James and Cameron headed up to the ship where they saw Aaron juggling one of his knives. "Took you two long enough." He remarked taking his feet off the dashboard. "What were you doing down there?" He asked them.

"I was having a moment Aaron," James replied to him slightly irritated at his snark.

"It's alright; I get it. I'd want that from my girlfriend too if I had one." He replied buckling his seat. Cameron and James looked at each other with the same feeling.

"What?" Aaron asked them.

"You like Eris don't you Aaron?" Cameron asked him looking smug as she took her seat.

"No." Aaron scoffed. "She's just a friend,"

"I have an odd feeling that isn't what you want though Aaron," James said to him as he took control of the ship.

"She's only a friend James, and I kind of like it that way," He replied seeming rather annoyed.

"Well, alright, but if you ever want to talk about it, I'm here for you." He said taking the ship up into the sky. The vehicle headed off for the City at a relatively fast air velocity. That is until they approached Germany.

"Wait, hold on," Aaron said looking ahead of them. "I'm picking up some Fallen tech down there."

"But the Fallen aren't in Germany Aaron," James replied.

"Exactly," Aaron replied. "Wait, we have an incoming transmission from Sidriks."

"Well, what are you waiting for? Patch him through." James told him.

"Gotcha," Aaron replied pushing the open button on the ships communications panel. "Hey Sidriks, how've you been, I haven't spoken with you in a while," James remarked.

"I've been busy; I became the Kell of two Houses actually." He replied.

"Wait, how'd you accomplish that?" James asked him.

"It's a long story that I'd love to tell you another time, right now I need to rescue the members of the House of Winter still on Venus. I need your help to keep the House of Light safe while I take my forces to save them."

"I'm sorry Sidriks but I can't I have to go on a rescue mission of my own," James replied.

"Cameron?"

"I was going to head there with him; this concerns Nova's adopted sister."

"Adopted sibling? I understand. Aaron, will you stay with them?"

"Sure, I've got nothing better to do today." He replied cheerfully being transmatted down to the surface. "Thank you, and best of luck to the two of you," Sidriks replied.

"Thank you, and good luck with your mission Sidriks," James had said to him before he shut off the comms unit. He then glanced at Cameron, she looked a little concerned. "You okay beautiful?"

"Not really, Upgrade nearly killed you the last time we met. He caused so much pain that you achieved Invictus, that's what's bothering me."

"You're worried that something worse could happen?"

"Yes." She replied. "James, I've lost people who I've cared about in my life. Saint, Vel for a long time, I don't want to lose you too." She murmured.

"That won't happen Cameron."

"But what if against all odds it does?" She asked him. Her question hung over James and his conscious. Would he really want to leave Cameron and Nova? Of course not. He thought to himself.

"I don't know, but I swear to you it won't happen."

"You may make that promise, but I'm worried you won't be able to keep it," Cameron replied. The pair remained silent for a little while thinking about what Cameron said. "What do you think she looks like?" James asked her.

"Excuse me?" She asked looking at James.

"What do you think Molly looks like?"

"I don't really know, the name doesn't really indicate anything for me. But what did he say about Molly?"

"Upgrade said that he made Shadow believe that he had killed Molly. And judging by the way that he planted those false memories to manipulate my emotions, I completely believe that." James replied.

"Maybe we could find some evidence, perhaps in the records section of the library, there's got to be some sort of documentation. I mean, this was before you spread the information about Exos having genetic material in them so there'd have to be an adoption certificate and possibly a fake death certificate as well."

"Good thinking detective," James replied with a slight chuckle in his voice.

"Well, Sherlock, it was simple deduction." She replied.

"Okay, that's enough puns for one day," James replied.

"Sorry, I forgot you don't like wordplay."

"It's not that I don't like wordplay, it's just that when it's obvious like that, I don't."

"Oooh, you like subtle word play, I'll keep that in mind for later." She replied. The guardians pulled the Fury into the tower hangar, Amanda was still working on Caesar. The ship touched down, and they walked out to meet her. Amanda's hands were covered in oil and other lubricants from her delicate work on the machine.

"Hi, Amanda, what've you been up to?" Cameron asked her.

"Well, I've been tinkering with your big metal friend over there." She replied flipping her wrench in her hands. "He's got some of the most advanced combat tech I've ever seen."

"I'm sure he does, I think he's the only one of them left that's still online," James said giving a thumbs up to Caesar. Caesar looked at his hand confused for a second then mimicking the gesture. James just laughed in response then heading off for the hospital with Cameron close behind. The Tower was as busy as ever with many guardians sorting through their gear at the large storage units. Talk was abounding about this new partnership with the House of Light, people were wondering if they could be trusted. James and Cameron made their way through the crowded Tower Plaza to get to the Tower North where the medical bay was located. The pair cracked open the door to the medical bay to see Monty cleaning up some instruments.

"Afternoon Monty," James said as they walked in.

"Good afternoon indeed James, how are you?" He asked placing a bone saw down.

"I'm doing well, where's Nova?" He asked him.

"Oh, she's made a full recovery, she's just in her room getting ready to leave."

"Really? That's great!" Cameron exclaimed running over to their daughter's hospital room. Cameron threw open the door to see Nova sitting on the edge of her bed.

"Mom!" She yelled running up and giving her a hug. "How are you?" She asked.

"I'm doing great, how are you? I heard that you've made a recovery." Cameron replied letting her go.

"Yeah, I'm doing much better. How's Dad?" She asked as James walked inside the room.

"I'm doing alright Nova." He said to her.

"You don't seem like it, you seem kinda sad."

"Oh, it's nothing important. Anyway, I'm glad that you're doing well, but we need you today."

"Great! I've been itching to get back out there." Nova replied eagerly.

"Okay but first off, did your Dad ever mention someone named Molly?" James asked her.

"No, why?" She asked sounding slightly concerned.

"Well, Upgrade said that he made your Dad believe he killed her. Considering that he said believe in that sentence lead us to think that she may still be alive."

"Okay, but, who is she?" Nova asked looking up at her stepdad with purple glowing eyes.

"That's what we were going to figure out," Cameron replied. "We think that there could be some sort of documentation to prove her existence, an adoption certificate or possibly a fake death certificate." Nova looked at her concerned, the possibility of her only remaining family was exciting, but the possibility of her being tortured and hurt by that monster worried her.

"Well, what are we waiting for?!" Nova exclaimed as her gear transmatted to her body.

"We were waiting for you Nov, now let's get to the records hall and quickly. We probably don't have much time." Cameron told the two others as they sprinted away from the hospital room. Thoughts of her adopted sister ran through Nova's mind the closer they got to the library. Nova was slightly slower than her Exo stepfather and titan stepmother. The group threw the doors to the library open as they headed to the nearest records console. James headed up to the keyboard and began typing incredibly fast on the keys.

"Okay, Shadow-17," James said aloud taking note of what was happening on the holoscreen. The picture of a black and blue Exo appeared on the unit with him facing the front. "Record data, certifications. Alright, there's something here, it's an adoption certificate." James said as he tapped on the screen to view the certificate. Molly Donna Nuyn was her full name. She was of Asian descent, had black hair, hazel eyes, and she had her last name changed to Storme when she was adopted by Shadow. But what was chilling was what was in her data, her death certificate. It said, cause of death, multiple stab wounds to the abdomen. Nova looked at the screen, shaken with anger. She knew that her father wouldn't do that on his own accord. She died at two years old.

"Dad, do you know where to look?" Nova asked him gritting her teeth and clenching her fist.

"I have a guess. When I was fighting him I traced a signal to a compound in Old Russia, it's in a region that we've never been before," James replied pulling it up on his ship's GPS.

"We have no time to lose! We need to go and now!" Nova said as her helmet enabled and locked into place. The fireteam transmatted to James' ship, and they rocketed off for this new area. It wasn't in the Cosmodrome, which was the place where they usually went, it was below The Moscow Dead Zone. The Fury couldn't fly fast enough, the entire group was on edge, Upgrade was one of the most powerful beings that they'd ever come across, now it was evident that he was still alive and worse, he had a hostage.

The group remained silent for the entire trip there, Nova kept taking the magazine out of her father's hawkmoon handcannon to check the ammo. She hardly ever did that before missions, but this was different. Molly was the only family member she had of her original family, she'd never met her, but she felt more attached to her than ever. Nova could feel her leg bouncing up and down as she sat in the ship.

"We're here," James said as they transmatted down to the ground, in front of them was the ruins of the Kremlin. The group ran into the government building. The inside was dilapidated, and there were shards of broken glass and debris strewn about across the tile floor.

"This place is massive, where do we even begin to look?" Nova asked him hurriedly.

"I have an idea," James said as he placed his hand on the ground and fired a void light beam through the ground into the Earth. It was as he suspected, there was a bunker down there. A perfect place for a rogue AI to hide. James leaped down the makeshift shaft that he had created into the darkness below with Nova and Cameron following close behind. The team landed after falling for several moments in the darkness. The area was cold, it felt empty, but Nova couldn't shake the feeling that they were being watched.

Then she heard something, it was a familiar sound but one she hadn't heard in a long time.

Clapping. Slow clapping.

The group looked as the lights in the facility turned on. There at the end of the compound stood Upgrade, looking different from the last time they had seen him, having wings and what looked like a crown on his head. The symbols of an unknown faction adorned his red and black body. With a grin as wide as his face he walked up to meet the team. "It looks like our little game of hide and seek is over." He said to them. James said nothing, looking at Upgrade sternly through his helmet. "What? Got nothing to say? Still got a sore ass after I knocked you out?" Upgrade asked him.

"Where's my sister you bastard?!" Nova exclaimed, her eyes bright under her helmet.

"Your sister? Ooooooohhhh right, her. Is that why you're here?" He asked them. The group didn't respond, but it was all the answer that the AI needed. "Okay, well, here she is." He said snapping his fingers. Behind him, the lights went on to see the young woman hooked up to a machine, and red musculature made out of nanobots was attached to her arms and legs. Her body except her head was covered in a tight body glove that was made out of the same material.

"PUT HER DOWN!" Nova exclaimed drawing her father's sword.

"Or what? What could you possibly do to me? Your worthless glitch of a stepfather couldn't kill me permanently, what makes you think that you can?" He said laughing. Upgrade continued to laugh. Nova gripped the blade tightly in preparation for his next move. "Nothing. You can do nothing." He said to her. Nova enraged charged at Upgrade and swung her sword at his neck. The blade clashed against his skin sending sparks to the floor. Upgrade just looked at her with a grin on his face. "What's wrong? Did I touch a nerve?" He asked kicking her to the floor. Cameron sprinted over to where Nova landed to help get her up.

All the while Upgrade then vanished from sight and reappeared behind Jame picking him up by the neck. "So, how about round two?" Upgrade asked him. James then felt a surge of pain go through him, more agony than he'd felt in years. Upgrade had changed and significantly enhanced his programming. James screamed out. Pain. So much pain. His files were being attacked in so many areas.

"MAN THIS FEELS GREAT!" Upgrade yelled tossing him to the side. Cameron sprinted to her boyfriend. She placed her hands on his chest.

"James?!" She exclaimed. Her boyfriend's eyes were bugging out, changing colors from red to blue to black.

"I'll be okay Cameron," James muttered. He was too weak from his injuries to speak audibly. "I just. URGH!" He exclaimed as he looked at his girlfriend. His entire unit was malfunctioning, error messages popping up left and right. "I just have to shut down for a bit, I need to make some repairs. I'll be back online in a few, okay?" He said with a smile, James then shut himself down. Cameron looked down at his lifeless body. Instantly she was reminded of that day one-hundred-fifty years ago. The day that Saint-14 died in a sacrificial blaze of glory and just like that day, her temper flared. "I have the power..I just have to bring it out again." She thought to herself. Her fist clenched tightly, and her teeth gritted.

"You bastard......you bastard!" Cameron exclaimed. Bolts of electricity began to emit off of her person and flow outward. Nova looked at her Mom in awe at what she was doing. Cameron's helmet deactivated, and Nova looked at her hair, it was spiking upwards and changing between white and a glowing blue. Upgrade looked on at Cameron trying to understand what was going on. What is this power that he keeps unlocking deep inside of them? Charon never had that happen to him, even when Molly was "killed." Cameron's armor changed to a glowing version, clad in fused exotic armor pieces that belonged to titans. Upgrade looked at her half excited for what could come next.

"Now, only one thing is going to happen now. You are going to let Molly go, right this minute."

"Or what? What can you do that your boyfriend there couldn't?" Upgrade snickered. Cameron smirked in response. Her fist charged up with electrical energy, and she took off towards him, flying slightly off the ground cocking back her hand then her fist collided with Upgrades face sending him flying into the wall of the facility. Upgrades grip on the SIVA around Molly began to loosen, and the girl fell down from her pedestal. Nova sprinted to catch her sister before she fell to the steel floor. The SIVA that encompassed her left, leaving her in Nova's arms. Captain had the three guardians who were on the ground not fighting Upgrade to the ship.

Nova placed Molly on the bed that was in the back of James' ship and set her dad on the couch that was close by. Nova took in the appearance of her sister as she wrapped her in the covers. Her hair was long, and her breathing was steady. Nova wanted to hug her tightly, she thought that she had lost all of her original family, but here she was.

Back down on the ground, Cameron stood still facing this bug looking version of Upgrade. Her anger apparent in the heavy breaths she'd been taking in and out of her body. Invictus' grip over her was complete and total, its power beyond anything a guardian could achieve on his or her own. It didn't matter what race or class they were if a guardian were to gain access to this level of strength, they were corrupted by its power, and they lose themselves in the thick of their emotions.

Upgrade stood up and looked at the arc warrior. "Well, that hurt." He noted. Cameron said nothing, her white blue-rimmed eyes sent an unwavering message of hatred. "What's the matter? Something got your tongue?" Upgrade snickered. Cameron walked closer to him with the electrical aura surrounded her causing the air close by to crackle and burn. Cameron delivered a fist of havoc punch into Upgrade's gut causing him to get winded and fall to his hands and knees. Cameron took this opportunity and kicked into his side sending him crashing through nearby walls. She walked over to him slowly seeing him still trying to stand up. Cameron looked at him disappointedly. "You're truly pathetic. You don't know how to fight besides using pitiful tricks."

Upgrade stood up and looked at her and tried to deliver a punch to her face. However, Cameron was faster in both thinking and reflexes, catching his fist before it could even get close. She then sent a surge of electrical energy through her body to his causing him to wail out in pain and his back and limbs to move in unnatural ways. She then brought her face close to his. "If you even think about going near my boyfriend or our family again. I'm not going to play nice."

"This is you playing nice?!" Upgrade exclaimed. "Wow, you're a lot more like me than I would have thought." He grinned before her knee collided with his face, shattering his body into particles of SIVA. Cameron then transmatted up to the Fury with Nova, Molly, and James. Nova was sitting on the foot end of her sister's bed looking at her face.

"Mom, are you okay?" Nova asked her standing up. Cameron's invictus form deactivated and she walked over to James, who was still offline laying on the couch. She lay on the sofa holding his unconscious body, cuddling it like a little girl would her favorite doll.

"He could have died Nov," Cameron cooed to her stepdaughter. "I don't want to lose him. I lost Saint, I thought I lost Vel, I don't want to lose James. I love him." She said clutching him tightly. Nova walked over to her and sat on top of the armrest of the couch and petted her stepmother's head.

"He'll be okay Mom. I'm sure he will be." Nova said to her. The group then heard a stirring in the bed.

"Ow, my head," Molly stated as she woke up.

Nova didn't know what to say, this girl was her sister, but Molly doesn't even know that the Exo she called her father was dead. Nova didn't even know a single thing about her. "Hey...um, what's your name?" Nova felt stupid, she knew her name already but thought it was a good way to start.

"My name?" She asked sitting up. "Molly." She replied. Then panic started to overtake her. "Who are you? Moreover, who are any of you?!"

"Molly, please calm down, I know this is a lot to take in right now," Cameron replied walking over to her from her position on the couch. "But trust me, we'll explain everything." She said patting her on the head stroking her hair. 

"Y-you, remind me a lot of my mom," Molly muttered. "W-where are they?" She asked. Nova walked over to her. Nova felt sad, she had no idea. She didn't know that her parents were gone. Nova was trying her hardest not to cry, something was heartbreaking about this.

"Molly....you were taken from our parents when you were younger," Nova muttered. "I know that this is going to sound hard to believe, but, I'm your sister."

"You're my sister?" Molly asked with her eyes widening.

"Yes, I-I am. My name's Nova." She replied nodding slowly.

"W-well if you're my sister, then where are my, sorry, our parents?" She asked her. Nova started to tear up, she didn't know how to answer that question well. But, she knew that it would have to come out eventually.

"M-mom...mom and dad...they...they were both...killed." She cried. Molly grabbed Nova and held her tightly.

"Please, tell me you're lying." She sniffled. "Please." Nova just continued to cry as she wrapped her arms around her sister. The two sisters embraced each other with these new revelations to the other hitting just as hard. Cameron sat in between the two of them and hugged the two of them at once.

"I'm sorry, but at least you two have each other right?"

"But, who's going to take care of me?" She asked looking up at Cameron.

"James and I will take good care of you, don't worry." She said to her. Molly cracked a shy smile.

"Y-you really are just like my Mom. But, I'm scared. I don't know how this is going to go." Molly cried.

"It will be okay Molly, I promise." Cameron smiled as their ship took off for the Tower.