Hello again. Welcome to the first chapter of a wide ride.
For a quick formatting explanation (as this book doesn't follow the 'log' format of the first two books), of how these chapters work, please read on:

-The first half, which is in italics, is the timeline of events that happen between Cayde's death and the Beyond Light expansion, which in my storyline is two years. These always take place from Skylar's POV.
- the second half is the current timeline. This one follows from the start of Beyond Light (though very loosely) and goes forward into the original content. The first few chapters will be from Skylar's POV, but eventually is will also be from someone else's.

Hope that clears things up!

"The killer for hire, soldier of function. Gotta walk through a fire for what's important."

'All Eyes on You' – Smashed to Pieces.

Chapter One:

Skylar didn't know how to contain the rage and sorrow in her mind and soul. Didn't know how she stood there watching the two remaining members of the Vanguard argue - one calling for justice, the other stating that it wasn't the Vanguard's place. She should have known Zavala's answer before he'd even spoken it. She'd seen him after what losing his Light had done - curling in on himself as if to hide behind walls that weren't there. He was better at turning away problems in order to shield himself than anyone she'd ever met. She had thought losing a friend would make a difference, would cause an uproar within him, a fire to burn like his mentor had once seen. She wanted to shake him, beat the shit out of him for his words, but knew her anger was better spent elsewhere – on someone else. All Skylar saw now was a broken man who'd seen too much battle and loss to bear it properly anymore.

"You won't have to," Skylar stated, answering his statement when he hadn't asked for one. She barely recognized her own voice as she stepped closer to the table, her hand touching the body of her lover right where his heart would have been. Right where the fatal blow had been dealt. Her chest felt just as cold and empty as his now. Her hand clenched on the fabric. "Sov is mine." She pushed away from the table, ignoring the shocked and disapproving stares of the other Vanguard as she walked over to the nearby chair where a black and red cloak laid draped. She touched it with the only softness she had left in her heart before reaching for the necklace hanging around her neck, the warmth of what was left of his solar light humming under her fingers.

"Skylar..." Ikora began soothingly, as if to calm her, only for Zavala to cut in.

"The Vanguard cannot sanction this," he said firmly as Skylar gestured to Sterling and the Ghost blinked before transmitting her cloak away. "Guardian..." Zavala growled out as she picked up the cloak on the chair.

"Let me make myself clear," Skylar said calmly, ice in every word. She threw Cayde's cloak around her shoulders and clasped it there, hanging the scarf into place. "I'm going to the Tangled Shore. I'm hunting down every single one of those undead Fallen," she informed them. "And then I'm going to drag that piece of shit through their remains and make him wish he'd died in Orxy's assault." Glancing at Sterling, the little Ghost blinked once in approval before she pivoted back to the Vanguard and their shocked expressions, their pain and rage. She would take it all in and fuel herself with it. Looking at the titan she narrowed her gaze. "If anyone gets in my way… you won't like the outcome." She took the steps back over to the corpse and rested a hand over one of his covered ones, fingers curling.

"This is not what he would want," Zavala chastised, and Skylar bristled her narrowing gaze falling on the Titan - the coward - once more. Her hand clenched at her side, Arc Light zapping along her knuckles, itching to form a blade.

"Like hell he wouldn't," she snapped. That was a lie, maybe. She knew quite well what his dare had been, but did it really count when a non-Guardian was the killer? Either way, he couldn't voice those wishes now. "I know for certain that if it was you on this table, he'd be raising hell, but since you'd rather stay behind your walls, I'll do what should be done. On my own." She couldn't drag the remaining members of her clan into this. Zavala seemed more agitated than she'd ever seen him since the war and stocked around it to get in her path.

"Personal vendettas are not how Guardians live, Skylar." He was trying to stop her from a near-death mission, she knew that, but she didn't give a shit about his idea of a hero, even her own hero status could go to hell. This was how he'd felt, she realized in that moment. This was how Cayde had felt when he thought she'd died in the Red War. They both always knew one of them might die and she'd know it would hurt if it was him, but she hadn't realized it would hurt this much. It was like someone had carved a whole in her chest and then sewed the wound up with barbed wire.

"Please," she whispered finally, and saw the big man paused at her change in tone. "I need to do this Zavala… I have to do this. I can't…Please." If he made her stay here, she wouldn't be able to do what was needed to keep moving forward. She'd fall, just like after Crota, only this time, Cayde wouldn't be there to catch her. There was a shifting of weight, of armor rubbing together in the silent room as she looked at the sheet and her hand, and wanted more than anything for his own to wrap around it.

Then there was a long, tired sigh.

"I can't sanction this," Zavala repeated. "I can't condone it either… there will be no help from the Tower." His words had her tensing again, ready to snarl since pleading hadn't worked, but he wasn't finished. "That being said, we won't stop you. Just know that the council will not look at this kindly. You are a hero of this City; people look to you for direction and your next action will not tell the story they want."

It wasn't the best outcome, but it was something Skylar could live with. She was grateful for what he was willing to give, but angry for everything else.

"You'll have to forgive me if I don't give a shit right now." Her hand clenched harder around the stiff cold one under the fabric. "If you can find it in you to do anything for me, for him… Don't bury him until… Just don't till I come back," she asked quietly, not caring that she was overstepping her bounds. She wasn't even sure she'd be coming back. When she finally looked up, she found that Ikora didn't seem to care and gave her a sad nod of her head. Exos didn't rot away like humans did, so keeping him there wasn't unreasonable. Zavala didn't protest, and that was all she could really expect from him.

"...Thank you," she murmured and turned on her heels, not looking at either Vanguard as she walked from the room.

She made her way to the shipyard in haste, unwilling to stay any longer than she had too for fear of running into any of her fireteam. They were all out on missions, having no clue what had happened. She didn't want to think about what this would do to Shiro. Skylar spotted Amanda near her ship, along with Banshee. The old Exo was talking quietly with the blonde till Skylar got close enough to be heard and they both looked at her. The mechanic's eyes were rimmed red with tears that only seemed to threaten to fall again once more when she realized what cloak the blade dancer was wearing. Banshee took one look at her and gave a small nod of understanding, but the human - a girl who'd grown up with Cayde underfoot - seemed too upset to really understand.

For a Hunter, taking a fallen comrade's cloak and wearing it meant a vow had been made. She'd wear it till she completed that vow.

"What are you planning to do?" It came out in a bit of a choked sound. Amanda's voice sounded stifled, throat dry and thickened with drainage. Skylar sighed quietly, taking another step forward to give the blonde a hug, but stopped when a voice reached them.

"I'd think that was rather obvious," the easy-going undertone of the voice caught Skylar off-guard and she turned slightly to look over to where a man was walking down the stairs of a landing pad. She didn't recognize him, and from the look of it, neither did either of her friends – though with Banshee that could just be another lapse in memory. He was a Lightbearer, she could tell that much by the timid-looking Ghost trailing behind him, but she wasn't sure he was a Guardian. He wasn't wearing any class armor, and something about him seemed… darker. He tilted his head, meeting her gaze for a moment before looking at Amanda and finishing his thought.

"She's going to go kill the son of a bitch that took out the Hunter Vanguard, ain't that right, sister?"

Sister?

Stunned Skylar simply narrowed her eyes at him. She hadn't heard a Guardian call another something like that before, but she could tell from his posture that he wasn't referring to the title in a literal sense, more of a grouping - a Bearer of Light connection.

"What?" Amanda whispered and Skylar turned her gaze to her once more and gave a small smile that didn't feel right. "All alone… Skylar-"

"I have too," she cut in, frowning once more. She wouldn't have another of these debates. "I need to, Amanda." How to explain this kind of pain to her? Skylar knew that the blonde had seen her parents die so surely she understood. Her friend bit her lip, drawing an arm close to her, hand clenched over her torso to comfort herself. Then, slowly, she nodded her head, knowing she couldn't stop a Guardian. Banshee rested a hand on her shoulder and looked to Skylar.

"You go make him pay Skylar, and you get the Ace out of that bastard's hands. We'll be here when you get back."

She appreciated it, she really did, but Skylar couldn't find it in her to do more than give a single nod before looking back to the mysterious man. He was brushing back black hair from his eyes when she caught his attention and he stopped.

"Who are you?" she demanded flatly, mostly because it would drive her nuts if she didn't find out before she left. He smirked at her, lines crinkling around his eyes as he answered.

"You can call me the Drifter. Been gone a long time, but I'll be around." He eyed her carefully, sweeping over her form in a way that made Skylar feel disarmed, skin prickling in protest. "Don't let yourself fall too far down that hole, hero; you might not come back the same." His cautionary words surprised her, making Skylar lose a bit of the ire in her gaze. His words reminded her of Tevis'. Then he smirked.

"You come see me when you're good and done, sister," he mused, turning on a heeled boot and then simply walking away without another word. Skylar glared at his back, irritated once more. Ordering her around like he had any right too. Still, he'd gotten what he wanted, she was curious and now she'd have no choice but to track him down once… once this was all over. Looking back to her friends, she sighed before steeling her resolve.

"Once this is over, I'll hand his cloak over to you," she told Amanda quietly. "Just let me wear it for now," she asked, and the blonde shuddered with the effort to hold back a sob. Instead, she raised a hand in a thumbs up.

"Kick his ass Skylar. Make him pay," she repeated Banshee's words and Skylar felt her eyes burning once more and looked away.

"I plan to." Was all she said before turning from them and heading to her ship. Pulling up her hood, she glanced to her hand and clenched it, feeling a surge of cold heat under her skin from her Void lightening. It might have been different, but she still felt a ghostly hand on her shoulder from the essence of what it had once been.

"Take care of him, Tevis," she murmured, looking up at the sky through a break in the rafters. She hoped they were both watching but knew that only one would approve of her choice completely.

Cayde would understand – she knew he would.

-Skylar-

The ice storms of Europa were suffocatingly cold. It was cold enough that even mid-combat, when she's normally sweating and warm, she's neither of those things. She was cold, she had to be even if she couldn't feel the freezing subzero temperature. She never felt the cold anymore, just what came with it, but she hardly had time now to worry about shivering or numb fingers.

Her Fated Hearts hand cannon went off with a bang that reminded her of a crackling fire. Two shots, one to each Vandal and as she reloaded it, a loop of fire strung them together and pulled. They screamed as the flames linked their fates together and they fell in charred remains. Behind her she heard the rapid approach of feet, the glint of a blade in her side vision, and freeing one hand, pulling out another hand cannon, she fired. The round landed right between the Captain's eyes and the power of Firefly sent one more fallen into a blazing end. Glancing at the Ace of Spades she ignored the pain from her wrist caused by shooting it with one hand. She was used to it.

A snarl from above her had her head cracking up. Another Captain had found her – they probably weren't happy about their friends being blown up – and was charging at her from atop a raised series of power boxes. The Captain jumped, blades out, and Skylar moved to shoot – only for a tripmine to land on the alien's shoulder. It had just enough time to flinch and look towards it before it was blown to pieces.

"I got your six this time!" Z called over the coms from across the way, teasing since she normally watched his back in battle with her sniper. His red and black armor was found yards to the left as he used his Last Word to fire a series of lightning fast blows, ripping apart a group of Shanks. He turned to her and gave a thumbs up and she rolled her eyes behind her helmet as he quickly dodged to the side of a purple beam from a Servitor. The hulking form of Haar blew past him and smashed his Void shield right into the center of the enemy before he jumped back and used the same weapon to cover his head as the round life form came apart.

It seemed like there were lots of explosions today, but that was pretty normal.

With the Servitor dead, the battlefield grew quiet - the sounds of guns no longer echoing on the wind. Skylar hopped up onto the boxes the Fallen Captain had been using to get to her and looked around what seemed like a landing zone next to a building she couldn't name.

Dead Fallen littered the ground, chunks of ice and burn marks from Solar and Arc Light accompanying them. She spotted her team cleaning up, picking up Glimmer and reloading guns. Corvan was looking at Noble as he rolled a shoulder, saying something she couldn't hear over the burst of static on the comms. Her team gathered slowly, the two Hunters and two Titans joining her as she made her way towards the owner of the distress call they'd answered as she holstered both guns.

She watched Z flip a pair of flaming knives midair and then chuck them at the restraints holding Variks. They broke and melted the icy prison quickly, reminding her once again that Z could be precise when he wanted to be, he just normally didn't care enough. He preferred to see the chaos his normal throws caused. Thoughts turning back to the prisoner, she saw that the Eliskni was missing his two mechanical arms, chopped off above the elbows, which sparked with every movement.

In the back of her mind, Skylar saw something else spark, saw a chest punched open in a gruesome tear and covered in black fluid. Stalking forward, she cared little for how the large Elinski curled in on himself from either the cold or pain, instead she took that loss of height and used it. Grabbing a shoulder and shoved him backwards. Once he hit the frozen wall with a wince, she raised a hand and pointed the end of her Lair's Handshake straight at his neck inches away.

She felt many of her friends tense and saw Varik's eyes widen. She heard the smallest of sounds as someone took a step forward and knew it wasn't Haar or Noble, it was too quiet.

"Sky, maybe-" Z tried only to stop suddenly as someone stepped up next to him.

"Wait," Corvan said firmly, and while the two Hunters weren't exactly the best of friends, Z still said nothing else and no one else moved towards her. Turning her attention back to Variks, her hand clenched harder.

"Give me one good reason why I shouldn't slit your throat," she asked flatly, every single moment where she'd thought about this meeting melding together. He was a traitor; Skylar had trusted him even though she'd never much liked Fallen. The Captain shifted his feet, but still didn't pull away from her blade. Did he think she wouldn't hurt him, or did he realize he wouldn't survive the movement?

"Your anger is warranted," he clicked out with a guttural voice. "You and the Vanguard were close."

"You have no idea," she hissed, blade creeping forward, still he didn't move back, nor did he break his eye contact with her. He was brave, she had to admit to that. Brave and stubborn.

"It was never my intention to cause his death, Phantom… and I regret it greatly." Regret. A word that was meant to somehow make you forgive someone for every crime they'd committed. Behind her, the clack of armor sounded as one of the Titans shifted uneasily. Probably Noble, he was always antsy in tense situations.

"And yet for the last two years you've been hiding. Regretful or not, you wouldn't repent for your actions." She hissed, and was surprised with herself, with the even tones, with the lack of a tremor from the aching scar that was old grief by talking about Cayde. Maybe that was why: it was a scar. Something in her that had roughly healed and while it pulled every time she moved and talked and dreamed, the ache was bearable. Variks gave the tiniest shake of his head and her fingers twitched, the silver of her arm guard and the thin blade attached to it shimmering in the fridge light of a flickering lamp.

"I could not do so, not yet, Phantom." Another set of clicking, his sparking stumps moving reflexively with anxiety. "Had to track down Eramis, had to help my people. We must stop her before it is too late." He paused, and Skylar swore he could see right past her tinted visor and into her eyes. "Once it is all over, I will turn myself over to the Vanguard."

His words had her pausing for a moment. Skylar thought herself to be pretty good at telling when people were lying, that and her inability to forget things – every memory snapped like a photo in her mind – were probably the only two things she'd brought over from her past life. Being trained as a Hidden Agent had only made her better at telling truths from lies, but this time… this time she wasn't sure.

There was a small part of her, a very small part, that wanted to believe him. It was that part of her that still, despite all reason, wanted to count him as an ally even now. A silly, misguided, stupid part, but it was the only thing keeping Variks alive.

Skylar narrowed her eyes at him. "Why should I believe you?"

"We were friends once," he pointed out softly and she scowled harder. They had been friends, and then he had betrayed her and everyone he'd claimed to be loyal to, forsaking his title in an instant. "I will not break my promise to you, I swear it upon the life blood of my people."

Skylar had never seen the Eliksni lie before, not to someone's face, and she found it hard to believe that would change now, even with his life on the line. Whatever part of her that had not been sure, made up its mind. If he truly would turn himself in, maybe that would be enough. She'd killed enough people in the name of avenging Cayde, and she wasn't sure he would approve of this one. Wasn't sure he'd approved of any of them if she was honest.

He holds the key to more powerful and dangerous enemies. Something that needs to be stopped, killed, someone said behind her. Not her friends, not an enemy either. Other. Yet Skylar knew it all the same. Her hand ached to clenched at the strap across her chest that held her sniper rifle in place. What is it they used to say in the Golden Age? The enemy of my enemy is my friend? Seems like a good gamble to me, Phantom.

Skylar scowled, teeth clenching hard enough her jaw hurt.

It was a truth she didn't like being told, but a truth all the same.

Lowering her arm, she stepped back

"Fine," she agreed flatly. She wouldn't forgive him, not so easily, maybe never, but the look of regret that lingered in the Eliksni's eyes sent a twinge through her. Crossing her arms she looked to Haar and Noble on one side of her, and Z with Corvan on the other, all waiting, all wanting to ask the same question as her. She blew out a breath and turned towards the entrance to the building. "So, what the hell is going on? If we're going to stop this Eramis, you're going to need to tell us everything."

"Should we not wait for the Vanguard to come?" Variks asked, confused. Skylar paused and then huffed, smirking. Corvan outright laughed a few low bars, shaking his head. When had that thought become so ridiculous that it was funny?

"We didn't come here because the Vanguard got your distress call. One of our allies did. Sorry to say the Tower Guardians most likely won't be very helpful. You're stuck with us. Now, let's get out of the damn storm."

It was strange, Skylar never felt the cold, yet somehow she knew the terrible power Eramis was using was more than cold. It was dark and hollow. It was streaked black that probably should have been the color of blood.

She didn't feel the cold, and part of her wondered if the Traveler had brought her back

Now, who in the world is talking to her?
Also, Sky, are you feeling alright?
:P
Thanks for reading!