Unknown Location
August - 22
The grey cloaked figure stalked across the scattered sands. The desert winds slicing sand through exposed skin. Though she had never walked this path before, the greycloak walked with surety. Her foot consistently settling half a meter ahead of the last, ignoring the buffeting wind. Each step taken, then forgotten, continuing forward.
The first pause in hours came after she crested a particularly large dune. There, at the bottom of a huge slope of sand, sat an beached cargo freighter. The stacks were broken off, lying at odd angles around it, and even from a mile away, the grey clothed woman could see the shorn metal, torn and disfigured after years of neglect. The grey figure lowered her head, adjusted her face mask, and completed the distance to the tanker.
The inside of the oil tanker was shadowed, the wide cracks along the deck providing a sort of half light to the interior. Heaps of sand piled beneath these gaps in steel, falling inward every time the ship resettled. Otherwise the space inside was devoid of the biting sand that had plagued the desert. The grey figure slowly lowered the face mask, taking her first uninhibited breath today. The sharp shadows cast in dusky light revealed her angled features, and glowing green eyes. While her face held the appearance of youth, her eyes told a different story. Within the green swirls where calm calculation, and ancient wisdom.
The figure glided down the belly of the freighter toward the center. The slightest click of shoes would have echoed throughout the entire ship, but the woman made no sound.
At the core of the ship lay a small pool of water, strangely clean despite the sand piled around it. A small bank of computers surrounded the left side of the pool, while sitting hunched over on the lip was another individual. He wore a light blue t-shirt, with dirty blond hair spilling over his ears, eyes glowing with a dark amber. He looked up and noticed the grey woman, relief spreading immediately over his brow. He stood, about to greet her, but the woman silently raised a finger to her lips. The man swallowed his words, while the woman whispered,
"Hurry, we don't have much time."
The man walked over to the bank of computers. On the panel rested a white mask, orange and blue stripes etching along the surface. The man held the mask in his hands for a moment then whispered back,
"Are you sure about this Tetra? We'll be lighting up a beacon the second this device turns on."
Tetra turned her ancient green eyes toward the pool.
"It's the only way," She murmured.
The man paused again, then nodded, dismissing objections. He slid the mask over his face and slipped into the pool. Water darkened the teal of his t-shirt until his entire body was submerged. All that remained above the surface was the white mask. His breathing shortened to the shallow quiet of someone asleep.
Tetra stepped over to the computer bank and booted it up. On the green lit terminal words flickered up the screen
LOADING BOOT SEQUENCE. . .
Booting. . .
Loading directory name corrupted from disk
GUARDIAN authentication required...
A silver needle slid out of the computer's side. Tetra pricked her thumb on it, then waited.
Authenticated
Compiling Project Ocarina 1%
...
2%
...
3%
…
The console began it's interminable climb. Whirring as the fans cooled it's aged hardware.
The amber eyed man remained motionless in the pool, the only ripples cause by his soft shallow breath.
Tetra stepped up to the edge of the pool, watching the rippling of water, and for a time there was peace.
It wouldn't last.
After some time Tetra noticed a glint of light flickering in a dark corner of the freighter. There was no visible reaction from Tetra's posture, but her eyes flickered along the water, scanning the reflection for the disturbance.
She found multiple.
Large dark masked individuals, flowing seamlessly between cover. Tetra immediately identified the figures, scythe agents, but already they had surrounded her position.
So she waited.
The dark figures tightened their circle, closing in until there was only open sand between them and Tetra.
Her furtive eyes flicked toward the computer terminal.
...
74%
…
She focused back on the water as a large, masked goon creeped up behind her. He slowly approached her right shoulder, closing the distance between them.
His first mistake.
The instant he stepped within arms reach Tetra exploded. She jabbed her elbow back, slamming into the stalkers chest. Feeling ribs give way under the black clothing, she spun around on her toes, turning to face the doubled over figure. With an hooking kick, she swung her left leg around, bashing her heel into the goons temple.
He dropped, the sound of his limp body echoing around the chamber.
Tetra immediately hit the deck, her thin frame sliding behind the cover of the agents body.
A heartbeat after, bullets shredded the air above her.
As the gunshots echoed, Tetra spun on the ground, her legs kicking up a cloud of sand, while her arms flipped her back onto her feet.
Bullets left trails through the clouds of dust, but when it settled Tetra was out of sight. A dozen agents cautiously approached the pool, scanning for any sign of her.
They forgot to look up.
Tetra fell from the sky. Her body curving to land on the agent closest to the pool.
Her foot connected with the agents back, knocking him to the ground. There was a sharp cracking sound as the agent's mask slammed into the ground.
Tetra spun to the agents partner. She threw a quick jab towards the second agent's throat, but when he brought his arms up to block, she transitioned to a grab. Latching onto the agents arms, she pulled him towards her into a side kick. Her foot connected with the agents armored chest, tossing him back onto the ground.
The other assailants broke out of their hesitation and opened fire.
Once again Tetra was quicker. She dove into a roll underneath the gunfire. Sent a kick out at the nearest ankle and felt it give. There was a yelp as another agent fell to his knees.
The agent's adjusted their fire towards Tetra's place on the ground.
So she ghosted.
One moment she was pulling up into a crouch to the left of the pool, completely surrounded by scythemen. The next she grabbing an agent to the far right in a chokehold. Dragging him down to the ground from behind. The was no transitioning movement, no fade or flash of light. Just one moment she was there, the next bullets were skidding kicking up dust and Tetra was somewhere else.
The agent's reacted quicker the second time, sending a scattering of shells towards her, but she was gone. She was suddenly sweeping the legs out from under an agent, then gone. Taking down another with a flying sidekick, then gone. Never for a moment letting the agents find a pattern, a jab here, ghost, kick from the other side, ghost, blow after blow Tetra vanished away. She was jumping so rapidly it seemed like the scythes were fighting an army.
There were 7 agents left
Palmstrike to the back of the neck, ghost away
6 agents left
A lucky bullet grazed Tetra's arm, but the agent in front of her took the rest. Ghost away
5 agents left
Elbow to an agents side, followed by a hard stomp to the back of his calf. Ghost away.
4 agents left
"Surrender or I'll blow his brains out!"
A voice echoed around the chamber.
A scythe agent stood, his rifle trained on the other guardian in the pool, still tranquil and untouched.
Tetra froze, halted in her position just to the right of the terminal.
"Yeah that's right, one move and I'll kill your partner."
Tetra focused on the agent, sensing the other scythes circle around her again. Her eyes flicked to the terminal.
100%
Launch (y/n)?
"Get re-" the agent's voice cut off in a gurgle as Tetra flicked her wrist. 2 needles glided out, tiny flashes of light, slamming into the agent in a heartbeat.
The first struck the inside of his right arm. The needle slid into place pinning his flexor muscle and freezing his hand. It would be impossible for him to pull the trigger, his hand simply twitched in place.
The second sliced through the mask, and dug deep into his eye.
Before the needles had even reached their target though, Tetra was diving forward, and tapping y on the keyboard. As bullets ripped through the terminal, the pool flowed a soft blue light, blocking out the flashes of gunfire and flying sparks.
Launching Project Ocarina...
The blue light consumed the entire chamber, like a fog of teal, obscuring everything.
Eventually the light faded, revealing an empty pool, and Tetra's broken and bleeding body in the sand.
