Chapter 1: A Phoenix Falls
Rachel panted as she ran with Shadow. Despite her newness to the Guardian ranks, she hunted and killed Cabal with ease. Given a rifle to use by Shadow as well as a small machine gun; perfect for her size, she chewed through the defenses, throwing her fusion grenades and a few knives loaned by Shadow.
"Fucking hell! How many are there?!"
The Red Legion seemed more akin to a swarm that never found an end, even though inevitably there would have to be a moment of abatement as Rachel cut down their numbers with destructive grace and beauty. Nascent of a Guardian as she was, it was easy to see a path to her becoming a spitting image of a Dawnblade that shone with frightening power. The fusion grenades went some way in cutting down the numbers, solar flame tearing through armor and gunfire felling legionaries, war beasts, and centurions in her wake. The weapons given to her by Shadow aided in helping cull their number, clearing some sort of path through the chaos.
Alive as she felt, she knew she would have even more pressing questions for Frank in the aftermath of this.
Shadow twirled his hand cannon, popping a couple heads off a few legionaries. Despite his reluctance to take a Greenhorn into battle; not like there was a choice, he was quite impressed with Rachel's abilities. He turned to her.
"Come on! We gotta keep pushing!"
A blast went off as he got shot in the back, falling to the ground.
"Shadow!' shouted Rachel. Shadow pulled himself behind a pillar, letting Nyte heal him as he blew the head off a Phalanx.
"Fuck that hurt. You okay?"
Rachel nodded her affirmation as Shadow stood. Rolling his shoulders and reloading, he checked behind the pillar to see if there was enough room to activate his Shadowshot.
"Get ready to use Daybreak!"
Shadow charged out and jumped up, his body glowing purple as he summoned a void purple bow and arrow, firing an anchor into the ground as void light ensnared the Cabal.
"Now, Rachel!"
A sword of bright flame manifested in Rachel's hands, Shadow's words echoing in her mind as she summoned the will to release the very limits of her Light. A halo of solar flame would engulf her form as she now bore wings of the very element she displayed a predilection for. Pure instinct took over her as she would lift herself and her sword into the air. Taking flight, she would aim and subsequently swing her sword, maelstroms of fire engulfing vulnerable Cabal that were tethered by Shadow's void light. The ground around their enemies would be scorched to oblivion, Cabal dissolving second by second as Rachel would focus on catching as many of them in her fire as possible.
She was a flame that could not be contained. Perhaps in some instance long in the distant past that she did not know, she too was a fire that could burn down entire forests and perhaps even continents. For now, that inferno would burn their enemies around them, leaving damage beyond the capabilities of any small arms fire. Their number had finally been culled to a degree of success greater than before. Nothing but the haunting breeze filled the ensuing silence that came as Rachel's light finally ebbed, landing towards the ground.
As Rachel touched the scorched earth with her boots, Shadow looked at her in awe. She was graceful, and seemed innocent-looking enough, but underneath those robes, she was a firecracker, and could burn the entire world if she wanted to.
"Remind me never to get on your bad side."
Pushing through a few stragglers, the two arrived at the door to the flight deck. With their Ghosts at their sides, they ran through the opening door only to be met with chaos below, and above them. The Traveler; the protector of the Last City, was ensnared by a massive machine, it's claws pushing against it's form as coils wrapped around it's circumference. In that moment, Shadow, Rachel, Nyte, and Frank felt completely helpless. There was nothing they could do.
Nyte looked in shock, her voice displaying fear, her purple eye watching with horror.
"How do we come back from this?"
"You don't…"
Heavy footsteps would catch their attention, the two Guardians and Ghosts turning their bodies to find themselves bearing witness to Dominus Ghaul's imposing form. Flanked by the two legionaries behind him, Ghaul bore the demeanor of someone who had already won this burgeoning and tragic war. He would gaze down towards the four, keeping some distance away from them even though he knew the inevitability that would come.
"Welcome to a world without Light."
The Dominus extended a hand towards the caged Traveler, entreating Shadow, Rachel, Nyte, and Frank to look at the fruits of his Legion's twisted labor. The coils surrounding the Traveler would then alight in orange light, a pulse traveling through its spherical form. There would be no time to ask what had just occurred, for all that stood on this ship would receive their answers in a manner of seconds. Ghaul could only watch in a rather twisted satisfaction as the bodies of Shadow and Rachel would pulse with the Traveler's blue light. In a rather evanescent flash, outlines of their torsos escaping them would manifest for but a second before quickly fading into the air.
After that, would immediately follow a profound sense of loss that would be beyond description. Rachel was assaulted by several broken and fragmented memories of her past. A needle, someone shouting in horror, dirt being shoveled, a cry in the night.
Shadow clutched his chest, feeling a sharp pain in his chest as both Guardians collapsed.
"Shadow…"
Nyte fell to the ground, her eye going dark. Frank fell next, his shell splashing in the water. Ghaul stomped his way over as Shadow reached out and grabbed Nyte, pulling her close to his chest. Rachel grabbed Frank, holding onto him as they looked up at Ghaul.
"Do not look at me, creatures!"
Ghaul kicked both of them away from him, their bodies sliding across the deck. Rachel coughed up blood as she clutched her ribs. Several ribs had been broken from the impact, and she struggled to breath, her lungs punctured.
"You son of..a bitch…" she wheezed.
"You just proved my point. You are WEAK! UNDISCIPLINED! Cowering behind walls."
Rachel and Shadow tried to stand with immense difficulty, but Rachel collapsed into the puddle of water, pulling her helmet off as she struggled to breath, spitting out blood. Pain inflamed every inch of their bodies, the will to stand unable to overcome the agony of what Ghaul was putting them through. The fading of Light would mean there was no recourse or even a way out of the destruction that they found themselves in, There would be no healing light that would be able to rescue them from what was to come. Ghaul did not relent from his continued assault.
Each step he took was slow, deliberate, and heavy. His eyes did not once dart from the two Guardians unable to fight without their powers. Anger filled the words he spoke earlier, his eyes momentarily darting towards Rachel for a few moments. However, he would not forget Shadow's existence, and for as soon as the both of them were in his line of sight again… thoughts of their once irritating immortality now flashed through his mind. Oh, how the tides have painfully turned.
"You're not brave. You've merely forgotten the fear of death."
Much as they would try and fight through the pain, the best either Shadow or Rachel could do was slowly stagger upwards from the cold ground. With no weapons and no light, all they could come to was Ghaul's imposing form standing so close to them. His eyes gazed into the two lightbearers, rage again filling his mind at the destruction that they have wrought. They would know the fear of death once again, that much Ghaul would make sure.
"Allow me to reacquaint you."
With no show of mercy, he would again strike Rachel and Shadow closer towards the edge of the ship, throwing them closer and closer into the chaos beneath. Their bodies slid against the floor once more, the pain never ceasing. To their horror, the limp forms of Nyte and Frank would fall from their hands, sliding off the edge of the ship, and into the burning City. Shadow and Rachel, in a moment of utter desperation, would reach out for their Ghosts. Yet the Dominus would not relent, heavy footsteps bearing down upon them once more.
"I am Ghaul. And your light…"
Rachel would look towards Ghaul's face as the Dominus made his proclamations. A biting retort was at the very periphery of her conscious mind, but the pain was far too much. She would look towards Shadow, who himself looked on the verge of collapse and even death. The words began to form in her throat, but Ghaul would be the first to speak.
"Is mine."
Immediately after, he would shove both Guardians off the ship, doing so with utter ease. He would gaze down as the forms of Rachel and Shadow would fall far into the City.
Several days later
Rachel awoke with a start, her ears ringing as her head pounded. She panted heavily, trying to breathe, but her ribs protested from the strain. A woman came to her aid, bringing her some broth as she looked up at her. Rachel was cold, her armor and undersuit removed, leaving her bare as the day she was born. The woman nursed the broth down her throat as Rachel fought the urge to vomit.
"Where…where am I?"
"Safe. Welcome to the Farm."
Rachel was confused. The woman walked around, gathering a few things for Rachel as her eyes adjusted.
"How long have I been out?"
"Five days. Your boyfriend has been helping us out big time."
"Boyfriend?"
"That Exo we found you with? Your injuries were quite severe. We almost lost you multiple times."
Rachel struggled to stand, but the woman sat her down.
"You shouldn't move. You need rest."
Try as she might, the sharp pain that went through her ribs was itself a reminder of the woman's sage words. There was no way that she was going to win over her body's protests now, so she simply settled into a resting position, with the hope that she would be out of here sooner than later.
"Alright," Rachel would say, mostly out of confirmation more than anything. "So… I'm on bedrest then. What else has happened since I woke up? And that Exo… his name is Shadow, where is he? And what the hell is the Farm?" For as much pain as she was in, it didn't necessarily stop her from demanding answers.
Annoyance and amusement both filled the woman's eyes at the onslaught of questions. There were but a few choice words to describe what had happened as of late: pure and utter chaos. The amount of injured Guardians and civilians that needed to be shepherded into this outpost was more than just a nightmare on all fronts. Shadow's aid was something the Farm desperately needed, but the woman knew that they needed more.
"Nothing but a whole bunch of Guardians with no Light in this place the past five days I can say that. We've been seeing more and more come through here, if they're even still alive… As far as the light is concerned, still gone. So don't get your hopes up there." A darkened edge crept into her voice, but there was no need for the more grisly details. "Your boyfriend's been helping us. He should be around here somewhere, actually. And on your third question…"
Rachel tried to take the information in quietly, only then realizing that she had completely thrown them towards the woman without so much as a lead up. At least, she was reassured that Shadow was alright and still alive. She wasn't sure what to do with the word 'boyfriend,' but she simply put that aside for now. The absence of Light was something that pressed her mind… it began to hit her that was the beginning of a much longer conflict, and the prospect of never having the Light again was something her mind was slowly crawling towards.
"No… No, no I'm not going down t hat road ," she would think to herself. However, her thoughts were interrupted by the woman who woke her up earlier.
"Well, first things first, welcome to the European Dead Zone. The Farm is an outpost for us lightless that aren't too fond of the City, and we've been making do here for as long as we can. So, take it easy and one question at a time… I just realized we've not caught each other's names yet, have we? I know that Exo's name is Shadow, but you?..."
"Rachel… Rachel Amber."
"Hawthorne. Pleased to meet you, Rachel. When you feel ready, there's some clothes there for you. If you need help, just let me know."
Hawthorne left the tent, and Rachel to her thoughts. With difficulty, Rachel grabbed the clothes that were provided for her. As she dressed, she saw a mirror, and looked at her image. She was malnourished, bruised, beaten, and there was an ugly scar right through her abdomen, still held together with stitches. Her memory flashed as she remembered landing on a broken shard of railing, piercing her body.
"Fuck."
Rachel finished getting dressed and stepped outside of the tent into the blinding light. The farm was rustic but it felt safe. As safe as it could be. In the distance, she saw a familiar sight. A shard of the Traveler. Her memory flashed as she remembered a vision in her delirium. A static voice broke the silence.
"Rac..hel?"
Frank landed on Rachel's shoulder, clearly weakened from the fight. His shell was cracked in several places, and his eye flickered.
"Frank! You're okay!"
"Barely. I..I can't access my rewind function…I can't use it anymore."
Before Rachel could ask, Shadow made his way over gently hugging her.
"Good. You're awake. I got great news."
Shadow went to explain how he was going to the Shard of the Traveler to see what his vision meant. When Rachel told him she had the same, he knew she had to go with him, but agreed to wait a few more days until she was fit to travel.
As the two traveled the Farm, helping out where they could, Rachel turned to Shadow.
"They think you're my boyfriend."
"Yeah…about that…I…might have been carrying you bridal style. I…we…we almost lost you,, Rachel…I've never lost a Guardian under my watch."
Much as she tried not to let her own thoughts distract her, an emotion she could not describe began tugging at Rachel as she listened to Shadow. She was almost at a loss of how to respond, a huge part of her did not want to see the Exo down towards this train of thought, a part of her that began to care bit by bit. There was enough to be sorrowful about as it is. She began to feel the contours of those vague flashbacks to her past again, but she knew trying to wade her thoughts through them now was hardly going to be productive.
"I'm still standing, see?" She tried playing up her features, but even so, her physical condition proved that she was in no way shape or form ready to travel. "That was not a good thing to say, but… for whatever reason, I am still here. I'll try my best to stay alive and make sure you don't lose anyone."
It was enough reassurance at least, enough to at least have Shadow smile and believe her at her word.
"Good… And I'm going to make sure that I'm not losing you now either, even if we don't have the Light."
Soon enough, the discussion would turn towards how to get to the Shard of the Traveler. If there was going to be any answers and any real way to turn the tide on the war the Guardians now found themselves upon… that vision was the only real lead they had.
Rachel looked out at the shard, her mind playing back the events. But she pushed it down.
"You're not going alone. You know that, right?"
"Rachel! You're a Greenhorn! I can't knowingly take you with me…I…it would be a violation of my oath to protect humanity."
"I did just fine on that stupid flagship. I can handle myself."
Shadow facepalmed, sighing.
"You're not gonna let this go. Are you?"
"Nope." Rachel smirked at him.
Shadow let out a sigh before stroking his chin. He turned to her.
"Fine. But you listen to everything I say. I tell you to shoot, you shoot. I tell you to hide, you hide. I tell you to run…"
"I run. I got it."
Shadow sighed with relief.
"Good. Come on. Might as well introduce you to everyone else around here."
Three Days Later
Rachel stood in her armor, overlooking the landscape as they stood in a borrowed jumpship, the Night Fury taking a serious beating during the battle. Shadow flew with ease, but complained about his ship the entire way. Thankfully it was at the Farm being repaired but it would take time.
"Gods, I hope the paint job survives. I paid a fortune in Glimmer for that."
"Would you relax? God, sometimes I think you love that ship in the wrong way."
Shadow stared at Rachel with contempt.
"I don't…ugh…forget it."
The jumpship hovered to a stop as both Guardians transmatted out of the ship and down onto the forgotten streets of the EDZ.
"Nyte, what do you think our chances are?" Rachel asked.
"0.00005 of a percent."
Shadow groaned.
"Never tell me the odds…"
Hawthorne chimed in over the comms.
"Hey, you two. Focus up. Are you sure this is wise? That shard is the reason this place is called the Dead Zone."
Frank sighed.
"We have to Hawthorne. It's a sign."
"Yeah a sign that says Dead Zone."
The comms would crackle into a silence, the sign that it was time for Shadow and Rachel to start making their way towards the shard. With their Ghosts secure and weapons in tow, the two Guardians would begin running through the ruined streets of the EDZ. As they began to quickly trawl through the forlorn rubble, their comms would come back to life again, Hawthorne's voice filling their ears as they began to explore.
"You know, I've been all over the EDZ. Charming enough. I mean, nothing says 'come visit' than a dark haunted forest."
As much of a struggle as it was, Frank couldn't help the impulse to reply.
"But non-Guardians aren't supposed to leave the City."
"So here's the thing about City rules. They stop applying once you leave the City. Nobody goes farther than that, at least nobody who wants to come back."
Rachel couldn't help the snort that came through, one that was directed towards Frank's way.
"Well damn, that was almost a slight at her."
"Rachel, it was… agh! You two should keep going."
As they waded in deeper towards the direction of where the Shard should be, Shadow's warning from a couple of days ago seemed to take on a greater resonance. As much as Rachel trusted she could handle herself and ensure that Shadow would not lose anyone, it didn't make the sight of twisted trees any easier as they went deeper into this clearly quarantined zone. The sunrise would slowly fade into an eerie darkness as ruins drenched in sunlight would become ghastly branches that led into a darker tunnel. At a certain point, it was necessary for Nyte and Frank to become sources of light to lead their two Guardians through. Hawthorne's voice would raise through the comms, but the signal was clearly not as strong.
"Let me know when you reach the-"
Whatever it was, there was a clear interference in the signal that caused Hawthorne's message to be a jumbled, incoherent mess.
"Hawthorne? Hawthorne, can you hear us?" This time it was Nyte that replied, trying to get ahold of the lightless that was helping them through.
"Shit…" Rachel muttered under her breath, looking worriedly over Shadow's direction.
They hoped that they wouldn't actually have to run. A chittering was heard.
"Fallen!" shouted Shadow.
He opened fire on several cloaked Fallen, taking them out.
"Back to back!"
Rachel and Shadow put their backs together, covering each other as they took out the Fallen.
"That was close."
Rachel panted, nodding at Shadow.
"How much further?"
Nyte scanned the area.
"Not long now. Up that way."
Shadow and Rachel climbed up through the cave, coming out onto a platform which was once part of a building.
"The Shard of the Traveler," Nyte whispered. "This is it. Just like our visions…"
Shadow nodded and helped Rachel down the path, knowing her ribs were still sore.
"I got you."
Rachel fell into his arms, her face warming under her helmet as he held her. She felt…comfort..warmth in his arms.
"You okay?"
Rachel nodded as she stood, brushing off her robes.
"Let's..let's keep going."
As they continued to walk, Frank hovered next to her.
"It..won't work…"
Rachel stopped.
"What do you mean, Frank?"
Frank bobbed.
"I'm connected to you, Rachel….I can sense your feelings. You like Shadow..more than a partner…more than a friend.."
Rachel shrugged him off.
"Frank…he's my partner…or teacher…I don't know…but I don't like him like that."
"Exo's…are rebuildable…humans are not…despite your immortality…you do still age, Rachel…"
Rachel pushed her Ghost away.
"Frank, I don't like him like that. End of discussion."
Frank said nothing more and transmatted back into her backpack. At last they arrived at the Shard. The power of the Light hummed brightly around them and Rachel gently touched the Traveler's shard. She could feel the raw power underneath her fingertips. The feeling itself was overwhelming, being this close to the shard.
"Rachel… do you feel it?... I haven't been this close to the Traveler's Light since… Do you feel it?... Do the both of you feel it?..."
She gazed at Frank floating so close to the shard, the Light attracting the Ghost who yearned to feel that power and presence once more. As soon as Frank made his approach, so too did Nyte herself. Before Rachel could even so much as retort, both her and Shadow could see a spark of Light begin to encase the two Ghosts. Before long, their shells would expand to reveal the cores that lay within and the Ghosts could feel a surge of power course through their small bodies. Before long, the shard would then project a prism of multicolor light that would pass through the Ghosts and then their respective Guardians.
This was nothing like what Rachel has ever felt before in her thus far short life as a Guardian.
She couldn't even keep ahold of where Shadow even was when she felt her body being lifted from the ground. Her ribs began to ache so sharply, yet she could begin to sense again the Traveler's power course through her veins. The fire that was extinguished from Ghaul's actions was now beginning to be alight again. Her body was aglow with a protective aura of blue light and before long, she could feel and sense the moment that her Light was with her again.
Nyte whirled around, her voice alight with joy.
"The Light is back! We're back!"
She turned to her Guardian as did Frank with Rachel.
"Eyes up, Guardians."
A chittering was heard as a swarm of Fallen surged around the Shard. Rachel went to use Daybreak, but instead of Solar light coursing through her veins, Void Light shot out of her hands, exploding with a loud sonic boom. Shadow was shocked.
"Okay…you're a Voidwalker now."
Shadow went to summon his bow and arrow, but sparks danced across his arm as a staff of Arc Light formed in his hands.
"Whoa. That's new."
Twirling the staff in his hand, pressed the attack, vaporizing several Fallen with electric grace, as Rachel threw Nova Bomb after Nova Bomb, the power of the Traveler's Light supercharging their bodies as they fought. Eventually the Fallen called for a retreat, and the sparks of Arc and the suction of Void retreated. For the first time since the Red War began, both Guardians felt like they could take back the City, and save Humanity.
Rachel and Shadow's helmet vanished with a flash as they looked at one another.
"You okay?" they asked at the same time. The two stumbled through their words before Rachel rubbed the back of her head.
"Hey…I…I never really got the chance to thank you…"
Shadow looked puzzled.
"For what?"
"For saving my ass in that junkyard."
"Eehhmmm.."
Frank stared at Rachel.
"And thank you to you too, Frank. For bringing me back."
Rachel felt that her purpose was soon to be filled and she looked at Shadow with a grim look.
"I don't know what the future holds, Shadow. But I'm honored to serve alongside you."
She held out her hand and Shadow took it, nodding.
"As am I. Come on. Let's get back to the Farm."
