All Guardian's, since the time their Ghost found them, have been taught to die. Hell, we were even dead when our Ghost first found us. I didn't know what my past life was like, I've only had dreams about it. But even those didn't feel real. Every time I died, which was five so far, it felt different. It felt wrong. No one should be able to return to life, there are things that the dead experience that are simply too harsh to bear.

My friend, a Titan who was a little too cocky for his own good, died a total of ten times before he snapped. He kept telling me he saw things that he didn't know existed, things that might've been worse than the darkness. I never saw those things myself, but the feeling of death wasn't only cold and lonely, it was nothingness. There's a difference only the dead would understand.

I heard a faint voice, it grew louder with each passing second, " Guardian, Guardian! "

I could hear it well, but my body had not yet regained its strength, nor its will. I was still stuck in the darkness, waiting until the Light began to shine again. Sometimes it took longer than what we were told about death. Some simply lost the will to live after being dead for so long. Or, their Ghost was killed, which kept them dead.

I began gasping for air, eyes wide, " Help! " I cried.

A Guardian never cried for help, I knew that, but there was nothing else I could do.

My Ghost flew up to me, " You're not going to like this." he said, " You're going to die again."

I looked down at my stomach, a large piece of the Ketch had impaled me. I looked back at my Ghost, shaking my head. I knew what I had to do, but the pain that would come from it would be too much for me. I grabbed the metal plating, pulling on it so that I could tear it out of my body. This was every Guardian's fear. Dying, then coming back to life only to die by the same thing, at the same spot, again.

I screamed, pulling the metal out of me. I stood, holding my stomach and stumbling out in the wreckage. The fire threatened to burn me alive, one of the worst ways a Guardian, anyone really, could die. I looked back up at my Ghost as I became dizzy. Then everything went black again. I had lost too much blood to continue living.

I opened my eyes again, blinking a few times. Looking down at my stomach, I could see the wound wasn't there anymore. I let out a weak smile, then began walking through the fiery mess. Fallen corpses, along with the Hive, were scattered around the Ketch. Their charred bodies were a reminder to me to appreciate the chances at life I had. I stumbled out of the wreckage, then looked around. I took a deep breath, I was on Phobos, a place no one had been since the Taken War began.

I looked upwards, but I wish I hadn't. Mars rotated slowly in the background of massive Hive warships. They looked like smaller Dreadnaughts, and hopefully weren't as powerful. Roaring noises filled the skies of the moon. I hid behind a rocky hill as Hive Wizard's flew down to the Ketch. I spotted one Wizard in particular, the same Wizard I saw in the Cosmodrome. The Hive didn't seem to be randomly attacking things anymore, they had a plan.

The Wizard's began chanting, " Ar Nyt." they sung.

Their " singing " gave me shivers. They were brutal even with their voices. The Wizard called Ar Nyt raised her hand into the air, gathering a dark mist. A white light shined from within the Ketch. Soon, the same ghostly form of...

The Wizard was extracting Ether.

Ether gave the Fallen life, and strength. If the Hive got their claws on something like that, they could modify it into something far worse than anything humanity had seen before. I took a deep breath, there were too many to fight alone. Ar Nyt grasped the Ether within her hand, then began to fly upwards, back towards whatever hole she came out of.

I stood slowly, making sure the Hive had truly left. I looked forward, far into the distance and spotted a structure. It wasn't Cabal, nor Vex, and obviously not Fallen. I sighed, the Hive had taken over Phobos, or at least part of it.

My Ghost appeared, " Well Guardian, this has just gotten a bit worse than it first seemed." he said.

I looked over to him through my cracked visor, " I know that, and I know that I need my ship."

The Ghost called my ship, and within a few minutes, it arrived. I jumped inside, then turned, flying further into space. Towards Earth. I needed to tell the Vanguard. I made it to Earth within the hour, thanks to the speed of my ship. Once I arrived at the Last City, I ran into the Hall of Guardian's.

Zavala turned to me, " Welcome back Guardian, was your mission a success? "

I held up a finger, telling them to wait as I caught my breath.

I then looked up at them, " The Hive, they're doing something. I don't know what, but they're taking Ether from Fallen."

Ikora looked up from a book, " What!? " she said.

I nodded, " I've been fighting a new breed of Hive, stronger than the others, maybe even than the Taken."

Ikora nodded, " What makes them different? " she asked.

I closed my eyes for a moment, remembering what Ar Nyt had done to the Fallen. Though they held me captive, they didn't deserve to be cleaved apart.

" They've begun taking," I paused, " Tearing out Ether from Fallen, and it's making them stronger."

Ikora stood in thought for a moment, " I've heard Eris talking about the Hive and their Worms," she said, " If what you're saying is true, then they might be trying to overpower their Worms, making them stronger by no longer needing to tithe."

Cayde stepped forward, " Whoa, we just need to send you and a few Guardian's to kill the Hive behind this, right? " he looked around, " Right? "

Zavala sighed, " Hunter, we'll do as Cayde suggested." he said, " You're going on a Strike."