My name is Aubrey. If you are reading this, I might be dead or I have buried this journel. This is the story of my new life.
It all started when I got back from the hospital after my accident (I'm not going to talk about it) I woke up in the middle of the night because I heard my door open. I was very scared, I turned on my dolphin night light and saw a big man who held a shotgun in his left hand and a broad axe in his right. And that's now even the creepiest part about him. He had no head. I did the first thing that came to my head "DADDY, HELP-" but I didn't get to finish my sentence, the man raised his axe and swung it at me, and everything was dark.
I was in a void of total darkness, nowhere to go, and no one to talk to, I then knew what happened, I died.
I mostly slept in my purgatory, and to keep my sanity was talking to myself. It felt like forever in there, which it probably was. Until one day, I felt a tug on my back, I swiftly turned around to see what tugged at me. But no one was there. I felt it again, this time it was so strong that it pulled me off my feet. Fell with a loud thud, or at least that's what I thought happened. Then I felt weird, I couldn't explain it back then, but I can now.
The air felt, alive. I could feel a soft squishy substance oozing between my fingers. My skin tingled, like it was being burned. I thought to myself what is happening? Why do I feel … feel … alive? I tried to shake the thought out of my head, but I couldn't, my adrenaline kicked in and I opened my eyes excited to see the beautiful world again, the colours, people, and my dad. But it wasn't beautiful at all. It was like barren wasteland (eh, I guess it's a step up from hell) I breathed new life, smelling the burning landscape and burning flesh. I tried to stand up, but I just stumbled, then I heard a small voice above me complaining to itself
"what! But! How? I resurrected a little girl? Well this is just great." my throat tickled when I accidentally breathed in a heap of ash, I coughed loudly trying to get it out of my mouth. I looked for the voice
"he-hello? Who is it talking? Where are you?" I said into the burning fields. I heard the voice again
"up here kid" I looked up and saw a little light floating in the air, its voice was so commanding, but yet so comforting. I asked the voice
"what are you?"
"I'm a ghost, well, your ghost now." it replied
I was really confused "wha-what happened to this place?" I asked
"The darkness happened." it said
"The what?" I asked
I heard a loud growl from afar, I looked behind me and saw but didn't believe, to be a spaceship. The ghost said "we better move, it's not safe out here in the open" I turned around and saw the ghost disappeared.
"Huh?" I whimpered
"It's okay, I'm still here, just go!" it commanded
I listened and I ran. I turned around to see the ship again and I saw things dropping from it. It only encouraged me to run faster. I saw a house that was still standing up ahead, it looked familiar, of course, that's my house. I tried to open the door but it locked, I was in a panic, so I found the nearest rock and banged it against the door knob. When the door knob fell off, I swung open the door and slammed it behind me. I race up to my room, it hasn't changed a bit. I opened the closet and hide inside.
"Why are we hiding in the closet of a little girl's room, we need to get out of here!" the ghost exclaimed
"This is my room, you little ball of … I don't know." I yelled
The ghost backed away, looking as if it has been offended and then retorted "okay first off, don't call me little! And second, you remember your past?"
"Ya, I remember everything, strangely I even remember my birth, and memories that aren't even mine?" I said
"Wow, you must be like those prophesied guardians." the ghost said
"A prophesied wha-"
I was cut off when I heard the front door was busted down
"I think they say us running in here" the ghost said
"What are we going to do?" I asked
The ghost looked around.
"Do you see that window?"
"Ya?"
"Were going to jump through it" the ghost said
"what ?! Are you crazy?" I said in a loud whisper
I heard a grunt and footsteps heading in our direction.
"Okay on three" the ghost said
"Okay"
"THREE!" the ghost yelled, I bursted out of the closet and ran right into a alien. I doubled backwards. I looked up at the alien. It had weird feathers sticking out of the back of its head, it had some sort of gas mask on and must have been eight feet tall and had four arms and a blaster in its hands. I looked into it four eyes, terrified. It looked down at me and spoke in some sort of foreign language. I looked around for something to throw at it, I saw my old teddy bear to my left. I grabbed it by the leg and threw it at the alien's face. It was stunned for a second when it threw my teddy bear from his face, I kicked him right in the private. He dropped his gun and doubled over holding his private.
"Look a weapon, pick it up!" said the ghost
I bent down and grabbed the gun and jumped out the window. I landed hard on the ground, I was sure I broke both my legs, but to my surprise, they were fine.
The ghost said "what are you standing around for? RUN!"
And I did exactly that. I ran, and ran, and ran until I could run no more.
Later …
"So I've been dead for over one hundred and twenty nine years!?" I screamed
"Yes, since the day you died, and adding the one hundred years of the golden age, you have been dead for exactly one hundred and twenty nine years." the ghost said
"And aliens are real!" I screamed
"Yes" the ghost said
"And everything you said to me isn't made up!" I screamed again
"No" the ghost said
We both just sat in silence for a brief moment.
"So … what do we do now?" I asked
"I guess we keep on moving. Hopefully we'll be able to find a safe haven so we can unite with other guardians" the ghost said
"So … what am I going to call you?" I asked myself
"What?" the ghost said
"Well, I need to call you something, just calling you ghost all the time will get boring, we need to add some excitement to your name." I said
"Hmm" the ghost said
"I know I'll call you, phase?" I said
"Phase? What kind of name is that?" the ghost asked
"Well, you said your a ghost, and ghosts phase through walls" I said
"I don't think it works that way." said the ghost
"But it is better than having the same name as everyone else." I said
"Hmm, that is true …" said the ghost
"Then Phase it is" I said
After that day, we left Sleepy Hollow, the place where I was born, and the place where I died. The world has changed a lot since 1987. Everything looked like something right out of a comic book. We had many encounters with some kind of mutant monsters which Phase said they had traces of human DNA which was kind of impossible (but considering the world that we were in, impossible was possible.) we kept moving on collecting more supplies, weaponry, clothing, and occasionally we found a dead ghost.
"The poor guy" I said
"Not even the slightest amount of light left." said Phase
"Did he even have a guardian?" I asked
"No, it appears that he never made it to resurrect." Phase said drooping a bit
"Hey," I said bending down and turned him around and raised his gaze to look at me.
"I will never let that happen to you, I promise on my life and the bible that I will never let you die." I said
"Okay, thanks." said Phase
"Anytime, time buddy" I said and kissed him on his top triangle
900 years later …
Well you might think that 900 years later that I would have grown a little, but nope, not even a inch, but I got some armour to protect me, but I sadly had to pry it off of the body of a dead guardian. I got Phase a better shell, we had become invincible. But no one is invincible, I learned that the hard way. One day when when we were in the thick of a fight with a band of Pikes, I felt like I was about to discover my power in the light, but just as I was about to wallop the dreg in the face, I felt like I was ripped in two. The feeling was so weird, like I had lost a vital part of me, I could feel my skin starting to age, what had happened to me then? I didn't figure that out until I was nearly killed, for good, again. The dreg that was the most beat up slapped me in the face and knocked me to the ground. I looked up to see his baster leveled at my face, I was thinking that, whatever, I'll just come back and kick the stuffing out of you like never before. Then all of a sudden I could Phase talking in the back of my mind.
"Aubrey-something's wrong."
"What?" I said
"Run" he said in a panicked voice, I listened. I smacked the blaster out of the dreg's hand, and shot him dead with my fallen shotgun that I stole from that fallen captain all those 900 years ago. I ran as fast as I could, but it seemed like I was calmly jogging. The dregs jumped on their pikes and raced after me. I tripped and I tried to get up, but my legs refused to listened, I asked Phase.
"What do you mean something's wrong?"
"I can't feel the light, it's like I've been cut off from the Traveller."
"What are you exactly saying?" I asked
"What I'm saying is that if you die I can't resurrect you!" he panicked
I let that sink in, then a rush of adrenaline filled me and I tried my best efforts to get up. I forced myself to get, but I still couldn't. I closed my eyes, and prayed with what little time I had left.
"Dear God. please have mercy on my soul, and deliver me from my sins, please let me enter your kingdom, and be with my mom, and dad if they are dead?"
I started to cry and shake, I summoned Phase and hugged him as hard as I could, and said
"I'm so sorry" I cried
"What are you sorry for?" Phase asked
"For breaking my promise!" I said
"It's not your fault" he said
"And I'm also sorry for this" I said
"What?" he asked
I lifted him up to my face and kissed him. Then I flexed my arm and threw him as far as I could.
"Wait? NO, AUBREY!" he yelled as he flew across the plain.
I let one more tear loose and forced myself to turn over to face my killers. I loaded a clip into my pistol, and leveled it at the dregs and stared them in the eyes and said my last words.
"Eat this you mother f-"
Then all was went black.
I thought I said my last words.
I woke up in a damp cave, there was a fire in the center of the cave with what looked like a skinned rabbit. I got up and instantly regretted it. I felt a shot of pain in my side, I looked down and saw my torso was covered in bloodied bandages, my right arm was in a sling, and leg was in a makeshift splint. I looked around the cave trying to figure out how the heck I got here. Then I hear a deep noise coming from somewhere in the cave I tried to sit up to get a better look of the room, but I just fell back down. I gasped in pain.
"Oh, you're awake"
I heard a female voice from across the room. She walked over, no wait? She … floated over?
"hear, you must be thirsty?" she offered me a canteen of water.
I tried to take it but my arms wouldn't respond. I tried to tell her that I can't move, but all that I could say is "cah"
"Oh, I see, your arms are all busted up, her let me help you with that." she said
"She perched me up on the wall and raised the canteen up to my lips. I didn't realise how thirsty I was until I took a sip of the water, my mouth was as dry as a desert. The water tasted sweet (which normally meant that it was from a swamp) I chugged the whole canteen and managed to find my words.
"Thank you" I said
"Your welcome, so what's your name?" the woman asked
"Aubrey, what's your's and how are you floating?" I asked
"We nice to meet you Aubrey, my name is Marceline the Vampire Queen." she said
"Dito, but you didn't answer my question how are you floating?" I said
"Well, I'm the vampire queen, so that means I'm a Vampire" she said while floating in circles on the ceiling of the cave.
"So now you answer my question. What were those things that were going to kill you? And when does a eight year old carry a wicked looking gun?" she asked
"I'm not eight years old, I might look like it but I'm a thousand years old and I'm a guardian, so I ha-" I stopped in mid sentence and just remembered Phase was still out there all alone, possibly dead.
"I need to go!" I said, I scrambled to get up, but I collapsed.
"Whoa, whoa you're not going anywhere." Marceline said putting me up against the wall.
"I need to find my ghost!" I yelled
"What?" she asked
"Phase, he's my ghost, I threw him away so he could live, he's still out there, I need to find him before he dies!" I said struggling to release Marceline's grasp on me.
"Okay girl, just tell me where he is and I'll tell him to come back to the surface world." she said
"No! He's not that kind of ghost. He's a artifact of the traveller, a mechanical entity that can harness the light and infuse it with guardians to fight back the darkness!" I explained
"Huh, you remind me of a old friend of mine. He was a guardian too, so I'm looking for that kind of ghost huh? Okay, I find your Phase." she said
"Thank you" I said
She floated out of the cave and put on a big hat and took her guitar (which strangely looked like a axe) she must have been gone for an hour, my stomach was starting to bark. I tried to inch closer to rabbit which was probably burnt to a crisp now. As I went to reach for it I heard Marceline's voice.
"Hey, what do you think your doing?" she exclaimed
I looked at her and saw her with a ghost's shell in her hand. It had tips on the top and bottom, it had blue shaded tips, and its eye was blinking on and off.
"Aubrey?" it said
"Phase!" I squealed
He floated over to me and I hugged him.
"Never throw me again!" he said
"I won't, I promise."
We hugged some more until Marceline cleared her throat.
"This is nice and all, but your bleeding again." she pointed at my side and the blood stain was growing.
"I'll fix that." said Phase
He floated down and shoot some beams of light at my side. The blood stopped growing.
"Well, thank you for your hospitality, but we need to get going before more fallen pick up our sent." I said
"Wait, this is not the best time to go out, we still don't have our light, we need to stay alive and out of harm until the light returns." said Phase
"But where would we go?" I asked
"Um, I'm still here you know." said Marceline
"Oh, sorry, but I don't think we can stay in a cave for that long, sorry." I said as I shrugged
"Oh, no, ha ha. I only brought you here because you were bleeding to much to bring to my place." she said
"Wait, this isn't your place?" asked Phase
"Heck no, my place is a few miles from here, you can stay with me until your light or whatever comes back." she offered
"I would like to live to give you your powers" said Phase
"How big is this place of your's?" I asked
"Oh, it has three levels, a watch tower, three expansions, a cave, a leto, and a lake." she listed
"Okay, that seals the deal, yeah could we stay at your place?" I asked
"Sure follow me" she motioned her hand to follow
It would have taken forever to get to her house if Marceline didn't fly us there. Her house wasn't a house, it was a treehouse, a freakin treehouse, since when do people live in a treehouse? She gave us a tour of the house and showed us where we could sleep, and she gave us a change of clothes, let us take a shower. I had to force Phase to stay still so I could clean him of all the swamp gunk on him, he did not like it (I really miss those days.) she showed me a photo album of all the pictures that she had of her past. Then a picture caught my eye. I picked it out of the album and asked Marceline.
"Who is that man?"
"That is a old friend of mine." she said
"He looks like a guardian." I said
"That's because he is, his name is Eleven he was a hunter." she said
"Was?" I asked
"Oh, he's still alive, I just haven't heard from him in awhile." she answered
I turned the page and my eyes widened.
"Where did you get this picture?" I asked pointing at it
"That's Eleven with his mask off." she answered
"Why do you ask, you look like you've just seen a ghost?" she said
I pointed at the picture
"That's my DAD!" I exclaimed
"Wow! Wait, then that means … your his dead daughter Aubrey!" said said
"Yeah" I said
"Eleven told me some stories about his past life when I was little." she said
"Well, this is kind of awkward, you knew my dad when I was dead, and now you talking to to me." I said
It was great meeting Marceline, her telling all the heroic feats that my dad did as a guardian and a elemental. I really hope to see him again someday.
Soon I got my light back, and I left Marceline and thanked her for her hospitality. As they say, time to fight the good fight.
100 years later…
I've spent the last 100 years looking for my dad, I turned up with nothing 8,000 times, and to top all of that off Phase was dead. A while back when we were searching for my dad we came across a planet that was resonating taken energy, we went to investigate it when we were attacked by a Hive Dreadnaught. I was knock out of the sky and crash landed on the planet. It was a place of pure darkness, my light was drained from me the moment I entered the atmosphere. Phase was drained and died in my hands. I examined him for any signs of light, but all I felt was darkness inside of him. I started to cry, "Phase *sniff* please *sniff* don't be dead *sob* I need you!" I broke down holding Phase up to my chest crying out for him to come back to me, but I had to accept the facts. Phase was gone, and he wasn't coming back. I was lightless, no longer a guardian. Just as I was about to give up, a ultra hive wizard appeared in front of me. It radiated taken energy, and had the blood of Oryx coursing through it. I was engulfed in the rage of Phase's death. Wisps of energy flickered off of me I looked at the wizard and raise my hand to the sky and command what little light existed in this god forsaken world. I felt like a fire ignited inside of me. I balled my fist, and I felt something heavy in my hand, something that radiated with the light of the traveller and the fire of a thousand suns. I looked up and saw a hammer in my hand.
"The Hammer of Sol" I said in awe
My instincts took over and charged at the wizard. I jumped off a rock ledge and launched myself at the wizard, in the distance I could hear Phase screaming faintly in my head from a distant memory "NNNNNOOOOOOOO!" I screamed at the top of my lungs and raised the hammer in the air. Then I could hear a voice in my head.
"A child of light ends his heir,
The Hammer of Sol finds eternal lair,
A cost of light moans more
The curse of the king
Reins forever more"
The wizard hit me with a wave of darkness. I smashed the Wizard in the face and then everything went black.
3 Days Later…
When I woke up everything was aching. I looked around and saw the vast landscape of the taken planet. I remembered that Phase was dead, and I was alone, and lightless. I looked down at my hands and thought to myself, what happens now? Just as I finished my thought, I heard a distant howl. I looked off into the distance and saw something moving fast. It was jerking around like crazy. It started to break into a sprint towards me, I was frozen in place. I tried to summon the Hammer of Sol and it appeared in my hand for a split second then the hammer disappeared from my hand. I could feel the darkness surging around me. I realized that without the light, I'm nothing but the scared little girl that was supposed to be dead 1,000 years ago. The taken was three feet away from me, it jumped in the air and raised its claws. My instincts took over and I raised my arms to block my face hoping that I would be safe, but I knew then I was going to die again, for good this time. But to my suprise, raising my hands did do something, the taken stopped dead in its tracks, just shivering, staring at me as if it was trying to talk to me. I looked at it closely and I lowered my arms, as I did that the taken bowed. It grumbled as if to say "I want to rip you to shreds, but I feel like taking a knee for a sec, okay?"
I backed away, examining the creature. I asked.
"Uh, hi?" I knew it was stupid to say that, because it would only grunt in response, or shred me into little pieces, but to my surprise it shouted in english.
"Long live the King! Long live the Taken king!"
It echo through the battlefield and in my head. It was like I plucked a string to a web, but the silk was guitar strings, it was a symphony of taken whispers. And strangely, it warmed my heart. I patted the taken's helm, which was the most stupidest thing to ever do if your not the king of the taken.
"Are-are friendly?" I asked. I must had like I just took a dump in my drawers.
"Do I look friendly?" asked the taken in a loud whisper
I looked at it "you talk?" I asked
"Only you can hear the whispers of the ascendant realm my Lord." said the taken.
"Okay, cool … so are you going to eat me." I asked
"I don't eat people, too fatty." said the taken
"Okay then, how do I get off this planet?" I said
"You cannot escape this place, this is your domain now my king." he said
"But …" I then felt woozy and then collapsed to the ground and drifted to sleep.
I woke up in a dark room, I looked around, I took a step forward. The floor underneath me crumbled away to reveal a storm of taken energy. I stepped back, I bumped into something, I turned around and saw the taken guardian. He gave me a blank stare, I think. He pointed to the taken storm and shouted "Your subjects await your presence my king." I rubbed my ears and glared daggers at him.
"Did you have to scream?" I questioned him
"I did not scream my lord, all of the whispers of the taken are amplified in the ascendant realm." he explained.
"Oh. hey you got a name?" I asked
"How is that relevant?" he asked
"Well, it isn't really, but I don't know what I'm supposed to call you? So do you have a name?" I said
"Toland the Shattered, at your serves." the taken bowed.
"Okay Tol, lead the way." I said
Toland stepped forward, and a series of platforms appeared. We stepped down and I was lead down a hall with what it looked like statues of thralls lining the walls. I was sick to my stomach. After what it seemed like a 3 hour walk we reached a large room with taken everywhere. There were four huge hive ultras, including the wizard that I killed three days ago. It turned to see me and howled.
"You!" it pointed
"What is it sister?" asked the biggest hive there.
"That is the puny guardian that smited me!" it exclaimed
"I smell the blood of the the guardian that killed me and my father!" said the third biggest hive.
"Hi" I said
"Who are you? Little guardian, and how are you in the ascendant realm and not sustain any damage?" asked the biggest hive.
"My name is Aubrey, and my friend here says I'm the new taken king, and whoever you are!" I said to the wizard "you killed my ghost! And I'm really pissed at you, so how can I smite you on the spot?" I asked
"Yes, I recognize that scent from anywhere. This is the offspring of that wretched hunter Eleven!" yelled the third largest hive.
"Yes, it is, but how is it that it is a taken king." said the largest hive.
"My guess is it's because that you wizard friend here cursed me and turned me into this so called taken king." I said
The hive ultras all turned to the wizard.
"Savathun, is this ture?" asked the largest hive.
"I seeded her with the essence of Oryx, so that one day, you may return to the material world and enslave all of this system's infectants!" said the wizard.
A huge argument broke out. I was only able to pick out only a few words. Oryx, Savathun, Crota, and Eleven.
"It is time to go now, my Lord." said Toland. I was confused by what he said at first, but then everything went black.
8 Years Later …
Today is my sixteenth birthday, and I spent it like every other day since I became the taken king, wandering this planet of the damned.
I was wondering the barren waste land in my newly fashioned dress made from the hide of hive acolytes and taken energy. I was minding my own business when the planet had a shadow casted over it by a large command ship. It wasn't like any ship that I seen before. Then large drop pods fell from the ship and buried them in the ground. They opened up[ and large space turtle looking things marched out and charged at me. I raised my hands and consumed them in a rift of taken energy. I unleashed the full extent of my power upon the aliens. "Do you really think that you can defeat me? I'm the Taken King! You're nothing to me!" I screamed at them. Another drop pod dropped from the ship and opened up revealing a large alien with white armour with weird looking wings. "Hello Aubrey, former Titan guardian, and now the Taken King, your coming with me." said the alien, "and who do you think you are?" I demanded, "I am Dominus Ghaul, leader of the Red Legion, conquer of worlds, destroyer of stars." he announced, "whatever Ghaul, this is my world, and you are trespassing!" I yelled and fired a beam of taken energy at him. But to my suprise, Oryx, the true Taken King appeared in the way. "No, you are trespassing." he said and I lost consciousness.
When I woke up, I was in a dark room with a single light. Then the door opened to my room and a strange man walked in, I acted like I was asleep (bad idea.) He walked up to me and slapped me awake. I looked up at him and smiled and laughed. He looked like hell, he had pale grey skin, black hollow eyes with blood red pupils, he wore a grey tattered t-shirt, he wore a long black cape with bronze and golden shoulder plates with a red diamond embedded in the middle, he wore black jeans, and had raven black hair. "What on earth do you want child of darkness?" I chuckled, "You name, age, and where you got your powers." he demanded. I looked at him some more to his annoyance, eventually I stopped laughing and changed my face to a stoic stare, "My name is my own, I'm 16 years old, and I achieved the skills of the taken from slaying the hive goddess Savathun." I said. The man nodded his head in understandment then grabbed my arm. I tried to free my hand from him but no avail came. He unsheathed a knife that looked like a hunter's knife and he sliced my arm covering the knife in a thin layer of blood. I winced in pain but the wound healed almost instantly with taken energy. The man nodded at me and then left.
I was left in the room, alone, no one but myself to talk to, I opened my palm and Phase's shell appeared. I held him close to my chest and cried, "Why me."
