Dalia looked unsure before looking hurt 'what do you mean, you have to come back... your not seriously...'
Elsie just looked uncomfortable and she could barely look at the girl 'it's... it's complicated..' she muttered.
Dalia turned to face Anne stiffly 'and you, I'll bet your the same right?' She asked accusingly.
Anne nodded 'different reasons, but yes...'
Dalia looked upset before shaking her head 'no, I'm not losing my family' she argued 'there's no way I'm letting you leave' she looked stubborn 'explain your reasoning' she demanded.
Anne sighed 'I like the freedom' she admitted.
Dalia eyed her shackles which she still wore 'you say freedom but your still suppressed...'
'No I'm not' Anne mused, summoning her knife to prove her point 'I'm only wearing these so I can keep my head' she admitted.
Dalia looked confused 'but how... you not supposed too...' she looked to the others 'are you all that free?'
They nodded and Anne continued 'a friend of yours helped us out, a twin... one might say' she prompted.
This only confuses her until she had a realisation 'but Dali... she cant... how...' she looked to Anne 'you didn't really see Dali did you...' Anne nodded and Dalia looked shocked 'but you weren't... your not supposed to know...' she looked upset and guilty.
Anne looked thoughtful 'it's ok' she admitted 'none of us are upset, it's not your fault, and it changes nothing' she smiled and took the girls hands 'you are enough'
Dalia teared up a little 'your not upset?'
Anne shook her head 'I can go see my daughter anytime I want' she admitted 'all I need to do is look at you' she mused 'you are enough'
Dalia gave her a small smile before looking unsure 'than why don't you want to come back?'
The hunter looked uncomfortable 'you know, I've gone through this a few times now' she sighed 'frankly, the pain is a big turn off when I could just stay like this, be happy, free' she looked distant 'I want to see Dali again' she finally admitted 'it sounds backwards after what I've just said, but I know she will be beyond my reach if I turn back'
Dalia looked depressed 'I suppose that's fair' she nodded 'but you know I can talk to her right? And I can bring you with... I didn't tell you before now because I didn't want to upset you, not to mention Dalia didn't want me too...'
Anne looked uncertain 'I'll give it some thought' she promised 'but for now, I'm good to stay this way'
Dalia bit her lip before nodding and she looked to elsie 'and you, tell me why?'
Elsie played with her armour and avoided her eye looking guilty, she had barely brought her eye above floor level and she looked like she tried to speak but nothing came out before she finally turned and left the room in silence and Skye followed.
'What the hell is wrong with her?' Dalia demanded.
'She's been like this since we got back...' Varun sighed looking depressed 'I think she might be scared...'
Anne shifted her gaze to the three 'there's a few reasons, for one' she motioned to Dalia 'she can barely look at you, I'm not sure if you noticed, she was ok when you were taken but now... I think all she can think about it how she killed you' she sighed 'and she probably is scared, think of it like two sides of a coin' she looked thoughtful 'you can only see one side of the coin at once properly, so in this form, all we all know is darkness, sometimes we know some things from the light, but mostly, the light is unknowable, that could scare anyone, not everyone can just step into the unknown effortlessly'
Dalia looked a bit defeated 'but I... Dalia was never upset... I know for certain... and elsie is the bravest person I know... I just don't believe she is afraid... what could she possibly be afraid of, her family is waiting for her'
Anne nodded 'when she walks in the light she is fearless, but she is completely different in the darkness, it's like day and night, you watch her tonight, tell me if you ever see her alone, it's subtle, but both Skye and elsie are afraid' now that Dalia had recovered a bit, Anne shifted to stand 'they will come back to the light, but give it some time, if you force it, elsie in particular could become dangerous'
The twins nodded but looked a bit upset, after a moment, they shared a look 'well fine, we will just have to convince them, no matter how long it takes' they looked to Dalia 'are you coming home soon?'
Dalia looked thoughtful 'yeah' she shifted to get up with a pained groan and Anne offered her hand to help Dalia keep her balance.
'Are you right to walk?' Anne asked.
Dalia nodded 'I think so... I'm just a bit tender...' she sighed 'I'm surprised you didn't complain about this more' she admitted.
'Perhaps im the strong and silent type normally' Anne mused.
The twins led the way out of the room and they met back up with elsie and Skye who stood uncomfortably across the room. The titan was clearly upset and Skye held her gently as she murmured loving words to try and help her feel better, the two were caught up in each other so they didn't notice the twins approach and both flinched before giving the two an uneasy smile each.
On leaving, Dalia was greeted by another warlock who after a short chat, took fate off her hands so that he could be repaired and they promised that fate would fly home as soon as he was in a better condition. It was then that the group finally made their way home, although it was a bit slower than normal.
On getting home, Dalia had a shower and went straight to bed looking exhausted leaving the twins with their parents, Anne hung around for a while before ducking out without telling anyone where she was going. The twins had kept in mind what the hunter had said and now that they paid attention, there were a few things she noticed about their parents.
Elsie and Skye always stayed together, usually one held the others hand if they weren't cuddling. When separated, Skye seemed fine, but the longer they were apart, the more distracted she got, leading to some more sketchy behaviour on the warlocks part, elsie however was like a mouse. She was paranoid almost, looking around subtly for danger and flinching if someone left her for too long as if she'd forgotten she'd previously been talking, her temper was as quick as ever but the twins were very careful not to tempt it.
The mystery Anne's disappearance didn't really bother anyone because she just did what she liked, but Dalia was displeased to hear that she had left. Anne did turn up a day or so later, walking in beside fate as it turned out Anne had protectively escorted the ghost home so nothing could happen to him.
Now that everyone was home safe, the subtle efforts to convince the three to turn back to the light begun, however not for long as elsie and Anne started feeling sick as their life span seemed to reach its end phase. Anne had been subtle about it, choosing to go to her own place for a while but as Elsie got sick, Dalia went up to check on Anne to find her in her bed looking particularly pained.
Dalia had never seen this side of the taken and was immediately worried, sitting down beside her mother with shock. 'Are you ok?' Dalias asked with fear.
Anne looked up at her tiredly 'of course... I'll be fine in a day or so...' she muttered,
'What's happening to you?' Dalia looked unsure 'is this what's happening to elsie?'
The hunter looked thoughtful 'highly likely... she doesn't seem to take being taken nearly as well as Skye and I' she admitted 'she has a shorter life span it seems'
'Wait, life span? Are you dying?' Dalia repeated with horror.
Anne nodded 'I'll be gone by the end of the day hopefully' she admitted 'dust will bring me back and that's that... same with elsie' she sighed 'a side affect from our condition'
Dalia looked confused and upset 'but why?'.
Anne looked pained and uncomfortable before resting again 'our body is tainted, poisoned and our own body is killing us... our blood in particular is slowly eating away at us and eventually it breaks down our body completely and we simply can't continue living, we need a new body then and the process will start all over again' she looked to Dalia and offered her hand 'this is a good thing' she assured.
Dalia teared up 'what if we turned you back? Could we save you?'
Anne looked unsure 'I don't know, but I don't think it would make a difference' she admitted 'not by this point, my body is failing as we speak' she looked pained and clutched her chest with a weak gasp 'can you do me a favour?'
Dalia nodded weakly 'sure, how can I help?'
The hunter sat up looking pained before throwing up black sludge, she looked rough and despite the added tears, it was clear that she was bleeding more than usual from her mouth, eyes and ears, when she recovered, Anne continued weakly 'take my shackles off...' she murmured 'it will make it easier'
Dalia looked unsure but did so gently and as she took off the neck hoop, Anne immediately let out a grateful sigh 'I can put these back on later right?' Dalia asked carefully.
Anne nodded and settled weakly back into bed with a smile 'of course... I'd just rather die high then pained...' she admitted. Dalia sat with her quietly and watched over her as she got ever closer to her death and it took an hour or before Anne finally died where she lay. her body turned to misty smoke almost immediately and she faded into nothing, scaring Dalia a little bit. After a moment, Anne respawned on her back with a gasp, black mist surrounding her briefly before fading and the hunter just rested briefly before smiling and looking content.
Dalia looked uncertain but grateful so see that she looked a lot better 'feeling better?'
Anne flinched before chuckling, she'd forgotten Dalia was there 'of course' she assured playfully before getting up energetically 'I forgot how nice the light feels without being tied down' she admitted.
'Isn't too much light bad?' Dalia asked carefully.
'Yes, but for now I'm fine' she smiled cheekily, in fact, it would be fun to freak some people out...' she admitted playfully.
Dalia paled a little 'uh, mum, you probably shouldn't...' They were interrupted by a knock on the door and Dalia answered to find Ikora with some surprise 'Ikora, are you here to see mum?'
Ikora nodded and held a large book in her arms 'i was wondering if I could have some of her time?'
Anne came to door with interest 'oh, of course, you have good timing' she mused 'come in'
Dalia looked curious but resisted asking questions 'well I'll be down stairs... see you guys later..' she looked worried as she slipped past the two.
Ikora looked unsure before moving inside 'is everything ok?' Her eyes came to rest of Anne's lack of shackles 'where are your restraints?'
Anne shut the door behind her and settled on her lounge between stuffed animals 'I had Dalia take them off for me, makes it easier to revive without them, not to mention makes death more comfortable' she shrugged 'I'll have you put them back on in a bit' she mused.
Ikora looked as though she immediately had questions 'why are you dying? Is this about what you explained in the courtyard?'
Anne nodded 'exactly, I was about due for my body to collapse' she admitted 'but anyway, how can I help you?' She mused.
The vanguard sat down opposite to the hunter carefully 'well I was going to see if you minded if I was to ask some questions...' she looked a little sad 'and I wanted to make a request of you' Anne listened and nodded she the vanguard continued 'I was wondering if I could study you?' She asked carefully 'I've seen skye's study but admittedly, I'd like to ask my own questions' she sighed 'the other thing I wanted was ask if I had your permission to record the complete details of the events on io... I feel dalias story should be known and immortalised, perhaps not publicly but as a gift to you and your family'
Anne nodded before looking a bit surprised at her last request and seemed torn, a flicker of emotion resting on her features 'well the first part is easy, sure, it's not the first time I've been an experiment' she admitted 'as for Dali...' she trailed off looking unsure and finally nodded 'the story dies with me usually... so it might be nice to write it down... however I don't want this to be overly public, just for our family and at most, the vanguards'.
Ikora nodded 'of course'. The two spent the rest of the afternoon, Ikora questioning and Anne answering, when they reached dalias part of the day, an air of prideful sadness hung in the room as Ikora wrote down the hunters every shared detail. After a while, Anne had to stop as the light was getting to her but Ikora helped her put her shackles back on. When they were finished, Ikora looked quite content and she had easily filled a good portion of her book, she flicked through with satisfaction before standing 'well I suppose that's all I had to ask, thank you for being so patient with me'
Anne shrugged 'your not doing any harm, I don't mind, plus, I owe you a little anyway, I'm sure Zavala isn't happy with our continued state' she mused.
Ikora sighed 'no, if he had his way, he would force you all back to the light, but he is well aware of the drama that would cause' she smiled 'I believe you will all come back eventually'
Anne chuckled 'that's satisfying to know, well, I should probably go check on elsie... although I wonder if she will take another day yet...' she looked thoughtful before looking at Ikora curiously 'why talk to me? Aren't you interested to speak to anyone else? I'd recommend speaking to skye if you want some interesting information' she admitted.
Ikora looked unsure 'well, it would be nice to speak to both Skye and elsie, but you seem like the one who is happy with speaking, I wasn't so sure of your fireteam'
'Well skye will speak to you in a heartbeat' Anne mused 'probably not right now, but tommorow perhaps when Elsie's feeling better'
'What's wrong with elsie?' Ikora asked carefully.
'She's dying, she will be fine when she is revived, but I've noticed that she isn't taking the darkness nearly as well as Skye and myself, out of everyone, I would suggest that she go back to the light, darkness is unkind to her' Anne sighed 'you can come visit if you like'
Ikora looked unsure before nodding 'I'd like that' she admitted.
Anne led the way down to Elsie's apartment, letting herself and the vanguard in. It was quiet and Anne seeing the living room and lower areas empty, went upstairs. As she expected, that's where elsie was and at the moment it was just elsie and Skye, the kids were in the twins room chatting quietly, they greeted Anne with small smiles.
'How's things?' Anne asked gently.
Nisra looked depressed 'well we can't do anything... but Skye thinks mums gonna be unwell for another day' she admitted.
Anne leaned against the door 'it seems that darkness isn't really her friend...' she sighed 'do you think Ikora could visit?' She asked.
The three looked surpsired 'uh, well... sure, I can't see why not... as long as mums happy...' Varun nodded 'ask skye... mums kinda shutting down...'
Anne nodded and headed to Elsie's room then and knocked gently before entering. Skye looked initially defensive before relaxing
'It's just you... feeling better?'
Anne nodded 'much, I'll be fine for a week or so I think' she smiled 'but I'm getting off lucky...' she sighed looking a bit sad 'how's our favourite monster?' Currently, elsie was cuddling up to skye and sleeping but she looked uncomfortable, occasionally flinching and looking pained.
Skye bit her lip and teared up 'she's ok for the moment... it would be quicker to just end it ourselves though' she stroked a hand through the titans hair lovingly 'I just can't bring myself to do it... no one can...'
Anne looked uncomfortable 'well I suppose I can do it, but won't she get mad?'
'Well that's the other thing...' Skye muttered 'she's so easy to scare...'
Anne looked thoughtful before sighing 'well we can think about it later, do you feel like a visitor?'
'Depends on who..' Skye replied 'and why..'
'Ikora rey, she's been talking to me and is interested in talking to you, but I also mentioned elsie wasn't feeling very well so I asked if she'd like to visit and here we are' she shrugged 'you can say no if you like'
Skye looked unsure 'why is she here?'
'She just wanted to ask me some questions, that's all, questions about being taken mostly, what it was like, what I can do... I told her she should talk to you' Anne smiled 'I know you like talking about that stuff'.
Skye looked unsure before giving her a small smile 'she isn't going to attack me when I talk about things will she?'
Anne chuckled 'no'
Skye nodded 'well I'm not really doing anything I suppose, as long as she doesn't mind speaking to me up here... she can see elsie then too and I can talk for both of us'
Anne nodded 'I'll bring her up then' she replied and left quietly. She was going to just call her up but then thought about chairs so headed down and grabbed a chair for each of them before heading back up with the vanguard.
Ikora had never step foot upstairs and it was obvious it wasn't the most comfortable thing that she'd ever done, all that went out of the window when she saw the titans room and she was stunned and conflicted, she chose not to comment however until Anne smiled at her playfully 'oh, you like Elsie's room too?' She teased.
Ikora hesitated 'uh, it's complicated... normally this type of contraband... but now is not the time' she admitted 'it is rather impressive however, it speaks highly of Elsie's experiences' she smiled.
Skye looked around 'perhaps I have seen this before but I'd forgotten in my condition... I was impressed myself, some of these belong to a time before the red legion... there's so many stories' she sighed with guilt as she looked back to elsie 'she was never meant to be one of us... darkness doesn't suit her...'
Ikora sat down on the chair provided for her 'many of the titans took to taking care of the taken and most of them inevitably fell' she admitted 'elsie looked after three of you didn't she... what happened?'
Anne nodded 'yes, when Dalia turned, there was three, although I was the first, she must have just gotten home from the wall when she found me and I asked her to help stop the light... she was dead last I saw her... the light becomes her' she admitted.
Ikora looked a bit confused but after a moment let it go 'so you were the first of your fireteam...'
'Skye was next, by the time elsie found me, I could already hear skyes whispers though so she wasn't far behind me and I knew elsie enough that she would want to be there. not to mention, Skye turned into a horrible person last time, it was dangerous to have her turn by herself' Anne sighed 'after that, Skye made me free dalias ghost since we couldn't turn her, and she was gone too... elsie stayed with her until she was gone and she was furious...'
Ikora looked to skye 'what makes you so different?'
'We aren't all that different, we just have different motives' she muttered 'I see the bigger picture, Anne only saw her own picture'
'She's not wrong, and nothing would have changed unless elsie made us see the light' Anne admitted 'after everything, she always did treat us like we were her fireteam...'
'So why take her then? Who was responsible?' Ikora asked 'why didn't you want too?'
'Dalia did, but we won't mention that to her unless we have too' Anne but her lip 'well I was never interested... after what she... well I didn't want to see her like that, but Skye is a different story'
'I tried a few times' Skye nodded before raising her hand 'but I think elsie put these on me before I turned, I don't remember her putting them on and I would have fought her to stop her... I couldn't do anything, and I was lonely... I wanted to have her... nothing else mattered for a while, but then she trusted us and I didn't want her to change anymore' she teared up 'I wanted to be beside her light forever' she admitted 'I will go where she goes'.
The vanguard looked thoughtful 'has she decided to go back to the light yet?'
Skye shook her head 'she's afraid...' she admitted 'she doesn't to want to do bad things, she just wants to be free but the unknown scares her' the warlock sighed 'she can barely remember her children unless they are standing beside her... she knows she would do anything for them but she forgets why sometimes, other times she is afraid they will turn on her or that someone will take control and she will turn on them'
'That would all go away if she went back to the light, you all know that right?' Ikora assured.
They nodded 'I think the fact that she knows Dali belongs to the light... that might be holding her back' Anne added 'it's holding me back, if I turn back... what if I never see her again... what if I forget... to be this close to seeing her and just leave...' Anne looked torn 'I want to stay close to her... and I want to know she is there...'
Ikora nodded 'I suppose I can understand that, but think of it this way, when we harness the light, everyone we've ever lost is with us, empowering us, there's never a time where we are not connected to those we loved' she gave a small smile 'the ones we lose are the reason we fight'
Elsie had quietly stirred as they spoke and she finally made herself known 'I don't deserve to walk in the light...' she muttered with guilt.
Anne looked unsure 'of course you do, are you kidding, together we saved the guardians...'
Skye nodded in agreement 'it's true'
Elsie shook her head 'I can't stop seeing it...' she whispered tearfully 'what I've done... my daughter...' she whimpered painfully as she begun to cry 'and I saw her... but it just further paints what I did... she is gone...'
Ikora looked thoughtful 'you would leave your twins for Dalia?'
Elsie looked torn 'they deserve better... to know the monster I am...' she muttered.
Ikora looked to the titan 'so you would punish yourself with this existence...' on Elsie's nod, Ikora looked unsure 'that's cruel... to yourself and your family... what are you afraid of?'
'Forgetting everything... last time I didn't get a choice to turn back to the light, this time I choose to remember' elsie shifted heavily with a whimper.
'What if I could promise you that you would remember everything, would you do it for your children?' Ikora asked.
Elsie looked torn 'you couldn't promise that...'
Ikora opened her book 'tell me everything you want to remember, I'll write it all and when you walk in the light once more, it will be there, a message to yourself'. After a long moment to think about it, elsie nodded in defeat and after collecting herself, Ikora added her story to Anne's, once that was finished, elsie agreed to go back to the light and Skye agreeed reluctantly, wanting to follow her but not before speaking about her own experiences with being taken and Skye spoke to Ikora for the rest of the evening about her and Elsie's part in the taken world.
Ikora was blown away by the time skye finished and after a last few questions, Ikora left, leaving the family to their decisions. The twins provided the final push for elsie to turn back to the light, and despite her illness that was slowly getting worse, together they walked down to the library, Anne chose to sit this one out as she wasn't content yet to go back to the light but this time, elsie and Skye reluctantly agreed despite not trusting the guardians.
