It was - peaceful? No… Not peaceful. Her mind and heart were still fluttering in panic. Was it tranquil? No that's still not quite right. She still had yet to be silenced, though the burning in her throat had almost consumed her neck. Perhaps it's-THUD
Okay. Now it's definitely peaceful. It was a distinct type of feeling though, or rather, a lack thereof. That scared her. "Arms, do I have arms?" She opened her eyes to look but saw nothing but deep, smothering darkness. Now she was very scared, panic rising she tried manually turn on the flashlight of her Ghost. She reached deep inside herself to search for her trusted friend but again, saw nothing but darkness. Fearing the worst, she called out hoping beyond all else that this was merely a nightmare, "Hello?"
Violently there was a burst of light and she was flying. The first thing she saw was a great falcon, seemingly composed of light. It showed her the traveler hovering above the last city. It was a comforting sight, not meant to last though. Just as quickly as it had appeared it was torn from her sight. Her feathered guide dove and so did she, into a lake in front of the city. She saw the faces of the damned and innocent alike, forever immortalized into statues of stone reaching towards the surface, no, reaching for her, calling out for help. They too were quickly torn away, replaced by visions of the cosmos. A lone ship of impossible size consuming a planet. Then she saw the stars themselves, moving into constellations that were unfamiliar to her. She looked up from the water to see her guide again, but this time there was no city. There was an unearthly mountain that seemed to call to her. There was a voice too, distinct, and at the same time indiscernible. As she watched the great falcon fly away she sluggishly felt the crushing weight of reality seep back into her.
Oddly enough, it was her nose that first twitched with signs of life. She wished it hadn't though, the smell of burnt concrete and flesh instantly overwhelmed her. The next to return was her ears. The sound of cut wires sparking, fires crackling, and water rushing somewhere nearby slowly crept into her mind. The rest of her senses would have to wait because her eyes needed to be open right now. It took a moment for her to actually comprehend all that she saw. She lay in a shattered plaza, grass and flowers in pots around her now dead or dying, skyscrapers toppled over and bent into submission, windows shattered all around her, fires raging in what used to be a liquor store, and below her an oddly human-sized crater. When she finally understood there were no words to be said and no thoughts to be had other than complete and utter despair. While her memory was more like a fishing net than a blanket there were enough bits and pieces for her to connect the dots. Quickly her sorrow turned to anger which turned to rage. A crisp image of an albino Cabal with pure white armor stood clear as day in her mind, Ghaul. He will get what he deserves and it will be by her hand. As she tried to stand up she immediately regretted the decision. Pain shot out from every nerve ending in her body.
Quickly, she fell into a hunched stance clutching her ribs, which for all she knew may very well have been ground into a fine dust, only remaining on her feet by a sheer force of will. After several minutes of breathing she took a step forward. Pain rocketed from her leg, which was likely broken into several pieces, another minute of rest then. This process continued until she reached the small stream she had heard earlier. The good news was that she was getting faster and the water might help refresh her. The bad news was that Red Legion soldiers were walking across a bridge in front of her. Hobbling behind a slab of concrete, she barely avoided the searchlight of a Thresher overhead. Once she was sure they had passed on the hobbling continued.
It must have been another 30 minutes of walking, resting, and then walking again before her body collapsed. Letting out a cry of despair and pain she fell face first into the water. It was gentle, and kind, and it seemed to promise rest if she would just close her eyes… "What's the point?" her mind cried to her. Her legs and arms throbbed in agreement. But deep in her chest her heart refused to give in. She was hand-picked by the Traveler, chosen to be a Guardian of the light, a mighty shield for her people. With determination newly rooted on her face she began to crawl, should her legs not work then her arms would move her. Should they give in too, then she'd pull herself by her chin. She would keep moving until her heart couldn't beat any more. Thankfully, it wouldn't come to that. After several seconds of labored moving she could hear a voice calling to her, "Guardian? Guardian!" looking, up she saw the blackened shell of her Ghost, Kepler.
"Oh Guardian!" he cried, "Look what they've done to you! I can use the light I have left in me to heal you, but only this once. If I do it now I'd need to be reconnected to a source of light. If I heal you now, you're on your own. No second chances."
"Kepler." She croaked, "please..." her last words before falling unconscious again.
There was no choice left for him, with a determined spin of his shell he beamed every last bit of light inside him to his Guardian and then dropped to the concrete, lifeless.
It was like sun-bathing to her though. Even if it was at the same time it was a brutal reminder that her connection to the Traveler was no longer there. Regardless, she let the light wash over her and thaw her very soul as it rapidly glued her bones into one and sewed her ligaments back together. It wasn't a perfect job, her ribs were still bruised and one was likely still broken. Her right arm defiantly remained in two pieces as well. Not to mention all of the intense bruising on her back that ranged from her things to her elbow. She could hardly complain. Kepler had brought her from quite literally the brink of death to a decent shot at making it. She stood, and for the first time in too long took a full, deep breath. Glancing around she spotted a crack in the wall. "Just what I needed to get out. Maybe in some twisted way, luck's still on my side." With high hopes and a broken arm she picked up Kepler's cold shell and marched on through the wall.
~~PAGE BREAK~~
It had been four days since her home was destroyed. Once an untouchable warrior of her people, now a refugee of war. Daring a glance backwards she was greeted with the city, her home, still burning. She pushed the thought out of her head and kept moving onward up the mountain she was only at the base of. As she took a step forwards something perched atop a rock spread it's wings and took to the sky. Startled, she stumbled backwards and toppled over herself. After the searing pain of disturbing her barely healed bruises she returned to her feet and tried to get a better look at what had moved.
It was a falcon, it reminded her of something that she couldn't quite place. Unconsciously, she followed the falcon, after a moment or two she spotted a flag and realized that it had led her to some sort of camp. As she neared the top of a small hill she was greeted with a steep 5-6 foot drop and a camp. All throughout there were the bodies of Guardians, cold and lifeless. It made her sick. Without any connection to the light they had stood no chance. It had to have been the Red Legion, preying on helpless Guardians. She hopped off the ledge into the camp and found a small sidearm. In her past life she would give it a name, perhaps create a sentence or two commemorating it to some Guardian or deed. She almost decided to forgo this tradition, but something told her that if she skipped this she'd be losing a part of herself and she had lost enough. Purposefully, she grabbed the combat knife strapped to her thigh and etched the word 'Requiem' into the side. She'd never been a talented musician like some of her old friends, but she was damn sure than before this was all over that gun would sing for the lost.
It was a sobering moment. The rage had subsided for now and she truly grasped the gravity of her situation. Her friends were dead and not coming back. Kepler could be saved, but she would only have one chance. For all she knew, the entire fate of humanity laid upon her shoulders. It wasn't good to dwell on such things so she continued onward.
Her air-born friend would still wait for her at every turn, leading her up and through the mountains she had gradually been climbing into. It seemed that every time she stopped the Red Legion had Warhounds on her. It was a surprise the first time and one had managed to get a decent bite onto her left leg. It came away with mostly torn plasteel plating but still left some nasty cuts into her leg which if left untended would likely develop an infection. The rest were uneventful and ultimately achieved nothing, which she was completely fine with.
~~PAGE BREAK~~
It had been a whole week since the attack now. The city had been out of sight for sometime but the Traveler was still on the horizon. It was a sad sight, this once powerful deity now locked in chains. It would have to wait though, because at the moment she was trying her hardest not to freeze to death. Her cloak had been torn off and wrapped around her uncovered bite wound which was definitely starting to get infected. She came to the conclusion that once this was all over she was going to retire to some planet far off the beaten path nestled right up next to it's star. The path stayed the same for some time, winding down the side of the mountain. Eventually she reached an area where the sun was shining bright and the snow had melted. It was glorious, the sun finally warming her semi-frozen body. The only issue was that streams had started to flow again and what was her path was now leading to a waterfall. She'd have to walk on the sides.
Sometimes there was a log she could walk across, other times the only way through was wading. None of these compared to the leap she had to make now. The only way to continue down the mountain was either to cross a 10 foot gap or jump down the waterfall. She decided to not chance death more than she already had. She walked back for a running start. Quick as lightning she took off and counted down the time before she had to leap, "3… 2… 1… JUMP!" Time slowed as she soared through the air. The jump was really quite impressive, but with an injured leg and one good arm there just wasn't enough strength. Slamming into the rock wall she clung to the ledge with just her left arm. Slowly her hand began to slip and as it did she finally felt that peace people had said was to come. Death might come to claim her, but at least she tried.
~~PAGE BREAK~~
Slowly, but undoubtedly she opened her eyes. The sound of water splashing and the feeling of a cool rag on her back had coaxed her back into the land of the living. Unable to muster the strength to move her neck, all that was visible was the rocky floor of a cave and the legs to whatever makeshift cot she was resting on. Still, that cool rag moved across her back. After it circled her 3 more times and lifted away she had a very sudden realization. She had no clothes on. Panicking she turned around and sat up trying to cover herself and face whatever fiend had stolen her armor. She found herself sitting face to face with a kneeling woman. She had striking features, tan skin on her face complemented by a circle of purple dots she had tattooed on, while her dark hair was pulled back behind the hood of her poncho. Immediately the woman reached out her arms trying to soothe the startled Guardian, "Easy there champ. You're gonna tear just about everything I bandaged."
Looking at herself, the Guardian realized that her leg was bandaged with real bandages, not just her torn cloak. In addition she also noticed several new bandages along with a sling for her arm and a makeshift brace for her right leg. Clearly this woman was here to help, the how and why would have to wait. "Clothes?" she scratched out before falling back down, still trying to maintain any decency she had left. The other woman tossed a blanket over her. When she was finally covered up the stranger opened her mouth to speak.
"The name's Suraya Hawthorne, but just call me Hawthorne. You got one?"
"Emilia, why are you helping me?"
She shrugged and handed her a cup filled with water, "That's what I do. Ever since the city got attacked I've been gathering survivors and shipping them off to the EDZ."
"Isn't that where the House of Devils was searching for something?" Emilia questioned slowly taking a sip before downing the whole thing.
Hawthorne smirked, "Yep, but ever since the Guardians stopped the SIVA virus their presence seems to have evaporated." There was an uncomfortable silence at the mention of Guardians. One that Suraya picked up almost instantly. Her expression shifting to a more serious one, "Are you a Guardian? Things are much worse than I thought."
With a frown Emilia quietly responded, "I am, or at least I was until they took away our light. When that ship landed on the Traveler it severed the connection of every Guardian. We can't be revived and we can barely heal, the only reason I didn't die in the city was because my Ghost used all his remaining light to heal me. He saved my life and for all I know he's lost in the mountains, never to be found again. Some Guardian I am."
With a small smile Hawthorne reached into a bag on the ground, "I found this in the river you washed up in, I figured whoever it belonged to was dead. I'm willing to bet that this belongs to you, though." She handed Emilia a familiar red and white Ghost. Sensing that the Guardian might not know what to say she decided to give her a hand, "No need to say thanks. I'm happy to help." After a brief pause Hawthorne continued, "You need to get some rest, without your connection to the Traveler you're gonna have to heal the old fashioned way like the rest of us." With that, she got up and left Emilia alone in the cave letting out a barely audible thanks. It wasn't long before the soothing warmth of slumber claimed her.