The mood of the day was somber, to say the least. A light rain fell, giving testament to the sorrow-filled atmosphere around the large congregation of Guardians.

It had been nearly two weeks since the final battle, two weeks of cleaning up rubble and retrieving the bodies of fallen Guardians, friends, and civilians. Two weeks of learning to accept the reality of the situation, that the Traveler was not in any condition to protect them currently, and that all of the loved ones they'd lost were not coming back.

They stood under the Traveler, occupying the area which had once been the city's center. The most damage had been applied here, with ruined buildings and littered debris lending insight into the tragedy which had occurred so recently. All of the dead had been buried next to the Wall, showing others what they had each died to protect, the city and its people. This gathering was simply so that they could pay their respects to their fallen comrades, and recognize their incredible sacrifices.

A makeshift platform had been dragged into the middle of the large clearing, created by simply moving a large, flat chunk of debris from one of the surrounding broken buildings. The Speaker stood atop it, the crowd of Guardians encircling the podium and listening closely. He addressed the group at large, paying tribute to those fallen;

"These lost Guardians have shown us what we were, what we have always been, and what we will be again." He turned sightly, gazing around at them with approval. "We are now what remains of the light, and we will not be stamped out." A few claps were heard from the crowd, agreeing with the Speaker. "Though we may be fewer in number now, their sacrifices will not go unacknowledged, and we will pay tribute to those taken from us by the Darkness."

Ash and Aria stood next to the platform, having been requested to remain close for a special word to the crowd. Ash thought that the Speaker, though filled with good intentions, couldn't possibly understand how each of the Guardians was truly feeling. He spent all his time away in his study, and didn't know of the bonds which had been torn apart; no fireteam of Guardians had gone without losing someone they'd known, and they each were impacted by every death. The Speaker could make pretty speeches all he liked, but it didn't change the truth.

With the Traveler's light gone, there was no way to bring back anyone who had died. Even if it did have light, most of the casualties had been so thoroughly destroyed by the Darkness's forces that there was no hope of reviving them at all. But for the rest of the ones that had potential to be revived, possibly including Matt, there was no way to do so. Not without light…

"Though each Guardian is just as vital and valuable as the next, there is a particular fire team of Guardians I would like to acknowledge." He turned and held out his hand gesturing to Ash and Aria. "Matt, Ash, and Aria came into our ranks as any other fireteam, inexperienced and eager to prove themselves. We had no idea however, how far they would go in their quest to save the Traveler. Not only did they stop a ritual draining the Traveler's light in the Black Garden," he said, earning gasps from several people in the crowd, "but they returned and warned us of the impending attack, allowing us to spend the next few months preparing for war, building our defenses, and buying ourselves time. Without them, the battle would have been lost."

The Speaker now became slightly quieter, mollified by the information he was having to speak about. "As I understand it, a trio of soldiers was created by the Darkness, soldiers meant to kill Guardians, to destroy the Traveler and its light." The other Guardians had become all too familiar with this story, having been told about Ash months ago. "As of now, only two survive, both of them on our side. The last is dead, taken out by them in a most spectacular fashion."

"These Guardians were not the only ones to challenge the Warlock known as the Messenger; but they did follow him into the body of our broken God, fought off the army of Hive that fought to enact his scheme, and managed to save the Traveler. They were prepared to die for their cause, and it came at great loss to them when one of them lost his life." He stepped back, and beckoned Ash and Aria up onto the block. Ash clambered onto it, and then helped Aria. They walked forward a few feet, and stood there in the gaze of all the remaining Guardians. She looked at Aria, who was slightly shaking her head in a declination of the offer to speak. She turned back to the crowd, and began to speak.

"Aria and I fought to repel the Hive cursing the Spark's chamber. Together, we managed to defeat the Siphon Witches, and prevent the corruption of the core." She paused. "But we couldn't have done it without Matt. He singlehandedly engaged the Messenger in hand to hand combat at great personal risk while Aria and I worked, buying us time to stop the ritual. We came back to help once we had accomplished our task, but we feared it was too late. The Messenger knocked us both aside, and nearly won. But while Aria and I were out of commission, Matt never gave up."

Her voice was slightly shaking, and she fought to keep herself together. "Even though he'd been beaten, he'd been stabbed and nearly killed, he never once gave up. He stood right back up, and continued to fight. He drained the rest of the Traveler's light, infusing it within himself in order to keep a constant super-state, and used it to save the Spark's chamber, and kill the Messenger. Once he had done that…" She stopped for a moment, regaining her composure. "Once he had done that, he triggered a detonator which we had set to blow apart a pylon keeping the platform we stood upon in place. He fell with the debris, and was mortally wounded." She looked from left to right at the crowd, watching their expressions and reactions to what she said.

"Matt was the first Guardian to have been revived from centuries past in nearly a decade. He came from before the Golden Age, sharing knowledge of our history- his history- and became one of the best Guardians around, just as Seraph had predicted." She shook her head.

"But this is not what made him special, what made him unique. Not once did I ever see him surrender. He had this drive, this determination to succeed in whatever he did." She laughed slightly, surprising many of the people present. "He saved my life once, back in the Hellmouth, and I could tell just from the look in his eyes that he hadn't even considered the possibility of allowing me to die. Failure was not a word that he knew, defeat was a foreign concept to him. To the very end, even when he couldn't possibly fight anymore, he still managed to find a way to save the day." She prepared her final statement.

"If there is one thing that his death brings us, it is an example. Let he and the other Guardians, all who died to protect this city, to protect humanity, stand as models for what we should hope to be. Let us see them as heroes for us to hopefully live up to in our actions, that one day we could be half as good as they were." A few cheers rang out, and she finished. "Let us never forget the sacrifice they gave to us! Let us keep them in our hearts, remember their valiant efforts wherever we go, and take their courage with us!"

Applause and cheers sounded from everyone, and Ash smiled that these Guardians, some of whom had been quite reluctant to trust her before, now approved of what she had to say and even praised it. She turned around having nothing left to say, and jumped off the podium with Aria. They walked away from the defining noise of the crowd, and made their way back towards the Tower.

-X-

Aria leaned against a wall, waiting with Ash in the Hall of Guardians. They stood in the dim light patiently, giving an outward appearance of calm. Inside, Aria's mind was racing. What if their request was denied? Obviously they'd still go through with it, but would they be marked as fugitives? Would others stop them? Would they be cast out, exiled like other rumors she'd heard about, Toland the Shattered and Dredgen Yor?

She didn't have long to ponder as the sound of footsteps approaching signaled that it was time to act. Pushing herself off the wall, she joined Ash at the Vanguards table, alerting them with their presence as they walked in.

"Ash? Aria? What are you two doing here?" asked Ikora, her eyebrows raised in surprise. "We have a request, a big one." Aria looked over at Ash and nodded, letting her know to take over. Ash drew in breath, and spoke.

"So far, we've stopped two phases of the Darkness's plan; defeating the Heart of the Black Garden, and repelling the invasion of the city." Zavala nodded. "Yes, we understand that. Go on."

"The last phase of the plan was long ago, when the Spark of the Traveler was stolen from its core. There's a reason that the Traveler does not produce any light, that it remains dormant. It needs the Spark back." Cayde held up his hand to silence her, and she waited. "Hold on, you're not seriously saying what I think you're saying, are you?"

"Yes," she stated firmly, "I am. Without the Spark, we have no light. Without light, we can't perform many of our usual abilities, we can't revive others, and we have no protection against the Darkness." Ikora sighed. "Ash, we understand why you want to do this." Ash clenched her jaw. "While we do sympathize with your situation, we cannot simply allow you to galavant off alone over the death of your friend." "It's not just Matt," she insisted, "It's all the Guardians who died! While we may not be able to save all of them, we sure as hell can save a good portion! But the longer we wait here without the light, the Darkness continues to creep in and take away any chance we have of bringing them back."

Ikora still shook her head. "I'm sorry. But like you said, without the light there's no way to revive ourselves. Your next death will be your last, and you're simply too valuable a soldier to lose to a suicide mission like this. We need you and Aria here with the rest of us. While we may have won this time, we need to be prepared should the Darkness's forces attempt to kick us while we're down."

"That's precisely it! Our next deaths will be our last unless we get that Spark back!" Ikora raised her hand firmly. "The answer is no. Maybe when we're back on our feet and ready for such a mission, it's possible, but a notion like that is years away at best. Don't hate me for trying to protect you and the other Guardians." Ash said nothing this time, but simply began to walk out of the hall, heading back to the courtyard. Aria jogged after her to catch up.

"So," she said once she'd reached Ash, "When do we leave?" The Exo turned to face her with a slight smirk on her face, "Tonight. Have your things ready later." She turned to her shoulder where Whip had materialized, and ordered, "Tell me if anything I should know about pops up." He nodded. "Will do. Also, Cayde-6 is approaching you two from behind."

They turned to see the Hunter Vanguard walking up to them from behind, having ascended the staircase up to the courtyard. "How's it going, you two? I just wanted to talk."

Aria nodded. "Of course, Sir. What can we do for you?" He looked at each of them, measuring them up, and spoke. "Look, I know the face of someone who's going to do something even when they've been told specifically not to." Ash held her gaze level, and said, "I don't know what you're talking ab-"

"Calm down, I'm on your side." This surprised both of them, and left Ash speechless. Aria spoke for her asking, "What? You are?" "Yeah, I am. I agree with you both, right now we're exposed to the Darkness, and we need that Spark back." He shrugged. "Plus, I kinda don't like the idea of leaving our fellow Guardians to rot in the dirt, especially Matt." He nodded at them with a smile. "I'll see to it that the hangar is empty tonight for you two to sneak into." Without another word, he turned around and walked back to the Hall of Guardians.

Ash faced Aria directly. "Well, that's convenient, isn't it?" Then she turned to Seraph who had materialized in front of her. "How about it Seraph? You ready to get your Guardian back?"

The little Ghost bobbed up and down. "You bet your ass I am. I'm not leaving him dead if I can help it!"

Ash nodded. "And his soul is tied to you, right? So as soon as we free the Spark-"

"He can be revived," finished Seraph. "Then let's do this!" said Aria under her breath, ready to put the renewed energy she felt to good use.

-X-

Amanda Holliday yawned, and grabbed her catches. She used them to push herself up onto her remaining foot, and began to close up shop. She was scheduled for a prosthetic leg, but she hadn't received it yet. Until then, she was having to walk around with these awkward crutches, constantly bumping into stuff. She cursed as she hit one against a stray toolbox on her way to switch off the lights.

Cayde had asked her to report to him earlier today, probably something about supplies. Reaching over, she finally succeeded in turning off the lights, and hobbled down the steps towards the exit to the hangars.

As silence settled over the hangar, two shadowy shapes emerged from behind a crate, and dashed towards a ship easily identifiable as the black shape of the Javelin.

As Ash and Aria made their way towards the ship, it began to power up in advance, with Whip inside starting it up early to be ready for them. The docking ramp began to descend, but right before they could enter, a voice sounded from behind them. "And what are you doing?"

Ash turned to see the Stranger staring at them in the darkness, arms crossed over her chest. She held her hand out, showing she meant no trouble. "I'm sorry, but we have to do this. It's the only way to save- to truly save the Traveler and the other Guardians… including Matt."

The Stranger shook her head. "Cayde told me about your plan, figured I'd come along to help. But I'm here for quite the opposite. I've been sitting in this hangar for hours, waiting to see you. I've lost you once already, I'm not prepared to lose you again." Ash narrowed her eyes. "That's pretty close to what the Messenger said, and that didn't turn out too well for him."

The Stranger raised her hands up. "It's not a threat, I'm simply saying that I don't think you grasp how dangerous this is. I wasn't exaggerating when I said it'd be suicide in the Ishtar Academy, and your next death is kind of permanent currently. I know you were close to him, but-"

"We owe it to him to do everything in our power to get him back," responded Ash. "Even you owe him, remember? He saved your life too!" The Stranger said nothing, obviously having been avoiding that particular point of discussion.

Ash beckoned to her. " Why don't you come with us! What better way to monitor our safety then by watching over us? You'd be a great asset to have along the way."

The Stranger seemed nonplussed by the offer. Aria waited with bated breath, wondering what would happen. Then Ash sealed the deal with, "Plus, I'm gonna need more company than just Aria. She never talks about anything other than books and studies, probably that whole Warlock thing, you know?" "Hey!" cried Aria indignantly. The Stranger chuckled.

"Yes, I suppose you're right." Suddenly, Echo appeared at Aria's side. "Uh, we may want to go quickly…" "Why?" she asked, "Cayde emptied the hangar for us." "True, but Whip activated the Javelin a bit ago, and event he hangar has alarms for this exact sort of thing…"

"Where are they?!" Aria heard a voice shout, one that sounded suspiciously like Ikora Rey's coming from the entrance to the hangar. "Perhaps he's right, it's time to go!" With haste in their steps, the trio scrambled up the ramp and into the Javelin.

The Vanguards, including Ikora, turned around the corner just in time to see the Javelin rocket out of the hangar, flying upwards into the night sky towards the stars. The Warlock master sighed deeply, muttering, "If you must go young ones, then I wish you luck. It may be the only thing that can save you now."

-X-

The atmosphere of Mercury blew past them as they descended towards the ground. The surface consisted mostly of Vex structures and glittery sand that stretched for miles without an end in sight.

"So, where to?" Ash directed the question at the Stranger. She shrugged. "We may have once been soldiers of the Darkness, but secrets were kept even from us. All I know is that the Spark is kept in a Vex stronghold here on Mercury. How we find it is beyond me."

Ash gave the controls to Whip, and asked the Ghost, "Well, do you have any ideas on how to locate this thing?" There was a moment's pause before he replied, "No, I don't. We lost this world to the Vex, long ago. The last person to visit here was Osiris, a Warlock who hasn't been heard from in many years. Anything we could possibly use to scan around and locate the stronghold is long gone."

A red light winked on the display. "And apparently there's a sandstorm that's plaguing Mercury. With some proper instruments, I could tell you how long it will take to subside, but I just don't know how long this thing could last. In any case, the Javelin isn't going to get much use here if its engines are going to be completely clogged and ruined with grains of sand."

Aria sighed. "So I guess that means we're exploring the entire surface of Mercury on foot." "Well, at least it's the smallest planet, right?" said Ash with a cheerful tone. "What about Pluto?" asked Aria, a grin appearing on her face. Echo appeared, and narrowed his eye at her. "Don't start this again, you debated with me for a week on this before the last discussion ended." Aria smiled. "Is that so? And I thought I only talked about books and studies!"

"You two." The Stranger's serious tone pulled Ash and Aria's gaze towards her. She looked them each in the eyes and said, "I just want to make this clear; it may be a while before we locate the facility. For every moment we tarry, the Darkness continues to corrupt and take away the dead from us. Do you understand?"

One memory fought its way to the surface of Ash's mind; their journey into the Hellmouth, where Matt saved her from falling into the Pit, and where he stopped the ambush waiting to kill them. He'd always been there for her when she needed him, and she was going to be there for him now. "I do. Let's do it."

The Stranger nodded, and the docking ramp began to lower. Harsh gusts of wind blew from the outside, reminding them of the terrible weather conditions they were stuck in. With an air of finality, she walked out with Ash and Aria into the desert-like landscape. The Javelin took off in auto-pilot, and flew up and out of the atmosphere, ready to stand by in orbit until they found what they were looking for.

As Ash followed its trail up into the sky, she held her hand up to block out the now-massive shape of the sun, blinding her and the others with light. She turned her gaze downward to adjust her vision again, and faced the Stranger. "Let's try to find some shelter!" she yelled, fighting to be heard above the roar of the wind and sand.

"Lead the way!" she shouted back. Ash turned towards a series of Vex spires that stood roughly a mile away, deciding that there'd likely be protection from the weather there. Pushing against the wind, she trekked on with Aria and the Stranger behind her, all of them fighting to keep themselves going and to not give into the elements.

After nearly an hour of walking against the wind and nearly losing their sense of direction, they reached the complex of buildings. They were composed of the same block-like rock material that seemed to surround much of their architecture, as well as metal antennas and external structures of which they could not discern the purpose.

Inside the bottom of the structures was a hollowed out cove. Crouching down, they crawled through the small space, continuing to move until it slightly widened out and gave room for them to stand properly. Once each of them was inside, they looked around and checked out the interior. It wasn't very large, maybe nine feet across one way and ten the other. It was around seven to eight feet in height, just enough for them to stand. Aria sat down, her legs tired from straining against the wind and sand. She shook herself slightly, and quite a large amount of grains dislodged themselves from her clothing, forming a small circle of mineral around her. She took off her helmet, and more sand poured out from the next seal and visor.

She shook the helmet, and smiled as she did so. "Reminds me of having to get clean after playing in sandboxes as a kid. The stuff just got everywhere." Ash and the Stranger didn't truly feel worn out yet, but they did test out their joints and motors. Both were reasonably well off, Ash's armor protecting her, and the Stranger's cloak deflecting much of the sand, but even so there were still slightly audible clicks that would happen as they moved around, their metal mechanisms becoming slightly jammed on whatever pieces of sand had managed to worm their way inside.

"This isn't a great long-term strategy," said the Stranger to Ash. "You and I will be out of commission in a few weeks if we stay out longer than a few hours in the storms." Ash looked at her gear, noticing the marks and scratches that the sand pellets had left in her armor. If that was done to her own body, then the Stranger was right; she wouldn't be in working condition for long.

But she wasn't about to give up. "We still keep going. We've faced down larger risks than sand in our boots, I'm sure that we'll find a way." The steel in her voice was tangible, and the Stranger approved of her comrade's determination. Ash made her way over to Aria, and began setting up equipment that Whip was materializing for her, including rolled-up mats, a lamp, and a bag full of supplies that neither of the other two could see.

"Where did you get that stuff?" asked Aria curiously. "I had each of the Ghosts store quite a few materials before we left. I didn't know about the sandstorm, but I knew we'd probably be here for a while, so I took the liberty to prepare." She glanced up at Whip. "Did you by chance happen to grab some rags or cloth?" The Ghost nodded. "Once I detected the sandstorm, I found some stuff in the emergency supplies onboard the Javelin. They should help with the weather some."

Ash nodded, and turned to the other two. She threw them each a mat. "Rest up. I don't want to give up the first shelter we've come across before we've even settled in. After a few hours, we'll get moving again." Each of them began preparing their mat, and settling down to rest despite the roaring noise of the storm outside.

As Ash laid in her cover, she thought about what they'd gotten themselves into. What if while they out here, they ended up losing everyone? The whole operation to rescue Matt would have been for nothing. Whip hovered over next to her, and began to enter stand-by mode. She quickly looked to the side and whispered, "Whip." The Ghost faced her. "Yes?"

"Am I doing the right thing? What if I'm just risking everyone else's lives for one person's? Is that right?" The Ghost seemed to contemplate this for a moment. "I suppose it would be a lie to say that there aren't those that would call this plan highly foolish and irresponsible, putting everyone else in danger for the sake of one person." Ash began to feel downcast. "I would also like to point out that despite it being dangerous, Matt performed the exact same thing several times just to save you and Aria." She looked up again in surprise.

Whip couldn't smile, but she felt as though he would be if it were possible. "I'm not sure if it's a matter of whether you should at this point, but rather how you can." With that, the Ghost's blue light deactivated and turned blank.

Ash thought about this, and realized the Ghost was right. Matt had put himself on the line multiple times for her and Aria, and she needed to live with her decision to do this. Her mind at ease, she began to sleep as the wind howled, and sand blew across the landscape.