Hello, hello. Welcome to the redone version. On we go!
Infinity's Siphon, Near-Present Mercury.
Saint-14 had always been a believer in miracles. It all started at the failed Zephyr expedition to Mercury, where he led twelve brave settlers from the Last City to their deaths, and almost his own final one. He failed to realize that the group was being followed by House of Rain Fallen from the Cosmodrome, and that the Vex were transforming the garden world of Mercury into a wasteland. He had expected to die that day, battling to the end as waves of Eliksni threw themselves at him, wearing him down and when he would inevitably falter, they would inflict the final blow.
It was safe to say that he had given up, and all that mattered during his final stand was how many of these Traveler-forsaken, children-eaters he could bring down with him. Just because he had fallen to the vices of resignation, didn't mean he would go quietly.
That was until she showed up. The Guardian, a tiny Hunter that weaved in and out of battlefield like a needle pulled through fabric. Her masterful displays of dazzling Arc, explosive Solar and of chaotic Void Light caught him by surprise, and the Fallen too. Their advance was slowed under her unshakable defense, and they were on the path to being sent back into their Ketch to tell their disgusting Kell that they were defeated.
The show of strength inspired Saint, and he pushed on, maintaining his Ward of Dawn amid all the energy fire and explosions, allowing her moments of respite. She took advantage of the cover to recharge, before throwing herself back into the fray without skipping a beat.
When it was all over, her Ghost told him about a Last City that sounded unreal, way beyond what he envisioned for the somewhat fledgling settlement at the time. It was a future from his brightest dreams.
At the time, he thought he couldn't continue, but she spoke in that soft voice of hers, deceiving his ears as her words were full of steel and bite that were enough to convince him otherwise. Maybe it would get better, and it was up to him to provide that future she showed.
Time would pass before he would ever see her again, but her first and only appearance affirmed his belief that miracles could occur. She was one of them, and she would appear again when he needed her the most.
And here she was again to save him, this time in the depths of the Infinite Forest, past hundreds if not thousands of Vex simulations. Saint mused to himself that she was just following the trail of Vex parts from all of the machines he took apart himself. Agioktis, the Martyr Mind, a Vex mind specifically built to nullify his own Light had drained his powers, leaving little chance of a victory that he would live to celebrate. He was about to send Geppetto away so he wouldn't get destroyed, but she showed up just in time. Now with the two of them together, the Vex were surely doomed.
Saint-14 was ready to throw himself head-first into battle, however Agioktis trapped him in a conflux floating in the empty space of a pillar that was pulled apart into two pieces, leaving him practically useless. It would be a duel between The Guardian of his dreams and the Martyr Mind, and he knew exactly who to bet on.
Now here she is, dismantling it piece by piece in a true battle of David vs Goliath. The Martyr Mind stands nearly a dozen times taller than her, but she's crafty, and quick. She fends off every single machine that the Vex throws at her, setting traps with that shabby-looking grenade launcher that spews unstable mines of Arc, exploding them all using another breech-loaded grenade launcher that seems to shoot missiles before cleaning up the rest with a tiny submachine gun that packs more stopping power than any other primary ammunition weapon in Saint's own arsenal. Perhaps he should ask her about it sometimes.
All Saint can do right now is scream encouragements as she fights. It pains him that he cannot step into the arena himself and tear the Martyr Mind apart with his fists, but the Vex confines him to a fate so cruel.
His own thoughts are contradicted as he feels the grip of the conflux loosening and his Light returning to him. The Martyr Mind is sparking from the space where its head used to be! Now the Guardian is trapped and the Mind prepares to execute her with its massive line rifle.
Not on his watch! The conflux disappears and he lands on his two feet. Void Light bubbles within and he can feel a shield forming on his right forearm.
"I can feel the Light in my bones!" Saint yells, boosting himself into the air with his lift. "Martyr Mind, time to die!" He reaches his arm up into the air and summons a Sentinel Shield, a pulse of Light emanating from his entire body.
Saint disengages his lift and flips forward, diving into the Martyr Mind and destroying what's left of it in a single swipe of his shield. It explodes in a storm of Radiolaria and electrical sparks before falling to its knees, several parts detaching themselves. It lets out a dying robotic moan before slumping over, leaving a dust cloud in its wake.
The Guardian drops to the floor and sticks her landing.
"It's been a long time, my friends. I've chased your memory for centuries." Saint dusts his hands, and puts a foot over the Martyr Mind's dismembered corpse. "You should go now-"
The Mind makes one last cry for life and reaches out its nearly-destroyed arm to Saint. It is quick to grab him with crushing pressure before he could react, and bats The Guardian away with its ruined line rifle. It doesn't even stand up but only pulls Saint into the air, making a high-pitched whine before exploding in a fury of white, engulfing everything in its immediate proximity.
Remnant.
Saint-14 falls into sand. He groans as a rock finds its way in a bad spot on the back of his neck. "Agh, damnit!" He snarls, quickly lifting his back up. "What happened!?"
Geppetto appears in front of him. "I...I don't know. The Martyr Mind must have teleported us," he says, turning his body side-to-side. "This doesn't correspond to any regional data of planets we know of."
"It had one more trick up its sleeve! Even under crushing defeat do the Vex find a way to complicate things," Saint says, shaking his head. "I hope its body is here, so I can tear its corpse apart again!"
"It's pieces are right beside you...and you might not want to do that. This seems to be your only shelter for now," Geppetto says in his matter-of-fact tone. "I...don't know where we are."
Saint-14 looks up to a bright-blue sky who's sun is proud to show itself overtop, shining brightly and casting waves of heat throughout the region. "Where are we? This looks like Mercury…"
"It isn't," Geppetto says, confusion present in his voice. "This is bad. I can't get a hold of any Vanguard channels, or any channels at all."
Saint-14 stands up, stretching his arms and turning side-to-side in order to get his bearings. All that surrounds him is sandy wind and sand. Flat sand, dunes of sand, mountains of sand, a whole lot of sand. He wants to ask where he is again, but realizes that would get him nowhere. He turns to the pieces of the Martyr Mind, not sure what fate he would condemn it to yet.
Without much thought Saint starts kicking its broken head while yelling various obscenities to it, sometimes in a language he doesn't even understand. He stops, realizing that this isn't getting him anywhere.
"Geppetto, is my arsenal still preserved?" He asks, balling his hands up. "Or do I have to use my fists?"
"Your entire loadout from when you first headed out for The Infinite Forest is preserved, with lots of ammo to go around," Geppetto says.
Perfect Paradox materializes in Saint-14's hands and he grins as he pulls its slide, still buttery smooth. The weapon is still as functional as the first day he got it, with only the telltale wears from battle present all over its body; some dings, some scratches. The bottom of the stock is a bit smoothed by the amount of times it was used as a melee weapon, but it is still perfectly fine. Both for its original purpose and for a makeshift bat. The weapon still retains its silver shine, though, reflecting the sun's blinding rays. He intends to return it to The Guardian one day, but perhaps it will serve more time with him. His HUD tells him it has full ammunition inside.
"...Did you hear that?" Geppetto remarks, quickly disappearing.
"Somewhere from behind," the Ghost says from within Saint's mind.
"Hear what?" Saint turns around, holding Perfect Paradox at the ready. He focuses his hearing, and does hear some sort of pitter-patter in the sand, like a giant scorpion is running around, coming from behind the Martyr Mind's decapitated head.
A few moments later, the head gets lifted and thrown into the airs by two massive pincers, revealing what indeed is an all-black with bone-armored, giant scorpion. It's head all the way to its back is covered in that armor, with several red markings adorned along the spine and a golden pincer hanging above like some sort of crown jewel. Its two pincers are easily big enough to fit a dozen Saint-14s each and its ten red eyes hide behind them, on its ugly face.
"Oh ho ho! You look like a good fight!" Saint bellows as he does away with Perfect Paradox, perfectly intent on fighting the beast with his fists.
/
Ilia nearly jumps out of her skin as she feels a sort of shockwave, more akin to a very big thud almost knock her off of her feet. She snaps her head in the direction of the impact and her hand gravitates towards the weapon stashed at her hip.
"Did you feel that?" Her Scroll buzzes with her partner's voice; it is part concerned and part alert. "It came from around your section."
Ilia fiddles with the electronic, holding the flat glass-screened device under her chin. "Yeah, I did. It's not too far from my location…"
She pauses, thinking of her next move. "I'll go check it out. Something is definitely there."
"Ilia, wait for us, we don't know what could have caused that. There have been reports of Death Stalker activity in the area. We'll be there in a few-"
The screech of a Death Stalker cuts her partner short. "Sounds like it found something," Ilia says. "I'm going to go take a look, I'll hold back and wait for you guys if it's dangerous. Could be a person out there, y'know?"
"Ilia—" A sigh from the other end. "Stay safe."
"I got this, Trifa, don't fall too far behind," Ilia says, chuckling to herself. She stashes her Scroll in a pouch on her stealth suit.
The increase in Grimm activity surrounding Kuo Kuana is worrying, and Ilia isn't sure if she's stepping into a trap. They aren't that smart, right?
She takes a deep breath and steels herself, preparing to head out to the sound of the Death Stalker. Her skin blends in with the sand, and she starts moving.
The screech came from behind a sand dune in front of her, so it shouldn't be too much of a problem to find out what the heck is going on over there. The wind blows sand into her face, making her pull up her scarf and readjust her hood. Sweat runs down the sides of her head, the scorching heat doing quite a number on her.
The sand collapses softly under Ilia's feet as she makes her way up the dune, and she can't say she's worried about what could be on the other side, but more excited at the possibility of some action going on in Menagerie, outside of the usual minor debacles within Kuo Kuana. She takes one triumphant step on the top and pauses for a second, checking for anymore sounds.
Clangs, the grinding of bone on metal armor, cracking and the thumps of fist on flesh with pained wheezes of a Grimm.
Someone's down there fighting a Death Stalker.
Ilia maintains a crouched position as she makes her way to the edge of the dune. She looks down from her vantage point, and sees a man in grey and purple armor wrestling a Death Stalker. It was more 'beating the enemy with its own body parts' than actual wrestling. There are a multitude of metal pieces that seems to belong to some sort of giant robot littered around the mostly empty space that the man is fighting inside.
The fighter uses the Death Stalker's tail in order to bludgeon the Grimm to death, caving in the front of its skull, disorienting it enough so it can't give an effective reply. All it makes are dying screeches and weak calls into the air as it gets pummeled to a violent and inglorious end.
"Holy shi…" Ilia's voice trails off and she is startled by the battle cry of another Death Stalker on fast approach to the warrior down there. "Guys...there's a person down there."
"A person? No one is around these parts," Trifa replies. "Yuma, did we miss something in the intel report? It was just supposed to be a dead drop and nothing else."
"That's right. Unlikely that there would still be someone lingering…" Yuma grumbles. "What is this person doing?"
"He's...uh, beating down Death stalkers like they're nothing…" Ilia's attention is more towards the duel between the knight in shining armor and the vastly outskilled Death Stalker. What kind of Huntsman was this person? She's never seen so much brutality towards Grimm, much less anything else before now. "He's beating it with its-"
Ilia gets knocked over by a Death Stalker that somehow snuck up on her. "Fuck, there's one on me!" She manages to get out while tumbling down a sand hill and nearly being trampled by a giant black scorpion three times herself.
How did I not hear it coming!? She thinks to herself. Her body stabilizes at the bottom of the dune and she manages to support herself on a knee.
Just before the Death Stalker stomps with its entire body, sending her flying into the warrior in grey armor, barreling right into their back.
Upon impact Ilia hears a resounding crack from her own spine and gasps. Her camouflage disappears and she falls to the floor, the breath knocked out of her lungs, sand coating her respirator tract.
"Are you okay!?" The person, a man with a voice like worried rumbling, reaches a hand out to her. She graciously takes it, hacking out sand from her chest while trying to reorient herself. His next words are a bit of a blur that go unheard but she pulls out her Lightning Lash from her waist, which seems to be enough of an answer for him. The two of them stand back-to-back.
"There are two of them!" The man cackles and hums in excitement. "Oh, this will be interesting! Are you ready?"
He turns his head, and she nods to him. "Yeah...I'm fine…"
/
The small lady's appearance was a surprise, but not an unwelcome one. She suddenly slammed into Saint's back, nearly making him stumble but wasn't big enough to do so. He asked if she could fight, and she responded by grabbing some sort of folded up whip holstered on her hip.
The massive scorpion in front of Saint screeches and charges him, while the other from behind, goes for the small, long-haired, and freckled brunette. He doesn't waste any time to return the black bone-covered beast's assault, gaining enough momentum to perform a devastating charge with his Sentinel Shield that only needs maybe a second to do its damage. The shield made out of bubbling Void Light appears on his left forearm and he throws his entire body into his charge, propelling himself even faster and bashing the scorpion's head.
The attack successfully repels it, sending it stumbling backwards and disorienting it for a moment. Perfect Paradox appears in Saint's hands. A single blast takes off a pincer. Another shatters its frontal armor to pieces, revealing a pulsating red mass similar to a brain. Saint doesn't hesitate and immediately headbutts the exposed flesh. There is a raw squelch, and he is stuck for a second, before he pulls his head back, black liquid spurting everywhere. It dissipates into a black mist. He looks to the dead scorpion and notices that it is only leaving its shattered armor as evidence of its defeat.
Saint turns around to see the short woman handling her own beast with more grace than his rather brutish fighting style. The Titan has trouble keeping track of her petite figure bobbing and weaving in and out of the air while she strikes it with a whip that flashes with yellow sparks of lightning. Occasionally her weapon's frame solidifies and she uses it as a blade before seamlessly transitioning back to its original, looser form. Sometimes it's an outright gun that shoots like a hand cannon.
Saint has a somewhat hard time figuring just what kind of weapon she is using, but he can certainly appreciate the amount of creativity and ingenuity that must have went into manufacturing it. It is almost magic.
Though the little warrior's weapon is an interesting piece of hardware, it doesn't save her from a slip-up as the scorpion catches her mid-air with a pincer and discards her to the side like a crumpled bundle of paper. Saint doesn't hesitate to put in his own reply, readying a Solar-infused hammer in one hand and running after the massive beast. It doesn't seem phased by him and rushes back in return.
Saint rushes into one of the scorpion's pincers and breaks apart one of the two hook-shaped pieces of bone. It screeches in pain and begins to retreat, backpedaling at a surprising speed.
"Smart, are you now!?" Saint bellows as he gives chase.
"Not that smart!" The lady calls out as she appears mid-air from nothing, preparing for what looks like a devastating slash on its tail. She's quicker than the beast's cowardly retreating, and manages to slice the body part in two pieces, the stinger falling to the floor while its former owner starts frantically shrieking in pain, jaggedly moving side-to-side, still trying to escape.
A wave-frame grenade launcher called Martyr's Retribution appears in Saint's hands and he shoots a line of fire in a spot that heh expects the scorpion to run over. He waits in anticipation, loading another grenade inside its breech-loaded frame and grins when it does exactly as he expects. By consequence, the beast ignites into flames, burning away into ashes.
"Hah! Little trouble, if at all!" Saint gloats, stashing away his grenade launcher and putting his hands at his hips. "You fought well, what's your name?" He turns to the small woman, who still has her weapon out and looking at where the beast died—now an empty space.
"Holy shit…" She mumbles, just audible enough for his phonoreceptors to pick up. She turns, revealing a face with mild shock. "Wow, you're one hell of a Huntsman," she says, stashing her weapon away.
"My name is Ilia, I live nearby." Ilia's lips form into a small smile, though Saint cannot tell if it's genuine or out of some sort of menace.
"Speaking of which, where are we? This is not a...region I am familiar with," Saint says, making sure to pick his words carefully. Divulging that he might not be from the same planet as she is would most likely set an unpleasant tone between them. "It looks like a wasteland."
"We're on Menagerie," Ilia says, crossing her arms. Her eyebrows furrow, her gaze becoming more pointed towards Saint. He can sense her suspicion.
"Geppetto, stay hidden until I tell you otherwise," Saint says, through a mental link with his Ghost.
"Got you," Geppetto replies quickly.
"Where do you come from?" She asks.
"Oho, I come from far-ARGH!" Saint is interrupted by someone landing on his shoulders, nearly pushing him down but he is clearly far too heavy for the new intruder. He grabs them by one foot with both hands, before some sort of web wraps around his right hand, binding them together before being pulled back by a force far too weak to counter a Titan such as Saint-14. He replies with a hard pull of his own, loosening the tension of the web and throwing a body to the floor while flinging another far behind him.
There is a woman's terrified screaming as a body collides with Saint's back, before dropping to the floor. He burns away the sticky web on his hands.
In front of him lays a collapsed body, with another right behind him.
"Guys! What the fuck!?" Ilia yells at the two.
"Who are these people!?" Saint says as he takes a step back. "Are they with you?"
"Yeah they are, but holy shit I didn't expect them to just do...that!" Ilia says, crouching down to separate the two bodies, wincing as she grabs hold of one and pulls them apart. "Trifa, are you okay!?"
A low moan, a sharp breath before the pale gray-haired women from behind stands up and enters a sort of battle stance with a knife that's pointed towards Saint. Her teeth are grit and she moves to stand protectively in front of Ilia. "Who is he!?" She exclaims, readying herself to lunge.
"I wouldn't suggest you do that little lady," Saint mumbles, readying his fists. "I hope they listen to you…" He directs himself to Ilia.
The other man, a spiky haired brunette with a painfully distasteful goatee and...bat wings on his back, readies himself to fight also.
"Guys, wait!" Ilia says, putting herself between the two parties. "He's friendly!"
"You didn't respond so we thought-"
"I didn't respond because I was busy fighting off Death Stalkers!"
"Death Stalkers?" The man swears to himself but returns to glaring at Saint while still ready to brawl. His tone doesn't seem to indicate much faith in Ilia's words. "And him?"
"I don't know, but he saved me from being torn apart by one. He's alright. I...trust him," Ilia says, seemingly putting a great deal of effort into that last part.
The two others hesitate, glance at each other and then lower their fists and weapons. "Alright, I'll bite. What's his deal?"
"Like I said I don't know. He says he's not from here," Ilia speaks carefully, glancing back to him and her look asks for confirmation.
"She's correct, I am simply...lost, is all. I have been traveling these deserts for quite some time, now." Lying makes Saint angry and he tries to avoid it, but for now it's his only option. He has a feeling that they won't believe him when he speaks about The Last City, Mercury, The Infinite Forest and all that nonsense.
The man takes a quick glance at his partner again, still very suspicious. "I don't like this, Ilia."
"Me neither, um…" Ilia thinks, looking downwards. "We can drop him off at Kuo Kuana and Ghira should handle it from there." She is still somewhat indecisive about her proposition, but seems to trust it enough.
"Is that a nearby settlement?" Saint asks.
"Yeah, uh...I'll accompany you there. You two, get the drop back to camp and I'll link up later," Ilia says.
"Ilia-"
"No buts, I'll stay in touch," Ilia snaps, her voice more decisive and leader-like. "Now go, I'll handle it from here."
A/N: So, here is chapter one of the remake. I felt that the first one in the original was too passive and the added location of the White Fang camp made the whole thing feel disjointed. Jumping straight to Kuo Kuana now and work on the world-building from there. The story will take a noticeably slower pace and I feel Ilia should be infinitely more likable as I flesh her out more as a character, and try to portray her moral conflict in a better way.
I would also like to thank my new beta dinodares314 who graciously volunteered to work with me on this. I hope this remade version will have a markedly better chapter quality that doesn't need to be edited every time.