I do not own destiny.

Ashura touched the marbled walls gently. She was here again, this Dreaming city. The last time she had been here, she hadn't seen hide nor hair of the young child. This time she could hear his footsteps rapidly making their way through the hallways and she found it impossible to keep up. "Come on!" he called out to her and she smiled as she rushed around the corner. "Where are you taking me, young one?" She asked and he just grinned at her. She rushed around the corner and saw him standing in front of what looked like a taken rift. "Follow me! I have to show you something." He chirped excitedly.

He jumped through the rift and she followed hesitantly. When she appeared on the other side, she couldn't believe what she saw. It was the room with the massive star map in the center. "Why are we here young one?" She asked and he grabbed her hand and tugged her up the staircase around the side. A woman stood before them there, her face concealed by a partial helmet. She offered a small smile to the young child. "Do you have the offering?" She asked and the boy dug around in his pocket to pull out a shimmering purple crystal. The woman took it and levitated it towards the machine, which suddenly began spinning in the opposite direction, only to come to a stop and a circular door opened to reveal a portal within.

She stepped onto the ledge and hopped over to the small platform between the machine and the woman behind her. She turned back to face the young boy but he ushered her forwards. "Are you coming little one?" She asked and he nodded as he climbed onto the banister to try and hop across as well. She caught him as he jumped and she smiled softly as he giggled. She took him into her arms and hopped across and into the portal. She landed softly on the floor and set him down. Her eyes instantly took to scanning the room. There was a holotable to her left and a table to her right with maps and whatnot scattered about.

She looked in front of her to see an empty white throne. She made her way over to the holotable as the boy took off across the room. She tapped the small image on the holotable and videos of Petra and Cayde chasing large fallen appeared. She watched curiously as she saw one that donned hive armor and another that donned cabal armor. She reached to touch another image, but a hand grabbed her wrist swiftly and she jumped.

"That... is not one you wish to see."

Ashura couldn't believe her ears. It couldn't be... She tore her eyes away from the image of the prison of elders. "You aren't real." Ashura whispered and amused laughter reached her ears. "Has pregnancy ruined your eyes?" Her voice came out elegant, but highly amused. Ashura bit her lip and squeezed her eyes shut. "Oh this has got to be a dream..." She whispered and turned to face the woman she never thought she would see again.

"Mara Sov..."

"Sister." The boy chirped and Ashura was frozen in shock as she looked down to the boy. Mara smiled softly and stroked the boys hair. He smiled brightly up at her and Ashura couldn't hold it in anymore. She hit her knees and started crying. Little Uldren dropped his twin's hand and rushed to hug her as tight as the small boy could. "Ashura... Are you alright?" Mara asked as she crouched beside the sobbing woman. Mara brushed the hair from Ashura's face and frowned. "You're in so much pain, dear sister..." She whispered and Ashura looked up at her with bloodshot eyes.

"Are you real?" she asked and Mara nodded. "Yes, I am. I had to snuff out my light because there is something out there searching for me that is not my dearest brother." She said and Ashura looked down to the little Uldren still hugging her. "Then... where is he?" She asked and Mara frowned. "That... I cannot say... For I truly don't know." Mara said and Ashura nodded. "What is it that you don't want me to see in the prison?" She asked and Mara frowned.

"In short... There are fallen that you thought were your friend, Imprisoned there. They were caught cooperating with the Barons and an unknown enemy. They were uniting the fallen for all the wrong reasons... they wanted to wage war on the tower. I am proud of my Wrath though... She is doing a pleasant job keeping the peace without allowing everyone to know what she is doing." Mara said and turned to make her way to her throne.

"Mara... If you don't know where he is... What is he then?" Ashura asked and Mara smiled softly. "The little one is the embodiment of my brother's light. Just as this visage you see of me is mine. However, I do not think my brother has well enough control of his light right now to call upon you like I can." Mara said and her face darkened at this. "This makes me worry for his safety, because something isn't right. I used to be able to feel his every emotion... his every mood... I used to hear his every thought that he let slip or that he wanted me to..." Mara frowned deeply as she picked at a nonexistent string on her sleeve.

"Now I hear nothing and feel only his fear." She whispered and Ashura's heart started to race.

"His fear is suffocating me."

:-:-:-:-:

Ashura couldn't shake the foreboding feeling she had gotten from that dream state. She looked around and didn't know who she could trust with the information she had been given by the queen. She received a rapid kick to her gut and she huffed in irritation. "Look here little one, you kick me any harder and you're going to free yourself early." She grumbled as she ran her fingertips over the area her baby had launched his little foot. The flutters of movement in her stomach made her smile. She pressed a hand to her stomach as she attempted to push herself from her seat, only to hear irritated scolding from across the room.

She laughed lightly as Cayde was upon her within a moments notice. He had his hand on her lower back and the other took hold of hers to help her up. "Look here you stubborn ass woman. You are within a week of popping the little man out, don't strain yourself and drop him on the floor." Cayde grumbled, causing Ikora to laugh from over her books. She glanced over to look at Zavala, who was quiet, but he had a small smile on his face. He had warmed back up to her and the idea of a child running around. Nina made her way over to Ashura and placed a hand on her stomach ever so gently, feeling the flutter of movement beneath her hand Nina beamed up at her.

"I think it has been far too long in the tower without a tiny one..." Ikora said and silent agreement seemed to fill the room. "So have you actually decided on a name yet?" Ikora asked and Ashura nodded with a small smile. "Yes... She's naming him after me of course!" Loki chirped from the doorway. "Not this time, Loki. Sorry." She said with a smile and he stuck his tongue out at her, which she returned. "His name is Noah! You can't change it!!!" Misra yelled as she rushed in the doorway and Ashura laughed loudly.

"I wouldn't dream of it Misra." Ashura said softly and the Exo's eyes lit up brilliantly. "So, enough of me and little Noah. How are things at the farm?" Ashura asked and Ikora smiled. "Sasuke and Hinata have taken to expanding the land there so they can continue to supply the tower with much needed food, while Sakura and Naruto have taken Gaara and Ino to attempt to build another city. Little by little we hope to reclaim this planet as our own, and with the Lucky seven we will have no issue in doing so." Ikora said and Ashura nodded. Ashura looked over to the man sitting in the corner of the room propped up.

"And you Shikamaru? What are you planning on doing?" She asked and he cracked an eye to look at her. "Something didn't feel right, so I decided to stay. Peace never lasts long, and to think it has lasted almost six months after the destruction of Siva? Too long for something to not go wrong. The Vex have located all their attentions to a Centaur called Nessus, and have vacated our moon... The Cabal are radio silent. The Hive are in hiding..." He shook his head as he stood and shoved his hands in his pockets. "Ever since you have been trying to reason with the Fallen, some of them have made their choice known to acknowledge you as their leader, while the rest seem to be going into hiding." He continued and Ashura nodded.

"Something isn't right, but as of this moment I can't do anything about it." Ashura sighed and rubbed a hand over her stomach once more. "However, I can get in contact with someone who can help me." She said and pulled a small beacon from her pocket. She ran her thumb over the lens and it glowed softly in her hand. "Ashura, you beckon?" "Yes, Jolyon. We have some slight worries about the happenings around us right now. Can you shed any light on this for us?" She asked and the man nodded and began typing away at something.

She set the beacon on the table and it expanded to show a larger image for them. She could see him dragging footage around a screen and a crow leaning to peck at the beacon, eliciting an amuse chuckle from the man. "Ok... So on Mars... there seems to be a lack of movement of the Cabal... It's like they're all leaving the system. That was what confused me the most." He muttered as images of Cabal loading up into massive drop ships appeared for them to see. They watched as the images turned to show that all the known bases for the Cabal were empty.

"Maybe this is a good sign?" Ashura asked and Jolyon shrugged lightly. "I wouldn't be too sure. I mean yeah this is basically a sign of surrender, but there is also a possibility that they see that something more dangerous is coming and they are running from it and not us." He said and murmurs erupted around the room. "Well... What about the Hive?" Eris asked and He looked towards her. "Eris Morn... It has been far too long." He commented before pulling more footage of the crows up on the feed. "They seem to be going underground as well." He muttered and then pulled feeds of the Fallen up. "The fallen don't seem to be doing anything different so I figure right now our main concern would be with them. Ashura, You may have a fallen civil war on your hands. I would recommend contacting Krux and Variks. You may need to reform the House of Judgement." He said and she nodded.

"Thank you, Jolyon." She said and he nodded before cutting the feed. "A Fallen Civil War?" Zavala asked and Ashura frowned. "Seems so." She sighed and let out a sharp whistle. A crow landed before them and hopped over to them. "Can you go find Krux and Variks for me?" she asked and the crow let out a chirp and took off. Ashura grunted softly as little Noah planted a foot in the bottom of her lung. "Look here little one... we are going to have issues if you don't cut that out."

"Cayde come with me." She called and the Exo took off after her, giving the vanguard no time to react. "What's up?" he asked and she just smiled at him. She wove her fingers in between his and he watched her curiously. "Are you alright Ashura?" He asked and She nodded with a smile. "I just wanted to thank you..." She whispered and he narrowed his eyes at her. "Why?" He asked accusingly and she couldn't help the laugh that escaped her. "For helping me... for being here to support me every step of the way..." She said softly and He released her hand as she made her way over to the balcony to look down at the city.

"I wish, more often than not, that Uldren had been here with me... Helping me through this..." She whispered and Cayde stepped towards her. She looked over at him with saddened eyes and he placed a hand on her shoulder. "You have been here for me from the start and I never actually got the chance to thank you." She said and he tilted his head at her. "Ashura, of course I would help you through this... You are my beloved student. I would give anything in this world to be here with you right now. That's how friends are..." He muttered and she shook her head.

"No... not the pregnancy... I mean everything. I want to thank you. For seeing potential in me when everyone else looked down on me. I want to thank you for trying to be my friend even though I went through a horrible self destructive phase. I want to thank you for never giving up on me, even though you disapproved of Uldren." She whispered and he shrugged. "It's only who I am. Ashura... I saw the potential in you that Andal Brask saw in me. And when you gave me that cloak... my best friend was avenged. Yeah, I was pissed that I couldn't help... but... to have a loyal student that would risk everything to do it for me... I am honored." He said and grabbed her hand gently.

"Thank you." He said and she smiled at him. "So are you still hopelessly in love with me?" She asked and he looked down at her in amusement. "Oh, love... I would still electrify your circuits any day." He purred at her and she laughed. He ruffled her hair lovingly as he turned away from her. "I'll always love you, you little shit." He said and she tucked herself under his arm gently. "Even if you never love me back in the same way, I will always love you."

Ashura looked up at him and smiled sadly. "Is it because I remind you so much of Ivara?" She asked and he scratched his head gently. "As much as I would like to think of it in that manner... I do not think that it is completely that. Yeah, you are damn near an exact replica of her... But... You are also different. She was in no way the little rage monkey you are." He laughed and Ashura rolled her eyes. "But... You treat me like I'm no different than you are... You laugh at my jokes, You make me feel... Human." He said and she nodded.

"Does no one else make you feel that way?" she asked and he shook his head. "I... I am losing my memories... Every reboot I go through, I lose more. I have blank spots and I don't know if I will ever remember everything. Ivara helps me keep track of things." He sighed and she looked down towards the city once more. "I never knew, Cayde... I'm sorry." She said and he laughed lightly. "Don't stress it. As long as I don't go through another reboot I promise I will never forget you. I know thats really what youre worried about." He joked lightly and she nudged him with her elbow.

"You are annoying you know that?" She grumbled and if he could of grinned at her, he would have.

"See, that's a human trait. I told you, you treat me like I'm human."

:-:-: Eight Months Later :-:-:

It felt odd, wearing armor again, but she enjoyed the feeling nonetheless. She pulled the top of her hair into two braids that met at the back of her head and dropped into a ponytail atop the rest of her hair. When it was down it reached to the center of her ribs. Misra had found herself excitable with braiding it into traditional Norse braids and she had to admit she loved the warrior vibe it gave her. Ashura looked to her left to where her tiny child slept. She reached over and traced over the soft markings of his face, painfully mirroring his father's own markings.

He had come out looking like his father in all aspects but his hair. That was all hers... A pure white mop of hair fluffed atop his tiny head. He had glowing amber eyes just like his father, and every time she looked at him... her heart ached. She sometimes found herself needing to get as far away from those eyes as she could, but then she couldn't and she would be right back by his side. Enraged with herself for wanting to be away from her tiny son. She hated the fact people said they couldn't blame her though, wanting some distance from the child whose father is missing and presumed dead once more? She hated it because little Noah had done nothing wrong, she was just an emotional wreck.

"Ashura... If you wake him, I will hurt you." Cayde grumbled from across the room. She smiled at her friend and self proclaimed surrogate father for her child. Her child was by no means a crier, which Cayde had yet to learn. He was just a restless baby. "Oh look at you, not wanting me to wake the baby." She laughed softly and he rolled his eyes. "I have forgotten what it was like to have a tiny human around. Now, go make the world safer for your son." He grumbled and shooed her out. She smiled as she closed the door behind her. A familiar face she hadn't seen in quite a while rounded the corner and she smiled brightly at the woman.

"Artemis!" She called and the woman looked at her in surprise. "Oh wow... So that's what you look like." Artemis mused softly. "So I see you finally took the advice of the vanguard and got glasses." Ashura said in amusement and Artemis chuckled darkly. "Yeah, seems certain people don't take too kindly to an arrow to the ass." She mused darkly and Ashura shook her head. "Yeah I wouldn't think so." Ashura mused, but smirked at her. "Who did you get?" she asked and Artemis chuckled.

"Asher Mir never saw it coming."

"Oh lord..." Ashura sighed. Ashura had never met the man, but from what she heard he was insufferable. "Yeah... Ikora got the rundown on what happened in like a thousand different ways." Artemis snorted and Ashura shook her head once more. "So how is the little one?" Artemis asked and Ashura smiled softly. "He is getting bigger. Thankfully I can say I do not miss when he was tiny. I felt like I would break him..." She sighed and Artemis nodded. "I can understand that... From what I heard he was considered at risk because he was only five pounds and four ounces. That's considered preemie weight." Artemis said and Ashura nodded.

"Yeah, but he sure as hell made me gain weight." Ashura grumbled. She looked down to where her belly slightly pooched in her armor. "Ashura... You look healthy. I would be concerned if you hadn't gained weight." Artemis said and Ashura furrowed her brow at her. "What do you mean?" she asked and Artemis smiled. "You were underweight before... You barely broke a hundred and two pounds. You were so skinny and it showed." She said and Ashura frowned.

"Are you telling me I was an ironing board?" She grumbled and Artemis laughed. "I mean, were barely a B cup and now you're a D. And honestly, now you fill out your armor rather than it having to shrink wrap to fit you." She mused and Ashura held her hands to her chest in embarrassment. "I bet Cayde thinks this look suits you better than the tiny helpless appearance you had before. I mean, you genuinely look healthy. You have a good color to you and a decent weight. You are beautiful, even if you have scars and stretch marks." Artemis said and Ashura smiled at her once more.

"Thank you... I felt so ashamed... So... ugly. I just... couldnt help but feel like I would never be what I was before..." Ashura whispered and Artemis grabbed her shoulder tightly, but not tight enough to hurt her. "You were not healthy before. You were sickly and decrepit. Everyone thought you were going to keel over at the slightest injury..." Artemis said and Ashura frowned. "You look alive... Ashura. You look like everything you were supposed to before." Artemis scolded and Ashura stared at her in confusion.

"And if Uldren can't love you for how you are now, he never loved you to begin with."

"Wait. What?"

Ashura could have sworn she hadn't heard her right. "Did you just..." "Yes, I did." Ashura couldn't breathe. She didn't believe it. She couldn't wrap her mind around what was happening. "Is he here?" She asked and Artemis looked shocked. "You didn't know?" She asked and Ashura shook her head. "Oh shit that may have supposed to have been a surprise." Artemis sighed, but Ashura was already gone. She opened the door behind her and vanished within. She grabbed her infant son and wrapped him up in a blanket and took off as quickly as she could without disturbing him. Her heart was beating so loudly in her ears she didn't know what to think. She was excited, she was scared she was so many things all at once. She made her way to the vanguard room.

How had she not noticed his light?

She slowed her run as she came up to the hall leading to the vanguard room. Her heart beat so loudly she couldn't even hear what Shaxx had said to her, but he held his arms out to her and she caught the hint. She handed her infant son over to him, where he ever so gently cradled him in his large arms. She stepped ever closer to the man she loved and his voice echoed around her like it was the only sound in the room. She reached up to touch him and he whirled on her swiftly, his hand never touched her because as soon as he turned he had recognized her. She dropped to her knees and he followed, wrapping his arms around her.

"Where have you been?"

That was the only thing she could manage and he just continued to hug her. It felt like forever that they just sat there in the floor, not pulling from one another's embrace. What broke the silence, however, was infant babbles. Ashura jumped to her feet and uldren leaned back to sit on his. Ashura could feel his gaze on her as she took the small child from Shaxx. She sat in the floor and unwrapped the blanket from around him gently. "He's much bigger now... He doesn't like to be bundled up that much but it is cold out and I didn't think to grab his little coat..." She rambled softly and Uldren just watched her in silence.

"Ashura... I'm so sorry..." He managed and she looked up at him as he pulled the child from her grasp. She was hesitant to let go of her child, but he could understand. He brushed the messy white hair out of the awoken child's face and he brushed over the markings on the baby's face. The little one only rubbed his cheek against the palm of his hand. A chuckle escaped his lips and Ashura looked up at him. "I had to make sure..." He managed, the amusement in his voice audible. "You had to make sure what?" She asked and he shook his head and smirked at her. "I had to make sure he was mine." Uldren chuckled and Ashura took massive offense to that.

"You have to understand, Ashura... Noah looks like me."

Ashura's eyes went wide at this voice and she turned to see Jolyon standing over them with amusement on his face as well. Uldren stood, cradling his son in one arm, while offering the other hand to help Ashura up. "So where is Cayde. I have to thank him for what he has done for me." Uldren said and Ashura blinked up at him. Something felt off, but she didn't care. He was home. "Don't thank me for anything. You feel free to take your troublesome wife back." Cayde chuckled and Uldren nodded at him as he looked down at Ashura once more. She was staring up at him in confusion.

"What's that look for?" He asked and she pursed her lips. "Nothing." she sighed and he frowned. She took her child from him and walked away. Confused murmurs echoed around the room and he chased after her. "Ashura..." "No. I don't want to talk right now." She snapped and he stopped chasing her. "Ashura please." He called out and her heart began to race. "I don't want to talk here." She snapped and he stared at her in such confusion. It was as if he didn't understand why she was angry.

"Ashura... Give me Noah and you two can go talk." Cayde cut in and Ashura nodded, Handing the little one over to her friend. As soon as Cayde had Noah in his grasp she turned and took off once more. Uldren chased after her once more, not understanding what was going on. "Ashura... What's wrong?" He asked and he could see her fist her hands at her sides. He grabbed her shoulder and she sent a punch his way. He dodged it and stepped away from her. "Why did you come back?!" She snarled and he was taken aback by the rage in her eyes. If her eyes could go red with anger, they would be glowing.

"I promised you I would..." This didn't seem to sate her rage it only seemed to be fuel to the fire. "You promised you would come back, but you never said it would be a whole year and five damn months!" She snapped and his eyes softened. "You never said you were going to make me think you were dead! You never said anything!" She snapped, jabbing her finger into the center of his chest plate roughly. He reached for her hand but she jerked away from him. "Don't you dare touch me!" She sobbed angrily and his heart ached. "Ashura..." "Stop talking!" She snapped and tried to hit him again but he deflected her punch once more and grabbed her tightly.

"There is something else out there, Ashura. And it had a hold on me. Something happened and it released me, I'm not exactly sure what it was, but I have an idea. I need you to please understand that I never meant to hurt you." He managed with a grunt as she struggled within his embrace. "Let me go dammit! I can't take anymore lies." She sobbed as she struggled within his embrace. "Ashura... I promise I'm not lying to you. Please give me a chance to explain." He pleaded into the nape of her neck softly.

"Let me go!" She snarled and he did and she stumbled to her feet. "I don't want to hear anything you have to say! I can't bear it, Uldren! You can't just walk back in and act like nothing ever happened! You can't just pretend you never left!" She snapped and this time he got angry. "I'm not trying to act like nothing happened!" He snarled, the ferocity of it shook her to the core. "My sister is DEAD! I almost died trying to find her!" He yelled and she stood before him like a deer in headlights. Tears shone in her silver eyes and the made his heart ache, but dammit if she couldn't get the hint nicely, she was going to get it in the way she was giving it to him.

He continued to yell at her, cornering her and when she had nowhere to go, he hit his knees and pressed his head against her leg. She didn't move for a moment, but soon enough she slid down the wall and wrapped her arms around his neck gently. He wrapped his arms around her and pulled her into his lap, only for him to bury his head in her hair. He was hiding from all the prying eyes that had come to see their shouting match. He was hiding his tears within her hair he didn't want anyone to see him cry.

"I'm so sorry Uldren..." She sobbed softly and he gripped her tighter to him. "No, I am sorry. I never should have left." He sighed as he slowly released her. "Would you like something to eat?" He asked and she nodded as she wiped her tears away with the back of her hand. "Hey... Ashura. I need to talk to you really quick. I promise I will have her back to you in just a moment Uldren." Jolyon said and the dark haired man nodded as he wandered off to find somewhere for Ashura to eat.

"My Queen... He was not lying when he said something had control of him." Jolyon whispered softly, causing Ashura to look at him oddly. "When I found him, he didn't even recognize me. I don't know if he is truly back, or whatever it was that had a hold of him temporarily relinquished its grasp, but be careful." He said softly and she nodded. "Ok... Do you think there is any way to save him?" She asked and he frowned. "Talk to Osiris. He may be able to help, because I cannot. If you see him start to get bad... Get away from him." Jolyon warned and Ashura nodded.

"So... You're telling me to keep an eye on him without letting him know?" she asked and he nodded. "Be careful. If he seems ok, do not let him leave. It seems that once he is within reach of the Traveler, whatever darkness that has a hold of him has no choice but to relinquish him." He said and she nodded. "Thank you, Jolyon." She whispered as she made her way to find Uldren once more. She rounded the corner to see him standing there propped against the wall.

He had heard everything.

"Are you angry?" She asked and he watched her softly. "No. I understand." He said and she watched him with saddened eyes. "Are you alright, my love?" She asked and he shook his head. "No... Ashura... I'm not." He sighed and She made her way over to him to reach up to brush her fingers over his cheeks. "What is it?" She asked as he placed his hands over hers against his cheeks. "Ashura... I have so much to lose." He said and she watched him with saddened eyes. "I have you... I have... A son... I have a family... And whatever this darkness in me is, it is threatening to take that all away from me." He said and his eyes slipped shut softly.

"I am terrified." He whispered and she hugged herself to him tightly.

"I will do everything I can to protect you."