Redacted

No One Else

I apologize for the lack of an update last week. Life got to me and I felt really bad, so there will be another update tomorrow to make up for it!

Thanks to DisobeyedBowl6, TidalKiller, and TurtleMan for the reviews!

Turtleman - Sorry it took so long to respond to your reviews but guest reviews make it harder to respond. I have to wait until I update to send a response. Anyways, thank you! I appreciate that you took the time to read both Tormented 'and' Redacted. It's not a light read for sure lol. And yeah, I expected the genderless terms (they, their, etc.) to throw some readers off but, personally, I don't like the other terms they use for agender characters (xyr, xey, xe) just doesn't sound very pleasing when read. And currently, I am 'not' accepting character requests, mainly for the reason they're hard to put into my story plus, I still have a long list of requested characters to put into Redacted. I apologize. And that idea is nice! Although I already planned out the reappearance of House Spirits so sadly, not going to be put into play. Sorry!

"Ianos, have you seen Knight?"

Glancing up from the book in his hands, the Awoken Warlock raised a brow at Crystalline's lavender form, "Now, why are you looking for him?"

Seeing the female Ghost give him a blank look, it took only Ianos as few seconds to click, "Ah, Hush is wondering where he is?" He received a nod as an answer, "Well considering his new 'schedule', Knight is officially on 'standby', Unit Eleven is currently in the Crucible with Akiva, gaining proper 'training' with his Light."

No sooner had he responded when he heard a sigh permeate from Crystalline, causing Ianos to place his book in his lap, "Is something the matter?"

"Oh no, just," Hesitation flashed over the female Ghost's yellow optic, "Ever since that 'sentence' was played out, neither Knight nor Unit Eleven have been spending time with Hush, and, well, the pair of them were her favorite playmates."

Ianos paused at Crystalline's words, his orange hues glancing over to the guest room from his desk; he has to admit, Hush has been quiet lately. The most he had heard from her was a few mumbled signs and on occasion, he would find her seated near the door, a hopeful look in her eyes.

The Exo Warlock had not been in Ianos' quarters since the Trial, although the Awoken Guardian cannot understand why. His sentence, although annoying, isn't severe in Ianos' eyes; it took the 'jury' a few hours to deliberate but in the end, they decided that at least one Guardian has to be with Unit Eleven 'and' Knight at all times. Additionally, Unit Eleven cannot always be in control of their body for an extended period. At most, he can stay in control for at least six hours and he is not allowed into the Last City. If Unit Eleven wants to be at least 'physically' be in the streets, it has to be Knight and even then, he has to have at least one Guardian with him. Luckily for the Exo, this 'partner' can be anyone from Fireteam Redacted. But strangely, neither Unit Eleven or Knight stepped through the door and according to the others, he always spends his night with Echo, always seeing the Exo Warlock visiting him whenever it was time to retire. For the reason why Ianos doesn't understand but, the Exo's absence has been leaving Hush listless, despite the Warlock's attempts to console her.

"I'll send a message to Akiva to bring him over," The Awoken Guardian watched the female Ghost reel back from his words, "it's rude of him to keep Hush waiting."

"There's no need to-"

"Anyway, it's about time that we learn more about this 'Unit Eleven', don't you think?"

Hearing nothing but silence from the female Ghost, Ianos took it as a cue to sigh and close his book, putting the pile of text onto his desk.

When Crystalline revealed to the others that she had known about Knight's 'second persona' for a while now, Ianos was furious; he had been letting Hush stay around Knight thinking it was the bumbling newborn that they had saved from the surface of the moon, not an indifferent Exo that was conditioned for nothing but war. He only let his anger subside for the reasoning that it was Unit Eleven and not Shining Knight that had come for the child Guardian's rescue. Thanks to this, he wants to know more about the Exo however, when he questioned the female Ghost, he gained no answer; or more accurately, he couldn't gain one.

Despite the fact that she had known about Unit Eleven for months, Crystalline admitted that she knows practically nothing about the Exo; all she knows is that he has a soft spot for Hush and that there is no doubt in the female Ghost's mind that he will protect the child Guardian with his life. In other words, if they want to learn 'anything' about the newest addition, they have to ask Unit Eleven himself or, in Ianos' eyes, Sunny Day. The Warlock easily saw how casually the two-conversed back during the day of the trial, how the Ghost is seemingly unfazed by the fact that the Exo Warlock was not the one that the team had rescued from Luna. If there is anyone else besides Unit Eleven who has the answers, it's no doubt that Day does. Although, thanks to the fact that they are the Phoenix Model's Ghost, the team had hardly seen Sunny Day as well, and Ianos couldn't help but grow impatient. The Guardian and Ghost pair have been hiding secrets from the team for a long while, it is about time they get some answers.

"Do you think that they will answer our questions so easily?" Ianos turned his focus over to his side, sighting the familiar black and orange form of Ace as the Ghost added, "Unit Eleven did hide his presence under our noses for a while and it was only through unfortunate circumstances that his identity was revealed." He then watched his Ghost turn his focus towards Crystalline, "I do recall you mentioning that he was planning to leave nothing but a simple recording as the only evidence of his existence?"

"After terminating himself, yes," The Awoken Warlock frowned at her words, "the reason why? No idea. He would just keep repeating the same answer every time I ask: That he was given a second chance long ago and he had lost it. And it doesn't seem like he is too keen on gaining a third."

"Seems like he welcomed his first death with open arms," Ianos muttered, immediately sensing the attention of the two Ghost's focus onto him, "It is unfortunate that most resurrections aren't exactly 'willing' Soldiers of Light."

"Sorry."

Turning and giving his Ghost a strained smile, Ianos parted his lips to respond to Ace's apology before the familiar swish of the door caught his attention, causing the Warlock to focus his orange hues onto the entryway, "Unit Eleven?"

Seeing the Exo turn his optics towards him, this confirms Ianos' guess as he watched Unit Eleven take slow and steady strides towards the guest room, only to hear an excited squeal permeate from it when the Exo in question disappeared from sight. Letting a smirk form onto his features, Ianos paused when Akiva's form waltzed into the room, although his broken and disheveled armor quickly got a raised brow from the Warlock, "I thought you two went to the Crucible."

"We did," He heard the Titan let out a wheeze as he removed his helmet, "But it so happens that we somehow were matched against Echo and let's just say, when the two of them go at it, they go at it."

Taking note of Akiva's words, Ianos didn't have to ask who he was referring to; it wasn't hard to tell that Echo was none too pleased with Unit Eleven currently, and the Warlock has to guess it has to do with Unit Eleven's intentions to terminate himself. Although they do get along when not in combat, Ianos also has to guess that the pair, or more specifically, Echo, needed to release some steam.

"Considering that Unit Eleven hardly has a scratch, I have a feeling he fared better than you." A tinge of amusement pulled at the back of Ianos' mind as Akiva let out a groan, "I tried to intervene thanks to the fact that they literately looked like they wanted to kill each other. Word of advice: Don't. When they said that the Phoenix models were the elite of the Exo during the Golden Age, they weren't kidding. You should have seen me 'before' Lex repaired the worst of my injuries. Shaxx almost pulled me out."

Ianos blinked, "Wait, Shaxx, 'the' Shaxx almost pulled you out of a Crucible match?" He received a nod as a response, "The fight between the two must have been severe."

Seeing the Titan let out a tired nod, Ianos watched as he waddled over to his bed, and when he saw Akiva give him an expectant look, the Warlock simply nodded, letting a silent snort escape him when the human Guardian collapsed onto the soft furniture, and heard him let out a grunt of relief, "Have you seen Angel? I was considering asking Unit Eleven some questions but, I thought it would be better if the three of us were present."

Akiva lifted his head, "Last I heard, he went onto the field with another Hunter. Darrow-14 if I remember correctly." He watched the Titan flip himself over and push himself into a seated position, "Said that they were going on a simple 'patrol' but two Hunters?" Akiva waved it off, "If more than one Hunter is involved, it's more than a simple 'patrol'."

Ianos let out a light hum in response, "Then what do you propose he is doing?"

"More than likely looking up those fallen Hive ships," The Awoken immediately flinched at his words, "You know, Angel. Really good with the language thing, even made some of the Cryptarchs jealous of his capability to read and speak multiple tongues at once."

"Doesn't mean he should wander into enemy territory just to read a few sentences." He received a blink of surprise from the Titan, "Oh, come on. You're a Warlock, I thought you guys would die for small bits and pieces of information like that."

Immediately, Ianos gave Akiva a blank look, "There is a difference on scrounging around collapsed ruins and actively seeking out wrecked ships of the Hive."

"…Oh."

A sigh escaped from Ianos' lips, "Ace, send a message to Angel. Tell him to get here as soon as possible so we can question Unit Eleven while he is still here."

Xxxxx

"You sure you're not going to drop me?"

Angel easily can sense the blank stare he received behind his fellow Hunter's visor, "You do not trust me?"

"Well," The human Guardian glanced nervously at the rope in the Hunter's hand before following it to the clip around his belt, keeping it – hopefully – secured, and preventing him falling into the abyss below, "if you were to put yourself in my position, wouldn't you be a bit, 'tense' as well, Darrow?"

Seeing Darrow tilt his head just near the edge of the cavity, Angel couldn't help but take in a breath when the Hunter suddenly flicked out of view, "Darrow? Darrow, you still there? This isn't funny-" The human Hunter suddenly felt the rope shift and swing, causing him to let out a yelp as he pressed his legs against the rocky wall and clasped both hands around the tether, "Darrow, what are you doing!?"

Receiving no answer, Angel fearfully fixed his gaze upwards, only to let out a sigh of relief when the red clad Hunter's head flashed back into view, "I am still here." He then watched the Hunter stand, giving him a better look of a rope now tied around the Hunter's waist, "I went and searched for debris to tether you to and in addition, I clasped the rope to myself, if that eases your worries."

Angel gave Darrow a sheepish smile behind his visor, "Yeah, thanks, that helps."

Seeing his fellow Hunter give him a nod in response to his words, the human Hunter then focused on the decaying surface before him, reaching out and brushing his gloved fingers against the rotting runes. In reaction to this, Angel heard Hope let out a disgusted grunt inside his helmet, "Do you have to touch it like that? I easily can hear it squish against your fingers tips and lookin' at is enough."

A quiet chuckle permeated from Angel's lips, "You know as well as I do that Hive text aren't exactly 'clean' enough to be outright read by normal eyes. Which brings up a favor from you."

Hope groaned, "Please don't tell me…"

"Can you please scan the runes for me? The muck makes it impossible to read."

"You are lucky that you are my Guardian, otherwise, I would have said no."

Letting out another silent laugh, the familiar buzz of Hope materializing over his shoulders rang in his ears before the familiar light of her scan lit up the dimness of the cavern. Thanks to this, Angel himself couldn't help but let out a sound of disgust as the familiar spores of the Hive easily can be seen wrapped around the old text, the pulsating movement not making it any easier to take in the sight.

"You can't even look at it and yet, you still seek these things out."

Angel flashed Hope a nervous smile, "Well, curiosity kills the cat."

A sigh from the Ghost, "But satisfaction brought it back." The light of her scans then died from her optic, "There, I got what I could." He then saw her fixate her green optic onto his visor, "Now can we please leave this place? It's disgustin' and not to mention, filled to the brim with Hive."

Laughing at his Ghost's words, Angel simply responded with a nod before he reached out, curled his fingers around the tether, and then slowly started pulling himself up. Hearing Hope let out a satisfied hum as she slowly followed him as he ascended, Angel's attention was then diverted to Darrow when he saw the Hunter kneel down and held out a hand, signaling to the human Hunter to reach out and grasp it, and feeling Darrow pull him up with little to no effort, "You know, it's times like these that I am glad that you are an Exo, Darrow."

He can easily sense the bewildered look behind the Hunter's visor, "What do you mean by that?"

Fixating his gaze onto Darrow's darken visor, Angel let out a silent hum as he contemplated his words, "Well, considering all the gear I have on me and you're not quite limited by 'muscle', just kind of glad that you have the strength to pull me up." His thoughts then wandered over to Aleeza, recalling the memory of her straining to pull him over into cover from Fallen fire; he flinched at the memory and then forced out the words, "You know what I am getting at, right?"

Hearing nothing but a snort from the Exo Hunter, Angel took it as a 'yes' and started to undo the clip around his waist.

"Wait, do you hear that?"

The human Guardian paused, lifting his gaze back towards Darrow as he let the rope fall from his hands, easily feeling it leave his person, "Hear what?"

Seeing the Exo hold up a hand, Angel took the opportunity to tune into his surroundings, and he took in a gulp; the familiar hiss and clicks of the Thrall can be heard just beyond the rusted walls, and the gnarled tongue of the Acolytes rang in his ears, "Oh, shit."

Watching Darrow unhook his scout rifle from his back, the human Hunter then removed his own hand cannon from his waist, holding it carefully in both hands as the Exo Hunter crouched, pressing his shoulder against the wall as he carefully crawled forward. Quickly making his way to the opposing wall, Angel pressed his back against the cracked surface, taking in a shaky breath as he edged his way forward.

"You are certain they are here?"

Angel froze.

"Those heathens radiate light just as brightly as the darkness in our chests." A snarl permeated through the broken wall, "and do not forget that our worms crave for the light in their hearts. It finds the source of those heathens' light to find a way to rejuvenate itself. Can you not feel it?"

"Focusing on the light of those heathens is difficult when all you can feel is the hunger gnawing at your conscious. I just have your words to believe that there will be enough light to sate ourselves and the worms churning in our bellies."

"They know that we're here." Angel jumped before glancing over at Hope's floating form with wide eyes, "Hope, come here. It's not safe to be out in the open."

The Hunter watched as the female Ghost turned and gave him an incredulous look, "And miss all the good action shots? Sorry Angel, but I'm going to sit out and get some good clips." Her parts lifted up into a Ghost equivalent of a smile, "How else am I going to show you off to the others?"

Giving the white and red Ghost a blank look, Angel then hissed, "Then get to a safe spot. Don't leave yourself out in the open so easily."

Hearing her let out a light chuckle as she glided into one of the crack orifices of the crumbling ship, Angel then let out a breath of relief before focusing his attention back down the hall that both he and Darrow had their weapons pointed down, hearing the echoes of slow and steady footsteps slowly approach. Aiming down his hand cannon, Angel gulped when the familiar black head of a thrall appeared into view, the blind lesser Hive letting out a low rumble as it scraped its claws against the sides. It was then, that Angel pulled the trigger on his weapon.

Immediately, the resounding sound of the bullet leaving his hand cannon's chamber rang throughout the hall, followed by the screeching cry of the thrall as it suddenly exploded into a pile of ash and embers. Not long after, the familiar wary cry of an Acolyte roared through the chamber and the screeching cries of the thralls permeated towards the two Guardians before the familiar decaying figures dashed from the darkness.

"Tethering!"

Darrow's call was short but it gave enough time for Angel to abruptly stand, draw out his knife, and snap his hand back, letting the familiar sensation of his arc light flash throughout his body. Seeing the familiar violet streaks of the Shadowshot land just in front of the hoard of Thrall, Angel once again waited until the Void Anchor exploded, letting tendrils of violet light latch onto the nearby lesser Hive, hearing them let out screeches of surprise as their movement slowed, the human Hunter actually seeing some of the Thrall grasping their heads as if unable to comprehend their standstill position. This let Angel have the opportunity to dash forward, letting his Arc-Blade easily slide into the thin and stalky forms of the Thrall as their cries of agony were quickly silenced as their body dissolved into light, leaving nothing but flashes of blue outlines of their bodies before it too faded away.

"Angel! Acolytes!"

Startled by Darrow's call of warning, the human Hunter glanced up in time to barely see the small but quick violet streaks, stumbling back as the shots peppered into his shields and leaving obvious cracks in his vision. Feeling his light buzz around him in warning, Angel then concentrated his light around himself before rolling back, feeling the familiar fog of Shadestep making him incorporeal just long enough to scramble back onto his feet and duck down behind a crumbling pile of rusted metal and spores.

Sheathing his knife to opt for his hand cannon, Angel quickly aimed and fired at the three familiar glowing eyes of the upcoming Acolytes, letting the morbid sense of satisfaction permeate throughout his chest as the head of the one who nearly took down his shields exploded into shattered carapace and embers. However, the human Hunter in turn heard the familiar screeches of rage from the others, watching them scramble into their own cover before letting fire over the broken debris with their Shredders. Peeking his head over cautiously, Angel found himself ducking down as violet streaks peppered his cover, feeling the broken pile of debris rumble behind him as he glanced over at Darrow's crouching form, "Having any better luck than me!?"

Seeing the Exo Hunter fix his darken visor towards him, all he received as a response was Darrow holding up a hand, the familiar light of a void grenade forming in his grasp before Angel promptly watched him toss it over his cover. Immediately, the familiar splash of void light flashed over Angel's spot followed by the terrified and agonized screeches of the Acolytes. The human Hunter let out a nervous laugh in response, "I'll take that as a yes."

Hearing a short chuckle from his fellow Hunter in response to his words, Angel waited until the familiar flush of the void grenade dissipated from his ears to pop out of cover and fire at the first thing he saw, only for his heart to freeze as his bullets penetrated into the thick carapace of a Knight. Seeing the higher ranking Hive turned its sickly yellow eyes towards him and let out a roar, this signaled to the Hunter to duck back down into cover.

"Sniper it is," He muttered to himself as he holstered his hand cannon back around his waist and removed the high-powered rifle from his back, hefting it in his hands before peeking out of cover and pulled the trigger as soon as the armored head of the Knight flashed into his scope. The satisfying sound of the bullet slamming into the Knight's head permeated throughout the hall however, to Angel's astonishment, the higher Hive stumbled but remained standing, and it took only moments for the Hunter to take in the sight of the angered look in the Knight's three eyes.

Cursing to himself silently, Angel leaped back as the Knight rushed towards him and slammed its blade onto the Guardian's former cover, the human Hunter momentarily gawking as the broken metal and spores scattered from where he just crouched.

"By the Great Machine." The Eliksni tongue easily slid from his throat as he scooted back, narrowly dodging another swing from the Knight's sword as the higher ranking Hive let out roars of rage, "Darrow! A bit of an assistance here!"

It was then the familiar 'pop' of a smoke grenade rang throughout the hall, Angel wasting no time to gage his distance and rush backwards as the familiar black smoke filled his vision. Hearing the Knight let out another roar of anger in response, Angel then concentrated his light into his hand, feeling the familiar solidification of a grenade forming in his grasp before tossing it into the fray. Seeing his aim slightly to the side, the human Hunter couldn't help but let out a nod of satisfaction as the Flux grenade suddenly jerked to the right, clinging itself onto the shoulder piece of the higher Hive. That sense of satisfaction soon dissipated when the Hive Knight suddenly charged, easily closing the distance between itself and the two Hunters; there was a reason why Angel dislikes sticky grenades.

In a vain attempt to escape, the human Hunter attempted to gather his light around himself once more, the familiar edges of his vision filling with the familiar wisps of void light. But the 'ping' of the grenade went off. The sound of shields shattering rang in Angel's ears followed by the feeling of his feet flying out underneath him, and he felt his body being pushed back by the explosion. His head ringing from the sound of the grenade going off, Angel barely had time to comprehend the sensation of free fall, the dusted clouds of dirt and spores quickly disappearing from view as his vision suddenly filled with the musty walls of the cavity behind him. Letting the blurriness of his gaze fade, it was then the human Hunter saw Darrow's form swing by him, the sound of the tether creaking against the Exo Hunter's weight followed by a resounding 'crack' as his body slammed into walls of the cavern. Seeing the Exo's body swing as the smoke slowly cleared, it was only then Angel realized that he still found himself falling, the ringing in his ears dissipating just in time to hear Hope calling out his name, narrowly catching the red and white form of his Ghost appearing into view.

Seeing her glide after him, Angel reached out only for his eyes to widen as a rumbling sound echoed throughout the cavity and he saw edges of the entrance crumble and break apart; the explosion had let loose some of the hearth. Seeing Hope zip around falling debris and broken metal, Angel scrambled for his hand cannon, fumbling it in his hands before taking aim and firing at any falling scraps aiming for his Ghost. Hearing the bullets ricochet off of his targets, his heart froze as a broken metal slammed into Hope's shell, hearing her let out a startled cry as she spun, and her form slammed into the musty side of the caverns.

"Hope!" Parting his lips to call out her name once more, Angel instead barely saw a glimpse of a falling rock near the edges of his vision before he felt his head snap to the side from the impact. His vision darkening, the last thing the human Hunter heard was Hope frantically calling out his name.

Xxxxx

"Is Angel or Hope not picking up?"

Akiva fixated his gaze onto Ianos's visor, easily sensing the impatience permeating from the Awoken.

Moments earlier, Ace had attempted to contact Hope but only gained white noise as a response. After a few more attempts, the human Titan decided he would make attempts to call Angel however, only gained the same result. This in turn slowly caused Ianos to slowly turn anxious and Akiva can easily sense the anxiety permeating from the older Guardian.

Nonetheless, in response to the older Guardian's question, the human Titan flashed a nervous smile, "Might be way into the text. Who knows? Maybe he's taking samples back for you to take a look at as well."

"After my experience with the Hive, I think I had a good enough look."

Flinching at the Awoken Warlock's words, Akiva then fixed his attention back onto Lex's form when the white noise finally let out a click, only for him to reel back as Hope's frantic voice came through, the female Ghost's words hardly comprehensible, "Hope? Hope, calm down. We can't understand a single word that you are saying."

Hearing the female Ghost pause and taking in a deep breath, the human Titan took the opportunity to glance over at Ianos, seeing the once relaxed stature now tense, concern easily emitting behind his visor.

"Angel!" Akiva jumped as Hope's voice echoed from Lex's core, "Angel! Oh, Traveler! Angel!"

"Angel? What happened to Angel?" It was Ianos who spoke, "Is he not with you?"

"No! He and Darrow were fightin' a Knight and then it exploded and they fell into a hole but Darrow was the only one tied down so Angel fell and I tried going after him but the explosion caused a cave in and I got hit and I lost sight of him and – Oh, Traveler! Please! Just come here! I don't know what to do and Render can't revive Darrow because of the Darkness here and I can't revive him with my light alone and I keep hearin' things! Just come here and help us! Help me find Angel! Traveler! Please!"

Hearing sobs then emit between the link, Akiva turned his wide eyes towards Ianos, seeing the Awoken Warlock frozen, his expression unreadable behind his visor as Hope's incoherent words permeated throughout the room.

"Hope, stay where you are." Ianos broke the silence, "We'll use your frequency to tune in on your location. You and Rener stay hidden, we'll be there soon as we can, alright?"

"…Please, come quickly." Barely catching the female Ghost's whisper, Akiva then heard the familiar 'click' of the link cutting off.

Watching Lex enclose his parts back around his core, the human Titan shifted his attention towards Ianos as he watched the latter stand up, seeing the black and orange form of Ace follow the Warlock across the room, "Gearing up to go?"

"What do you think?"

Letting out a small snort in response to Ianos' scoff, Akiva then hesitated, his golden hues tracing the Awoken's form as he paced back and forth in his quarters, holstering weapons around his waist and back or holding it up for Ace to take into the Vault, "Have anyone in mind to go with you?"

That's when he saw Ianos pause, the Awoken Guardian standing idly in the middle of his quarters before slowly turning to fix his hidden gaze onto the human Titan's, "You are not coming."

It wasn't a question; Akiva had known Ianos long enough that the Awoken is quick to put the pieces together, but it didn't stop the older Guardian from asking, "You are not fully rejuvenated yet?"

Akiva let loose a sheepish smile in response to Ianos' question, "Well that's one reason, but, there is another."

"It's the children, isn't it?"

The human Titan chuckled as he rubbed the back of his neck nervously, "The girls are reaching the age where they are starting to 'understand' the world better, and Ora, well, he has been asking for 'dad' more often." He hesitated again, "I think it's about time that I 'retire' from the field for now and help Neve keep an eye on the kids."

"Except for the occasional Crucible matches."

Akiva laughed at Ianos' words, "Well, have to blow off some steam somehow."

Hearing nothing but a subtle grunt from the Warlock, Akiva then watched as Ianos turned towards Ace, watching him hold out his hand in invitation for the Ghost to materialize into his armor, "You're not going alone, are you?"

Ianos' focus turned back towards him, "Do you know anyone else that can come with me?"

Opening his mouth to respond to the Warlock's question, Akiva paused; the downside of being only a team of three is that their numbers aren't exactly the best when it comes to availability. He had promised Neve that his time as a Guardian will only be limited to the Crucible and Angel can't be the one to save himself. Pondering on their list of comrades, the human Titan wondered over to Pluto, only to mentally shake his head. The Exo Hunter may have claimed that he would be there for Fireteam Redacted after he had left, however, with his charge as Clan leader of Galaxy, the team hardly ever sees Pluto anymore, at least, not outside of the Tower. And Akiva doubts that he will be available to help. He then considered Neve's team but then quickly shook off the idea as well. Fireteam Blaze may have been grateful on Redacted's accomplishment on bringing Alyx and Nora back safely for burial, but they are still in mourning of their loss and they wouldn't risk putting more of their members in danger. As such, they only have been sticking to the Crucible and have been training newborns of the ways of Guardians versus Guardians; they hadn't touched the field since Alyx's death. He's not sure if they will agree to assist so easily.

"I can be of assistance."

The mindless tone of Unit Eleven rang through the room, prompting Akiva to turn his attention towards the doorway of the guest room. Seeing the Exo Warlock staring blankly at the pair, Akiva then noticed Hush's form next to him, her head tilted in curiosity as she wrapped both her hands around his arm.

"Assistance?" Akiva didn't have to look over at Ianos to sense the suspicion permeating behind the Warlock's visor, "Considering you hid yourself from us for 'months' and 'assisted' with watching Hush, you are not 'needed'."

Watching Unit Eleven tilt his head in response to Ianos' words, Akiva saw his blank optics gleam a bit, as if processing the Awoken's words before he finally spoke, "You are angry. You are not happy that I spent time around Little One."

"I was not happy that you were around Hush 'before' her little rescue." Ianos hissed out, "You hid from us, made us think that you were 'Knight' when you actually a wholly different Guardian entirely." A scoff then permeated from the Awoken Warlock, "And you think that I would trust you enough to bring you on this task?"

"You are heading into a dark zone, you will need another Guardian to give you aid in such an area."

"And you think that can help me?"

"You have no one else." Akiva sensed the narrowed glance Ianos gave to Unit Eleven, "and according to the frequency sent by Hunter Angel's Ghost, it is in heavy Hive territory."

"Wait, how did you gain access to Hope's frequency?"

"I am a Phoenix Unit."

Sensing another glare from Ianos' way, the human Titan turned to face the Awoken Warlock, "I say take him with you." He easily sensed the puzzled look he received from the Awoken, "Look, I understand why you don't want Unit Eleven along but, I say this is a great chance for you to get to know him better, personally 'and' out on the field." Akiva then turned his gaze back towards the Exo, "and I would feel more comfortable if you have someone watching your back."

Hearing Ianos let out a grunt before another glare was pointed towards Unit Eleven's way, the human Titan let out a sheepish smile when the Phoenix Unit then stated, "Little One also overheard the frequency with Ghost Hope. Although she is not too keen on him thanks to his status as a human, she also doesn't like to see you upset, Warlock Ianos."

At first, silence permeated throughout the room, the only sound being Hush releasing her hold on Unit Eleven's arm and her quick footsteps pattering over to the Awoken Warlock's form. Then, she reached over and wrapped her hands around Ianos' hand and her yellow hues glanced up into Ianos' visor with hopeful eyes. Sensing the Awoken's attempt to keep a fixed stare, Akiva couldn't help but let out a snort when Ianos let out a sigh of defeat, "Alright, I'll take him with me."

A squeal of glee emitted from Hush, "But I am keeping a close eye on you, understand?"

"Observation, I understand."

Hearing another grunt emit from Ianos, Akiva took it as a cue to pick up his discarded helmet and focused his attention onto the child Guardian, "Hush? Would you like to visit my quarters for the day? I hear Ora has been calling for his 'older sister'."

Releasing a laugh as Hush's eyes lit up at the mention of his oldest child, Akiva forced himself off of Ianos' bed, approached the younger Guardian's form, and held out a hand. Immediately seeing her release her hold on Ianos' grasp and latched her hands onto his, the human Guardian let out a grin before his golden hues fixated his gaze onto the Awoken's, his gaze serious, "Watch yourself out there."

Seeing Ianos nod once in confirmation of his words, Akiva then took it as a sign to lead Hush towards the exit of Ianos' apartment, leading the child Guardian away from the Warlock's quarters and towards his own.

Darrow-14 belongs to TheIronNightstalker/MaYdAy0539/The Broken Sun

The Broken Sun - You had a lot of usernames so unsure of which one to use lol. Anyways, hopefully I got him down and if his appearance was too short, don't worry, he'll make another appearance in the next chapter although not as big.

There we go, and that's the end of this chapter. The next chapter should be up tomorrow night, so expect that :D