Chapter XXI: Homecoming
Absolution Arc
0317 Hours, December 23, 2714
Guardian Quarters, The Tower, Earth
I've thought about home one too many times since I came to the Tower. Coming back as a hero when I brought ruin to the Guardians by infiltration. The praise, the atmosphere of doing the 'right thing', it sickened me. It wasn't the right thing but the Cyphers insisted that it was, to get revenge for our exile. Maybe they knew I'd somehow screw up the mission and sent me here to be executed by the Guardians. Guess they were wrong, even if they factored in that I would gain their trust.
It's time people knew about the Absolution Directive, the operation that I was the spearhead to. In a nutshell, it was an infiltration mission so that Red Veil can learn everything the Vanguard were up to and ambush them during major operations. I would feed them information about a big operation like a vital Strike and they would ambush the Guardians and eliminate them without a trace of an ambush. And I indirectly caused the deaths of many Guardians. Even their weakness so that we could exploit them. No wonder I feel guilty for all of this. And to add more to it all, I was ordered to kill the Vanguard when they were at their weakest. But I couldn't find the strength to do it; they weren't as evil and corrupted as the Cyphers said they were.
Another day has passed and another day of rest from the battlefield. Dinner was relatively quiet, a majority of the team off in our plans for the Taken War. Leon, Silver, Aqua, and Rez were debating over ways to effectively use the Stealth Drive. Lightning was picking her food while she was (I'm assuming) thinking about how she would've been off as an aunt. Reaper was still taking in the truth about my love life. And last but not least, Cloud ate little and thought about his old buddy. Zack, I think was his name?
So where does that leave me? I merely took my dinner and went back in my quarters and had another conversation with Rose. She told me that she managed to stay away from Adam since I know his tendency to pick on the weak. Believe me, that started after I humiliated him in the Battle Royale and left him without a voice. All I hear from him when we cross paths are growls of hostility but Dragunus would easily take care of it should it escalate beyond glares. Good enough for me because I think he's better off growling rather than talking.
That and she made rather quick friends with a resident newcomer Fireteam. As inclined as I was to ask who, I figured that it had to be someone she can relate to. Someone who is just as lively and as proficient with a scythe and a heavy-hitting scout rifle. Yeah, Rose's scout rifle packed a really nasty punch and left a huge dent on my armor before it regenerated and felt like an anvil fell on me. I'm talking about Fireteam RWBY. Ruby and Rose, it's a little humorous seeing as Ruby's last name is 'Rose'. I wasn't going to stop her from being friends with her, hell, I was in favor of it. They seem to get along well like they were sisters.
As I toss and turn subtly in my bed, home kept nagging me to think about it. It didn't help that I was awake the entire time and I don't think I'll get any rest soon. Going home wasn't exactly a heartwarming thought given all the bullshit I faced growing up. There were some good times here and there but it was horrid. A constant war between factions for as long as I can remember and every day after my Academy days spent for war. In between the warring was where the kazoku and I got together and had time to ourselves instead of preparing for the next battle; we did that ahead of time. Of course, most of my time was spent with Vesper in between operations.
Teshin…my adoptive father after mother passed away. Might've sucked as a guardian but he was one hell of an instructor. He taught me a lot of survival techniques but the most defining was teaching me my dual wielding with swords. Well, more like refining it since my technique was amateurish at best. Better than nothing, right? Where he was my extreme survival mentor, Master Asada was to my sister's and let me tell you, she was like the sister we never had but I'll save that for another time.
"Dammit…" I mumble as I turn to face my glass door leading to my balcony. "I don't want to go back but…" it was like someone back home put a chip in my head and spammed the 'recall' button. As invasive as the idea is it won't leave me alone. Sighing, I sat up and contemplated on the situation that forbade me from sleep.
Was I ready to go home, knowing that I have a traitor's mark painted on my back like a bullseye? Maybe not back to Red Veil but who else would I turn to? Not the Perrin Sequence after what they did. Steel Meridian? Screw that, I'm not having a psychopathic Pyromaniac try to burn me alive with a flamethrower and then rip my head off to be put on a shelf as a trophy. New Loka? Not a chance with those 'purifying all with nature' extremists. Cephalon Suda? Like hell I'll work with an A.I praised like the Traveler that thinks that all enemies are waste that should be disposed of.
I look to my side. Reaper was there sound asleep like a child. She wanted to spend the night with me like we were a married couple and I agreed even with Rez still continuing his bullshit. From the moonlight, she is mesmerizing to behold. Her brown hair shone like gemstones and her beauty became even more beautiful in the moonlight. Reaper was like a goddess now that I look at her. My hand reached out and I softly stroke her hair. Comparing her to Vesper was — and is — a bad idea right off the bat but I just can't help but think of how it would've been having an actual family with Reaper. Would our kids be more Guardian than Guardian of Equilibrium? Gah, what was I thinking? It's not like that time came yet. I already have my hands full with Rose and I don't think the Vanguard is willing to let me take care of another child. Rose can handle herself but she needs parental supervision from time to time.
Stroking her hair one last time before kissing her softly on the cheek, I get up from the bed. Seeing her react to the kiss in her sleep was nostalgic yet new. She stirred a bit and giggled a bit before she mumbled 'I love you too' like she was my wife. A smile crept on my face and I leaned close to her ear, whispering, "I love you."
As I got closer to my balcony door, my armor started assembling without making a sound. A shroud of Darkness covered me and formed into my armor, ready for combat but not yet ready to be redeployed. The door opened and I stepped out, taking in the winter night and the door slid shut. My hands grip the railing and I stare out towards the moon. As much as it doesn't feel right to go back, something has been bothering me since my fight with the Stalker. How could a Dark Knight be Taken? Was it the same process as Guardians? No, it couldn't be. Most of our psyches are fortified to take on the temptations the Darkness may bring and to resist them. We're not of the Light, so that could already bring the process one step closer. There has to be something else that they have to destroy…
"Are you seriously trying to think about it, Spectre?"
"What, going back to the Cyphers? No. I'm not. I just want answers."
"Answers regarding a new threat that Teshin may not have any knowledge about? Sounds like a completely fun plan." My A.I retorts sarcastically. "Do you even remember the last traitor that tried to return home?"
Yeah, that was some time before I left for the Absolution Directive. Even I can recall it exactly down to every detail when it happened. That traitor that Primus was talking about was in his ship on the way back to Red Veil until our anti-jumpship batteries shot it down into a raging ball of flaming twisted metal and scrap even when he was pleading that he hasn't done anything traitorous while in his ship. The Cyphers didn't listen; they knew right before he arrived in our airspace. This is why they scare me, since they can know what you've been up to before you can report. Many of us suspected that they had spies watching us and others saying that they used the Darkness to find out. One way or another, it still is creepy to think about.
"So what, you think I'll be shot down like that guy?"
"It's a high probability," the holographic cube next to me 'shrugs'. "Even if we don't identify ourselves or pass by undetected, they'll know it's us."
So, not even a HALO jump can save my life. What'd they do, amp up security after my betrayal or has it been that way and I haven't noticed?
"Bad idea, then?"
"Bad idea. I know the thought's been on your mind but I, for one, am against you going back to Red Veil just for answers."
Scoffing, I turn to face my A.I and lean against the railing. "And what, just find out for myself how the hell a Taken Dark Knight is created? When I'm slowly undergoing the process?"
"On second thought, that's an even worse idea," Primus sighed. "Then again, there's someone that loves a bad idea and it works out unexpectedly."
"I thought you were supposed to keep me out of danger, MI6."
"Well, out of any dangerous ideas you can cook up in your head. I was programmed to make sure that I'm against a fatal idea, as per design choice by Teshin."
Guess a human outsmarted a machine this time around. A bit of pride swelled up and I secretly smirked.
My hand pulled out Skyfall from its holster and I emptied the revolver-like cylinder from the rounds. Near the cylinder where the bullets would be held were symbols that ranged from a simple line, a dragon's wing, to a wolf's head. Banshee engraved these so that I could keep track of which bullet would trigger the weapon's unique ability. Think of it like a matching game. If the dragon's wing appeared next to the chambered round when I first chamber, then it would mean that it had to be the symbol next to it that was chambered. After the spin and I see the dragon's wing in the exact same spot as it was before I spin then the bullet is guaranteed to be the killing shot to Majors. If not, well there goes my lucky shot.
I know I haven't been using this gun for a while but against the Dark Knights is like going in with only one bullet in my guns. The cylinder full of bullets was put back in and I slammed it back into place, and then I spun it like I was in a game of Russian roulette.
"You're still thinking of going back there, aren't you?"
"You know me well, Primus."
"For someone that's resisting the Taken you're still you," my partner dryly stated. "Ugh, fine. Someone needs to make sure you're still alive if we get shot down from flight."
"I bet they don't know that I'm not a hundred percent Dark Knight."
"If they do know, we're screwed all right."
He didn't sound convinced about tagging along with me. "I'll get a new processor for you if they know as a consolation."
"Fine. But after this and if we still live, this is the last suicide mission that I allow to slip past my programming. Deal?"
"Deal," not like it'll kill us here and now but what kind of a choice do I have? "We'll be leaving soon."
"Should I leave a message for the others?"
"I have a feeling we'll receive one hell of a welcome so yeah. Leave a message for them." As Primus started creating the message, I stare out towards the moon one last time.
Just knowing that home was on the other side of the planet may not put me at ease but I have to. I may not know how long I will be gone from the Tower and not leaving a message will put my friends and family in a panic. Not like when I left on short notice four years ago. It won't happen again.
The Cyphers stole my birthright as leader of the Dark Knights, and I intend to burn their rule down so that the Conclave can finally put an end to this war amongst themselves. From the ashes of their rule, I will return order to all Dark Knights just as my father did. My allegiance belongs to the Conclave; not Red Veil. Never again.
Primus finished composing the message and I check to make sure it won't be obvious where I will be but not too subtle. Good enough. I tapped the inside of my gauntlet where a button was hidden. A few seconds later a sudden gush of wind hit my face. My Xiphos hovered in front of me, nose of the ship pointed towards the stars. It was never docked in the hangar; it was hiding in Bannerfall with its stealth drive cloaking it. The stealth drive was online and the thrusters barely made a sound as the underbelly of the ship opened up.
Time to go.
But I stopped myself from entering the ship. Right as one of my greaves' soles was against the railing, my head turned back. Reaper was still asleep. It felt wrong to leave her without letting her know where I'm going. Rose too. Second thoughts flooded my head. Should I save this for another time? No. I need to get some answers. There's no turning back now.
Even so with my conflicting thoughts, I hop into the ship and climb my way to the cockpit. The opening in the underbelly sealed shut and I strap in to my seat. A couple of buttons and switches and the Xiphos crept away from the quarters without making as much of a sound and went from hover mode to flight mode. Primus already inputted the coordinates back home so I have some control at takeoff.
As the hull of the ship was aligned with my balcony, my hand pressed against the glass-like covering the moment my eyes saw Reaper still asleep in my bed. "Sorry Reap…" My eyes held back any form of tears and my hands grip the throttle and joystick. Before I knew it, I jerked the throttle forward and held back the joystick.
As my ship pointed towards the stars at a tilted angle, I felt like I was thrown back into my seat as the Xiphos jolted forward and set off on my destination.
-Destiny: Skyfall-
0609 Hours, December 23, 2714
Coordinates Unknown, O? B?ti?h ?m?ir?, Earth
Dawn shone its first few rays of light on the home of the Dark Knights. How any group could live out here in the ruins of such a desolate place is beyond anyone's guess. Cities before the Collapse now laid as ruins, a lost Golden Age memento. Rivers were either dried up or still ran with water, frozen by the winter. Snow blanketed the ruins of a time long forgotten, unveiling both a mesmerizing sight and one that would invoke a warning.
Spectre's Xiphos streaked through the morning skies like an early bird, a trail of its thrusters easily penning through the dawn. He didn't bother to use its warp drive nor go to orbit for faster travel, even when it would put him off the radar. Given that a mild snowstorm was here, autopilot had to adapt to the weather. Out of all the possible ways to get into his faction's territory; using his old Archwing that he hasn't touched for ten years, HALO jump from a high point above their radar, none of them might work. They're all too life threatening!
He stared out towards the view that was before him, a rush of memories flooding his head. Ignoring the memories, he eased down on the throttle and allowed autopilot to take over.
He leaned back in the pilot's seat and folded his arms. "Well, we're here. Home again." Spectre said, his companion over his shoulder in its Ghost shell.
"It's quiet. Maybe too quiet." Primus noted. "I don't like this one bit, Spectre."
"Me neither," he checked his ship's radar and broadcast terminal. "We're already in their airspace and they haven't given us at least a warning."
"Then again, maybe the anti-jumpship battery operators fell asleep on the job?"
"Very funny."
"But if they despised you that badly for your betrayal, then I have a good sense that they'll just—"
An alarm blared from the terminal and a jolt rocked the ship. Spectre sprung in his seat, hands on the controls and scanned the terminal. A graze of a shot hit the right wing's hover stabilizer. He cursed and overridden the autopilot and dodged another shot.
"Shoot us out of the sky!" Primus exclaimed and tapped into the Xiphos's terminals, then relayed the vital information to Spectre's HUD.
Spectre saw his attackers. Three small forms with unimaginably heavy weapons, paired with pairs of wings that appeared mechanical. All three pairs were like jet turbines that had to be extremely heavy yet these three were flying them like they were lightweight! They maneuvered through the sky extremely beautifully, a trio of light inking it crimson like a fine point.
"Three Archwings on our tail. One railgun and two flak cannons. Gotta keep our distance from the flak cannons!"
"Autopilot's disengaged, Spectre! Let's get the hell out of here!"
"Might want to hold on to something!" He throttled up and hit the afterburner.
As the Xiphos gained distance from the Archwings, two of them resumed pursuit after the ship and the railgun-wielding Dark Knight stopped and charged the gun. For heavy-looking wings, they could keep pursuit with a ship designed for durability and speed. As the leader lined up the shot with the fast-moving ship, Spectre pulled evasive maneuvers to avoid the flak hitting the ship and throwing off the lock in the process. But the cannons still attempted to bring him down. Not even his barrel rolls and loop de loops could shake them off.
"You shouldn't have come back, Sparda!" The leader of the trio angrily said. "We know you betrayed us, you and your kazoku!"
Spectre thought of responding to the leader but vetoed it and blocked the caller. He remembers the leader wielding the railgun. She was a respected Archwing pilot known for her evasive techniques and making her mark with her railgun no matter how fast her prey was. They crossed Archwings in some tournaments during his Academy days and he almost had her in one match until she clipped his wings with a feint shot. She was that good, even with the Elytron model of the mechanical wings, which was considered for heavy artillery. "Primus, how far is it from the Temple?!"
"That's it?! All this time and you were headed to the Temple?! Are you insane!?"
"Answer the damn question!"
"Five hundred clicks from here! Just gotta get through the Belt for the shortest route!"
Son of a… The Belt was treacherous to navigate through. Being a demilitarized zone serving as a reminder that there is no peace between the Dark Knights at this point in time, the zone kept an iron grip in both land and sky with mines and cannons. No one has made it through the Belt without being blown up by either of the two. At least, not to his knowledge. He ran through it in a simulation multiple times before. The farthest he's gone was so close to the end — until one of the enforcer mines blew up right in front of him. He swore that enforcer mine was just a blocking son of a bitch when he wasn't even within its sensors.
"Let's just hope they don't pay attention to two things at once!" Spectre throttled up again, speeding his way to the limits of the Belt with the Archwings in tow.
Whether he made a big mistake or had a bright idea was entirely out of his train of thought. Right as he entered the Belt, he barely had any time to register any form of pattern from the enforcer mines when another flak cannon shot grazed the ship. He dodged a railgun shot and focused on the mines and anti-air cannons' patterns, recalling from memory how the mines seek out their targets and how long it takes for a cannon to fire. Thinking about activating a sonar pulse to reveal the motion sensors of the mines, he turned it on and watched as an array of cones and lines erupt from each mine on his HUD.
Please don't be different from the simulation! Spectre dived from his current altitude and began weaving around the mines with the Elytrons still in pursuit. So far no enforcer mines. As he pulled insane maneuvers to avoid the sensors and dodging the shots from both Archwings and cannons alike, he wished that his Xiphos was outfitted with anti-pursuit weapons —
Wait.
That's it!
He took a quick glance at his pair of mechanical wings hanging on a deployment pod. As worn and battle-damaged as it is, the damn thing still works! The pod with the Odonata model deployed outside the ship upon his orders but it didn't jettison it as he was not outside his ship. Primus synced the model's mainframe to Spectre's own inside his armor, knowing full well how to do it. A warning blared on his HUD and Spectre knew that it had to be a missile. He took a look at his surroundings. Mines in a crisscrossing pattern and an enforcer mine in place in front of him. Throw in a cannon that is nearly ready to fire and the rest of the mines made the ship cramped through this course. Just as the missile was close to hitting, the Odonata deployed flares and diverted it from target, creating a heavy smoke screen when the rest of the flares detonated into a huge cloud of white phosphorus. Spectre pulled up and skimmed through the trap with the Xiphos on its side, the Odonata returning within the hull of the ship.
Unfortunately, the safe side could not be said for the Elytrons right on the Xiphos's six. One of them ran through the dense cloud of white phosphorus and found themselves against an enforcer mine. The detonation released extreme amounts of shrapnel and hot metal that jammed the turbines and the rest shredded the Dark Knight to an unrecognizable corpse. As that unlucky victim plummeted to the earth like a rock, the leader of the Archwing team caught up with the one that had the bright idea to not fly through the cloud and worked their way around it and the trap.
Archwings and Xiphos came into contact again when they were nearing the final stretch of the Belt. Enforcer mines were heavy in presence and started to home in on the airborne Dark Knights. Spectre kept up his evasive maneuvers and paid attention to the path of the enforcer mines, even as they can be unpredictable at times. He had to push down on the stick, Xiphos diving into a deep drop, then rolling to the right desperately to avoid an anti-air shot and an enforcer mine lying in wait for him to slip up. Halfway into the roll, he stopped and shot out in a diagonal pattern, just barely avoiding another of the mines and catching one of the wings of the last flak cannon-wielding Elytrons. With no time to watch as the pilot could take a chunk out of the ship, he slammed the aerial brakes and released the caught wing, rolling away into a dive—
As the second Archwing collided with a swarm of enforcer mines that originally tailed the larger ship, a brilliant explosion lighting up in the snowstorm as both pilot and Archwing turned into chunks of metal and flesh. The last Elytron summoned an energy axe from one of her wings and began cutting her way through the mines in a blind rage, enraged over the loss of her team and Spectre being able to outmaneuver her shots. However, there were too many of them for her missile barrage and her evasiveness to take.
"Sparrrrrddaaaaaaa!" Was her last words over his comms as the enforcers took her life in a giant ball of shrapnel and melted metals. He brought the ship about, shooting up straight past more of the tracking mines and then made it out of the Belt.
"Well, I guess her wings just got…clipped."
"Was that even an appropriate time to say that? I know you wanted payback for that feint shot but was that worth it?"
"Karma, Primus. One word. Karm—"
And in that very second, a violent rumble rocked the ship. The warning alarms began to sound followed by a flood of red lights in the cockpit. Spectre gripped his controls and tried to stabilize the ship. No use. The Xiphos was leaning heavily on a wing and it wasn't looking good for the stabilizers.
"We lost our left wing!"
It began to dive towards the ground at an alarming rate despite his efforts to regain control of his ship. Sweat began to bead on his forehead as he tried to regain equilibrium. A quick glance at the ship's schematics saw the damage done and how it managed to blow the entire wing off.
"An Opticor cannon?!" He knew where they would've been manufactured. Those weapons were designed by the Perrin Sequence for taking down heavily armored targets and rarely ships. For the portable weapon to take on a ship as fortified as the Xiphos, that meant one thing.
It had to be someone from the Conclave.
As the ship spiraled out of control and broke through a cloud in the snowstorm, Spectre could make out a faint silhouette of a mountain range in the distance. He was here, right where he was planning to go to. Though it didn't go exactly as planned, he was coming. Trying to regain balance of the ship was futile and he fastened his harnesses.
"Brace for impact!"
A/N: Welp, another one of these cliffhangers. As promised, this is where we will break away from the bonding moments and where we return to hell. For the chase scene, I would recommend listening to "The Chase" by Antti Martikainen on YouTube.
Prophet: A bit too sudden, don't you think?
Me: Meh, it's the least I can do for a team that had to deal with turmoil all their lives.
Prophet: I think you made it worse.
Me: We'll see.
The Crimson Commando (II-XX): And thus, the storm begins. Yeah, I can imagine the Vanguard and the Speaker did their best to hide any record of there being any Guardians that use the Darkness for some reason aside from Dredgen Yor. But there are those that could give Darkness-wielding Guardians a good rep to counteract the bad rep it got.
Stay safe out there, Guardians!
