"Are you sure he is out? If he wakes up like this..." "What the h***... happened?" I was locked down to the bed. "Ah, not again?!" The Speaker looked at me. He spoke quietly, "Alan... do not strain yourself." I shifted my jaw from side to side-- an old habit and sign of frustration. I clenched my fists. The Speaker sighed and leaned against a wall. Zavala stood guard right beside him silently. "What happened? I can't feel my... well, anything, really," I tried to move, but my whole body was numb. "You sounded like Toland for a few moments... babbling about how you cannot be stopped. That the Void was giving you unimaginable power..." The Speaker rubbed his gauntlet and sighed heavily. "Toland? Oh, that sounds... Interesting," I dropped my head back onto my pillow. "This is why that Void needs to be taken out of you," the Speaker took a step toward me. I smiled and began laughing. The Speaker froze and Zavala tensed up slightly. "This is why... you are not under control, Alan," the Speaker said. "Oh, no... It's not that," I said with a laugh. "I didn't realize the Void messed with your mind like... that... What about Defenders, or Voidwalkers?" I asked. Zavala spoke up, "The Void isn't inherently evil nor does it mess with your mind... You just happened upon a bad sample..." "Mmhm... Well, may I ask again, Commander: What the h*** happened?" I rolled my head over to him. "And tell me it's done for..." "To be frank, you tried to attack the Vanguard with a strange malgamation of Solar and Void Light that infested your Gun like an infection. You could have killed someone, Alan," Zavala relaxed slightly. From then on, I remained silent. "Alan?..." asked a voice. I opened my eyes and raised my head. It was Kourtney. "How are you?" She asked. "I've been better..." I said as I looked at her. "What happened?" "Remember that stupid stunt I tried in Tau'la?" "Yeah.?" "Well, I got infected with the Void from it and went 'Toland' on the Vanguard..." I beat my head on the pillow from the frustration of being restrained. "Was anyone hurt?!" Kourtney placed one hand over her mouth, and one hand on mine. "Let's see: me, when I hit my head on the table... And me when Shaxx shot me with three or four tranqs... No, no one got hurt but me... Typical." Kourtney sat down on the bed, "When will you be released?" "As soon as I am clear of the Void... But we don't know how to do that... So, ETA never..." I said with a sarcastic pitch in my voice. "Kourtney, I need to talk with Alan in private..." Dakota said as he walked in. "Sure thing, Cap," Kourtney hopped off the bed, patted my arm, and headed for the door. Dakota watched her leave before turning back to me. "Wow, I can't believe you did that..." I said as I laid back. "She was persistent. And I thought you would be more pleased knowing you two--" "No, no, no! Not that. That you actually let another hunter join the team..." Dakota looked at me with disgust, but his attitude changed to a softer one. "Having you as a Wolf, Alan, has shown me many things. That of which, not all hunters are the ignorant, lone wolves I once saw them as..." "Thanks... I think..." I said concerningly. "So, what do ya got for me Cap'n?" I asked. "I heard about your predicament... I'm not sure if the Speaker offered it as a choice yet, but I have an idea that could work... An old warlock trick called siphoning..." "Siphoning?! Oh, dear..." I cringed at the mere thought. "Alan, doing this carelessly could result in you dying here on the spot... But with careful calculations, I could pull the Void from you, and quickly expel it through a nova bomb-- Yes, I practiced Voidwalking for a short time..." "Wait... Are you doing this against Vanguard orders?" I asked, suspicious of this offer. "Shhh! Don't say that in here!" He ordered. I thrashed my arms and legs around, "It's not like I'm going anywhere! What the h*** do you want me to do?!" I asked. Dakota cupped his hand up to his face as he looked around the room, "I am going to be court marshaled for this..." Dakota leaned in close, "I thought you would have picked up on this earlier: I may be a soldier, but no command will stop me from doing what I see right for my men..." Dakota got up and left me in the dark. As I laid by myself, Phantom phased into the room. I panicked and tried to break free of the straps, "Help!" I cried out. "Quiet, Hunter. No one else is required to hear this but you..." "What do you want from me? Why don't you Take me? Why don't you kill me? Why do you let me live? What do you want?!" I yelled as I strained to break the straps. "An army of warriors of Light is far more useful than what I can get now, but I can see your Light is far more powerful than most, and should not be tampered with... But I need your help. As we speak, my army fends off the new threat... We can't kill them! The more we defeat the more my fortress is sabotaged!" "What do you want me to do?" I asked. "I want you to help me and my champions raid the Dreadnought. These twins are descendants of the Hive goddess Xivu Arath, and will not lose such a prize easily. We can challenge them by sword logic. If we are victorious, we can stop this new threat... And you will have my word that Sol will be defended from future threats. You people are ignorant and will not accept perfection... In turn for the Dreadnought, my armies will leave Sol and give to others what you all deny..." If Phantom was telling the truth, this was an offer that I could not pass up. Phantom promising to leave us alone AND protect us?! No, I had to accept it. "I'm in... But I am the only guardian that believes you (I didn't), you better go before anyone sees you... If Dakota sees you talking to me, all that you strived for will go to h***," Phantom nodded in agreement then vanished. Two hours later a bright light from the hallway blinded me as the door opened. Dakota, Colt, and Doc came in to the room. "Cap?... What is it you have planned?!" I asked. My voice filled with worry. A warlock worried about court marshaling, a ghost with no morals (my ghost), and a ghost with no concept of the word "unethical". "We're leaving, Alan..." Dakota said, short and simple.