Chapter XXV: Family
Absolution Arc
Ishtar Region, Venus
Unknown Time, December 25, 2714
"No!"
A battle cry rang out in the caverns and prompted the Stalker to look in the direction of its origins. A flash of black and red streaked towards them and rammed them away from the daughter of Spectre before the killing blow was delivered. As much as the Stalker stood their ground, the Guardian or Dark Knight that rammed them did everything they could to keep them away from Rose. Before long, they were thrown into a cavern wall, a cloud of dust obscuring them from sight.
"You dare to interfere?" The Stalker spat.
Standing next to Rose was the current Dark Knight Vanguard, Aegis and Dusk Repulsor at the ready in a defensive stance. Her helmet unfolded and her rage became clear in the aura surrounding her. Reaper came to her side too, wound healed and Lex Prime at the ready.
Rose weakly looked up and coughed, clutching her chest protectively. She tried to speak, but the only sounds that came out of her lips were coughs and rasps. She couldn't see anything beyond the veil of her tears, but she can definitely feel the presence of a Guardian of Equilibrium more so than Reaper's own.
"Stay away from them, Stalker!" Tohsaka barked.
The Stalker laughed. "Such an empty threat. Hollow and meaningless!" They summoned their bow and fired an arrow at Lightning, which deflected on the fiery surface of Aegis and incinerated. Lightning charged with a war cry and slashed at them.
Reaper helped Rose up and assessed Rose's wounds. Too many broken bones, she might not make it. "Light, I'm gonna get her to the ship!"
Lightning blocked a slash from the Stalker with Aegis and held on as they tried to break through her shield, looking in Reaper's direction. "Go!" In the midst of the Stalker and Lightning fighting, a portal opened in front of the two-woman team, followed by Spectre's pet dog who ran into the portal.
Reaper swung one of Rose's arms across her shoulders and looked into the other side of the portal. She saw her ship landed nearby and then back at the two fighting. "I'll be back with help!"
"No, we can't risk any more Guardians dying! I'll be fine!"
"But Light—!"
"Just go, Traveler damn it!" With the wave of her hand, the portal swallowed both Guardians whole, blocking out Reaper's starting signs of protest.
Lightning backflipped twice from the Stalker and reversed her grip on the sword. "Just you and me!" The aura grew stronger, consuming her with only one goal.
"I will give your brother your final courtesy after I deliver your head to him!"
-Destiny: Skyfall-
Reaper fell silent. She looked at Eroxs' resting body in the makeshift hospital bed in her ship. The only noises she heard were the NLS Drive and the heart monitor she managed to find. Hovering over Eroxs' body was Rex, scanning and monitoring the Guardian. She was fortunate that she had autopilot on her ship's systems.
"Vitals are stable, but I dunno for how long," Rex reported, turning around to face her partner every once in a while. "We should get her to 20 ASAP."
Instead of relief, it felt like poison to Reaper. She hugged her knees to her chest and stared blankly at the body of her boyfriend's student. First, he left, now she couldn't do anything to save his student from possibly fatal wounds. She felt worthless, pathetic. A coward, perhaps.
"Reap?" Rex approached her when she noticed the silence.
She buried her face between her knees. "It's my fault. I should've done something to help…"
"Girl, what're you talking about? Of course you did something to help!"
"But I ran like a coward instead!"
Reaper could feel the tears running down her face as soon as she looked at her Ghost in the eye. Rex flinched at her raise in voice, but kept her ground. Shame took over her mind.
"Listen girl, we knew that the Stalker was too powerful for us to take on. We did the right thing, no matter if it was all in vain or not." Rex sighed. "Lightning can handle herself, she can get out of that alive. I hope."
"Rex, not reassuring."
"Sorry, sorry."
Reaper returned to burying her face between her knees and closed her eyes. What would Spectre do? He had more knowledge and survival skills than she possessed, and she had already used everything she knew to keep her partner alive. Wounds were dressed, shards of armor were carefully removed, and everything else was left to Rex.
"What the…?"
A glow brought itself to Reaper's attention and she looked at the body of Eroxs. There, on the breastplate, was a pulsing glow fading in and out of existence. Rex hovered over the light and took a look. From the glow, it appeared to be similar to a Ghost's eye.
"What is—?"
"GggGoing on?" Rex backed away as the glow from Eroxs' breastplate hovered over her body and formed a Ghost shell-like pattern. A central red 'eye' formed and looked around, much like a Ghost. "Oi! Who woke me from my nap?! Hm…it seems my processor has fried." It spoke, 'eye' turning to blue. "Oh, hello, Guardians."
"Um, hi?" Rex stammered, hovering to Reaper's shoulder and shell opening surprisingly. "What the hell is he?"
"A malfunctioning A.I?"
"iiiI hhheard that!" The A.I snapped, then looking at his partner. "Oh no, Operator! Who did this?!"
Rex and Reaper looked at each other, equally surprised and confused. The light-made Ghost hovered over Eroxs' body and phased through her back and forth in a panic. Slowly, Reaper set her feet down on the floor and stood up from the adjacent bench. Panicked mumblings and blabber came from the A.I, scared out of their mind and so did the occasional glitch that made it angry.
Reaper took a closer look, but it wasn't long until the A.I faced her. Both of them froze, eyes staring at the other. She dared not to move. "Who are you?" She managed to say out loud.
"Oh, forgive me, Guardian. I forgot to introduce myself," It said, calming down from the panic. "I am Ordis, companion of my Operator and what you can consider the counterpart to Ghosts."
"Ordis, huh? So you were always with Eroxs?"
"Who is Eroxs?"
Ordis doesn't know his own Operator? Maybe she was telling the truth. Perhaps Eroxs did suffer amnesia and forgot that she had an A.I with her. However, it raised more questions to the origins of Eroxs. Whatever Eroxs did with her bow, it definitely wasn't the doing of a Nightstalker. Loading and firing seven arrows at once? That was a feat not even she could accomplish. One conclusion came to her mind.
"Rex, put 20 on the line."
"Already on it."
Reaper felt her unease start to lessen and put a hand over her heart. Her partner's aura began to shift, changing to a magenta as though her previous color was only a shield. Out the window, her ship broke through NLS and she could see the moon in sight, its giant crater created from the conflict sticking out like a sore thumb. Whoever Eroxs was, was all but a distant thought in her mind. Maybe this was a test, a trial of fortitude. And she had to be strong.
-Destiny: Skyfall-
Where am I? Rose felt numb all over. Her body was enveloped by a smoothness like how she envisioned the clouds felt. It felt like a dream, a dream that would hold her in its embrace and cut her off from the harshness of the world. Rose swore she felt her mother's warm embrace in the Afterlife and her song in her ears, wishing that it was real once again.
Her eyes fluttered open, wincing at the amount of light in her eyes and she groaned, covering her eyes. Beeping from machines took over what she assumed to be her mother's voice and she tried to sit up, but to no avail.
"You're awake."
Huh? Her eyes started to dilate and focus, removing the blur in her vision and moved her head to the sound. In the corner of her sight was a pillow, and so were privacy curtains behind someone. Yellow hair and red streaks managed to break through and she saw someone sitting down. Rose's heart skipped a beat as she realized who it was. Auntie!
"You've got guts to try and take on the Stalker on your lonesome, Eroxs." Lightning noted, arms folded and leaning back in the chair. "You're more than what I thought you were."
Rose's unease came back in a flash, words failing her. Aunt Lightning was scary enough, and it honestly didn't help the situation at all. It felt like she was being scolded. Harshly.
"W-what do you mean?" She managed to choke out in her fear.
"A weapon unseen by the Vanguard, immediately taken into my brother's wing, and now these new powers reported by Reaper? You're not a Guardian, are you?"
An urge to shrink in her medical bed screamed in Rose's head. Already did she curl up in her bed and looked down to avoid the daggers in her aunt's eyes.
"I-I am a Guardian."
"What kind of a Guardian doesn't have a Ghost and has an A.I instead?" The questions were drilling hard into Rose's panic. The tone was bad enough, and she felt like this was the beginning. "Why did my brother immediately take you in? You're a stranger to me, I don't know or recognize you."
It isn't her fault… A sting shot up her arm and she saw the needle that hooked up to the heart monitor embedded in her arm. She wanted to take it out. "Please, can we not—?"
"Not until I get answers." Lightning stood her ground, unmoved by Rose's request. "I want to know if you were sent by the Cyphers, so that I can kill you before you assassinate us."
Rose wanted to faint. Her own aunt would kill her!? How could she?! She was her niece, not some spy and assassin! She was cornered, backed against the wall by the dogs.
"I-I'm not with the Cyphers!" She felt the breaking point coming, and she shut her eyes. "I just wanted to be with father!"
The shout decayed into silence. Rose closed her eyes, afraid with what her aunt had to say and fists clenched childishly. She prayed no one else heard her big secret. Her fist flew to her pendant and hid the crystal in her hand.
"Father?" Lightning whispered as though it was forbidden to her. Rose peeked an eye open. The shock was evident and Lightning covered her mouth. "My brother, a father?"
Lightning reached for the heart monitor and turned it off, allowing Rose to remove the needle and she sat on the bed, legs crossed. Staring at the blankets, Rose felt ashamed, fidgeting and silent. She mustered up the courage and said, "…Yes, Auntie. I am your niece."
"Rose…"
Before she knew it, she felt a finger lift her chin to look at her aunt. This time, she couldn't resist looking away at Lightning. Tears were swelling up in her eyes and she shook uncontrollably.
"My niece…" Her tone has shifted and felt like acceptance. Lightning shushed her in a half-decent maternal tone and wiped her tears away. "I'm so sorry, my niece."
In reflex, Rose took her aunt in an embrace and sobbed. The pain was nothing compared to feeling the embrace of her relative and she held on tightly, letting the cries out. Her aunt kept on shushing her and patted her back, whispers of assurance and acceptance in her ears.
"It's okay, Rose, it's okay." Lightning held her closer, soothing and motherly instinct ever so present in her. "Auntie's here for you."
"H-how do you know my name?" Rose managed to say in the midst of her crying.
"Your mother often joked about naming her daughter Rose. Guess she stuck to it." They broke apart and Lightning saw her pendant, observing it in her hand. "You came from the Afterlife, and you have your mother's eyes. It's proof enough you're related to me, Rose."
Rose faintly nodded. She continued to fidget after she got a hold of herself, glancing at her crystal pendant and shy. The tough, no nonsense attitude of her aunt had seemed to fade away for a second, replaced with what her father described as a caring and loving individual.
"Hey, what's wrong?"
"It's Uncle Leon…what will he do if he learns I'm his niece?" She asked with a fidget. "Will he reject me? Please tell me, auntie!"
"I don't know, Rose. He says he hates your dad because of what he did to your mom and yourself, but I'm praying Aqua changed his mind. Directed him away from the hate festering inside him." Lightning held her niece's hands. "You're so young, you shouldn't be fighting. I don't want to keep you here, but—"
"No! I want to fight, auntie! I know I'm just a little kid in my head, but I don't care! I want to be there by father's side, to fight and help him!" She stood her ground like the kid she is, taking her aunt by surprise. "I can fight, I know it! I don't want to be left alone while everyone else is fighting out there…"
"Rose, it's dangerous out there. Think, what would your father say if he saw you injured and nearly got paralyzed from the chest down?" Lightning tried to persuade, showing the medical report and tapping on the major injury to her. "Look, this has to be for your own safety. I can't let you back in the field."
"Mother wouldn't—!" She put a hand against her back after she moved too quickly, the cracks of bones in her range of hearing. Rose fell back against the bed, her aunt slowing her down and brushing her hair from her emerald eyes. "Oww…"
"Should've taken it easy, Sparky."
She pouted immaturely at the new nickname her aunt gave her and frowned, the pain poking at her back like persistent fingers. Somehow, she got the feeling that nickname will embarrass her from this day forward.
"I'm stuck here, aren't I, auntie?"
Lightning looked at the log and frowned, "Until your back heals, yes." She patted her head reassuringly. "You're just like your father…"
"Like father?"
"You're just as reckless and headstrong," Lightning knocked on her forehead. "Get some rest, Sparky."
"Is Neo okay?" As if on cue, a pair of ears appeared next to her and Neo barked. A warmth in her heart took over and she hugged the dog. "You're okay!" Neo barked affirmatively and she hugged him a little tighter.
She saw her aunt dusting off her boots of the hairs and muttered something that sounded like 'Damn mutts…' and let go of Neo. "You're lucky you still have a relative or two, Sparky."
"How did you escape from the Stalker?"
Her aunt's expression went grim, darkened with something. Rose couldn't pinpoint what it was exactly, but she knew something was bothering her. Like whatever Lightning saw haunted her from her past. "I warped out before things got nasty."
"And Ruby and the others?" Rose asked, changing the topic.
Lightning patted her head. "They made it out, alright. Don't worry."
Rose beamed like the kid she is and petted Neo's head on her lap. She fed him some meat and her companion chowed it down, followed by her aunt putting back the needle in her arm and reactivating the device. Suddenly, it felt like the pain went away the more she focused on entertaining herself. A kiss on the forehead from her aunt and telling her that she has to return to her duties stung her, but she knew that she had no ordinary family. Questions lingered in her mind, but time was short for Lightning and left them for another day.
After all, her family are Guardians of Equilibrium.
Old Bri?ish E?pire, Earth
Unknown time, January 5, 2715
"He's making progress, Asada."
"Yes, and in a short amount of time too."
Masters Asada and Zephyr observed from the Temple entrance as Spectre leapt through the final obstacle and drew his blade, taking down the training dummies that awaited him in clean strokes. As soon as he sheathed Interitum, the dummies fell apart and barely made a sound in the snowstorm. His heart raced and he took it easy, a wave of Darkness in his hand and he waved it. The snowstorm dissipated and revealed the training course, blanketed by the snow and covered any evidence that he made tracks.
"Brings back memories of the lad back in his Academy days, doesn't it?" Zephyr smirked. "Promising yet to this day."
"Now that he accepted the other half of him? I don't doubt it," Asada prepared tea and continued to watch her 'little brother' as he tackled another course. "Teshin isn't impressed."
"Still? Hasn't he seen Spectre tearing up these courses already?"
Asada took a sip from her cup and held back a face when she tasted how horrid, yet effective, her tea is. "Drat, I thought I had it this time."
Zephyr grinned from ear to ear and held a hand out. "Pay up, lass." Reluctantly, Asada coughed up ten Glimmer for losing another bet. "Seriously though, shouldn't the lad be on the next step of the training by now?"
"He's testing him, Zephyr. Breezing by these tests doesn't guarantee that he's ready to go back out there," another sip from her tea. "Besides, you know what's next on the chopping block."
"Oh yeah, good ol' Master Ryuki," Zephyr dryly remarked, tossing her empty thermos behind her. "Chap's got barely a chance against Ryuki. So what's he supposed to do until he's ready to face Ryuki?"
Asada had long thought about this, looking at her 'little brother' tearing up the obstacles courses and reactively attacking the dummies in little time as possible. A frown was carved onto her lips and looked at her sister. Deep down, she knew how close Spectre was to the breaking point already. Knowing Teshin, he would do this next step before combat training. It was done to every one of the Masters. "He has to face his fears."
"You don't mean…!"
Asada put her tea down and looked towards the mountains. In the distance, she could spot a cave entrance and pedestals filled with light. "He has to face the Praetorium."
A/N: 'Ello, chaps! Been quite a while since my last update, and I so, so deeply apologize for it. After the last update, things went to shit and well, it hasn't been fair to me. Barely had the time or motivation to write. Anyway, enough of a life story. Hopefully, I'll be back into the fold.
Guest (II-XXIV): I appreciate it, mate! Hope it'll live up to your expectations!
Till next time, chaps!
