Redacted

Interlude: I'm Here

I actually made it, surprisingly. I apologize for the late update guys, but I do have a good reason for this. Although I feel like this too personal, I feel like I owe you all an explanation.

On May 9th, my grandmother passed away.

It came suddenly and out of nowhere, as my father told me early in the morning as I was preparing for work. Honestly, my grandmother was already frail and sickly when I last seen her in Korea nearly four years ago, and I initially thought I wouldn't take her death so hard. I was wrong. The news of her death sent my anxiety and emotions out of control and I fell into depression, where I spend days lying in bed and pondering how I was going to handle it. Honestly, if it wasn't for the fact that I would lose my job, I would have asked for several days off to help cope with her death, but since we live in a world where money is needed to survive, I had little choice but to work, which slowed down the recovery time I need to cope with my grandmother's death.

With my mental stability at a low point, I couldn't bring myself to write. I honestly thought I would be fine within a few days but, I then found that a week had quickly passed without an update to this story. As such, I scrambled to get a chapter out this week and I apologize for the shortness and choppiness of it all. However, I just want you all to know that I have not abandoned this story, and not to be surprised if next week another update is missed. Although I do love writing this series, I do need time to mourn and cope, and the stress of updating weekly isn't going to help. But once again, I am just here to announce that I am not abandoning it. I just need time. Thank you all for understanding.

Edited: 10/15/2023

Changed the title a bit, as this chapter felt out of place but yet important enough to stay.

In all her years alive, Gemini had never seen her twin as happy as he was now.

For anyone else, it would seem he is indifferent to the children, his expression passive and blank. But to Gemini, she saw the way his optics brightened, his shoulders high and confident, that to her, it is obvious that he was enjoying himself. She just hopes that the surrounding Revenants do not take it the wrong way.

Letting her light blue optics linger over to the Revenants, Gemini couldn't understand how her twin could relax with that many eyes on them, which make sense, since they are currently in the 'nursery' where all the children reside. With their presence, of course they would keep an eye on the twins.

Nonetheless, Gemini watched as Scorpio lifted two children into the air before running off, and he was quickly followed by a line of laughing progenies. She knows for certain that her twin would not harm the kids. Likely, he would put his life and limb for these children, despite only knowing them for a mere half a month's time. And judging from the way the children laughed and shrieked with joy as Scorpio to avoid their tag, Gemini wouldn't be too surprised if they thought the same.

"Oh, why is he being fussy?"

"I don't know? Maybe he's not hungry?"

"He hasn't eaten all day."

"Diaper change?"

"I did that. He won't stop crying!"

Turning her attention to a corner of the room, Gemini spotted two Revenants bickering with each other, one of them, an Exo, holding Eidr in her arms. The infant in question was bawling, wailing as his hands pushed the bottle that she was trying to bring to his lips. The Exo's friend, a human, was leaning over, a toy in her hand, shaking it above Eidr's head.

Usually, Scorpio would come running to Edir's side, demanding the child until the Revenants relented. However, judging from the way her twin flashed his optics her way, that he was distracted, too busy to do so. Heaving out a sigh, Gemini reluctantly pushed herself up from her seat before making her way to the Revenant pair.

"Here."

Seeing the two Revenants snap their attention towards her, Gemini simply ignored their narrowed glances as she held out her hands.

"We have this handled." The Exo said.

In turn, Gemini frowned as Eidr's wailed rang in her receptors, "Does not seem that way to me."

This earned her another scowl, this time from the human Revenant, but Gemini kept her hands out.

"Well?" She said.

Although they continued to glare at her, the Exo reluctantly placed Eidr into her waiting arms.

And his cries ceased.

This prompted Gemini to give the Revenants a smug grin. In turn, they glared back.

"Bottle." She demanded as she held out a hand to them, waiting until the Exo placed the container into her waiting hand.

Shifting the bottle in her hand, Gemini then held the tip of it to Eidr and the infant's lips clamped around it. As he suckled, his hazel eyes lingered into her optics, wet with tears but wide and curious.

"You sure you don't want kids of your own?"

Glancing over her shoulder, Gemini saw Scorpio approach, a child riding his shoulders.

She scoffed in response to his question, "Have you seen me with kids? You know as well as I do that, I don't have the patience for them."

That is when she saw Scorpio's optics settle over her arms, "From where I'm standing, I say that's a false claim."

Giving her twin a blank look, Gemini simply rolled her optics before turning her attention back to Eidr and frowned, "You going to be alright leaving him here?"

The silence that lingered between the two was answer enough. Ignoring the two Revenants glaring at their backs, Gemini waited and then heard Scorpio heave out a breath. Then, he let the child upon his shoulders slide off, letting the young progeny run back to the others.

"I hate to admit it, but what else can we do?" Scorpio said, "Bring him back to the Tower with us and say 'Hey everyone! We found this child out in the middle of nowhere! Can we keep it?'." Another sigh as he rubbed the back of his neck, "The Vanguard will definitely question the authenticity of that story."

Gemini hummed, leaning against a leg, "We don't have to tell the exact truth." She saw her twin blink at her, "Say that he was the child of two Guardians, but you don't have to tell them who exactly."

"And what makes you think we will let you take him?"

Shifting her attention from her twin to the two Revenants, Gemini narrowed her optics, "I do recall your 'Preceptor' saying that Eidr was free to leave with us if we choose."

There is a scoff from the human Revenant, "Let you, a Tower Guardian, take a child of our family?" She stood up, pointing an accusing finger at Gemini, "What makes you think that you are capable of taking care of one of our own?"

For some reason, Gemini couldn't help but feel irritated, "For starters, none of you knew who Jora and Isamu were, even when we introduced their child to you." Then she leaned back, humming, "Come to think of it, you didn't even know Eidr's name before now. And let's not forget to mention that the Darkness are a danger to the children, hence why are we are here." That is when Gemini gave them a blank look, sensing the glares from the Revenants, "So, as long as I am concerned, my brother and I are the only ones viable enough to raise him." That is when she let the arc light linger around her optics, spotting the sparks around the edges of her gaze; she heard Eidr giggle between the bottle, "So try and prevent us from taking Eidr back home."

Judging from the way the Revenants shrank back, eyes wide, her reaction wasn't the one they were expecting. Not like Gemini cared, especially since the Exo straightened out and she can spot specks of solar light glimmering in her optics. Undaunted, Gemini started to build an arc charge within her chest.

That is when a whimper came from her arms.

Looking down, Gemini saw Eidr push the bottle away from his lips, and then looked up at her with tears brimming in his hazel eyes.

"You done?" She asked as she took the bottle away and then stared as the sniffling stopped followed by giggles.

Slowly, Gemini looked up at her twin.

Scorpio was grinning at her, "That means he likes you."

She gave him a blank stare before turning her attention back to Eidr. The infant too, was grinning back at her.

"I will never understand children." Gemini said.

Her twin chuckled, "And you say we are better off raising Eidr?"

Shrugging off the teasing smile that Scorpio gave her, Gemini simply rolled her optics before holding out the now empty bottle towards the human Revenant. This earned her a narrowed look.

"I am not-"

"Considering that we are guests here and I have no idea where you put your dirty dishes." Gemini interrupted, "I wouldn't be asking you to take this if I did."

A scowl appeared onto the Revenant's face but nonetheless, the human reluctantly took the bottle from Gemini's hand, allowing her to properly cradle Eidr in her arms. There is another giggle from the child.

"I don't understand what is so funny." Gemini finally caved, turning to her twin. Scorpio burst out laughing. "Scorpio! Please!"

This earned her another laugh, her twin leaning over, a hand to his chest. Gemini gave him a glare as he continued to guffaw.

"Excuse the intrusion." The familiar dark azure shell of Nysa compiled into view, Gemini's Ghost glancing back and forth between them, her light blue optic shining, "However, Ace sent me a frequency."

That is when Scorpio's laughter eased, Gemini watching as her twin let out a cough, a breath, and regained composure, "Ace? So, did Ianos finally wake up?"

"Well, no." Gemini's brother's shoulders slumped at Nysa's answer, "But Nine is awake."

Gemini perked up at that. From the corner of her optics, she saw Scorpio do the same.

"Really?" she asked.

"Well, not Nine." Nysa clarified, "Knight is the one that woke up."

Gemini blinked at her, "But, if Knight is awake, isn't Nine awake too?"

Her Ghost shrugged, "According to Knight, he is currently unconscious, regaining strength. It's going to be some time before he awakes."

"So." Scorpio gestured vaguely with a hand, "In other words…?"

"We're going to be staying here for a little while." Gemini's core fell, "and not to mention that Day is still too weak to heal Knight's injuries on their own."

"But we've already been here for seventeen days." Gemini couldn't help but frown at her Ghost, "And thanks to the paranoia of these Revenants, we aren't allowed to contact Pluto because they believe the Vanguard will intercept our frequencies."

"We are sitting right here."

Gemini ignored the Revenant's comment.

"And knowing Pluto, he might be on his way now, in a rampage, trying to find us."

"Oh, Traveler, no." Scorpio groaned, smacking a hand to his forehead, "If Pluto finds this place, he won't show any mercy, especially once he learned what happened to Knight and Akiva."

"You make it sound like we can't handle a single Tower Guardian."

This time, Gemini turned her attention back to the Revenants, eyeing the human specifically, "Clearly, you never heard of Pluto."

The Revenant scoffed, "Now why should I pay attention to Tower Guardians?"

Gemini squinted at her, "In other words, either you're younger than ten years or hardly over ten years."

The human jerked back, brows furrowed, "What?"

Gemini heard Scorpio sigh beside her, "Definitely younger than a decade."

"Hey!"

"Don't sound so offended, we're younger than ten years too." Gemini rolled her optics, "all I'm saying is stay out of Pluto's way, if you want to live."

Ignoring any protests from the Revenant, Gemini then turned her attention back to her twin, "Let's visit Knight and see if he's okay."

"I'm not done."

Gemini turned her optics to her Ghost, "What else do you have to say?"

In turn, Nysa sighed, "And this is why I tell you to stop and listen."

Hearing her twin snicker next to her, Gemini quickly gave him a dark look, daring him to laugh before turning back to her Ghost.

"Lex is awake as well."

Gemini's light blue optics grew wide, "What!? When!?"

"A few minutes ago." Nysa answered, "He's currently working on resurrecting Akiva."

"Then what are we standing around for?" Gemini exclaimed, "Let's go!"

"Eidr."

Coming to a halt at her twin's reminder, Gemini couldn't help but frown when she looked down at the child in her arms, the latter of which is now suckling on his fist, staring back at her with wide eyes.

"We can't take him out of the Nursery."

Despite Scorpio's words, Gemini can hear the disappointment, tinged with longing. She hates hearing that in her twin. Nonetheless, as she turned to the Revenants, she saw that the human already had her arms out and, with a sigh, she reluctantly and carefully settled the infant into her waiting grasp. The only solace Gemini gets is seeing the scowl that flashed onto Eidr's face. The Revenant pair won't be having an easy time once she and Scorpio leaves.

With her mood alleviated slightly, Gemini then turned and said, "Let's go."

Xxxxx

It was strange.

He never felt this groggy or numb when waking up.

Unless you count the time when he was brought back from the dead thanks to Nine. But that was more painful than sluggish than this.

When did he even fall asleep anyway?

Slowly opening his eyes, Angel squinted at the bright lights, momentarily blinding him as a muffled echo rang in his ears.

"Angel? Angel, you awake?"

Blinking rapidly to rid the last of the fog, Angel then groaned as he raised a hand, placing it on his forehead; he could feel a headache coming.

"What happened?" He managed out.

In turn, he can hear Hope's shell click together.

"Long story short, you all found Jora and got a face full of Darkness in return." He heard her say, prompting him to shift his head subtly to look at her; she was hovering just to his right, "Don't worry, we were able to put Jora to rest and everyone made it out."

Letting relief settle into his chest at her words, Angel then glanced around, recognizing the white room, "Medical Wing?"

Hope nodded, "Medical Wing."

Angel let out another groan, dragging a hand down the front of his face, "How long was I out for?"

"Seventeen days."

He paused, "What?"

"Seventeen days." Hope repeated, "admittin'ly, the Medics expected you to be out for a bit longer. At least another week, they told me."

That is when Angel licked his lips, turning his eyes back to his Ghost; although unhappy about being out for that long, he knows at least that the darkness part of the story is true. When was the last time he felt this thirsty?

He then saw Hope's shell shift, "The Medics said there would be side effects when you woke up." She hovered higher into the air, "I will get you some water. I will be back."

As Angel watched her glide away, he then took in a breath, placed his hands near his sides and then pushed. His vision then went dark, the ache in his head thrumming strongly, prompting him to squeeze his eyes shut and place a hand upon his temple. He only opened his eyes when the ache subsided.

"Aw, hell." Angel breathed as he settled into a seated position upon his bed, leaning his head back against the wall behind him.

"I recommend takin' it easy." He flicked his eyes to the door, just in time to see it open and Hope gliding in; a glass of water hangs beneath her, circled in a subtle glow of light, "The Medics said that at your age, you should have been dead with the amount of darkness you had been exposed to."

Angel's brows furrowed, squinting at his Ghost, "Then how am I alive now?"

He heard Hope hum as she glided to his side, close enough to allow him to reach out and take the glass from her light; he took note of the trembling in his fingers as he brought the cup to his lips.

"The Medics said somethin' about distance?" Hope answered as Angel felt the cool of water slide down his throat; he breathed out in relief as his Ghost continued, "How you were pretty far when you got hit." From the corner of his eyes, he saw her shell shift, pressing against her core, "Honestly, I wasn't payin' much attention. I was too focused on keepin' you alive."

That is when Angel flinched, setting the glass down to his lap, "I'm sorry, you must have been worried."

There was a soft chuckle from Hope but just as it quickly came, it was gone, and Angel saw her shell droop, her optic to turning to the floor. Concern bloomed in his chest; he hadn't seen her like this since they first crash landed on earth.

"You know. I foolishly thought that as long as I was alive, that you would be fine." Angel heard her start, "That as long as I came out okay, you would be fine." Then, he saw her shell tremble, clicking against her core, "But when I lost you, when I felt your light fade the first time, I felt like I had lost a piece of myself, like a part of me died." A bitter laugh escaped her, "Well, when you consider that I used my light to bring you back, we are practically one."

When Angel heard her laugh, dark, filled with anger and fear, he couldn't help but eye her worriedly. He had never seen her like this.

"How cruel of the Traveler." Hope continued, "Creatin' Ghosts like me to bind ourselves to a Chosen, only to lose a piece of ourselves if somethin' happens." A look of melancholy settled into her optic, "When Nine brought you here and the Medics explained your condition to me, I honestly thought I was losin' you again." Her voice trembled, "I couldn't bear goin' through that again. I just couldn't bear…"

And for the first time in his life, Angel heard his Ghost cry, staring with wide eyes as her shell shook and trembled. In all his years, he had never seen his Ghost break down, back even when Salziks and the pack were killed. She had mourned but not once had she sobbed like this, crying so openly. Thus, Angel had always seen her as optimistic and strong-willed, always ready for adventure.

But now, to listen to his Ghost crying before him, Angel found himself staring, eyes wide.

What should he say? What should do?

Promise that he will never be involved in another life-threatening situation?

Angel quickly shrugged that idea away.

That would be an empty promise. There are many risks when one is a Guardian.

Thus, Angel scrambled for a solution, searching for anything that would help to console his Ghost.

That is when Fireteam Redacted came to mind.

He recalls all of them doing this, when their Ghost are upset, and when they needed comforting. A simple gesture, so easy that even New Lights seem to use it. However, despite knowing what it was, Angel couldn't help but feel awkward, the gesture foreign when he held out a hand to his Ghost. He especially felt strange when Hope paused, shifting her green optic back and forth between him and his palm.

Did he make the wrong move?

Angel waited, the silence lingering between them feeling long, so long that he almost lowered his hand. But then, Hope glided forward, prompting him to draw in a breath.

As he watched her tentatively draw closer, it made Angel realize just how little he and his Ghost make physical contact. There were times when Angel would snatch her out of the air or toss her to get out of harms way but, gentle gestures such as this, he doesn't recall a time, even back when he was a fresh New Light.

It was not intentional, their love for venturing out together, for the Wilds, the pair saw no reason to get within an arm's length within each other, even when in danger. Angel even recalls her saying that prefers to be out in the open, thus why she hardly stays within his head.

Pondering upon this, Angel then felt a weight settle into his palm, pulling him out of his thoughts and watched as Hope shifted, getting herself comfortable. She looked awkward, uncertain, but nonetheless, Angel slowly brought her close, using his other hand to cup against his chest.

Usually, when he would see Fireteam Redacted do this, he would hear them murmur words, soft and gentle, to their Ghosts. But once again, Angel was certain of what to say. Again, he could not keep promises he would be unable to keep; the life of a Guardian makes it difficult of keeping a simple promise of staying safe, let alone staying alive.

Wondering what to do, that is when Angel felt Hope snuggle into his chest, hearing her let out a sigh of content, and her optic closing. He stared, watching as she slowly powered down in his hands.

"I'm here." Angel found himself murmuring, "I'm here."