I do not own destiny.

Ashura checked the clip in her weapon, assuring it was full. She looked from one of the dark haired individuals beside her. She released a deep breath as she slung her rifle over her shoulder and crossed her arms over her chest. She was concerned with the fact Saladin wanted them to go scout an observatory on a mountain nearby. Vostok observatory he had called it. She listened as he gave them the rundown on what their mission was to be, but she was far more concerned with the view from the gondola she was currently riding. She listened as her ghost spoke with Saladin, talking about an Iron Temple.

She sighed as she caught sight of fallen moving along the upper ledges of the mountaintop. She took aim at one, but something hit the gondola and sent her sprawling over the edge. Her mechanical arms managed to take hold of the rail but even their grip was slipping. "Ashura!" Hinata yelped as she tried to pull the woman back on, but it shook once more and their ghosts told them to jump. Sasuke grabbed Ashura on the way down and set her on her feet softly. "Thanks." She muttered as she shook snow from her boots. As much as she loves the rain, she hated snow. She glanced up and sighed. The fallen continued to scurry around and she could hear their whispers. Ashura caught sight of movement going up and around the hill, so she took off running. Sasuke and Hinata tried to stop her but they had their own fallen to deal with.

Ashura rushed up the steps to the temple, a familiar mechanical warbling catching her attention. 'A servitor?' she wasn't sure if the thought was in her mind, or said out loud but what she did know was that she had to take it out. The warmth of the blade on her back resonated well with her intentions. She was going to burn it to ash. Ashura held the blade before her, only to take a swipe at a nearby dreg and incinerate it. The smirk that crossed her lips was sinister. "Remind me to ask Shaxx the name of his blade." She muttered as she looked over the blade once more. She turned just in time to see a devil captain lunge for her.

"Why are you here?" She asked in Eliksni. He cocked his head to the side slightly, but did not relent on his pressure. In fact he pressed harder on her. "The FAKE queen has dared to show her face." He hissed back to her angrily. She narrowed her eyes at him from beneath her helm, only for the plated glass covering her features to materialize away. "A fake queen? I only wish to unite the races. I wish to help the fallen, ensure their survival as well as the guardians." She said softly and he laughed and pressed harder down upon her. "We fallen will never coexist with the likes of you." he snarled in Eliksni. "Especially not one as weak as you." he hissed and her eyes darkened then. She was through reasoning with him now.

She relented under his weight, but she used the force he was putting on her to send her through his legs. She rolled forwards onto her feet and shoved the blade through his abdomen roughly. "If you refuse to stand down... I will kill you." She hissed but he tried to grab her once more, so she swiftly pulled the blade form him and removed each hand that reached for her. He snarled at her and she shook her head sadly. "I want to save you..." She whispered, the blade of her sword still pointed towards him. He had different ideas though. He lunged for her, but instead of trying to attack her once more, it was to shove her blade through the upper area of his torso.

She backed away from him and pulled her blade from his body. She stared at his lifeless form with saddened eyes. This must have been how Fikrul had felt, forsaken and alone. She sighed and shook her head, only to pull the hand cannon from her lower back and turn towards the servitor and take aim. Once she did however, chills ran down her spine as memories flooded in at the sight of it.

Sepiks Prime.

Sepiks Prime hovered overhead, rambling in mechanical Eliksni. Ashura had no idea what he was saying, but it seemed more like a warning than anything else. She looked to her teammates and they seemed more interested in attacking than anything else. "Loki, see if you can catch his attention, Lion and I will take him down." Her brother nodded and hovered off to the left, while her and Lion ran to the right. A nova bomb scalded and melted parts of the Prime's left side.

The swirling indent on his left side was still there. The oh so familiar mark left by a Nova Bomb.

Lion took aim and let rip three shots from his golden gun, an ability he rarely used, seeing as he likes up close and personal combat.

One hole, two... and three. The placement was exact. There was no doubt about it... this prime was the very same one they had destroyed years ago. She felt rage boil up within her and she began letting her shots ring out. The recoil from her chosen weapon was particularly unstable and she missed more shots than she hit, but the ones that did manage to hit went in a straight upward arc across the servitor's frontal plate. "Why doesn't anything that dies actually stay dead in this damnable life!" she snarled as she reloaded and fired off shot after shot. "Why does everything evil get to come back time and time again, but the ones who never did anyone harm are all dead forever!?" She screamed this as she begin firing off another clip. She was angry, upset, and all she wanted to do was cry.

She didn't understand anything anymore and she was hurting. The ones who had been a major presence in her life were no longer right there with her every step of the way and she couldn't understand why. She didn't know why they weren't there, but all these enemies she had dealt with time and time again were always able to come back and challenge her time and time again. She fired until the clicking of her hand cannon signaled she had no more rounds. A tear streaked over her cheek and she dropped the hand cannon. It clattered against the ground and skittered away leaving a trail in the snow. She hit her knees and began to retch. Hinata rushed to her side, while Sasuke attempted to chase down the injured servitor.

"Ashura... are you alright?" Hinata asked and she looked over to the lilac eyed woman. "I think so..." she whispered as she was assisted to her feet. Hinata looked her over and offered her sleeve to clean Ashura's lips and chin. "What the hell was that, Ashura?" Sasuke snapped and reached to grab her roughly, but Ashura grabbed his wrist with a dark look. He sneered at her slightly before he ripped his limb from her grasp. "Let me ask you something. When you kill something, you expect it to stay dead, right?" She snapped and he sighed and crossed his arms over his chest. "Well, clearly after the whole Oryx ordeal you would start to think nothing ever stays truly dead." he grumbled and she sighed, but nodded.

"Not after what I did to it though." She sighed as the image of her fist of havoc coming down upon the servitor like an arc meteor flashed through her mind. "I'm just... so sick of everything coming back... but I can never have my sister back..." She whispered softly and Hinata gripped her hand gently. "I know it hurts... believe me. We have to keep on moving forwards though. We have to show them that we can make them proud." Hinata said and Ashura couldn't help the snort of amusement that escaped her. Hinata looked at her oddly but it seemed Ashura was indeed going to elaborate on her amusement. "Kira... Had a goal. And yes, it seemed kind of petty and immature... especially in the world we live in now... But... it was also cute and made me envy her so much. She wished to get married in her second life, have children again. She wanted to endure in this life... and Uldren offered me a similar proposition." Ashura sighed and turned to look towards the sky.

"Deep down, I want to believe he is alright... But... I felt a shock to my system about a week ago and the Starshard has never been darker." Ashura said, but no matter how strong she attempted to be... the waver in her voice was loud and clear. "So whatever Shaxx thinks he was so diligently protecting me from, he only showed me the truth. I just hope his Sov hasn't suffered the same fate as mine." She whispered and Sasuke frowned. "Shaxx said he had not spoken to the queen in about a week. I believe if one has gone, and he can't contact the other... they both may be gone." He said and Hinata stared at him in a sort of appalled sadness.

"Well, I suppose when I return to the tower I have a new friend to comfort." She whispered as Saladin approached them. The doors to the temple began to open and before the three of them could react, Saladin had already taken out the fallen that scurried out. "Even an old wolf still bites." He mused as he turned to face them once more. He received word from Shiro, only to turn towards them swiftly and tell them they had to hurry to the cosdmodrome. Ashura made a move to follow them, but Saladin called out to her.

"Would you stay and assist me?" he asked as he made his way up the steps to the temple. She followed him up the steps listening to him as he spoke. "Long ago, my fellow iron lords died to keep Siva contained. I have been waiting for the day we would be required once more, I have kept watch for its return." He said, his voice solemn. He turned to her and frowned. "The flames here stood as symbol to humankind that the iron lords would protect them. if the need for them has arisen, I want you to light the fires once more." He said as he took a torch from the wall of the temple and lit it using his solar ability. She looked around the courtyard of the temple and spotted each of the firepits that needed to be lit. She nodded to him and made her way to each and lit them. She looked across the small bridge and saw the last one. She made her way across the bridge to light the last one, and the moment she did, something changed in the atmosphere.

She made her way up the steps and back into the temple, where the flame in the center burst into life once more. She stared in amazement at the statues surrounding them. Each one of a different Iron Lord. Each of their flames were lit and it seemed to make the whole room feel etheric. "Ashura..." Saladin called and she turned towards him. "I hear you can communicate with the fallen." He said and she nodded. "Why cant you get through to these?" he asked and she frowned.

"They call me the fake queen. They refuse to acknowledge me as anything but an annoyance who speaks their language." She said and he nodded. "I see." He said, but his speech became warbled and Ashura blinked in confusion. She couldnt understand what was going on, but when she took a step forward, her world began to go dark. She reached out to the older male, but everything went dark before she could ask for help.

:-:-:-:

Ashura looked around her, taking in the so very familiar sight of this place. The child from before was watching her from down a long hallway, he was... Precious. He smiled at her brightly, only to turn and take off down the hall. She followed after him, her instinct was to protect him at all cost. She followed him out to a beautiful garden of exotic plants. "You know what this place is?" she asked and he nodded silently as he climbed one of the twisting trees in the room.

He sat upon a particularly loopy branch that seemed a perfect fit for him to sit. She watched as his little feet kicked back and forth, igniting something within her heart that was unsettling to her. She felt a maternal duty to protect this child, but she had no idea who he was. "Who are your parents?" she asked and he shrugged gently. This made her heart hurt. "You don't know, as in they're dead? Or have you never met them?" She asked and he shrugged softly once more.

"Do you have a name?"

He shook his head and she reached out to him. He slipped himself from the tree and landed in her welcoming embrace. "How about we come up with a name for you?" she offered as she set him on the ground. She offered a hand to him and he took it hesitantly. "Uldren." She whispered softly and his head jerked up to look at her. "Is that your name?" She asked and he looked down swiftly, giving no hints as to whether or not it was his name. "I know a benevolent prince... His name is Uldren. Are you a benevolent prince, young one?" she asked and he looked up to watch her curiously.

"Do you like his name?" she asked and he smiled and nodded softly. "I know... it." he spoke slowly, as if testing his own voice. The little boy couldn't be more than two, three at most. He held such an intellectual gaze though, as if he had may years of wisdom behind those small eyes. "How about Ashura?" She asked and he looked at her oddly. "Do you know that name?" she asked and he nodded after a few minutes of thinking.

Ashura sighed and didn't even understand why she was getting so involved in talking to the boy. He was a pigment of her imagination. Something her brain had dreamt up to make her feel comfortable in this strange city... this city of dreams. She pursed her lips and looked up to the sky. This place was beautiful. It was more beautiful than any place she had ever seen. Ashura looked back down to the boy and sighed. The striking resemblance this young boy held for Uldren made her heart ache.

"How do you know our names?" she asked and the boy smiled and chirped out something excitedly. She, however, couldn't decipher what it was because his words were warbled and her vision was becoming bright. She couldn't help the annoyed twitch her lips held.

She was waking up.

:-:-:-:

Misra sighed as she stared at the unconscious woman in the infirmary bed. "You cant ever stay awake can you?" she asked as the woman's silver eyes fluttered open. "Ugh. What happened?" she asked and Misra shook her head. "You fainted." She said simply. Ashura gave her a look that screamed 'well gee that really helps'. Ashura rubbed her eyes and laid back against the wall. "Well time for me to run, because you knocked out, I get to head out with Sasuke and Hinata until you feel better." She said and made her way out of the room. Ashura sighed and looked at the pink haired woman that had entered the room.

"Ashura, I have something very important to talk to you about." She said and Ashura sat up to look at her. "What is it?" she asked. Sakura pursed her lips and clasped her hands together. "You have to be extremely careful from here on out. There are many things to consider, and I dont know how this will all turn out in the long run... But, to ensure you are well medically, I need you to stop using the arms. I also need you to also be careful about any missions you take on." She said and Ashura stared at her in confusion.

I need you to explain this to me in greater detail." Ashura said and Sakura nodded. Ashura listened to every word that came out of Sakura's mouth. She took them in and ran them through her mind slowly. When it finally seemed to register, Ashura burst out laughing. this caused Sakura to watch her oddly. She continued to laugh until her stomach hurt. "What kind of sick fucking joke is this? Who put you up to it? Misra? She was in an awful big hurry to get out of here." Ashura laughed, wiping the amused tears out of her eyes. "Oh, man... this is great. You are all a bunch of assholes." She began the sentence laughing, but it ended in anger. Pure white hot rage burned in her eyes now. "Who the fuck do you people think you are? Pulling a sick fucking joke like this?" she snarled, tears pouring over her cheeks.

"Ashura-" "Shut up. I can't stand you. I can't stand any of you. How dare you pick the one most painful thing in either of my lives to make a joke out of?!" She snapped as she rushed around the room grabbing her things. "Ashura..." "Did you not hear me?" She snapped as she tried to push past the pink haired woman, but Sakura wouldn't let her past. Nina was out in the hall, watching her with sad eyes. "I need you to move, now." Ashura snapped and Sakura opened her mouth to speak, but Zavala placed his hand on her shoulder. Ashura gave a small nod to the man who allowed her to leave, then she shoved by.

"When she is ready to talk, she will return. I know where she is going." Cayde's voice came to them as Zavala turned back towards the hall. "Did I do the wrong thing?" Sakura asked sadly. "No... Alerting the vanguard of her current state was a necessary evil." Ikora said as she entered the room. "I feel like the worst human in the universe." She whispered and Zavala offered her another reassuring squeeze to the shoulder. "As I said... when she is ready to discuss what is going on, she will come back." Cayde repeated and Sakura nodded. "Cayde, she is going to the chieftain, is she not?" Zavala asked and Cayde nodded.

"Good, she will be safe with him." Zavala said and Cayde watched him curiously. "Cayde, nothing happens within these walls without my knowledge." He said and Cayde nodded, but also opened his mouth to say something. Whatever he was going to say earned him a dirty look and thus it didn't get uttered. "Is it true?" This voice was cause for concern, as they didn't know how he would react to the situation. "Yes." Ikora said slowly, not wanting to anger the young warlock. He seemed calm, but the twitch in his jaw said otherwise. "Is Ashura ok?" he asked, his voice wavering slightly.

"Yes... She is going to be alright, she's just upset at the moment." Sakura said and he nodded. "Good. Ashura... Ashura and I haven't been on the best of terms lately, and I think it is time I come to support her, rather than put her down. She is the only sister I have left. I don't want to lose her to some disagreement." He spoke softly, which made Ikora smile. "With everything she is going through right now, your presence will be a must. Hinata and Sasuke informed us of the fact she felt his light dissipate, just as Shaxx said he felt with Queen Mara's. She will need your support."

Loki nodded as he turned towards the pink haired woman. "Sakura... could you please help me understand everything going on with my sister?" he asked and she nodded with a small smile. "Of course."

:-:-:-:

Ashura curled up into Fikrul's side as he embraced her gently. "Do you think they understand how much their words hurt?" Ashura asked and he reached to pat her atop the head with his large hand. He lifted her up to readjust, which he crossed his legs and held her like a small child. He cradled her to him and watched as she fought her hardest not to cry. "What is wrong, Mother?" he asked and her shoulders began to shake. He knew she was crying once more and he pulled her closer. "Why do you call me mother?" she asked, her voice begging him for an explanation. He looked down to her and tilted his head to the side as he contemplated a way to explain.

"A mother... gives new life. You... gave me... a new life... A new name. I claim you as my... mother." He said and she looked up at him with sad eyes. "Fikrul... All I ever wanted in life was to be able to have my own children..." She whispered and he pulled her up to face him. "I do not understand." He said and she smiled at him softly. "You say I am your mother, right?" She asked and he nodded. "Then I gave you new life. Another way to be a mother is to procreate. There are two ways to have children. Adopt, or... uh... mate." She said and he blinked his beady eyes at her. "You adopt me, yes?" He asked and she smiled at him softly.

"Yes. I will claim you as my adopted son." she said and he made a chattering noise that signaled his approval. He went back to cradling her and she watched him curiously. "Fikrul... you are so much more gentle to me now than you have ever been. What is different?" she asked and he very gently pressed two fingers to her abdomen and made the same approving purr. She furrowed her brow as he did this, but waited for him to respond. "Mother smells... different." He said and she watched him in an ever growing confusion.

"Fikrul will have sibling, yes?" Her heart fluttered anxiously and her eyes went wide. She reached to place her hand on her stomach and he continued to make the same overjoyed purring sound. Her lip began to tremble once more and she couldn't hold back the tears any longer. "I wish Fikrul... I wish... but I am broken... I can't give you siblings." She whispered and he wheezed out an irate snort. "Mother is wrong." He said and she clenched her fists. "What kind of cruel joke is this?" she whispered angrily through her tears. Sakura's voice echoed through her mind and she bit her lip.

"Ashura... You have to be careful until you decide what to do. You are pregnant."

Ashura shook her head. She couldn't be, there was no possible way. Her head drooped in realization as Kabr appeared and began scanning her. Fikrul reached out to touch him, but Ashura chided him. "Fikrul, you can't hurt him. He is the reason I can be hurt and still be ok. If I die, he brings me back to life." She said and Fikrul watched the little ghost hover around and scan her. "It is true Ashura... I don't know how I hadn't caught on sooner, but what Sakura said is the truth." He said and Fikrul wheezed out an amused laugh. One that said I told you so.

"Ashura, You do have to decide something." Kabr said and Ashura frowned at him. "Give up being a guardian until the child is born... Or abort." She said and Fikrul watched her in confusion. "You mean terminate?" Fikrul asked and Ashura looked down shamefully. "Fikrul... I cant do my job if I am pregnant." She whispered. Kabr watched her as well. "I cannot revive the fetus as well as revive you, Ashura. It would be your life or the baby's." He said and she nodded. "I know..." She whispered and Fikrul nudged Ashura softly.

"I will protect you." He wheezed and she smiled at him. "Thank you..." She whispered as he helped her to stand. "Fikrul, stay here ok?" Ashura said and he nodded. "Nowhere else to go. I await your return." He said and she rolled her eyes at him. "See that's why I can't stand you. You go from being sweet to a total smart ass within seconds." She sighed and he wheezed out an amused laugh.

Ashura hugged her arms closely around herself as she looked to Krux who was guarding the door. "Will you take me back to the tower?" she asked and the female fallen nodded. It was complete silence the entire thirty minute trek to the place she docked her ship, and Ashura didn't mind it one bit. It gave her time to think. It seemed as though it had given Krux time to think as well.

"Krux likes Fikrul." She said suddenly, as they squeezed through a small gap in the wall that was still large enough for Krux to fit through. "What kind of like, Krux?" She asked and Krux chattered something softly in Eliksni. "Would he be a potential mate?" Ashura asked the fallen, who seemed to avoid the question entirely. "Father would not like him." She said suddenly as they made their way to the elevator leading up to the tower.

"Oh, so you like the ones your father wouldn't like?" Ashura asked and Krux huffed slightly. "He would make... Strong, loyal mate. Krux likes- I like how he treats you." She said and Ashura smiled. "Then go for it." Ashura said and Krux looked at her oddly. "Prince Uldren is your mate, Yes?" Krux asked and Ashura nodded with a sad smile. "Yes." "Would... Prince Uldren approve of Krux taking a mate?" she asked softly in Eliksni. Ashura smiled at this. She knew the female was struggling in trying to communicate in third person, but she was doing very well. "Yes, Krux. Uldren would definitely approve of you taking a mate." She assured the fallen female, who nodded softly. When they stepped off the elevator, Krux rushed to get in front of Ashura to protect her from something, but Ashura hadn't seen what.

Ashura peered around the large female, only to see her brother there. His emerald green eyes held such a sadness that it broke her heart. "He isn't a threat Krux." she whispered and the fallen stepped away from Ashura. Loki stepped forwards and embraced her softly. "Is it true?" he asked and Ashura offered him a small smile. "Yes... I do believe so..." She whispered and he nodded. "How far along are you?" He asked and Ashura shook her head. "I'm not entirely sure. Sakura said I could be anywhere from four to six weeks." She whispered and he nodded silently.

"Uldren was brought back by you seven weeks ago, and he left four weeks ago. The timeline is correct..." He sighed and Ashura blushed. "I'm not mad at you, Ashura. I know what it is like to miss someone to the point of it damaging your very existence." He said and her lips trembled once more. "Loki... Do you think... do you think you could help me decide on what to do?" She asked softly. "You want to know the pros and cons of keeping the child, or terminating it." He said softly which made her nod.

"We can go talk to Sakura about it." He offered and she shook her head. "I just want to sleep right now. I can think it over later." She whispered and he nodded.

:-:-:-:

Ashura stared out over the last city, this strange city she was brought to what felt like so long ago. She gripped the railing of the balcony she and Eris lingered for months and months on end. Just... discussing. Teaching and listening. Ashura gripped the rail tighter than before and bit her lip. The rage building up in her was overwhelming. She wanted to cry, punch something, scream... She was angry, hurt and she felt alone. So very alone. She looked down to the screen on her gauntlet and began typing away. Before she could even send out whatever message she was typing, a figure landed behind her, startling her. She turned to face the person who had come from seemingly nowhere.

All she saw was the mask and she knew who it was. "Jollyon." She greeted softly and he nodded. "Have you seen him?" She asked and he shook his head as he stood to his full height. His sandy colored armor screamed fallen origin. "You've changed armor." She said and he nodded. "Yes, I am... no longer one of the crows." He said softly and she nodded. "I understand... It would be hard to follow someone who routinely vanishes." She bit out softly and he looked up at her his calm eyes shining beneath the glass of his helm. "As true as that is, I believe you are particularly spiteful of him so I will disregard." He said and she sighed as she placed her hand on her lower abdomen. He watched her silently, she figured he was curious.

"Never thought he would be a father. Never much thought he would ever settle down, much less with a guardian." He said and she pursed her lips in irritation. "Yeah, thing is I was never able to have children, so why now? Why in the midst of all this hell and bloodshed do I get the child I so very much wanted in my previous life?" She snapped, only to then sigh and look down to her hands. "And yet once again here I stand... Swallowed up in my own emotions and thinking the man I love is dead." She whispered and he crossed his arms over his chest. "Would you like me to search for him?" Jollyon asked, to which she shook her head. "No, don't bother. If he is truly gone, I do not wish to know. I cant handle it if he is truly dead."

Jollyon nodded and stepped forwards to place his hands on her shoulders, only to then squeeze lightly and move them to her cheeks. He bent down to press the forehead of his helm against her bare one. "I will not search for him, but if I do happen to come across information I think you may want to know... you will be the first to see me." He said and she nodded. "You are a good friend, Jollyon..." She whispered as she leaned her forehead against his. He stepped away from her and handed her a beacon. "It will call me whenever you need me." He said and she nodded as she shoved the beacon in her pocket.

"I need to speak with Petra, could you contact her for me?" Ashura asked and the taller man nodded. "Of course. Be well Ashura." he said as he dropped something on the ground and vanished into a flash of light, something similar to vex teleportation. She knew the man enjoyed taking fallen and vex tech and turning it into something he would use. Ashura sighed as she looked back over to the direction in which Jollyon had vanished. She only saw a familiar exo standing there, chatting amicably with another familiar exo. Cayde and Misra. Misra caught sight of her and rushed over to her, sporting new armor excitedly.

"Ashura! Look what Saladin gave me!!!" She chirped excitedly. Ashura couldn't help the small smile that crossed her lips. "Misra, Cayde..." She greeted softly. "So Ashura... What is wrong with you?" Misra asked and Ashura frowned. "I'm pregnant, Misra." "I mean you keep fainting, crying... like... I don't understand what is going on." Misra rambled with a sigh, chatting over Ashura's voice. "Did you even hear me?" Ashura asked with a sigh and Misra nodded. "Yeah yeah, you said you are pregnant but that doesn't explain anything... Oh... OH!!" Misra caught herself and Cayde sighed. "We never said she was the brightest of the bunch now did we?" He sighed and Ashura shook her head softly. Cayde stepped forward and reached out to her gently. She stepped into his embrace and he sighed deeply.

"What are you planning to do?" He asked and her eyes roamed over a crack in the cement floor they stood upon. It wasn't that she was ignoring his question, because she wasn't. It was just that she had no idea what to say. She didn't know what she was going to do and it killed her inside. He patted her on the head lightly as he pulled her closer with his other arm. She looked up at him and frowned softly, she didn't know what to do and she was scared. Her eyes trailed up to where his mechanical blue eyes were observing her curiously. He seemed to be studying her, trying to figure something out. "Cayde..." She called to him softly and she watched as the lenses in his eyes zoomed in and out to focus on her clearly. "What do you think I should do?" She asked and he released her from his embrace ever so gently, to step back away from her.

"Ashura... what you do is not my choice, nor is it your brother's... and it damn sure isn't Zavala's or Ikora's." He said and she watched him curiously. "If anyone decides what to do, it should be you. No one else can tell you what to do with the child you created." He said and she watched him carefully. The lights in his mouth were flaring as if he were angry. Her eyes roamed his form, trying to figure out what could have set him off so swiftly by her question. Her eyes widened as she saw Ivara pressing herself against him, it seemed she was trying to calm him down. A small smile tugged at her lips as she plucked the Sundance shell away from her guardian. "You two had a child." She commented softly and Cayde's posture relaxed visibly. Ashura sighed softly as she brushed her fingertips over the odd metal piece on the top of her ghost shell. "His name was Ace." Cayde said and Ashura looked over to him silently.

"Ace, Cayde, and Ivara." she whispered softly and released the ghost to go back to her guardian. "I think... I will go contemplate on my own. Thank you Cayde. See you later Misra." Ashura said as she turned and gave them a back handed wave as she strolled away from them. She was going to go figure this all out on her own. She felt Cayde understood more than anyone else here in this tower. Maybe he and Ivara are right to let her decide on her own. She glanced around as she trailed away, looking for a high vantage point. Somewhere she could look around and see it all, the tower, the city below, and the area surrounding the walls.

She spotted a high ledge and began climbing up to it, she just wanted to look around and be alone right now. When she reached the top she couldn't help but close her eyes. The wind shoved at her roughly, tossing her hair this way and that. As the wind shoved at her roughly, she couldn't help but actually seem to enjoy the feeling. She briefly wondered if this would be what it would feel like to jump. Her eyes opened slowly and she peered down to the edge. Everything seemed so small from up here and she couldn't help the smile that crossed her lips as she stepped closer to the edge.

She dared to dangle a foot off the edge and get a feel for how the wind tossed it around. "You will regret it if you jump." A familiar voice called out to her. Her eyes trailed over to him and she watched as he made a move to sit beside her on the ledge. "There will be those who tell you that it is your duty to serve the tower and the traveler, but I believe they are wrong." He said softly, a massive surprise to her seeing as the man was always abnormally loud. She sat down beside him and he patted her metal thigh gently. "Do you think it is the right choice to keep it?" She asked and he sighed deeply. "I know... that if the queen were to have ended up in a similar situation, it would be up to her to choose." He said and she sighed once more. No one could be of any help it seemed.

"But..." He cut in once more and she looked over to him in slight surprise. "If I could never see her again, never be near her again... I think I would want to throw everything away. But if she left me a child... I would throw the world away for that child. To keep it safe and away from harm." He said and she smiled at him softly and reached for his hand. "Thank you, Shaxx..." She whispered and he patted her hand with his other one. "So what do you think you will do?" He asked and she closed her eyes tightly.

"I... was never able to have children in my past life, and now I have been given a chance to do so... what worries me about this chance is the fact this world is so dangerous... I don't want to raise a child in a world where they may never even know if their mother would come home, or if I would come home and find my child gone..." She whispered and he gripped her hand tightly. "Ashura... I am not trying to sway your decision, but I want you to know you are not alone. This tower... this last city... we look out for each other. You are just as much a part of our big disfunctional family as anyone else." He said and she smiled softly, her eyes slipping shut once more.

"Shaxx... I think I understand what you mean... About wanting to throw away the whole world for a child of theirs..."She whispered this with a small smile, her eyes still closed as she pictured the man she loved. "In every aspect, the child represents the one you love the most, so even if it is a tiny semblance of still having them near... it makes all the difference." She said softly and he nodded. "So have you made up your mind?" He asked and she nodded slowly.

"Yes... I have."

~-~-~-~-~

Saladin watched the woman as she made her way around the room. "Are you sure you should be here Ashura?" He asked and she gave him a stern look from across the room. "Do you question my judgement?" She asked and he shook his head. "No, I worry for your safety here." He said and she shook her head. "You shouldn't." She said with a small smirk. They were down in the plaguelands exploring a lost sector of the divide, Cayde said a guardian had gone missing down this way and since she was on strict observation, she got the recon missions. Of course she never went alone, which is why Saladin was accompanying her. "You could have left this to me either way." She said and he shook his head at her. "Absolutely not, Zavala is already livid with you, if I left you alone here he would be so with me as well. It is counterproductive if you ask me." He grumbled from behind her. "Well even if you weren't down here with me, I wouldn't be alone." She said and motioned for him to stop moving and be very still.

A smirk crossed her lips as she heard the fight nearby. The aggravated vibrations of a fallen mandible echoed around the room loudly before a Siva infected captain was thrown across the room at them. He was dead before he had even hit the floor.

"What the-" he began but she motioned for him to be silent once more. "Shhhh... You may not want to startle him. He has yet to be introduced to all of my friends." She said as she reached to touch the large hand that crumbled the doorway in his grasp. "Asshhhurra." He wheezed and she patted his hand softly. "I'm ok, thank you." She said and he muttered something in Eliksni. Saladin watched her in confusion as she bit something back in the same language, only for the larger beast of a fallen to chuckle darkly and exit the cramped space.

"He says he doesn't like Siva, nor does he like being a bodyguard in a tiny little building." She said and he nodded. "It isn't my fault though!" She yelled out and the fallen laughed once more. She shook her head and looked at Saladin with a small smile. "He consumed too much ether, grew too big. His fault not mine." She sighed as they delved further into the building. "How long has he been protecting you?" Saladin asked and Ashura gave a sideways glance to the large fallen that kept peeking in through windows to see if they were ok. "Since I found him honestly... he was scared and-" "Not Scared." He snapped and Saladin chuckled lightly at this.

"Ok, not scared, but lonely and afraid." She whispered the last part so the large fallen wouldn't hear her, but he did anyways and his mandibles began vibrating angrily once more. "Oh, you know I'm right quit being cranky." She scolded playfully and he huffed from outside the room. "Ever since I showed him where he would be safe, he had liked me. I make sure he is always safe, and I introduce him to others one at a time. I don't want anyone hurting him. Right?" She called out and he made a noise of approval. She smiled at this. "He knows I would never willingly allow any harm to come to him." She said as they forced open a door and saw a titan hiding within the room.

"Hey friend. Nice to see you still standing, let's get you home." Ashura said and offered a hand to the low ranking titan. "You are the one Misra and I protected in the crucible the other day." She pointed out and he nodded. "Yeah, got in over my head there." He sighed and she laughed lightly. "It happens sometimes, I promise." She said as they made their way back out of the building. They made their way back to where they landed and as Ashura was helping the titan into her ship when she saw a glimpse of movement in the distance. A ship... She looked towards it and her brow furrowed as she made a move to go towards it. It was pretty far away but she could still make it to investigate. She made a move to head in that direction, but Saladin cleared his throat.

"Where are you going? We can easily hover over and see what is going on over there." He said and she nodded. "Alright." She sighed as she stepped into her ship and they made their way over there, only to see Fikrul following swiftly down below. The moment Ashura caught sight of the person who had exited the ship, she jumped out. She landed softly down below and took off, Fikrul close behind. She followed the figure into an old abandoned building and they turned to face her. "Jolyon!" She called and he nodded. "What is going on? What are you doing out here?" She asked and he eyed the massive fallen cautiously. "Making new friends I see." He said as he eyed the large creature once more. She held a hand up to him and Fikrul hung back some. "Either way. I knew if you had seen my ship you would follow me." He said and she watched him as he circled her. "Ashura I went to see Petra, and she is going to come visit you in a few months' time. She has barons she is chasing down and Cayde has already helped her get one." He said and she nodded.

"Quite the racer that Exo is." He said in amusement and she couldn't help but smile softly. "He took the Rider into custody for Petra, so she has one less baron to worry over. Either way, while she was out and about, she found something and she requested I give it to you." He said and handed her a strange object. "What is this?" She asked and the Awoken man chuckled deeply. "For someone who wishes to see the Dreaming City, you sure are unfamiliar with Awoken tech..." He said and rotated the object in her grasp to where the projector lens was face up rather than in her palm. "Take it home... Watch it where you can be comfortable and secure." He said and she nodded slowly, still not fully understanding what the object had to do with her.

"Ashura... It may very well be the last message you will ever receive from the Prince, and I very much apologize."

Her heart sank at those words, but she fumbled with the object to get it to play. Jolyon watched her in silence as she struggled to get it to work, only for him to wave a hand over it and the image of Uldren appeared. He seemed panicked and like he didn't have much time to talk. "Ashura, if you are seeing this... I want to apologize. I never should have left the tower. I feel like... this was a trap. Now, I have to follow this through and I can't return until this is over." She watched as the camera shook and he ducked away from something. He looked back towards the camera and his eyes looked sad. "There's... something wrong... and I am going to figure it out. Now... for the apology." He said this with a sad look and a sigh. "I... am only going to make all of this worse if I am with you. I wish you didn't love me, or even care about me in the slightest. I can no longer trust myself not to hurt you, so this is goodbye. I wish things were different, but they have to be this way." Her heart felt uneasy, it fluttered in her chest and she had no idea what to do or say.

His eyes flicked from the camera to something out of the way and she furrowed her brows. He seemed to be trying to protect her from something. Maybe he didn't know what it was, or maybe he did and wanted her to stay far away. Jolyon watched her curiously, as did the massive fallen that had crept in to see what was upsetting Ashura so badly. "Fikrul, this is the father of my child." She whispered as the fallen leaned closer to see the man on the projection. "Father?" He asked and she nodded. "Yes." She whispered as she caressed his mandible gently.

"He is in trouble... so... If you ever see him. Protect him for me, will you?" She asked and he nodded against the palm of her hand. She smiled and let the video continue to play. "Maybe we can try again when this is all over, but until then... if you don't have to don't wait for me." Ashura smiled sadly at this as she tossed the object back to Jolyon. "If I can't see him anymore... the last way I would ever want to see him would be of him telling me to stop loving him." She said and took a deep breathe. Jolyon nodded and eyed hear oddly. "How far along are you?" He asked and she cocked her head to look at him with narrowed eyes. "Eight weeks, I swear on my life if you are saying I am fat already I will pummel you." She hissed softly and he shook his head softly. "No... No... not at all what I was saying." He sighed and patted her on the shoulder softly.

"You look the same as the last time I saw you." He sighed and she shrugged softly. "When you vomit almost everything you eat it is hard to gain weight." She mused lightly and he nodded. "Get yourself to safer spaces. And if you need me use the beacon, I will come to you. I will no longer allow you to tread outside the walls of the tower unless you have sufficient protection, no offense to Fikrul though." He said and she smiled softly. "You seem to be really worried about the pregnant lady..." She mused with a knowing smile. "Ok, Uncle Jolyon, I will be safe for you. However, you must come around to see your friends baby when they're born." She said and he nodded but she could see the eyeroll in his stature.

"Jolyon... As long as we have known each other, why have you never shown your face?" She asked and if a posture could scream a smirk, his sure did. "Because, you were in love with Uldren, I couldn't have you falling in love with me too." He chuckled and she crossed her arms over her chest. "Are you so sure about that? I mean my friend Lion has the same cockiness about him." She said with a smirk and he shook his head, but his reached for his helm and it unhinged with a hiss of air. Her lips parted slightly as a mess of white hair fell from the helm and he shook it out and brushed it to the right side of his face. He had a similar skin tone to the queen, but still masculine and shapely features to his face. What truly caught her attention, was more so how much he reminded her of a male version of the queen, minus the jagged scar that ran over the bridge of his nose and over his right eye, which he seemed to try to conceal with the hair. His hair was long on top and shaved on both sides, but the shaved hair was more gray than white.

"What caused the scar?" She asked and he pulled the hair away to show her. His glowing cyan eyes were mismatched. The jagged scar that trailed across his eye left the right eye foggy and pale blue, almost white. "When Uldren and I found the black garden... I didn't leave unscathed." he said and put his helmet back into place. "I see." She sighed and smiled at him softly. "Thank you for being open with me." She said and he nodded as he led her out of the small building and back within eyesight of her ship and Saladin's. "Time for you to go home." He said and she nodded as she bid farewell to both Jolyon and Fikrul.

She watched as the large fallen made his way back to his hiding spot, to await her return.

:-:-: Five weeks later :-:-:

Fikrul heard movement coming through his hideout and he couldn't help the slight excitement and hope that it was Ashura once more. He reached to pull his door open and his head cocked to the side gently. This newcomer was strange, though... they didn't seem to fear him in the slightest, or in the least he didn't smell their fear like he usually could. He sat back on top of his servitor pile and watched them in silence for a moment. He was hoping for a slightly pudgy little Ashura to be maneuvering through his den, but new friends were ok as well. There were three of them and he watched as the first one whispered something to the two behind them.

When the first one pulled a weapon, he knew he was wrong.

These were not friends.

Not friends of Ashura's...

Not friends of his...

Ashura would forgive him for defending himself against these guardians. He started to give them a warning, letting them know he was no longer comfortable with their presence. One of them looked hesitant and even made a move to step backwards, but the other two seemed to take this as a challenge. He was at a disadvantage in his den because he was cramped, but he needed to defend himself. "You... Need to leave now." He said and they watched him in silence.

"Waiting for my friend, you... need to go home. Not my friend."