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"You have to hold on!" He scoffed as his friend's words. "To what? The fucking Vex?!" One of his fireteam groaned. "Knock it off, both of you! Atheon's here!" The duo went silent, watching as a large time flux appeared, revealing Atheon. "Finally! The real heart of the Vault! You ready?" "As ever." The trio quickly reloaded their guns and flashed into action. In the vast space deep below the surface of Venus, gunfire echoed, the cries of machines sounded, and the shouts of tactics and encouragements bellowed.

However, something happened that none of the guardians expected; they were slowly being wrapped in a strange flux of darkness, swallowing them slowly. "What's happening?!" "...No...no! Atheon's--" They glanced to their friend, waiting for his words. "Atheon's going to send us to different times!" "What?! How?!" "Remember, this is the only place where the Vex can control reality..." His words slowed as he spoke them, another revelation coming over the group. The flux surged upwards and they were all nearly swallowed. I have to do something, but what?! He tried to think of a way to save all of them, to make sure that they will survive whatever was about to happen to them. They watched as their friend's head snapped up, calling out his Ghost. "What are you doing?" "Call your Ghosts and please...trust me."

They hesitated only for a second, doing as their friend asked. "Guardian?" His Ghost spoke, and he smiled to the gift of the Traveler even though his Ghost couldn't see it. "Don't worry, my little Light, everything will be alright." The rest of the group felt a chill go down their spines; they have only heard him call his Ghost 'his little Light' when he KNEW they were doomed. The flux surrounding them was about to envelop them but in that moment before it did, something shined from their friend and their Ghosts vanished, one of them reaching out to him, shouting his name.

And then, they were gone.

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On Earth, within the Devils' Lair, the Fallen were carefully watching as a little floating ball drifted around. They waited to see what it was going to do when one of their Captains appeared just as it hovered over a body; or rather skeleton. "Is it...it is!" The Devils' Captain spoke then, spooking the Ghost. The Ghost didn't know what to do, it has been searching for what seems like eons to find this body, but it had no way to defend itself. Then the Captain said something strange. "You...want me to do what I came to do? Um...why?" The Captain didn't say anything more and after a moment, Ghost did what it came to do.

Before their eyes, the House of Devils watched as a Guardian was resurrected. He was clothed in armor, clenching an auto rifle in his hands, a knife strapped to his thigh, and a cloak coiled around his body. "Guardian? Can you hear me?" He didn't respond, and his Ghost got scared when the Captain leaned down, one of its hands reaching for his neck. The Fallen Captain could faintly feel the blood pulsing under the armor the guardian dawned. Carefully, after holstering its weapon, the Captain scooped the Guardian into its arms, cradling him to its chest. "What are you going to do to him?!" The Captain spoke, its words surprising the Ghost as the Fallen walked away, barking orders to its underlings. Ghost followed the Captain after a moment, boarding the Fallen Skiff as they headed for their destination.

The Cabal patrolling Cerberus VAE III didn't quite know what to make of the sight before them; a Ghost was hover about what they believed to be its Guardian, flitting back and forth, occasionally nudging against the Guardian's helmet. The Siege Dancers' Colossus strided over to the body. "Don't hurt him!" The Ghost called, making the Colossus pause for a second. The Cabal knelt down, moving the Guardian's body so he laid on his back; he was dressed in thick armor, some like of cloth or mark wrapped around his waist, dangling over his left leg, noting that the Guardian clutched the scout rifle in his hand a little tighter.

The Cabal spoke something to its comrades, lifting the unresponsive Guardian up. His Ghost followed attentively, not wanting something to happen to the Guardian he finally found again; the Colossus placed the Guardian it carried in the Harvester at its feet, shielding his from any fire the Vex might throw at them as they hurried back to the Cabal's base. Once there, they made their way onto one of the Cabal's ships, the vessel quickly taking off and breaking orbit.

A place only few have stepped in and come back alive, a lone Ghost wandered the Crystal Chamber, trying to find something. The Ghost left the crystal and traveled the rest of the chamber, searching desperately. It looked around when it heard the cries of the Hive, unsure of how much time it has before they come. "Where are you?" He floated over to a large platform, scanning the bodies that laid scattered. "Ah!" Ghost exclaimed after he scanned a skeleton near the center of the platform. "No...what happened to you, Guardian?" There was something not right about its dead Guardian, something it couldn't place, but it needed to revive the Guardian so they can leave.

Of course, that's when the Hive flooded in.

Ghost knew there wasn't much time left before it was destroyed, but no matter how many times it tried, its Guardian wasn't rising. "Come on...please..." It gathered all of the Light it carried and tried one last time, and right before the dozens of Thralls dug their claws into the Ghost there was a blinding flash. The room that was once full of movement was still as a body laid on the floor, the form breathing harshly as he didn't have his helmet for some strange reason.

...RAVEN!...

Raven gasped as he jolted awake, sitting up too fast, his sight blurring for a moment. "Ha...ha...ha...Ghost?" "Raven! You're okay!" The warlock weakly chuckled as his Ghost bumped against his cheek in affection, gently cradling him in his hand. Raven glance up when he felt claws wrap around his back and under his legs, going wide-eyed when the Wizard lifted him into her arms. He heard her voice in the back of his mind. 'Why has our God..?' Hesitating for a moment, he reached up and rested his hand against her face, confusion in his eyes. 'Nothing. Come, I will take you home.' Raven's mind was still trying to process what was going on, his body still recovering from what it had to endure; he fell against the Wizard, feeling a faint echo of something in the room he was in as the Hive's Tomb Ships surfaced, the Wizard gliding up to it. 'I have gifted you with life. Do not waste it, Guardian.' The echo of the being spoke before fading away as Raven drifted into blank slumber.

At the Tower, Cayde-6 was trying to fight of his usual level of boredom, still trying to sway Ikora into taking up one of his bets for Crucible matches since he's given up on Zavala ever taking one. Though, that boredom was quickly lost when the Tower's alarms went off. "You're kidding! There's no way..!" The trio quickly rushed to the main area where most of their Guardians wandered and hung out and there before them was a sight they couldn't believe: a Fallen, Hive, and Cabal ship breaking orbit right above the Tower!

The Guardians that were in the area readied their weapons when their Vanguards shouted to just hold their ground; there had been no indications from any of the factions before them that they were planning an invasion. They wanted to see that was about to transpire. From each ship, one 'representative' came down; a Fallen Captain, a Hive Wizard, and a Cabal Colossus. And within each of their grasps...was a Guardian.

"What do you want?" Zavala asked, hoping that things won't escalate further. The three before them said nothing, but the Guardian in the Wizard's arms stirred awake, glancing around, a faint smile on his lips when he saw the other two Guardians. "They survived...good..." "Guardian, what do they want?" He gazed down to a Warlock he didn't recognize, worry on her face. "They want to return us to our home." The air seemed to leave the area. The enemy wanting to return the people hunting them down back to the Tower? What was going on?

Cayde took a few steps forward, making his way to the warlock when the Hive Wizard growled, dark magic coiling around her. The Guardian she held hushed her, much to both the Vanguard's and Eris Morn's surprise when she joined the trio. "I...think they want to return us to our Vanguard." He explained, praying that this didn't turn into a firefight. After a moment, the hunter Vanguard--another face he didn't know--nodded his head, making his way towards the Fallen Captain; the titan Vanguard made his way to the Cabal Colossus, leaving his Vanguard to retrieve him. The Wizard was hesitant, but she handed him over to his teacher, lingering her hand on his form; he smiled warmly to her before his Vanguard backed away from her. "I...have to ask: why...did he do that?" His Vanguard paused in her step, looking at the Wizard he addressed in confusion. 'I do not know. But do not waste his gift, Guardian.' He grinned weakly. "Don't plan to."

And just as quickly as they came, the three factions vanished.

"Young one, what is your name?" "Raven. But, can we talk after my friends are treated? I imagine that they must be freezing." "So are you, Raven. Cayde, Zavala, let's head inside." The two men she addressed nodded their heads, Raven's eyes being held by a woman's that were hidden under a black cloth. Ghost spawned moments later, nuzzling against Raven's cheek again. "Heh, I'm alright, Ghost; they are too..." Ghost followed where his Guardian was looking and made some kind of happy chirp, quickly gliding to the duo, bouncing between them for a moment, before going back to Raven. Raven smiled as his Ghost floated down to rest in his hands, trying to fight off his body's signals to pass out again. No...not until I know that they're safe. His eyes caught sight of the woman from before trailing behind at a distance. "Who is she?" His Vanguard glanced behind and sighed. "That is Eris Morn, she's a former Guardian." "What happened to her Light?" "Gone. She now advises us in issues with the Hive." Raven hummed softly, unsure of what he could say.

The Vanguards finally reached a room, Cayde opening the door and let the others inside. "The bed's big enough for the three of them." Cayde spoke, leading them to the bedroom, Raven still fighting off the urge to close his eyes. Not yet. Not yet! Cayde place the hunter in his arms on the left side of the bed, the duo unsure of how they'd get the others in when Raven carefully slipped out of his Vanguard's arms, crawling over the hunter, pulling his hood down to reveal his face; it was peaceful for now and that's all Raven needed to see.

"Here." He reached for the titan, his features still a little tight, and Zavala handed him over, surprised by the warlock's strength as he cradled the titan to his chest, placing him on the right side of the bed, making sure his back was facing the wall; he relaxed then, his hand reached forward and curled around Raven's waist. He laid down and combed his fingers through the hunter's messy hair, laughing softly when he turned to him, head tucked under the warlock's chin, cuddling tightly against Raven's form, making sure that one of his hands touched the titan's body; the titan, in turn, moved up some, pushing his arm gently under the duo's heads and creating an arm pillow for them to use.

Finally, Raven felt his eyes grow too heavy and he drifted off to sleep, one hand coiled around the hunter's back and into his hair, the other was interlocked with the titan's hand on his waist. Cayde pulled the sheets up over their bodies, tenderly petting Raven's head a few times. "What in the Light's name happened to you three..?" "I can't tell you that, but I can tell you something about the warlock." The trio snapped their heads to where Eris stood, her eyes stuck on the middle Guardian. "What do you mean, Eris?"

"Part of that boy's Light is no longer there."

...What? "What are you talking about? If his Light was missing, even a part of it, him and his Ghost wouldn't be alive." Eris said nothing more, only watched the warlock as he slept. But her words had spread Cayde-6's question to the rest of the Vanguard: what had happened to these Guardians?

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The soft glow of the sunlight hitting his eyes finally stirred him awake, having felt like it had been months since he last woke up. Turned onto his back, he was greeted by a warm, sleepy smile. "Good morning, Raven." "Morning." He reached up, the palm of his hand cupping the Titan's cheek. Glancing to his left, his expression changed into confusion. "Where is..?" "Morning workout." Raven hummed, giving the Titan a quick hug before slipping out of bed, heading towards the living room. Scattered near the couch was the Hunter's cloak, greaves, and body armor; gazing his eyes forward, he was greeted by the sight was a sweat-covered back, the sound of soft panting, and the knowledge that his friend was alright. "Oh." He spoke when he caught the reflection of the Warlock in the window. "Raven!" He raced over to his friend, wrapping his arms around him and squeezing tightly. "Hey, I missed you too."

The Hunter pulled back, Raven quickly noting that his smile had vanished and he ducked as his fist tried to connect with his nose. "Bastard!" The front door was thrown open after the Warlock was pinned to the wall, the Hunter's forearm holding him there by his throat. They were both sporting a black eye, several scratches, and a few more bruises than they had when they first came back home. The Titan was able to pulled the Hunter off of Raven before the Vanguard reached them. "You fucking asshole! Why did you do that?!" "I didn't have a choice, Lightning! We all would have died if I didn't do what I did!" Lightning stopped struggling against the Titan's grasp and stilled, the Titan looking just as lost as the man he was holding. "...What?" "The only thing I'm still trying to understand is how I'm even still alive!"

Cayde placed his hand on Raven's shoulder, but the man walked away, leaving the room and softly shutting the door behind him. Lightning's shoulder sank at the Warlock's actions. "Shit..." The Titan sighed, releasing him and taking a seat on the edge of the couch. "Now you've done it, Spark. But, what the hell did he mean that he's 'still trying to understand how I'm even still alive'? Whatever he did back in the Vault saved us all." "Wait, you were in the Vault of Glass?" The Titan nodded his head as Lightning sat down on the floor next to the couch. "We've been training for a long time to make sure that we all knew when to change tactics and strategies based on what Raven called out. We were so sure that we could beat Atheon with just the three of us; hell, we almost did, until..."

"What happened?" Ikora asked, moving to stand in front of the duo. "Atheon started to wrap us in a time-flux; he planned to send us to different points in time." The Vanguard's eyes widened. "Raven...he knew that Atheon doing that would kill not only us, but our Ghosts as well." Lightning spoke, getting everyone's attention. "He told us to call out our Ghosts and he did...something to them and then they vanished; we were separated not even a moment later." The room was silent; the leaders of the Guardians unable to really know just how hard it was of them to re-live that moment. "...Angel, when do...you think Raven will be back?" Angel huffed a breath. "Can't say, he's so stressed and confused himself that I think it will be a long time before he comes back."

Raven was hiding, though he really should just got back to the room the Vanguard had given them and apologize to Lightning and Angel. He was hiding in one of the corners on the staircase to go to the Vanguard, though it seems like very few of them were looking for their leaders. "Still troubled about your situation?" A female's voice spoke from below and Raven lifted his eyes to see her; it was Eris Morn. "Yes." She motioned for him to come down the stairs and he did, keeping out of the sight of the other Guardians as best as he could. "Strange...I can hear the echos of the Hive within you." "I was found by the Hive, so that makes some sense, but..." Eris placed a few of her fingertips under his chin. "I shouldn't be alive if my friends are." "And why is that, child?"

Raven sighed, leaning against the wall. "When Atheon attacked us, surrounded us with a time-flux meant to send us to different times, I realized in that moment that in the Vault, the Vex control not just time, but reality; if Atheon wants to kill us by sending us to different times, or even to a different place within the same time, he can." "And if he wanted to destroy your Ghost to make sure you were all dead..." Raven nodded his head at her words. "So...I made a sacrifice play. I told Lightning and Angel to summon their Ghosts and right before we were swallowed by the time-flux...I encased all of our Ghosts with part of my Light."

Eris hummed; even she knew that a Guardian couldn't be revived by their Ghost if even a fragment of their Light was missing. "So how are you alive?" "That's a question I still don't have the answer to..." His eyes left her face, his shoulders dropping with a deep sigh. "Do you remember anything from when you did wake up again?" "...One thing. A voice. Male. He...he said: 'I have gifted you with life. Do not waste it, Guardian'. The Wizard who brought me had asked herself why their God had done...something. Do you have idea what she meant, Eris?"

Of course, when he looked up to see her face as he asked, he saw her horrified expression. "What's wrong?" "Child, are you certain of what you heard?" He nodded; she swallowed. "My dear, the only reason you are alive, is because Crota as given you what he had left of his soul..!" Oh. "That's not exactly good, is it?"

Angel turned to the door when it opened, pausing in his smile when he saw how pale Raven's face was. "You okay?" "Huh? Oh, y-yeah. Just don't feel too good." "Raven..." He turned to look at Lightning and smiled softly. "It's okay. I know what I did back then wasn't right, and I apologize for worrying you two like that." "We forgive you, Raven." Angel spoke as Lightning rushed towards him again, eyes misty with tears. "Sh. Let it out, it's okay. I'm back, we're home." Lightning didn't even bother to hold back after the Warlock said those words. Cayde and Ikora stood there, shocked, as Raven comforted Lightning, rubbing little circles into his back and hushing soft noises into his ear, all while a grown man sobbed like a frightened child. Raven slowly started to rock Lightning back and forth, knowing that it was a familiar motion for him and it would help calm him down.

"Raven, can I ask you something?" He raised a brow to Angel, letting him know that he could. "What, exactly, did you do back in the Vault?" Lightning stiffened in his arms at the question, but Raven knew they needed an answer. "I...encased our Ghosts with my Light. I knew it would be enough to protect them so they wouldn't be destroyed when we were swallowed by the time-flux." "But wouldn't your Light that you gave the Ghosts be lost?" "Yes. But, it seems like my Light had recovered enough to be revived." Raven answered Ikora's question, but he saw in Angel's eyes that he didn't believe that answer; however, Angel knew better than to try and press him for the actual answer.

"I'm just glad you're here." Lightning spoke softly into his throat, Raven smiling as he nuzzled his hair. "Me too, Spark, me too."