Wren wasn't expecting to see Ikora again so soon before leaving but the Warlock Vanguard paced the catwalk beside Wren's ship. Supplies had been loaded and she was ready to leave for Mercury, not entirely sure what she was going for but sure she'd understand along the way. Damn Vanguard was good at that.

"Ikora?"

The Warlock turned to her and silently motioned her to follow behind the ship and away from prying eyes. When she was certain they were safely out of earshot she leaned in close to speak with Wren.

"There's been a new development."

"In regard to?" Wren's question trailed off.

"Your mission on Mercury. We had some… suspicions of Vex activity but now something else come to light. The cultists who refuse to abandon the planet have been whispering of these things for some time and though I'd been largely ignoring their conspiracy theories I had decided to send you to check things out for me. But now? I can't ignore what one of my Hidden brought me." Glance shifting about, she handed over a Ghost shell, motionless and silent. Was it dead?

"I don't understand…"

"A dead Ghost?" Kiran asked.

"She's not dead," Ikora assured. "Her name is Sagira. I've known her for a very long time. And her Guardian, Osiris."

"THE Osiris?" Kiran asked, whipping around excitedly. "The strongest Guardian who ever lived? The hero of Six Fronts? The Zavala before Zavala?"

Ikora smirked and tilted her head. "Zavala wouldn't want to hear you call him that."

Kiran drooped a bit.

"Most Guardians won't even speak Osiris' name. He was the only Vanguard Commander ever exiled from the City," she said to Wren, "and the man who taught me what it means to be a Warlock. We found Sagira on Mercury and at the same time, vex energy surged exponentially."

"So instead of checking out the validity of a conspiracy, you want me to—"

"Find out what happened to Osiris. Sagira wouldn't be in this state and Osiris be alright. I need to know. Though most would like to forget him, I can't feel that way about him. When I lost my Light and felt I had nothing left, you came to me and changed my mind. I need that friend again. Take Sagira to Mercury. The followers of Osiris that have remained there, though there are few, might understand what her presence means. And for now, let's keep this between us. I'd hate to have to throw you off this catwalk."

Wren's eyebrow raised.

"Is… that a joke?" Kiran asked nervously.

Ikora's lips twisted into a small smile. "That was a joke. But I am serious when I say it needs to stay between us. Even Cayde can't know."

"I understand," she replied, knowing full well that she wasn't about to freely speak with Cayde. Not right now. Not when he was acting this way.

Despite understanding his reasoning, she still didn't like it and there was a lot they'd have to discuss before the situation was smoothed out.

"Farewell, Guardian," Ikora said, leaving Wren and Kiran standing there with Sagira's shell in Wren's palms.

"To Mercury?" she asked, glancing at Kiran.

"To Mercury."

The flight to Mercury was silent. Wren sat in the cockpit staring at the lifeless shell of Sagira in her lap. She'd come so far from when she was first rezzed and was terrified to get close to anyone. To lose anyone. Back then she tried so hard to distance herself from everyone and yet, it didn't take long for Sisre to break those walls down.

Having Sagira in her grasp reminded her of the fragility of being a Guardian. Being able to come back when things got sketchy wasn't as much of a given as she wished it was. She pulled her hand away and rubbed her palm, remembering the bite of Ziro's shell as it punctured her hands.

Beorn.

She stared into the stars and the glow of Mercury as she approached. Losing him had almost destroyed her. She couldn't remember much but she did remember Franz beating her within an inch of her life. She missed him. Missed how they were before and tears welled up in her eyes.

"You okay?" Kiran asked.

"Sometimes I'm okay. And sometimes I remember how much I miss Beorn. And Franz. And the way things were before. I wish I was stronger. I could have—"

"Shhh, don't. I know the pain comes and goes and seeing Sagira like this is hard, but you can't let that consume you. Not now." He nuzzled her cheek.

"I think it's getting to me because of everything that's going on. I really hoped after that last mission that Franz would come around and he didn't and now even Cayde is acting weird. When he came home covered in blood and reeking of smoke? I don't know… something changed. I hate leaving things like I did with him but I can't excuse his actions either. Keeping me from missions? I thought he had more faith in me than that."

"Well, remember what Ikora said."

"I know. But does doing something out of love make it right?"

"I think it's more complicated than that sometimes. If you knew what—"

"Wren?" Ikora's voice cut Kiran off.

"I'm here."

"You should be approaching Mercury so I thought I would give you a little more insight as to what you're headed into."

"I'm listening."

"I'm not sure if you're aware, but long ago the Traveler turned Mercury into a garden world. It was a paradise… until the Vex came. The Vex replaced the planet's core with their own machines that we call the Infinite Forest. It's an ever expanding of realities. No two paths are ever the same and those who have gone in, have never escaped. It was Osiris' obsession."

"And he was trapped?" Kiran asked.

"I'm afraid the rest of the story will have to wait. Zavala is coming. Find the cultists on Mercury and proceed from there. I trust you to find the truth."

Wren and Kiran exchanged glances but the surface of the planet was close enough now that he could transmat her down and so he did. Her boots didn't have time to touch the ground before a voice spoke to her.

"Welcome to Mercury, Guardian," the voice said. "The signs told me you would come."

"What a coincidence," Kiran said. "We followed the signs too. And by signs I mean facts."

Wren tilted her head at Kiran. What had gotten into him?

"That too is a sign. I am Brother Vance of the Followers of Osiris, Keeper of the Lighthouse, and oracle of the Lost Prophecies."

"I'm Wren," she said, butting in before Kiran could speak again. She could feel him brooding for whatever reason.

"Welcome, Wren," Brother Vance said.

She took a look around at her surroundings, having a hard time believing this place was ever a garden world. There was no sign of life anywhere. No people, plants, or animals. Just metal and stone and strange Vex carvings. Everything was hard edges and strange floating anomalies.

"Try to reach the Tower," Wren said and a moment later came Ikora's voice.

"I'm here. Kiran has sent me your location. There should be a Vex gate very close to your location. Osiris spent years studying it. He was convinced it was a gateway to the Infinite Forest. If it is possible to find Osiris, we'll need to open that door."

Wren placed Sagira in a pouch on her hip, safely tucked away.

"Ikora Rey!" Brother Vance breathed, overly excited to hear her. "Osiris' greatest student!"

"Brother Vance," Ikora replied, less than amused. "Osiris' greatest… fan."

Wren smirked and continued toward the coordinates Ikora had sent her, under great, sweeping ropes that held many red windchimes and past Vex made crevices that seemed to drop into the core of the planet. In the distance she could see Vex patrolling floating platforms surrounded by smaller ones that flickered in and out of this reality.

The sun beat down on her as she made her way up small sets of stairs, around the outer edge of a large platform until a Vex gateway came into view. She passed through it but not much changed as far as the landscape. She missed the Skyburner's but the scout rifle she'd been given would have to do. Even from here the Vex on the floating platforms were beyond her capabilities to hit. Times like this, she missed Sisre and her trusty sniper rifles.

Scout rifle across her back she decided to move forward and destroy what enemies were within the range of her Better Devils. Not that there were many Vex along her way. Either they didn't know she was here, or they didn't care. She put them down swiftly and found a launch pad that flung her toward another platform, farther away and higher up.

Her stomach lurched and the landing wasn't as graceful as she would have hoped.

"I really hate those things," she muttered.

"I know, but there are more," Kiran replied. "Just be careful on those landings. Last thing we need is you breaking an ankle and getting taken out by a Minotaur."

"I'm not that bad."

She held her breath and stepped into the next one which launched her far across the bottomless canyon. The landing was a bit smoother despite there being a few Goblins waiting for her on the other side.

"Aim for the juicebox!" Kiran laughed, as if Wren needed reminding of a Vex crit point.

She rolled her eyes. "Shouldn't it be milk carton or something?"

"Maybe but that's not as fun to say."

A few sparking, headless Vex headed toward her, lurching on shaky legs, shots firing with no accuracy. She dropped the first one and it exploded into a small ring of white electricity.

"What the hell?"

"Fanatic," Kiran sighed. "That stuff'll hurt you."

"Noted."

She killed the remaining two and took a look around as she reloaded. Seemed like the only place to go was a half circle of an arch that outlined a narrow path between towering walls. Great. Getting boxed in was a perfect way to start.

Sprinting through, took only a couple of minutes and Kiran gave her no heads up as to enemies waiting on the other side. What she was met with, however, was a bright view with a strange cylindrical tower in the distance. She couldn't look at it long. Despite the dark tilt of her visor, the sun just behind the structure hurt her eyes.

A few Vex were scattered about on her path from the narrow divide leading toward the tower and she was able to move rather quickly to cover the distance.

"I am so pleased Osiris has brought you to me, his most faithful servant," Brother Vance said.

Wren cringed. She knew that he was a cultist but she didn't think Ikora meant that the cult itself deified Osiris.

"Considering how you revere a man who questions everything, I am surprised how well faith serves you," Ikora replied.

"The Vex are at my door. Osiris has not returned. Faith is all I have left."

Wren reached a dead end and looked around, grumbling when she found yet another launch pad. Seemed gravity lifts were the most used way to traverse Mercury but that didn't mean she had to like it. The lift shot her farther than the ones before and she was air born much longer than what made her comfortable. Her stomach shifted and her heart pounded against her ribs as the ground began to get closer faster than she expected.

She used her boost in enough time to keep her from ploughing into the stone platform, but not enough to keep her from rolling head over feet in the dirt.

"You okay?" Kiran asked.

"I need a break," Wren breathed, laying on her back as Kiran healed parts of her body that began to sear with pain.

"Take a look at that."

Wren forced herself to sit up and take a view of where they were. In the distance, backed by the sun which took up most of the horizon, was a pyramid. In the middle, a glowing blue gate. That must be where they were headed.

It wasn't too far away; sitting atop stairs just beyond a large circular formation. She looked up at the tower, where she now rested at the base on a small platform near another gate she assumed lead inside.

"The gateway to the Infinite Forest," Kiran said. "I think it's getting brighter."

"Maybe…"

A flash of light and a beam shot out of the top of the pyramid that housed the gateway. A horn blared in the distance and a shockwave emanated from the pyramid and Wren could see it approaching, a wide blue circle that raced toward her. She dropped to her knees and covered her head, gritting her teeth until it passed over her, sending shockwaves through her body.

She cried out as it passed and took several shaky breaths once it was gone. Nausea rocked her and sweat dotted her brow under her helmet. What the hell was that?

Another horn blast and a shockwave approached and Wren did what she could to brace but the impact never came. She waited, focusing on her breathing, until at last she had the courage to look up. The blue line had passed and she felt no pain from it now. It was just a light.

"Weird… but I'm not complaining," she said to Kiran.

"No joke. Let's get outta here and figure out what's going on over there."

Wren dropped to the ground in a puff of red dirt and ran toward the circular structure, arcing her way around and through the few Goblins that came to stop her. They didn't seem to be trying very hard and frankly, if not for Sagira's shell in her pouch, she wouldn't have found Mercury that alarming. Compared to Cabal bases or Fallen with Guardian killing weapons or hoards of Hive cramped in caves, Mercury was relatively calm.

The horn blasts and shockwaves continued at regular intervals but Wren ignored them now, sprinting through the circle of light without thought, only slowed by a Hydra that was guarding the entrance to the Infinite Forest.

Its movements were slow but the rotating shield was a pain and it took Wren too long to kill it. She hid from blasts around a column, timing and counting them for a safe place to peek out and shoot with her scout rifle but even then, there was no guarantee she could get a shot around the shield.

"That thing is the worst," she said, tossing a grenade as far as possible, hoping to land it under the Hydra.

Its shield sparked as the explosions rocked it to its core. The great hulk dropped on one side, almost touching the ground, and Wren dropped to a knee and took aim at its glowing red eye. Two shots and the glass cracked, the red glow flickering then going dark as it hit the ground and exploded, sending bolts of electricity and shards of metal flying.

With the coast clear she approached the fractalized light of the gate but something stopped her. What if she never got out again? What if she was trapped in there like Osiris? Ikora was sending her to a possible eternity lost in there and for what?

"Kiran?" she whispered.

"I know."

Wren nodded. "Can you time a message for me? If we're not out of this thing in twenty four hours can you…"

"I can record what you want. And don't worry. I shut down comms."

"Right," she said, exhaling shakily. "So… Cayde. I um… I'm not sure how to say this or where to start or anything and I don't really have time to think about it so… I guess, I wanted to tell you that I love you. I tried to tell you before but the comms cut out and... And I don't know what's been going on with you lately but whatever it was, I forgive you? I think? Damn I wish you would just talk to me. If something happens and I'm stuck in the Infinite Forest, I don't want you coming after me. I want you to take care of Colonel and just… live, would you? Please? I have to go now. I'm sorry."

"Are you ready?"

"No."

Wren's legs shuddered and she wondered if they'd obey her if she ordered them to move. For several minutes she stared into the fractalized depths before holding her breath and forcing herself to take the few steps until she was inches from the gateway. She closed her eyes and tried to step into it only to be shot back with enough force to send her sliding across the stone floor.

"Son of a –"

"Ikora, we can't get through," Kiran said. "Maybe if Sagira was awake she could help us."

"Osiris preserve us!" Brother Vance said. "You have his Ghost? Please—please bring her to me!"

Wren stood, ears ringing. Before she could reply the light around her dimmed and the crackling sound of incoming Vex broke through her ringing ears. Stumbling, she found cover and waited, watching their entry points with the scout rifle at the ready.

Fanatics came first on their unsteady legs, leaving electric rings of energy where they fell. Goblins took advantage of her being preoccupied with the shambling, headless Vex to take shots at her from a distance, their rounds causing the stone of the half wall she ducked behind to shatter off in chunks.

"These aren't normal Vex," Kiran said but he failed to elaborate and she was too busy to ask. "You need to get back to the Lighthouse."

"The tower thing?"

"Yes the tower thing!"

"Well excuse me, it doesn't look a damn thing like a lighthouse!" she snapped, taking out a Harpy that had snuck up on her.

Breaking cover, Wren sprinted down the hill to the side of the half wall, throwing grenades into oncoming swarms of Harpies that she noticed had an odd shape. This must have been what Kiran was talking about. These Vex were similar to ones she had fought before, but they looked different.

"Use your Arc Staff," Kiran said as an energy round grazed Wren's helmet.

Her vision blurred but she did as she was told and Goblins that had gotten too close sparked with her Arc energy as the staff appeared in her fist. She tore her way through them, adrenaline pumping to the point she could no longer tell what were shots that were landing or accidental strikes from her own staff. She still didn't like the thing and knew she needed the Crucible to help hone her still but this wasn't the time to consider a conversation with Shaxx.

Survival was more important.

The base of the Lighthouse was swarmed with Vex and Wren did her best to clear them before her energy drained and she was left with only her Better Devils to defend herself. She rolled out of the Arc energy, armor crunching on shards of Vex that littered the area around a portal at the base of the Lighthouse. A fan of knives left her hand when she slid to a stop, lodging deep into a Minotaur's head.

It lurched back, shots firing wildly into the air before she had time to land a few of her own and send it to the ground with a sickening crunch.

She snapped a new clip into the Better Devils and panting, spun to take aim at something, anything, only to find she was alone in a pile of scrap metal.

"Shh, it's okay," Kiran eased. "They're all gone. You just need to take out that module up there."

Wren looked up to a cube of light that hovered far overhead. A few halfhearted shots and it burst.

"Vex from different timelines are converging here," he said. "That's really bad."

"Yeah." Wren entered the portal to the Lighthouse and blinked repeatedly to adjust her eyes.

This place was dark. Quiet. The gentle tinkling of windchimes and faint crackling of candles were the only sounds and when he eyes adjusted, she glanced around at the room.

It was circular, with a bridge over a dropped floor, leading to a platform where there stood a man in robes with books on tables all around him. Brother Vance, she presumed. She neared and saw that bandages wrapped around his eyes and she carefully holstered her weapon.

"Thank you," he said, turning his face toward the sound of her footsteps. "I don't know what I would have done if Osiris had not sent you to me. In return, the Followers of Osiris can help you revive his Ghost. We have a temple hidden on Earth. Take Sagira to these coordinates," he said, holding out a piece of paper with a scrawling set of numbers across it. "I will notify the Followers that you are coming. Now that the Lighthouse is safe, we can prepare for Osiris' return. All of the lost prophecies are coming to pass! I am finally going to meet Osiris!"

Brother Vance's voice became louder, more excited. Wren stepped back. The floor shook and the wall opposite her began to lower, revealing a view of the outside. Of the pyramid and the circular structure between them.

"I think… we should go now," Kiran said.

"Thanks," Wren replied, tucking the coordinates into her pocket.

"Wren, return to the Tower for further instruction," Ikora said. "There's much to discuss before we proceed and I'll need all of your Ghosts' readings."

"Understood. We'll head there now." Wren took a few steps away from Brother Vance who was now muttering to himself and rapidly flipping through a large book. "Oh, and Kiran? Erase that message, would you?"

He was dead.

No.

Not yet.

He was dying. And she wasn't fast enough or strong enough to save him.

Wren opened her eyes to the roaring sounds of explosions that rocked the hallway where she was trying to run. Her hands were wrapped tight around Ziro and cords of SIVA wound around her hands and wrists. The first crack shot pain through her body and she tried to pull away but Ziro's light flickered and as it went out his form shifted. Long spikes grew from his shell and suddenly he was Sagira, sharp shell piercing through Wren's hands. She cried out and the cables tightened.

"Stop!" she yelled and Sagira's spikes dulled, lessened, cracked and then she was gone, morphing into Sundance whose light shifted around frantically as if she was searching for an escape. "No—" Wren choked.

Her head snapped to where Beorn was half crushed, being taken over by swarms of SIVA and his face… it wasn't Beorn. It was Cayde.

"Wait!" she begged, trying to plead with an enemy that couldn't truly hear.

Sundance crushed to dust in her palms and SIVA overtook Cayde entirely before the cables wound from her hands and wrists to crush her entire body. They wrapped around her legs until she couldn't even kick any more. They strangled her, tightening around her throat until she couldn't even scream

She woke up thrashing but quickly realized that the cables were not cables at all but a tangle of blankets and Cayde. He was on his hands and knees on top of her, holding her to keep her from hurting herself. Sobs wracked her body and he wrapped her arms around him and held on for dear life.

"Shhh, I'm here," he said. "It was just a dream. I gotcha, okay?"

"I don't want you to go," she choked.

"Go? Sugarbird, I'm not goin anywhere. I'm right here."

It took a long time to calm down. The dream latched onto her mind and refused to shake loose. Cayde didn't seem to mind. He stayed over her, protecting her, letting her cry herself out and cling to him. She couldn't stop touching him. Not with the lingering fear from the nightmare looming in the corner. She closed her eyes and slowly ran her hands over his sides, his arms, his chest. Any exposed plating she tried to memorize. She was feeling this. Feeling him.

He was here. Solid. Present. Her hands finally rested on her face and he looked down at her, studying her face. She couldn't quite place his expression but he kissed her forehead and rolled off of her, sitting up against the headboard and guiding her to lay her head on his lap.

"What did you dream about?" he asked, his voice quiet and laced with concern.

Wren pulled his hand around to her face, tracing his knuckles with her thumb.

"It was Beorn," she whispered. "But then he was gone and… and it was you."

He sighed and relaxed slightly.

"It's just a bad dream," he assured. "Go back to sleep."

"What about you?" she asked, looking up at him.

"Don't you worry about me. I don't need to sleep. I'll keep an eye on ya."

Wren watched him but he didn't hold her gaze. He kept his eyes locked on the windows leading to the courtyard. There was a storm coming. She could feel it.

Storms drenched the City for days after Wren's nightmare. The streets ran thick with mud and debris that was still in the process of being cleared. Temperatures dropped and all over the City people took to shelters for temporary shelter from the cold.

Zavala had placed an order to Titans to engineer better ways to heat civilian homes, but it was a slow process. Hunter teams were Hunter teams were scavenging parts and many Warlocks were gone on their own scavenger hunts but instead of loot, they sought knowledge of the enemy's movements. Without the satellites being repaired yet, too much of their territory was vulnerable.

The mission to revive Sagira had slowed as one of Ikora's Hidden insisted on gaining more intel before sending Wren into the unknown. She was glad for it, in a way, but there was something else on her mind.

Wren had been busy repairing ships for flight but what little down time she had, came with the glaringly obvious truth that something serious was bothering Cayde. The Hunters treated him differently, side eying him where they usually met him with terrible jokes that he'd always laugh at, even if it wasn't funny. He still spoke to them as they passed, waving and calling out to them but they seemed… uncomfortable.

Sometimes he stood in his stall for long periods of time just staring into space and fidgeting with the thumb screw on a wrench, not moving until someone spoke to him but then beaming at them like nothing was wrong. She wished she could go to him but the distance he'd put between them was growing by the day and she was no longer sure of how to approach him. Even at home he fluctuated between zoned out overly talkative and beyond that, he wasn't eating or sleeping much. As an Exo she was sure he didn't need it like she did, but he hadn't been like this before.

She watched him from afar now, knowing it was time for her to leave the Tower and get something to eat but not feeling like she wanted anything but the truth from him. Maybe he was changing his mind. Maybe this wasn't what it cracked up to be. She picked at her gloves.

"You should just ask what's going on," Kiran said, settling in the hood of her jacket.

"I know."

"You're scared."

"I don't know what to do. What if he doesn't want this anymore? I know he said he wasn't going anywhere but what if he was just saying that to make me feel better?"

"Wren, I promise that's not it."

"I feel like you know why he's like this. I feel like everyone knows but me."

"I'm sorry, I just don't think that it's my place to say. But I do think you should talk to him about it."

"Yeah. You're right. If I want things to get better, I have to try."

She took a deep breath and headed toward his stall when Ikora stepped onto the catwalk between them.

"There you are!" she said. "I have all of the intel we need to get the mission moving again."

"Oh, I um… great." Wren peered around Ikora to Cayde who was chatting with a Hunter who looked intent on getting away from him as soon as possible.

Ikora looked over her shoulder at him. "Have you told him what we're doing?"

"No." They hadn't actually talked about anything. He hadn't even asked her what happened on Mercury or why she went. He was avoiding the conversation at all costs and frankly, that was fine with her. She didn't want to lie to him about where she'd been or what she was doing.

"Good. I know it's hard, but I promise, you won't have to hide it forever. Are you ready for supplies? I can have your ship prepared if you like?"

"I still have stuff from last time, I think it's okay."

"Alright then. Get your armor on and get going. The longer we go, the more anxious I get." Ikora nodded a goodbye and left Wren alone with Kiran.

"I should probably tell Cayde I'm leaving."

"I think so. And I wanna see Sun before we go too."

Wren went to Cayde's stall, approaching quietly. He was zoned out again but she could tell he was tired. More than just physically. She bit her lip.

"Cayde?"

"Hey Sugarbird," he said, putting on a smile and standing a little taller. He leaned in and kissed her cheek. "You ready to get some food? I think we should get some curry. You like curry? I don't think I've asked that before… there's this place that has great spicy curry. I think you'd like it. Then again… I dunno if it survived the war—" he drifted off, that tired look taking over for a second before he sprung back up. "But there's a nice garden near there so even if the place didn't make it, we can get somethin' else and go sit in that garden. I doubt the Cabal would screw up a garden—"

"Cayde," Wren cut in, touching his forearm. "I came to tell you I'm leaving again. Ikora needs me to go to Earth to check something out."

His face dropped but he also seemed relieved, and it was like a gut punch. She withdrew her hand and went back to picking her gloves.

"Oh," he muttered. "Well, keep in touch? I got worried when you went to Mercury."

"You did? I mean… I wasn't gone long."

"Just keep an eye open, okay?"

"I will."

They stood in awkward silence for a moment and Wren was getting more anxious by the minute. She turned to leave but he stopped her.

"Sugarbird?"

"Yeah?"

"I just wanted to tell you… I… I'll find out about that curry place. We can go when you get back."

Her heart sank but she forced a smile anyway. "Yeah. Sure."