Evan woke himself up in a cold sweat and started panting, he was still in his combat robes, but he took a good look at them. They had holes and patches missing, yet they still held together. Val, still on the nightstand next to him was starting to power on. She didn't wake up right away, but she did eventually. She was keeping tabs on his vitals and since the Loss of Light, her reaction time is a little slow on the uptake.
"Evan! Are you alright?" Val asked, her voice betraying the calm composure she normally has.
Evan groaned, "What happened?"
Val looked shocked, "You mean you don't remember?"
"Remember what?" Evan asked as he stretched his muscles that went stiff from sleeping in a barn? "Where are we?"
"Traveler almighty, you don't remember getting to the Farm? Freaking out and having a panic attack?" Val exclaimed.
"No, I don't. Was it bad?" Val only gave him a look that said all it needed to say. "I see; Shall we go outside, I could use a walk," Evan said getting up and opening a door that Val pointed out to him.
"Are you sure that's a good idea?" Val questioned.
Evan sighed, "I'm sure, just if I go into another panic, get someone, alright?" Val twirled her shell in affirmation. She didn't want him to have another attack, it would be even worse.
As soon as he stepped outside the door, a familiar voice was heard but not the one he wanted, Lord Shaxx, "Guardian! You're alive, how are you?" This took Evan back since when has Shaxx have this caring side of him? He's always spouting stuff about being the Crucible and other similar things.
Evan only grunted in reply; He didn't want to talk to anyone but his Ghost. Otherwise, people can leave him alone. He stopped listening as he stared at the Shard. 'We have to go there and soon, otherwise, this vision will bug me.'
'I agree, Evan, but are you sure you want to go now? I'm worried about your mental state. It hurts to know you are feeling the way you do. You act like you aren't affected, yet one look inside your head spells the opposite.' Val pointed out.
He only nodded in agreement, even though Val was transmatted away safely. So anyone looking at him would think he's crazy, which he probably is. 'Should we head out?' Evan asked.
'Probably should let Hawthorne know.' Val suggested.
Evan only nodded and left to the ship that Hawthorne lent him and left for the Shard, probably scaring people awake but he cared not; He only cared about killing every last Red Legion trooper he sees.
...
Hawthorne watched his ship fly away and thought about how cold the Guardian was to her. It may not be entirely his fault though. The City had only fallen eight or nine days ago now, but it was something else. Something personal. "He wasn't always like that you know?" A voice rang out, shaking Hawthorne from her thoughts. She turned around to face Lord Shaxx, their 'Crucible Handler'.
"Really?" Hawthorne said in disbelief, "It seemed like he's acted that way all his life."
"You don't know what Evan Vaash has been through, Madame, and I suggest you cease making assumptions about a man you had just met," Shaxx's voice was condescending and stern, not liking the disrespect she was giving to Evan or to himself. The latter seemed like a good bet.
'So, care to enlighten me then?" Hawthorne asked, but it sounded more like a demand.
Shaxx sighed, a tension leaving his shoulders as he did so, "He lost more than just the City. He has lost his friends, his family, the only one he has ever known, and from what I can inquire, he lost his one, and only, true love," Shaxx explained as he watched Hawthorne's facial expression fall as the meaning of the words hit her. "Guardians may be warriors, but you must also remember that they are Human. They do feel emotions. They do have a heart underneath all of that armor, even Exos. Passing judgments upon first meeting them makes you no better. There is a story behind every Guardian, Evan, or Cruz as he is known as, is no exception."
"I-I didn't know." Hawthorne stuttered, taking this all in. She couldn't find a way to disagree, no matter how much she wanted to.
"Of course you didn't, you don't know him as I do. Before the Red Legion, that Warlock would always have a smile or some 'joke' with him. He had put smiles onto peoples' faces, and to see him like this; So… so distraught. It has me concerned that he may never be the same again. I wouldn't put it past him if he didn't speak to us," Shaxx had turned away from a brewing Hawthorne before adding in, "Do not hold this against him. This is hard for all of us."
Hawthorne continued to gaze out at the Shard where Evan had gone. She prayed that he would succeed, not knowing how much Evan didn't want to be here, living.
...
As Evan flew to the European Dead Zone or EDZ, he got lost in his thoughts and that didn't turn out so well, he only saw fire, burning buildings, dead people, and Lena... His free hand was shaking, almost like his nerves and muscles had a mind of their own. He let Val take over as he grabbed his wrist and steadied himself.
It hurt to think about it, but during the journey to the Farm, he would wake up a few times each and every night and feel like he was in danger yet Val would be on the lookout for any potential activity. His mind was always active, not giving him a break. Everything that he dreaded, happened. He curses himself for not acting on his feeling, but he would have been seen as a lunatic. If it meant they could have prepared, then he would have done it, but he can't. There's nothing now. He has himself, his weapons, and his Ghost, his most valuable 'possession'. Evan doesn't like calling his Ghost a 'possession', it feels degrading to all Ghostkind as Evan once put it. He even puts his Ghost's survival over his own, not that he'll tell her he does, but he has a small feeling that she knows that.
All this pain Evan feels, this anguish he feels, the grief he feels, it piles up. It weighs him down and it could end up killing him if he doesn't snap out of it, but saying and doing are two different things.
Evan felt like he failed Lena. He remembers the day they truly bonded, or at least that's what they call a wedding now. Lord Shaxx was the one to actually do the ceremony, surprisingly. Lena was known as Scarlet Flare because she rocks Gunslinger like she was born with it. In an ironic sense, she was. Arc and Solar energy go together a lot more than Arc and Void, or Solar and Void. The Void is a class of its own.
So, when Lord Shaxx heard that two of his star Crucible participants were together, he had basically demanded that they are wed during Crimson Days. Shaxx had all the preparations ready in two days' time, a record for sure. Evan at that time has been with Lena for around a year, and it was going strong, the attraction never fading.
As soon as Evan had asked the question, she threw herself at him saying 'yes' over and over again, loud as can be. Shaxx heard the exchange, from across the Tower, and demanded to see them. To say they were scared was an understatement. Lord Shaxx only called you over to berate you on a misplaced shot or not doing the objective, but to find out it was the opposite surprised them both immensely. He managed to keep a record of all their matches and had them bond on the first arena they met on. It turned out to be Blind Watch, of all places.
He remembers so much after that, but if he thought about it, it would only make his sorrow worsen. He missed her dearly. He wondered how long it would take to reunite with her.
His hands went to his face and felt the tears go down them. He hated how he felt this way, only two weeks ago they were celebrating their anniversary of three years. They had just thought about starting a family, and Evan may never get that chance.
"Evan, Hawthorne's trying to contact us, should I let it through?" Evan scoffed but nodded anyway.
"I hope you two are safe, and I apologize for acting the way I did earlier," Hawthorne said, sounding sincere. "I do hope you get your Light back and I'm sorry that I passed judgment on you without getting to know you," She continued.
Evan mumbled, "Thanks," then closed the channel.
"We are coming up on the EDZ, in a place called, Quarantine Sector 236. Odd name, but I'm not in charge of naming things." Val said, adding in a Ghost shrug. Evan smirked behind her, knowing his Ghost still can be sassy yet punctual.
He got a simple nod as a warning for the transmat and in seconds his feet hit the ground. "Let's go, Val, faster we do this, the faster I can rest…" Evan trailed off, eluding to what his plans are after he fulfills the Traveler's demand. Val knew what he was saying and elected to keep quiet. She didn't want to think about it. He was reluctant to even live, he only wanted to get this vision quest out of the way.
Hawthorne patched herself into the comms, "I've been all over the EDZ, but nothing says, 'come on in' like a dark haunted forest."
Val was confused as she spoke, "But… non-Guardians aren't supposed to leave the City."
"Here's the thing about City rules, they stop applying once you leave the City," Hawthorne made a good point, Evan thought. There was a hole in the wall that Evan slipped through to make it inside. There was a fog or mist in the air, and the trees were the outliers. They had these spikes and just looked rather unpleasant; He'd rather not get impaled by one.
Walking along the road was easy, Evan saw a gap that looked easy enough to jump across. So, Evan did just that. He got a running start and leaped with the grace of, well, a Lightless Warlock. He did a deft tumble to preserve his momentum upon landing on the other side. "Show off," Val mumbled.
Evan didn't respond and that worried Val even more. Normally, he would have a quip or a joke for that. The siege of the Tower really messed him up, and Val feels useless that she can't help him. She can't help him because he won't explain it to her. To clarify, Val knows what is going on, but she needs to hear it from Evan's mouth.
Entering a cave and heading further down, "Let me know when you reach-" then static. Val responded, "Hawthorne? Hawthorne, can you hear us?" Silence, "Signal's dead," Val concluded.
A drop off came into view and they weren't the only ones there. As Evan dropped down, "Can you hear that?"
"Yes, we have company," Evan whispered as cloaked figures descended from the roof of the cave. Evan only needed one look into their eyes when their camo flickered, "Fallen!" He shouted, readying his SMG and opened fire on the first figure. It went down easy as did the second. The third happened to be smarter than the rest. It moved around and even the small puddle Evan was in, any sound echoed off the walls of the cavern, making it more than difficult to pinpoint the Fallen.
A sound of something being decloaked rang out from behind Evan. He moved most of his body out of the way, but his arm wasn't so lucky. The Fallen's blade had sliced his arm and Evan turned around to deliver a punch to the Fallen's face. His blow connected and it sent it stumbling back a couple of steps. Evan drew on his Traveler's Chosen sidearm, mostly busted, but it still fires true. Four shots to its midsection killed it.
Evan holstered the sidearm to inspect his left arm, and sure enough, it was bleeding. His blood is different than normal Humans. While their blood is red, his, and Awoken blood is all sorts of blue. The shades vary, but not super drastically. "Hmm, Val, what are the chances that I won't die from this?"
"None, if you let me heal you." Val insisted, but Evan won't let her heal him, even minor wounds. He only let her heal him in the City since he was in so much pain, her instincts or nerves, wouldn't let those injuries go. It annoys her to no end, but she did stop the bleeding. If he lives to complain, well, he lives.
"Come on, the Shard should be this way." Evan followed the path leading further in. Val said these Fallen didn't wear any House Banner that the pair has seen before, and they didn't really care what House they were. If they tried to kill them, they would do the same to them. Evan heard that particular line from someone in the Reef during the Wolves' crisis.
Walking outside to an opening, a cache was sitting there. Evan, slowly, opened it up and found an old, dusted Auto Rifle. It wouldn't replace Red Spectre, but it would work for now.
Evan climbed up some stairs and he finally saw what he came all this way for.
The Shard of the Traveler. He had to admit, it looked a lot tinier from far away, but just standing at the top of the rusted building, Evan guessed, really puts it into perspective how big the Traveler really is.
"Heads up for your descent, take it slow," Val suggested. Evan looked down and mumbled an agreement before slowly moving from platform to platform, taking greater caution with each passing moment. Just because he didn't have much will to live, didn't mean he wanted to die from slipping and falling.
The last jump, Evan skipped the last platform and did another deft tumble and dusted himself off. His HUD detected movement up ahead. He readied his rifle and took slow, calculating steps forward. A few burning trees were in view as was more Fallen. Evan hid behind a tree before taking a head count. He counted seven dregs and two Vandals, carrying a spear?
"Those are called Wretches, apparently," Val informed Evan mentally.
Evan didn't waste much time, he pulled the trigger and killed five dregs and a Vandal in his first clip. My accuracy's still on point. Evan almost allowed himself to smile but snuffed it out before seeing more Dregs crawl out of a hole.
Evan swore and continued picking them off at a distance. One of them did get a shot in on his leg, but he paid it no mind. There didn't seem to be a lot of Fallen around here, but Evan still kept his eyes open.
Rounding the final corner to the Shard, a Captain and two Shanks were waiting. It saw Evan and, presumably, cursed him in the native tongue of the Fallen.
Evan knows that Captain's shields are Arc charged, and thankfully, the SMG he carries has Arc rounds. Evan pulled out said SMG and unloaded the entire mag into the Captain, it's shield bursting and killing the Shanks. Evan was dumbfounded since when do shields burst like that? Another question for another day.
After taking down the shield, Evan switched to his Auto Rifle and fired even more rounds into the Captain. It went down in two magazines. Evan somehow remained unscathed throughout the entire ordeal. That Captain couldn't aim for anything, and its rounds were tracking rounds.
"Now that the enemies are taken care of," Val said, her voice becoming more optimistic, "Take me to the Shard."
With the flick of his palm, Val materialized and hovered in his hand until he gave her a push, more of a 'wave' as Evan didn't actually push her. Val got more excited as she drew closer to the Shard. "I haven't been this close to the Traveler's Light since… since… well, it has been a long, long time." Val turned to regard Evan, whose emotions were on the forefront of her mind, "Hold on to your helmet."
Val's rosy shell, covered in dirt, grime, and almost falling off, expanded and a crack in the Shard allowed Light to pour into her core. She shined it at Evan with full force. It had caught Evan off-balance briefly as he wasn't expecting the Light to hit him this hard. He was turned around as the Light filled his veins once more. It unknowingly filled one void in his heart, but the other void, that one won't be filled so easily. This one was more than the Light.
Val was excited and her cheerfulness came back full tilt, "Do you feel it? The Light is back! We're back!" A roar was heard in the hills surrounding the Shard. "Eyes up Guardian."
Evan felt the Light fill his body once more, but something was off. He checked and rechecked, and the result was the same. It wasn't the Storm. The Storm was not the element he had received. A small part of Evan hoped it would be. He checked and felt the Light come to his fingertips. He expected Void to be there, but it was the opposite sensation. It wasn't the coldness of the Void; It was something else. He opened his eyes finally; He didn't realize he even closed them.
He let out a sigh, "Guardian? What's-" Val stopped speaking when she sees what Evan sees. Val couldn't help but immediately scan Evan's brain for his thoughts. She is invading his privacy, but right now, that's out the window. Not when her Guardian could have a relapse.
His thoughts were plain and simple but had a deeper meaning to Evan. It was Solar Light. I received Solar… Light… The one element that reminds me of her. Evan now spoke, "My Light's different...Why Traveler? Is this some sick game of yours?! Do you aim to torment me of my loss? You give me the one element that reminds me of her? While I'm grateful for having the Light back, you gifted me Solar? The element of my beloved?! Did your affection four years ago mean anything?" Evan shouted to the sky, his voice full of malice."Did it mean anything?" Evan repeated in a whisper as he fell to his knees and put his head into his hands.
Val interrupted, albeit quietly, "Not to disturb you, but the Fallen are getting closer."
Evan heard her but didn't acknowledge it. He reached within himself to become acquainted with this foreign Light. Much to his surprise, it wasn't normal Solar. It wasn't Sunsinger, like how it was before the Red Legion.
'You are correct my child. It is called Dawnblade, an ancient Solar Power. A sword of fire that rivals that of a Phoenix. Take Flight and rain down hellfire,' The voice spoke again, softer this time, 'I never meant to hurt you. I despise seeing my children hurt.'
"That doesn't help me now, does it? I've been hurt, scarred, and thrown out. Why did you give me this chance? Surely, someone else deserved it more than I. Just why?" A new question took over, "How are you even speaking to me? You're trapped in the City… this is impossible." Evan said, weariness laced in his voice. He may have finally gone insane.
'It's not impossible, and as for your questions; I cannot answer them yet, but I do know that you will recover, in time, and you will prevail. Your time hasn't come yet. I believe in you, my child. Do you believe in yourself?'
Evan stood up feeling the flames consume his insides before speaking in a shaky voice, "Then they better pray that I don't find them, because when I do… Ghaul is going to wish he had killed me when he had the chance."
Even when he said that a pang of guilt hit him. His thoughts were still on his love, Lena, his Scarlet Flare. It stings to know that she wasn't here to celebrate this moment with him. With the Solar energy now running through him, he clutched his hands together to stop them from shaking. He made a promise to himself... He would make any and all of the Traveler's enemies pay….
With their lives…
...
So, how do you like the Story? Good? Bad? Meh? I dunno, I have the next chapter pre-written, editing; It should be up in a few days.
Until then,
-Horus