Honest Possibilities

It had never occurred to her once since last time that Sky would ever step back into the Black Garden. After finding Tevis dying there, she'd tried to bury the memories. Standing in the damn place again brought them all back. Her skin crawled, feeling the echoes of what her friend's blood had felt like, soaked through her armor. It didn't matter how beautiful the area was with its red flowers, pale stone structures, and clear running water — it still looked like the place in her nightmares.

They really needed to stop running headfirst into portals.

"Well, that was fun," Z commented sarcastically as he scowled at the very much dead giant harpy. Skylar couldn't help but agree. Vex littered the ground, white liquid splashed everywhere as it sparked. Her team stood or sat around her, all of them taking a breather from the massive trial that had been unlocking a damn door. Skylar was still having some trouble figuring out how or why the Vex had decided to make trouble now when the Scarlet Keep mess was just starting to calm the shit down. The Darkness was still a thing, as her the nightmares floating all over the place, but she would have never guessed Vex would be the final drop in the bucket.

They moved forward with a silent command from her, and Z threw another tripmine on the harpy just to make sure as they left. Following the narrow edge around a corner, an endless drop below they were faced with giant windmill-like structures that stretched all the way up past a massive wall. Getting up the wall would be a problem, but there seemed to be a path around to the other side.

Before she could say anything, Corvan jumped past her, landed on a fin of the mill, walked to the very edge and then just stood there. The rest of the raid team watched as it went up and up and Corvan just stepped on to the tip of the fin as if it were a wide path and not a tiny little ledge. Once to the top he jumped onto the top of the wall and looked down. He didn't say anything — he didn't need to — it was enough to get them all moving and trying their luck at it. She and Z made it to the top easily, but the Titans took a few tries. Lilith — a Warlock from the clan and a friend of Z's that had been called in for this — finally gave up and took the long route.

The wall, wasn't a wall at all, but rather the lip of an entirely new section of the garden. It was beautiful, if she was being honest. It looked like a tropical hotspot, with its waterfalls and lush greenery. It also had a breath-taking view of their surroundings. What it didn't have was a path.

"Where to now?" Noble finally asked, scrubbing a hand over his face. He was tired, they all were. Who knows how many hours had passed since they'd run through that portal. Ever since then it'd been one thing after another.

"There's no clear route," she answered, looking around. "We'll have to look around, see where we need to go next. Once we find our way, we should take a break — get some rest before going on. We won't be much good if we get too worn out. Things are bound to only get harder." Everyone seemed to pause at her words, as if surprised. True enough, she always wanted to push forward as much as possible but… Her eyes flicked to Corvan for a second, but the Hunter still had his helmet on — there was no way of knowing if he was looking at her.

He'd been right, she was too reckless these days.

"Sounds good," Haar finally said. "Let's get to it and then meet up later?" He looked to her for confirmation and Skylar nodded her head. She didn't mind the others voicing their ideas — she was their leader, not their dictator.

"Meet back here in an hour," she said and they all nodded, splitting off into different groups and directions. Z fell into step with her as she started skirting one edge of the area, looking down over the side at the dizzying height. "Wouldn't want to fall off this," she said offhandedly.

"No kidding," Z agreed before waving her back from the edge. "I doubt we'll find much below… Come on, let's look over there." He pointed to an area off to the side of the main waterfall, the foliage denser and almost made to hide things. She agreed and followed him, the two of them silent for a while as they made their way to it and through the fern-like plants. It led into a long, deep cavern made of nothing but Vex tech, but there seemed to be a path of some sort. She went to lead them down, her foot at the edge, when a hand landed on her shoulder.

"Wait a sec," Z's tone had changed, some of the playfulness in it suddenly gone. She peered at him over her shoulder and with both their helmets still off it was easy to see the apprehensive look on his face. "Can we talk for a minute?"

Confused she turned back around. This was bit… different. He didn't normally ask before opening his mouth to start something. "What's the matter?"

"Was going to ask you," he replied, his eyes looking her over carefully. "We haven't really had the time to talk since I got back. Seemed like I just landed on the Moon and we were suddenly portal diving." That was true. Z had shown up a few days after Skylar and her team had spoken directly with the pyramid ships and had that vision. A few day since… since she'd woken up on her cot alone with Corvan shirtless and cleaning his gun a few feet away. Touchy feely wasn't his thing, and she wasn't sure why she'd thought differently.

"Okay…" Skylar prompted. Z clenched his jaw for a moment before sighing.

"The hair," he motioned to her head. "Where the hell did that come from? I mean I though the braids were cool but this… it's completely different."

Ah, she supposed that would be a bit of a shock. After her night with Corvan, Skylar had stood looking in front of the mirror, thinking over what he'd said when she'd asked about the future. When she'd asked him how she was supposed to be who she'd been before the jail break and still do what she had to. His reply had been simple: she needed to change if she wanted to keep that memory alive. Black hair was quite different from amber, and she half chosen it because of Corvan – because he was strong and unbreaking. She'd pulled her loose hair back too but kept the braids, made it longer.

It was severe in some ways, different but the same. Skylar had never realized that hair made such a difference in someone's appearance. She shrugged her shoulders a bit. "I just wanted a change." She had, but that wasn't all of it. She needed the change. Z's frown only deepened.

"You loved your hair," he argued. "This doesn't feel like a whim Sky, what happened?"

"Cayde loved my hair," she corrected him, tensing slightly as saying his name. "I always thought it was a bit much, but I kept it because he thought it was pretty." His sun-touch angel, that was what Cayde had called her, but the sun had long set on her chapter with him in it, leaving nothing but endless night. Her best friend seemed lost for words at her comment, so Skylar went on to answer his question. "A lot can happen in five-months, Z. You saw the state of the Moon, you heard what happened. I just wanted something that wouldn't be a constant reminder every time I looked in the mirror."

She tried to ignore how Z tensed at her tone. She'd known he'd be gone a while, off on his self-appointed mission, but she hadn't thought it'd be almost half a year. She'd need him on the Moon, but he'd been gone and it was Corvan who'd ended up taking his place. The Dark Age Hunter wasn't her best friend — never would be — but now he knew things about her that not even Z did. She'd have to tell him about Xol at some point, but she didn't want to right now. He sighed.

"Skylar… look, I… it wasn't my intention to just drop off the map for so long. I'm sorry. I know how much you must have worried but… I'm back, okay? You don't have to do this… whatever you're trying to prove-"

"I didn't change my hair because you left Z," she gave him a small smile. "I did it for me, okay?" She brushed at her hair, running a finger over a braid, on the same side where a gold earing rested on the outer edge of the shell. The one he'd given her. He was still frowning at her, but Skylar didn't want to talk about it anymore. "I'm going to go check this out. I should be back in a bit. Looks like there's an lower portion too." It was a dismissal, a clear one that had his jaw locking up again, but she didn't stick around. She was a bit sore about the whole thing, and she couldn't just forgive him like that for his disappearance. Certainly not enough to spill her guts to him about a personal choice while they were in enemy territory.

No one else had asked about her hair, he could wait.

She stepped off and jumped to a ledge without another word and started making her way down into the cavern. Z didn't follow and for once, she was relieved. She couldn't get herself to just forget everything, not that quickly, he'd have to wait for things to settle once more.

The cavern seemed endless at first, just a wide-open never-ending drop with metal circuitry popping out from walls that she used as platforms. The bright light from below at lest made the path easy to see and Sterling had started highlighting the best routes after finding some pattern only a Ghost ever could. After a while, there was an abrupt turn, sharp and to the right and Skylar had to use all of her jump range to make it across and to the next platform – only for the damn thing to pop back in when she did so. Yelping, she lunged for a handhold, falling several yards before finding one and hung there as she waited for the pain of the sudden stop in her shoulders to fade.

"Careful, Phantom," a familiar spectral voice mused. "I don't think you want to find out what's at the bottom… if there is one." Glance up she found handle, stand on… nothing. He was standing on nothing and floating above her just because he could. It was weird, she wasn't sure she'd even seen him not use the ground or some other solid surface before — as if he still needed them. Now he was just being a dick. Grunting, she pulled herself up onto the ledge and crouched, meeting his gaze.

"What are you doing here?" she grumbled, fully knowing that his rifle was strapped to her back. Skylar never quiet could figure out why he chose certain times to just appear. Often it was because he wished to express his opinion on something, but times like these… it just felt like he was mocking her. He chuckled.

"Thought I'd give you a different point of view."

"And telling me not to fall, when I know how dangerous that can be, is helpful how?"

"I'm not here to be your friend, Phantom," the spirit said, his eyes suddenly ringed in green, his voice shredded with a growl. "I'm here to make sure you achieve what it was we made our pact for. Being dead won't do that." Make her stronger. That was her deal for letting him have a spot in her soul and mind to claw into, to free him from his own Throneworld and watch her own as it spun on.

"That still doesn't answer my question," she snapped, irritated. He glared at her, before his lips suddenly cocked into a smirk and the glow guttered out just a quickly as it had come. Andal raised a hand and pointed across the breech.

"Be careful not to fall," he repeated, as strict as any leader. "But sometimes doing so leads you to where you should go." His words had her looking across the way to where he pointed and she found herself staring into the open maw of what looked like a cavern dug into the wall, the jagged teeth of Vex tech lining it. It was too dark to see much very far in, but Skylar thought she saw a few shapes that looked organic.

"Showoff." Her words got a chuckle, but Skylar quickly made the jump across the gap, landing in a crouch to peak inside, waiting to see if anything moved at her arrival. "Any signs of Vex, Sterling?" she asked her Ghost and watched her HUD radar pulse for a few moments. No blips appeared on it.

"None as far as I can tell."

"Okay good." She stood and walked in, aware that Andal was right behind her. "Going to need some light buddy." Her partner blinked into existence instantly, the light at the top of one fin cutting through the shadows of the pathway like a linear fusion rifle. With the new brightened view of the cavern, Skylar found that yes, she had seen foliage, ones much like the other plant life she'd seen throughout the garden.

As she went, the path sloping up and curving, the sounds of her echoing steps retreated into nothingness as foliage took over more and more tech, till there was nothing left but green vines and red flowers under her boots. After another short bend in the path, her eyes met an opening, bright enough to have her wincing at the change, but she still sighed in relief of something new. She'd be a bit worried Andal had led her into a dead end just for kicks. With the new source of light, Sterling retreated back into her helmet, leaving her to look around the wide-open bastion that was a small plato overlooking another large chunk of the garden. Walking forward, Skylar peered over the edge, looking at the distance ground where she recognized the area to where she'd split up her team. She hadn't realized she'd gotten so far up. Pushing her hood off to get a full, unhindered look, her searched for a way forward.

"Now, that's quite a view," her spectral companion stated, walking up to her side silently. Skylar had to admit he was right as she looked out over the expanse. The Black Garden was not a place of good memories. It was dangerous, but it was breath takingly beautiful as well, just like any brightly colored reptile or amphibian that contained deadly poison.

"What the fuck?" the statement came from behind them and Skylar turned on her heel and spun with a sharp snap, drawing her Fated Hearts and aiming it forward in an instant. Andal of course, just slowly turned around as if someone showing up behind them was normal. What she found, had her pausing, her gun lowering slightly in surprise.

Toland?

What stood before them a few feet in front of them was a ball of light that pulsed and thrummed like a dying bulb. The first time she'd seen something like this had been in the Dreaming City's ascendant realm and she'd met the legend that was Toland the Shattered. It had been a very interesting conversation. Yet, as Skylar stared at the light, she quickly realized it wasn't the Warlock — it was different. His had been a near-blinding white in color and very well contained, his little from hardly shifting. This one as she watched was slightly… purple? It certain looked purple as it shifted from side to side, leaving a shadowy after image behind it.

Now that she thought about it, the voice didn't really sound like Toland either.

Something as the back of her mind recognized it though, she just wasn't sure from where.

"How… interesting," Andal mused and they watched as the little ball of little seemed to shutter and then cursed. "It can see me." That was a bit bizarre. As far as Skylar knew, only she could see the spirit.

"You certainly sound like Andal," it spoke again, disgruntled as it pulse along with each syllable. "But I know for a fact that he's dead so you can't be him… so you're some kind of face-stealing spirit. Nothing like me of course. You don't want to be like me, it's fucking boring as hell." Something about how he said the last line clicked something in Skylar's brain and she can hardly keep her jaw from going slack. No. No fucking way. He had died – she had been there.

But she knew that voice – even after all this time.

"…Tev?" she whispered, unable to get any kind of force behind the word. They still got a rather loud response as the light jerked backwards and then suddenly darted forward, nearly getting in her face.

"You're shitting me," she could almost hear the scowl. "Skylar?" him saying her name sent a shiver riveting down her spine. Hell. It was really him.

"Yeah," she whispered.

The light – Tevis – shifted in the air, that purple tinge echoing around him. Was that supposed to be some remains of Void Light, some scrap let behind from her getting it? They stared at each other for who knows how long before he floated back a foot.

"I didn't recognize you at first without the hair…" he admitted quietly and she had to bite back a sigh. The hair again. Of course. "It uh… different. Not bad just, different." Well, that was better than Z's reaction. "I should have known it was you but things… being here does weird shit to you after a while."

"How are you even here?" she asked, almost dazed. She knew he'd died here of course, she'd watched it happen but…

"Fuck if I know," he answered in a grumble. "I just woke up at some point next to my body. My decaying body, so it had been a bit, I guess. Realized I didn't have a body at all and that I couldn't seem to leave through any of the Vex portals. So, I've just been hanging out for…. How long as it even been?"

"Five years."

"Really? Only five years? Travelers's ass. I hate this place."

Skylar knew he didn't have a body, but with how he was talking, she could almost see him in one. See his cloak and camo armor. His posture would be lazy and rigid all at once, arms crossed as he leaned a shoulder into the wall, a begrudging half smile painted on his face. Those silver eyes that burned holes into people but could also look so warm it had reminded her of starlight. They were gone now, that and everything else leaving her to talk to a floating orb of light. At least it still sounded like him.

"You want to tell me why there's a specter hanging around you that looks like Andal?" Tevis asked, breaking her thoughts apart. She blinked and glanced to said specter who'd crossed his arms, watching them both. Still no sign of the eerie green of a truth leaking through a mask. She shifted her feet, hand clenching at the strap of her riffle before she blew out a breath. Well, she'd already told one person and planned to tell another, one more couldn't hurt.

"He's a worm god by the name of Xol. I helped kill his physical form a few years ago and then found his Throneworld. Stuffed the last of his soul to great a powerful rifle," she waved to The Whisper. "As to why he takes that form," she frowned at the cocky smirk Andal gave her in reply. "He's never told me."

The field went quiet for a few second, as the old Nightstalker processed that.

"A worm god," He stated flatly.

"Yep," She answered.

Another moment of silence, and she swore she could see his eyes narrow at her.

"Why?" It didn't sound accusing, Tevis was one of the few who had always seemed unsure if the Light was really 'the good guys' and the Darkness were 'The bad guys'. Still, it was a worm god. She ran her hand down the strap, sighing.

"Power," she said finally. "I felt like I needed the power and he promised me that. No need to lecture me, Corvan's already done that and there's nothing I can really do now – I'm stuck with him. Rifle's pretty powerful though, at least." She waited for him to lash out or go quiet like he had when he was burning holes into someone's head in anger, but Tevis did neither.

"I'm not going to lecture you; not like I didn't do shit people didn't approve of. Wish you'd been more careful, but you're right, there's nothing to do about it now. Surprised Corvan was the one to flip out over it though, would have thought it'd be Cayde." His words had her tensing up instantly, but either he didn't notice, or didn't realize why – how could he after all? "I doubt he took it well, he's always been too protective of you."

Skylar stared at the glowing ball of all that was left of Tevis Larsen, unable to move or speak. Andal hummed behind her. "That's a touchy subject, even after all this time. You should read body language more careful Larsen," he mused, and the ball of energy jerked again, a pulse of purple, brighter this time, appearing for a moment as if in anger or surprise.

"You fucking shut up, I don't care if you're a god, you are not a part of this conversation." When the spirit said nothing in response to that, the little ball floating closer to Skylar again as she continued to stare. "Sky?" he asked quietly, as if Andal's words had really sunken in and he was paying closer attention, realizing something wasn't right. "What's wrong? You guys have a bad fight about it or something? I'm sure everything will be fine, the guy's crazy about you, you know that right? I swear if he didn't-"

"No," Skylar got out finally, forcing the word out through seizing lungs. "He didn't… we didn't have a fight." Because he wasn't there, because how could a dead person ever say anything about something, much less get upset about it. Yet, there were two ghosts standing with her now, weren't there?

"He didn't?" Tevis asked confused. "That's… surprising." It would be, because Skylar agreed with Tevis in the fact that Cayde would have probably blown a circuit about the gun. "So, he took it in stride then?"

Another pause because she could answer again.

"No."

Silence, then the orb pulsed purple again and got closer, the distance between them growing ever shorter.

"What's wrong?" he asked again. What a question to ask, there was so much – too much wrong these days. But he only wanted to know about one, and it was hardest answer to give. One, Skylar realized, that she'd never actually said out loud. Not the exact words, not the admission of it being true. She'd never been able to get the words out. It had hurt too much.

A small breeze danced through the area and Skylar caught a small strand of black hair in the corner of her gaze. It made her remember what Corvan had said, made her remember why she'd changed her looks and didn't regret what had happened between her and the old Dark Age survivor. She needed to move on, she had to move on, else she tarnish the happy memories she had with the Exo by continuing the grieve so deeply she was nearly drowning.

Saying the words would be a good step forward.

Skylar took in a deep breath before letting her hand fall from the strap over the chest plate.

"He's dead," she whispered at first before pushing forward, demanding more. "Cayde is dead, Tev," she answered more clearly, more firmly. "Has been for over a year now." As expected, her admission had her friend going completely silent, and Skylar spent the time counting out how long it took for him to fight the shock he was no doubt feeling enough to say anything else. It took nearly four minutes before he did.

"I… how?" he asked finally. Skylar let out a small, humorless snort.

"How do you think?"

A pause.

"Pulled some stupid stunt to show off and it went bad, didn't it?"

"Yeah." Skylar took a deep breath again and slowly, with firm words that only shivered a bit, told him about the prison and what she'd done afterword's when he'd asked. All the anger and the pain and the sorrow was still there, but it was more manageable, talking about it. Really talking about it — she never had, not in detail. For some reason she felt like she could with Tevis, maybe because she knew he deserved to know. Cayde and him had been close, even if the sarcastic Hunter would never fully admit it.

"So, the dumbass did grow a backbone and told you how he felt," he huffed, and Skylar was surprised those were his first words after it was all explained. "Doesn't seem like you had very long together though," he sighed. "Were you happy?"

Skylar didn't even need to think about that.

"That word doesn't even begin to cover it."

He gave a snort laugh.

"Good. I'm sorry… it didn't last Little Falcon. Shit." His nickname for her, not 'Skybird', not the name he'd said in those last moment when he had been dying, it made her remember all those moments she'd wondered about… about something different.

"It's hardly your fault," she assured him quietly.

"I'm guessing you're here to stop what the Vex have been up to lately?" he changed the subject without missing a beat, knowing it was dragging for too long. He'd always been good at that, reading her. She'd missed it. Nodding her head slightly he chuckled again. "Always running straight into danger, I'm guessing Z and everyone is with you?"

Skylar bit her lip, wondering if she should tell him about the others, about Winter and Will and Cassidy. Finally, she decided against it.

"Yep, that's us," she said with a small smile. "We've been trying to figure out where to go next, that's why I'm here. Scouting stuff out. Sterling said there's only one huge energy signature left, but every way forward seems to be blocked."

"You need to look up," her friend said after a moment. "If I'm guessing right on where you need to go, they're a river of radiolaria that leads to a pathway. Look up around there, some of the plant life in this place is rather good for climbing and jumping." Skylar shouldn't be surprised, he'd been here five years, of course he knew the place well. He'd been here so long, all alone with only his thought, with his memories, with those last moments in his body where he could touch things.

It made her think about what she'd thought about a lot after that day, not often because of Cayde and her life and how busy it was but… occasionally, even more so in the last year and after the moon and echo incident. He was here now – all she had to do was ask. Doing it was harder than she thought as she nodded absently, pausing to gather words that made sense.

"You know, I found out a few months after you died what it means when Guardians share Light," she told him. It was a deeply personal thing, something that only ever really done between paired Guardians. She'd found out when Cayde had given her the necklace she wore, and it had made her wonder what he'd thought when he'd found out Tevis had given her his Light. To his credit, her friend didn't stay quiet for long.

"I figured you would eventually."

Glancing back at him, she frowned slightly. "Why'd you do it?"

"I think you know that answer." She did. Had for a while now, she supposed. Didn't stop her from wanting to hear him say it, but she found herself unable to demand such a thing. Instead, she asked something else.

"Do you ever wonder what it would have been like?" She had. She could admit to wondering a couple of time in the last five years. "If things had been just… a little different."

"All the time," he admitted, the purple light thrumming softly. "That night in the bar you told me you liked Cayde was… hard. I think about how I did that wrong and I constantly kicked myself for it afterward because the dumbass was too dense to see what every other person saw as time went on. I should have done something, but I didn't. I was only okay with it after Crota when I realized Cayde felt the same way you did. We didn't need two people pining for something they could never have."

Skylar bit her lip, and she remembered wondering at the time if it was even okay to keep wishing Cayde would see her that way. If it was alright to pine after her mentor when he had seemed to clearly not feel the same. The gun, the Fated Hearts, had made a difference.

"I've thought about it too," she admitted quietly. "Before and after Cayde died." She shifted a bit, frowning as she looked to her side, only to realize Andal – Xol – was gone. When had that happened? "If things had been just slightly different, everyone's lives could have been different." It would have been very different, she thought quietly. Tevis had always been rough around the edges, not like Corvan, but still a sarcastic bastard. She'd seen other sides though when he'd helped train her. He hadn't needed to give her those feathers, didn't need to give her a nickname. He'd taken such care with his teaching, strict but oddly gentle. A few lessons would have been enough, but he'd stuck around and just kept helping. As the years passed, and he'd joined her clan she'd been happy, glad to be able to call him family.

What if things had been just slight different?

What if she'd never thought of the way Cayde made her laugh as being something other than that. What if she hadn't been drawn to him, but to the silver-eyed Hunter that was nothing but a soul now. The relationship would have been different, because he was different, but it might have been easier in a way. He hadn't been and Exo, or a Vanguard leader. He might have helped train her, but it wouldn't have been seen the same way as it had been with Cayde.

Maybe if she'd fallen in love with him, if he'd admitted how he'd felt at that bar, maybe he would still be alive. He wasn't like Cayde, he was always careful, but he'd been reckless that day he died. If he'd had someone waiting for him back home that meant the world to him, Skylar was almost completely sure, he wouldn't have stepped through that portal into an unknown dimension. Maybe if he'd been by her side when Cayde died, she wouldn't have made the choices that had gotten her here.

So very different – but Skylar could see it, flashes of moments. Being held and being loved. Scenes out in the wilderness that Cayde and her never got because his freedom had been so different from hers and Tevis'. He would have made her happy, maybe even happier then with the Exo in some ways because of that freedom.

"We can wonder about it all we want," Tevis said finally, bringer her back to reality. "It didn't happen, and dwelling on it won't do you any good, Sky."

"Tev…"

"It's nice to know I wasn't the only one who thought about it."

Skylar swallow, unable to stop her next words. "What you called me that day…" Skybird. He'd called her Skybird. Her question got a small chuckle.

"Yeah, I just wanted to say it out loud, if only once. Selfish I know, but I don't regret it." His forms bobbed to the side for a moment almost like someone shuffling their feet or shifting their weight. "I don't regret giving you my Light either, and I never will. You know that right?"

He might as well have been telling her he'd loved her, maybe still did. But he was right – it didn't matter, that timeline hadn't happened. Time, such a funny thing to talk about in a place running rampant with time controlling Vex.

"Of course," she said quietly, biting her lips. "I've always thought that when I used it… it feels like you're watching me. Looking out for me like you always did." She held out her hand, summoning up a bit of purple lightning into it as it crackled across her fingers. "It's a little different now. Shit happened and the two got shoved and mixed together so…" she smiled. "In a way, well…"

"Yeah," he told her before she could find a way to get the words out. Two different Guardian's Light mixing into something different, that wasn't something that happened, never had as far as anyone knew. They had something together, in a way, even after his 'death.' A connection that would never be severed. "That's more than enough for me Skylar."

She didn't have to think about her answer.

"Me too." Reaching out she tried to touch the spirit form of the mass that was him, and while she felt a moment of resistance, her fingers quickly felt through. She closed her eyes and sighed. There was so much more she could say that she could tell him, but she wondered if it would do more harm than good. Leave him yearning even more for a world he couldn't have.

"You should get back to your team," he told her, almost like he'd read her mind. She took in a deep breath opening her eyes again.

"Yeah… look Tevis, if I ever end up here again…"

"Don't worry," the smirk was back in his voice. "I'll find you Little Falcon. You can count on it. Might even watch you tear the Vex's plans apart from the side lines with my Light. Something tells me, I rubbed off on you more than I ever realized." He moved slightly closer to her as if he might have placed a hand on her head, ruffling her hair like he always had before, if he had a body. "You guys better put on a show for me."

Skylar couldn't help the laugh that came out of her, some heavy being expelled with it. Something in her mind, a restless part that had been half asleep for years finally seeming to find true sleep for good. A question, a line of thoughts solved and put away. She didn't regret them, never would for herself, and for the hunter in front of her. For the Light she controlled.

She would miss him. She would always miss him, but seeing him again, it didn't open that wound back up. Somehow, it made the scar loosen, fading to only a white mark instead of an angry raised red. She'd needed this. They both had.

Raising her chin slightly, she gave him the best smirk she could muster. "You act as if anything my team does is boring. I'll make you proud."

His light thrummed again as he let out a huff. "You already have Skylar – you already have."

Later that night as she sat by the fire, watching Z cheat at cards, Skylar realized, that she had a fond memory of this place now. A memory of the same person that had always brought her pain in. Now, it made her smile, if only at the irony of it all.

-Cayde-

The clank, grind, and shutter of metal work was oddly comforting to Cayde. There, in the ship bay his hands were covered in grease all the way up past his wrists, overstepping the gloves he'd put on. The sparrow was a mess. In fact, after getting shield-bashed by a Cabal, he was surprised the thing wasn't just a scrap of twisted metal. It almost was, and looking at the inworkings of the poor thing now that he'd gotten all of the outer shell off and thrown out, he wasn't completely sure he could save it.

Might be easier for that Titan to just get a new one.

Glancing around the workshop area of the bay, he watched his fellow mechanics working. Three of them were trying to pry off a dented and half-shattered wing from a ship — a couple Frames scuttling around to try and help them. Amanda stood nearby, speaking with the supposed Guardian, a datapad in her hands. Cayde watched her for a long moment, as the smile on her lips and the way she held herself. Confidence nearly radiated off the blonde. It was far different from the self-conscious little girl who felt singled out due to her prosthetic leg. She'd grown up to be everything he'd hoped she'd be, and something clenched in his chest at the fact that he couldn't remember watching it happen.

Someone called to the Warlock speaking to Amanda – a Hunter — walked over to his friend and the blonde, spoke for a moment quietly, and then waved goodbye to the mechanic. They were in mid conversation by the time they were close enough for Cayde to hear with all the noise of the work area.

"Apparently she's back in the City again," the female Warlock informed her friend. "I still can't believe they didn't ban her from the City, didn't ban all of those traitors."

"I don't know why you're so upset, none of them are Warlocks. Three of them are Hunters — including their blacklisted leader." He made a disgusted noise as they passed Cayde. "'Skylar the Phantom', yeah right. She doesn't deserve that title."

"More like 'Skylar the Tainted' — she's just like Toland now."

"Ha, right? Too bad Cayde died, maybe she would have thought twice before betraying the Vanguard…" The rest of his comment faded away into noise as the two headed out of the docking bay. Cayde frowned, looking down at the ruined sparrow and remembering that Crucible match. Darkness. It had been over two weeks since he'd seen it — realized what probably had gotten his supposed rookie blacklisted. He hadn't been able to get up the nerve to contact her again, his comm unit left to get dusty on his dresser.

All he could think about was Zavala's warning from the start about her, and her team.

Maybe she had gone rogue after he'd died. Yet… yet the way she always spoke to him the sad smile and the tired, hard eyes. That wasn't the look of someone who had turned their back on the people she had sworn to protect. Cayde truthfully wasn't sure what that look had been at all.

"Traveler, I wish they'd keep their damn thoughts to themselves," the sudden voice of Amanda so close by had Cayde nearly jumping out of his skin. Some Hunter he was, maybe turning human had dulled his senses. He looked to her, brows pulled together as he realized she was scowling after the two Guardians. "Everyone loves playing the blame game. They think it's so simple."

"I mean…" Cayde sighed quietly. "It is, what it is right?" He watched her tense instantly, her eyes darting to meet her own as shock entered them, and then quickly cooled to disappointment.

"Not you too Sevens," she said quietly. "Why is it that everyone can disregard a clan that's pulled our asses out of the fire time and time again after one choice — one that was made to keep us safe? How is losing her cool for one moment in time enough to ruin a hero's achievements?" She questioned him, truly sounded confused. Cayde watched her, confused himself by the statement.

"Hero? I know she was Cayde's rookie and all but I'm not sure what you're talking about." It was so weird talking about himself in third person.

Amanda blinked at him, some of the disappointment of her face fading away before she shook her head. "I keep forgetting you've been out of the loop a long time. I guess it makes sense you don't know. You Hunters don't really care to keep up to date when you're out on the field." The statement was true, but Cayde still found it surprising that everyone seemed to believe he'd been absent from the Tower for nearly six years, which was apparently when shit had truly started hitting the fan. They'd explained it as a long, nearly permanent watchdog post out on Mars, only for the frozen Hive shit to happen there and have a witch kill his Ghost. He'd left to try and figure things out for the last few years.

"Mind coming with me for a minute?" Amanda spoke up, taking him from his thoughts as he blinked at her. She had the smallest of smiles on her face. "I'd like to show you something." The way she said it left little room for argument, even if she wasn't his boss. So, Cayde nodded his head, stood up and pulled his gloves of, dispensing them on top of this project.

"Lead the way."

She did. They left the Shipyard completely, passing by Banshee into the other half of the Tower and then through a large set of double doors that had words over the top of them. It wasn't some title, no, it was just words: Devotio. Sacrificium. Mors.

Seeing as Latin was a commonly used staple in Vanguard history, it only took Cayde a few moments to recognize their meaning: Devotion. Sacrifice. Death. The three words Guardians were supposed to idealize in their lives. A reminder of why they were here in the first place. He was about to ask where they were going as they passed the thresh hold into the next area, but what was in said area had his mouth snapping shut, his eyes widening.

It was a room — a rather large room that was long and thin and led to the trinity symbol of the three class signs standing tall in a brass sculpture. What caught Cayde's attention the most though — what flanked the walls — were the statues. They weren't huge, they weren't even big, but as Cayde wandered over to the first set of them, he saw that they were big enough to see the details. Perhaps two feet tall or so were carved depictions of Guardians. Some were clustered closer together, while some stood in pairs or singles. Each one of those statues had a name plate, and if there was more than one, a larger information plate in gold stood in front of them.

The one he stood in front of, showed ten small statues, and Cayde recognizes them all either by armor or name. the larger title card in front of them simply read: The Iron Lords – Heroes of the First SIVA Crisis. There were a few other commendations, but that was the main one. Their names alone were legend enough.

"What is this place?" He asked, stunned. He'd never seen this before. Amanda walked up his side.

"It doesn't have an official name really," she told him, and then smiled slightly. "It's commonly referred to as 'The Bragging Rights Chamber' by Guardians though." She smiled a bit wider when he raised an eyebrow. "I'm not surprised you haven't heard of it. It's a new thing, only built into this new Tower. The Vanguard did it, saying that those who have helped to change or save the City under the code of the Guardians deserve to be remembered. Zavala told me once his sister had come up with it, but she only talked about it in passing." Winter. Cayde's stomach flipped slightly at her words. He'd found out about the Dark Age Warlock that was supposedly Big Blue's sister, being gone. MIA. Ikora had told him when he'd asked about her. Both she and a Hunter named Tristan Fenrir had gone on a mission with Skylar – they'd been her clan too – and the both of them had vanished through a portal.

It didn't really surprise Cayde that Winter had been the one to come up with something like this. The Awoken had always been the more sentimental and open of the two.

"It's… well, It's a nice idea. Never would have thought of it myself." He said finally. "Why are we here though?"

She raised an eyebrow as if wondering how he didn't know, but then sighed and waved him forward. She let him farther in to the room, passing statues on both sides before coming to a stop at the last one on the right. She gestured to the Seven statues and curiously, Cayde stepped closer to get a good look – and froze.

Like the others, they were all in various poses, all decked out in full armor, some with helmets on, some without. At first, he wasn't completely sure — most of them were wearing different armor — but a quick glance at name plates solved any confusion. Corvan Blacksteel, his hand up and pointing The Thorn straight out towards Cayde. Noble, a flaming Hammer in hand. Z Redwolf holding The Last Word — Cayde still wanted to know where he'd gotten that — and two tripmines in his hands. Haar-2, clad with a Defender's shield and a shotgun. Will-7, the Warlock sliding across the ground with his own shotgun in hand. Winter, the woman he'd just been thinking about, appearing to have just landed — The Bad JuJu hanging from one arm with an Amankara skull she'd attached to it after Toland had died.

That was six, and the seventh — he didn't even need to look at the name — was Skylar. Her hood was up, carefully hiding most of her hair, her armor completely different, but he could see her face, recognized the Guardian marking that graced it. Her statue depicted her simply walking forward, her hands holding a large sniper rifle relaxed in front of her, muzzle pointing down. It wasn't the same gun he'd seen her use before. Something about it itched at the back of his mind, but he couldn't quiet place it.

Tearing his eyes down to the center plate, he carefully read the rather large amount of text.

CLAN HIDDEN WINGS

Destroyers of the Heart of Darkness

Conquerors of the Vault of Glass

Slayers of Crota and Oryx

Heroes of the second SIVA Crises

Heroes of the Red War

Cayde stared.

And stared.

Then he shook his head, blinking to make sure that was real. It was. He didn't recognize all of the names, but he did know who Crota was and what SIVA had been. He definitely knew what the Vault of Glass was, seeing as he'd always hoped to find the damn thing. Glancing back to the sniper rifle Skylar was holding, he realized what it was now: Patience and Time. Shit.

"I don't… How is this possible?" So many honors, even more than the Iron Lords. "Just who are these guys?" Stupid question, he knew who they were, but at the same time, he was missing things. Clearly, when the shit had hit the fan people had stepped up — seven people as it were — his own rookie being one of them.

"Things got bad," Amanda told him quietly. "At first, they all just happened to be in the right place at the right time, and then they just well, got thrown into a task force. They walked out of that time hellscape, raised a giant Vex head over their heads, and were instantly legends. After that they just kept being sent on harder and harder missions, on raids." Her words had Cayde looking to her, and found his boss looking straight back at him. "Not all of them were there for each one, Skylar wasn't for two of them, but she risked everything over and over again just like the others. That clan, those people," she pointed at the statues. "They're heroes, Sevens, not traitors. Skylar almost died to keep this City safe twice, and now they've all done it again, but it wasn't so cut and dry this time, so they've been dishonored." She crossed her arms, lifting her chin. "The only saving grace being that Zavala didn't have these honors removed — and trust me, people wanted them removed. Tell me, how is that fair?"

It wasn't.

Cayde didn't even need to think about that. Looking back over to the display, he felt a chill run up his spine. Heroes. His eyes scanned her nameplate again, registering that she had a title, a bloody title. Skylar the Phantom. Just like those Guardians had been saying. They were legends — Skylar, his hand-picked Hunter, was a hero. A fallen hero, anyway.

"You don't know everything," Skylar had told him. "You might not like what you find." True enough, he supposed, finding out that she was using Darkness was certainly a bad sign.

"Why did they do it?" he asked finally, still staring at the group of figures. "Why use Darkness if they were our defenders of Light?" He'd wanted to ask someone that for so long, but he hadn't been able to. People didn't seem to have a very unbiased look on it, and Amanda probably didn't either, but she at least wasn't instantly condemning them.

"I don't know the details," she answered him. "But from what Haar and Z told me, their Light wasn't enough." Cayde looked to her, shock ripping up his spine at her words. He's faintly reminded of Tevis's old saying at that — the Darkness had always been stronger than the Light, they just hadn't seen a completely version of it. Now they had. "They… they took the pyramid's offer, the power of Darkness because they knew it was the only fighting chance they had. Despite the ridicule they received for siding with the Drifter, and for Skylar hunting down Uldern against orders… They still chose to make sure we were safe."

Cayde thought about the words hung over the door to this area again: Devotion. Sacrifice. Death. Guardians were supposed to devote themselves to the Traveler and do whatever it took to honor that rule. Clan Hidden Wings had realized what they needed to do to keep that rule, even if it meant fracturing and twisting it until not much was left. They chose to do whatever it took to keep the City safe — maybe not the Traveler — but the City, at least. Even if it meant they were outcasts, the heroes of The City would do what needed to be done.

And he had stared at the woman he'd trained, one of those very heroes, like she was a monster.

He closed his eyes. "Why is Skylar the only one banned from the Tower?" he asked quietly. Amanda didn't say anything for a very long few seconds, the room nearly deafening in its quiet stillness. Then:

"She attacked Zavala," she told him in a whisper. "I don't know why, no one seems to know why, but according to the others she went after him and they fought out on the ice until Zavala ghosted her."

Yeah… that would do it. Attacking a Vanguard leader on top of everything else would certainly do it. He wondered why, as something heavy rested in his gut, she would do such a thing. She didn't seem like a hothead, but everyone snaps at some point.

What happened?

"I don't think Skylar ever really recovered," Amanda admitted quietly. "She's different, has been for a long time. I think losing the person she was in love with tore something in her apart." Her words broke every other thought in Cayde's mind apart, and his eyes snapped back open.

"Wait, what?" he asked, startled. "She was with someone?" Hell, that girl had certainly done a lot in eight years, hadn't she? Amanda's brows furrowed.

"You really have been out of the loop. Damn."

"I…" he stammered, unable to really think straight for a moment. "Who was it? Did I know them?" his words only seemed to cause more disbelief and she opened her mouth, probably to answer him, but a sharp beep on both of their work comms had her pausing. She raised a hand to her ear.

"This is Holliday."

"We've got a situation, boss," one of the Exo workers told her. "Some Guardian's ship was torn to pieces on the Tangled Shore and they're headed in fast. Ghost is catatonic and the Guardian is trapped inside around a bent frame."

The blonde cursed and Cayde couldn't help but agree. It seemed like that clump of asteroids was nothing but trouble. "Alright, we're on our way." She lowered her hand and gave him a stern look. "We need to hurry." No time for chatting left, then. Cayde nodded his head, his curiosity pushed back. He'd ask later, the past was over after all. The present needs him focused. He followed Amanda out of the room without looking back at the statues, his mind already working on a solution to the problem.

N/A:

I've always loved Tevris, ever since D1 when I first read the lore for his helmet. There were subtle hints in the first book about Tevis maybe having a thing for Skylar, and in fact, there was a time when I considered having him be the main love interest instead of Cayde. Lately, I've been thinking about maybe doing an alternate timeline when he was. Would anyone be interested?

Cayde has a lot to think about now, the only question is what will he decide to do?

Thanks for reading :).