Prologue: Darkness
Darkness was the only thing she could remember.
She once was alive. A human on this world living life amongst others doing what humans usually do, live. A world which had much to offer. Freedom to choose as one would please given the right choice and guidance to that specific path. The Traveler indeed gave humans that right to broaden their horizons and increase their longevity to seek out and surpass their limits.
It also brought the darkness.
Levy read about it. She never could remember what her life was before she was brought back to life by her Ghost, an artificial intelligence created by the Traveler before its demise. Reading archives upon archives of history and knowledge was the only thing she could do to fill the dark void in her mind. It came in handy when they were assigned missions from the vanguards at the Tower, and soon became part of her arsenal. The knowledge she would acquire would give her team the upper hand against their fearsome enemies.
It wasn't enough.
A Guardians' job was to protect. Put forth the light in a world cascading into the Darkness. Levy should be grateful to be revived by the dormant Traveler. Its last remaining light was given to her, so she could live again but with a price to serve and protect. She was alive and that's what mattered most. Levy told herself that…her friends of her clan told her that, and the Speaker would mention it as well. Some even counted her lucky for not remembering, having a clean slate and no baggage to weigh her down.
She hid it with an ardently enthusiastic personality and a smile brighter than the entire Traveler itself. Though, deep down Levy wanted to tell them that they didn't understand. Her heart was beating with the light that was given to her, but her mind and soul were shadowed in the midst of her own darkness. A darkness that separated her from the other Guardians who remembered what it was like to be human. Some remember entirely and most small pieces of their own world, though it was enough for them to remember being human.
Levy had nothing.
Then, what was she?
"Levy! Lily!" Gajeel shouted into his helmet. "Oi! Do you read? Levy! Lily! Fuck!" A grumbling shriek tore through the cold air, having Gajeel pull his heavy rifle from the latch upon his black steel armor, and pointed at the incoming thrall. "Ghost." He called before a bullet penetrated and shattered the menacing creature's fragile head.
"Gajeel." It's synthetic voice buzzed into his helmet.
"Can you—?" His finger quickly pulled the trigger and three shots sputtered out of the aluminum barrel. Each shot successfully landed in the glowing mint green belly of the cursed thrall, and without any hesitation, the living explosive creature erupted violently, and essence of the thrall landed on its unwavering comrades.
"Already on it." It buzzed again while Gajeel swung his fist at another deformed eyeless gray monkey. His heavy onyx boots padded against the crisp snow and slid across it like ice to find shelter behind a large boulder. "I cannot establish a connection to their Ghosts. The Shriekers are interfering with the connection."
"Of course it is." Gajeel reloaded his auto rifle with thermal shots, quick and efficiently with skilled hands. Just how Levy taught him. "Tell me they aren't up the ass with Fallen and fuckin' zombie shits?" Gajeel leaned out of cover, spanning his vision through the rust polluted landscape. His eyes blinked and glanced up at his objective; a sentinel with dark purple essence of the void guarding the entrance to the Wall. It watched over the horde making their way towards Gajeel.
"Lily is still on pursuit." It informed him. "Levy has already established a connection to the Shrieker to the detonator."
"Damn, Shrimp." Gajeel hissed. "I would kill for her stupid cloaking—"
"Gajeel," It called with a click and a familiar buzz. "Scanners are picking up heavy Fallen activity within the wall."
"And Levy?" Everything else was pushed aside, remembering Levy taking the Wall sector. "Oi, Ghost!" It remained silent within the confinements of his silver helmet. Gajeel wanted It to answer him. He wanted to know if they were in the vicinity of Levy. Dealing with the Hive was one thing, but both with this magnitude was unheard of for a single person.
"Fuck!" Gajeel cursed instead. "The one time you decide not to talk, you little shit!"
The ground rumbled beneath him, feeling the blasts from the plasma blue rockets barreling down from the sky. The rock which acted as his refuge was short lived, feeling it crack and crumble from their relentless attack. Gajeel clenched his rifle tightly in his gloved hands, and his eyes watched his scanner, showing the circular map create a red beeping horseshoe on the quadrants.
He was surrounded.
And so was she.
"Levy…" It buzzed in her helmet. Levy sprinting away from a scouting unit towards high ground.
"It's okay," Levy slid into cover in a rusted shipping container with their doors tarnished off their hinges. Her scanners went blue, no enemies were in sight, though she knew there was one Hive squad full of acolytes hiding beyond her radar. "It's us, right?" Levy smiled, knowing that It was watching her. Her breathing became ragged and short, taking in as much artificial air as she could. The pistol in her hand felt heavy for the first time in a long time, putting forth more weight and unnecessary nerves about the task in hand. "We can take out that squad with one shot." She holstered her pistol and slid her hand behind her, moving aside her cloak to uncover her scout rifle.
"It's not that." It informed her. "Fallen and Hive activity within the wall."
"What?" Levy paused, staring at the emptiness of the container. Fallen and the Hive? Three sentinels? And three Guardians stupid enough to do this mission alone? "Gajeel and Lily?" Her Ghost materialized from thin air, and It's glowing oculist narrowed on her helmet clad face. The ghost levitated and the eight spikes fluctuated as it was processing information.
"I cannot establish a connection. The shrieker is blocking interference." It hummed mechanically. Levy set her semi-auto rifle aside and pulled out her sniper, running her gloved hands along the etched numbers along the butt stock for a brief moment before she started recalibrating her gun. "However, I am detecting high level Hive activity near Gajeel's general direction."
"Clarify?"
"Lots of motion."
"Quill…" Levy side glanced.
"Knights and wizards." It informed her, shifting the points and twisting It's back end. "Levy, they are approaching the Hangar C platform." Levy pulled back on the lever and cocked her sniper into position. "If we leave, they could disconnect the detonator."
"We're not leaving." Levy stood and secured her sniper in its holster, satisfied with the significant weight it held on her armored back.
"But, Gajeel—"
"And I didn't say we are abandoning them." Levy hissed offhandedly, almost sounded offended by the doubt her Ghost had. The Ghost hovered back, startled by her unusual bark. Her hazel eyes stared at her trusty companion, hovering closer towards her face with worrisome shifting orb of light. An explosion averted their attention southeast, hearing the roars and shrieks of the Hive in Gajeel's direction.
This was nothing new. How many times had Levy go on missions like this? How many by herself and her Ghost? A simple objective with some Fallen or Hive deserving of one of her high powered bullets in their disgusting heads, the task was that simple and it was etched into her sharp eyes, nimble fingers, and her blood. The haunting lands of Old Russia were nothing new to her, and if all the compliments and praise from her fellow guild mates were any consolation, she knew the Cosmodrome better than any Ghost and her hawk like eyes were almost par with a Vanguard.
But, was it enough?
"Gajeel." Levy muttered, the holo within her helmet didn't show anything new in that direction. A blip indicated the Warlock Guardian, Gajeel Redfox, was in that area and engaged in battle, but she couldn't pick up what he was up against.
"The scouting unit is closing in." Her Ghost informed. "Plan?"
Levy reached down to one of the sheathed blades along her thigh armor, and her eyes looked at the other sheathed dagger in her gauntlet. Easy to access, just like how Lily taught her. The screech from the scouting unit followed by the feral cry of the fallen to her west broke her thoughts.
"There is no plan."
Just how Gajeel had taught her.