In the waning hours of night, as the golden light of Sol began to rise over the horizon, a Ghost flies unnoticed through the burning city.
No reaction from her is given for the horrific scene around her, the refuge she'd once called home now reduced to cinders. Her task had been simple, but almost impossible to follow. When her Guardian had given the command, she had known that this was truly the end.
"Run."
And so she had run. She had hidden herself among the rubble, darting from shadow to shadow as the Guardian-killers murdered those she had come to call family. And she had waited- that was the hardest part. Forcing herself to do nothing, to leave the others to die as she knew full-well that she would be killed alongside them if she acted.
It is as the first ray of sun stretched over the city that she finally finds her Guardian again- lying still in the road next to the ones he loved, the ones who had embraced him as a brother when he had no home to call his own. The remnants of their Ghosts lay shattered in the dirt, devoid of their light.
But not hers.
Forgive me, she thinks, as she works to resurrect her partner, her other half … her Guardian. Death cannot take him to the weeds yet.
For there is vengeance to be taken, and no one else to give it.
"My uncle barely made it out alive," Talia finishes, her eyes wet from reliving her memories of that night. "And with each day that passes, he wishes that he hadn't."
"I … I understand now," Clara murmured, her voice soft. "I can't imagine what it must be like for him."
"At one point, you probably knew firsthand," the Queen pointed out. "You wiped your memory when the Guardians died, remember? You chose to forget the pain- but that's not an option he can take."
Startlingly, the Exo realized she was right. If she had truly never wiped before the death of the Guardians, then it meant that for the entirety of her existence- even crises like the Taken War and the SIVA nightmare- she had held onto hope that things would one day work themselves out.
Knowing that it had taken the Trinary Star's coup of the city to finally destroy her faith to the point of attempted suicide meant that she had endured a pain like no other … the pain that Woods was forced to live with for every moment of each day.
"What's more," Talia continued, "is that he blames himself. Not just for the deaths of Ash and my mother, Dawn and Eager … but for everything."
Clara blinked in shock. "What? Why?"
"The Balance," the Awoken muttered quietly. "Scorch gave birth to him through a blessing bestowed by the Traveler itself … and in doing so, fulfilled the prophecy. She brought about the Balance."
"I … don't get it."
Talia leaned in closer, her eyes locking onto Clara's. "My brother, the Stag, is the Balance."
Clara had no words, no reaction other than a slight parting of her lips.
The other woman hung her head. "He is a dark mirror of Mathias, the Darkness's equal to the Traveler's chosen. The Stag and the Last Hunter … the dark and light perfectly balanced at last." She finished with a note of bitterness, her eyes tired and weary from recounting the tragic tale. But something about what she said caught Clara's attention …
The Stag and the Last Hunter … the dark and light perfectly balanced at last.
An idea came to Clara- a burning idea which lit her heart on fire and drove her to stand tall. Talia looked up in surprise at the sudden look of conviction on the Exo's face.
"Then I think it's time we tipped the scales."
—X—
Woods was waiting for them, leaning against a wall next to Amelia and an Awoken Paladin. His arms were crossed and his head was slightly lowered in their direction as they walked into the hangar, so Clara knew full-well that he was not in the best of moods.
"I'm going to take a wild guess and assume that you two are responsible for the fact that I've been denied permission to leave," he snapped, moving away from the wall and walking over to meet them.
"Don't look at me," Talia answered with a shrug, "it was her call."
"And is there a halfway-decent explanation as to why?" he asked pointedly, still sounding less than pleased about the situation. "I believe I made my stance very clear-"
"I'm coming with you."
Woods turned to Clara now, his expression hidden behind his helmet. "No, you're not."
"Yes," Clara replied forcefully, "I am."
He stepped forward and glowered at her. She stood her ground, refusing to shrink against his piercing gaze.
"This isn't up for debate, Clara-"
"Like hell it isn't," she cut him off. "What do you expect me to do, just sit here while you go out there and throw your life away?"
"That about sums it up, yeah," he growled.
"And what about everyone else?" she challenged. "What about the people who live in the Star's shadow? What about the Keepers, the descendants of you Guardians who now live in exile from the city?"
"They don't need me-"
"They do," she interrupted once more, "and you know it. Without you, there's no light. Without you, there's no one to lead us to a better tomorrow."
He was silent- whether he was mulling her words over or fuming at her, she didn't know. In any case, she pressed on.
"Talia told me about the prophecy, about the Balance … about Cerin."
Woods body tensed for a moment at the mention of his adopted son's name, and she was sure he was going to lash out- then the fight went out of him. Slumping back against the wall, he hung his head low.
"Then you know why I have to do this."
"No," she spoke softly, "I know why you can't."
"Clara," he muttered, "I admire your tenacity- truly. But you know that I can't beat him. He and I are too evenly matched, and then there's the rest of the Trinary Star to worry about."
"And the Nine," Talia added.
Woods' voice became tight. "And … the Nine. To this day, I don't know what they want. But I know what they're capable of … and I can't fight them all. Not alone."
"You won't be alone."
His head lifted up to stare at her again. She met him head on, her eyes glowing with determination. "I will stand with you."
He let out an involuntary laugh, one without humor or mirth. "Right. So one Guardian and an Exo are going to fight the Nine?"
"No."
Something about her tone caught his attention, and he focused more closely on her.
"You and Talia said it yourselves," she continued, waving her hands animatedly as she spoke. "The light and the dark are perfectly balanced- neither side can win over the other so long as both you and the Stag are the only contenders. So … the only way that you can win is if you're no longer the Last Hunter."
She took a deep breath, preparing herself for what came next.
"I will become a Guardian."
Both he and Talia visibly jerked their heads in shock. "What?"
"What?" Ghost yelped, materializing and staring in utter bewilderment at Clara.
"One Guardian can't fight back the Darkness …" She smirked. "But maybe two can."
He was already shaking his head. "No, this is out of the question. You can't just become a Guardian-"
"You did," she argued. "You never chose this life, you were born into it- and you became the greatest of them all. And if my becoming a Guardian is what it will take to fight the Nine and the Star, then so be it."
He stammered, trying to raise counterpoints. "You have no training, no experience-"
"You can teach me!" she urged. "I can learn, I know I can- but you need to give me the chance."
He became quiet and listened to her as she spoke. She could feel the truth behind her words beginning to make its way into his mind.
"Out there, the Nine and the Star have taken control of humanity." She took a step forward and pointed out of the hangar into space. "If you still choose to, you can leave this fight behind. But you can't stop me from taking up the mantle- I will stand against them, with or without you."
Her chest heaved deeply, the combination of her excitement and apprehension leaving her breathless. There was a long pause where no words were spoken, no sound was made- slowly, all eyes turned towards the Hunter and awaited his response.
He stood there, the two sides of their debate warring with one another in his head. At long last, as he looked back up to face Clara, it seemed that one had emerged victorious.
"You've got one hell of a way with words- you know that, right?"
She grinned, feeling elation flood through her.
"Hold on just a second," Ghost called out, hovering up in front of her face. "Are you serious about this? I just raised you from the dead, and you're already planning to join them again?"
"If you join me, I won't have to," she pointed out. "I need you with me, Ghost- this won't work otherwise."
The little machine seemed conflicted, his fins and segments flexing and rotating nervously. "I … I want to help, but … I don't want to see you get hurt."
"Then help me," she shot back. "What are you going to do back on Earth- run from the Star for the rest of your life? Or do you want to do something about it?" She crossed her arms and raised her brow. "We can become what we were always meant to be- a Guardian and their Ghost against the Darkness. I know this is my destiny- what's yours?"
He hung there in the air, pondering what she had to say.
"… Oh, alright- fine, I'm in."
Before she could reply, he moved closer, his body beginning to expand into a bubble which his fins began to rotate and revolve around. "Hold still, this is going to be … odd."
She followed his advice and remained stationary as he began to glow white, the blue giving way to blinding illumination. Steadily, he continued inching closer and closer, and she struggled not to move as a burning sensation began to spread across her form- she could feel something powerful, something ancient beginning to stir within her. Not her physical body, what with the various tubes and machinery that gave her figure- but in her soul.
The Light lives in all places … in all things.
It penetrated deep within her heart, breathing life into a fire that she hadn't known had been raging inside her all this time- every one of her senses ignited simultaneously, overloading her with its presence.
You can block it … even try to trap it. But the Light will find its way.
She knew then that this was what had been meant for her. Call it an accident that Ghost had found her out in the snow and revived her, call it a mistake … call it fate. Whatever it was, it had lead her here to this single moment where the Balance of Light and Dark would hinge on her actions.
Devotion inspires Bravery. Bravery inspires sacrifice. Sacrifice … leads to death. This is what it means to be a Guardian.
A final blast of energy emanated from her, and the blinding glow vanished from the air. She fell to her knees, gasping for breath as the feeling of pure, raw power subsided. Ghost seemed just as shaken as she was, his flight slightly erratic as he analyzed her to make sure she was okay.
She heard footsteps as someone approached her. She looked up to see Woods kneeling beside her, and she could sense a smile behind his helmet as he spoke.
"Eyes up, Guardian."
A/N: Been a while since I last updated, busy as always with work and other projects. We're finally getting to the meat of the story, where everything in the present begins to come together.
As always, I appreciate any reviews you guys send my way- love reading your thoughts!
Until the next time,
- Matteoarts
