill. Later, the three Guardians present would try to forget that the smoke seemed to be screaming.

Memories came back to Seth of his time as a Guardian: watching his fellows move about the Tower, listening to their jokes and conversations. Stalking an elusive Cabal commander on Mars for a week with a team of four and camping out under the starry Martian skies. Sinking his knife deep into the skull of a Fallen Baron from the House of Wolves. A conversation with his Ghost about the practicality of taking apart his own gear in order to modify it to better suit his needs.

Finally the infusion left Ocena's palm and entered Seth completely, the last of the Darkness seething off of him and dissipating. Seth sagged forward before Thane and Ocena caught him and held him up.

"It's gone…" Seth whispered breathlessly. "It's gone… thank the Light it's gone…" He trailed off and went silent just as Avi entered the cave.

"Seth?" Ocena asked with worry. "Are you okay? Seth!?"

"He's unconscious," Thane stated. "Trauma from the cleansing process. He'll be alright after some rest." He smiled from behind his mask. "You've done it, Ocena: you've saved him."

"I… I didn't do much though. Um should we get him back to the Tower?" Ocena wanted to talk about what came over her but only after Seth was taken care of.

"That would be for the best," Thane confirmed. "It is likely that he has eaten very little over the past few weeks, if he has eaten anything at all, and we need to have any injuries he has looked at."

"Sleeping in a bed will probably do him some good too," Avi added. "Let's get out of this cave and call our ships."

Ocena nodded and they made their way out, and set off for the Tower.