A Risen Angel
A Life is Strange and Destiny Story
Summary: A Ghost is looking for it's Guardian. Rachel Amber can't move on to the afterlife. Can these two unlikely partners, both from different eras in time, help each other and have the adventure of a lifetime?
Author's Note: Well...here's my first Life is Strange story mixed with one of my other favorite games. If there's enough demand for this story, I'll continue it. But for now it can be read as an open-ended one-shot. The story takes place in a timeline where Max sacrifices Arcadia Bay and saves Chloe, but is a mixture with the timeline where Frank knows Rachel is dead, Warren knows Max can rewind time, and Chloe is "dead." I hope you enjoy!
Disclaimer: I do not own Destiny or Life is Strange! They belong to their respective owners which are Activision and Bungie, and DONTNOD Entertainment.
Spoilers for Life is Strange, Destiny, and Destiny 2. Obviously.
Prologue: After the Storm
Arcadia Bay, Oregon
Centuries after the Storm
The Ghost sighed as he scanned around the remains of an old town that had been overgrown with trees. His shell was a faded red, beaten up due to time as well as several scratches due to his unsatisfiable curiosity. Ever since he had been born from the Traveler, the celestial being that brought Earth's Golden Age to fruition, he had been searching for his purpose. To find his Guardian. How long it had been since that day? The day the Traveler sacrificed itself for humanity and he had been born. Days? Weeks? Years? Centuries? It didn't matter. He would search for centuries to find his Guardian.
As Ghost zoomed around the small town, he found the rusted out remains of an old diner. He shivered when he saw the old sign for it. The N and R had long since either rusted away or fell off, leaving only the letters D, I, and E. Also spelled as "DIE". Steeling himself, he flew into the Diner, and began to scan. There were four skeletons, none of which was his Guardian. But as he scanned them, he realized something.
"They've been here longer then the Collapse. Even before the Golden Age. All the machines in here are outdated. By at least fifty years prior to the Golden Age. I wish I had a better scanner."
As he looked around the diner and out the window, he could see pieces of metal and debris scattered about like tin foil.
"What happened here?"
He didn't know why the Traveler blessed him with this specific gift, but it was very useful to Warlocks who wanted to study what was left of the Golden Age. Ghost suddenly expanded into a ball of light. To an outsider's point of view everything looked the same, minus Ghost looking like a pufferfish, but to Ghost he could see into the past for brief periods of time. He watched as time seemed to reverse, the trees receding into a tree line into the distance. Suddenly, the sky darkened, and the wind picked up. Debris that was once scattered about began to fly backwards in reverse, reattaching to their original point of origin.
Ghost shrank, and let time play out as normal. The four skeletons that once lay silent and unmoving were now full of life. They couldn't see or hear him, so he watched each one carefully. One was a blond haired woman with gray hairs peeking out. She was in a waitress uniform, helping a man on the ground with a head injury. His hair was a dirty blond color. He wore a beat up black leather jacket with a red undershirt. He was covered in tattoos, and Ghost could almost smell the smell of marijuana on him. The other was another man sitting behind the waitress.
"Just rest now, Frank. We'll get out of this."
"Doubtful. Rachel is dead...and soon we will be too."
A boy no older then 17 years old entered the diner, soaking wet with rain water.
"These are all the remaining first aid supplies I could find in the still standing buildings."
"Bless your heart, Warren," replied the woman. "Now if we just can get out of..."
She paused and looked out the window, causing Ghost to look too. Ghost could not believe what his optic was showing him. It was a massive tornado, heading right for them! Ghost shuddered his eye as he felt the twister rip into the diner, destroying everything in it's path. His eye snapped open as he swirled around, glancing everywhere before realizing he was back in the present.
He left off a sigh before flying out of the diner. As he flew down what appeared to be the main street, he thought back to the conversation that the woman and the man had before the twister hit. One word stood out to him. Rachel. That had to be the name of his Guardian! He suddenly felt a pull towards the north. His Guardian! His shell whirled in delight as he zoomed away, not hearing the clicking noise of the alien species known as the Fallen. Scavengers that had separate houses with different Kells or in simple terms, their King.
One began to chatter violently. Five more showed up and they were made up of two Dregs, scouts of the Fallen, and the least armored. Two Vandals, which were four-armed and armored, and one Captain with four arms, a scatter blaster, and an overshield. They quickly chased after the Ghost, wanting to tear it apart for parts and other materials. But more importantly to get back at the Great Machine for abandoning them. Otherwise known as the Traveler.
Soon, Ghost arrived at a small junkyard. Surprisingly the old sign was still in place. The letters were faded, but he could clearly see the sign said, "American Rust Junkyard." He didn't know why his Guardian was here, but he was determined to find her. As he flew around an old rusted out school bus, he bobbed in excitement. But also sadness.
"My Guardian. She's buried here. But...why?"
Shaking his body, he went over to a patch of ground, his body exploding into a ball of light before snapping shut with a bright flash of white light.
Rachel Amber was not a very patient type of person. At least not anymore. She used to be as well as caring, and kind. So when she died, and found out that she was still needed on Earth to help Chloe, her best friend, she immediately jumped to action, allowing herself to be transformed into a doe to guide Chloe's childhood friend, Max, to her destiny. Once the task had been completed, she had returned to her limbo, only to find out she was still needed. And that irritated her. She wanted to move on. But of course, she couldn't.
She had lost count of how many days she had been here. She honestly didn't care anymore. Suddenly, a blinding white light blinded her. It was beautiful.
"Is it my time? My time to move on?"
A small voice in the back of her mind told her to go to the light, and she did. Only to hear a voice waking her up. She was groggy and the voice was distorted.
"Gu..rd..an...Gua..rd...ian...Guardian! You're alive!"
Rachel sucked in a deep breath, moving her fingers with difficultly. They were numb, and slow moving. They were also covered in a black substance. She rubbed them together to find out she was wearing thick padded gloves.
"Where..where..am I?"
"Somewhere in Old Oregon. You've been dead for quite some time. At least before the Golden Age. I need to get you to the Tower. It's not safe here. We're in Fallen Territory."
A sharp roar caught her attention.
"What was that?"
"Fallen! We need to go! Now! Hold on!"
Ghost suddenly vanished, leaving Rachel confused and worried.
"Where did you go?"
"Don't worry."
Rachel nearly screamed at his disembodied voice.
"I'm still here. Just inside your backpack..so to speak. It's not time for discussions. We need to find a weapon for you. I didn't resurrect you just for you to die again. I scanned a weapon to your right. See what you can find."
Rachel did so, rummaging around the junk, finding a small pistol. Somehow she knew how to open the chamber, and Ghost let off a sigh.
"Great...no ammo. We're doomed."
Suddenly, a Vandal jumped in front of her, swiping at her side, and knocking her back. It was then that Rachel notice a white bar that was half filled across her line of vision.
"What is that?"
"That is your HUD. And that is your health and shield level. Look out!"
The Vandal charged at her, and she stretched out her hand on instinct. But as she did she felt a warmth flow through her stretched out arm. It wasn't burning her, it was more of a tickling feeling. A burst of orange flame shot through the palm of her hand, burning the Vandal and turning him to ash.
"What..what was that..?"
Ghost materialized in front of her, scanning her.
"You're a Dawnblade Warlock. Dawnblades haven't been heard from in centuries!"
Another roar caught their attention as the remaining Fallen appeared, weapons at the ready. Ghost turned to her.
"Summon your fire! It's the only way we'll survive!"
Rachel felt a pool of fire within her, burning with the intensity of a thousand suns. The Fallen's weapons began to charge.
"Anytime now!" cried Ghost.
Rachel closed her eyes, and like a phoenix rising from the ashes, she leaped into the air, running only on instinct, spinning around before bursting into a bright orange light. The orange light blinded the Fallen for just a brief moment, and what they saw next scared them. There was Rachel, glowing a bright orange-redish color, a pair of flaming red raven wings sticking out from behind her. In her right hand was a flaming sword, and she threw it down, slamming it into the Fallen.
"Um..now what?"
The flaming sword materialized once more into Rachel's gloved hand.
"Hella cool."
She threw the sword again, and again until the group of Fallen had been completed disintegrated. Her flames began to die out, and she slowly fell back towards the ground, kneeling in exhaustion.
Ghost floated in front of her.
"Nice job, Guardian. I...I think they'll leave us alone now. I'm going to get a hold of another Guardian so they can pick us up. Far as I can tell the Golden Age didn't spread to this place. Everything is so outdated. Meaning no star-ships."
Ghost expanded once more into a pufferfish, as Rachel managed to pull off her helmet, revealing her face. Going over to a mirror, she glanced at herself. Her face was full of life. Her hair was back to her original blond and her hazel eyes shone with confusion. Then she looked at what she was wearing. It was simple. From what she could tell it was just padded armor. She wore a robe that was almost like a samurai robe that stretched down from her shoulders to just above her calves. She also wore boots, and some padded arm gauntlets. And to be honest she didn't like the color of it at all. It was all white.
"You couldn't have given me something better to wear?"
"I did what I could. Not much material to work with around here," Ghost replied.
"Well..I want an explanation. Who..or what are you? What happened to me? And why was I able to do that whole...Shwoom thing!"
Ghost gave Rachel a blank stare.
"It's called Daybreak. Not Shwoom thing!"
"Whatever! I've been in limbo for God knows how long, and to be resurrected by some floating pufferfish, thinking I'm actually moving on to Heaven, the afterlife or whatever you want to call it, it pisses me off!"
"I'm not a...! Wait...you said you were in limbo?"
"Yeah, I did. Are you stu...What are you getting at?"
"I think there's something special about you. Maybe the Speaker will know. He knows everything. Or some people think he does. Let's start over. I'm Ghost. Well...I'm your Ghost..."
"...Rachel..Rachel Amber. But...that...that's all I remember. Why can't I remember anything?"
"Calm down, Guardian. It's a part of the resurrection. You're memories will return with time."
Suddenly, Ghost began to beep.
"Hold on. I'm getting a transmission."
Ghost expanded, and received the transmission.
"Okay, we got a ride inbound."
Suddenly, a large black ship flew into view, hovering over the junkyard. In white letters the words "Night-Fury" stood out proudly, signifying the ship's name. The landing ramp opened up as a figure stood out the entrance.
"Well come on, Guardian! Let's get back to the Tower."
"Ghost," Rachel asked. "How do I get up there?"
"You jump. You got a glide ability. If you jump from that car you should be able to get to the ramp."
Rachel rolled her eyes, and grabbed her helmet, putting it on her head, and headed for the car, but not before noticing a faded blue feather on a chain. It seemed familiar. She grabbed it and picked up, studying it.
The figure in the ship called out to her.
"Hey, you coming, or what? We're burning fuel!"
"Coming!" She called back.
She pocketed the blue feather before climbing up onto the car. She jumped and glided through the air, but fell short. A gloved hand caught her and pulled onto the ramp. A robotic face greeted her.
"Howdy. I'm Shadow-16. Hunter. Nightstalker Class. And you are?"
"Rachel...Rachel Amber. What are you?"
Shadow hauled her into the ship, closing the ramp behind him.
"An Exo. A machine built during the Golden Age. But that's all I know really. Nyte, let's roll."
"Copy that," replied a feminine voice.
Rachel stumbled when the ship suddenly lurched, falling into Shadow's arms. He chuckled.
"Probably should have warned you. Come on."
He led her into the cockpit where another Ghost was waiting, controlling the ship. This one's shell was black with orange highlights. It's wingtips were orange and it had a purple eye. More importantly, it was a female Ghost.
"Hello, Ghost."
"Hey, Nyte," replied Rachel's Ghost.
Shadow chuckled.
"You probably should give your Ghost a name. Unnamed Ghosts get confused with other Ghosts quite often."
Rachel stared at her Ghost before coming up with a name.
"Frank. I'll call you Frank."
Her Ghost whirred around, thinking about the name.
"It's suits me. Frank it is!"
Rachel couldn't help but giggle at her Ghost's excitement. Glancing at Shadow, she pulled off her helmet, and sat down in co-pilots chair.
"So...you seem...like a veteran. What exactly is a Guardian?"
Shadow glanced over to Rachel, and nearly gasped at her beauty. Almost instantly, his cooling fans kicked in, trying to cool down his circuits.
"Um..um..A Guardian..is a long dead warrior that is resurrected by Ghosts in order to use the Traveler's Light as a weapon to fight off the Darkness. No one knows what the Darkness truly is though."
Frank bobbed in the air, once as if to nod.
"Pretty much."
"What is the Traveler?"
"That's a question for the Speaker, I'm afraid. He knows more about then I do. But we're not gonna be back at the Tower for a while. We got a long flight ahead of us. So sit back and enjoy the ride, I guess."
Shadow took control of the ship and began flying. Frank went over to Rachel, hovering next to her.
"Are you okay?"
"I'm...just...wondering why I was resurrected. All I know is that I have a destiny to fulfill, but I'm not sure what it is."
Frank's shell spun once before he replied.
"We'll find out...together."
Frank went silent and vanished, hiding in Rachel's so-called "Backpack." Rachel yawned, and blinked her eyes, falling asleep, feeling more alive then she had ever felt before.
I hope you enjoyed! Let me know what you guys think in a review, and be sure to follow, and favorite for updates!
