Ashura held a hand to her chest, she knew she shouldn't be moving around... but she was as stubborn as ever. She made her way over to Holliday, but something caught her eyes and she couldn't help but stare at the beautiful craft. Hinata was telling her she needed to go to the medical ward and get some help, but Ashura wanted to know what was going on. She stepped forwards and couldn't help the curses that slipped from her lips. Omnigul had done some serious damage to her. "Ashura... you are not fine... You're limping, breathing heavily, and it looks like you are burned pretty bad... please seek medical help." Hinata said, seemingly knowing not to place her hands on Ashura again.

"I'm fine, Hinata. What is not fine is that ship." Ashura pointed out and Hinata looked at it, but she didn't seem to understand. "It's beautiful ain't it?" Holliday asked when she saw Ashura staring up at it. "This baby is all yours." Holliday said and Ashura was scared. Fear consumed her being. She was hardly supposed to be communicating with him, much less accepting gifts from him. "What?" Ashura snapped, she knew her fear was getting to her, but she had to figure out if Uldren had lost his damn mind. He shouldn't be sending her gifts, it wasn't safe for either of them and they weren't dating... Well... not yet anyways. She figured once he got to know her romantically he would run too.

"I take it your boo didn't tell you he was sending this gorgeous baby?" Holliday asked and Ashura looked at her in slight irritation. So it was Uldren's doing. "What are you talking about Holliday?" She asked, her tone none too pleasing to the blonde woman judging by the look on her face. "Lookie here, don't get snippy with me. I'm talking about the hunk with the glowing amber eyes. Absolutely gorgeous, that one." Holliday said and Ashura brushed past her to jump into the ship, all the while Kabr was telling her how it was a bad idea to go there injured and angry. "Silence, Kabr... please... I need silence for once. I can't breathe, much less think." She hissed, only to close her eyes and wince as she sat in the pilot seat of the ship. He didn't say a word, but it seemed he had vanished into hiding, but not within her gauntlets. She supposed he was irate with her so he was going to stay in the ship.

Her breathing was definitely getting harder and harder. Maybe she should have listened to Hinata and Kabr when they told her seek medical attention. She released a sigh as she looked down at her chest plate to see that the balls of arc energy Omnigul had sent at her had burned through her chest armor and now her skin seemed to be... burnt? Melted to her chest piece? She couldn't tell. All she knew is that it was a dumb decision to do what she had... But then again when was she known for her brilliant ideas? Uh... seemingly never... which was why she was now, most likely on verge of dying but headed towards the reef in a fit of a cross between fear and anger.

She rolled her eyes at herself and her absolutely brilliant ideas and wondered how Uldren would feel about her idiotic ways. The reef came into view and she forced herself to stand and try to make her way out of the ship when it had landed. She saw guards rushing her ship, trying to figure out who was inside, only for a familiar face to come rushing up to the ship when she stepped out. "Ashura! Are you alright?" Petra asked as she rushed to catch her as she jumped from the ship. "No... but I need to see him. What the hell was he thinking?" Ashura managed as Petra helped her towards the doorway to the throne room.

Ashura watched as Petra sent guards to get Uldren and they stood around watching for a moment, before they ran to get him. They only took off running when she had yelled at them angrily. Krux rushed over to lift Ashura into her arms lightly, only to lose grip of her and she hit the ground in front of the door to the throne room. A sense of... relief... yes... it was relief that washed over her when she hit the ground. She felt her body moving, but her breaths were getting shallow and her eyelids heavy. She knew what this feeling was. It was death, her own. She tried her best to smile, but there was an intense pain as the edges of her chest plate were ripped from its place, causing her to see... well in all reality it was a series of blurs of light... like stars or fireworks... Yet much less enjoyable. There was finally silence though... she guessed that was decent enough.

When the darkness began to set in the last thing she saw was a glow of molten gold...

:-:-:-:

Uldren dropped to his knees the moment he had seen her fall. He pulled her all the way up off the step and he rolled her very gently to set her flat on her back. He took her gauntlet and pulled up her inventory screen. His eyes scanned through her things swiftly. He had to act fast. This damnable, infuriating, stubborn woman. What the hell had she gotten into this time? "Petra, where did she come from?" he asked as he decrypted her medical kit. He set the large box on the ground and began rifling through it. His eyes jolted up to her and she jumped in surprise. "Oh... um I don't know." Petra said, only for his eyes to land on the kell, who couldn't contain her own tears.

What were those tears for? Did she fear losing Ashura? He didn't know for sure... his eyes flicked back to the white haired woman before him and he took a slight breath, only to run his fingers around the burnt edges of her armor. 'No actual skin burns visible as of yet, but there may be some under the armor.' he thought to himself as he braced himself with one hand on her chest plate. He took a deep breath and pulled swiftly, tearing the chest plate completely off of her. The last bit of movement from her was her body jolting up in a silent scream, her foggy unfocused eyes rolling up into her head. He reached into her pack for gauze and the herbal remedies she had made to help heal them. He eyed her undershirt, seeing little to no damage on it, so he lifted her and pulled her hunter armor completely off her chest.

She was left in a tight black sleeveless shirt that was left only partially singed do to whatever had hurt her. Whatever happened it had completely melted her tough armor completely. He apologized to her in his head half heartedly before he sliced right up through the black shirt, revealing burns beneath the thin shirt. He briefly wondered what the hell that undershirt was made of for the burns to seep through but not destroy it, but then he noticed the lack of moment of her chest. His eyes widened and his fingers shot to the nape of her neck, feeling for a pulse.

There was none.

He pushed her arms out to her sides and he clasped his hands together, one on top of the other in the center of her chest. He did just as she had taught him. He had never had to actually use what she had taught him until now, so all in all it was a little startling. He kept pressing and counting in his own mind. He had to save her... this damnable woman. He tilted her head back and breathed two breaths into her lungs, seeing her chest rise and fall each time, but not on its own. He kept this up for maybe five... ten minutes? Before he caught sight of movement out of the corner of his eyes.

He looked up and saw the strange woman from before. "If you or any of your strange abilities can save her... do so now." he said and she stood there in shock. It was as if she couldn't move and he frowned as he tried to give two more breaths to her. Electricity crackled from the strange woman's hands and he swiftly reached up and grabbed her hands, placing them down on Ashura's chest where the jolt of arc energy rushed through her. He reached down to feel for a pulse but before he could touch her he was surprised by her movement. Her eyes shot open and tears fell from them as she arched her back and clawed at her throat, trying to breathe. When she finally caught her breath and calmed down, she looked around her.

"Damn you Marie, don't you ever do that again..." he muttered softly, thinking they hadn't heard him, but both of the silver eyed women were watching him with much different expressions. Hinata was confused, while Ashura was indignant. He sighed deeply and punched her over the head lightly. "You dumb little girl." he seethed and she glared up at him. "You didn't have to save me dickhead." she snapped back and he scowled at her. "Pathetic human." he snapped at her and he saw the amusement in her eyes. She fell into a slight coughing fit, but snapped back just as flawlessly. "You're the pathetic one, I mean you kissed me for god's sake. That desperate, are we?" She asked but he witheld his amused look as he dumped her out of his hold.

He stood and slowly dusted himself off, as if she had dirt or something on her that would offend him. "Marie." he spat down at her, his eyes playful. "Uldren." she shot back, but a small smile crossed her lips as she stared up at him. He wondered if this woman knew what hell she had stepped into the moment she treated him just like he was anyone else. She treated him like he was just... another person. Not royalty, which the rest of the awoken found appalling at first however, he enjoyed that she was carefree around him. "Thank you..." she said softly and he shook his head and pointed at the dark haired woman who was watching the two of them in utter confusion.

He thought briefly of conversing with the two longer, but he was getting bored with the conversation rather swiftly. "Up, woman." he said as he gently tucked his hands under her armpits to pull her to her feet. She had quite the adverse reaction to this, seeing as that damnable metal leg came swinging at him. "To the medical ward with you, disruptive woman." he muttered and she stared up at him. He heard the other woman laugh lightly as he trudged the younger woman to the awoken infirmary. He had to repress a chuckle, seeing the actual height difference was... amusing to say the least. He placed his hand in her lower back and pushed slightly, causing her to stumble forwards in front of him.

"Hurry up." He chuckled and she looked up at him with her cheeks puffed out at him. When he rounded the corner to the medical bay, his twin was already sitting beside the bed waiting. "Sister." he greeted and Ashura bowed lightly to the other white haired woman. "Ashura, get in this bed. Now." the queen demanded and the shorter woman scurried to the bed and got in it. He released a deep chuckle that caused both his sister and Ashura to look over at him in surprise. He blinked over at her and the pure joy he saw in her eyes made him feel uneasy. He couldn't describe it because it was new... her silver eyes felt like they could see through him and he shook his head to clear his mind. He sat in the chair opposite of his sister, but still close to the bed.

He sat down while Mara had the doctors come in and out of the room and observe Ashura from head to toe. He propped his head on his fist and slipped his eyes shut. He figured he deserved a nap after dealing with that stressful woman in the bed beside him...

:-:-:

Ashura watched him as he got comfortable in the chair, only to prop his head on his hand and drift off soon enough. She watched him for a moment before turning to the group of awoken doctors that had come into the room. She was slightly uneasy, seeing as Uldren said they didn't have very many trained medical personnel. She looked over to the queen for confirmation, only to see the woman inspecting her nails. "Don't fret, Ashura... these are Awoken trained by the tower." she said softly and Ashura nodded. She knew her basics of medical care, and she had taught them to Uldren... She was not about to be worked on by someone Uldren had taught medical skills he barely understood to... No offense to him though... she just wasn't going to have it.

"Ashura..." The queen called to her after about an hour of the awoken inspecting the join of her leg and whispering amongst each other. Ashura glanced over at the older woman with worry deep in her gut. "Yes?" she asked softly, seeing that Uldren was now discussing something with the doctors. His face was grim and it was causing her heart to race. Could they not help her? Was she going to die? She closed her eyes and tried to control her rapid heartbeat. Maybe it wasn't so bad, but that nagging fear was causing her to hyperventilate. Her eyes fluttered as she tried to catch her breath. Her eyes widened in panic as she realized she couldn't breathe. She began gasping for air and it only forced her into dry heaving.

The queen jolted up and rolled her face down and slapped the palm of her hand into her back roughly. "Get a bucket." she demanded and the doctors scrambled around the room. Before Ashura could stop it, black sludge erupted from her lips. It splattered all over the floor and the bucket they had rushed to place. Air re-entered Ashura's lungs and she closed her eyes, trying to calm herself down once more. Her throat burned, her chest ached, and her mind was panicked. "Well I guess that solves one of the problems we were concerned with." Uldren sighed and she looked up at him with concerned eyes.

"You had a buildup of oil mixed with blood that was seeping into your lungs. It was starting to clot." He sighed with his arms crossed over his chest. "They have contacted the tower and you will be returning to them, but not yet. Sakura will be waiting on you there to clear your system of the oils as much as she can. Until then, we are working on a temporary cybernetic leg that will not cause you anymore harm. We have one as a prototype that we are planning on trying to transplant onto you... but that raises another concern." he sighed and pinched the bridge of his nose.

"What's wrong?" she asked and he pulled the hand that was over his eyes to rest it back on the arm that was still across his chest. "Eris Morn is a fool." he spat and she looked at him with wide eyes. "Wait... how did you-" "Ashura... Nina has been with her from the start. Yes, Eris saved your life, but she has made it critical that I remove a larger portion of your thigh before we can add the new limb." he said and she looked down to her leg to where they had pulled her hunter pants off to reveal her skin tight shorts. They stopped two inches above the metallic join of skin to leg, which was about five inches from her hip bone itself.

"So you are saying that... you have to remove more of my thigh?" she asked softly, staring at the two inches of angry reddened skin that was above the metal of her leg. She saw true sadness in his eyes as he nodded. "Yeah, but the prototype and the connection plate won't need much alteration to suit the length of your other leg in length." He said and she nodded. "So... how long has this limb been in the works?" she asked and he glanced at her from the corner of his eyes as he removed the leg from its current connection plate, which caused her to wince slightly.

"It began its progress in the early stages of our meetings, after our argument over why you wanted to be my friend. After my accusation." he said and her silver eyes hardened on him, which caused him to look at her curiously. "Who built it?" She asked, she felt like she already knew the answer but she wanted him to actually say it. Her thoughts drifted back to when he said the other person who could help her was a murderer as well. Then her thoughts went to how he had acted that time on the moon, so wary and ashamed. "Then..." she began seeing his hesitation in answering as confirmation.

"How are you a murderer?" she asked and the queen was on her feet instantly, ready to defend her brother within a moments notice. Uldren stopped everything he was doing with the connection plate of her leg. The anger and betrayal in his eyes made her heart ache. He seemed to truly regret what he was going to say. "I killed guardians." he said and she furrowed her brows at him. She withheld her confusion and slight anger because she didn't know why. "Petra took the blame for it of course, and I am grateful... but it still doesn't take away from the fact that I murdered them on the moon." He said as he crossed his arms over his chest.

She knew he was getting defensive and was going to stop talking soon, so she had to get it out of him one way or another. "Why? Why did those guardians have to die?!" she snarled and he glared at her and she kept going, kept pressing him. Pissing off the queen in the process, and him as well, but she wanted to know. Eventually he slammed his hands on the railing of her medical bed and cut her off. "I was trying to save them dammit!" he snarled and she crossed her arms over her chest softly. "It was an accident and I was trying to save you damnable guardians!" he snapped once more and she listened intently.

"The hive were closing in and it was the lives of the few for the lives of the many. I had no choice." he said that part softly and the queen was staring at her with such enraged eyes. Ashura knew she was about to release said anger on her, but she smiled softly. "Then why couldn't you tell me?" she asked, which caused the queen to realize why she had pressed him so hard. The queen understood she was trying to figure out why, but she as well knew that Uldren would be guarded and highly defensive over the matter. The surprise in Uldren's eyes was definitely new to her. She sat up and tried to move, but it hurt to move the stump of her left leg.

"Uldren... We guardians know sacrifice. It is what makes us who we are. Why we are so willing to die. Most of them don't die permanent deaths... so they are considered brave. As the Speaker has told me more often than not, bravery breeds sacrifice. We go out there every day expecting the risks and taking them on with willing hearts. Me... not so much because if I die too many times, I die permanently." She whispered and he crossed his arms over his chest. "So, no. I think of you no differently. Some of the guardians may hate you for things you have done in your past... but I cannot currently find it in myself to hate you. You are genuinely trying to understand. You are trying to help me even though you thought I was trying to use you." She said and he tilted his head to the side with a raised brow.

"You done being all sappy yet? It's disgusting." he muttered and she narrowed her eyes at him. "Look here asshole I was just trying to say I understood." she snapped and the queen laughed lightly when he smirked at her. "Of course you do..." he said and she rolled her eyes. "I don't understand you. I can't tell if you like me, or like bothering me." She hissed and he smirked. "Oh, dear... you wont like me very much after I do this." He said and that was when she realized he had put a tourniquet on the upper part of her thigh during the time she was yelling at him.

"Don't you dare." she hissed and he just smirked at her. "I've already deactivated the artificial nerves." he said and she grabbed the railing of the bed, only for the doctors to very swiftly strap her arms down, being sure to remove her mechanical arms before she could use them against them. "You bastard I swear on your life I will never forgive you if you do this!" she snapped and the queen made her exit from the room. Ashura was in tears now. "I'm begging you... please don't..." she pleaded and he looked at her slightly apologetically before the doctors surrounded him on each side, a tray in hand on one side to catch the connector. The other side closest to the limb had medical supplies to stop the bleeding and remove the extra tissue.

The closer doctors applied as much local anesthetic as they could to minimize her pain, but she knew it wasn't going to help as much as she would hope. Kabr suddenly appeared beside her and they exchanged glances. "Look here you little flying bastard you better get me out of this!" she hissed in both fear and anger but he just hovered over to Uldren's side and was observing what they were about to do. "Someone please help me..."She whimpered just before Uldren slipped his fingers up to the edge of the connector and tugged slightly. Which didn't hurt as much as she thought it would, but it was sending her into a panic, he was only doing that to get his fingers adjusted so he wouldn't lose grip. She bit her lip and prepared herself as much as she could before he pulled it off.

She closed her eyes and clutched the bars as tightly as she could and she waited. And waited. She cracked her eyes open when she heard the 'tink' of metal on metal and she looked at him incredulously. Upon seeing her bewildered look he laughed, genuinely laughed. His deep laughter caused her face to heat up and her cheeks to burn deep red. The unusual sight of mirth in his eyes was different to her. She was actually crying now. He KNEW the anesthetic was going to work. Tears flowed over her cheeks as she rubbed her eyes in embarrassment. "You bastard!" She managed as she rubbed her eyes more.

"Now... I think I have my vengeance for you yelling at me when you could have just told me you knew it was me who could help you. Also, you could have just asked why I was a murderer if you assumed that much." He said with an amused tone and a slight shrug. She glared at him with puffy eyes and trembling lips. "That is NOT something you just ask about, you asshole!" she snarled and he just shrugged at her with amused eyes. "Sometimes I can't stand you." She snarled and he smirked at her. "Well clearly you can stand me enough to want to sleep with me." He said and she choked on her breath. She stared at him with wide eyes and her mouth agape.

"Oh what? You thought I didn't know?" he chuckled with an amused look. "Actually, no you are full of shit." she denied and he just crossed his arms over his chest as he sat on the edge of her bed, the medical team wrapping up the stump of her left leg. "Clearly you don't think your face betrays you. Why else would I say it seemed like you didn't hate me as much as you let on?" he asked and she blushed darkly and looked away from him. "Be silent." she hissed softly and he chuckled.

"So, do you just find me attractive, or do you actually want a relationship with me?" he asked in amusement and she glared at him. "I am sure as hell not going to answer that now. Especially after the fear you just put me through." She hissed with a deep blush on her face. He just stood with a smirk and brushed the hair out of her face gently. "Well get ready, 'Sweetheart' you're spending the next week with me because you are getting a new leg." he taunted and she flopped backwards onto the bed. "Fuck me..." she hissed out and he turned to her with raised brows. "Literally or figuratively?" he asked with a sarcastic tone and she rolled to glare at the wall. "Get out." she grumbled and he shrugged as he left. "Your loss." he mused as he walked out the door.

"A week? I may die before someone comes to rescue me." she whimpered as she laid flat on her back once more. "To be completely honest, Ashura... you asked for this." Petra laughed from the doorway. "You could have just accepted the gift and moved on but no... you had to come see him. You didn't realize there was this smart ass side of him, did you?" she asked and Ashura shook her head. "No... I didn't. Its good to know he isn't just a hard ass all the time though." she sighed and Petra took the seat beside her. Petra crossed one leg over the other in a manner similar to how the queen sat and she looked over at her. Ashura took the time to notice that there was a book in her hand. It was a black bound book with gold trimming and the eye of Osiris on the cover in gold. "A book of Osiris?" Ashura asked pointing at the book.

"Yeah, I thought you would enjoy this. This is the one where he talks about-" "The Queen of Kells, am I right?" Ashura asked and Petra looked shocked, like Ashura wasn't supposed to know about the Queen of Kells. "Yes..." She responded slowly and Ashura nodded. "Do you all think this is meant to be me as well? Am I supposed to be some heroic queen that saves the tower or the reef or whatever?" Ashura asked bitterly and Petra looked crestfallen. "Ashura... The real Queen of Kells doesn't save the tower, or the reef, or the fallen..." She began softly and Ashura furrowed her brows and looked over at Petra, trying to read her to figure any little hint that would reveal her thoughts. "Then who does the Queen of kells save?" she asked and Petra looked around for anyone that could be listening in.

"Ashura... I think you should read this." she said and handed Ashura the book. "You need to read it, because not very many people have read the real one. The one Uldren has read was the fake one, while the queen and I have read this one. It is important. Believe me on this one. The Lucky Seven are mentioned in this book as well." Petra whispered softly and Ashura looked at her in confusion. "Petra..." Ashura began and Petra offered a small smile. "How important is this book?" she asked and Petra smiled. "We never thought it held any truth until the Lucky seven arrived. We thought it was all ramblings of a madman." She mused softly.

"I'm just hoping you really are the Queen of Kells because we need you to be." She whispered and Ashura nodded. "I don't think I could be... but I will read up on it." she whispered and looked down at the book. "What page do I start at?" Ashura asked and Petra opened the book to the page number she would begin reading on. "It is very cryptic and hard to understand, but I think you will understand it because you are a follower of Eris Morn." she said and Ashura nodded. "The part of the Queen of Kells is short and straight to the point, but... I think you will understand." She said and Ashura nodded as she glanced over the page.

It really was short, about a page and a half long, but she could read it fairly easily. It seemed to be a message of sorts. "Could you give your interpretation on it?" Petra asked and Ashura nodded as she scanned over the page. As she took in the information, she couldn't really understand the importance of it. A lot of it was talking about a woman of white who spoke to the fallen, which yeah... could be taken as her. However, she couldn't understand anything about the Infinite Forest... what was that? She scanned down the other page and it talked about the death of a twin, but not Ashura's twin. The twin of a Queen. At this part, Ashura looked over to Petra, who knew she had found the one cryptic clue that would panic even the queen.

'The death of a twin. Not at the hands of war... not at the hands of an enemy, but rather of his own fault. The mistake was made, and the life can't be returned. It is up to the Queen of kells now. For I have seen it with my own eyes that this woman of snow saves this man of dark. It all relies on her choice though... Should she decide to save him of his fate... The fate of all fools... She must be wary of all choices. If the Queen of Kells has any doubt, she must come to me. Hopefully before the twin seals his fate... and hers.'

Ashura set the book down and closed it. She could see how they thought it might be her, but she definitely knew it wasn't. She glanced over at Petra who had closed the door and sat on the bed beside her. "What do you think?" She asked and Ashura looked down at her leg, the now slightly shorter stump appearing so strange to her. "He will die." She whispered and her heart clenched, she didn't want him to die. Even though they bickered back and forth, she genuinely enjoyed his company. He seemed to genuinely worry about her as well, seeing as though he created a prototype leg for her even though she kept pushing him away.

"Petra... I don't want him to die, but I don't ever think he could love me. I know he cares, even if it isn't always shown... but... I don't think I am willing to subject myself to something that couldn't be. I mean, he is a Prince... I'm a guardian medic who can't even help herself." She sighed and Petra smirked. "I genuinely think that is what he likes about you though. You have no true ties to royalty, so he won't have to either." She mused and Ashura rolled her eyes. "I think you are all just trying to delude him into getting a girlfriend so he will quit being so overprotective over the queen." Ashura grumbled and Petra laughed.

"Ashura, you have to remember you are the one who started all of this." Kabr said and Ashura looked at the ghost who had been silent up until this point. "What are you implying?" she asked and he hovered around the two of them. "Remember that time he showed up on a mission and you two decided to spar? The first time he showed up after the incident in the reef where you had him pinned to the floor?" Kabr asked, she could hear the amusement in his tone, which Petra heard as well and looked at her in surprise.

"You caught him off guard and managed to pin him down?" she asked with an amused look. Ashura nodded and Petra laughed. "How many other times has he lost while sparring with you?" She asked and Ashura thought it over and blinked over at the highly amused woman. "At least ten... why?" Ashura was clearly confused now. Petra laughed and shook her head. "I just want you to know you definitely started his infatuation." Petra said as she crossed her arms over her chest, the amused smirk lingering on her lips.

"What are you talking about?" Ashura pleaded and the awoken woman shook her head. "Uldren has never lost... to anyone. Especially not someone younger and so much shorter than he is." Petra mused and Ashura deadpanned at the woman. Ashura took a deep breath and clasped her hands together tightly in front of her. "So basically, what started all of this was... he got a hard on cause a little defenseless looking lady whooped his ass?!" She hissed softly, her eyes narrowed at the woman before her. "Trust me, I am as surprised as you are." Petra said and Ashura shook her head and rolled to face the wall.

"If I knew it was that damn easy to possibly get an attractive boyfriend I would have whooped an attractive guys ass sooner." she grumbled as Petra stood from her place on the bed. "Well, I should return to my post. Rest well Ashura, you will need it." Petra mused as she left the room. Ashura stared up at the wall for a minute before she pulled the blanket tightly around her and closed her eyes. She might as well sleep, it wasn't like she was going to walk away from here...

:-:-:_Elsewhere_:-:-:

Cayde was panicking. It had been days since he had seen his favorite student. He was pacing back and forth and he was beginning to stress over her. What if she was hurt? Or worse. He couldn't calm the ticking of his mechanical heart. Yes... Exo have hearts too. They worked in the exact same manner as a human heart, except they pumped oil and whatnot through their system instead of blood. The exo woman sitting on the table staring at him seemed amused that he was so panicked. As if it wasn't bad enough she had woken up... but now Ashura was missing and he couldn't find her.

He glared at the exo woman he had been hiding for the longest time. This woman aggravated him to no end. "What woke you up anyways?" he growled at her, getting more and more irate at the tapping of her foot. "You should have known you needed more than just that little bit to hold me for more than a year and a half. Where are my friends?" She asked and he crossed his arms and sighed. "I don't know, and that is kind of the damn issue." he grumbled and she shrugged. "Now let me try to find my student, and keep your damn mouth shut for the love of Osiris." he grumbled and she laughed lightly.

"Hell yeah I love Osiris. " She chuckled lowly and he glared over at her. "Elkin, control that woman." he growled and the ghost looked from Cayde to his own guardian who he was currently annoyed with. "What all do you remember from your last life anyways?" he grumbled as he continued pacing. "Not much... everything is fuzzy. All I really remember is when I asked for your help. When we went to Bray facility... I dont remember much other than I was a titan and asking you for help." she sighed and began kicking her legs from atop the table once more. He frowned and repressed a sigh.

"So... I am all you remember?" he asked and she nodded. "Great. You Remember being a titan, but you are now a hunter. Forget everything you knew about being a titan." he ordered and she nodded and began tapping on her gauntlets to erase those memories. Before he could actually stop her, she jerked and a spark escaped her. She shook her head and he looked over at her with his jaw agape and his posture screaming 'Are you dumb?' "Uh... I wasn't being literal..." he muttered and she blinked over at him in confusion. He sighed and began pacing once more.

"Cayde." Ikora called and he ran over to her to grab her by the shoulders. "Please tell me you know something?!" he pleaded and she looked at him oddly. "Yes... please let go..." she managed, discomfort clear in her tone. "Nina of the reef has come bearing news." She said and he hugged her tightly picking her up and spinning in a circle. "Oh thank you, thank you, thank you!" He cheered and she eyed him oddly, then her gaze landed on the exo sitting on the table. "You are the new exo." she greeted and introduced herself. "I'm Misra-" she began but Cayde cut her off. "Yeah... yeah... yeah... enough of that Ashura. Location. NOW." he demanded and the two women looked at him like he had lost his mind. Zavala strolled in and his features were irate, that much you could tell.

The woman chasing behind him was clearly sad, fearful even. Cayde couldn't understand why she seemed to be scared, this was Nina. The woman who had had a crush on Zavala since the day she landed in the tower eight years ago. It seemed that everyone could tell she was in love with him other than Zavala himself. "Commander please..." she begged and Zavala held one hand up to silence her. "How could you betray us like this?!" he snapped and she cowered away from him slightly. "Please... it wasn't my intention..." She sobbed and he fisted his hands on the table. "But you did and that is the issue." he snapped and Ikora cleared her throat. "Zavala, you are being irrationally angry. You should know better than anyone that she has had your back more times than you could possibly count. She would not betray us, perhaps she was being used or is a double agent. Do not yell at her because you feel betrayed by her." She commanded and Zavala and Ikora were staring each other down.

"Nina, where is Ashura. Let them have their little spat." Cayde demanded and she looked over at him in surprise. "Cayde! She is in the reef." She said and he cocked his head to the side. "What? Why?" he asked and She smiled, despite the tears that were drying on her cheeks. "My Prince is helping her." She said and he looked at her in surprise. "What?!" Zavala asked sharply and the woman cowered again. "She went to see him, damn her." Cayde sighed and Zavala flattened his hands out on the table. His whole demeanor seemed to change in an instant. "I promised Kira I would keep Ashura safe, and I don't feel like Ashura is safe with that man." Zavala sighed as he stood to his full height. "I doubt whoever this prince is would feel safe with little Nina there being near you either. I mean she was doing her job and you just chewed her head off." Misra said with her arms crossed over her chest.

The amused tone of voice the woman once held was gone and a commanding aura was in its place. Zavala turned to face her and he approached her with curious eyes. "What is your name?" he asked and she watched him carefully. "Misra... Misra Belle." She said and he frowned. "I thought you were someone else. Your voice sounded so familiar..." he grumbled and she looked from him to Cayde who shrugged and shook his head. "Either way. You are out of line as well... Nina." Zavala called and she looked up at him, fear of being scolded once more gripping her entire being. "Forgive me, we will speak more of this in private." he said and she nodded.

"Do you make it a habit of yelling at everyone associated with the reef?" Cayde asked and Zavala sighed and shook his head. "Only those associated with that... murderer." He said and Cayde watched him oddly, not understanding what Zavala was referring to. "Well... either way. When can I have my Ashura back?" he asked and Nina laughed lightly. "I'm afraid it will be in a few days. Prince Uldren has been working very hard to help her, but she doesn't seem to be taking to the new limb as well as Uldren had hoped." She sighed and Cayde narrowed his eyes at her. She was lying about something and he was going to find out what.

"Nina... I'm bored. Wanna go patrol the moon?" Misra asked, catching his attention, but before he could stop the exo and titan they were gone. "Damn that woman." He grumbled and Ikora laughed softly. "Great, you have an exo version of Ashura now, except seemingly a little less... angry." "Yeah yeah laugh it up. At least I can handle them." he grumbled and Zavala shot him a look. "Are you sure about that?" he asked and Cayde huffed at him. "Whatever."

:-:-:

Ashura looked over at the man tinkering with her leg... while it was attached to her. "What are you doing now?" she sighed and he looked up at her with an unamused look. "Look here. It isn't like I am particularly enjoying myself like this either, Ashura." he grumbled and she smirked down at him. He had been nothing but bothersome and demanding while working on her leg so it was her turn to be bothersome. "I thought you said this would only take a week." She complained and he glared up at her. "I am starting not to like you." He growled at her and she smirked wider. "Oh, dear, as if you could hate me... You find it so attractive that I can handle you." She whispered to him as she fluffed his hair with her hand.

He glared up at her once more and she couldn't help but feel so amused that she could bother him so easily. "You are conceited if you think I wasn't going easy on you. You winning had nothing to do with you having any skill it was just me pitying you." He growled out and she almost got mad, but she knew he was just trying to make her mad. She jerked her leg to the right, sending all his tools flying. "You little shit." he growled as he reached to pick them back up. "If you don't want me to put the breaker in to allow you to switch from arc to solar, I won't. I mean it will only be your fault if you fry yourself." he grunted as he gathered his tools.

"I'm hungry Uldren." she sighed and he looked over at her with exhausted eyes. "Woman... are you never not hungry?" he asked and she smiled sheepishly. "I can't help it if I am already feeling a little better." she said and he sighed once more. He stood and offered a hand to her, which she took gently. He lifted her off the ground and she looked down to wiggle her toes with a small smile on her lips, it was the little things. "When am I going to get my own clothes rather than your shirts or the queens clothes?" she asked and he shrugged. "When you go home." she looked at him dejectedly and he looked at her with raised brows. "What?" he asked and she scowled at him. "So eager to get rid of me, are you?" she asked and it actually stung a little.

"Of course not, you do need to go home at some point. This isn't your home. We aren't lovers. We have some sort of... odd relationship going here, but nothing that warrants you abandoning your home and friends for me... yet." He said with a smirk and a slightly sarcastic tone but she just rolled her eyes. "You are weird." She sighed as he placed a hand on her lower back to keep her steady as she got used to the mechanics of her new cybernetic leg. "This is so much different than an exo leg." she said and he nodded. "It is supposed to be. And I don't understand why no one warned you of the dangers of using that leg for so long." He sighed and she looked up at him curiously.

"Why are you so mean to other guardians?" she asked and he looked down at her with a raised brow. "I suppose my distaste for them stems from their distaste for my twin and I." he said and she watched him carefully as he led her to his room and sat her at his desk. "Wait here. I will find someone to bring you something to eat." he said and swept out the room, his ragged cloak swishing behind him like feathers. She looked around the room for any reason he had such a crow-like appearance. Her eyes caught movement in the corner of the room and she held out her hand to beckon the creature to her. The creature tilted its small head this way and that, watching her for a moment before it jumped down to land on her wrist.

It was a crow.

Her eyes widened in realization as she thought back to all the times Uldren had found her on her missions. Black feathers swished overhead and they watched her so carefully. Surveillance crows... "I see... That's why..." she whispered and stroked the bird's lifelike feathers. Those beady little exo eyes stared back at her. "That's why what?" he urged and she spun to face him in surprise, the bird jumping from her wrist to fly over to his shoulder as if being beckoned by its master. "Leader of crows." she said and he watched her with interested eyes. "You must have more. I mean... I have seen more than one following me around." she said and he sat on his bed.

"Are you concerned with your privacy?" he asked and she rolled her eyes. "Well I mean now I see most likely you have already seen me naked, so what else do I have to lose?" she asked in amusement and he chuckled lightly. "Well there isn't much to see there anyways." he said and she stared at him in both shock and anger. "You prick." she snarled. "Now I'm going to have insecurity issues!" she snarled and he chuckled. "I'm surprised you didn't before, I mean a full quarter of you is gone." He sighed and she glared at him as he stood and strolled ever closer. "You are an ass." she grumbled and he raised a brow at her as he reached to grasp her face gently in one hand.

He carefully turned her face this way and that, searching for something it seemed. She couldn't tell what he was looking for but she was getting nervous as his glowing eyes roamed over her face. She opened her mouth to ask him something but he turned away from her and left the room. What the hell was that? She grumbled to herself. He was so confusing and she couldn't understand what the hell was going on with him lately. Sometimes he would flirt with her and others he would just be a smart ass and walk away. She crossed her arms over her chest with a huff as she spun in his chair. Petra entered moments later and watched as she spun in the chair happily. "Enjoying ourselves are we?" she asked and Ashura stopped spinning to face her.

"Yeah, I suppose so." She sighed and Petra sat the food down for her. Ashura looked at it oddly. "What is it?" she asked and Petra shrugged. "Something Uldren likes to make. So... Yeah... Have fun with that because I don't know what is in there." She sighed and Ashura looked at her with saddened eyes. "Petra... have I done something wrong?" she asked and Petra looked at her with confused eyes. "What do you mean?" she asked and Ashura frowned. "I feel like I have done something wrong." She said and Petra shook her head. "No, not you... it's just... the Fallen seem to be restless lately and Uldren and the Queen are concerned." She said and Ashura nodded. "I see. I thought I was being a problem." She sighed and Petra smirked at her.

"You are." Petra laughed and Ashura looked over at her in shock as she popped one of the bite size pieces in her mouth. "I mean... You are kicking Uldren's tools all over, distracting him, and making the queen fret for the supply of food here. I am surprised you don't like... weigh as much as a cabal Centurian." She said and Ashura stared at her in shock. "That was really mean and I wanna go home now." Ashura said and Petra just laughed. "Oh you know you still love me." Petra said and Ashura stared at her blankly. "Are you sure about that." She grumbled and Petra smirked at her. "Of course I do. Who else would I blame this on?" Ashura asked and Petra looked at her oddly. "Blame me for what?" Petra asked, but as soon as she did, Ashura threw herself from the chair as footsteps came down the hallway.

Upon hearing the thump the footsteps fell faster. Ashura reached up and spun the chair. Petra stared at her in shock. "You little shit." She cursed at her as Uldren rushed into the room. "What the hell happened here?" He asked as he crouched beside Ashura to help her up from the floor. "I was eating and she surprised me... I fell from your chair... I'm sorry." "Look here! Uldren I Swear on my life." She began and Uldren rolled his eyes. "Look Ashura, if you wanted me to come back that bad, you shouldve just called." He chuckled and Petra smirked at her. As Uldren tossed Ashura's arms over his shoulders she smirked at Petra. "I still got what I wanted though." She said playfully.

"And what is that?" Uldren asked as he set Ashura on his bed. Petra watched the two with mild interest. "Look guys... if this starts getting dirty i just want you to know the crows are here." She pointed out and Uldren smirked. "I don't think I would mind a crowd." He spoke in such a sultry voice it startled Ashura. She watched as he leaned closer to her. She could feel his breath on her lips and her heart fluttered slightly. He smirked at her and leaned away. "Gather your few things, your friends are here." He said as he tucked his hands in his pockets and strolled from the room.

Ashura glared at his back as he left. "Bastard." She hissed and Petra laughed. "I have never seen him like that before. I think you are good for him." She said and offered Ashura a hand, but when the white haired woman reached for it Petra pulled it away, causing her to stumble out of the bed. "That's for trying to make Uldren think I dropped you." She said playfully and Ashura grinned at her. "You remind me of my sister." She sighed and Petra smiled. "Then you could be my unofficial sister." Petra offered and offered a hand to Ashura for real this time. Ashura took it and Petra helped her steady herself.

"Thank you, Petra." She whispered and Petra offered a small smile. "Of course, Ashura. You are helping us out a great deal as well. So thank you as well. I thought it might be easier to adjust here if you had a friend other than Uldren." She said and Ashura nodded as they walked down the hallway leading to the docking bay. Krux stood waiting for her beside a fallen dressed in green. "Ashura... Krux happy to see." she said and Ashura smiled at her. "Good to see you too Krux." She said and Krux shoved the green clad fallen out in front of her. "This Variks." She introduced and Ashura limped over to him and offered a hand to him to shake.

"You are... A strange guardian." he said and she nodded. "So I have been told." She sighed in Eliksni, catching him off guard. He looked from her to Krux who nodded. "I see... Enlightening to meet you." he said and grasped her hand within his own. "Stay safe, Queen of Kells. We are going to need you soon enough." He said softly in Eliksni and she stared at him in surprise as he and Krux made their way back over to their area where they seemed to discuss things amongst themselves. She turned to see the queen approaching her and she bowed to the woman lightly. "Ashura... Take this beacon. If you are ever in trouble, activate it and I will send someone for you. Farewell for now, Sister." she said softly and grasped Ashura's forearm in a sort of salute. Ashura gripped hers back gently, taken aback by the kindness of the queen.

"Gosh Damn that woman is hot." Ashura and the queen looked up in surprise, the voice catching them off guard. "Misra, no. Pick a side. You can't Like older men and relatively young women as well." Her ghost grumbled and Ashura raised a brow at the exo woman and her ghost. "Farewell, my queen." Ashura said as she turned to make her way over to the exo and Nina, who stood behind her with a sheepish look. "Forgive me my queen." Nina called and Mara shook her head as she continued to stroll away.

"Alrighty you four-armed weirdo, up you go." Misra said as she grabbed the shorter woman by the mechanical arm swiftly, causing an electrical discharge between the two that caused Ashura's vision to go dark as she crumpled to the floor.

"Damn it Misra." was the last thing she heard.

:-:-:_ A week later_:-:-:

"Ashura, How are you feeling?" Cayde asked as her silver eyes landed on him. "How do you think I am doing?" She grumbled as she made her way into the vanguard room. "Soooo... I see you met Misra." He offered and she glared at him. "Yeah... you think?" She huffed as she pointed at the burnt circuitry of her mechanical arms. The arms moved well enough it seemed, but they were definitely toast. "Soooo... do you think you'd be up for a strike with me?" He asked and she narrowed her eyes at him. "Who is the third member of the team?" she asked and he scratched the back of his head.

"Ok I promise she wont touch your arms again. That was a fluke." He assured her and she crossed her arms over her chest. "Absolutely not." She hissed and he watched her oddly. "Why not." he challenged and she glared at him. "She zapped the hell out of me, and she's some odd vex exo." She snapped and Cayde sighed and put a hand over his face. "Rest assured, I know. Zavala caught her with a bottle of radiolaria." he said and Ashura looked at him like he was insane. "You are joking right? She is clearly of vex make, so what the hell is she doing here?" she asked and he scratched his head sheepishly.

"I made her?" he said questioningly and she stared at him with her jaw agape. "What were you thinking Cayde?" She sighed and he shrugged. "I built the body but the person inhabiting it is completely out of my hands... literally. I can't touch her cause radiolaria is gross. Ans i think she might be radioactive because she glows sometimes." he said and Ashura rubbed her eyes. Ashura looked over at the woman who just entered the room. "I would... just like to be friends..." she said softly and Ashura sighed. "Ugh. Fine. Just please don't touch my arms again." She said and Misra cheered in delight.

"What is the strike on?" She asked and Cayde had an excited look to his posture. This couldn't be good.

And it wasn't. Ashura jumped to avoid a herd of thrall as the chased her down. "Damn you Cayde." She growled as the Gunslinger jumped around like a rabbit avoiding all the thrall and drawing attention to her. "Come on Ashura, you are better than this." He chastised as he began to glow a bright orange. He shot off three rounds and Thrall began to explode everywhere he shot. "This is why they don't let you leave the tower." She hissed and he chuckled. "Oh no... that reason is much worse." Ivara said before he could say anything and Ashura rolled her eyes. She would take the word of his ghost on that.

She clenched her fist and shoulder dropped down on the large group of thrall chasing her. The rippling wave of electricity disintegrated every thrall it came across and knocked Misra off her feet. "Holy shit Cayde I thought you said she was a hunter!" Misra yelled as she rolled back to her feet. Ashura smirked as she rolled into invisibility and ducked around behind the wizard Mormu only to jump up onto its back and plunge a knife into its neck. "I am." She said and Misra looked at her in confusion. Her hands held out in front of her. "Don't sweat your pretty little mind dear. We don't understand either." Cayde called as he approached the door and kicked it open.

They ran out into a large open area where all the hive turned to face them. Acolytes fired from all over the place, causing them to all duck and dodge to avoid the flying bullets around the room. "I hate you Cayde." Ashura growled as she jumped onto a knight and twisted its head off, only for an acolyte to shoot her off of the knight as it fell. Ashura rolled to the side and pushed herself to her feet. She looked over to where Kabr was healing the burn to her side. "Despite this new leg, you still have a lot of chemicals in your blood still..." "I know. Uldren and I are trying to figure out a way to fix that." she said and stood to take off towards another knight that was down a pathway to the side.

She kicked the sword out of his hands and proceeded to use it against him. She looked over to see Cayde and Misra dancing, yes literally dancing, around enemy gunfire. They were completely in sync. Ashura glared at the two of them and blasted the acolyte they were dance dodging with her hand cannon. They turned to look at her and she spun her hand cannon to slip it back in her holster. They huffed and proceeded to make her way towards the summoning pits. Ashura continued down the hallway and took out the shrieker when it splt open. They entered the large room and Ashura took a deep breath and turned around to face Cayde with an irate look. "A damn Ogre? Not to mention a massive one?" She asked angrilly and if they could smile at her, they would have.

"It sounded fun." was their only defense.

"I hate you both." She growled and decrypted her blades. She dropped down and flexed the handles of the blades causing arc energy to consume the blades. "Come on then." Ashura growled as she began exchanging blows with a blade knight. Cayde went straight for the ogre, much to Ashura's annoyance. He and Misra were flawless together, but with Ashura involved she wanted nothing more than to scream. Misra pulled her golden gun and aimed right at the ogre as well. They fought with this thing for like an hour, but then they were all hiding behind the same rock. Ashura opened her mouth to speak but Cayde held up a hand to her.

"Not a word." He grumbled and she smirked. She looked over to Misra who shook her head as well. "Say nothing." She growled and Ashura crossed her arms over her chest. "Who said this was a bad idea?" she asked and they both looked at her unamused. "What did we say?" Cayde growled and Ashura smirked. "I told you so." She bit out and both the exo exchanged glances then nodded at each other. Ashura didn't like this. "Ashura, one day you will forgive us." Cayde said as he grabbed the smaller woman and lobbed her at the Ogre. She barely had time to react as she hit the ground and rolled at his feet. He looked down at her and fear consumed her, right before the darkness hit once more.

The last thing she heard was Misra say, "Boop." then silence.

And that was how she woke up in the medical wing of the tower for the second time since she had been back... which had been four weeks. She glared heatedly at the two exo that were fist bumping each other across the room. "I will end you both." She hissed and Sakura watched her with sorrowful eyes. "I'm afraid I cant let you out of this bed until I get more of the oil out of your blood. You getting detonated like that is because of the spark Misra ignites between you two. It isn't safe and if it continues to happen you will combust due to the oil in your body." Sakura said and shot a glare at the two exo.

"Which means do not touch her. You are both making her situation so much worse... Extreme activity gets the oils moving around faster. I will be leaving soon and I can't remove the oil from her heart again until I return. Which means if she gets a buildup of oil in her heart like she has with her lungs... not even her ghost can save her then." Sakura said and the jovial mood came to an abrupt stop. "Sakura, where are you going?" she asked and the pink haired woman frowned at her. "Hinata was taken by Crota. We are going to save her, and Misra here is going to show us where she last saw her." Sakura said and Ashura nodded. "Bring her home safe... She makes me feel like... I belong." she whispered and Sakura nodded. "Of course." Sakura said and made her way out of the room. Misra left as well, and that left only Cayde. "What the hell were you thinking?" she ground out and he sat on the bed next to her. "It worked didn't it?" he asked lightly and then sighed. "Don't worry about it right now. This is the safest place for you at the moment..." He sighed, his whole demeanor changing.

"Cayde... What is going on?"

"As you said once before... if it can go wrong it will... we are all in the midst of everything going wrong. I know you had a great little vacation with your boyfriend, but something doesn't feel right and I believe Crota is not the only issue at the moment." He muttered and she frowned. "Why don't you think Crota is the only issue?" she asked and he looked over at her and she could tell from his posture alone that it was serious.

"The fallen are moving around oddly, sporting new colors... I think something big is about to happen but none of them will tell me what."

Thank you for reading!!! I hope you have enjoyed these last few light hearted chapters... everything is changing and everyone is fearing what is about to happen. It shouldn't be much longer before you all get another update. I just hope everyone is still enjoying themselves because I know I am. I hope everyone likes the new title as well, The Fate of Fools. I felt that since I have about... Twelve more chapters pre planned here for this story, and about 23 to 28 more chapters planned for Those of the Light I would get to work on fleshing them out. I also plan to come back in the future to add maybe more depth and whatnot to the stories. I thought you would like to know that there is so much more coming.

And it is going to be great in my opinion.