The Light Within The Darkness

"Cayde?..."

She spent years torturing herself with the question...

Years of coming up with different scenarios of what she could've done differently, if her actions could've led her down a new path, to a new outcome that was more favorable for everyone.

If only she was quicker...

After...after the incident she pushed it all down and ignored the pain, the sadness and loneliness that always surged up whenever she thought of, him.

Once she had finally ended her crusade and had took a moment to collect herself, she had sobbed her eyes out for an entire day.

She didn't even leave her ship until she was somewhat presentable a full week after Uldren's death...

For years, there has been a hole in her heart that hasn't been able to heal, there still was if she was being honest. Nowadays though, it was easier to bare, easier to talk about him fondly, his memory no longer stained by heartbreak. 

She had pushed everything down and it was only just recently, after this past year did she actually start to deal with all her trauma like a normal person, thanks to Mara.

But...this?

This was too much.

Bringing up memories of better days...

Days full of jokes and hiding out in bushes as they hunted down a high value target and nights full of camping under the stars, fire crackling a few feet away and the sound of a harmonica wafting in the breeze.

Listening to the man before her continue playing his old beat up harmonica, that familiar rhythm that made her heart just clench she quietly reached up and took her helmet off her head, having Ghost transmat it into her pack without a word before slowly creeping towards him, irises blown wide as water started to collect at the bottom of her eyes.

He couldn't be real, this had to be a figment of her imagination, something the Traveler had conjured up much like the Tower she was currently standing in.

It couldn't be him...

Apparently though, she wasn't as quiet as she hoped she was.

While slowly creeping up on the Exo, her armor clanked together as she moved forward which made the man abruptly stop playing his harmonica and raise his head, "You gotta get better boots Crow. I could hear you coming a mile away." He joked and even though the Titan couldn't see his face, she could practically see that exo smirk along his face.

It was like she was in a trance, she couldn't stop herself as she continued to move towards the man who she lost, her partner, the person who understood her before anyone else ever had.

The man who took her under his wing and gave her a glimpse of what life could really be like.

Full of laughs, jokes, Ramen and...

Showed her that it was possible for, someone besides Ghost to love her...

"Now Uldren? HE could sneak up on a fella." Cayde continued speaking and the Young Wolf savored every word coming out of his mouth, enjoyed the sound of his voice and memorized it incase this was all just some sort of trick, some sort of lie to get under her skin and stop her from stopping the Witness.

She froze though when her boots made a crunching noise on the ground below her and she watched as Cayde tensed and straightened up his posture at the sound.

"You're not Crow..." Before she could even blink the Exo turned on his heel, threw his harmonica at her and unholstered Ace from his belt and aimed it right at her.