Chapter six.
Doubt and Cure.
It was evening when they were finally released from the tender cares of the doctors, exhorted, sore from medical needles and prodding fingers, but alive and together.
"So… who won?" Zaragosa-40 asked leaning on Orion as they entered the Plaza.
"Won?" Lindor asked.
"The bet. Who killed more?" Zaragosa asked again.
"I think we drew." Arielle said with a small smile. "Shall we head to bed?"
"We can't." Vlad stated looking towards the stairs leading to the Vanguard. "Not yet." He added glancing at Rose.
"Oh… that." Orion sighed.
"What?" Rose asked. "What's the matter?"
"We need to go see the Vanguard… at least the four of us do." Vlad said nodding to himself, Rose, Orion and Arielle.
"Why? What's wrong?" Rose asked.
"We'll explain when we get down there." Vlad said.
"We'll see you later," Lindor said heading for the dorms with her team in tow, "I hope things go well for you Rose." She added.
Rose nodded though wasn't sure what was going on even as she followed Vlad and the others down into the Hall of Guardians but stopped as they heard the Vanguard in the middle of some kind of heated discussion that could almost be called a shouting match by the sound of things.
Zavala sounded like he was about to punch someone, his tone cold and harsh and so unlike the Commander Orion was use to hearing and Ikora sounded and looked about ready to attack the Commander, her fists clenched tightly enough to cut the skin of her palms making them bleed as lightning danced about her lower arms.
Lord Shaxx and Lord Saladin were stood by the two Vanguard members, acting as a blockade while Cayde stood silently at his place, sporting a noticeable dent to the right side of his face as Eris and the Vanguards' Ghosts remained in the door way between the Crucible and the Vanguard table, waiting for them.
"I do not care for your tone, Commander." Ikora was saying. "You've been acting strangely these last few days yourself and several of Titans have noticed this. You are not yourself."
"And you dare to think that means I cannot see when there is a threat? Need I remind you that it was the Titans who protected the City when the walls were threatened by the House of Devils the first time and not Warlocks, Ikora Ray." The Commander stated in a low tone.
"Are you trying to imply something?" Ikora growled.
"What's happening?" Arielle asked Eris quietly as they reached her.
"Commander Zavala has been showing odd behaviour since your departure and return, Ikora and Cayde have been trying to speak with him calmly but the Commander has become defensive and the talks have become more aggressive." Eris explained. "Lord Saladin and Lord Shaxx have been trying to keep the talks from becoming physical, but the behaviour is getting more violent by the hour."
"Zavala punched Cayde?" Vlad asked in some shock.
"He had no right to put his hands on me." Zavala growled in response, though his glare was not focused on Vlad.
"He gave you a pat on the shoulder as he has done many times before and suggested we take a break." Lord Shaxx stated with a firm tone. "You were the one who started this argument Zavala."
"What is going on?" Rose asked.
Eris wished she still had normal eyes, but instead she turned her cloth covered gaze to Rose, tainted green meeting rich emerald as she spoke. "The Vanguard, Ikora and Zavala specifically, planned to test you when you travelled to Venus." She explained. "As a means of discovering weather or not you are in some way corrupted or tainted by the Darkness of your world."
Rose looked shocked and Eris needed no further proof there was no darkness within the Awoken before her, she didn't have the years of practice to hide the depth of her emotions in her eyes as the Queen and others like Arielle and herself did.
"Why Venus?" Rose asked.
"We didn't like nor approve of that idea," Vlad sighed and spoke up, though he hung his head, unable to meet Rose's gaze. "Ikora's plan was that we have your aura and light read by Eris or ask the Queen if her Tech Witches could spare the time to check you, but Zavala said such a thing wouldn't show any true corruption as Eris is already corrupted and could possibly miss it and the Tech Witches are the Queen's to command."
"But I've been to the Reef and stood not three feet from the Queen, she'd have known if there was something wrong me with." Rose said turning to Zavala. "And what would going to Venus do to prove I wasn't corrupted? There are only Vex there you said it yourself."
"Vex from your world. With your Light so weak, the Vex as a whole would treat you as a threat, but their conjoined mind would react differently and depending on how they respond to you, it could be an indication of any kind of Darkness that may cling to you." Zavala said.
"Liar." Cayde hissed, "You thought she's turn around and shoot the team she went in with when she thought we weren't looking." He added. "he wanted Orion and Vlad to fake comm failure while we watched thought Ghost feeds via Wrex and Sovereign your behaviour, if you turned killer when you though we weren't wanting he'd know he was right to mistrust you."
"I would never do that!" Rose said and Eris saw the confusion mix with anger and hurt, for a moment she dared to think just how young Rose truly was.
"Rose please, we know you're not like that." Orion said in defence, "We all do, you proved that on the Moon. It's just Zavala has to know for sure sometimes and-"
"And the best way to prove that you are loyal to him is to get yourself killed in a situation where not only could you die but everyone on the team and their Ghosts could also die, meaning that you lose Guardians who could be better used to protect the very City he's so worried about?" Rose finished for him and turned to them. "And you clearly have your own doubts or else you would have told me." She added.
"No we-"
"You do!" Rose snapped, cutting Arielle off, "If you trusted me you'd have told me. I bet that's why they didn't send you with me." She added before turning back to Zavala. "What more do you want from me? Do you want me to just give you Bing so you can remove everything and scrutinize it for yourself? Die and let someone dissect me looking for some kind of corruption? Is that what it takes to prove loyalty to you?"
"Rose-"
"Answer me!" Rose snarled ignoring Ikora. "You saw it for yourself! I lost everything! My friends, my mentors- My whole world is GONE! Taken and destroyed by Darkness and you think I somehow in the space of three days was infected with it?! That because of fucked up Vex tech swallowed me up and spat me out here before all of hell followed me here I am somehow responsible for it?!"
"Rose please-" Vlad tried only to be cut off and ignored the same way Ikora had been.
"I didn't ask to be the last Hunter in my world, I didn't ask to be dumped in the perfect world, where everything is right while my world was taken over! I'd trade places with everyone there in a heartbeat if I had the chance!" Rose snarled.
"Rose." Rose stopped and looked at Cayde who nodded towards Eris. "You are scaring Bing."
Rose turned to her Ghost and instantly the anger inside went away, as she saw Bing hiding behind Eris' shoulder, his shell shaking and a soft but frightened chittering sound coming from him.
"Bing…"
"Please don't fight," the ghost pleaded, his voice filled with static. "Please. Please don't fight." He repeated and Rose reached out and held her palm up, instantly, he floated back to her and against her chest armour, feeling her hands cover him. "Please."
"I'm sorry." Rose said.
"Enough of this now." Cayde said, "You four go get some rest. Tomorrow, when we are all rested and we have had time to cool our heads," he glared at Zavala, "We will talk about this Venus mission."
"What did you want me to do there?" Rose asked.
"Find your world's Watson." Orion said, "He's in the Vault of Glass somewhere, Zavala thought that if there was corruption in you, the Vex wouldn't be able to kill you as they came from your world." He explained.
"As a Ghost once told me, 'Vex try to kill everyone'." Rose said dryly.
Arielle smiled and gently put an arm over Rose's shoulders. "Come now, it's late we're all tired and we have a lot of work to do tomorrow, so let's all go and settle down for the night." She suggests, already gently leading Rose out of the room. "We can all stay in one room too, how's that?"
"Sounds like a plan." Vlad smiled as he and Orion followed them out.
"I am not in agreement with is." Zavala growled.
"You have no say in the ways of a Hunter, Commander." Cayde-6 stated firmly before turning away. "Watson, we're leaving. Good night Ikora."
"Good night Cayde." The Warlock Vanguard called after him as he left. "Good night Eris." She added as Eris also made her leave.
Prince Uldren didn't make a habit of listening to idol gossip from the Guardians around the Reef. Rarely did they have anything worthy of his attention, but now and then, he found their chatter to be a wealth of information of certain enemies such as the Vex, or Cabal.
So he hadn't expected to hear anything interesting when he visited the Outpost to speak with Petra about something when a passing trio of Guardian caught his eye, they looked like they were waiting to hand Variks back his Prison key while talking about something their Warlock held in his hands.
"The Hive have returned?" the Titan asked in shock.
"Yes, just got word from the Vanguard, they want teams to go into Rasputin's Bunker and clear out every trace of the Hive before Ikora and Eris can try and salvage the War Mind. Turns out Orion and Vlad went in there with that New Hunter, Rose I think her name is and ran into Watcher of Crota and that Damn Ogre of his too." The Warlock stated.
"When did that happen?" the Hunter asked.
"A couple of hours ago," the Warlock stated. "Report's fresh off the wire."
"Why didn't they go in with Arielle? Isn't she the best for Hive killing?" the Hunter asked.
"Nope, I heard Ikora wanted her to stay home today, something about another mission for Arielle to run, but when Orion and Vlad reported Hive in the Bunker, Arielle went in after them with Lindor's team." The Warlock explained and Uldren strained to hear more as the Warlock leaned closer to his team, "Reports say there was a huge spike in Darkness in that area and that they all suddenly appeared on the Moon."
"That's not good." The Hunter said. "That's Hive territory."
"It gets worse, according to this, all of them were Ghosted out of there and after arriving back to the Tower they all collapsed, shaking and sweating like they'd just gone solo in the Prison." The warlock said.
"What!?" the Titan and Hunter gasped, "No way! This is Arielle we are talking about here, you know, Best Stormcaller this side of the Nine and not to mention she served the Queen, no way would she just collapse from fighting the Hive."
Uldren heard no more as he moved away. That tightness in his chest was back, and he didn't like that it only seemed to worsen as he thought of Arielle, strong and proud and beautiful, a shaking and weakened mess… No, no, that was impossible, completely preposterous and utterly ridicules and unthinkable.
Those Guardians had to be wrong, misinformed or just plain stupid. There was no way Arielle, Reef Born Warlock, the greatest Storm Caller of all the Warlock class and the Queen's Sword, would ever become so weak…
Uldren shook his head. It was impossible.
He'd only know if he checked.
Stirring himself, Uldren headed towards Petra's privet quarters, at this late hour the huntress would likely be enjoying a cup of some foul teasing ick she'd grown fond of while on the Tower, but it also meant there would not be an audience if he asked her to contact Arielle for an update after what he had heard.
All on behalf of the Queen of course.
She should have left a note.
Rose knew she should have left note somewhere before leaving the Tower alone in the dead of night.
Maybe a text… No; she had to do this alone. She had to find Watson by herself so no one would get hurt. Arielle, Orion, Vlad, Lindor, Terrik and Zaragosa had been hurt because of her and Zavala already thought she was corrupted in some way, Rose couldn't let anyone else get hurt because of her.
She glanced back to where Bing was sleeping on the pillow Arielle had let them use, his little frame almost perfectly hidden by the white of the pillow, he knew what she was doing, he'd not been able to settle to sleep after the fight with Zavala and so they had waited until everyone else was asleep and then quietly snuck out, making their way to Venus to find Watson's shell.
She'd turned her comm link off, she knew they could trace it but if it was off it would take them longer, meaning if they did try to follow her, they would be slowed and less likely to catch up and get hurt again because she was corrupted.
Rose huffed as the ship was spat from hyper space around Venus and began to descend into the planet's atmosphere. Corrupted, HA! She wasn't corrupted, she couldn't have been. Arielle would have known if she was after the first night she spent in the same room as her and they had been stood not three feet from the Queen more than once while they were on the Reef, the Queen would have known if she was corrupted in anyway and the Queen would have told Arielle. How could anyone think she was corrupted if she had come and gone in the Reef without the Queen showing an inkling of worry? Zavala had no reason to worry if the Queen of the Reef, another Awoken had no worries about her.
Even Eris, ERIS MORN! The most clearly and undoubtable corrupted Guardian hadn't spoken up. Of all people on the tower, surely Eris would have said something… The Speaker would have known, he was the closest to the Traveler, surely he'd have known if she was a threat…?
"Rose?" Bing asked and Rose realized she was outside her ship, stood at what looked like the door to the Vault of Glass. "There are no Vex here." The Ghost stated.
"That's not good. Stay inside until we get into the Vault they stay close." She said, taking the safety off of her weapons before starting towards the Vault Door.
Vakarian stirred from recharge hearing his systems ping repeatedly and sluggishly made his way to Arielle. "Ari… call from Petra…" he muttered, shifting his panelling in a way that it would poke and lightly tap at Arielle's forehead. "Ari."
"Mph? Oh." Arielle said and answered the comm. "Arielle. And if this isn't life or death I'll be pissed."
~ "You sound like you just lost your best gauntlets to a rookie." ~ Petra chuckled from the other end. ~ "We heard some nasty talk about Crota being back and you getting hurt. But we have no official reports to that effect." ~ She explained.
Arielle sighed. "I feel like a damn pin cushion, but I'll live thanks to Rose." She assured. "Tell the Queen I will give her a full report when we've rested up." She added.
~ "Will do. Good night Arielle." ~
"Night." Arielle bid before the comm shut off and she clambered out of bed, needing a glass of water-
And froze in her steps when she realized the Sofa where Rose should have been was empty and Bing was not in his usual place.
"Wake up! Both of you up! Rose is gone!"
Bing hovered over the dead Vex as they passed them, scanning them as he went. "Pulse rifle damage." He said. "But nothing like what we have." He added.
"So someone else is here? Clearing out Vex?" Rose asked. "Come." She added wanting Bing close to her in case they did run into danger in this place.
They'd passed hundreds of dead Vex, some in bits others with clear shots through their juice boxes and eyes, from Harpies to Hydras, it was unsettling to think someone else was in here, killing Vex with what seemed to be well practiced ease.
"Are you alright?" Bing asked as the silence became too much for him.
"I'm fine." Rose said and Bing floated in front of her face. "Bing."
"Tell me the truth. Please." Bing pleaded. "You've never shouted at anyone the way you shouted at Zavala and you've never chosen to go off alone like this. Please Rose. Tell me what's wrong." He said.
Rose sighed and looked to her feet. "I don't want them hurt because of me," She began. "I've been here almost four days now, I went to the Reef with Arielle and I was stood in the same room as the Queen, I've walked past Eris so many times and the Speaker." She sighed. "Could it be possible-Could they all miss something like corruption in a Guardian?" She asked and Bing went quiet, shell shifting and twisting in silence as he didn't have an answer to give.
"A valid question." A voice said from ahead of them and Rose quickly moved so she was in front of Bing and ahead of them she could just make out a somewhat familiar shadow with bright blue eyes looking at her.
"You?"
"I'm sorry to show up so suddenly and startle you. But there are some answer I need and I don't have the time to ask the Questions elsewhere." The female Exo said.
"Who are you? And why are you here?" Rose asked.
"How are you here?" Bing added to the questions.
"I'm afraid I can't tell you who I am and I have already told you why I am here." The Exo said. "Tell me who you are and what you are doing in this world. You do not belong in it and yet you are here."
"If I had an answer to that Question I'd demand to be traded with someone more worthy of living." Rose stated with a heavy huff. "You know what, I have had enough of people playing riddle games with me and it would be nice if someone would give me a damn straight answer for once. Who are you and what do you want?" she repeated.
The Exo didn't seem able to answer, only looking at Rose as if doing so would give her answers before releasing a sigh "I'm sorry I can't answer your questions, but know this Guardian. Something terrible is coming here and our paths will cross again."
"Our paths have already crossed." Rose said. "You called Bing 'Little Light' remember? Helped me fix up my leg in the Academy after the fall broke it."
"In your world Guardian, but in this world this is our first meeting." The Exo explained. "I will find you again Guardian, when it is safer to talk. But for now, the Ghost you are looking for is at the end of this corridor, inside a hidden room. Stay on this path and you'll find him." She added before turning and walking away in a flickering blue light.
"Wait! Wait please! Damn it!" Rose growled. "No one gives me answers." She said kicking the dirt.
"Arielle gave you some answers." Bing said. "And she hasn't been rude to us like she was." He added as he searched carefully for a Ghost signature as they continued to walk, reaching a dead end with a small tunnel big enough to crawl in by the wall. "In there." He bounced in a nod.
Rose got down on her hands and knees and slowly crawled through the tunnel with Bing at her side with light so she could see where she was going as she went.
"How the hell did she get past you Vlad?" Orion asked as he, Vlad and Arielle raced towards Venus.
"I don't know, but right now we have bigger problems. She's turned her comm link off." Vlad explained. "Sovereign is scanning for Bing now, but by his readings she's already inside the Vault of Glass."
"Great, What is she thinking!? She barely survived Vex the last time we were here!" Arielle said as they broke the atmosphere of Venus. "Where are you Rose?"
"She's definitely inside the Vault, but the signal's messed up," Sovereign said as they touched down outside the Vault and Arielle raced towards the open door way, seeing the slowly growing number of dead Vex made her stomach turn as she realized the damage was not done by Rose's weapons.
"Rose!?"
"Bing? Vakarian called, "Bing! Answer us!"
"Rose? Bing!" Vlad called out, scrambling up walls to ledges to try and see if he could spot the two.
"Wait." Bing said suddenly and Rose stopped. "Listen," he added and she tilted her head slightly, listening to some kind of soft clicking sound, a sound that made Rose crawl faster through the tunnel to find a large area of the Vault that was starting to fade and fizzle like static before dissolving away, making the same soft clicking sound she and Bing had heard.
And just outside the tunnel, a lonely Ghost shell lay facing away from her, black and charred but clearly a Ghost Shell and carefully she reached out and scooped the frame up and carried it back the way they had come, holding the shell close to her chest as she went, once they had reached the 'safety' of the room they had found the tunnel in, watching the entrance close itself up as if it had never been there.
"Is it him?" Bing asked in hope ass he floated around the Ghost shell. "Is it really him?"
"Yes," Rose nodded carefully turning the Ghost in her hands and cleaning the dust and dirt from its shell, then used the pad of her gloved thumb to clean the dirt from the cracked glass of the optical unit. "Watson?"
There was no answer, just a blankly staring cracked core that held no signs of life.
"Maybe… if he charges up a little?" Bing suggested, "He might still be there…?" He added trying to sound hopeful. "Maybe…?"
"No," Rose said softly. "He's gone Bing. Just like everything else from our world." She sighed though she did carefully pull a small cable from her armour and attached it to Watson's shell and waited for some kind of response.
None came and Rose slumped back against the wall of the small room, burying her helmeted face in her arms as the minutes ticked passed with no response from the Ghost shell. "There's something in his Shell." Bing said after what seemed like eternity, "it's just very faint. Maybe Cayde could help?"
"Will he?" Rose asked, her voice broken and strained. "Zavala doesn't trust me, Ikora doesn't trust me. Why would they let Cayde help me?"
"Because no one tells Cayde what he can and cannot do." Vlad stated as he arrived with Arielle and Orion, "He'll help you, even if Zavala and Ikora vote against him." He added as Arielle knelt with Rose, pulling her into a tight hug for comfort more than anything.
"How- How did you find me?" Rose asked through sniffles.
"Wrex scanned the area and spotted Bing's signature behind the wall," Orion said.
"Come now, let's get you home." Arielle said, "We can talk about this when we get there and believe me, we will be behind you all the way."
"Even though you doubt you?" Rose asked.
"Doubts that you have dispelled." Orion said. "You gave us everything you could, you never questioned the reasons we are sent with you. If you were something evil, we'd know by now." He added. "We were wrong to doubt you Rose, we know that and we are sorry, but it will never happen again and if anyone dares to say ill of you, we'll beat 'em up, send their ships to Variks for parts and make them weed the Tower Plaza with tooth picks for a year."
Rose gave a small nod, slowly getting back to her feet and safely tucking Watson into her pack. "Thank you. For telling me the truth." She said as she looked at Vlad.
"Hunter's never lie to each other." Vlad smiled kindly.
Bing gave a soft bleep and bounced in a nod as he looked at the dark shell in Rose's pack. "Maybe he can help us prove to Zavala we aren't corrupted?"
"I'm sure he will." Vlad assured as their Ghosts bathed them in the warmth their trans-mat tech and returned them to their waiting ships.
Eris sat in the darkness of her room, gently caressing her orb with one hand while holding it with the other, listening carefully to the shadows now that she knew there were voices to be heard once again.
These new voices were similar, yet new to her, more powerful and darker in tone, they spoke of sinister intent, of bitter brutality and the hunger for the death of the Light in what they called the 'Pure world.' They spoke of death and how to hand the judgement of their fallen Hive God…
Omnigul's screams pierced her ears, raged beyond words at the death of her Master, she cursed and slandered the Dimmest Light. She spoke of destroying that Light and taking the Ball from her limb body by force before tossing the bones to her brood.
Eris felt sick but endured the shadows a moment longer, searching for something else, any sign of what she had sensed before…
And with a terrible pain to her mind, she retreated from the shadows hastily and clutched the cloth that had been placed over her by Cayde close.
"Oh Eriana." She whispered. "Watch over us…"
Upon their return to the Tower, the Vanguard were waiting in the Hall of Guardians, along with the two Titan Lords, due to Zavala's increasing temper the two had taken to standing between the Commander and the Vanguard, a silent but clear warning for Zavala to mind his tone and tongue.
Strangely, their Ghosts were all docked on recharge ports rather than hovering at their Guardian's sides.
"May I?" Cayde asked offering a hand to Rose in a silent and verbal request to see the Ghost of his counterpart, there was no demand in his tone and Rose knew she didn't have to hand Watson over to him if she did not want to.
"Can you wake him up?" She asked.
"I can try." Cayde nodded keeping his tone even and kind as Rose brought the charred and bunt shell from her pack and gently placed it in his hand and he began to clean the dirt and dust from the Ghost as if he had done it many times before.
"I am not in agreement with is." Zavala growled.
"As I said last night; you have no say in the ways of a Hunter, Commander." Cayde-6 stated firmly, gently placing Rose's Watson onto a portable recharge station and also attached a small blank data pad to it. "Watson, begin Operation Rundown." He said clearly and carefully.
Nothing happened at first and then, slow from lack of charge, the Ghost's systems began to respond to the command given to it and the Data pad began to show read outs of back up scan results, encrypted files, protected files and encrypted programs Cayde recognized as his own work and others he knew would need explaining later, each one downloading quickly and then came files and programs Cayde realized where in fact a list of names, reports and notes marked with a 'Q' and other files that made Rose's story and the images they had all seen in her reports make even more sense.
"Watson?" Rose asked hopefully and at first there was no response from the Ghost, just a dull, empty stare until suddenly and as if suddenly awoken from a deep sleep, the Shell panels began to twitch and shake and the cracked optic burned brightly and moved frantically, scanning the area.
"Watson?" Bing asked hovering closer to the other Ghost. "Watson its ok. You are safe here." He explained.
"B… B-B-Bin-n-n-n-n-ng?" The other Ghost asked in a broken and static filled voice as he began to regain energy and strength, slowly calming down as he spotted the Hunter Bing had been hovering beside stepped closer. "R-R-Ros-s-s-se?"
"I'm here Watson," Rose smiled taking off her helmet and smiled as the older Ghost gave a soft chime she recognized as an identification scan. "You're safe here."
"Wh-h-h-here? S-S-S-Saf-f-f-fe?" Watson asked trying to look around, seeing faces he knew were dead all around him and also seeing himself a few inches away. "No d-d-d-d-d-dang-g-g-ger?"
"Yes. We are safe Watson," Rose nodded. "You rest now, we'll talk when you have more strength."
"No-o-o-o-o. M-m-m-m-must-t-t-t-t-t talk-k-k-k now." Watson said trying and failing to float up. "P-p-p-pois-s-s-s-s-s-s-sion. Tra-a-a-a-a-a-vel-l-l-l-l-er pas-s-s-s-s-sed to-to-to Ghosts. Ghosts passed to-to-to-to Guard-d-d-d-d-dians."
"Slow down, Watson." Cayde said, "You aren't making sense." He added and the Ghost took a moment to look at him. "Take a moment erase and download things that are lagging your systems to the data pad I have you hooked up too and then speak." He instructed, and sure enough, he saw several files and programs appear on the data pad beside Watson.
"This is important." The Ghost stated firmly, though he was still unable to speak without static and interference.
"What do you mean?" Rose asked. "What's so important you can't wait for a full charge?"
"The poison in the Traveler." Watson stated, starting to make more sense though his voice was still faded and static-filled. "The Traveler is linked to Ghosts. Ghosts are linked to Guardians. What effects one effects the other."
"What does that have to do with poison?" Rose asked only for the Ghost to start to fade again. "Watson?"
"He needs to rest more," Vakarian said, "His Shell is stressed, strained from so little energy and now it's not use to having as much flood in again, give him a few minutes and he will be able to talk again."
"In that time, you have some explaining to do." Zavala said, "All this started when you showed up, and now you run off alone in the night, so I expect straight answers from you this time Hunter."
"Zavala-"
"No Saladin. You know it's true." Zavala stated cutting his former mentor off as he again looked at Rose. "All the trouble started when you arrived here. The Fallen got stronger, the Ravens showing up, the Vex increasing their numbers on Venus. And now this attack on the Reef and the City. You better start giving us straight answers and truthful explanations."
"What more do I need to explain?" Rose asked, feeling a familiar anger flare in her as she looked at Zavala and glared at him the way she would have the Zavala from her own world. "You wanted proof I wasn't corrupted by bring you Watson's Shell. I did. I went alone so no one would be hurt. If I was an enemy I'm pretty sure someone one have noticed by now."
"She's right, no way would we have all missed something like this." Arielle growled standing in defence of her friend. "You are out of line Commander."
"Your own behaviour as of late has been questionable at best Arielle so I suggest you stay out of this." Zavala snarled.
"Watch your tone, Titan!" Hissed Ikora as lightning flooded down her arms along with Arielle's.
"Hey, knock it off!" Orion said getting in the way of Arielle and the Commander while Shaxx put a hand to Ikora's shoulders.
"She could be masking it," Zavala said continuing his attack on Rose. "Believe me it has been done before. Toland and Osiris are proof of that."
"I am not some crazed fool!" Rose growled back. "Toland was corrupted by the knowledge he had and got his team killed for it. Osiris left to study the darkness because the Speaker didn't like that fact he was openly challenged about the way he ran things here."
"Enough! Please, let us not fight." Lord Shaxx said, stepping between Rose and Zavala, while Vlad took his place trying to calm Ikora. "This was meant to be a peaceful talk, not an argument." He added.
"Shaxx is right. Now you back off or so help me Zavala I will hurt you." Saladin said and for a long time, the two locked gazed until reluctantly Zavala backed down and stepped away from the table to show it. "Now, let us continue this as civil adult." He said.
"You threaten a Commander! You forget your place Saladin." Zavala snarled.
"You haven't been yourself ever since Rose came here, you've been a totally different person since the Fallen started to attack the City Walls again, more like the Zavala from her world than yourself! Whatever has happened to you, it needs to stop and it needs to stop now. You almost got Vlad and Orion killed when they went into the Bunker by insisting you let things play out!" Arielle snarled.
"Stop fighting all of you!" Watson stated as he woke from his short nap. "It's not Rose's fault that you are arguing, it is not her fault that you are all starting to suffer pains and aches either. You must listen to me all of you or you will suffer the same fate we did." He added.
"How did you know about our pains?" Ikora asked.
"Because I know what is happening, we figured it out in our last days, but we couldn't stop it, we'd gone too far. I know what has caused it to happen here." Watson said and then turned to Bing.
"What?" Bing asked. "What did I do?" he added hiding behind Rose.
"You didn't know," Watson assured, "It would have happened from any Ghost of our time or world or whatever this is. Right now it doesn't matter, what matters is stopping the same fate happening here. Our Traveler was sick, poisoned by the Hive and that illness spread to the Ghosts the Traveler made and through us the Poison effected the Guardians we served, filling them with doubts, fear, anger, making them weaker and weaker to the Darkness from within." He explained. "Every time a Ghost sent or downloaded a program from another Ghost or revived a Guardian or healed them the Poison spread further, over time Ghosts stopped working correctly, the Poison hidden as a line of code that was so well integrated to our programming we didn't catch it until it was too late. Even Overhauls only slowed it down."
"What do we do to stop it?" Wiccan asked from her recharge port as she activated. "We have all downloaded from Bing."
"Search out the programs Bing send you and look for the program strand 66-88-76-00-666." Rose's Watson explained, "You will notice it has grown in size since you downloaded it." He added as every Ghost ran scans and instantly found the program they had been given and watched in horror as it increased in size slowly.
"By the Traveler. How do we erase it?" Vakarian asked.
"I have the cure." Watson said, "The Speaker gave it to me before he and Cayde died. We couldn't save our Traveler but I can use it now and save you the same fate." He assured.
"Why do I sense a 'but'?" Rose asked.
"There is more." Watson bounced in a nod. "I am downloading it all to the data pad, since I have the cure the poison won't spread from me but this information is vital to you. Somehow the Vex of our world lost control of some of their technology and every enemy we faced is coming through rips and tears, coming here to try and claim the Light of this world as they did ours. The Speaker figured out what was happening and he tried to warn us, but we had become so lost in our own fears and doubts none of us listened until it was too late…"
"What changed?" Wrex asked. "What made you listen?"
"Of all things, Ace and J-Cey's message that Rose was missing made Cayde listen." Watson said, "they told him that you were gone and there was no trace of you, then word reached the Queen and she began to respond more, asking why you were gone, how you had left, we began to look into it more and realized that there were no Vex portals on the cliffs and the Speaker's words started to make sense."
"That's why she made them wait…" Rose said. "They thought I'd come back though."
Watson again bounced in a nod. "We all did. Even the Queen." He said. "Listen to me. The Darkness that took our world is coming here and it is not going to stop just because I cure the Infection inside the Ghosts here. It will keep coming and it will try to wear this world down as it did ours and the only way to stop it is to fight back as one united force, Hunters, Titans and Warlocks together, no matter their race or gender. Do not make the same mistakes we made."
"How do you know it will work?" Zavala growled. "Our ways have worked so far. And they are separated."
"We failed because we stood apart." Watson stated evenly. "Maybe if you took a moment to notice your Ghosts are duller than usually you would realize I am telling you the truth." He added and Zavala turned to his Ghost as the small creature floated at his side and true to Watson's word his Ghost's Shell was dull.
"I am so sorry… I didn't know that Poison was effecting me or that I had made you all sick… I'm sorry." Bing said. "I'm so sorry."
"It's not your fault." Vakarian said, "You didn't know you were ill or that you'd infected us. None of us knew."
"Can you cure us now?" Wiccan asked Watson as the other Ghosts came back online.
"I can, but it will leave you dazed and slightly groggy." Watson said then looked at Rose. "I won't be able to stay here after this, but at least I can go back to the Traveler knowing there is some hope left for our world."
"What do you mean?" Rose said. "Our world is gone. Destroyed by Darkness. There is nothing left of it."
"Oh I disagree." Watson said, "as long as you and Bing live, a part of it lives with you. And that is a much nicer thought to die with than thinking there is no hope left at all. Isn't it?"
Rose smiled and nodded. "Was Cayde… mad that I had gone missing with his gloves?" She asked.
"Not at all." Watson seemed to smile. "They are his lucky pair and right now, I think they are doing their job." He added and Rose smiled more nodding.
"What other tricks did he give you?" Cayde asked and Watson gave a knowing click.
"Wait and see," He said as the Ghosts gathered around him. "This is going to feel odd and the Guardians you are connected too will also feel something." He explained before his shell started to crack and chip. Slowly the shell opened and released a warm, bright light that filled the room so brilliantly that everyone had to cover their eyes.
Pain started to creep over their heads and minds until a sudden surge slammed into them, as if something physically had been pushed out of them and then just as suddenly it all stopped and everyone fell or slumped to the floor, awake but weakened by the brightness that had flooded the room.
Zavala, Cayde and Ikora had slumped against the table heavily while Arielle, Rose, Orion, Vlad and the two Lords had dropped to their knees, all shaking and feeling unwell. "Oh… I don't feel so good." Orion groaned.
"That makes all of us." Vlad said, wincing as his optics flooded with 0s and 1s. "Oh my head."
"You're head, my shell." Sovereign clicked slowly lifting off the table top. "He wasn't kidding… that really slowed my systems."
"He's gone." Bing said softly and true to his words, there was no sign of the Watson from Rose's world in the room any more, only in his place was a single card, slightly torn and charred around the edges but still readable.
"Nine of Hearts?" Ikora asked after blinking the spots from her eyes. "Why that card?"
"It's Cayde's card for me." Rose smiled slowly getting back to her feet. "Nine of Hearts is the Wish card, dreams and wishes that have a higher chance of being realized than others."
"I would have placed you as a Ten of Hearts myself." Cayde said, shaking his head. "Oh the doc's are gonna love me. Two trips in less than a week."
"I suggest that you call a temporary sickness leave," Eris said as she came to the room, "allow the doctors to check you all for any lasting injuries before returning to duty in the morning." She added.
"I second that." Cayde said before almost falling over again. "Come on Watson."
"Oh my aching shell," Wrex groaned. "I hurt in places I didn't even know I had."
"Rose."
Rose turned to Zavala as the Titan Commander as he slowly got back to his feet, forcing himself to stand tall as if he weren't effected though he did sway a little as he stood and looked at her.
"Yes Commander?" She asked.
"I owe you an apology. My behaviour… it has been unacceptable as of late and I know I have not been as welcoming as I should have been. I am sorry for that and for any pain I have caused you." He said.
"Accepted commander. But truly, you have nothing to be sorry for." She said, "You were right to be weary of us. If I had been in your place I'd have been weary too." She admitted with a small smile before going with Vlad and the others towards the Medical wards.
"It's gonna be a busy night, isn't it?" Wiccan asked Ikora.
"Indeed it is." Ikora nodded.
After a long, repetitive and seemingly endless amount of hours in the care of the doctors, and after being checked over one final time by Eris for any sign of corruption or illness that had once effected their Traveler, Vlad, Orion and Arielle were able to leave the doctors and told they could go rest, however it seemed Rose had more than minor injuries that the doctors wanted to check out before she was released.
Cayde, Ikora and Zavala were placed on light duty, which was to say that the doctors had forbidden Zavala from staying on his planned twelve hour shift pattern and told him he was to at the very least the three of them were to sit down for some portion of their day.
"Is she ok?" Vlad asked the doctor as Rose's head was cared for in a privet room.
"She's lucky she's survived this long, her Ghost healed her injuries, but he couldn't remove a fragment of metal in her skull that was pressed against her brain, removing it now will hopefully put an end to the head aches she gets and make the flashes she mentioned having much easier to cope with." The doctor explained.
"Will she be able to leave soon?" Arielle asked.
"Oh yes, she's just getting a last check before we release her." The doctor nodded just as the door opened and Bing floated out of the room with Rose right behind him.
"You ok?" Vlad asked.
"I feel a little dizzy, but I'm good." Rose smiled.
"I don't know how I missed it." Bing bleeped, "It's been there this whole time and I missed it."
"It's not your fault." Rose said, catching her ghost gently in her hands, "You don't have hands so you couldn't have removed it anyway and we didn't have good doctors back home."
"Still, I should have seen it… I messed up big time, I didn't realize I was making people sick, or that was I making things worse by letting everyone download things from me. I could have ruined everything." Bing said, floating up from her hands.
"You didn't know," Orion said. "We'd never blame you for something you didn't know, that would be wrong of us. Besides, it's all over now and everyone is ok." He added.
"Still…" Bing said.
"Still nothing." Vakarian said. "You've said sorry and we've forgiven you, don't dwell on it or you will only drag yourself down." He stated.
"Vakarian is right, now, what say we all go, have a nice long soak in the shower and then sleep for the rest of the day before we swing by the bounty board and do so night hunting?" Arielle asked.
Rose smiled a little, "That sounds like a very good plan." She said catching Bing in her hands gently again and petting his shell.
"Then that is what we will do." Arielle smiled. "Let's go."
