Chapter two.

Learning and Earning.

Vlad was debated going a few rounds in the Crucible when a panicked Orion came running around the corner from the dorms and almost ran the Exo over. "Whoa there Titan, what's your hurry?" he asked.

"They're GONE!" Orion yelled. "Arielle and Rose are gone! Ghosts and all!"

"Slow down," Vlad said, "Maybe they just went for a walk? Let go see the Vanguard, Ikora always knows where her Warlocks are." He said, not overly worried since most of the day had been rather slow and it was only mid-afternoon and the day so far had been fairly normal.

Nothing much to do on the Bounty Board and there was nothing he was needed for today so he had been thought he could have the day to himself and simply relax.

It seemed not.

Orion had all but bunny hopped a fellow Titan who had been walking towards the Vanguard Chamber when he hadn't moved fast enough while Vlad stayed at the top of the stairs while Orion spoke to Ikora.

Ikora shook her head, Orion spun around so fast and charged out of the room grabbing Vlad as he went.

Zavala looked at Ikora who shrugged with a knowing smile and Cayde sniggered behind his hand in a mock cough.

"Will one of you explain?" Zavala asked.

"Your boy's about to ask Ikora's girl the Big Question." Cayde chuckled playfully and ducked the harmless glare from Ikora. "Kidding!"

"He's looking for Arielle and can't find her and since he hasn't got Wrex with him he has to do it the hard way rather than just ask Wrex to send Vakarian a message to get an answer." Ikora explained, "Now, where were we?" She asked.

"Planning to investigate the cause of Rose showing up on our Venus in a totally different place then where she was on her Venus." Wiccan stated, her spiny shell turning slightly as she hovered over an area of the map.

"How you don't get confused with all this I will never know." Cayde said.

"We're Ghosts, we never get confused." Watson assured with a chuckle.

Meanwhile, Vlad was dragged from place to place, searching for Arielle and Rose, from one side of the tower to the others, in ever lounge and bar before they took off searching in their ships.

"I'm telling you, you're getting worked up over nothing." Vlad said.

~ "And I'm telling you I'm not, who knows what trouble she went and got herself into. Rose is a rookie not a pro like us!" ~ Orion said. ~ "Where has she gone?" ~

"Ask Wrex." Vlad said, "Really this would be so much easier if you would just forgive the guy."

Orion was silent on his end and then gave a defeated huff. ~ "Let's just find them and get back." ~

Vlad sighed and followed Orion's ship with his own. "Here we go again."

The day was going nicely.

They'd finished up all of Arielle's Bounties and now they were hunting for Rose's needed kills and on the way, they'd found two Golden Chests, much to Rose's delight as she was now sporting a new gun and a Jade Rabbit emblem.

It was nice to have someone around who didn't rush off and charge in, heck, Rose was more careful then Arielle thought any Hunter would be, always scanning her surroundings and taking the time to count the head she had to shoot.

Currently, Arielle was sat on a high ledge of moon rock, watching through her scope as another unsuspecting Dreg fell dead to the ground, a perfectly placed bullet hole between the eyes. "Nice shot."

~ "Thanks." ~ Rose answered, keep her voice low now that the group of Fallen was aware they were being targeted began to search for the hidden sniper who'd attacked them. ~ "I got six, what do you count?" ~

"Seven, there's another Dreg behind the rocks to your left."

~ "I got him." ~

The area echoed with four more shots before there was a pause for reload, then after a short pause, two more shorts, then at last a third. "Nicely done." Arielle smiled. "You're good with that rifle."

~ "I have had lots of practice." ~ Rose answered back with a smile in her voice. ~ "Now where?" ~

"I know just the place." Arielle smiled, hopping on her Sparrow and taking a slow pace towards a place she knew almost by heart. "Come on." She said and Bing received some coordinates to follow, "You should have finished that Fallen bounty by now. So now we move on to bigger Aliens."

~ "Hive?" ~ Rose asked.

"Yep." The Warlock smiled and heard the buzzing of a sparrow in the move before Rose pulled up alongside her. "How good are you with the rest of your weapons?" She asked.

"I'm better with range, but I can use a knife when I need too, not such a good throwing arm though." Rose admitted, swerving to avoid the rocks they were passing. "If you hear me shout fire in the hole, run like hell."

"That bad?" Arielle asked.

"I nearly hit J-Cey once and he was three feet in front of me."

"Ouch." Arielle said, slowing to a steady hover. "And from here we walk." She said, hopping off her sparrow and checking her weapons.

"So, we are going in there?" Rose asked looking down at the larger opening in the side of the ship where there were some odd wall structures and the tell tail movement of green that shouldn't be there.

"Yep." Arielle nodded, "We take out the Acolytes there and inside we will likely find Knights, Wizards and Thrall, killing Thrall and Acolytes should be ease for you, the Knights might be a little harder but still do able as long as you keep a distance and keep moving, but the Wizards you might have some trouble with." She explained.

"Why?"

"Wizards have a shield like Knights but their shield is Solar and stays up unless you hit it with a stronger bullet than you currently have, or you hit them in that instant the shield drops to give them chance to attack." The Warlock explained, "I'll help you with getting the shields down, but after that you have to do the killing, deal?"

Rose smiled, "Sounds like fun." She said nodding. "Do all Wizards have a Solar shield?" she asked as they slowly made their way down towards their chosen way inside, Arielle leading while Rose followed her movements.

"Eris says that there is one who has an Arc Shield, but I personally haven't seen that one, Orion on the other hand, he apparently was the one to take her out with help from Vlad." Arielle said.

Rose was about to ask Arielle something when a sudden growl made her pause. "Arielle what is that growling sound?"

"Growling Sound?" Arielle repeated while searching the area and then smiled, looking down, "Hang tight Rose, I'll deal with this."

"What is it?" She asked.

"Something fun." Arielle smiled and let go of the wall, "Let's dance boys!"

"What is she doing?" Rose asked, finding a stable place to rest and looked back in time to see Arielle driving a fist into the helmeted head of a Fallen Vandal while firing at the shocked Dregs who stood shell shocked at the sudden attack from above.

"She's having fun." Bing said sounding like he was smiling.

"Where the hell are they?!" Orion yelled in frustration.

Vlad sighed. "We've been to Venus, Mars and she clearly isn't here on earth, where else do you think she might be?" He asked, already knowing the answer as he had asked Sovereign to find Arielle through Vakarian's signature and sure enough, she was where Vlad expected her to be.

"The Reef?" Orion groaned. "Great, she's in the one place I can't go."

"Try again." Vlad said and began to drag Orion back to the trans-mat zone, "and think history." He added.

"We already searched the archives on Venus." Orion said.

"Closer to home." Vlad said.

"Where is she Vlad?!" Orion growled in anger. "And stop playing games!"

"She, Vakarian, Rose, Bing and Wrex are on the Moon, currently at the entrance of the Hell Mouth, about to go in no doubt." Vlad said, "Now, when we get there, likely chances are they are running Bounties so let's-"

"Let's get up there and help! Gods only know what trouble they are in with Rose at such a weak light!" Orion said and took off in a run.

Sovereign looked at Vlad. "Should we tell him?"

"No, he isn't listening as usual." The Exo Hunter sighed. "Keep track of Rose and Bing, Cayde wants her under watch and as good as Arielle is with her teachings, she can't see the light increase in a Hunter like she can other Warlocks."

"Already on it and I must say, she is earning Light very well, she is already about the same as a six month in Guardian." The Ghost stated. "Arielle must be letting her do the killing while she acts as support."

"Arielle always was a good teacher." Vlad chuckled. "Come on then, let's go make sure Orion doesn't get his head bitten off."

"By Arielle or by a Thrall?" Sovereign asked with a chuckle of his own.

"Anyone else?!" Arielle yelled, "Come on!"

No answer.

"I think you killed them all." Vakarian stated.

"Well that was boring." Arielle huffed.

"That was amazing!" Rose called down. "I've never seen anyone take on a Fallen squadron alone and win the way you did." She added, climbing down the cliff face. "Can you teach me?"

"Maybe another time, right now you have a Hive Bounty to get." The Warlock smiled. "Come on there is stuff to kill and places to go." She added and together the two headed into the Hell Mouth and while Arielle took the time to insure there was no really troublesome Hive lurking around, she didn't take kills from Rose as the Hunter moved to get better aim on the hidden Acolytes and Knights, hidden when she needed to reload but always keeping an eye on the places she knew the Hive would come from as they entered the ship.

Slowly they moved deeper into the Hive's tunnels, clearing rooms as they went, pausing to assess the rooms before going inside Arielle going ahead to make sure there were no surprises for Rose before hiding in some small amount of cover while using her shots to flush out the hidden Knights for Rose who was getting very good at taking them down and spotting them on her own.

"I'm getting a broken signal," Vakarian said quietly in Arielle's helmet. "Sovereign and Vlad are here, likely with Orion." He added.

"They'll take a while to get here," Arielle said, "Let them search."

"Understood."

"Arielle…" Rose called and Arielle looked up to see Rose stood waiting for her by the door. "I keep hearing something… like something heavy or big moving around somewhere." She said.

"How big?" Arielle asked.

"No idea, it just sounds big…" Rose said and Arielle moved closer to the Hunter, listening and then paused and put a hand to the wall, waiting for a while before she felt it, like some odd heartbeat, the wall vibrated against her palm, something big was moving around.

"Hmmmm…" She said and double checked her weapons. "Stay close to the wall and keep quiet."

Rose nodded and followed Arielle as the Warlock made her way along the wall, the movement making the walls and floor shake until Arielle saw a door way and laying through the door way, was the crushed and dead body of a Thrall.

"Weapons hot," She warned softly and Rose nodded, following Arielle's lead and together they moved to the door.

There, pacing back and forth with heavy, lumbering steps, dragging broken chains from its arms was a Hive Ogre, hunched over and growling as it moved back and forth, at its feet and all around the room, dead Thrall, Knights and Acolytes lay scattered and crushed, burnt or half eaten.

"What happened?" Rose asked in a whisper.

"By the look of it, it got lose," Arielle said taking out a data pad and looking through its content, "Let's see who you are big and ugly." she added.

"They have names?" Rose asked.

"The important ones do." Arielle nodded and carefully searched through her files from Eris and Ikora for answers. "Got him, Phogoth the Untamed, the file says he's an abomination the Hive plan to use on us, if they ever tame him, looks like that idea is on hold." She said putting the pad away. "According to the file, his weak point is his chest, but with the way he stands and walks, it's gonna be hard to get at it."

"No kidding." Rose said, looking around.

Phogoth looked towards the door and growled, before turning away from it again. "Why hasn't he seen us?" Arielle asked.

"There are dead Hive everywhere in here," Rose said, "I know a trick the Warlocks used in my world was to take the dead skin of the Thrall or Acolyte and that helped them get closer to the Hive without being seen or caught out." She explained. "They smell the same as the Hive so sneaking around was easy."

"That," Arielle began then realized just how that might have worked, "was a disgusting, but smart idea."

"It might be why he hasn't noticed us yet, too many dead Hive around him to pin point us." Rose added, "What do we do?"

Arielle looked at Rose them looked at the pacing Ogre, carefully weighing her options, a normal Ogre wouldn't be so hard for Rose to take down, but this one was different, it had been altered somehow and that made it more dangerous. It was likely any of the Hive that were still alive would attack to defend Phogoth if he was attacked, despite the fact the Ogre had killed many of those who were likely once his keepers.

If they attacked, there was a chance of Thralls as always but there was also a high chance of Wizards, especially with an Ogre like this one. Unless they had already been taken care of by the Ogre himself.

She needed to check that.

"Vakarian."

"Yes Arielle?" the ghost asked as he flittered into view.

"Scan for Wizards, tell me if there are any in this room and where." She requested and Vakarian nodded, carefully searching the dead as he darted from cover to cover, unseen by the huge monstrosity that paced the room like a caged animal.

"He knows something's different in here." Rose said.

"We have time." Arielle assured softly.

"Three dead Wizards," Vakarian stated as he returned to the safety of Arielle's helmet. "Looks like he wasn't too happy with his treatment." He added.

"Ok," Arielle nodded and again looked at her options before nodding. "Alright Rose, this is going to be your kill." The Warlock stated in a confident tone.

"Oh, ok. Wait? What?!" Rose asked in utter shock, catching the Ogre's attention as the two Guardians quickly moved to new cover as he charged them, ducking into a cave for cover amongst the dead bodies. "Why am I killing him?"

Arielle looked at her and replied, "Because you've never killed an enemy like this before and it's a major confidence booster. If you can kill Phogoth, you can handle more than you think." She assured. "You're not doing this alone, I can keep him at distance while you deal the killing blows."

"But what if I screw it up? I- I've never… this isn't something that I did in my world. Ever. Hunters don't fight Ogres."

"You can do this, Rose." Arielle said firmly, watching as Phogoth searched the area they had once been in and snarl as he began to dig in the dead bodies for them. "Listen to me. I had to run like hell to get out of here when I first woke up, every bullet I had went to killing the Knights at the door and then all I could do was run and hide for hours until Vakarian found me a ship. But look at me now, I can run rings in this place, killing the Hive with ease. I'll help you do this and I promise that after you've killed him, you can handle just about anything."

Rose dared to peek out of their cover, watching as the Ogre sniffed and roared, using his claws to try and drag any living thing off the ledges and floor, searching for them, he'd find them sooner or later and then she'd have no choice but to attack.

"You… You're sure you can help me with this?" she asked.

"Can a Hunter bluff at Poker?" Arielle asked and Rose knew that the Warlock was grinning under her helmet. "Trust me."

"Alright." She nodded.

"You've got this." Arielle assured before standing and whistling sharply. "Over here big and ugly!" she yelled and tossed a grenade at the Ogre's back.

Phogoth roared as a burning sensation ripped across his back and turned to focus on the attacking creature below him, charging and firing on them from his bulbous eye, focusing on the brightly burning light that stung to look at.

He wanted to put out that light!

He followed the brightest light as it flowed easily around the blackness around him, ducking and weaving rapidly between the pillars as it shot at him.

Pain ripped through his chest. Enough to make him bellow in agony and search for the course only to be distracted by the bright light in his eye again.

Phogoth roared angrily at them and Arielle laughed as she ran around, shooting at the Ogre only to keep his attention on her while Rose continued to move from place to place to get a better shot at his exposed chest area and firing of the last of her Sniper ammo before emptying her rocket launcher.

"Use your Golden Gun!" Arielle yelled seeing Phogoth stagger and shake. "Hurry!" she encouraged knowing that Rose was going to kill the Hive's monster and not only was it going to boost the Hunter's confidence, but there was no way Phogoth wouldn't have any good drops for her.

Rose took a snatch the Golden Gun from the air and aimed at the exposed heart. "Bye-bye!" She smiled.

"INCOMING!" A familiar voice bellowed as a rocket shot through the door and Rose yelped as she rolled out of the way, taking cover behind a rock as the huge Ogre fell, causing the ground to shake heavily, covering Rose in dust and dirt.

"Rose?" Bing asked and Rose shook her head to clear it, realizing her Super had run dry and she hadn't fired a shot she groaned and came out of her cover and looked at the Ogre. "We didn't do that…" Bing muttered.

"Wha-What was that? Arielle what happened?" Rose demanded in shock.

Arielle growled and Rose's eyes widened in fear as the Warlock's metal gauntlets began to spark as lighting travelled up and down the coils, she took a few steps back only for Arielle to turn to the door with a furious bellow. "ORION!"

"What?" The Titan asked as he stood in the doorway, Vlad was shaking his head behind him.

"You did that?" Rose asked pointing at Phogoth's dead and slowly burning up body.

"Yes… why?" Orion asked before realizing what he had just done. "Oh."

"That was her kill!" Vakarian stated flying right into Orion's helmet covered face. "You stole her Bounty!"

"Why didn't you stop him?" Sovereign asked Vlad as Vakarian verbally assaulted Orion.

"Trying to stop a Titan on a mission, is like trying to stop a tank with a water gun. You do know that right?" Vlad answered walking past Orion and wisely kept his eyes off Arielle as her arms were still crackling with lightning. "Did you do all of this yourself?" he asked inspecting the dead Hive.

"Phogoth killed them, we were killing him before Orion ruined it and I wasted my Golden Gun, now I have to wait even longer to regain it again." Rose sighed, kicking the dirt with her foot, searching for anything where the body had fallen now it was mostly gone and gave a defeated huff. "And he didn't drop anything…" She added.

"Maybe another time?" Bing tried to suggest. "We could come and fight another Ogre."

"There won't BE another." Vakarian growled, then took a moment to calm himself before hovering back to Arielle. "Ogre's don't just come from Wizard wombs like Thrall, they have to be Reborn… And that can take years!" he added with a pointed glare at Orion.

"Oh." Bing said in a defeated fashion. "So… we got nothing after all the work we just did…"

"Maybe not." Wrex said suddenly flickering into view and leading Rose to the stairs at the back of the room, "Look at that, another Golden Chest."

"What's so special about these?" Rose asked, looking at the chest, still hearing Orion pleading with Arielle. "I get that they're gold but why does that make them better that the normal chests?"

"They are said to have rare items or rewards inside them and there are only five of them on each world. Once we empty it somehow they are refilled and move location to a complete new place, making it impossible for people to consecutively go hunting for them." Wrex explained as Rose lifted the lid of the chest and for a moment was blinded by the light inside the chest from the glimmer before Bing scanned and collected it, leaving behind a neatly folded up cloak.

"That's the Brawler's Cloak." Vlad said as she came back up the stairs, carrying the new cloak in her arms. "Rare find." He added.

"Help me put it on?" Rose asked.

"Sure." He nodded and after carefully shaking the new cloak out while Rose removed the ragged remains of what had once likely been a Rustworn cloak that was now more of a scarf, he carefully tugged it over her helmet and moved to check the fabric fell nicely and didn't snag on anything. "Perfect fit." He smiled.

"It feels lighter than the old one." Rose said with a small smile. "Thank you."

"Arielle? Please say something." Orion pleaded, knowing he was in the Dreg house now that Arielle wasn't speaking to him. He could practically feel her yellow glare burning into him behind her helmet. "You didn't say you were leaving or anything and I got worried. Ari? Babe?"

Arielle turned away and marched over to Rose, took hold of her wrist in a firm but none painful hold and pulled her back towards the door.

"I guess this means we are leaving?" Rose asked.

"We are leaving." Arielle nodded, though she sounded angry Rose quickly realized the anger was not aimed at her.

"Talk to me!" Orion pleaded again, following them past the dead and burning Hive corpses they had made on the way in.

Vlad followed silently behind, knowing this was not going to end well if he said anything directly to Arielle so instead he looked to Rose, "You know Rose, sometimes when there isn't room for new stuff, it goes to a subspace compartment in our Ghosts as an Engram, you just have to take your Ghost by a Post Master and they will get the Engrams out for you and then go to a Cryptarch and they decode them for you." He explained.

"Like Master Rahool?" Rose asked, managing to look back towards Vlad who nodded, "Thanks for letting me know." She said before they reached the surface of the Moon.

"Babe please. Just stop a minute!" Orion said taking hold of Arielle's shoulder. "Please!"

Arielle finally responded to him, but not with words, instead she channelled the Lightning down her arms and sent it through Orion's armour, it wouldn't really do him permanent damage, but it would hurt like hell and leave him with some bad burns until Wrex or another Ghost healed him up.

"Ari…" Orion tried to say only to stumble and stutter over his words as the lighting fizzed over his body and made speech difficult. "Alright, I get it. When you're ready to talk, I'll be waiting."

Arielle looked at Sovereign and said. "I'm taking Rose to the Reef. We shall be back later in the evening and then we will be going to bed. My business there is my own." She added and turned away from them again.

"Yes Arielle." The Ghost stated.

"Are you alright?"

The question made Cayde look up from the information Bing had given them.

"I don't understand it… how can our two places be so different? What has gone so wrong for her time that hasn't happened here? Or what did we do that made the difference… I can't think of anything that would have led to this kind of mess here." The Hunter Vanguard stated. "Why is it so different yet, everything seems to be the same."

"No one has the ability to tell us that," Zavala said before Ikora cleared her throat. "Something?" he asked.

"From what I can find, we may have a way of finding why things are so different." Ikora nodded, "The Vex are the only race we know that can time travel. If we could get into their network we might find out what has caused all this mess for Rose and how she came to be in our time." She stated.

"Who shall we send?" Cayde asked.

"I've already sent a signal to the fireteam I think has the best chance of getting in there." Ikora stated with a smile.

"Are you still angry with Orion?" Rose asked as they flew past Venus. Arielle hadn't spoken since they left the Moon and while the lightning had at last stopped crackling down her arms, Arielle still seemed tense with anger.

"I'm furious with him." Arielle said firmly and Rose could hear the fury in her voice. "Really, what does it take to get it through his head that I can look after myself? I managed just fine without anyone's help getting off the Moon and getting Bounties done before I met him." She growled out.

"But he does mean well, and really it's not his fault." Vakarian said and Arielle's shoulders slumped softly.

"Even if he is hard-headed, stubborn, brash, forgetful, un-ow! What was that for?!" Wrex demanded after Vakarian had all but rammed him.

"Shush!" the blue and tan Ghost hissed. "You are not helping."

"It's alright, Vakarian." Arielle sighed. "Orion is all of those things, but Traveler knows I love him." She admitted.

"Have you told him that?" Rose asked.

Arielle shook her head. "He knows I love him, even with our stupid arguments. I love him even when he's an idiot that steals my kills, I just want him to control himself better. Sometimes I think we need to spend some time apart, not a separation, but a few days for me to just run my own bounties and then come back to the team, but that's the coward's way out. I tried that once before and it didn't exactly work out."

"Honestly, you two seem to make a great pair, even with the arguments you have. I mean everyone fights sometimes, but as long as neither of you ever say something to deliberately hurt each other, does it really matter if you don't always say 'I love you' to each other?" Rose asked, "And everyone needs to be away from people sometimes, Hunters get that more than anyone, but we also know that no one person can win a war. We just have to find that balance between being together and being alone."

"I understand that and I know Orion does too," Arielle explained, "The trouble is I don't want or need to be pampered, but Orion is trying so hard to prove that he can take care of me financially and I don't need that. I earn my own glimmer just like he does, I don't need a provider. I need a partner, an equal." She stated. "I'm a Stormcaller, one of the most powerful Warlocks of my time, I could go toe to toe with Ikora Ray herself and still come out ready to fight a horde of Hive Knights."

"I don't mean to pry or stick my nose where it doesn't belong, Arielle but did you ever think Orion isn't trying to pamper you so much as prove himself?" Rose said, thinking about what she'd been told so far, "You said you had a relationship before, maybe that person in Orion's eyes was better than him in some way and that is the person Orion is trying to prove himself too? To prove that he can give you the same kind of support that person did before?" She suggested.

"He doesn't need to prove himself to anyone." Arielle said firmly, a small crack of lighting dancing down her arm again. "I left that relationship because I didn't like the life that person was trying to give me, on top of his making decisions for me. Orion shouldn't have to prove to anyone that he can support me. I support myself."

"Maybe in your mind he doesn't need to prove himself," Rose said with a small smile, "But J-Cey told me he spent weeks raising the glimmer to get Ace the best armour from Cayde's stash to prove to a Titan he could make Ace happy and keep her safe. Sometimes men just need to do something to prove to another man they can be just as good a partner to a woman, even if it means that they have to work harder to do it." She added.

"It's like in stories when a rich king or prince offers a lady everything she could want in an attempt to buy her love only to lose out to the humble guardsman or handsome farm boy who can't offer the lady a castle or riches, but can give her all his love honestly without having to think twice about everything." Bing chimed in.

Arielle couldn't help but laugh at that, confusing Rose for a moment before she realized it was a true heart felt laugh.

"You have no idea how close to the truth that is, Bing." Arielle smiled after she regained some control of herself looking back at the two of them with a genuinely relieved and happy smile. "Thank you, I think I needed to hear that from someone who hasn't known us for as long as Vlad." She added.

"You're welcome… I guess…" Rose said with a small smile.

"Oh! Rose look! The Reef!" Bing said suddenly as he looked out of the window of the ship. "Oh!"

Rose looked out of the window and smiled brightly, like a child in a sweet shop. "It's so beautiful…"

"Even in this state?" Arielle asked curiously thought she couldn't deny it was a beautiful to see.

Rose gave her a look as if to say 'are you serious?'. "I didn't get to see the Reef before it was destroyed in my time, so yes, it is beautiful." She said.

Arielle smiled, "The Queen will be pleased to hear that if she chooses to speak with you."

"I don't mind if she doesn't speak to me, just knowing she is still in good health here is enough." Rose assured.

Arielle smirked as two ships appeared on her screen, "Here we go." She said as two Awoken ships began to flag them, "Before you give me bullshit about being in your air space, look at my ship and consider your next words carefully."

The comms went silent before anyone could speak and Vakarian chuckled at Rose's confused look. "Arielle is well known on the Reef." He explained.

"Oh."

~ "State your business here, Arielle." ~ A firm voice said and Rose caught the tense undertone to the voice.

Arielle said. "I'm bringing a friend to the Reef for some training and to see if Variks has anything new in the Prison, I need to kill something big."

~ "Follow our path, the Outpost has moved since your last visit Arielle." ~

"Moved?" Arielle asked but the Awoken pilot didn't answer. "Why would the Outpost move?" she added more to herself.

Rose looked out the window again, now searching for anything that she might recognize in the ruins of the Reef while Bing did the same at the opposite side of the cockpit, scanning for everything and anything that could be a danger. They saw nothing, but the silence that hung over them as they flew to wards the outpost made Arielle sure that something bad had happened and that something may be connected to Rose.

The Vestian Outpost had indeed moved, it was now hidden deeper in the Reef, shrouded in the ruins of asteroids and destroyed ships, though some damages looked fairly new to Arielle.

"What happened here?" Arielle asked.

~ "We are still trying to work that out for ourselves." ~ A voice stated and Rose realized after a moment that it was none other than the Awoken Queen, Mara Sov.

"Your Grace." Arielle said respectfully.

~ "Come to me when you have landed your ship and greeted your fellow Awoken. I wish to speak with you. Privately." ~ The Queen said, ~ "You may bring your ball, however, your friend must remain outside." ~

Arielle looked at Rose who nodded. "I'll be ok." She said.

"As you wish, Your Grace." Arielle said as the ship was slowly pulled into the Outpost and lowered her ship into a vacant space. "Welcome to the Reef."

"How long has he been down there?" Amanda Holiday asked, watching Orion doing push ups with three times the weights he normally used for such an exercise.

"About three hours." Vlad sighed. "And he's still angry with himself."

"Should we stop him or take bets to see when he stops?" the ship master asked.

"He needs to get it out of his system first." The Exo Hunter said, "He really upset Arielle."

"Oh boy." The blond sighed.

"Yea." Vlad huffed, taking a sip of his oil drink. "She said she'd be back later this evening."

"And that means Orion will be like this for the rest of the night. Great." Holiday huffed. "I have to work around him."

"I'm sure he'll make it up to you with a new tool kit," Vlad smiled.

"He'd better." The blond said but there was no real anger in her voice.

Arielle had been greeted with nods and waves from many Awoken on the outpost, and even a polite nod from Brother Vance while showing Rose to the Postmaster and helping to get the engrams from inside Bing for decoding.

"I didn't even know I'd picked them up." Bing admitted.

"Few Ghosts do, we only realize it when we get close to a Cryptarch, I swear they have a nose for engrams." Vakarian said.

"So nice to see you again Vakarian." A voice stated and the blue and tan ghost swiftly ducked behind Arielle's head. "Arielle."

"Master Ives." Arielle smiled, "could you decode these for us? We'll be needing them when I get back."

"I will certainly take a look and see what I can do for you," Master Ives said and carefully set about inspecting and checking the engrams.

"Well, look who's come back from the Tower." A familiar voice called and Rose was glad she was wearing her helmet to hide the relief on her face. This time's Petra still looked like she had the passion to fight and the will to live, heck she all but radiated the aura of a warrior. "Come for some real fun Arielle?"

"Maybe another time Petra, I need to go see the Queen and then I'll come back and talk more." Arielle assured. "Speaking of which, could you watch these three for me while I'm busy, Rose here is still tagging along with me until we get her a new ship."

"I'll watch her." Patra smiled. "Just don't be gone too long, I might set her to work."

"I don't doubt that," Arielle chuckled. "Wrex, stay with Rose and don't argue with Variks." She added while poking a harmless finger against Wrex's eye. "I am not saving you if he tries to turn you into scrap."

"I'll ignore him if he leaves me alone." Wrex stated with an amused chuckle and if Ghosts have faces, Arielle knew that Wrex would not only be smirking, but he'd also be showing off teeth as well.

"Alright." Arielle said and then looked at Rose. "If he starts any trouble, shake him."

"Got it." Rose nodded watching Arielle head off toward where she guessed the Queen would be, then reached back and grabbed Wrex before he could float off. "No."

"Aw come on, I wasn't going to make trouble." The Ghost stated, even though he had been floating towards Variks.

"I'll believe that when the Fallen pack up and leave Earth." Rose said.

"You've been with Arielle too long." Wrex stated in defeat.

Rose smiled.

Meanwhile Arielle made her way to the familiar throne room and smiled to herself as she realized the only other person who could piss her off more than Orion was mercifully absent from his usual place before the throne.

"My brother is away in the Reef, searching for the creatures that attacked us." The Awoken Queen stated. "No need to worry about him showing up, Arielle."

Arielle bowed, "It is a pleasure to see you again, Your Grace. You honour me with your presence."

Mara Sov's blue eyes were glowing brightly as they focused intently on Arielle, the corners of her lips quirked up slightly. Arielle would not take the bait. Instead she replied, "I am pleased to know that you are well, even your little ball."

Vakarian huffed silently but said nothing, the only sign of his annoyance was the way he shifted his shell.

"I didn't think Your Grace would be very interested in my life anymore." Arielle replied truthfully.

Mara Sov's eyes narrowed, "I give my friendship to whom I wish, and I did extend the right for you to call me by my name."

Arielle's yellow eyes widened in pleasant surprise, "That you did, Mara. What can I do for you?"

"Always straight to the point, Ari, I admire that." The Queen stated as she crossed one leg over the other, "My people have found some very interesting information from some Vex, taken from them by force."

The Warlock nodded, "The Vex don't share their secrets with outsiders."

"Something that wasn't Vex travelled through time, but it wasn't alone. Tai Ravens attack my people, they attacked the Outpost, Arielle and I was forced to move it for protection. Prince Uldren and his Crows hunt down any remaining creatures in the depths of the Reef." Glowing blue eyes met yellow, "What do you know about the Hunter that travels with you?"

Arielle would've tensed if Uldren himself had been in the room. He had a way of looking right through her that Mara didn't; Mara didn't need to because Arielle would never lie to her. For Rose's sake, Arielle considered playing dumb, but that was insulting to both women, so she opted for the truth.

"Rose and her Ghost Bing somehow travelled through time and ended up stranded in the Vault of Glass. Rose was injured and out of ammo, she would've died had my team and I not been there. We aren't sure if she really is from a different time or just a parallel universe, only the Vex would know that. What we do know is that her world is dark, almost hopeless and many of the people we are familiar with are dead or entirely different, almost unrecognizable." Arielle explained.

"We have what little information Bing had at his disposal, he shared it with the Vanguard." Vakarian added.

Mara turned her attention onto Vakarian, "Report your findings to Variks, little ball."

"I don't take orders from you, Your Grace." Vakarian growled, though it was still a rather polite refusal.

"It's alright Vakarian. I was planning on sharing what we knew anyway. Ikora wouldn't have a problem with it." Arielle soothed.

Vakarian looked at her and his shell twisted, "If you say so Ari." The Ghost floated away to do as the Queen ordered.

Mara stood, "Your courtship with Uldren ended years ago and not once have you visited your home."

"I wasn't sure I was welcome, Mara. I was angry with you and Uldren, I was surprised you let me leave."

"You went through all the proper channels to leave the Reef and my service. I could not deny your request when you had followed all of my rules." Mara replied. The Awoken Queen gestured for Arielle to come closer and the Warlock obeyed, but didn't walk all the way up to the throne. Mara Sov narrowed her gaze but said nothing as she made the decision to step closer to her old friend. "If I were anyone else, I might hug you."

"Hugs aren't your thing, Mara." Arielle replied dryly.

"I've wondered if I had not interfered in your relationship if you'd still call the Reef home. Would you have remained with Uldren had we not plotted behind your back?" Mara inquired.

Arielle was silent for a moment, her expression thoughtful, before she replied, "I've thought about that over the last few years, and I've come to the conclusion that I would've left at some point. I'm far too restless to stay in one place, too wild to be a Warlock as Cayde would say. The only reason I stayed so long was that I didn't know I could leave, or that I would want to." The Warlock sighed, "The end of my relationship with Uldren can't be blamed upon the one action that made me leave. We had problems before, Mara, but we swept them aside, claiming to deal with them at a more convenient time, but that's not how relationships work. If we were to have lasted as a couple, we would've needed to work on those issues as they came up. We ran out of time, Mara, and the plotting my life for me behind my back was the last straw. I am no one's pawn."

The Queen's gaze drifted to Arielle's gauntlets as lightning travelled up and down the coils. "You are right, we treated you as a pawn, but do you understand the circumstances? There is Darkness coming, Ari, Eris has seen it, and Ikora knows it. As one of her Warlocks, even you know it. I needed to know that you would step up and there is no one I trust more than you in that position, so yes, I made you a pawn for the betterment of my people."

"You could've asked me." Arielle stated.

"You would not have agreed, and Mara Sov does not beg."

"Then I would've wanted you to respect my decision and allow me to help you come up with a different plan." Arielle countered.

Mara's gaze met Arielle's, "You no longer belong to Reef as you once did, yet now, with a new Guardian in tow, you return home. Why?"

"I can be self-serving, Mara. I want to hunt in the Prison. I have avoided my home for too long, and the Awoken do not run." Arielle paused, "While I may not have called the Reef home for the last few years, I am loyal to it and its Queen. Despite what may have happened between us. If Darkness is coming to our part of space, then I must let my Queen know that the Vanguard stand with the Awoken and should my Queen need me, I am her sword."

Arielle watched as Mara's glowing eyes softened slightly, "You pledge to re-enter my service?"

"I pledge that should my Queen need me, I shall happily answer her call to arms and bring the wrath of my fireteam with me, on the condition that the Prince is not allowed to order my team around." Arielle corrected.

"Uldren knows better than to try and order you around. It never got him anywhere in the first place, and you always did as you wanted, rarely as you were told."

"Unless it coincided with what I already planned on doing." Arielle added with a smirk.

"You have been missed on the Reef, Ari, but you know this." Mara stated as she returned to her throne, "Uldren still misses you, though he would rather not speak of it."

"What Uldren and I had is long gone, but I still care. He was…..a friend when he wanted to be."

"Your hesitation explains it all. Uldren does not know how to have friends, only subjects. You were the only exception, Ari. We both keep an eye on you and your fireteam, especially your Titan. I was surprised to find that you'd started dating him. You are happy, I hope?"

"Are you asking as my Queen or as my friend?" Arielle asked.

"Both."

"I am very happy with Orion." Arielle stated in a tone that Mara recognized to mean the end of her discussion on the subject.

"I have no intention of interfering in your relationship with the Titan. You no longer belong to the Reef, you've made that very clear. And we know better to try and control you. That is what caused you to leave in the first place." Mara paused before continuing, "I did not believe that you would react as you did when you discovered what Uldren and I had done. I allowed myself to believe that your relationship with the Prince and the friendship you and I share would encourage you to go along with my plan. Instead, you left us, and I have regretted that decision for years."

Arielle's eyes softened, "I know. Had I been anyone else, those two things would've made me agree."

"Then I am glad that you are as strong willed as you are." The Queen admitted.

Arielle bowed, "Is that all you needed from me, Your Grace?"

Mara Sov nodded, "You have my permission to enter the Reef as you please, enjoy battle in the Prison and take bounties from Petra. I accept your offer to be my sword once more, and I look forward to seeing you fight for your Queen. Welcome home, Ari."

"Thank you Mara." Arielle turned and headed for the door but the Queen's voice stopped her, "You would make an excellent Queen."

The Warlock paused, "I could never replace you." She said and continued out the door.

Variks watched, feeling something akin to amusement, as the little Ghost that had accompanied the Hunter hovered above Petra's Bounty Board, listening carefully to what Petra was telling him about her time as a field agent for the Queen, even going as far as to hush the larger Ghost when he tried to interrupt.

The Hunter sat nearby, listening quietly while continuing to ensure Wrex didn't come toward him, despite the apparent stealth the larger Ghost had picked up from Arielle. After watching the Ghost be caught again, the Fallen Vender gave the Ghost a knowing look before turning his attention to his own work.

He looked up again when Wrex gave a startled yelp and saw the Hunter had remove her helmet at last and used it as a means to trap Wrex.

"Don't think I won't tie you in my cloak, Wrex." The hunter warned and Petra laughed.

"Arielle's been teaching you how to keep him out of trouble I see." The Huntress stated.

"Variks." A slightly sharp voice cut through the air and Variks lifted his head, watching as Arielle's Ghost hovered before him.

"Ghost. Vakarian." He greeted evenly and the two simply looked at each other, Vakarian's Shell twitching from time to time while Variks grips on his staff, neither talking for a time.

"What's with them?" Rose asked Petra, spotting Vakarian hovering near Variks.

"Vakarian and Variks have a long standing history of staring contests." Petra explained with a knowing chuckle, "You can never tell who will win."

"You have something for me?" Variks asked, though he didn't take his eyes off the Ghost as Vakarian floated down so he was more level with the Fallen.

"I need an access link to your systems, then I'll send you the data the Queen has asked me to share with you on Arielle's behalf." Vakarian explained, shell still twitching but his blue eye never leaving Variks' green ones.

"Ah, then you have come with gifts." Variks chuckled, knowing that Vakarian was uncomfortable around him.

"Hurt me and Arielle will skin you." Vakarian reminded and Variks barked out a partly growled laugh.

"Arielle has not been home for a very long time, what makes you think she has not lost her edge?" the Fallen asked.

"Oh he's gonna regret that." Wrex said.

"What?" Rose asked. "What do you mean?"

"Have you been told about the Prison of Elders?" Petra asked and Rose shook her head. "Variks was given permission by the Queen to keep some of the bounties that are caught by the Crows or brought in by our Scouts. He lets some Guardians go into the Prison as a sort of Challenge for them but even to this day, Arielle holds the most kills on the board and while she has been gone a few years, she's not one to slip."

"I'd noticed," Rose said, "She took me to the Moon before we came here and took on a Fallen squadron alone."

"That's the Arielle I know. You should've heard about what she did when the House of Wolves betrayed us a few years back, when Arielle was still the Queen's Sword." Petra chuckled. "Those are the best stories."

Rose nodded but said nothing however, Petra noticed the little Ghost also seemed to grow sombre at the mention of the Wolves but before she could ask, she was cut off.

"Variks, stop tormenting my Ghost and give him the data link." Arielle's voice called before Arielle herself came from the Queen's Chamber. "And then give me a Prison key."

"You wish to fight today?" Variks asked while one hand held out a data cable to Vakarian and now with the safety of Arielle to watch his back, the Ghost settled on a nearby crate and began the simple download process. The scribe's eyes hadn't left Arielle, clearly interested in the fact that she wanted to play in the Prison.

"Key. Now." Arielle said again and Variks shook his head. "Variks."

"Prison already in use." Variks explained, and brought up a screen showing the many levels of the Prison that were already serving as an arena for the Guardians already visiting the Reef, or areas that were being cleared for the next round. "I have no keys to offer you. Yet."

"Then the minute someone hands a key back hand it over." Arielle said. "Rose, go get our stuff from Master Ives then get over here, we're going for a killing spree."

"Do they have Hive in there, I'm still down one kill for that bounty." Rose asked heading for Master Ives with Bing and Wrex.

"It will." Arielle assured.

"Hello stranger." A new voice asked and the Warlock turned at the voice in time to see another Awoken female Warlock approaching her in the company of a Awoken male Warlock and a Exo Hunter. "Been a while Arielle."

The female wore an almost navy blue coat over her armour, with hems and trimmings of gold and black over white leg armour, at first glance many might think this new comer a weakling, she stood a head shorter than Arielle and she did not carry herself with the same powerful aura.

Those people were fools. For this Warlock had not only mastered her ability as a Sunsinger, but she had also mastered her ability as a Voidwalker, making her a deadly opponent and it was whispered that she was studying the ways of the Stormcallers as well.

"Hello Lindor," Arielle smiled, offering her hand to her fellow Warlock. "I trust you have a key for me?"

"You're going through the Prison alone?" Lindor asked.

"Not this time, I'm taking a new friend through for a test drive." Arielle smiled nodding towards where Rose was waiting on the last engram to be decoded.

"With her light level so low? Are you sure is it wise?" the Hunter with Lindor asked, his armour was covered in camouflage patches.

"She's been with me all day, Zaragosa-40. She can handle the Prison." Arielle assured, "She's handled far worse where she is from."

"Hand over our winnings Variks, Ikora wants us to go to Venus before we head home and we have no time for your jokes." The last of Lindor's fireteam stated, his white coat and armour seeming to have lost its clean look in the prison.

"Return my Key and you may have your rewards." Variks said and took the Prison key from Lindor while offering each member of her Fire team a new weapon from his armoury.

"Terrik, why does Ikora want you on Venus?" Arielle asked the Warlock.

"She said it was to do with a new Hunter." Lindor said glancing towards Rose. "I'll keep you informed." She assured before heading off. "Have fun in the Prison."

"Thank you." Arielle nodded as Rose retrieved the last of the decoded Engrams. "Good luck!" She called after them.

"How about a deal, Arielle?" Petra asked as she approached.

"What kind of deal?" Arielle asked. "Because really you have nothing I can use."

"Maybe not, but you mentioned your friend has no ship." Petra recalled. "If she survives the Prison, I'm sure I have a ship she'd be interested in." she added.

"Sounds like a deal to me." Arielle smiled. "Hey Rose, what do you think, survive the Prison and Petra will give you a new ship." She called.

"Really?" Rose asked smiling. "I can do that."

"Interesting." Variks hissed as Vakarian disconnected from the cable and took his place beside Arielle. "Very interesting. Indeed." He stated. "Her scent, is dark."

"She's come from a place where darkness is much stronger and where many things are gone or in ruin." Arielle nodded. "As for her scent, I won't know what a normal Guardian smells like to you." She added.

"Not like her. Your scent is clean, hints of the Reef and of the Tower. Of places you have visited recently. Hers is heavy with dirt, death and rot." Variks explained in the only way he knew how. "Hunter is not as weak as her Light portrays."

"Key." Arielle said, in a dark tone and Variks growled in his native tongue while handing her the Key he had just received. "Thank you. Come on Rose."

"Coming." Rose said following Arielle.

"Hmmmm…" Variks said. "Very interesting."

Eris was concerned.

She would usually break the silence with a greeting to Guardians who passed her, but for the last few hours she had been silent, it seemed she was looking at nothing.

Ikora knew better.

Eris was looking into the shadows, searching them for what may be hiding within.

The fact she was holding her orb close to her chest made Ikora certain whatever it was that worried the tormented former Guardian, it was not something small.

"Ikora."

The Warlock Vanguard looked back to her fellow Vanguard at her name. "Yes Zavala?"

"I asked if there has been any word from your team on Venus." Zavala repeated himself while Cayde compared reports from his Hunters and transferred the information to their own files.

"Not yet, but I have faith they will return with the information we need." Ikora said.

"They may not have everything." Eris said, at last breaking her silence.

"What do you mean?" Cayde asked just as Wiccan gave a noticeable shudder in her shell.

"Incoming reports from the fireteam on Vault of Glass, Ikora and they aren't pretty." She explained.

"I will call a gathering." Zavala said.

Eris nodded and then spared a glance at Ikora who nodded and excused herself for a moment, once the two were back in Eris's corner, Eris began to pet her orb, an action that soothed her when she had been unnerved when she'd been in the shadows.

"What have you seen?" Ikora asked.

"Rose was not the only creature to come from her time." Eris explained, "There is a dark shadow in the Reef and more are arriving." She explained, looking at Ikora. "We need to speak again with Rose. And this time, we may need to be more direct with our questions. Even if it means we must be forceful."

"I understand." Ikora said.

"So this is the Reef's answer to the Crucible and Iron Banner?" Rose asked, ducking behind cover for a second to reload before firing on the straggling Thrall they were fighting. "How does Variks keep this place going if you kill everything as you go?" she added jumping onto a higher ledge and taking down a few more Thrall before there was a slight pause in battle.

"I never cared to ask, I was usually too busy killing things." Arielle admitted taking the brief pause as a chance to reload her weapons, "There are enough Thrall here that they've probably already started reproducing in the Prison but that sounds gross." The Warlock made a face, "He should let us have something big now. I hope you have spare ammo?"

"I got six rockets and about two dozen clips of Scout rifle and Sniper ammo." Rose nodded.

"Nice." Arielle smiled. "Here comes the real fun." She added as the room began to shake.

~"Something new for you Guardians."~ Variks stated over the comms. ~"This one captured by Prince's Crows,"~ he added. ~"Something we did not have in Prison. Until now."~

"Why do I suddenly feel worried?" Rose asked.

"Because Variks is a sneaky bastard who likes to put the most deadly things in here for us." Arielle answered, "Remember what I told you?"

"Keep moving and never let Variks's annoying commentary distract you." Rose smiled.

"Good girl." The Warlock smirked feeling the ground shake with the heavy steps of their opponent. "Hive Knight." She said.

~ "Sardon! Fist of Crota!" ~ Variks announced as the once mighty Golden skinned Hive Knight came into view, his once right armour dull and beaten as he scanned the area, searching for the two of them. ~ "Impress me Guardians. And the rewards shall be grand." ~

"I'll show you impressive you bastard!" Arielle yelled before opening fire on the Knight. "How did this fucker survive!?"

"Survive?" Rose asked, "You've fought him before?" She added scrambling up a ledge and began to fire from her scout rifle on Sardon, getting his attention away from Arielle. "Over here Shiny!"

"We all did. Orion and Vlad drove him and several others back from Saturn alongside the Vanguard and the Awoken nine years ago… We though this fucker died after taking a direct hit from the Queen and Ikora at once." Arielle explained making a break for new cover and fired a rocket at the Knight to give Rose time to reload. "Eris couldn't find him in the shadows anymore."

Sardon roared and hissed savagely as he swung his sword up and charged after Arielle and missed her by mere inches as she jumped for a higher ledge, glaring eyes following her until something seemed to catch his eye and he looked right at Rose in time to have a rocket fired at his face causing him to stagger and snarled searching again for the dimmer of the two Lights he'd seen and knew were still in the area.

"Maybe… maybe he's not from here?" Rose asked firing a sniper round at Sardon's head.

"What do you mean?" Arielle asked.

"He's bigger than Knights we saw on the Moon." Rose said then yelped as her cloak was snagged. "Shit!"

"Move it Rose, he's seen you!" Arielle yelled in warning as she fired on Sardon trying to keep his attention on her, watching as the bullets seemed to bounce off the Hive Knight as Rose yanked her cloak free and rushed for cover as Sardon charged her bringing his mighty sword down inches from where she had been, only to find she was backed into a corner. "Rose!?"

Sardon growled and hissed, looking up to where the dimmer light stood, preparing to run it through with his sword before it suddenly got brighter and became blinding.

"Go away!" Rose yelled cutting and slicing at Sardon's face with two knifes she'd seemingly found in thin air, watching his rear backwards clutching his face as she slide under him and rolled safely out of the way as the Knight fall backwards heavily collapsing onto the ground.

"Rose? You alright?"

"Yea… I think so…" Rose answered as the blue aura around her faded. "Wh-why am I-I shak-shaking?"

"Adrenalin rush." Arielle suggested with a chuckle, "Happens when you first use your Arc ability."

"That was Blade Dancing?" Rose asked twitching somewhat. "Oh… tingly and ticklish." She giggled, "Wow… I feel light as a feather…"

~ "You look like you went toe to toe with a Stormcaller." ~ Petra stated over the comm link. ~ "Get out here so I can congratulate you and give you your new ship. I think the Ceres Galliot will suit you nicely." ~

"Ok… Um... Where is the door?" Rose asked, twitching still and staggering a little as she looked around. "Oh, I feel dizzy. What's a Ceres Galliot?

Arielle chuckled and took Rose by the arm and lead her out of the Prison. "The Ceres Galliot looks like my ship, the Hildian Seeker. It's an Awoken ship. Come on, let's get you out of here."

Vlad woke to the sharp and single knock at his door.

"What is it?" he asked.

"Cayde wants you in the Vanguard chambers. Now." one of his fellow Hunters stated. "Orion has already been called, Arielle is being recalled as we speak."

"Very well." Vlad said, "Come on Sovereign."

"Too early…" Sovereign stated sluggishly as he floated from his place on the shelf.

"Prince Uldren." He turned at his name, watching as the guard gave a polite nod and handed him a small data chip. "The Queen requests your immediate presence in the Throne room." Her tone was quiet, but her words had been direct and to the point.

Likely she had seen the anger on his face, or his sister had been just as direct in having her relay the order.

"Deal with this corpse and ensure it is burned." He stated as he strode out of the docks.

"Yes sir."

Tai Ravens.

He despised them almost as much as he despised the Fallen. He had worked hard to keep the Reef free of the Ravens for years, training for hours on end with his Crows, ensuring that they themselves were the best, and using his lessons to plan defences against the Ravens and their attacks.

And yet somehow, one had gotten past his defences.

It had broken through with seeming practiced ease and had come within inches of the Queen's personal Quarters. Had his sister been in there, had she been sleeping in that chamber and not in deep meditation with him-it did not bear thinking about.

"The Raven?" her voice brought him from his thoughts and he allowed himself but a second to thank whatever higher power had spared his sister before he straightened his back and shoulders as he came around the throne and knelt before her.

"Dead. And soon it will burn. Its ashes will keep others of its kind away." He assured. "They have fled beyond our reaches."

She made a soft humming sound and then looked towards the data feed in her hand. "Do not burn it yet." She said, "There is a question I wish to ask but for an honest and truthful answer the Raven is needed."

He blinked in confusion, "I do not understand."

"There is a new Awoken Hunter here, the one the Vex tell us about. Perhaps she can tell us how this Raven and its flock so easily broke your defences." She stated.

"The Hunter came here?" He asked, "Why?"

"Arielle brought her."

Arielle. He tensed at the sound of her name. The only other soul in the universe he cared about at least half as much as his Queen.

"She has returned?" he asked.

"She does not seek you." His sister stated. "And she is no longer ours. She is teaching this Hunter and she is soon to leave to speak with the Vanguard."

"I see." He paused, "Is she still here?"

"Petra is gifting the Hunter a new ship as her winnings for surviving the Prison." The Queen explained.

His yellow eyes darted to the door, wondering if it was worth catching a glimpse of the blue haired Warlock. She'd left him and the Reef far behind, but now she was back and he had been content with the knowledge that she lived on the Tower, that she was still a force that destroyed the Awoken's enemies, be they Hive, Fallen, or Vex; even if it was in the name of the Traveler and not the Queen.

If Arielle was back, had she promised her wrath to be the Queen's? Had she returned to her position as Mara Sov's sword?

"Go and see her Uldren, but do not hope for too much." She stated, focusing on her data feed, feeling him slowly moving away from her and head towards the door. Her voice drifted after him, "She now longer belongs solely to the Reef; and she was only yours as long as she allowed herself to be."

"I understand."

A lie.

He hadn't understood why she had left, he couldn't see the problem with what had been done or said.

Then again, he had never seen anyone as anything more than a subject, a pawn to the will of his Queen.

He had loved her. She was the only woman beside his Queen who could challenge him, and there had been a fair few times Arielle had not only proven him wrong, but she'd also improved his plans.

But somewhere along the way, things had become...problematic-no flawed?

He couldn't think of the right word for what had happened to their bond, all he knew was that she had stormed in during a private meeting between him and the Queen and the Warlock had been so angry that her whole body had been alive with electricity and lightning as she unleashed verbal hell upon him and then turned and held a silent war with his Queen.

She had not spoken to the Queen in that entire argument, only held her gaze, burning yellow against cold blue until at last, Arielle had regained control of her lightning and left the throne room.

He had seen Arielle be angry, had seen her take her rage out against the House of Wolves when they turned on the Queen, even he had been a recipient of her anger, but never had he seen the righteous fury directed at him like that before. Her eyes from that day haunted him, glowing yellow in anger and rage as electricity cackled at her fingertips; there had been hurt in those eyes that day.

The next few days were a blur, but he remembered searching for her everywhere, but no one could tell him where she'd gone off to. Eventually he figured out that she was simply avoiding him, but everyone else was avoiding her for fear of her fury. The next thing he knew, Arielle was gone. Her room empty save the Reef weapons she had once used as her own and a note for Variks telling him that if someone beat her score in the Prison she was to be informed instantly and a small amount of Glimmer for Petra to clear an outstanding debt.

The next he'd heard of Arielle, had come from the Queen's Hidden friend among the Guardians. Eris Morn had told the Queen that Arielle had gone into the Hive alongside a Hunter and a Titan to free the Traveler from some kind of poisoning and then she had gone on with that same fireteam to slay Crota, the Hive God.

That battle had brought them together again in a final push to drive the Hive God and his Generals away, without them, the Hive forces were lost and for a time, though Uldren would never admit it, the Vanguard and the Reef had been a near perfect united force, Titans and Awoken soldiers pushing forwards before bringing up their shields to allow the Warlocks to unleashed all hell from above, Hunters taking out stragglers.

That had been how he found out about Orion, the Titan Arielle had become so close to. There was still an oddly painful sting in his chest as he thought about that.

"We can really have this?" A Ghost exclaimed ahead of him and the Prince looked up to see a small dull Ghost hovering around and scanning the Ceres Galliot, "You're sure? It looks so pretty and special, like something the Queen should have."

"The Queen has her own ship, besides I promised you a ship if you survived the Prison of Elders, which you not only did but also defeated Sardon." Petra stated looking at the Hunter, who shuffled her feet a little.

"I had help." She admitted, ducking as her hair was ruffled in a friendly manner by the Warlock beside her.

"Hey, all I did was take pot shots, you did the killing." Arielle smiled.

"You shot his head." The Hunter said.

"Not the eyes." Arielle reminded, "So, what do you think? Like her?" she asked looking at the ship.

"She's pretty!" the Ghost called, "Oh! Rose she has leather seats."

"Such an excitable little ball of Light." Petra smiled.

"He's a big kid inside." The Hunter smiled, Rose, if the Ghost was to be believed. "And he is right, she is a beautiful ship. Are you really sure its ok?" she asked, repeating the Ghost's question.

"Yes and trust me, no ship combines speed and versatility better than the Ceres Galliot. Her turns are smooth without losing speed. She'll carry you safely through space." Petra assured.

"Thank you." Rose grinned in excitement.

"Well, we better get back to the Tower, Ikora says it's urgent." Arielle said.

"Can we race? Please? Please, please, please?" the Ghost asked.

"Maybe another time, Bing," Rose smiled. "Time to go."

"Ok. Thank you again Petra." Bing stated before disappearing into the ship.

"Cute thing." Petra chuckled.

"Don't let him hear you, he hates being called cute." Rose chuckled. "Thank you. For the ship and the stories, he appreciates all of them." She added.

"Let's go Rose." Arielle called and Rose nodded, fading into her new ship.

Arielle turned and for a moment, their eyes met, but just as soon as she saw him, she faded into her own ship without so much as a smile or a nod at him.

He told himself it didn't hurt.

It didn't hurt watching her leave again.

It didn't.