It was once a land of green. It was all a land of verdant growth and opulence. Even in places where desolate landscape was prevalent, through human eyes where no such life could conceivably exist, doubt would be washed like water. Pockets of life could be scattered, yes, but life was always a possibility.
Now, however... Life is but a dream.
The darkness rolled like a typhoon. Buildings toppled, great monuments were ruptured and cut like ice, shattered like glass. Humanity was just the Darkness' plaything, toys ready to be replaced. What was once dubbed the Golden Age was no more, and the time of darkness, the brink of extinction, was all but certain. Under the weight of defeat, the deal with death was now inevitable, just like life was beforehand.
If so, why was it not struck? The scythe was not swinging, the blood not spilled on the gray soil?
Within its final moments, its once brilliant sterling light that was a symbol of the age of prosperity, the Traveler, it was called, shone one last time. Its light cracked and flew over the murky skies, and shielded the monument city, the Last City. The Traveler unleashed the last bit of strength, of light, as a blanket over the torn metropolis. And with its last breath, as its guardianship faded, its shade, its ghost... Sent millions of probes across the globe, their job simple...
Revive the lost... Retrieve the broken... The scholars, the warriors, the rangers, everyone... Do not let darkness win... Do not let the light fade... Forever...
The rusted landscape was noticeable for miles, seemingly stretching until the sunset, an orange glow flowing over the dead, yet beautiful scenery. A floating object, its hind spinning with lateral movement, skimmed towards the cliff.
"Even within a land so rusted... The water looks as clear as ever." It hummed quietly, the wind sounding in response. It wasn't true, though, and the little machine knew that. Centuries of rust, of wear and tear, even the water was left scarred by the Darkness. If one were to sip from the crystal beauty back then, their body would feel invigorated. Now, though, it only tastes of blood and death. A little hum ran through the small body as it resumed its routine scan, A blue glow emanated from the front, a blue diamond encompassed by a blue sphere. A similarly colored projection ran along the red-brown car, focusing on the skeleton that was left in the trunk of the exposed vehicle.
"Why do I keep finding so many artists from the 2500s?" A small tinge of annoyance could be told despite the robotic voice. Immediately after expressing frustration, a small indicator flashed across its view.
"What?" The object turned right, attempting to pinpoint the new signature. It broke itself apart, the triangular pieces floating around its newly formed blue energy sphere.
"Found you!" Within a bright flash of light, the object was gone.
Little did it know... Some other creatures found it as well...
...
A sensation ran through the body, one that was not felt for many years, one that was so desperately missed.
"Hey, Guardian..."
'Guardian?' That was a term long thought forgotten.
"Eyes up Guardian!" The voice felt so thrilling, so alive, despite the fluent mechanical tone it held. She couldn't resist listening to its voice. Her eyes opened gradually. In spite of the throbbing, agonizing pain shouting at her not to, she couldn't resist.
Color...? What was this? Her last touch was only red and gray. Not now, though... Brown, yellow, orange... My god it was beautiful.
"Can you move?" Like a baby taking its first steps, she experienced it again.
Her fingers were rigid. They seemed to have sided with her instincts, yet she pushed through. Her elbows worked like rusted cogs. She clenched her pinkies down, agonizing cracks with each set of movement. Had she ever swore to someone? Had she ever broke a promise? Good, her pinkies were curled.
Next was... What was it again? Oh, right, her ring finger. Was she married? Had her hand been clasped with another?
Next were her middle fingers. Was she ever rude to anyone? Was she judgemental towards her peers?
Her index fingers tried their damndest against her. Was she a leader? Did she point anyone in the right direction? Was she a teacher, pointing faults at her pupils?
Finally, her thumbs. Was she a kind soul, or a wretched one? Was she the judge of anyone's life, a simple flick deciding it all?
She could see her fists, blurred as they were. Did she fight? Was she opposing the system? Was she standing up for people, or against them?
She moved her fingers apart, and her palms felt frigid even under the gloves. What were her greetings like? Were they warm and welcoming, or cold and calculating?
"It worked... You're alive..."
Was it too good to be true? Her brain was spinning. Her legs were shaking. Her arms were working. No, whoever was talking to her, she heard all of it. The tears stung her cheek. She was alive...
"You don't know how long I've been looking for you..." The mechanism spoke again. Its words were as clear as the sun was bright.
A grin broke her features, "And I'm not sure how long I've been dead." Her voice was as rusted as the car in front of her. A loud cough bellowed out of her, and she collapsed. Unable to catch herself, her limbs sprawled across the dirt. The grains touched her features, and she almost broke into dry tears again. She could feel, it really was true. Her body was working with her now, and she made an attempt to stand up. As clumsy as she was, with the help of a car, she finally stood right, albeit her legs a shivering mess.
"W...Whe-re..." She took a breath, catching her voice again, "A-a-a-mmm... I?" A violent cough went through again, but she was able to maintain herself.
"The Cosmodrome, Old Russia."
She craned her neck in the form of a nod. Dear god, she needed some physical therapy. Old Russia, eh? She should hardly remember anything, but the words felt familiar.
"O-" A cough again, this time not as bad. "Ok-a-y..." A deep breath, "And wh-aat... A-re... You?"
"I'm a Ghost, more specifically, your Ghost. I'm thankful I was able to resurrect you." Its voice seemed happy, she could tell. Now, who was she...? Her brain was already in overdrive after it woke up, and a vehement headache worked against her.
"W-water, where is it?" Even though her voice was coming through, her throat felt like sand.
"Over on your left, but I wouldn't be too sure about drinking it."
Left? Where was left again? She shook her head for a moment, before remembering. Oh, right. She brought her head leftward, and she spotted a small puddle. Even though weird limbs stuck on the surface, her eyes gleamed at the crystal reflection. Scraping her arms along any reinforced support she could, she dragged her legs towards what she already considered heaven. As she wound left, her leg caught a skeleton and she tripped hard, sliding forward against the dirt.
A violent, shaky groan emanated from her lips. She pulled her head up after a few seconds of extreme pain, and noticed she was just a few feet from the sweet water, even with the warning from the object who deemed itself 'her ghost.' Dragging herself towards the water, her thoughts went back to that thing, the Ghost. Why was it here? How did it bring her back to life? Why was it suddenly hers now? As more questions flooded into her head, so did that want for the elusive drink. Her hands came across the wet sand and her mind went ballistic.
Pulling her body up, she sat on her knees and dipped her hands into the cold liquid. It soothed her body and soul in a way she never experienced. Then again, just being brought back to life rolls forth feelings one never thought possible. As she brought her hands to meet her no doubt dry lips, a small tinge of embarrassment washed over her as she realized her helmet was still on. Despite unwilling to let the liquid slip from her grasp, the droplets slipped through her fingers as she shakily brought her hands to her helmet.
After pulling for a moment, a hatch released, and the helmet was unhinged from her neck, and she slowly lifted the armor. Her long, dry hair fell free from its grasp, swiftly covering her eyes and reaching down all the way to her upper back. A small chuckle couldn't help but escape her lips. How long had she been dead?
Undeterred by the sudden dark question, she calmly, albeit still shakingly, removed her long bangs from her face, and her features were finally exposed. Under the reflection of the water, her green eyes shimmered in a dull, translucent way. They looked dead, that was the only way she could describe it. Her hair, it was a faded dusty red, the only noticeable pigment at her bangs.
"Katherine..." The words flowed smoothly from her lips as she licked them. They were dry, and it felt as if they would crumble from her face at a moments notice. Her movements stopped as the name flowed through her head. Why did the name feel so familiar? Was it hers? Did she know someone by that name? As her mind ruptured with questions, she dipped her hands back into the water. The cold feeling breathed through her gloves again, and a wispy sigh pursing her lips in response.
With one big gulp of air, the woman thrust her arms upward, drowning the water onto her face and down her throat. Her dull green eyes exploded as the liquid nipped ferociously at her taste buds. The feeling was overwhelming, almost sending her slamming onto the dirt. The droplets that splashed across her features left a sense of bliss as her once barren features gained small bits of color once more.
Moments passed, the previously comatose woman rejuvenated as the cold sensations sparked new life in her. Taking a few more gulps of heaven once again, her legs tensed as each cup flew at her.
Her body felt anew, she felt alive again. She tipped her head back, staring into the orange, clouded sky. It looked so beautiful. She felt like she could just reach out and grab it.
A loud roar in the distance interrupted her moment.
She stood like a pin, "What was that?" Even she couldn't believe how clear her voice sounded at that moment.
"Fallen! We're being hunted!" The ghost replied. She had almost forgotten about the little thing.
Said object turned towards her, its hind spinning counterclockwise, "Hold still." It stated before disappearing like dust.
"Don't worry." She stood sharply and spun like a top, confused, "I'm still with you." she cocked an eyebrow, still spinning, but at a slower pace.
"I'll explain later, but I need to get you to the City, we aren't safe here in Fallen territory. Let's move into the Wall." By command seemingly, she started jogging down the pathway, leading towards the looming rusted building. A loud roar echoed once again as she entered the complex.
Not even a few feet and she was greeted with a closed in walkway, surrounded by pipes and other withered constructs. Her feet were careful with their movements, and each creek that was inevitably made was answered with cautious scanning before her feet reignited again. Light poured in through pockets broken in the ceiling, lighting the way for the confused woman.
"What is this place?" Her voice was but a whisper in the wind. She stepped further and a walkway led to the other side, hardly any walls shielding the decayed structure from the soft orange glow that eclipsed it.
"This place is part of the 'Wall.' It was a structure built over many, many years by Guardians to shield the last of humanity from the Darkness." What is the Darkness? Who are the Guardians? Even more questions that she would like answered.
As she cautiously commanded her feet across the tarnished bridge, she noticed her light quickly fade into blackness. Thankfully, a small light emanated next to her, lighting the path in front.
Following the access of light, her Ghost spoke up, "Quiet. They're right above us." She focused hard for a moment. Scuttling was heard above her head, her heart pounding every second it crept in her ears.
She wasn't even sure how she could've made her steps as silent as the wind, but it was somehow achieved. The intrusive steps quieted, letting the woman catch her breath. It lasted all of one second, however, as she reached the wall in front, she could faintly spot darkened silhouettes scurrying up some large pipes. She could only spot blots of red and white, their faces consumed in the shadows.
A louder than appreciated gulp caught her throat, "What the...? What were those things?"
"The Fallen."
"And they're the ones hunting us?"
"Yes."
She didn't feel so confident now.
After that frightening ordeal, the two travelers came across a very dark room. Even with the Ghost's light, she could hardly see three feet in front of her. Before even being able to comment, the Ghost suddenly floated away from her, deconstructed once again.
"No good. Fallen thrive in the dark, we won't. Stay here, I'll see what I can do." It spoke loud enough for her to hear before floating away, summarily disappearing. After a few tense seconds of waiting, literally, in the dark, the complex blew up in lights, and now she wished she were still in the dark.
As far as her eyes were concerned, a few dozen humanoid creatures, most definitely not human, jumped to the bridge across from her.
"They're coming!" Her Ghost spoke for her. As it flew across from her towards a gate, two red machines, with deadly orange eyes, zoomed right towards her.
"I found a rifle. Grab it, quick!" She snapped her neck rightwards, the deconstructed Ghost floating next to the now open gate, and it was already closing. Sprinting faster than she should've, she managed to slide under the gate before it snapped shut, the red machines flying outward.
A large gasp let itself go finally as she stumbled back to her feet, soon laying her green orbs on a rifle. It was leant so perfectly against the box, its sleek black color and memorable design grabbing her attention like a hawk. It called to her, and she refused to resist. She knelt down and gripped the weapon like a baby, afraid that one wrong move and it would shatter. It didn't though, and she pulled it up, shouldering it. It felt comfortable, it felt right. She aimed forward. Even with the cracks in the sight, it didn't feel like a hindrance. Now she just needed a target.
The Ghost acted as a light once more as she moved down the corridor.
"I hope you know how to use that thing." It stated offhandedly. Even though she had only just relinquished the weapon from its rest, she already felt like a natural when it came to holding and aiming the weapon. As she turned the corner, she held her weapon again, aiming through the sights.
"Keep an eye on your tracker. Aiming through your weapon's sights all the time can leave you vulnerable." Confused at what it was saying, she zoomed out and craned her neck back in surprise. Her normal vision was a little off. Instead of the clear view she had when outside of the wall, the top left corner of her vision had a little black ring.
"What am I looking at?" She couldn't help but question.
"Because I am connected directly to your nervous system, I was able to manipulate your ocular vision and set up a 'Heads Up Display' so you may get a better grip on your surroundings. Since I can sense life forms by sending a pulse outwards, informing me of enemy positions, I set up the tracker you see as to allow you some use of my own abilities."
"That was a lot of words that you just said that I need time to digest." She fired back, a small headache at the back of her head.
The Ghost only sighed, "Basically, you can see the enemies if you look at the tracker I gave you."
A small grin formed, "That's all I needed to know." She spoke, before carefully treading forward, taking note of the radar now. A shadow ceased her movement and waited for it to pass before a red ring appeared at the edge of her HUD.
"So that's how it works." She unintentionally said aloud. The red ring vanished, and in its place a dim red glow. She froze, unsure of what it meant. Before she could react, a red humanoid creature jumped down in front of her. In shock, she slammed the butt of her gun into the head of the creature, knocking it down. It didn't stay down, though, rising upward and screeching, sending pulses around and through her ears. She stepped back a few feet in response to the scream, before the red creature charged at her with a small electrified dagger. As it reached closer, she sent a kick to its left leg, snapping it backward with extreme force.
It knelt down, releasing another scream, and she cocked her arm back. She felt something generate in her grasp, but ignored it and threw her arm forward. Expecting a cracking sound, she found it genuinely surprising when she instead heard a loud slice, following by inconsistent spurting.
Glancing down, her eyes opened wide at seeing the humanoid's body shiver and flop, only sitting up because of something that was jammed in its skull, blood shifting out of the deep wound. Kicking the creature down, she noticed what she assumed was the object generated in her hand; a large, sharp knife. It was expertly crafted, the handle sleek and smooth, and able to protect the wielder's hand from wild cuts. The blade itself was magnificent, large and sharp. Three arrows stacked on top of one another were etched cleanly right above the hilt. Even the dark, heavy blood splattered along the smooth blade did not take away from its beauty.
She stared in awe at the weapon she seemingly pulled from nowhere and shifted her gaze downward at her weapon's first kill. Able to glance closer at her attacker, her eyes had not deceived her first glance. Whatever it was, presumably part of the 'Fallen' that her ghost was talking about, its visible skin was a darker shade of red, with blue, brown, and gray armor decorating its body. In one hand was the electric dagger it had tried to attack her with, and in another lay a small pistol-like weapon, its purpose unsure. Its head held a tuft of hair across the top, pointed ears jutted from its right side, and three dark orbs were visible to her own sight, two on the right, one on the left. She could only assume that it did have four eyes. Well... Before her knife gave it a makeover.
"What is this thing?" She questioned her Ghost.
"It's a Dreg, the lowest class of the Fallen. While considered cannon fodder by other Guardians, one should stay aware and not become surrounded by too many. It is capable of wielding a short range, light tracking pistol, and a dagger." It explained lightly. She scrunched her eyebrows at the Ghosts' explanation. He had used that word again; Guardian. What are Guardians? What is the Darkness? The questions went through her mind again.
Her tracker lit up, and she swept her feet up and tensed her stance, readying her rifle. She slowly advanced forward, pushing her thoughts back. Her questions would have to wait, she needed to escape first. Treading onward, the tracker held its red indicators, yet they never got closer. Her instincts knew she was walking into a trap, yet she also knew she needed to trigger it. Coming up on a small square room, she noticed it divided by two large panels separating an upper and lower floor. Some square paneling had fallen from its place, but otherwise remained intact. On the lower level were boxes stacked up at three separate areas.
Upon nodding to herself, the broken ceiling let loose a panel and two Dregs and a larger humanoid, more white than red, fell from their hiding places, hissing at the woman. One Dreg fired its pistol, and three continuous shots trailed towards her. She rolled to her right next to a staircase and noticed they just swam past her.
"Those rounds have some tracking then, eh?" She mumbled, sliding that note in the 'Dreg' folder she made in her head. Peeking out of cover, she aligned her rifle and pulled the trigger. Four rapid shots ejected from the barrel and smacked the Dreg that had fired at her straight in the head. A loud pitch echoed across the room as its head exploded, before crumbling onto the canvas.
She herself almost spun in a circle, unable to compensate for the recoil for the moment. Steadying herself again, she fired quick bursts into the other Dreg, her feet and arms holding their own this time. It fell dead, and as she aimed for the next creature, it slid behind cover, avoiding her shots.
"So you're inherently smarter I see." She mumbled to herself. Before any actions could be taken, though, it fired similar blue shocks of energy at her. This time, they moved at a faster pace, and as she ducked, they whipped around and one caught her in the back. The force of the shot launched her into the wall she was using as cover, and she fell down the stairs, no doubt creating several bruises. The humanoid noticed she was down below the stairs, and roared before charging her, pulling a sword from its side. She noticed the creature charging, and looked around, her weapon not next to her. It was a few feet away; she knew she couldn't reach it, not while there was a prominent bruise on her side that she had to cover.
As the charging hostile neared her, she remembered her last resort. Pulling her knife from her left hip where it was clipped, she wildly threw it with her right arm, flailing her limb onto the ground hard. Biting her lip, she prayed she aimed well enough, closing her eyes in fear. As luck would have it, a loud screech, similar to the Dreg she popped earlier, swam through her ears. She tentatively opened her eyes, and her green orbs were filled with relief. The humanoid slammed onto its back, quivering, before falling silent. She let out another breath she held in, slipping fully onto the ground. The relief left her eyes and greeted the rest of her body, even the large bruises forming on her back and side felt quaint for the moment.
"Gh-ost..." She was out of breath again, "Is... Is there any way you can check..." She let out a gasp of air, "On my vitals...?"
"Absolutely. Stay as still as you can for a moment." He responded, and a blue light came from its eye, running up and down her body.
"I can only stay still really." She retorted, rolling her eyes. The Ghost, from what she could guess, ignored her comment and finished up its scan.
"From what I could see, you have a small bruise on your lower left back and a bigger one on the left of your stomach. For the back, some simple medicine should help, but for the one on your stomach, it's going to require some work. I would recommend not turning sharply, and keep the sprinting to a minimum. Obviously, we're fighting to get out, so do it if you need to, but try to minimize those actions if necessary."
"Alright." She attempted to sit up, flinching, "I'll keep that in mind." She slowly straightened herself on her feet, trying to keep her posture from shaking too much. First, she retrieved her gun, then she strayed over to the corpse of her assailant, and yanked the knife from its head, attaching it to her belt again. Now able to look more closely at the creature, it was white where the Dreg was red, and appeared to wear heavier armor. While it shared the Dreg's quad eyes, it wore a cover over its mouth, and it had more horn-like ears. Looking down, shock and curiosity warmed her face; it had four arms. That was definitely odd. To its right looked like a standard sword, except what she saw of it when it was charging, it was covered in electricity.
She had a feeling that lightning was a key part of the Fallen's weaponry. Farther back lay a larger weapon than what the Dregs held, requiring at minimum two hands to wield, maybe four. She could only guess.
"What is this thing Ghost?" She questioned curiously.
After a quick scan, "The next big thing to a Dreg, the Vandal. Vandals are of a higher rank than Dregs, and can wield a larger variety of weapons compared to their younger brothers."
She nodded, "Why is it that Vandals have four arms but Dregs only have two?"
"That would require I delve into the Fallen's history. That itself would take a while. Let's get out of here first, I'll give you the history lesson later." She nodded and strode onward. As she trudged across another bridge in the darkness, she noticed through a squint a large, weird container sitting opposite of the bridge. Striding a little faster in curiosity, she soon reached the origin of her interest.
"A loot cache!" Even the Ghost was intrigued, "Let's see what's inside." She answered both of them and lifted the top open. It weighed more than she imagined. After throwing the lid back, a bright blue light flashed right into her face. Not expecting it, she flew back onto her butt, a groan emanating in response. The bright light dissipated after a moment, striking her confusion once again. She brought herself up to the chest again, and all that was left was a large, slender rifle with a scope on it.
"A sniper rifle...?" Her words were laced wth confusion as she pulled the weapon from the cache after setting her rifle next to her. It felt heavy, yes, but she could hold it properly. She shouldered the weapon and aimed through the sight. While the zoom was a little far for her, she felt capable of using the weapon effectively. As she pulled herself back onto her feet, picking up her rifle, a small question went through her head.
"Hey, Ghost? What is this weapon anyway?" She held up her automatic rifle, magnetizing her sniper onto her back.
The Ghost scanned it, "From what I can recall from my database, that weapon is known as the Khvostov 7G-02. It was part of a series of prototype weapons said to have been fully customizable. However, manufacturing and testing of said weapons ceased towards the end of the Golden age."
She scrunched her eyebrows. Another set of words the Ghost had used; the Golden Age. Just what had she missed while she was asleep? She decided not to press, electing instead to stow the question away for another time. Satisfied that her first inquiry was answered, she shouldered her Khvostov and pressured onward, keeping an eye on her tracker. Her feet were steady and cautious, her arms prepared. While passing through some square, tight corridors, she barely dodged a few set of trip mines. Jesus the first group surprised her.
Another corner appeared shortly after her trek. This time, she was ready, and she would not be surprised by Dregs, Vandals, trip mines, anything! Throwing her back against the wall, cringing as she had hit her bruise, she slid her feet into the corner and poked her head around. The first thing she noticed was the massive hole at the back of the room. Her heart jumped; what thing would cause a massive hole like that in the wall? Shaking her head, she went back to casing the room; it was moderately sized, pillars from the ground to ceiling. A large banner skimmed over the massive hole, white markings depicting a weird symbol that stretched the length of the red blanket.
She had accepted that, at least for right now and maybe the immediate future, she knew close to nothing. Her next guess that was a solid maybe was that the marking was possibly the symbol of the Fallen she had been fighting through since her reawakening. Back to her scans, though, most of the floor was a few steps below her position, so she had some height advantage. The cover was a big problem, though; the containers and the pillars themselves were very wide and abundant, meaning that any enemies she could encounter would have a definite advantage of being spread apart safely.
After making sure the Khvostov and her newly acquired sniper were loaded, and implanted the layout within her mind, she slid a few feet onward, and froze. The tracker was still blank. A few more feet; nothing. She couldn't tell if there were no Fallen around, or if they were hiding. Considering her first interaction with the Fallen, she guessed the latter. She stepped onto a lower platform, and her suspicions were confirmed. A Vandal crawled at the closest right pillar, and almost immediately after its appearance; three Dregs landed in the back, close to the hole, and another Vandal landed ahead of them.
Diving behind cover; a large orange and gray container with white sketchings on the side; before they could fire on her, she peeked around and burst some shots into the closest Vandal, leaving the body limp. She ducked back behind as the Dregs suppressed her position, and quickly loaded the missing rounds back into her auto rifle. Footsteps entered her hearing and she glanced at her radar; a bright red flash lit up behind her position. Feeling extremely bold, she darted left, tackling the Vandal to the ground. Pulling herself up, she slammed the butt of the Khvostov into its skull, sharp cracks echoing in the room, before kneeing it hard in the chest. She used the momentum and rolled behind the pillar directly left of the remaining Fallen. Still holding the height advantage, she jumped up and rained her magazine down at them, popping each one of them with lethal fire.
As their smoking bodies fell in a heap, before even a moment of reprieve could pass for the poor woman, more Fallen shot through a door directly across from her. Cursing, she fell right back into cover, moving to replace the empty mag of her weapon. Shots rained at her position, barely dodging the heavy homing of the rifles the Vandals were using. Rolling back right, taking refuge behind a stack of boxes, she slipped her sniper into her arms and set up a kneel. Leaning out of cover, she caught a Vandal's head in the center of her scope and pulled the trigger. She couldn't see her kill, as the recoil of her weapon reversed her movements. Her ears were able to pick up the screech, and she counted one dead.
Unsure of what entered the room, she poked her head out again, she spotted two Dregs moving away from each other. As she jammed herself away from their view again, a slight whir entered her ears, and she glanced around. Her vision became a blurred blue a moment later, as what looked like an electrified grenade landed at her feet.
Her eyes widened in shock, she stumbled away in grand fashion before it could detonate, falling closer to her starting position. The rightmost Dreg spotted her flailing body, and readied its pistol; the end barrel shimmering in a sky blue. Her green eyes caught the glow and panic flooded her system again. She quickly went for her knife and shot it at the attacker. Her aim wasn't as precise this time, however, and she only caught its hand. The pistol fell in a heap, and the Fallen soldier stumbled back. She took the chance and sat on her knees again, pulling her sniper scope up, and pulled the trigger. The bullet split right through the Dreg's stomach, the velocity and force of the impact disembarking the Dreg into the wall. It crashed onto the floor and the frantic woman dashed to her knife, dodging incoming fire of the remaining adversaries.
She flopped behind the trio of boxes and, after making sure she had her Khvostov and her sniper, she magnetized the latter safely onto her back and prepped the former. Waiting silently for a moment, mainly to catch her breath, she kept a solid look on her tracker and waited. The tracker hadn't moved, however, so she peeked around the corner. What she didn't expect was the Dreg being right on top of her, and, with good reason, cursed loudly before ducking back from the shock dagger it threw her way. She launched herself back forward and slammed an elbow into what she guessed was its ribs. As it knelt down in severe agony, she gripped its head and slammed a knee into its nose. More loud, satisfying cracking noises pulsated through her head. Making sure the job was done, she slammed the back of its head into the wall next to its friend. It crumbled to the floor without a shiver, its blood splattered on the wall.
Her breath was heavy, yet her adrenaline was pumping. She felt tired, yet invigorated.
"That..." She paused, "Was kinda awesome."
The Ghost looked over her work, "I don't think you needed to do that much on that last Dreg."
She sniffled, "Hey, I don't know if these things have regenerative powers. I needed to make sure."
The Ghost was silent for a moment, "Fair point I guess. You've only just woke up, and know next to nothing about the situation at hand right now." He explained, watching her go and retrieve her knife.
After yanking it out, "I'm still expecting some answers, don't forget." She retorted as she tried to clean her knife.
"I'll do my best to make sure you get them. That may be a little tougher now, though."
She cocked an eyebrow, "What makes you say that?"
"Well, judging by how many Fallen we've already faced, added with a number of Fallen properties littering this... Grave..." It spoke unsurely, "The Fallen seem to have a bigger hold on this area than I last saw." A small frown crossed her features.
"We're almost at our destination, though. Let's just hope there's something left out there." She shared her Ghost's concerns with a nod. After recovering her breath, she walked through the doorway she had not seen when scouting the room. Entering the tunnel, her first notice was how massive it was. It was a circular underpass, with a massive, broken fan smacked in the middle. A working fan was at the end of the walkable tunnel, the white lights flashing through the rusted, slow moving blades. Wading through the overgrown grass and diluted water, she slid into the pass rightward at the end, leading to a much smaller, manmade tunnel. Following the path like she had, she noticed an exit.
Almost sprinting out, she slid to a stop. The sky was dark now, clouds had rolled in, covering what was left of the sunlight. Her features expressed awe, even more so than the scenery from where she had awakened. The grass at the end of the steps looked alive, bits of snow glued onto the waving leaves. Tanks were strewn across the land, the red and orange over showing age to the vehicles, leaving the weapons more like a museum exhibit, the sprinkling of snow adding to their beauty somehow. The distant buildings stood tall, defiant of age. Even the blotches that plagued the mighty walls despised their existence and stood intact against the rust. A large shuttle holder in the distance eclipsed the defiant, proud buildings, abandoned ships strapped to the structure like a mother with her child.
"This place is an old cosmodrome. There should be something around here we can use." The Ghost spoke, its owner ignoring. Suddenly, a bright flare shot into the sky, followed by large blue and white particles forming far away on her left. Pulling her sniper out, she aimed near the cluster, and soon a massive capital-like ship broke into the sky. It was soon followed by a massive thunderbolt and a shockwave that sliced the clouds in half.
Stuck in awe again, she witnessed the shockwave devastate two towers in the distance, toppling them like dust. As the crumbled in the ship's wake, she summarily noticed it was flying very close to her position. She ducked behind the wall in safety. As it reached her sanctuary, three smaller ships emerged from space similar to their father, indicated by blue shimmers.
"Fallen ships!? This close to the surface!?" As the Ghost floated there in confusion, the massive flagship roared past her, followed closely by an aftershock, sending her off her feet.
"This is not the time to sit and admire! We need to move!" The Ghost's words felt like a bullet, and she was scared back to her feet. her legs finding adrenaline, she sprinted by the two building held together by a sign, sliding next to some stone. It was close enough when it came to cover. Fallen flooded from the three ships, a minimum of 15 or so Dregs and 7 Vandals. They immediately locked her position, and with one scream from one of the Vandals, who had different colored armor from what she could see, they charged.
This was going to be a fight.
Kira: Yes people I am alive. Now, I know I've said this before, and trust me, I'm serious when I say it, but I am trying to get back into writing. I'm trying, I really am. And because Destiny: Rise of Iron is releasing soon, I got the itch to write again. I love you guys, I do. I'm trying to write again. Hopefully, I stick with what I'm saying this time. I hope you all enjoyed. :D