The door swooshed open and then shut as Cayde left. Jack's smile faded as she immediately went to undress and take a shower before putting on her pajamas. Once done, she pulled back the covers of her bed and fell into it. She curled herself up in the blankets as she thought. "Hey, Sheldon." The Ghost appeared above her, "Yes?" She paused, still taken aback by his lack of stuttering and more mature tone. "Are... you okay?" "Of course, better than ever," he paused, "Why?" Jack sighed and frowned, her gaze falling to the floor, "I don't know... You just feel... different." Sheldon was quiet as he processed her words, "I'm still the same as I was before, Jack, I'm just fi-" Jack sat up and scowled, "I told you to stop saying that. You were never damaged, to begin with!" "Yes, I was, Jack," he raised his voice, his frustration clear, "Whenever you were hurt in EDZ... It took all my energy to heal you," his voice softened, "I couldn't protect you, not from major injuries...and... that's my job. Both as a Ghost and as a friend..." The sadness in his voice broke her heart, "Sheldon..." She whispered, "I... I don't need you to protect me." "Jack-" "Sheldon, I really do appreciate the sentiment. But... I don't want to be a Guardian..." She hugged her knees to her chest, "I never asked for this. I've always wanted to figure out why I'm here and what all my dreams mean. You're my best friend, and I wouldn't trade you for the world. But, this," she gestured to the room, "I don't want this. I don't want to fight in some war that I know nothing about, and I don't want you to be dragged into it." "But that's why I'm here," the Ghost argued, "My whole purpose was to rez you, to bring you to the tower, to have you fight in the cause... There's no reason for me to be here if you don't do that." She narrowed her gaze, "So, what, you'll leave if I don't fight?" "...I... No, that's not what I meant," Sheldon spoke quietly, careful to pick his words, "What I meant is, I failed. I failed my mission for four years, I failed to protect you, and I failed at... Everything..." "You didn't fail, Sheldon," Jack hugged her legs tighter, her chest aching from feeling her friend's sorrow, "Who cares what they think, what the mission is? You were perfect before this; it wasn't until we came here that you started thinking there was a problem... Maybe... Maybe we should just leave...?" "What, why?!" "Why?" She scoffed, "This place is changing you; it's hurting you emotionally. I hate seeing you like this; if we just go back-" "I'll still feel the same way, Jack," he explained, "If anything, I'd feel worse if we go back. I know what my purpose is now before I... I had you, but... I still felt empty," he felt guilty for saying it in such a way, "Now, I don't. I need to be here, Jack; this is where I belong." Her heart sank as she heard his words, she understood his reasoning, but she still didn't like it. All she wanted to do was go home, back to where things weren't so complicated, back to where she wasn't forced to fight in some intergalactic war where the enemy was vastly unknown. All she had to fight back home were Cabal, hunger, the cold, and other survivors. "Jack," her friend's voice shook her from her thoughts, "Is this place... really that bad?" The blonde was silent as she pondered his words, "I..." she sighed, "Cayde and Elizabeth are great... the food and sights are amazing, and the people seem... alright, I guess... But it's that," she turned her gaze to look at the Traveler, "I hate that thing." "Why?" She shivered, "I don't know, maybe because I know nothing about it? Maybe because humanity is being forced to live in its shadow? I don't trust it, and honestly, it scares me how willing everyone is to follow it." "I don't think they have a choice." She scoffed, "And that's supposed to make me feel better? Sheldon, it's like we're its meat puppets. We rose from the dead just to do its dirty work to fight this darkness. Guardians will literally kill each other for training, just to revive and do it again and again. Don't you think that's a little messed up?" "I... I never really thought about it." She sighed tiredly, fear creeping into her soul that Sheldon wouldn't understand due to him being a part of that... thing. Fear he was just trying to have her join the cause; he was using their friendship to try and persuade her into this war. "Look, I'm tired... I need to sleep; we can talk about this tomorrow." "Yeah..." Sheldon breathed, "You should get some rest; it's been a long day." Jack fell to her side, her arm cradling her pillow as she stared at the red illuminating numbers on her clock. "Jack?" "Hm?" "...A week, just stay for a week. If you still don't like it here, we'll leave and never return. Deal?" She nodded into her pillow, still feeling the utter fear and dread from the thought that Sheldon, the only friend she had in this world, was using her, "Yeah, deal."