Chapter 1: A Second Chance at Life

He lost track as to how long it's been. The length of time he's spent locked in this apartment, convinced that all of this was a bad dream. He just had to wake up. He just had to.

Marcus Anderson found himself amongst the wreckage of what looked like a junkyard in the middle of Russia. It threw him off because Russia typically isn't as warm as it was now. He didn't have any memory of ending up there, his last memory being with his friends, driving around and being teenagers. But as fast as he woke up he was on the run. He didn't understand anything, but in order to not end up dead, he listened to the floating Rubix Cube that ordered him to pick up the rifle and shoot anything that moved. Guess being an army brat did have it's perks after all. Still, it bothered him that he didn't know the first thing about anything. Why did he wake up in this Junkyard? Where was his family, and what were those things that were chasing him? Rubix said they were a race of… aliens? This had to be some sort of nightmare.

Then again, since when did nightmares last over a week? And since when did they look so beautiful? Marcus looked out the window of what Rubix called "The City." The last haven for mankind, or some nonsense like that. In the distance, was "The Tower" the home of the Guardians, soldiers sworn to protect The City and by extension the universe from aliens like the ones chasing him.

"Rubix…" Marcus called out softly.

"I am a Ghost, not a Rubix Cube." The little white robot reminded the teen.

"Run it by me again, please?" He asked.

"Again? I've explained it to you several times already. Must I reiterate my explanation again?"

"Yes, if you don't mind please." Marcus told him.

The Ghost sighed. "Alright, although I don't understand what's so hard about this. Nearly a thousand years ago, An anomaly made its way into this solar system. In response, Earth sent several Astronauts to Mars to look into the phenomenon, and what they discovered was The Traveler, a celestial body in the shape of a giant white sphere, about the size of one of your cities. As it has done in other galaxies, it initiated what's called a Golden Age. The Traveler made neighboring planets in the solar system inhabitable, allowing humanity to break from their home and go explore the worlds. In the centuries that followed, many planets that were deemed unstable, became homes for humanity; lifespans tripled, populations grew exponentially, and soon, what was thought to be impossible, became possible. Human curiosity knew no bounds."

Marcus could vouch for that. One of the major things the convinced him that this is a dream is that the world itself looks as if this was pulled straight out of a star wars movie. The people were dressed in unique clothing, definitely not the style of the early 21st century. Their clothing was a mixed with ancient and modern. Technology, advanced, yet simplistic.

Rubix hovered over his shoulder. "You know we can't run forever. The Vanguard will soon send Guardians to hunt your down."

"Then you return to them. I'm going to find my way back home." Marcus turned and grabbed his bag and the Khvostov 7G-02 that sat next to his nightstand.

"You are one peculiar human." The Rubix told him. "Could this be delusion?"

"What was that?" Marcus turned back.

"Delusion:" Rubix repeated. "An idiosyncratic belief or impression which is firmly maintained despite being contradicted by what is generally accepted as reality or rational argument.

"I know what it means!" Marcus snapped. "I'm not going crazy, this world itself is crazy! This can't be real, there is no way in heck this is centuries from the 21st century! I mean yesterday was September 9th of 2014 A.D.!"

"Actually yesterday was September 8th of 714 G.A., as it is now September 9th." Rubix corrected. "The Speaker warned me about this."

"What, got something else smart to say you stupid snowflake?"

"You are clearly hysterical, there's no way of getting around that. I assumed that you'd be over the fact that you've been dead for seven hundred years, but even after a week that's still posing to be a tough pill to swallow."

"I wish you'd stop saying that." Marcus said.

The Ghost shook. "I won't tell you anything different. You have been dead for seven hundred years. If records prove true, you and your family were stationed here in Russia. After an argument with your parents, you stole your father's car in an attempt to joyride with your friends, and ended up colliding into a tree. You died of your injuries shortly after making it to the hospital."

"That's a load of crap!"

"Somehow I sense that you don't deny what happened. Could it be that after a week of me restating myself that you finally understand the predicament you're presently in?"

Marcus grew quiet. "Let's just say for a second that I do believe you. What happened to my parents, and my little brother, Jack?"

"They unfortunately were not selected to be brought back."

"Selected? What do you mean 'Selected'?"

"Us Ghosts search for those who the Traveler has deemed worthy of wielding its light. You are one of them. With the light you possess within yourself, I was able to bring you back to life."

"No."

"No? Again, what's so hard to comprehend?"

"EVERYTHING! What don't you understand!? I didn't ask to be brought back to life, I didn't ask to be brought nearly a thousand years in the future and be lectured by a talking cube about—"

"For the last time I am a GHOST!" Rubix snapped.

"I don't care what you are!" Marcus snapped back. "Like I said, I didn't ask for any of this. Maybe I prayed to wake up to apologize to my dad for disobeying him, but from the looks of it, I woke up seven hundred years too late!" At this point Marcus was out of breath, meanwhile the Ghost just stayed hovering before him.

Rubix finally spoke. "Are you finished?"

Marcus reluctantly nodded.

"Look. I understand, you're confused, scared, and have no idea what's going on. Trust me, there are millions of Guardians outside this window who has gone through the same episode you are right now. But I'm about to tell you something that will make you rethink everything."

"And what's that? What do I have here? My family, friends, everything that I ever had is gone. I'm only sixteen years old… what do I have that will make up for everything that I missed out on and more? What's in this world that's better than everything I've lost?"

"A second chance." Rubix stated.

Marcus was taken aback by that answer. "A…second chance?"

Rubix nodded. "Being reborn and fused with the Traveler's light has given you a second chance. A new life out there amongst the stars. I also know about your childhood as well. You love science fiction. You always imagined what would it be like to travel in space. What it would be like to set foot on the moon, to see Earth as we do the moon at night. What it be like to go Break the limit and touch the stars."

"How did you…?"

"Because, I am your Ghost. Once I found you, I instantly recorded every detail about you. Your past, your dreams, your desires, everything; you wanted a place to call home. Well, this world, the Tower—that is your home, and on that tower, reside mothers, fathers, brothers and sisters—your new family. So yes; this is your opportunity for a second chance; to start over anew. And who knows. You might see some familiar faces among its inhabitants.

Marcus took Rubix's words to heart and set his stuff down. "What do you mean by that? Familiar faces?"

"Guardians have been brought back from various timelines since the beginning of time itself; from ancient civilizations, up to the last century. Only the best of the best could be brought back to life to serve as humanity's last hope. With all of those resurrected, there's a chance you might see someone from your past, it's not uncommon to run into someone.

"Like those two Guardians who saved us back when we found that rust bucket of a ship?" Marcus asked, thinking back to the week prior.

When Marcus and Rubix were on the run from the aliens that Rubix called the "Fallen", they ran into two Guardians who were patrolling the area, a "Voidwalker Warlock" and a "Striker Titan", Rubix called them. They made quick work of Rahn, the Devil Captain and his squad of Dregs and Vandals, allowing Marcus and Rubix to get the ship running and a chance to make their exit.

"Two of many Guardians that you're going to run into. For rookies themselves, they exceeded my expectations."

"Rookies…? They didn't seem like it."

"Compared to the Vanguards and other powerful Guardians out within our Solar System, they are indeed what the ancients called 'fresh meat'."

Marcus smiled, remembering the term back during his younger days. It bugged him, thinking that a memory that in his mind was barely two years ago, was actually seven hundred and two years behind.

"So then, have you made up your mind?" Rubix inquired. "Are you ready to go to the Tower to become acquainted with your brother and sisters in arms?"

Marcus looked at Rubix and sighed. "Don't have a choice now, do I? I mean where else can a sixteen year old go?"

"Mars, Venus, even the Moon itself are possible places to inhabit. However, Fallen, and other Armies of the Darkness overrun them. Unless you want to die a second time, I'd suggest we go to the Tower."

Marcus nodded. "Duly noted."