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Cerulean raced their Sparrows from the drop zone to Rasputin's bunker, outrunning rain clouds that fast approached the Forgotten Shore. Lightning flashed in the distance and when Wren looked over her shoulder she could see the wall of water following them through the narrow canyon. She almost wished it would catch them. It'd been too long since she'd felt the cooling rain on her skin but being stuck in wet armor for hours causes chafing and that didn't sound fun at all. And so they flew over the rocky terrain and rusted ship parts.

"Stealing from Rasputin," Eris said. "You are entering a world you do not understand.

"I don't see we have much choice," Rorick replied, dismounting his Sparrow at the entrance to the shelled out building that lay above the bunker.

"Eh, don't mind her," Cayde said. "She's still mad about what Flamingo did to her ship."

"Hey! Now hold on just a minute—" Wren said.

Cayde chuckled and cut her off. "Look, we need cloaking tech to get past the Taken and the Warmind bunker's got the code we need."

"After all this time, how do we know Rasputin still has the code?" Rorick asked.

"I already stole it once," Cayde replied. "Used the last copy to make that stealth drive Penguin blew up."

"Oh, first of all, that stealth drive almost got me killed," Wren said. "Second of all, can you stick with one name please?"

"Fine, pick one."

"Uh, how about Wren?"

"That's what I said. Okay, now stop interrupting Flamingo, we have work to do."

"I swear to the Traveler I'm gonna make it look like an accident."

"Alright love birds, give it a rest," Sisre joked. "We're at the door to the bunker."

Brix piped in, cutting off Wren and Cayde's protests. "I haven't had any luck breaching Rasputin's security."

"You got the same security code that got me inside," Cayde said.

"What makes you think he'd keep it the same if he knows you stole from him already?" Wren asked.

The doors to the bunker opened to them with a hiss of steam.

"He will protect his domain," Eris said.

Wren didn't like that. The way the door opened without them having to do anything and she knew what Eris said was right. Rasputin wouldn't just let them come in and steal from him. It felt like a trap. Rorick must have considered the same because he hesitated at the door.

"Hey, we have a problem," Wren said, passing by Rorick to stand in the hall leading into the bunker. "There's a Taken anomaly in here."

"That's not possible," Cayde said. "We sealed the complex after the Omnigul breach."

Rorick led them deeper into the bunker where they came across more and more of the interdimensional anomalies. Wren kept the Better Devils at the ready, her pinkie twisting into the chain of the spade as she kept an ear out for the distinct sound that came with the appearance of Taken.

"Cayde?" Rorick said. "I think you should take a look at this."

"Oh… that does look bad. Well… if you see em', just shoot em'."

"Great plan," Franz said flatly.

As if on cue the Taken arrived; groups of shambling Thrall teleported here and there, dodging shots from Cerulean without even trying. They were felled easily enough when they were hit but it was hard to tell how many of them there were with the crates that cluttered the hall.

"How did they get in there?" Cayde mused.

"They are Taken," Eris snapped. "They are not bound by terrestrial constraints."

"Yeah, well I bet they'll be constrained by terrestrial bullets."

A ball of Darkness flew by, barely missing Franz. Beorn grabbed him by the back of his neck and yanked him away as another ball was launched at them.

"What the hell was that?" Franz yelled.

"It's Darkness," Wren explained. "I got hit by one on the way out of the Temple. Whatever you do, don't get caught in one. You can't see, you can barely move, and it feels like your whole body is under intense pressure. There must be Captains farther down the hall."

"Sisre, see what you can do about that," Rorick said.

Sisre propped up against a crate and aimed down the stretch of hallway, zeroing in on the Captains. With a few shots they were dead and the balls of Darkness stopped. "Clear."

They made their way deeper into the bunker, through diamond shaped halls and around Taken anomalies that swirled in great blobs on the walls and floors. When they reached bunker war-4, a decent sized room with a sloping glass wall overlooking a lower area, several Taken rifts cracked open.

Thrall shifted and split, causing Franz to almost shook Beorn as he swung his rifle hard right to kill the split Taken, only for the bullet to ricochet off the wall beside his friend. Beorn didn't seem to notice but Franz gasped and jumped back, distracted enough that an axion bolt collided with his shoulder and exploded in a jolt of Taken energy.

Franz cried out and fell as another bolt headed straight for him. Rorick jumped in the way and the bolt hit him square in the back, knocking the Titan to his knees over Franz. Wren shot at the next bolt, destroying it before it could reach them, while Beorn and Sisre engaged the Centurion that was launching the bolts.

Rorick helped Franz to his feet and the pair of them joined up with the rest of the team at the far end of the room where the Centurion once stood. Wren lagged behind the group, keeping an eye on the room a moment longer to ensure that nothing popped up behind them as a trap.

Cerulean reloaded and remained at the ready as they searched the bunker for anything of use, but Wren wondered if the Warmind was watching them. Making sure they didn't do anything he didn't want them to do. She didn't notice cameras anywhere, and yet there was a looming feeling of being watched. Perhaps it wasn't Rasputin at all… perhaps it was Oryx. She passed by a massive Taken blight and as she peered into its swirling surface, she wondered if Oryx was looking back at her.

"It's amazing how Oryx can track us to easily," Brix said, and Wren shuddered. It was like he was reading her mind.

"I guess he really hates us," Kiran said.

"He wants to kill us," Wren said. "That requires some about of hate I think…"

"That's why we're here," Cayde reminded. "We gotta find those cloaking codes."

The farther they delved into the bunker, the more restless Wren became. Her skin prickled and her palms sweat. She felt like pressure was building up all around her and her armor felt constraining. If she could survive she'd tear it off piece by piece but the Taken were everywhere here, their numbers growing larger with every room and passage they cleared until at last they reached the area called the Mine.

They entered on a catwalk that spanned the middle of the room, then descended by a few steps to a diamond shaped area where a control center was located. To the left and right by the door were stairs that descended to lower areas, likely meant to be for maintenance when the bunker was built.

Cautiously Cerulean made their way across the platform, Beorn falling in very close to Wren.

"What is this place?" Sisre asked. "We're at a dead end."

"That's not a dead end, that's where you'll find Rasputin," Cayde explained. "Or… sort of? Look, just access the console, get the codes, and get outta there."

The team guarded Brix when he floated out past Rorick to the console. The other Ghosts joined him and although they were guarded, Wren felt nauseous. The air prickled with energy, as if rifts would open around them at any minute and flood them with Taken.

"Hurry up and see what you can pull outta Rasputin," Cayde paused. "There's a joke there somewhere."

"Leave it," Wren said flatly.

"Huh…. Seems like this was the first station to come online after the Collapse," Sambo said, the Ghost glancing at Sisre. "Weird it would come up by itself."

"It didn't," Franz' Ghost Vira replied. "I mean… it couldn't. Right?"

"I'm not sure," Ziro said. "It would seem Oryx views Rasputin as a threat. But if he didn't wake himself, then whoever did would also be an enemy of the Taken King."

"Why does Oryx see Rasputin as a threat?" Kiran asked.

"Possibly because if we were to gain control of this facility, we could wake the other Warminds and then everything the Hive have hidden from us would be revealed," Brix said.

"Focus please," Rorick said.

"Of course," Brix replied. "Let's see… well, this might be a problem. These cryptosystems follow no logic I can understand. Are you sure this can be modified to work on a Guardian?"

"Where do you think Bladedancers get their cloaking abilities? Grab the codes and I'll upload my modifications."

"Wait, what does this have to do with Bladedancers cloaking?" Beorn asked. "I hope you're not planning on using Wren as some kind of experiment for your hairbrained schemes."

"What? No! I swear it'll work."

"If the Vanguard is satisfied, we can end this," Eris interrupted. "Return to the Moon and steal Crota's soul."

"Woah, hold your horses," Cayde said. "They can't go to the Moon yet. We have a coordinate point in the Forgotten Shore for you to pick up supplies but you can't leave until morning."

"Morning? Why?" Rorick asked.

"Basically, I have to get these codes modified for Flamingo to get in there and get what she needs to become Ascendant. The rest of you are gonna wait around as back up but only one of you goes in for Crota's soul. So I suggest you get back to the surface and set up camp. And uh, eat a couple s'mores for me would ya?"

Wren stood at the edge of the water near their camp on the Forgotten Shore, shivering as the waves lapped at her feet. Here the stars seemed countless, far from civilization and the glow of the City. She sat on a nearby rock, splashing her toes absently in the freezing water, ignoring the chattering of her teeth.

"Big day tomorrow."

Wren smiled and looked out toward the horizon. "Yeah."

Sisre came to sit beside her, wrapped in her blanket. "Trouble sleeping?"

"Something like that."

"Koro was asking about you."

Wren sighed and pulled her knees up and wrapped her arms around them. She didn't want to think about it. And yet in these moments where there was nothing else to distract her, it was something that crept in. Nice and slow, from the back of everything. But it was just another thing. Just enough problem in the mounting pile of them she didn't feel she could dig her way out of.

"I'm not surprised."

"I'm guessing he told you he has a crush on you?"

"Yeah. Right after Flak…"

"What an asshole," Sisre scoffed. "I mean, don't get me wrong, I like Koro, but it seems like a terrible time to confess your feelings for someone. He didn't ask you out did he?"

"No, not really. He said he wanted to talk about it after we kill Oryx."

Sisre relaxed some. "Well, overall Koro is a sweet guy. Naïve, but sweet."

"I like hanging out with him as a friend but I don't want anything else with him."

"Kinda figured that. Ya know, I'm starting to think you and Cayde are pretty cute."

"He's bad for me."

Sisre chuckled. "Maybe. Wren, you know how I feel about the two of you. I've never seen him commit to anyone or anything. But the way he acts toward you? I don't know, it's different. I'm not saying it's some great romance or anything like that… I'm just saying that if it's what you want, then why not try?"

"Because he's caused me so much trouble. He knows it and still comes around and…"

"And you keep going back to him too."

Wren's arms tightened around her knees. "I know," she whispered. "It's stupid. I feel like an idiot."

"Don't. This kind of thing is never simple. I wish it didn't have to be this hard for you though." Sisre pushed Wren's hair behind her ear and gave her a squeeze around her shoulders. "Listen, things won't always be this way. With the other Hunters I mean. Flak is out of the picture now and that might help some too."

"To be honest? I don't want to think about any of it. Not Koro, or Cayde, or the other Hunters. None of it. I have to go into another Hive layer tomorrow and hope Cayde's stealth… whatever… doesn't get me killed. Do you have any idea how close I came with trying to sneak onto the Dreadnaught? Or in that last one when I had to get that crystal shard?"

"Are you afraid?"

Wren stared out over the water, pale light from the crescent moon shimmering over the surface. She thought about what pushed her forward before. All those times she looked to Earth from the Moon and thought about the Tower. About Cayde and about what it would mean for him if she failed.

"Yeah. Not just for myself either. What if I can't hack it? I mean, what would it mean if I can't kill Oryx?"

"Hey, it's not just you here. We'll be with you when you face Oryx. It's too much for one Guardian to handle."

"I guess."

"You'll do great tomorrow," her smile was too forced for Wren's taste but she appreciated the gesture.

"Sure."

"I wonder if Zavala will take the lead on this one of if he's going to let Cayde do it?"

"Probably Cayde," Wren sighed.

"He's getting a little… protective I think. Anyway, I'm sure it'll be fine and you'll be back to us in no time."

"Oh, I almost forgot. I have a tracker on my Better Devils. A silver spade charm. Cayde gave it to me. I just thought it might be a good idea if someone other than him knows it's on there. Just in case things get rough."

"Good to know. Now let's go get some sleep, okay?"

Wren slid off the rock and followed Sisre back to the shelter which had been set up in the buried hull of a rusty old ship. Rorick nodded to them from his guard post and Sisre stayed behind to sit with him while Wren slipped into her sleeping bag between Sisre's place and Beorn.

"You alright?" he whispered.

"I'll be okay."

"I've got your back."

"Thanks."

He closed his eyes and Wren shuffled deeper into her sleeping bag, pulling it tight around her ears. She fell asleep to the distant sound of water and the gentle breathing of Beorn and Franz.

The Stills. The Abyss. Whatever they wanted to call it, Wren hoped she'd never see it again. As she touched down on the center platform, darkness closing in on all sides, she wished she was anywhere else. Making her way here had been difficult, but quiet. Instead of fighting enemies, she fought herself and the oppressive weight of fear that came from the darkness beyond the dim lanterns that lit the path.

All of the lanterns that had exploded before were intact once more. Or perhaps replaced? She stepped to the edge of the light and listened for movement beyond. It was dead silent but she didn't trust it. Taken or Hive could be hiding anywhere.

"Okay," Cayde began, "you've got the crystal, now all you gotta do it fill it with Crota's soul. The Hive are in the middle of some sort of funeral so—"

"It's not a funeral," Eris interrupted. "It is a death ceremony. Crota's essence is being prepare for the next realm."

"Right… anyway, when you get to this funeral, Oryx will be watching close. Use Rasputin's cloak to slip past the Taken, wrap up Crota's soul, and high tail it outta there. You won't have much time, so be fast."

"But cautious," Kiran said.

"Very."

"Where are we headed?" Wren asked.

"When the Deathsinger's begin their song, you'll know you're getting close," Eris replied.

"That's her way of saying she doesn't know," Cayde said. "Don't worry kid, I'll keep my ear to the ground."

"And I'll try not to step on it."

Wren might have laughed had she not begun to sweat again. Would the darkness ever not make her feel this way? A pale green fog formed a walkway over the bottomless pit and she waited for it to seem a little more stable before carefully testing her weight on it.

Across the abyss a door opened, individual pieces sliding away from one another like fingers unlocking and pulling apart. Blinding white light poured from the hall beyond and Wren had to shield her eyes from it as she walked across the platform.

The last time she'd been here, she'd had to run for her life from hoards of Thrall. Somehow the silence made it worse.

"Stay out of sight," Cayde said, unable to hide the tension in his voice. "I need you back alive."

"I'll do my best."

"Do you have the frequency Kiran?"

"And your uh… modifications. We'll be ready," Kiran said as Wren stepped into the brightest point of the hall, knowing she was about to step into somewhere else.

"Then move quietly and unseen, like death," Eris added.

They came out on the other side in a room where they had to hold a bridge open before. Kiran activated the stealth codes and Wren looked down to her hands. It was jarring to not be able to see them. Even the Better Devils in her grip was invisible and she felt the urge to pull the trigger, just to make sure it was still there.

Down the steps was a Knight on patrol, walking around with a massive sword in its hand. Wren neared it, keeping distance but being able to stay too far away because of the stairways.

"Careful," Cayde warned. "They can't see you, but they can smell you. We can replace Eris' ship, we can't replace you, got it? Take your time and keep some distance just to be sure."

"Cross the chasm and enter their world," Eris said.

Cayde was worried. On the edge of his seat, so to speak. She could hear it and although she couldn't see the spade tracker, she could feel the weight of the chain swinging as she walked. To keep the charms from making noise she wrapped them into her palm before continuing toward the bride.

Several Knights and an Ogre were on patrol and as Wren passed the hulking Ogre she was afraid to even breathe for fear it might hear her. She ducked behind a boulder and noticed the bridge wasn't formed.

"There's a tomb husk," Kiran whispered and Wren looked left to where a familiar black orb sat on a pedestal. "I bet that activates the bridge. Grab it and let's get outta here. But be careful, I don't know if your cloaking will work on it."

Wren nodded and snuck around to pick up the husk. She kept low, hiding behind boulders and barricades until the Ogre turned its back and she could place the husk on a different pedestal. The bridge formed and the sound it made turned Wren's blood to ice.

The Ogre whipped around to look at the bridge and Wren could swear it could see her. There was no way she was going to wait around to find out. She turned around and ran across the bridge. An Ogre on the other side had stopped to stare at the bridge but apparently didn't find anything important and was walking away by the time Wren reached that side.

Wizards drifted around, Knights patrolled with swords, and the Ogre ambled around near the center of the platform in front of the bridge.

Wren didn't stop to see what kind of Wizards they were, she slipped past them and up the steps to a doorway. When she reached it, the door slid open and she wasted no time forcing herself through the gap as soon as she could.

"You think they heard that?" Kiran joked nervously.

Wren barreled down the nearly pitch black hallway, feeling as though hands were reaching out at her from the darkness. Claws barely missing catching her cloak and teeth ready to tear her to shreds. The hair on the back of her neck stood on end and she had to force herself to slow down. Panic wasn't going to help her here.

She looked over her shoulder to see she was alone. Nothing was chasing her, yet still her hands trembled and her mouth was dry. She shook her hands and stretched them, trying to steady herself and control her breathing despite the world caving in on her.

From somewhere down the hall a chilling song drifted, echoing from the rock walls. Wren stopped in her tracks and listened. It was something between a song, a scream, and a chant.

"Deathsingers," Eris said. "They are preparing Crota's soul for the next realm. Follow their cry."

Wren neared a hole in the floor that dropped to an area below.

"It was just as this when I walked in the dark," Eris said. "Their wretched songs on the wind as Eriana fell…"

"Down we go then," Kiran said and Wren dropped off the ledge. She boosted before she hit the pool of black water at the bottom, landing lightly just outside the water's edge. She knew where she was. The place in which she had killed Crota, only this time, she was going it alone.

"There are a lot of tombs here," Kiran said as Wren slowly walked over the rocky floor, careful not to kick any stones that might alert the Hive to their presence. "How will we know which one is Crota's?"

"You'll know it when you see it," Eris replied.

Wren ascended the steps into an open area and saw a black stone structure atop the platform where Crota fell. A sickening green haze poured from the top, cascading over the sides as Deathsingers drifted around it.

That had to be it.

She caught a glimpse of a Knight on patrol and assumed there would be more. Making her way to where the tomb was could lead her through the scent range of several Hive and with the rocky outcroppings and barricades, she'd not know until she was right on them.

Once the first Knight passed the center of the room, Wren made her way around the opposite side of the platform that it had been heading, deciding to use the boulders she and Rorick had used before to sneak up on Crota. She peered over the ledge and saw that the platform was empty except for the Deathsingers and of course they had to be standing dangerously close to the tomb. She holstered the Better Devils, making sure to tuck the charms in securely so they wouldn't alert any guards.

One hovered far higher than the others and Wren decided the best bet was to crawl under that one to get as close as possible without them smelling her. She kept low in a crouch until she got a few feet away from the Deathsinger she had decided to get under and dropped to her hands and knees. Every scrape of her armor, every uneven breath, every move she made brought a sick feeling to her stomach.

When she was close enough to the floating tomb, she knelt, her helmet mere inches from the carved surface, she pulled the crystal from her pouch and held it close to the tomb. The green fog swirled around it.

"Let the crystal drink deep from Crota's death essence," Eris said.

Wren looked to where she thought her hand and the crystal to be and noticed something odd. The essence was spreading, the fog creeping up along her arm until it covered her whole body. The lines of her armor began to glow, as if she was absorbing the essence herself and it was overflowing. She felt dizzy and the urge to vomit was overwhelming.

"It's working," Kiran whispered. "How much do we need to absorb?"

"Only a taste, but steal all you can," Eris said.

"I think she has enough," Cayde said. "Get outta there, kid."

Wren withdrew the crystal but something was wrong. The essence poured into her, the glowing intensified, and with a pop, the cloaking was gone. Immediately the Hive fled and Taken flooded the room. She fell back on her butt as Thrall and Minotaurs surrounded her. The Minotaurs raised their weapons and took aim. Wren fled.

"Something's wrong!" Kiran said. "We're exposed!"

"Lock for transmat!" Cayde demanded. "I'm gonna get you outta there!"

The comms crackled and Wren's mind went back to before, when she'd been cut off from him.

"We must have Crota's soul!" Eris yelled, her voice unable to hide the obsession underneath. She'd let Wren die if it meant getting the soul.

"Forget it and run," Cayde said. "Kiran, lock for transmat."

"I can't! Everything is corrupted. Wren, keep running and just… stay alive. I'll figure something out!"

"Fall back somewhere safe kid, you've got to make it back."

Wren headed for the corridor leading back to the pool she'd fallen in earlier. The jump would be impossible but maybe the room would force the Taken to funnel in a few at a time and give her a chance at survival.

A few Thrall followed her in, and she tossed a grenade to thin their numbers. She dropped to one knee behind a statue and pulled out her scout rifle. Taken Hobgoblin shots whizzed by and she chanced a few shots at one she could see from the top of the steps beyond the corridor's entrance. She held her ground for a short time, unable to keep the hoards back. They just kept coming.

The end of the corridor filled with Thrall and she could hear the roar of larger Taken just beyond them. For as many as she killed, two more took their place until she was forced completely back to the pool. She leapt as high as she could and scrambled to the top of a doorframe, high above the Thrall. They couldn't reach her here but it was only a matter of time before Hobgoblins, Minotaurs, and whatever else had come through the rifts would catch on an pursue her.

"Cayde, where the hell are you?"

"I'm still here," he replied, the comm system crackling heavily. "You got your ace in the hole?"

Wren looked at the silver spade dangling from her Better Devils. "I got it but I'd rather not use it."

"Me either. You just hang tight, I promise I'm gonna find a way to get you out."

"Guardian!" Eris yelled, but something about it wasn't right. It wasn't through comms, but in Wren's head. "Come with me."

Eris began an incantation; words Wren didn't recognize but that made her feel intense pressure behind her eyes and in her ears. It was like drowning all over again, being surrounded by great pressure to the point she could barely breath. She clawed at her helmet, wanting nothing more than to rip it off as she struggled for air but being too panicked to properly remove it.

As suddenly as it began, it stopped. Wren opened her eyes and gasped for breath which came easily now. She wasn't surrounded by Taken anymore. The room she'd been in was gone and now she was on her knees across the bridge which had previously been guarded by Knights and Ogres but now was empty.

"You… you pulled us out," Kiran said.

"One of Toland's tricks," Eris said, sounding shaken. "There is nothing I fear more than the Dark, but I will not lose another Guardian."

Wren caught her breath. "Thanks," she said, feeling a twinge of guilt for her earlier judgment that Eris would let her die just for a piece of Crota's soul.

"You've imprisoned the last of Crota's soul. It is left to you now. You must find Oryx on the Dreadnaught and destroy him."

"You alright?" Cayde asked.

"She is fine," Eris replied. "You can let go of the table now."

"Yeah well uh… good work Hunter. We're uh.. preparing transmat."

"Ready when you are," Kiran said and Wren flopped back on the floor.

"Let's never do that again."