Chapter one.

Different yet the same.

Arielle, Orion and Vlad landed on the tower with ease almost like they were expected, and instantly, it seemed their comms were ringing with the requests that they make a swift stop by the Vanguard and report what they had found.

"It's so bright here." Rose said, taking a moment to get used to the brightness of the tower.

"What do you mean?" Vlad asked curiously.

"I mean it's bright, more…. Vibrant than where I'm from." She said trying to explain it better, "And it feels nicer here... Less hostile."

"And they have so many shiny lights…" Bing said while flitting from one place to other looking at every light he could find. "Can I change my optic colour? Please? I want a green one like your eyes Rose."

"We'll talk about upgrades when we have more Glimmer." Rose stated.

"Yay!" Bing cheered and even zoomed around her head excitedly until his systems pinged. "Oh! Our ship!" He said then gave an alarmed beeping sound that made a few heads turn. "Oh no…"

"What?" Rose asked and nearly fell over her own two feet as a familiar ship, hung suspended in the docks, covered in dents, jagged tears and what looked like bullet holes. "My baby…"

"This is your ship?" Arielle asked looking over the Space Age Mariner, usually a beautiful white colour with a gentle glow of light from the wings, but this one was practically black with dust and dirt and the wings were dented and broken in so many places Arielle was sure it shouldn't be flying at all; or should've been to begin with. "Sweetie that thing's scrap. Not only does it need a paint job, but it needs a whole new body. I don't even want to know how bad the mechanics are." She turned to Rose, "When was the last time you had it repaired?"

"Before we left for training on Venus." Rose said. "I paid extra just to get the shields up to snuff. She's the only ship I have…" she sighed. "Holiday's gonna kill me..."

"What did this?" Vlad asked taking a look at the ship and trying to find something in his memory that could have done such massive damage. "Looks like something huge…"

"Looks like Hive Knight damage… Or maybe Cabal…" Orion stated also inspecting the damage. "Or something entirely different," he added pausing and looking at one of the rips, "Hey babe give me a hand with this will ya?"

"What is it?" Arielle asked climbing up onto the ship and spotted a large chunk of what looks like a claw stuck in the ship. "Vlad. Tell Cayde he owes me twenty-five thousand glimmer."

"What do you mean?" Vlad asked as he jumped up and only to almost fall over. "Oh fuck… You might want to tell him yourself."

"Rose, do you know what this is?" Arielle asked as they wiggled and pried free a large claw from the sparking tear on her ship.

"Taishibeth… Tai Ravens." Rose shuddered at the sight of it and nodded. "Where I'm from they are common, but they are small according to the Commander, they used to grow so large they could cut moons in half with one talon, the ones we have are about the size of a Fallen drop ship." She said with a defeated air about her.

The three looked at each other and silently agreed to keep it quiet for now. "Arielle, why don't you take Rose on ahead? We'll try and talk Holiday into fixing this ship up and then join you."

"Got it," Arielle said and lead Rose out of the docks.

"I hate those things." Bing said, "They were known for snatching Ghosts out of the air and crushing us in one claw…"

"There are none of them here." Arielle assured, "They are kept at bay by the Awoken, they live in the Reef and are led by Queen Mara Sov."

"The Awoken are still in the Reef?" Rose asked in shock and relief. "This really is a different time, or place, or whatever this is." Arielle wanted to ask about the Awoken but instead they were interrupted by Bing's excited remark.

"Ooooh, look Rose, look!" Bing said floating ahead and looking at The Traveler above the city. "Wow…"

Rose looked up and her eyes widened. Over the city hovered the Traveler, a nearly perfect ball of warmly glowing white light, a few small spots of black near the base but clearly it was healing and doing far better than her own, the City below was also bigger, the walls were hardly visible beyond the mountains and everything radiated life. "It's almost whole…" She whispered.

"I guess our Traveler looks a lot better than yours does. What does your Tower look like?" Arielle inquired curiously.

"Not like this," Rose said, "There's life here, the city is still surrounded by walls, the air isn't heavy with death, I can feel, actually feel the Light here, the sky is clear, you can't feel anything but heavy air where I come from, you can't see the sky for smoke and flames. You can't stand here, there is nothing to stand on, this whole place is just one big mess of rubble and small fires to keep us warm. This whole place is different…"

"My god." Arielle said, realizing just how different Rose's Tower must have been compared to this one. "Come on, the Vanguard are waiting for our report and they'll want to meet you."

"But, it's late." Bing remarked. "Won't they be in a meeting with the other big bosses?" he added.

"Nah, they never call big meetings unless they have data to say they need to do so." Arielle smiled, waving to Master Rahool as they passed him.

Rose seemed surprised that the cryptarch nodded in return. "First time he's done that." She said as they headed down the stairs.

"Rahool and I get along pretty well. He likes that I can hold a conversation about the old items and I don't mind how he falls quiet when he starts thinking about where items came from. Vlad and Orion like to give him shit."

"Welcome home Arielle." A voice stated and Bing turned to see an almost familiar face looking at them. "A new Guardian?"

"Yes Eris." Arielle said with a polite nod. "This is Rose and her Ghost Bing."

"Welcome." Eris said with a polite nod in return.

"Hello." Rose greeted as Bing looked at the small ball in Eris' hands. "Manners, Bing." She reminded softly.

"Sorry. Hello Eris and Soul." Bing greeted with a small bounce in the air, Eris seemed to smile somewhat and then nodded as they headed towards the hall.

"Heads up!"

"Look out!" a voice warned and Bing suddenly found himself covered by some kind of heavy cloth.

"Not again. Idiots." Arielle sighed as Rose tried not to laugh, Orion had somehow caught himself in the wire and cables that held the Crucible Banners up and now, was tangled up in banner and cables, unable to move as Vlad struggled to keep himself upright from laughing so much at the foot of the stairs near Eris.

"Orion! What have I told you about racing around like a fool?!" a powerful voice bellowed and Bing heard a heavy foot step near him.

"It wasn't my fault! Vlad ran into me!" Orion stated in his defence only to have something hit his helmet. "OW!"

"Did not, you over jumped." Vlad laughed. "Oh, quick! Someone get pictures!"

"Hey! Where'd the light go?" Bing asked trying to float back up only for the heavy cloth to hold him down. "Help…"

"Sorry little one." The same voice apologized as the Banner was carefully lifted off him and he was lifted up off the floor and found himself looking at a very broadly built Titan with a single horn on his helmet, the other apparently cut or broken off. "Are you alright?" he asked.

"I think so, nothing broken on me…" he said. "I didn't rip the banner, did I?" He asked.

"No, it's not damaged, luckily for Orion." The man stated then very lightly tossed the Ghost up into the air and Bing gave a little twist and spin to make sure he was alright before giving a polite bop like nod and floated to hover over Rose's head.

"Safe here." He said and then planted himself on her hooded helmet.

"When you three are finished causing Lord Shaxx trouble, we are still waiting for that report," A stern voice called and Bing suddenly felt very scared and even smaller than he really was, instinctively hiding behind Rose's head.

"It's ok," Arielle smiled, though there was concern in her voice. "Come on."

Zavala started to speak when the four of them entered the hall, only to stop as Ikora held up a hand and Cayde gave a subtle but still surprised sound.

This new Hunter wasn't someone he knew.

"What's going on, Arielle?" the Warlock Vanguard asked politely, but her intense gaze was focused on Rose, who seemed more than a little nervous and almost afraid.

"We may need some privacy." Arielle said and nodded to the door way. "As in locking that and calling in Shaxx, Saladin and Eris."

"Very well." Ikora said. "What level of security?" she asked.

"Maximum." Vlad and Orion stated together as Sovereign dropped the claw on the table.

In the next instant, the Vanguard Hall was emptied of all but the Vanguard, their Ghosts, Vlad, Arielle, Orion, Rose and seemingly from nowhere, Lord Shaxx, Eris and another Titan appeared as the doors slide shut and locked.

Bing gave a startled blip and fizzled out of sight and into Rose's armour. "A-are we in t-trouble…?"

"No." Vakarian said appearing beside where Bing had disappeared into the Hunters armour. "They just like to scare Ghosts with loud noises." He added with a small chuckle, hoping to put the smaller Ghost at ease and coax him back out.

"Rose?" Bing asked.

"Come out," Rose said, "It's not like the Tower we know here." She added and slowly Bing fizzled back into the open, though he stayed behind Rose's shoulder.

Vakarian turned to Vlad and the Exo Hunter nodded, Sovereign flickering into life again and floated by Bing.

"We'll look after you Bing." The other Ghost said.

"Ghost Gathering?" Cayde-6's Ghost asked, he was a standard shelled light but with a bright yellow eye.

"It will help." Vakarian nodded and another Ghost, Rose guessed was Wrex floated from Arielle's armour, soon followed by the Vanguard's own Ghosts and two others from the Titan Lords.

"Alright, while the Ghosts talk this out," Zavala began looking pointedly at Orion. "What's happening?"

"Um, well, yea I don't think we really have an answer for that yet." Orion admitted, taking his helmet off and running a hand through his hair, the classical bluish skin of an Awoken catching Rose's eye as he did that, his hair was rather long for a male, but it suited him. "We went, we looked, found a pit full of top notch Vex and in said pit we found these two, very much outmatched and on the brink of becoming dead once again." he explained nodding to Rose and Bing, "So we help and we find out that she is not from here. As in not from our dimension. At all." He said with a rather lost looking shrug, "So, yea that's the report. Sir."

"Impossible." Zavala said. "No one can cross dimensions and time but the Vex."

"They said once you couldn't come back from the dead. And hey, look around, we all died at some point." Vlad stated flatly while nodding to the Ghosts, his helmet under his arm showing off his black plated face with a red plating over his nose plating and part of his forehelm and his audios, bright red optics focused on the Titan Vanguard. "They are proof that the impossible is possible and they said it was impossible for someone to survive losing their Ghost, yet I see someone who is living and breathing without him. No offense." He quickly added lowering his head to Eris as she stood in the dark corner, one hand fondly rubbing the green orb she always carried.

"None taken." Eris assured, though she did hold the orb just that little tighter.

"He has a point, Zavala." Cayde-6 stated before anyone else could speak. "Shaxx, you've seen these things before, is this real?" he asked showing Shaxx the broken end of the claw. "Or just a very good copy? No offense to you friend but this isn't something we see every day here." He said to Rose.

"We see them every hour." Rose admitted with a shudder.

Shaxx looked carefully at the claw, studying it with careful eyes and checking the weight of the claw in his hands, then looked up. "Atriums."

His Ghost floated back to them and carefully scanned the claw slowly, twisting and turning before reforming and nodded. "It's real." She said with a slightly melodic voice before floating up to the gathering of Ghosts again.

"That settles it then." Cayde said in a rather proud fashion.

"No crafts master could make this to such perfect detail, there are root and blood channels some still filled with blood, there is even some skin still attached." Shaxx added handing the claw to Ikora for her own inspection. "Where did you get this?" he asked.

"It was stuck in Rose's ship and if what she says is true her time is worse off then ours by a far ways." Arielle said removing her helmet, to show much richer dark blue skin, with a subtle light purple mark on her forehead that matched the lipstick she wore. She had a head of darker blue hair that almost looked black as it neatly fell over her shoulders and she looked at Rose, bright yellow eyes softening again and making her frighteningly stern face much softer. "Tell them."

"It's nothing like this place, the whole base of the Walls are skeletal and infested with Devils, base of the Tower is desolate and sealed off from the ground up, the balconies and both side wings are in ruins, and Cayde keeps telling us that one strong gust of wind and we'll be falling down like a house of cards. The Traveler is covered in huge gashes, held in place by the Fallen Ships, they are the only think keeping it from falling." Rose explained, "It has little if any Light left in it." She added.

"What about the City?" Zavala asked in clear shock at what he was hearing. "If you are here, surely the City?"

Rose shook her head gravely, "No one stays in the City anymore. According to the few who will talk about it, everyone in the City took off in the largest of our ships by order of the Speaker and Vanguard ten years ago during the Fall and they are now hiding in deep space, protected by the finest of the Sunbreakers and the Stormcallers."

"Are there no ships close to earth?" Lord Saladin asked.

"The closest ship is the Serenity, protected by Lord Shaxx and Lord Saladin while the engines are repaired, no one knows how the damage happened but if it stays too much longer then the ship will be targeted by the Hive and Fallen, not even the two Titan Lords can stand that kind of firepower alone. Cayde-6, well the one I know, tries to get the Hunters as far away from the Tower as he can when we have enough light to survive alone because he knows we're losing the battle to save the Tower and Traveler; it's not easy to admit, but the truth is, as he says, a bitter pill to swallow." She explained, "But these days, there are so many reports coming in from other Hunters, detailed to the brim with how bad it really is outside the Tower, he's been distracted with trying to set up a defence line with Ikora that he hasn't always able to help those of us stuck there and the Commander uses that to send us everywhere but where Cayde needs us to go and by the time we get back, the places he wants us to go are lost. Only Nightstalkers can enter those lost zones."

"But why are there so few of you on the Tower?" Ikora asked.

"Because we were waiting for a signal from Venus so we could go and train there with the Blacksnake Hunters, we're the last of our kind on Earth and Cayde keeps saying if we don't leave and gain more light somehow, there's no way we will become Nightstalkers."

"But then, why were you in the Vault of Glass?" Ikora asked. "You aren't at a high enough level of light to get in there… How did you even get in?"

"I didn't even know where I was." Rose admitted, "Cayde sent me and two others to Venus to meet up with an older Fireteam, the Blacksnakes and from there we were going to take training from them to gain more light and prepare for life away from the Tower. Venus is the only place left where we can go and focus on training since the Titans and Warlocks don't go there, apparently it's 'too dangerous' and 'a lost cause'. I was on solo patrol since I dropped for the solo run today... Then the floor gave out under my feet and down I went, next thing I knew, Vex shooting at me from all sides and my bullets do nothing but bounce off them even when I hit their juice boxes."

"Um… can I speak?" Bing asked, and Rose looked back seeing Bing hovering closer to her shoulder. "It might be helpful."

"What do you wanna say, little guy?" Cayde asked kindly.

"I got the whole time Rose was training on recorded file," Bing explained. "Cayde's had all of the younger Hunter's Ghosts recording full time since he wanted to see if we needed further training before he sent us off to the wilds and so he had proof the Commander was always mean to us."

"Show us," Ikora ordered politely, "It may help us understand what has happened and help us work out what is going on." She added.

"Ok… ummm, Rose I need your helmet…" Bing said floating around to her front. "Please."

Rose nodded and after fiddling with the fastenings she pulled her helmet off, letting a head of black hair fall free and show a flash of bright green eyes, a light pink mark on her forehead, the only mark on her darkish blue skin. "Snap my picture and I'll buy you a pink shell with yellow flowers on it." She warned as Bing gave a happy beep.

"I wasn't taking pictures." He said.

"Good."

~ "Close your mouth." ~ A text suddenly made Vlad shake his head and look away while Cayde half smirked.

"Ok, let me see…" Bing said as he floated under and into her helmet and began to make some strange bleeping and pinging sounds. "Sorry it's fuzzy in some places, I'm not a very good camera." Bing said and gave a little bleep and ping sound before a fuzzy image hit the door and slowly, shapes and coloured fizzed into frame to show a picture much like an old roll of film.

~ "So, this is Venus?" someone asked as a second Hunter, an Exo with yellow and black armour walked slightly ahead. "Looks barren."

"Everywhere looks barren, J-Cey." Rose said and Bing turned to look at her on the screen. "Which way Bing?" She asked checking her weapons.

"Cayde's coordinates say we go north by east and then when we reach the Shattered Coast we search the Academy. We should find the Blacksnake fire team there and get their report, from there they lead us." Bing answered.

"Lovely," A second new voice said as a female human playfully jabbed Rose's shoulder from behind. "You get to see your heroes Rose."

"They aren't my heroes, Ace. They just got me out of a patrol with that love struck fool Titan Khan." Rose said returning the playful punch with a light bonk on the helm.

"Heroes." J-Cey chuckled. "Come on then." ~

They walked for a short time, using cover and ranged weapons to take in their path ahead, clearly aware that they were not alone. After meeting up with an older trio of Hunters, all dressed in black armour with the image of a snake on their cloaks, the images flicked and fluttered a little, showing times when Rose and Bing were out alone, sniping Fallen Captains and Barons along with Vex Goblins and Minotaurs. A slow process as Rose took the time to wait for the perfect time to squeeze her trigger and then make a quick move to hide from the returning fire and angry retaliation.

"I spent more time running and hiding for hours on end," Rose sighed and her statement was proven by the many times the images flickered and the time stamp changed. "Ace and J-Cey had more Light than me so they were on the fronts with the Nightstalkers while I was defence, Gunslinger's like me don't gain light as quickly as others."

"And you say this is normal for your time?" Ikora asked in horrified shock as she watched Rose huddle down in a tight hole as Fallen marched against Vex all around her. Tai Ravens circled over battlefields, revealing time and again how Hunters, desperately trying to fight back the Darkness in the best way they knew, fell and were snatched up by Tai Ravens before their friends could save them. "This is… how you lived?"

The Venus on the film looked worse than anything the Vanguard had seen, the city in far worse a state then they knew and the Vex towers and architecture far more dominant, even though it was decorated with Fallen House banners of Wolves and some ominous looking nests.

"As the Ikora I know says, life is at its darkest time." Rose nodded, and looked at the images, "When Cayde knows we need help in our training but he can't give us the time we need, he sends us to older and more experienced Hunters for that training. We are meant to get clearance from the Commander or at least one of his Titans when Cayde is busy, but we don't really like going down to see him, the Commander I know would never stand to see a Hunter in his office, much less allow one like me to stand in a room full of higher ranked Guardians."

"How does he take reports?" Cayde asked.

"According to Ikora, by force. She's seen him snatch Ghosts out of the air that aren't his own, download everything they have and then throw them out." Rose explained, "Ikora and Cayde tend to be the ones who give him reports at any time, since he isn't so welcoming of Guardians who aren't his own."

"I would never-!" Zavala stated.

"Hush, look." Cayde said suddenly.

~Rose suddenly froze and darted behind cover with Bing right behind her as no less than seven large shadows flew overhead and a very much living Tai Raven let out a powerful screech.

"Fuck… Bing ideas?" She asked quietly while making herself as small and as hidden as she could be.

"Could you use your Sparrow?" he offered. "If we are quick we could get to the shelter of the trees."

"What's the path look like?" she asked and Bing looked out carefully.

"Lots of sharp corners… maybe not so good for Sparrows… maybe a Rocket?" he said, "It might scare them off."

"I can try it." She nodded taking aim with her rocket launcher only to see fire coming from other places and focused on another area in time to see Fallen charging the Ravens. "Shit. Fallen too I fire on either of them and I'm dead." Rose said.

"What do we do?" Bing asked.

There was a long slow silence and Bing watched as Rose used the scope from her sniper rifle to search the area carefully, lightly cupping her hand around him and pulling him into her armour where he was safe as the images fuzzed again this time showing from inside Rose's Helmet. "Hold on."~

"Good plan." Cayde said, seeing what Rose was going to do.

~Rose bolted from her cover, running behind the limited cover she'd seen, ducking and diving over the shots that were suddenly aimed at her and managing with a slight twist at the hips to toss a grenade into the mists of the fighting.

The resulting explosion gave her the time she needed to scramble over the largest obstacle in her way, a partly broke wall before something hit the back of her right shoulder and she fell badly down the other side of the wall and hit the ground hard, a sickening snap followed by a strangled scream before the image fizzed back to Bing and Rose was seen, slumped in a heap at the foot of the broken wall, her right leg twisted at the wrong angle under her and her shin bone and part of her knee bone exposed.

"Fuck! Shit… Shit…" She cursed. ~

"I'd forgotten about that…" Rose admitted, though Vlad noticed she suddenly favoured her left leg.

"Can you show us the event leading to your being found?" Zavala asked.

"One moment please… I'm not so good at this…" Bing said and the images began to move swiftly by, as if he was fast forwarding them. "And… here." He said as the images fluttered and flickered and the focused again.

~ "Solo Patrol near the Ishtar Cliffs." Rose sighed. "Why is it always me…?" Rose whined looking over her share of patrols for the day, Bing hovered overhead and making a copy of the list himself.

"Because Cayde knows you are a damn good climber and you work well under pressure." Ace said and playfully poked Rose's nose. "And you look good doing it too."

"I scream and run." Rose said, waving Ace's hand off. "A lot."

"Well, you are just a baby." Ace chuckled and ruffled her hair. "And really, I've heard tell of Warlocks running away when they have too so there is no shame in it," She added, looking over a few reports of her own, "And according to this, even if you do run a lot, you'd make one heck of a fire team member Rose. I can see why Ikora keeps asking Cayde if she can put you with some of her Warlocks in the defence lines."

"I have no idea what you are talking about," Rose said and Bing moved to show a burner filled with paper keeping them warm and a few make shift bunks with neatly folded sheets for bed close by. "And as much as I admire the work they do, the warlocks always use such long words and I get lost so many times when they try to explain stuff, heck I still get headaches just thinking about the number of scrolls they have."

"Whatever you say Rose, but remember if anyone asks, you were with me and J-Cey first." Ace smiled and hugged Rose from the left. "So you are our team mate."

"Hey no fair, Ace." J-Cey called in mock hurt and Rose was hugged from behind. "Hugs are for sharing." He added and Bing floated higher.

"Get off me!" Rose snarled suddenly and shoved them both away from her with enough force to make them fall over.

"Hey, Easy Rose… We don't mean no harm." J-Cey said quickly bringing his hands up in defence. "It was only harmless contact."

"Well don't." Rose said. "I don't like it."

"Rose, hey wait a minute, Rose!" Ace tried to say but Rose was already heading out the door, Bing close behind.

"Are you alright?" he asked and hovered in front of her after they got a few yards from the camp.

"I'm fine, Bing it's just… I don't like being enclosed like that…" She said, shuddering a little.

"Because of the memory flashes?" Bing asked and Rose nodded. "You'll get use to it, Rose, Cayde says it takes time to get use to contact after being dead. Come on, let's go patrolling… maybe we'll see something nice." He said.

"That would be something," Rose smiled and after calling out her Sparrow, lightly placed Bing behind the protective glass. "Hang on." She chuckled and opened the throttle.

"Wheeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeee!" ~

"One big kid." Cayde smiled and inside Rose's helmet, Bing gave a little giggle.

"I like fast things." He admitted.

"Very fast things." Rose chuckled.

~ Bing scanned the area and bounced lightly as Rose kept an eye out for trouble. "Anything?" She asked.

"Not a thing… oh wait, signal… no wait… what the?" Bing asked.

"What is it?" Rose asked.

"It keeps bouncing around… I can't get a lock on it…" Bing said.

"Keep trying." She said then suddenly fell to the ground on her rear. "Ow, what the?"

"Rose?" Bing asked floating close to her as the ground made Rose shake and tremble. "Oh… not good." He said as Rose managed to grab a hold of a steady rock.

"Quake?" She asked, only to suddenly have the ground ripped from under her. "Ahhhhhhhhh!"

"Rose!" Bing yelled and floated down after her as fast as he could, recording all the way down as Rose's body smashed and slammed into rocks, jagged corners and ledges before with one last painful thud, she hit the merciless ground, limbs and armour broken and bust in so many places Bing could be heard making a terrified bleeping sound. "Rose? Rose wake up! Rose? Rose please, this isn't funny… Rose?!"

She didn't answer and for a long time, all Bing could do was scan her body over and over, locating the injuries and trying over and over to heal them, only to find that didn't work. He carefully floated over her helmeted head and landed carefully on it, scanning again and found that inside the helmet, Rose's skull had in fact been completely shattered and fragments of bone were now stuck inside the brain.

"I'm sorry Rose." he said then slowly the image began to fade and change between Bling and Rose's helmet as a light blue light washed over her and filled the dark room for a few moments. ~

"You were revived." Ikora realized.

"I didn't like it…" Bing admitted from inside the helmet. "Rose can't die… she's not allowed to die… I'm not going to let her die."

"That does explain why I don't even remember the first hit on the way down." Rose said, "And why I felt like I'd been run over by an entire ship worth of Fallen."

"You don't have revival dampeners?" Shaxx asked, referring to the inserted chips all Guardians had that made revival by their Ghosts somewhat more bearable-most of the time.

"Do I look like I have the Glimmer to spare for those?" Rose asked him, "No one hands those things out cheap you know."

The images fuzzed back into focus and Rose gasped heavily, coughing and wheezing heavily as she shook violently.

~ "Rose?" Bing asked, voice filled with hope. "Guardian?"

"I'm here Bing-Oh… oh that hurt-fuck…" Rose groaned, slowly and sluggishly pushing herself up and still healing limps. "Ow, ow, ow-Oh god-fuck… Ow…" She hissed as the image showed her hands and fingers slowly snapping back into their 'correct' positions. "God… Cayde's gonna kill me…"

"Why?" Bing asked.

"I messed up his gloves," Rose said then froze, taking a deep breath as something began to beep and hiss around her. "Bing where are we?"

"Um, in a dark pit full of... Oh dear." Bing said and dived behind Rose. "We have to go! Now!"

"Fuck! I hate Vex!" Rose yelled and forced herself up to her feet and quickly ducked into cover, opening fire with her pulse rifle as slap rifle fire began to race towards them. "Send out a signal for help Bing, hurry!" She yelled as her shots bounced of the Vex where as their shots managed to cut through and ruin her armour.

"I'm trying!" ~

"And this is about the time we came in." Vlad said.

"You can stop now," Cayde said and the images faded out and Bing ducked out of the helmet and gave himself a little shake. "Though I have to ask." He added with a small smile. "Why Bing?"

"Because he makes a 'bing' sound when he finished his scans." Rose smiled, "And he's cute."

"I am not cute." Bing said floating up and glaring at Rose, "I am a Ghost and Ghosts are not cute!"

"Really?" Rose asked with a smile, "So the fact you act like a little kitten, chase shiny things and twist your wires over every little mention of being cute isn't adorable?"

"Yes! I mean no!" Bing said then gave a sharp beep and rotated in a full circle. "I am not cute!" He said then hid back inside Rose's Helmet. "Not cute."

"So cute." Rose said again chuckling as Bing gave a frustrated buzz.

Arielle chuckled, "I have to agree with her."

"I prefer roguishly charming, myself." Vakarian stated as the Ghost returned to their Guardians.

Arielle grinned, "You are rather charming, roguish I'll have to think about."

"You would, you've been flirting with every female Ghost you see." Cayde's Ghost said.

"And you haven't Watson?" Atriums chuckled taking her place above Shaxx's shoulder.

"At least I don't flirt with others when I am trying to court a lady. That is rude." Watson stated.

"Hush up. You were trying to sweet talk me and Ferrum all the time you were flirting with Wiccan." Atriums stated.

"Was not."

"Were too." Wrex stated in a gruff static filled voice.

"Thank you Wrex."

"Still need an overhaul?" Watson asked, "I know a good dock where you can make backups of everything then have a complete defrag and debug scan while having a virus clean out."

"Thank you." Wrex said with another burst of static before he almost fell out of the air.

"I got you." Arielle said going down to one knee to catch the heavy Ghost and lifting him up again. "We'll get you sorted, Wrex. Promise." She smiled.

"Thank you." He said again.

"Well, now we seem to have a problem." Orion said. "We don't have spare rooms in the Tower and we still don't know what to tell the Speaker about all this."

"We could just ask for a copy of everything Bing has and show him that." Cayde suggested.

"Can you show us more?" Ikora asked.

Rose nodded and while Bing, still muttering about not being cute, let Cayde carefully attach a thin wire to his shell and then plug the other end into a port in a data pad, Rose searched her belt pouches for something and pulled out a crumpled and clearly very warn map and with a little help laid it out over the table.

"Oh my…" Arielle said.

"That does not look good…" Vlad said.

"What is all this Rose?" Orian asked.

"Every red dot is a Fallen camp, every orange dot is Vex and the light blue ones are reported sightings of the Tai Ravens nesting and the dark blue ones are known sights of nests and the green ones are the Hive. The Cabal have taken Mars and they were working on taking over Saturn's Moons as well, but they won't go near the planet itself, they're marked with the grey dots."

"And the Guardians?" Zavala asked. "Where are they?"

"Yellow dots are Titans. Purple dots are Warlocks." Rose said as she pointed to the few clustered pots of yellow, a tiny fraction that seemed lost in the seas of other colours. "The Tower there is cold, dark, eerie and dilapidated. The Fallen have practically moved in and while the Tower is still standing as home to the Guardians, very few stay in the lower areas and a lot of doors are locked and barricaded."

"What about you're Hunters?" Cayde asked, "What colour are they and what are they doing?" he added realizing there were no marks to show his group.

Rose took out a small scrap of paper. "By the last report, eleven Hunters are on the Tower, and five hundred and fourteen are out in the wilds doing solo or team runs, killing what they can. The only ones who stay still are the Blacksnake Hunters on Venus and Cayde-6 on the Tower."

"So few of you…" Ikora said. "How many Warlocks and Titans?"

"Warlocks stand at seventy-five thousand, Titans at ninety-five thousand… and those numbers aren't getting any better." Bing said. "When we first go to the Tower there were seventy-five thousand two hundred and six Warlocks and Ninety-five thousand seven hundred and five Titans."

"Why so few Hunters?" Lord Saladin asked speaking for the first time.

"We aren't so well liked since we don't answer to the Marshall laws that the Titans laid down and while Ikora is more polite in her ruling Warlocks can't cover the Hunters while they get into position and they are raging their own wars with the Hive that show up in every damn location we go too, plus Hunters don't do well reading scrolls and long hours plotting for what ifs and maybes." Rose explained. "Heck, the Commander took one look at me and told Cayde if I wasn't ready for battle within two days, I wasn't worth the effort."

"What is his issue with Hunters?" Orion asked, "The Zavala you talk about sounds like a bastard. No offence." He quickly added.

"I have no idea." Rose shrugged, "Ikora says 'He's trying to fight a battle and not seeing the war', whatever that means. Ikora has already ordered her Warlocks to trap the threats in areas we can control to buy time for everyone else to get out, but the Commander is trying to push the threats back, Cayde and Ikora keep saying he thinks that if he can just push them back, they will fall, but it's not working."

"How bad has it got where you're from?" Cayde asked, "Do you have any images? I'm struggling to see this world you came from in my mind." He admitted

"I think I have some images, if the fall didn't break it." Rose said and began to search her belt pouches again, finding a small device and hit the top allowing and fuzzy image to fade into life. "These are the images of my Tower and the people there." She projected the image onto the wall.

~ "Stay strong child, you will see the day of Hope…" ~

"Is that me?" Ikora asked, unable to recognize herself as rather than the clean and shining armour and coat she normally wore, she was dressed in the heaviest of Warlock armour and looked much older and while she still held and air of wisdom she also seemed worried and unrested.

"Yes, that's the Ikora I know. She works out of Eris's corner, has ever since Eris was killed in the Awoken battle for the Reef." Rose explained. "And this is the Commander." She added as the image changed.

Blue skin marred with ugly white scars, right eye completely gone and his left ear ripped from is place, his armour, broken and cracked in so many places, showing more terrible ugly scars that could never be healed. Zavala had to look away from his own image.

"What happened to him?" Shaxx asked.

"Crota." Rose said looking at the image, "They say that he was captured alongside three others, some say they went down into the Moon to try and free it… others say that is was the Commander's own blind stupidity to face a Hive God… even Eris warned him it was a fool's errand but he didn't listen. Five years he was gone and when they finally found him at the entrance of the Hellmouth, he was strung up and half dead, his Ghost struggling to keep him alive. When he came back to the Tower he was different, everything about him changed." she shuddered. "They say that he can't see how badly he is losing this war because he won't let himself see it…"

"By the Light…" Ikora breathed in shock.

"What of the rest of us?" Shaxx asked.

Rose nodded and flicked the image over again, showing Shaxx and Saladin, both looking worn down and tired, but still fighting with a team of their finest students, their armour was heavy, made to resists and withstand heavy hits and their weapons were modified to fire as much ammo as they could at once.

Eris Morn looked much worse, her green orb was smaller, her face was scarred with burns and claw marks while she sat huddled in a dark corner with another familiar but different face and a well-known Fallen from the Reef.

"Variks and Petra are on the Tower?" Arielle asked in shock.

"There is no Reef where I come from anymore, it was destroyed by the Fallen House of Wolves Kell, Virixas and his three Chosen, Skolas, Irxis and Parixas… Few Awoken survived and those who did, cling to what their Queen can offer them for life." Rose explained, showing a second image where the usually powerful and beautiful Queen Mara Sov, being carried in a chair by her loyal fallen guardsmen clutching something in her right hand tightly.

"The Prince?" Arielle asked with concern in her voice.

Rose shook her head. "He gave his life to allow her time to get away. She carries his dagger, and before the attempt to retake the Reef she would only speak to Eris or Petra… She allowed Cayde to approach her but only when he brought her news of what his Hunters found about the House of Wolves. They tried to fight for the Reef but… Eris and many others didn't come back…" She explained as the image shifted again.

Gone was the shiny Exo plating and cheeky grins, replaced with old but still good Hunter armour, one leg in some kind of brace and both eyes a much duller shade of yellow, one hand resting on what looked like a sniper rifle as he sat at a window, using his place to take shots at Servitors that got too close to the Tower.

~ "You can barrow my gloves 'til you find your own, kid, but don't forget to give 'em back, my old joints will rust if I lose my spares." ~

Cayde looked at the gloves Rose wore, "He must've really trusted you."

"He trusted all his Hunters." Rose assured. "He calls us kids or his kids, and he knows all of us by name."

"He remembers all five hundred and twenty five of you?" Shaxx asked.

"You don't remember the names of your twenty or so students?" Rose asked back and Shaxx very quickly shut up.

There was a clear, 'bing' sound and Bing floated up off the table and gave a little twist. "I'm done." He said.

"Thank you." Cayde smiled, "Well, while we figure out what to do, maybe you four should go get some rest, you all look beat."

"Sounds good to me," Vlad smiled. "Come on Orion, I'm not listening to you and Arielle argue all night again." He added.

"Oh shut up, like you never argue with a girl." Orion stated.

"I am not married or planning to marry so no I don't." Vlad laughed.

"You can bunk with me for the night Rose, I'm sure you'll need it after the day you've had." Arielle smiled.

"Thanks." Rose smiled and caught Bing before he could fall out of the air. "Someone didn't defrag while he recharged."

"I was busy." Bing said.

"Sure you were."

"Arielle, a word before you go." Ikora asked as the doors opened and Vlad and Orion made a bee-line for the stairs while Rose waited for Arielle.

"Yes Ikora, Vakarian why don't you and Wrex show Rose to my room." Arielle said and once they were out of earshot, Ikora's face turned grim. "I know that look."

"Keep an eye on this new Hunter-something about her is strange. Don't let her out of your sight."

"That was the plan." Arielle nodded and quickly raced off after Rose and the Ghosts.

"Is this what you feared was coming, Eris?" Cayde asked.

"No, this is not the Darkness I've seen," Eris admitted, "however, this is not something I had even known was possible, though many have whispered it could happen."

"Another place in the universe where our War is going so badly. Could this be a sign of a dimensional break down?" Shaxx asked.

"Maybe, but we shouldn't rush to conclusions." Ikora said, "We must look into this carefully. If Rose came through a rift, there may be other places where something else could come to our world."

"You thinking what I think you are?" Cayde asked looking at the Tai Raven Claw and shuddering.

"If what she said is true… then we aren't ready for the Darkness that might come from her world to ours if this goes unchecked." Ikora stated. "I'll have the Warlocks and Master Rahool begin research immediately."

"Then we send in a team to check it out and pray to the Light that we don't ever fall to the horrors her world has." Zavala said.

"Ok Wrex, this is gonna tickle some but I promise it will help." Arielle said gently placing Wrex on a table and attracted several wires to him and began to run a program. "That should flush the viruses out and give you some free memory, then we run a memory back up and that should clear more space, and tomorrow we go shopping for a new Ghost Shell."

"That would be nice. Something big and strong." Wrex said. "Maybe something to make Orion stop complaining. A stun gun, perhaps?" he asked, hopefully.

"Now that isn't nice." Vakarian said, "You know he doesn't mean to be so harsh." He settled into a neatly hung sheet that made a very snug hammock. "And he does appreciate everything you have done for him, he's just bad at showing it." He added with a slight clicking as he twisted and settled into recharge mode.

"He's a man." Arielle stated running a hand through her fringe and leaning back in her chair, now dressed in a slightly baggy t-shirt and a pair of comfortable pants. "They ALL struggle to show thanks at some point."

"Even Vlad?" Rose asked as she finished towel drying her hair, dressed in some borrowed sleepwear for the night, her armor currently set out in a neat pile and clean after a run in the large tank like washer Arielle had in her room. "He seems good at showing his thanks to Sovereign. And he was nice to Eris."

"Ok, most men struggle." Arielle corrected with a smile, carefully placing a sheet over Wrex as the larger Ghost flickered into recharge. "Do you want me to hang another sheet for you Bing? Vakarian loves his hammock."

"No thank you," Bing said, "I'll just sleep on Rose's chest, I know she's not going to die if I sleep there."

"I will not die Bing. We are safe here. This Tower is different from ours." Rose assured softly. "Besides you need a good recharge and defrag."

"Ok… but tomorrow I sleep on your chest." Bing stated.

"Alright." Rose smiled.

Arielle smiled and after folding a pillow in half, tied the corners together and hooked them onto a pair of small nails and nodded. "Done."

Bing floated up and then settled himself into the makeshift hammock, snuggling sitting in the fold so that only his eyes and the very tip of his shell poked out of the hammock. "It's cosy."

"I would say cute." Rose chuckled and Bing gave a soft humph before settling into his recharge mode, evident by the soft blip his shell made to signal the beginning of a defrag program.

"He really cares for you." Arielle whispered.

"He looked for me for years," Rose said, "I heard from Cayde that every time he thought he'd find me only to find nothing, he'd go back to Cayde and ask why he wasn't a good Ghost; he thought he'd never find me."

"Bless his Light." Arielle smiled. "You got everything you need, I can get you a spare pillow if you need one."

"No thanks, I'm ok." Rose assured, "I just hope I remember how to sleep on a comfortable surface… usually we are on the floor, the bunks or in the ship." She admitted, "I'm not use to soft surfaces."

"Life really was hard for you, wasn't it?" Arielle asked.

Rose shrugged. "We don't have the chance to rest or relax like you do… you can at least sleep easy since your Traveler still has a lot of light and is almost whole, where I'm from, trying to sleep is like asking for something to kill you."

"How often did you sleep before?" Arielle asked. "Bing mentioned it was never easy for you to sleep."

"Not very often, it's never safe to rest for too long or too deeply… most of us just rest our eyes and take a moment to clear the mind, we're constantly moving or fighting so rest isn't really an option for all of us." Rose admitted settling on the comfortable sofa. "Usually those who do slip into a deeper sleep are ill or have reached their limits… at least that's what Ace and J-Cey told me."

"Who were they to you?" the Warlock asked. "They seemed close to you."

"They saved me from a Knight on the Moon after a scout mission went wrong. I tried to hide after some Titans stirred the Hive and a Knight found us, I didn't have the light to fight him so I ran and he chased me. Next thing I know someone shouts down and a pair of rockets shoot past me and the Knight goes down, Ace reported into Cayde and since then we've been something like teammates… J-Cey and Ace were, well they shared a bunk." Rose said, "They were always kind to me but I never really had time to get use to physical contact with others, shaking hands and playful taps or a sparring match I can handle, but hugs and cuddles… I'm still getting the hang of that kind of contact."

"Ah, that explains what happened in the clip." Arielle said, "Bing mentioned memories."

"Yea… I get flashes sometimes, fragments of memory or something I have seen before that just come and go, they leave me dazed and sometimes I'll just hit the floor with shakes, they seem to happen when something startles me or when I'm not thinking. Scares the hell out of me and sometimes I just… Well, you saw what I did to Ace and J-Cey." She said fluffing the pillow she'd been given a little, more a nervous fidget then a real attempt to soften the pillow. "Besides, Ace, J-Cey and Cayde, I never told anyone about them before since they seemed so insignificant in the bigger scheme of things but I guess now I'm here maybe I can try and figure out what they mean."

"Maybe I can help you, they say talking about the problems help." Arielle suggested, "And honestly, if one Awoken cannot help another, we are lost as a people."

Rose smiled. "You're right and really it is nice to talk to another Awoken who isn't mentally unstable, since the Reef was destroyed most Awoken have slowly been going insane. Even the Queen is slipping, no matter how much Petra and Cayde try to help keep her sane, losing so much so quickly and so violently… She isn't the Queen she once was."

"Did you see the Reef before it was lost?" Arielle asked.

Rose shook her head. "No. I only saw the pictures Petra showed me, Variks talked about how nice it was there even if it was sometimes cold. I never had the honour of speaking to the Queen but I know she was once proud, powerful and the most feared Awoken in all the Reef if you ever crossed her." She said, "I wish I'd known her…"

"Why?"

"Because then I could have known what a true Awoken is meant to be like." Rose said, "I'm just a revived Guardian now, but I served her at least I think I did, I must have, Awoken have only ever served a Queen… but, I don't remember what my role was, or who I was to the Awoken people I just can't understand how I would have acted before Bing revived me and it scares me to think that even though I don't serve her now, I have forgotten things that were once important to me, people that were close to me, brothers or sisters. Was I a mother or did I have someone else in my life those are things I would like to think I'd remember but I just... Don't."

"And you worry about that?" Arielle asked.

"Don't you?" Rose asked. "What if you were working alongside someone who in the last life was your partner or your own child? What if you were right next to your own twin but you didn't remember them? How awful would that be…?" she said hugging the blanket to her chest. "I feel silly thinking about it but at the same time; what if I have forgotten people who once meant the world to me, or if I have forgotten a sibling? If these flashes are old memories… if someone else has the same kind of memories, what will they think of me for forgetting them?"

"That's not silly." Arielle assured softly. "Everyone has those feeling sometimes-I know I did for a long time." She added, "But then, someone told me something that made me realize that even if I have forgotten those I once loved it didn't mean I was a bad person, it just meant that the time I had with those people had run its cause and they would want me to be happy without them."

"What did they tell you?" Rose asked.

"If we spend our lives looking behind us, we miss what is in front of us and that means we miss out on those we can love now." Arielle smiled fondly, "And you know he was right. I may have forgotten someone I may have loved before- siblings, parents or even a partner and child-but trying to find a memory when I have been dead so long, I might just miss the ones I'm meant to love now."

Rose thought about that for a time and then a small smile covered her lips. "That… that makes sense. That makes a lot of sense." She said.

"Good," Arielle smiled, "Now, it's late and we have a busy day tomorrow. Time for bed." She said.

"Where are we going tomorrow?" Rose asked, placing her pillow down behind her head. And settling on the sofa.

"First stop, the Bounty Board and then wherever the bounties take us." Arielle smiled. "We've got some work to do before you have the light you need to fight for a new ship that I think will suit you." She added turning the lights down low as she climbed into bed. "Night Rose."

"Night Arielle."

"I swear he's cheating."

"Nah, Orion's just got better control."

"Come on! I got seventy Glimmer on this!"

Vlad chuckled as he watched from a small table with some of his fellow Hunters, a few Warlocks and Titans, enjoying a canister of oil as others around him played a game of Blackjack while Orion arm wrestled an Exo Warlock who thought he could beat the current reigning champion.

Really, Vlad had no idea why the Titan always won such a match, but he did know that Orion never cheated. The Titan always put his free hand behind his back when he wrestled and even going so far as to remove his armor platings and ask someone to check him before he started a match to insure he wasn't wearing any kind of hidden device that might help him win.

And people still accused him of cheating; but those were the sore losers.

So Orion had set a little challenge up, two nights he'd come down to this small but comfy bar, where the Warlocks and Hunters could oversee everything that he did and he would wrestle anyone who came to his table if that was their choice, so far, he had only ever lost to Zavala, Lord Shaxx and was waiting for a rematch with Lord Saladin as the two had been interrupted before they could finish their match.

His reasoning for choosing the bar: Warlocks despised cheaters and watched for them like hawks and Hunters would step in if someone didn't take losing with some dignity.

That and no one would ever start a fight right outside the docks. Holiday would kill them if anything she worked on was ruined by their foolishness and that was after the pilots of any ships that were ruined got hold them the trouble makers.

Vlad gently tugged an unsuspecting Warlock out of the way just as the now defeated Exo Warlock was thrown to the floor from losing his match against Orion. "And that makes twenty wins," he grinned.

"Nice." Orion smiled, wiping his face with a cool cloth and rubbing his hand slightly. "Good grip on him."

"I think it's time we call it a night lads and lasses." A Warlock stated, his rich Scottish accent carrying over the noise despite how quiet he was. "It's getting close to sunrise."

"A good sleep and then off to shoot for Bounties." Vlad smiled. "Come on Champ. We still have a bet to win."

"You bet against the kid and his team again, didn't you?" Orion asked with a chuckle. "You know he hasn't stopped since he accepted this bet, right?"

"That was the idea," Vlad admitted, "They couldn't just run the Crucible and Iron Banner all the time, so why not give them a challenge that didn't restrict them to just one or two places each time?"

"You have a point, but really, first team to beat one thousand and one of each enemy we have?" Orion stated, "You could have been a little nicer and may it five hundred for them."

"We hit five hundred in less than a week." Vlad pointed out, "And then you met Arielle and boy, did you lose your score for a few hours."

"Shut up." Orion said. "You know I have a plan to complete."

"Yea, set up a future with lots of Glimmer and let her have the chance not to work her ass off on bounties and killing Fallen then buy her a nice big ship with lots of rooms and plenty of space for her to put the collected heads of her bounties, and maybe then you'll realize all she really wants is you. Glimmer, ships, ring and all be damned." Vlad said.

"You know me Vlad," Orion replied seriously, "I have to give her something to prove I can support her if she ever needs it."

"Arielle doesn't care about that kinda stuff." Vlad said, "If she did she'd have stayed on the Reef."

"Don't." Orion growled bitterly, "Don't go there."

"Sorry, but you and I both know it." Vlad said as they reached their shared room. "Look, just remember she's stayed with you this long, despite all the times you steal her Bounties and forget that she can look after herself. If you can't see that she'll stay even if you can't give her the ring and stability of future support, then you, my friend, are gonna have a reality check real soon."

Orion huffed but his shoulders sagged in a defeat that told Vlad everything he'd said had gone in and was now, like always, going around and around in his friend's head like clockwork, "Good night Orion." He said and the Titan nodded silently as he went into his bedroom and the door locked closed, leaving Vlad to his own devices.

In all honesty, Vlad didn't mean to be harsh or so blunt in his words, but Orion was becoming so lost in his own plans he was starting to forget that the future support plan was not what Arielle cared about, heck she didn't even care if she got a ring, all the Warlock wanted was Orion and the genuine promise of a lifetime together.

Glimmer would be nice. A ring would be grand, but really, what use were they if the one you love wasn't there because they were so busy trying to prove to everyone else around them that they could give their loved one everything?

Vlad sighed and after changing into a loose pair of shorts, more for the modesty of any poor fool that woke him up before his alarm went off, the Exo laid himself on his bed and cycled down to recharge, leaving his audios on and made sure his weapons were in arms reach.

Just in case.

Vakarian came out of his recharge slowly floating out of his hammock and gave a slowly careful rotation of his plating while blinking his eye to make sure he wasn't still groggy from slow start up, he could hear Arielle in the small kitchenette area making breakfast while Wrex was on the table still undergoing a defrag and system clear out…

He paused and blinked again.

Rose was curled up under the blanket she'd been given, still sleeping soundly, he could tell thanks to his scanners telling him that not only was she asleep but she was also dreaming, but that wasn't what had made him pause.

Settled on the pillow next to Rose's head was Bing, his smaller shell half buried in the plush pillow.

"He moved during the night." Wrex said from his place on the table, still sounding somewhat sluggish and slow, but at least Vakarian couldn't hear the static anymore. "I don't think he realized he was moving, since he kept falling then catching himself."

"Moving in Recharge, poor thing must not have recharged fully for a while." Vakarian said, "Hmmmm."

"What you thinking, Vakarian?" Wrex asked.

"Maybe we can help him, he clearly needs some programs updated and maybe a new shell to help with storage," he said, "Really, he has been through a lot, and Ari says that some time to oneself is good for the soul."

"Along with a good virus flush, memory backups and defrag." Wrex said, "Now I just need a new Shell and I will be ready." He added.

"I think we will be going for a good run today so if one drops we'll do what we can to get one for you." Vakarian assured as he heard a soft sniffle and Rose started to stir.

"And… wake up… time." Bing said in sluggish way as he slowly twitched and floated up slightly twisting and turning his shell somewhat. "Oh… I sluggish…"

"Did you defrag?" Vakarian asked.

"Yes… but I still feel really slow… maybe I missed something." Bing said as his systems bleeped and pinged with a Virus scans. "Oh, my recording system is still going." He realized and after a soft beep his shell gave a much swifter and clearer movement. "There, that's better."

"Not to sound rude, Bing, but… when was your last overhaul?" Vakarian asked. "It seems to me that your systems seem a little slow and out of date, maybe an overhaul or a complete upgrade will help make your systems less sluggish when you come out of recharge."

"What is an overhaul?" Bing asked innocently.

Wrex was glad he could now snap images and video feeds, capturing forever what would likely be a very rare moment when Vakarian almost fell from his place in the sky and gave a rather undignified gasp of shock before he caught himself.

"You've never had maintenance?" Vakarian asked.

"No, I was looking for Rose, I didn't have time to go get maintenance." He admitted.

"Well that changes now." Arielle smiled as she set down two plates of breakfast at the table, "Vakarian do me a favour and let the Speaker know we are coming to visit before we leave." She requested as she rolled her shoulders and stretched her arms.

"Sure thing Ari." Vakarian said and hovered slightly higher as Rose woke with a long yawn.

"What time is it?" She asked slowly sitting up and rubbing her face and ruffling her own hair a little. "How long was I asleep?"

"We went to sleep at 23:45 and it is now… ummm… 09:30." Bing said in slight confusion, "Wow…we really slept…"

"Really?" Rose asked, "We never sleep that long." She said, rolling her shoulders and neck to try and ease a small ache in them. "What's cooking?" She asked sniffing the air.

"Eggs, bacon, hash browns, large mushrooms, beans and some sausages." Arielle smiled. "Come eat, you'll need the energy and strength." She added with a chuckle as Vakarian and Wrex showed Bing around the apartment.

Rose smiled, taking a moment to stretch before her stomach began to growl.

"Enjoy." Arielle said as Rose sat at the small table and brushed her hair out of her face.

"Thank you." Rose smiled and used the neatly placed fork and knife to cut her meat to a more manageable size as she ate, pausing to take a long drink of water when she needed it.

Arielle nodded with a soft quirk of her lip, glad her cooking was appreciated so much so that there wasn't even a drop of the bean source on the plate when Rose was finished.

Bing hovered around and then dropped back into the pillow with a happy bleeping sound. "Soft and puffy."

"And he says he isn't cute." Wrex teased from his place.

"He's a big kid at heart. It's why he hates thinking he's failed things and he hates it when others doubt him, especially now that he's found me." Rose smiled, "Even if he knows I don't care what others say about him."

"Well, that won't be a problem here." Arielle smiled. "Ghosts here are very friendly and they tend to be curious of each other, but no one ever insults anyone else's Ghost, even if they are pink with yellow flowers on them."

Rose laughed, "Now that is something I need to see."

"Zavala and Cayde lost a bet against Ikora and she made them put their Ghosts in a floral shell for a week," Arielle said and Vakarian showed the image against the wall making Rose laugh more. "Get dressed, once we've got our bounties and been to see the Speaker for an overhaul for Bing we'll be on our way to get your light up." She said while clearing the table.

"Ok." Rose smiled, "Is the Speaker here still kind? Or has he locked himself in his room and refuses to come out?" She asked changing from her night ware into her armour again, faintly aware that they had a fresh clean smell to them now.

"He's in the North Tower and I think he is kind, he never demands we do something and he is always willing to offer advice. Though sometimes I don't really understand what he is saying to me until after I've thought about it for a while. He likes to be cryptic sometimes." Arielle said, going by her own experiences.

"Sounds like he's a lot nicer than my Speaker." Rose said, adjusting her chest plate and chuckled as Bing floated over and then lifted up her Hunter's cloak for her. "Then again, everyone seems nicer here," She added taking the hood and pulling it over her head, adjusting it so it didn't cover her eyes.

"I wonder if something different happened in your time than here; maybe that would explain it." Vakarian suggested as he and Bing bobbed in the air, while Wrex flickered into Arielle's armour.

"Maybe. But I have no idea how bad or good things were before I was woken up." Rose admitted, tightening her arm plates and then carefully pulled on the worn old leather gloves that were just a tiny bit too big at the wrists but fit snugly over her hands.

"Rose?" Bing asked when she paused and just started at the gloves.

"I just wonder if I will get to give these back. He said they were his best pair." Rose admitted. "But… I don't know how to get back."

Arielle felt a little twinge of pity for Rose, "Well, look at it this way, while you are here we can get your light up and while we are doing that, the Vanguard and the Speaker will be looking for a way to get you home. If you get stronger here, when you get back to your time, you could make the difference and start to heal your home."

"Do you really think that's possible?" Rose asked.

"We all start weak Rose, but with a little practice, a lot of patience and a good fireteam, you will become stronger than you ever thought you'd be." Arielle smiled. "Now come on, we better get going before the boys try to tag along with us and kill everything. At first it's amusing but it gets old real quick."

Rose smiled and followed Arielle out of the room, closely followed by Bing and Vakarian, who paused to lock the door as they left.

"Good Morning." A cheery voice called as a Ghost floated by.

"Morning." Another called back.

"Morning all." Arielle smiled as they reached the Bounty Board. "Let's see-kill, kill, kill, primary weapon kills, and specials and oh Hive bounties." She said searching the board and taking a hand full for herself and then began picking off others that were smaller but could still be done. "Here you go Rose, easy ones."

"Thanks." Rose said looking over the bounties as Arielle handed them to her, kill Fallen and Hive, kill so many with one specific weapon, they seemed easy enough, she folded them neatly and placed them in her armour for safe keeping.

"Everyone is so nice here." Bing seemed to beam, floating in a lazy circle as they walked towards the North Tower, passing a few guardians with Master Rahool and headed into the cooler and more sheltered area of the tower, pausing when he heard something and peeked around a corner. "Oh."

"What is it Bing?" Rose asked before rounding the corner and also paused. "Wow…"

"Not like home?" Arielle asked.

Rose shook her head. "It's nothing like this where I am from, the whole area is dark and unsteady. It looks so peaceful here."

"The Speaker likes it here, says it helps him to focus and concentrate on the Traveler's needs." Arielle explained, "Come, he'll be waiting for us."

Rose nodded and followed the Warlock to the Speaker's Chamber, smiling as Bing floated towards the large windows and looked out at the Traveler in awe as they climbed the stairs to the small platform, filled with bits and parts and things and stuff she couldn't even name and stood at a small desk, a simple Ghost hovering at his side, stood a man in white robes and a mask covering his face.

"Speaker?" Arielle asked keeping her voice low so as not to completely shatter the quiet air of the room.

"Welcome, Guardians." He greeted, "How may I help you today?"

"Rose's Ghost he needs an overhaul and maybe a new shell if you can spare the time?" the Warlock suggested nodding to the smaller Ghost hovering by the window. "Bing."

"Oh! Sorry," Bing said and quickly floated over and hovered by Rose, making a soft bleeping sound. "I got distracted."

"It is understandable," the Speaker seemed to be smiling and offered a hand to the Ghost, "May I?" he asked.

Bing looked at Rose, who nodded and Bing cautiously lowered himself into the offered hand, and let the Speaker inspect him.

Gentle hands carefully turned and twisted his shell plating slowly, checking for strain and stress damage, before he was carefully placed on the desk. "Your Shell is showing signs of elevated stress from your light. For now, I can give you a protective coating but I will have to make you a new shell from scratch," He explained as his own Ghost, a plain white and grey shelled creature float above Bing, making an assuring chiming sound.

"I can pay for that." Arielle said before Rose could fret over the cost of such a shell. "Can he be given an overhaul now or shall we wait?"

"Has he had his memories backed up?" the Speaker asked.

"Just a moment, please," Bing said and Rose heard something ping in her helmet. "Backed up."

Rose nodded. "Thank you."

A warm white light suddenly washed over Bing from the Speaker's Ghost, making him float up a little from the desk as his shell tickled with static, the Speaker's Ghost carefully cleansing Bing's systems and replacing them with newer ones that left him with far more space in his memory banks.

"This feels tingly," Bing said with a little shiver, "but in a nice way." After a short while the light faded and Bing gave a little twist of his plating. "Thank you."

"You are welcome." The Speaker said and after using a fine bristled brush to apply a thin coat of what felt like clear paint that dried quickly over Bing's shell, he moved aside to let Bing float back to Rose, where he took up a place over her shoulder. "Will there be anything else?"

"Not today, Speaker, thank you." Arielle smiled and lead Rose back down the stairs. "And now, we go Bounty hunting." She said.

"Where to first?"

Arielle grinned and Rose could've sworn Arielle's eyes were brighter. "The Moon."