So until Lightfall dropped, I thought that the Witness' pronouns were they/them and I'm sorry for getting it wrong. So from here on out, the pronouns will be the correct ones (it/its).


Crow's POV

I stalked through the halls of the Tower, careful to avoid any accidental run-ins with a particular blonde. I've been avoiding her ever since I found out about Uldren, and frankly if I can put that confrontation off then I gladly will.

Although, it doesn't feel very good to be running away from my problems. Is this what Uldren would be doing? Running away until his sister dearest comes to fix it for him? Am I running away from this until someone else can fix it for me? Maybe it would be a good idea to talk to Amanda anyways, and just get it done and over with. That way it won't hurt for as long when she inevitably leaves. After all, I killed one of her closer (?) friends so why would she want to stick around with a murder?

I sigh as I near the Hangar; I read the reports and a lot of Cabal had died because of a guardian that infiltrated their ship. The Empress is definitely going to be angry, and honestly I don't really want to be there for the blow up. I force myself to keep going when I hear the bickering… Fantastic, they're already arguing.

I lean against the crates, somewhat listening to them while fiddling with a knife. I'm sure they've all noticed my presence, I wasn't exactly trying to hide from them. Judging by the fact that they're still fighting, it probably means that we're still waiting on a guardian to come. Although I am a little surprised to see Lord Saladin here, overseeing this mission. Perhaps Zavala needed some help with organising everything? I know that Ikora is handling everything regarding Savathun, and the Lucent Hive is nothing to joke about. So having the extra hands to deal with a somewhat of an unknown force would definitely be a smart move I suppose.

I straighten up a bit when I spot a guardian approaching, "Not sure if I'd go in there if I were you."

I frown when they simply looked at me before walking away without even a word. A simple 'hello' would've been nice. I quickly sheathed the knife I was playing with and followed the guardian in.

"The rules of engagement have changed," The Empress stares down at Lord Saladin.

He wrinkles his nose a little, "I don't need to listen to this."

Fighting between two very stubborn people is going to be great to get stuck in the middle of… I nearly rolled my eyes at them if it weren't for the fact that Zavala was already turning towards us.

"Guardian. What fortuitous timing," He says, a tired look in his eye.

"Indeed," Caiatl drawled, looking as if the guardian was a bug to be squashed.

Oh my gosh, is Zavala rubbing off on her? The resemblance is uncanny!

I couldn't help but chuckle a little, looking away. Although I could feel Saladin's stare on me. Clearly he disapproves.

"I'm fresh from performing Cabal funeral rites. Care to explain?" She waved her hand, a slight note of sadness as well as sarcasm in her tone.

"Our condolences, Empress. Your people fought and died with honour," The ghost spoke up with a slight bow, "But they didn't have to."

I cringed a little at the last part. That's definitely gonna warrant a reaction from her. I brace for said reaction, expecting the worse.

She curled her hands into fists with an angry grunt. I fully expect her to throw hands with this ghost. Honestly, he sounds a little stuck up. But it's always good to keep an open mind and not judge people before you get to know them. Maybe this ghost has a good reason for talking to the Empress of the Cabal like that.

Zavala took a step forward, catching almost everyone's attention. I noticed that her gaze was fixated on the ghost; she was not too happy with him.

When he began speaking she turned her attention to him, "We can all prevent future losses if we choose to put the incident on Mars behind us and work together."

Zavala pulled out a hologram depicting a picture of one the Lucent Hive's Titans. Honestly, you can see a difference between the normal Hive Knights and this one right here. Did they change their appearance to further separate themselves from the other Hive? It would make sense considering they're practically everything the Hive never thought they'd be.

"What we discovered there is a threat to both humanity and the Cabal," Zavala looked up at the Empress.

Her face eased out of its look of anger as realisation dawned on her, "You want my help."

""Want" is a strong word." Lord Saladin quickly retorted.

"You need my help," She looked at him with an air of smugness.

"I don't know how the Hive came into possession of the Light. Ikora will find out. But in the meantime…" Zavala trailed off.

"Invincibility lies in the defence; the possibility of victory in the attack,"

"Sun Tzu?" Saladin asked, a little surprised.

"I've read your texts," Caiatl quickly supplied before turning back to Zavala, "You want us to hit them."

"I NEED us to hit them," Zavala closed his hand around the device, cutting off the image, "Hard."

Caiatl chuckles, a smile making her mask shift a little. She is very obviously pleased with this prospect.

Whelp this meeting is over, it's time to leave before someone sees me. I turn to briskly walk away while everyone else is still preoccupied with each other. I'm not needed for the small details of that plan, so I can wait for them to give me my orders. A hand on my shoulder made me pause, I looked to see Lord Saladin staring back at me. Man, that guy always has this disappointed scowl that makes me feel like I just failed at everything. And why does he seem more disappointed than usual?

"Crow, I would like you to stay for a bit so we can discuss the strategy,"

"Fantastic," I reply with sarcastic cheer.

All I got in return was a scowl that was even more disappointed than the last. Honestly I don't know how this guy is pulling that off. I nearly rolled my eyes when I noticed the guardian walking away, and I sent a questioning glance over to Saladin. If we're going to be talking about the mission then why does the guardian get to leave? Aren't they kinda important to the whole operation?

"I'm gonna make things clear to you, Crow. This operation is much more important than one lost guardian. Guardians die and such quite frequently so it's always better to just move on and try to make sure that it doesn't happen again to someone else," Lord Saladin crossed his arms, "We need you focused on this right now so that more can live."

Ah. I see how it is.

"So what? I'm just supposed to forget that she was ever here to begin with?! Not even try to look for her and just let her die?!" I yelled, my temper quickly getting the better of me.

"If that is what has to happen then, yes,"

"She has done so much good for the Vanguard! For the City and all you're doing is throwing her away? She deserves something at the very least!"

"I am not going to argue with you, Crow,"

"Yea? Well I certainly am!"

"That's enough! I will not tolerate this disrespect. You will do as your superiors tell you."

Saladin turned and walked away with only a simple swoosh of his cape. He left me here, and I am absolutely fuming. 'Listen to your superiors' fuck it's like I'm an unruly child! I stomped away, ready for another nap. Maybe I should check up on Mithrax to see how he's coming along with everything. But I really don't want to take all this pent up rage out on him, so I think I'm gonna take a break from everything for a bit.

"Are you okay?" I heard Glint pipe up as we stalked through the halls towards my ship.

I stopped to look down at him. The slight rigidness to his shell, the worry in his eye. I don't want to hurt him either. He's the last one I'd ever want to hurt. So I shook my head, and stayed silent. I don't think I could trust myself if I even opened my mouth right now. I just continued walking down the hallways, although I can feel the concerned look that Glint is no doubt burning into my back. We will definitely be talking about this later. Great, another conversation to dread… I should really think about just getting these things done and over with so I don't have to even think about them anymore.

"But you keep on running from your problems, just like me,"

I promptly ignored the way it sounded too much like Uldren. I don't need to deal with that on top of everything else as well. I'll just focus on both of these assignments, and I should be fine doing both. Although one is definitely going to be harder to do without others finding out. I'll figure something out, probably.


Surprisingly, there's still things on this planet. It's still the exact same as when I was last on Io, except a lot emptier. There's no Cabal holed up in this base, there's no Taken lingering, and I have yet to get even close to the Pyramidion to see if the Vex are still around. Although if they were, they probably would've turned this planet into a Nessus 2.0 by now.

I couldn't even get any of the old Cabal tech to turn on let alone work. So I doubt that I'd even be able to get any of their ships working if I found one. I might be able to rig something up if I could get something from the Vex but it's a bit far fetched. So far, getting off this planet is going to be a lot harder than it was to get here.

"Obsidian, how am I supposed to prove myself or whatever if I can't even get off the planet?"

"You will find a way,"

I scoffed at its vague, mentor-like bullshit. It just sounds like it didn't think everything through, and killed everything that we might've been able to use to get off world.

"I didn't do all the killing, some of that credit goes to you too you know," It said in almost a bored tone.

"Are you reading my mind?" I sharply ask.

"No, I was listening to the wind," Obsidian replied sarcastically, "Of course I was, we're the same being now. I can hear your thoughts and you can hear mine."

"Great," I said with an equal amount of sarcasm.

"You should give me some more respect, you know. I give you everything you need to actually be successful. I'm not exactly asking for a lot in return,"

"Just my mind and body?" I scoff, not taking it seriously, "Yea, as if that's not a lot."

"I mean, I could just as easily take it away,"

Pain shot through my body, making me stumble. I gasp as it feels like my lungs are suddenly incapable of breathing anymore. I fall to my knees as the pain gets worse. I can feel my skin getting pulled inwards, as if I was trying to turn myself inside out. Yet when I look at my bare skin, there's nothing wrong, nothing different. Although in my head, I keep imagining the skin on my arms being sucked inwards as it slowly disappeared.

Just like that it was gone, and I was left with the aftershock and a faint tingling coming from everywhere. I breathed as deeply as I could, trying to get as much air as possible. Even though the pain has gone, it doesn't mean the panic has.

"So I must firmly ask of you to show me some more respect," Obsidian spat, before adding a simple, "Please."

I knew what it meant, what it left unsaid, that there will be consequences from here on out. If something as small as some respect is given that amount of pain to just get the point across, then… If I fail, I could be met with a worse punishment. I shudder at the thought, not willing to imagine what that could possibly entail. Although it didn't stop my brain from conjuring up all of the gruesome images that may or may not even happen.

Dread filled me, and fear plagued my mind. This wasn't a good idea after all… I can't leave. I'm trapped with it.

"Now get up, and keep searching," Obsidian demanded, "I'm not gonna ask again."

So I did. I shakily got to my feet and kept walking around. Although to me it felt more like wandering aimlessly. I know there's no way off this planet, not with the condition everything was left in. I'll keep looking for now, just to appease Obsidian and hopefully not get hurt again. Maybe I could plan some sort of coup and forcefully eject it from my body? Although, it's unlikely to even work from the get go.

"You know," Obsidian began calmly, "Mutiny isn't something I'm willing to tolerate…"

I freeze, fear gripping me tight. I didn't dare utter a word, nor think a single thought.

"I think it's about time I showed you what happens to those who don't listen," Obsidian says almost nonchalantly, "But also for those who betray the ones they make promises to."

I gulped, as sweat began to gather everywhere it could.

"Of course, I'll have to outline which is which so you'll know the difference for the future. Who knows? Maybe it'll even teach you not to do it again!" Obsidian laughs cheerfully, "So this is for not being able to listen to directions. It's not gonna be as bad as betrayal, but worse than your last punishment."

Just like that it felt like all of my organs were suddenly in a vice grip and were slowly being squeezed. It slowly got harder and harder to breathe again. My heart was slowing down, despite the manic panic clawing at my skin. When I felt something actually rupture did I start screaming. Slowly one by one were my organs squished until they popped. Things like my intestines were painstakingly being pulled from my body. I could feel them getting yanked around, jostling everything and making it all so much worse. Is this how penguins feel when they're preyed upon by Giant Petrels?

This is so much worse than being shot in a spot that wouldn't kill you right away, and you're just kinda writhing around waiting for the pain to stop.

"P-please…" I gasp, struggling, "Stop."

"Now, if I stopped then how would you learn your lesson?"

I began to cough, hacking violently until I could feel whatever was in my stomach come up and spill onto the ground underneath me. I kept coughing through the vomit, allowing no rest for my now stinging throat. When the taste of metal filled my mouth I realised that I was hacking up some blood as well. Now isn't that just lovely.

I wheezed as a headache began to form, pounding in my head. The coughing is definitely not doing anything to ease the ache. My lungs constrict painfully, adding light-headedness to the already long list of painful symptoms. My limbs visibly shook as they struggled to keep the strength to even hold myself up; the air deprivation sapping away all of my strength.

"P-please," I whispered, unable to muster up the voice.

My arms gave out, making me fall into the bloody vomit; the smell of it stinging my nostrils. I attempted to at least drag myself out of the mess, and it was such a pitiful spectacle, I'm sure. I flopped myself onto my back, mostly succeeding in not lying in my puke. My limbs twitched, yet I'm unable to even move them beyond a few centimetres at best. Although there's no point to even trying to move, as every action is met with more excruciating pain. At this point, it doesn't even feel like I'm able to breathe anymore. Pain spreads throughout my chest, making me cough more. I bet I'm even choking on my own blood right now. I'm proved right by the gurgling noises that came from my mouth instead of coughs. Just as my vision grew blurry, and I stared at the sky unmoving, did all of it just disappear.

All of the pain is gone, my breathing suddenly fine, I can move yet a little shakily. It even feels like my guts have been put back where they were, and have never been touched.

I felt like I could laugh at the entire situation. It's almost as if I imagined it all, and that I'm just going insane.

"Oh my sweet guardian, we're only at the beginning of your training," Obsidian spoke sweetly, "Now I hope you're ready for your second lesson!"

I would have groaned if I wasn't scared of whatever consequences I might get for doing so. It didn't stop me from tensing my body, expecting the pain to come back. When it didn't, I was thoroughly confused. Isn't this supposed to be the worse of the two punishments?

That's when a sharp pain stabbed my head. My hands flew up to look for the entrance wound and do damage control. Yet my hands came back clean, with no sort of hole in my skull. Then it hit me again, making me cry out. I covered my head, although it was a fruitless action. My sight quickly became more and more blurry, until I could hardly see anything. I whipped around trying desperately to see anything. That's when I noticed my other senses starting to dull as well. My skin is growing numb to any sort of touch. My hearing becomes fuzzier until I can't hear anything aside from a shrill ringing. I couldn't even smell the vomit anymore. Everything was muted, and I suddenly felt so very alone. It's dark, except I didn't have anything to guide me in any direction. I couldn't even feel the ground underneath my feet. I know it's there but I wouldn't even be able to tell if I walked off of a cliff or not.

I could hear the whispers as they slowly began to get louder. So many voices intermingling, conversations that I can't understand. They got louder and louder until I could no longer bear hearing them. I covered my ears, hoping to drown the sound out; it did nothing to damper them.

Smoke swiftly came to meet me, making me stumble away. It stopped, taking a vague shape. The whispers, the murmurs, they came from it. I could feel the authority this shape has, how imposing its presence is. I cowered away, wary of the smoke and what it could do.

"Let us help you," It said, barely louder than a whisper itself.

Smoke drifted closer to me. Its shape constructing itself into a hand as it came closer to me. I stared at the hand, not trusting the motives behind it.

"We will not hurt you. Just let us help you,"

It's a trick, I know that. But what other choice do I have? So I took the hand, albeit a little hesitantly. It gently helped me up, before taking my face in its hands. I flinched away from the touch, not expecting it to touch me.

"You have such a weary mind," It stated, "Why? Why keep fighting the way you are when all you want to do is give up and die?"

I was compelled to tell only the truth and any lies I had quickly died on my tongue.

"I always had something or someone to fight for. I had a purpose, a reason to keep going and that's enough for me," I look down, curling into myself, "Although now, what do I have? Nothing but regrets and pain."

"Interesting… We will give you a purpose if you fight with us,"

"What?"

"We will make sure that you never feel as though you're useless ever again. That you will always have something to fight for, to live for,"

"You can't ensure that," I blurted before freezing and watching the figure carefully.

The smoke seemed to pause, turning away from me. We stood in silence for what seemed like several minutes, making me fidget slightly. It faced me again, or at least I think it is anyways.

"You do not trust us, but that is okay. We have time,"

"What?"

"You will learn what your purpose is, and when that time comes…" It turned away, and started fading into the darkness, "You will need us."

Then it was gone, and I was left in this… void. My only company being the whispers that it left behind. I grew more and more paranoid as it seemed as if the whispers were talking about me. Although I know they weren't, I don't deserve that kind of flattery. But as time went on, and I began to hear certain words from the whispers, I became more certain that they were talking about me. I listened to every insult they hurled at me, as they became clearer with every second. I listened to their abuse, but I pretended that I wasn't. I don't know what they'd say if they knew that I could hear them, but I don't think it's anything nice.