I watch as our life crumbles around us.

The people we walk among hurl insults, and spit at our feet. While we were once hailed as heroes, as the saviors of humanity, now we are seen as the harbingers of death. The Grim Reaper's reputation is superseded by our own.

I hurt as our friends fall before us.

Whether they step down from their role, or are forced to submit to this new will of the people, or are even hunted in order to ensure that they never again lift the mantle of responsibility that we've taken on, my heart aches for their suffering.

I feel hope as he holds me.

As his arms wrap around me, his hands gripping me tightly around my navel and chest, it gives me a small sense of security; that in this new, uncertain future, he will remain my rock, my one unyielding constant that I can look forward to each morning.

But what would I do, if he were to not be there in the morning? How broken would I become, how deranged may I see myself if he was not with me?

What will he do, when I am no longer here to keep his dark thoughts from consuming him?

Slowly, the Hunter rose to a standing position and his full height. The crowd of onlookers behind him and to his sides were awestruck, astounded that he had come to Clara's aid after all. Ghost hovered there nonplussed, still in awe of the living myth before him.

The man with the skull helmet quickly regained his composure. "Well, it would seem that you can't entirely let go of your ego, can you?"

The Hunter said nothing, simply glaring at the man from behind those fiery eyes of the helmet he wore.

It was wise, in her opinion; had he not come to help her, she would have died and the man would have been proven right. But now that he had, the man would taunt him for being selfless. It was a losing battle either way, but the Hunter had opted not to entertain a conversation with him. Saying nothing said more than trying to defend himself ever could.

The man gestured to the enforcers flanking his sides as protection. "It's over, Hunter. We've only tolerated your existence with the unspoken agreement that you keep it ambiguous. Evidently, you've faltered on your part." He cocked his head slightly. "Besides, I'd almost think you wanted it to end. You wouldn't have shown yourself without a reason, and you must have known this would happen."

Clara was still shocked by the fact that the Trinary Star had known that the Hunter existed in the first place; if they'd let everyone believe that Guardians were nothing more than an old legend, what else could be true that they were hiding?

Remaining silent, the Hunter simply pointed at Clara. Then he pointed towards the spot next to him, indicating that she should go to him.

She began to move, but her progress was immediately impeded by the grip of the Star's leader on her arm, wrenching her backwards and away from safety. "I don't think so. If you want her guaranteed safety, then give yourself up. Her life for yours is fair, don't you think?"

The Hunter still said nothing, but she watched as he began to shift his weight in response to the enforcers now moving slowly towards him. Tension was present throughout the courtyard as everyone watched with bated breath.

"I'd rather make an example of you later, but I'll kill you here if you force my hand," the leader growled.

The Hunter stared back, unmoved.

The leader gave a small hand gesture to his men, and they began to move forward on the Hunter. He made no moves against them, in spite of his preparation for something … something that hadn't come yet-

Suddenly, the faint sound of engines could be heard in the distance, growing louder with every passing second. The leader looked out at the skies behind them, and muttered a curse under his breath as he realized what was descending upon them. "It's the Seven! Grab him, and let's-"

In the blink of an eye, the Hunter vanished. He didn't hide, he literally vanished. The enforcers, Ghost, and Clara alike looked around wildly for where he'd disappeared to-

In the space of a single moment, the Hunter had reappeared behind one of the enforcers and wrapped his arm around the man's neck. Their scream was cut off as he snapped their neck with one quick motion, and then threw their body into two others.

Another tried to rush him and swung a fist, but the Hunter easily caught it and then brought down the enforcer's arm on his shoulder, snapping it at the elbow. As they cried out in pain, the Hunter yanked the rifle out of their hands and then kicked them away before aiming at the leader.

He fired a single burst which the leader was forced to dodge immediately, but then the man brought Clara closer and held her out in front of him like a shield. "Put it down! Or do you want yet another death on your hands?" he taunted. She struggled against his hold, but he was too strong and she was in too vulnerable a position.

Clara could see that the Hunter didn't want to risk her life by making any sudden moves, but he couldn't exactly surrender either. All he and the leader could do was glare at each other, thinking angry thoughts.

"Well?!" demanded her captor, "Speak, coward!"

The Hunter looked directly at Clara. Finally, he spoke for the first time to her.

"Duck."

She was momentarily confused about what he meant before she registered the drone and whine of the engines that had gotten louder. Taking the cue, she immediately swung her body as hard as she could towards the ground, just managing to break out of the leader's hold.

It was right in time, as the Seven's gunships arrived and began peppering the courtyard with waves of bullets. She could hear them ricochet all around her, thankfully not hitting her. It seemed as though they were aiming for the Star's enforcers and their ships. Responding to the provocation, the Star's gunships began to engage the Seven's in a mid-air dogfight above Felwinter Peak.

Suddenly, she felt a strong hand grip her arm and lift her to her feet. "Come on." Looking up, she saw the Hunter forcing her to stand, urging her to move. "Follow me." She had no idea where the leader of the Star had gone, but the point was that he wasn't there anymore.

With an almost daze-like trance, she stepped after him as he made a beeline towards the edge of the courtyard overlooking the cliff, pausing intermittently to shoot anyone who tried to attack them. Upon reaching the ledge he motioned for her to wait. Apparently, something was going to happen-

Suddenly hearing a scuffle of boots behind them, she turned to see the leader with a gun in hand. He took aim at the Hunter who had not noticed yet, and prepared to fire.

Without thinking, she moved in front of him, shielding him with her body. She heard the faint sound of the gun going off, and then the almost distant feel of the bullets penetrating her light armor and punching their way into her inner systems.

"CLARA!" Ghost cried out.

The Hunter immediately turned towards the threat and threw something from within the folds of his cloak. It was a spinning dagger which buried itself in the hand of the leader, forcing him to relinquish his grip on the gun.

She began to fall backwards, but he caught her before she could hit the ground. Scooping her into his arms, he remained silent as ever as she feebly stirred. Her vision was growing darker, her systems shutting down to save power for life support. Looking at her midsection, she saw the blue blood that ran through Exo's artificial veins, and more than enough of it to be indicative of a serious injury.

Her last sight before she completely faded was Ghost flying frantically around her in worry, and the Hunter jumping off the ledge as he held her. They fell down … down … down …

And then the abyss consumed her.

…

She woke with a scream, finally responding to the pain that she'd felt when she'd been shot. With shaking hands, they rushed to her chest expecting to find her bleeding-

But her fingers came away dry. Trembling, she looked down at the tunic Dirk had given her which had been ripped open; not by the bullets, but with force, as though someone had pried their fingers into it and torn it manually.

Her body could be seen beneath, still stained with dried cobalt splotches from the injuries.; but some of the plating had been removed, and she could see into her innards. Where tubes had been broken, now there was some kind of tape-like material reinforcing them, keeping them from leaking. It was a makeshift job, but very well done considering the circumstances.

Trying to gather a sense of her surroundings, she took a look around. She was in quite a different location than when she'd passed out; it appeared to be a ship of some kind. Right now, she was lying on the metal floor in what appeared to be the bridge.

Upon hearing her move around, a familiar face darted towards her. "Clara! Are you alright?"

Ghost flitted back and forth frantically, trying to assess her well-being. "I-I didn't know what to do, a-and you were shot, and I j-just-"

"I'm fine," she said dismissively, waving him away as she grunted in pain. "Where … where are we?"

Ghost fell silent, and simply looked at something over her shoulder. She followed his gaze to see the Hunter standing behind her, silent and stoic as ever.

She had no idea what to say to him really, what could you say in that situation? She hadn't even known he'd existed a day ago, and now he'd gone and saved her life at the potential expense of his own.

Opting for a simple gesture of goodwill, she nodded in his direction meekly. "T-thank you, for s-saving me." Her voice shook with a slight edge of fear in its tone, a reminder to her that regardless of intent, the Hunter still inspired trepidation within her.

He said nothing at first, as seemed to be the case most of the time. Unexpectedly, he hung his head in what she could only assume was thinly veiled anger.

"Why?"

She hadn't anticipated a response from him, and was not only surprised by his doing so, but by the content of his reply. " 'W-Why' what?"

He shook his head slightly. "All this time, all these years, and yet …"

His voice was an odd mix of youth and age; while he didn't seem particularly old from the direct sound of his voice, she could hear it in the way his voice told a story; this was someone who was old, and had been dealing with pain for a very long time.

Rising in both volume and anger, he began to pace around the ship. "I was ready. This time, I was ready to let it all go, but you-" He spun around and pointed an accusing finger at Clara. "You just had to go and play the hero, didn't you? You had to go and get involved."

She hadn't expected that kind of reaction at all. "I … I was just trying to defend you-"

Immediately, his voice reverted back to the low, threatening tone he'd been using a moment before. "There's always someone, there's always some damn person who thinks that they can make things right. Hell, I was probably that person for a time," he muttered. "Well, guess what? You can't."

"How can you think that way?" she asked, appalled. "That things can't ever get better-"

"Because I've seen how people change, how everything you've ever known or cared about can be thrown away as though it never happened," he spat. "What good is any deed if people will only condemn you for it later?"

He walked back towards the pilot's chair that she saw at the front of the cockpit of sorts they were in. "I've done more than my share in this world, put my life on the line for people who didn't deserve it, and now all I want is for it to end." He gripped the edge of the headrest tightly. "So, why … do I keep getting punished for that?!" he suddenly yelled, smashing his fist onto the console, and scaring both Clara and Ghost.

They remained silent as his chest heaved from exertion, allowing him space after his outburst. As they watched, his Ghost from earlier materialized and moved closer to the face of his helmet. Clara couldn't hear it, so she could only assume that it was speaking to the Hunter through other means.

After a few moments of that, the Hunter turned back around and stared at Clara silently. She had no idea what expression he wore under that helmet of his, but that wicked maw engraved into its front didn't inspire any confidence in her.

"Who are you?" he snapped. "Why did you stand up for me?"

She shrank away from his accusatory tone. "My name's C-Clara. And I don't know …"

"I need a better answer than, 'I don't know'," he spat.

"I don't know!" she cried. "It was just … you were by yourself, and Dirk died defending you … and it felt wrong that they w-wouldn't leave you in peace … and n-no one else was going to h-help you …"

She looked at him, her blue eyes filled with emotion. "I just didn't want you to feel so alone."

Apparently, he hadn't been expecting that answer, and stood there without a response.

She tilted her head in confusion. "What?"

He took a moment to answer. "I used to know someone who thought like you."

"Who?"

He sighed. "Another Hunter. He was someone who would have done everything in his power to protect others … even if it meant sacrificing himself." He clenched a fist tightly. "Funnily enough, the only time he failed was when he was needed most."

Eventually, he walked back over and knelt down next to her. Then he examined the temporary patchwork that he'd presumably performed on her injuries. "Years ago, I could have healed that in seconds." He shook his head in frustration. "Not the case anymore. That should hold you until we arrive, and I can perform a more extensive operation."

"Why?" she asked quietly, mirroring his question from earlier.

He looked away from her injuries, and into her eyes. " 'Why' what?"

"Why are you helping me?"

At that, it seemed that the Hunter had no real answer. He sat on his haunches, idle for a moment. Then with a shake of his head, he stood back up. "Call it an old-fashioned sense of courtesy. I'm repaying a debt."

She assumed that he meant to her, for shielding him from the leader's bullets. Speaking of which …

"Who was that man?" she continued, trying to gather more information. "The leader of the Trinary Star, the one who wanted you?"

The Hunter paused, and was quiet for another moment or two before answering. "That's the Stag. He's both the religious leader and commanding individual of the Star's military forces." He snorted. "Haven't seen anyone stand up to him in a long time, so consider yourself a special case."

"Why does he want you?"

The Hunter growled. "You ask a lot of questions, don't you?"

She narrowed her eyes at him, and with as confident a voice she could muster spoke; "You can at least answer a few of them, considering I took a bullet for you."

Ghost looked in shock from her to him. In truth, she wasn't nearly as confident as she was pretending to be; but she wanted answers.

He stared at her blankly before sighing with that same weary sigh she'd heard before, the one that spoke volumes of age and tragedy. "It's a long story."

She gestured to their surroundings. "It would seem we have a bit of time."

He grunted. "That, we do." He looked at her. "As it so happens, that story actually has a lot to do with the other Hunter I told you about."

"Really?"

He nodded. "Yeah. In fact, it has just about everything to do with him." Deciding to share his story for the first time in years, he turned towards the chair next to him …

… and looked at Aria sitting there, staring back at him.

A/N: Okay, so let's get some things out of the way.

The Hunter's name will be revealed next chapter, sorry but it didn't mesh well with this chapter; I felt like I kept shoehorning it in, and I'd rather not rush the pacing on this.

No, the Stag is not a Warlock; his helmet is the Stag without the horns, though.

And if you're confused as hell at the ending of this chapter, like I said; things are going to be revealed, and probably not in the way you expect.

Also, I had someone ask me what armor the Last Hunter was wearing based on the cover; It's the Days of Iron Helmet with the ornament, the Days of Iron Hauberk with no ornament, Iron Breed Sleeves, Kallipolis Boots, and Idylls of the Iron Lords with no ornament.

Until the next time,

- Matteoarts