Bree sat slouched in the captain’s chair of her ship as it hovered in Earth’s orbit, surrounded by millions of tiny glittering stars. This sight, this blanket of darkness with a countless number of holes punched in them to let the minuscule specks of light through; was her Heaven. The Sun burned brightly with such an unmeasurable amount of energized radiance, that her mind couldn’t help but wander away from her. She found herself thinking about her past, the journey that has led her to this junction, the path she currently found herself on and the path that lies ahead. Bree could go anywhere in the galaxy, entire planets that have yet to be discovered, just hanging there like ripe fruits on a vine, waiting to be picked. But instead, she set her course for the Tower, then, she blasted into the Earth’s atmosphere. -------------------------------- Bree stood in the middle of the courtyard in the Tower, but the airy platform was a ghost town. The stalls, the Hangar, everything was deserted, dropped and abandoned, even the constant ramblings of the estranged Eris Morn were absent. A gentle breeze rustled the leaves on the trees, her helmet strapped on her head, Fatebringer in its holster on her right leg, something about this didn’t feel right, and for a second, she contemplated going back to her ship. But then, they approached her. Commander Zavala walked up the stairs from the Vanguard room, he looked like a hulking beast of metal in his armor, another Titan was on his left while a Warlock was on his right; both of his escorts held auto rifles in their hands. Bree turned to face them, and for one moment of fleeting insanity, she nearly drew down on them as they approached, but she didn’t. “Guardian, your presence is required in the council chambers of the Vanguard.” Zavala’s voice was stern, and Bree could feel his eyes stare right through her. His hands were folded behind his back as he stood, patiently waiting. “But first, I’ll need you to hand me your weapon.” Bree looked at him then to his guard, her mind racing, figuring out mathematical formulas for her chances of survival if she were to try to take them in a firefight and her diagnosis wasn’t good, she didn’t have a choice. “Why would you need my weapon? Unless you were planning on telling me that I’m being taken into custody, which appears to be the case here seeing as how you have two armed Guardians with you. Tell me, Zavala, I’m curious as to why there are no Hunters in your guard? Titan, Warlock?” Bree smiled behind her mask. “It’s ok, you don’t have to say anything. I know why.” “Guardian, I am going to ask you one last time for your weapon, failure to comply with my direct order will result in us treating you as a hostile who would be considered armed and extremely dangerous. Your weapon. Now.” He was done playing games as a little nod of his head made the Guardians on either side of him lock their weapons. Bree quickly drew the Fatebringer, her finger squeezed the trigger ever so slightly, the barrel pointed directly at Zavala’s face, just as she had when she pulled her gun on Brayden. The Warlock and Titan raised their weapons aiming them at Bree. “You want my gun, Commander?” Her finger slid along the smooth metal, but then released it. Bree spun the Fatebringer so she was no longer holding the grip, her hand wrapped around the long slide of the barrel, and she held it out to him butt first. “I’m not the enemy here, Zavala.” Commander Zavala moved quickly, his left hand snatched the gun from her while his right hand ensnared her wrist in an iron locking device. The element of surprise favored him as he wrenched her arm behind her back while twisting her left arm back, he clasped her wrists together, clamped a tight grip on her right arm and shoved her forward. “Bree, Hunter of the Vanguard, you are under arrest for crimes against the Guardians of the Tower, for crimes against your own faction, and for your heinous actions towards the mentors of the Vanguard.” The Warlock led the way while the Titan walked on the other side of Bree, opposite Zavala, the Titan had her other arm locked in his grip. Commander Zavala said, “This wasn’t suppose to be this way, Bree.” ------------------------------------------ “This disciplinary review will now commence.” It seemed that whenever Bree came to the Tower, this was all she would hear. It was the same line that Cayde-6 used before her and Brayden ran off to finish the Trials, it was also in the same room, only now it wasn’t Cayde-6 saying the words, it was Ikora Rey. Cayde sat next to her, his head hung low, his eyes avoiding contact with Bree. A large grin played across Ikora’s face like the cat from Alice in Wonderland, a moment that Ikora was looking forward to for a long time, and she was on top of the world. “In light of the long list of charges that have been filed against you, Bree, I am afraid that we, the Vanguard, find you guilty on all counts of every single criminal act that we have a law for. You are insolent, reckless, your demeanor is totally unbecoming of a Guardian, an absolute disgrace to the Vanguard and everything that we stand for. I can barely stand the sight of you. Your disgusting pig of a brother was worse, I can only hope and pray that he is burning in the deepest pit of Hell imaginable for all of the evils he has done. Before we sentence you, do you have anything to say for yourself?” Ikora was livid. Her burnt skin was blushing into a black cherry while Cayde kept his head down. They removed Bree’s helmet and the rest of her armor, all but for her boots. She stood in the skintight mesh that all Guardians wore under their gear, her hands chained behind her back as if she were a murderous psychopath. Her mouth hung open in disbelief, every word that spewed out of Ikora’s mouth was a stinging, biting slap to the face. Her blue eyes focused on the floor for the longest time, until she finally lifted her head. Totally ignoring Ikora, her eyes turned onto Cayde-6. “Nothing to say?” Bree asked quite sternly, her voice cracking a bit. “Yeah, I guess I wouldn’t have anything to say either if I just sat there and let her talk to me like that while you know the truth. Yet, you do nothing. You can’t even look at me, can you? It must hurt pretty bad to have one of your best, most trusted Hunter’s be shamefully paraded about like this, trumped-up on bullshit charges that you know are absurd and ridiculous, and yet, there you sit.” “If you think that you are going to be able to convince your tortured mentor into believing your filth, I am afraid that you, Bree, are sadly mistaken. Cayde knows exactly the type of beast that you are…” Bree cut Ikora off and said, “Look at what I’ve done for you, for all of you. Brayden paid the ultimate price for you, if it weren’t for the Queen’s Vandals, I would have joined him in death. And yet, you have the audacity to sit there and call me a disgrace?” Bree’s body began to tremble. “None of you have any idea what I’ve been through these past couple of weeks, none of you care. I’m not this monster that you call claim me to be. I’ve made some mistakes in my life, but who hasn’t? The only hope that we have for a better future is to try and reconcile our trespasses’ from the past.” For a long moment, nobody spoke. “Cayde, please believe me. I’m not the girl I was, I’ve changed, I want to be apart of this world, I want my peers to be able to accept me as one of their own.” Her tears gently slipped down her face. “Please, you have to believe me, I have so much more to offer this world, just give me a chance, I promise...you’ll see that--” but her words were cut short. The Titan forcefully slammed her face down onto the smooth tile of the floor. Her nose smashed into the unforgiving concrete and instantly began gushing blood, she spat out a few of what remained of her teeth, trying desperately to roll away, but the so-called “Guardian” grabbed a hold of her, and then, the beating got worse. [i]Well, this has been quite a journey, and I am sad, but also excited to see it come to an end. Once again, I would like to thank [b]TheGaurdian2142[/b] for all of his help with the story's direction and ideas. This would not have been nearly as good without him. At the end of the next part, there will be an epilogue, be sure not to miss it! Thank you all for one final time, I appreciate all of the support and feedback! ~Onyx~[/i] [i]Trials of a Guardian: Never Go Back (The Final Chapter: Part II)[/i]: https://www.bungie.net/en/Forum/Post/123605900 [i]Trials of a Guardian: ALL Chapters (Appendix)[/i]: https://www.bungie.net/en/Forum/Post/105589170/0/0