Escape


All that surrounded Xala was darkness, an all-encompassing void that left her suffocating and refused to let up. She felt an endless torrent of cold assault her, chilling her to the bone as she lay in agony.

"Blasphemer!"

"Traitor!"

"You were never one of us!"

She didn't know where she was, it was like she was trapped in a nightmare. She tried to remember how she had gotten here, but it was all fuzzy; she remembered bits and pieces, such as something about the Traveler and the Guardians, as well as a confrontation with Tal'rooth, but beyond that, it was all distant and foggy.

"You dare to dabble in the Sky!"

"Tal'rooth please, you don't understand, I-"

"I understand perfectly, you have betrayed the Deep and our ways!"

"I'm ashamed to think I ever called you my friend!"

Everything hurt, not just physically, but emotionally too, she felt it coursing through her body and her heart. She had been betrayed by her peers - or rather she betrayed them? - All because she had a different view of the world. Her soul felt as if it had been torn in two, shattered and broken like a fallen vase.

"Any sort of 'friendship died the moment you decided to betray the Deep! It died when you chose to serve the Sky and forsake the Hive! 'Friendship' Xala, we were never friends!"

"Tal'rooth no!" Xala cried, shooting up in horror, tears forming in her eyes. Her chest heaved violently, her lungs feeling as if they were about to burst as the memories of recent events came flooding back into her mind. Tal'rooth had found her hideout, he found all her stuff and destroyed it... and then he tried to destroy her. All at once, the weight of the situation she now found herself in crashed down on her like the pressure of the ocean. She'd lost everything, her keepsakes for the light were gone, she was an outcast among her people... and worst of all, Tal'rooth wanted her dead. Xala found herself on the verge of crying again, unable to keep it in as overbearing pain assaulted her. Tal'rooth, her oldest friend, her brother, had turned against her, and now sought her head for her crimes against the Hive and the Deep.

What was she supposed to do? She had no place amongst the Hive anymore, her life here was over, and all because she wanted more from life than death and destruction. How could she go on, when her heart had been all but torn out and stomped on by Tal'rooth, how could she continue when the life she'd known was now gone? It felt hopeless, there was nothing left for her, not with Tal'rooth, not with the Hive, and it was all her fault.

As the tears flowed steadily from her eyes, she glanced forlornly around her. Through all her moping, she hadn't taken the time to investigate her surroundings. It was endless darkness in every direction, with no Hive crystals or natural light sources to illuminate the area she could barely see her hand in front of her face. Looking up, it was no question how she had wound up here, that explosion that destroyed the Guardians and their Ghosts must have knocked her off the balcony. Now she was here - where ever that was - stuck with potentially no way out.

Getting to her feet, she was suddenly struck down in agony when a feeling of pain erupted in her leg. Doubling backward, she fought to catch herself as her nerves cried out in fury. Taking several pained gasps, she tried to discern where the sensation was coming from when she remembered how a Guardian had hit her with a shotgun blast. She had been too focused on staying alive and avoiding her enemies to worry about the pain from her wound, but now that the adrenalin from that experience had worn off, it was all she could think about. Since she could barely see, she let her hand travel down her leg until she found the crack in her chitin, investigating the injury, she winced in pain when she felt several pieces of shrapnel sticking out from where she was hit.

Without light, she wouldn't be able to see the wound to properly get the shrapnel out, so she'd have to find a more ideal location to tend to her leg. Moving forward, she gingerly inched along at a snail's pace making sure not to put too much weight on her bad leg or further aggravate her injury. As she found her way through the darkness, she took care not to stumble or trip over anything in her path that she couldn't see.

As Xala marched onwards, doing her best not to think about the pain, she started to notice something strange, she couldn't tell what it was but she knew something was off. It wasn't her leg, that much she knew for certain, no this was something else. Something felt different, she couldn't place just what it was, but she knew for certain that something had changed.

She continued on through the darkness, stumbling blindly as she struggled to make out even the vaguest of shapes. She didn't know if this space had a way out or if it was all just a dead-end. What if she couldn't find a path out? What if she was stuck down here permanently, forced to waste away in the darkness until her forgotten corpse turned to bones? She shuddered to think of the possibilities, so she trudged onwards, doing her best not to let those thoughts get the best of her.

Soon, the darkness surrounding her began to let up just ever slightly. Feeling emboldened by the prospect of light, Xala put more speed into her pace. Leaving the dark tunnel behind her, she stepped into a long, massive corridor. Gazing in awe at the gargantuan space, it was clear she had found herself at the edge of the Arcology. Xala looked up at the large pane of glass that towered over her like a mountain, being the only thing separating her from the methane seas of Titan.

She looked down at her wound and was able to make out the pieces of shrapnel sticking out, if just barely. She wouldn't be able to go on like this forever, not while she was bleeding with fragments of metal jammed in her leg. She gazed up at the glass wall, and the faint traces of light filtering down through the ocean. It wasn't much to work with, but she doubted she had much of a choice, this had to be dealt with. Careful to not aggravate her injury, she delicately set herself down on the ground, turning her leg so that her thigh faced outward. Taking a deep breath, she reached for the first shard and took hold. She grit her teeth in pain, hissing sharply as she pulled the piece loose, green blood coating its surface as she tossed it to the side. After pulling that first one loose, she got to work on removing the rest.

Once all the shards were removed and laying scattered at her side, Xala gingerly brought her hand over the wound to inspect her work. She felt a huge swell of relief overcome her when she was able to run her claws over the wound and not find anything - everything that wasn't supposed to be there was gone. Standing back up, she experimentally tried walking around and putting weight on her bad leg and found it was feeling a lot better now that the shrapnel had been removed. While she would still have to find a way to get it bandaged up, at least for now it wasn't hurting as much as it had.

She followed the long glass wall, letting its soft light guide her. Just like in her apartment, it was quiet down here, with hardly any Hive presence. She could see the beauty of this place, practically untouched by her kin, and how humanity must have left it. What wondrous feats of engineering they must have been capable of, she fantasized, to have been able to hold back the entire ocean with just glass, it only served to feed her idolization of them.

As Xala walked along the path, she soon took notice of something large coming into the corner of her vision. Turning her head to investigate, her eyes went wide and she took a step backward, her body freezing up as she gazed in shock at what she was seeing. There, swimming just outside of the window was a large creature, bigger than anything she'd ever seen. It had a serpentine body and a light that had to be at least fifty feet, it glided through the methane gracefully, undisturbed by its surroundings. She couldn't help but stare slack-jawed at the sight in front of her with utter fascination, the massive creature passing completely oblivious to her. Once the animal had left her field of view, Xala let the wonder of the sight she had just witnessed linger with her as she continued to find a way out. After a bit of searching, she soon came upon a big doorway that seemed to lead back into the Arcology. With no better option, she entered and found a flight of stairs that led back up to the higher levels.

She ascended the steps as best she could, her injured leg being a hindrance for her as she hobbled onwards. As she climbed, she began to see more Hive growth dominating the area, making it clear she was heading back into the most occupied places. It also meant she would soon start encountering her brethren, who would now more than likely be seeking her head, as Tal'rooth had no doubt spread the word by now. How was she supposed to avoid all of her kin, if they wanted her dead, would she have to fight them in order to stay alive. Having to kill a creature of another race was one thing, but she had lived among the Hive her whole life, would she be able to bring herself to kill one of her own.

Ohh, how she wished she wished she didn't have to go through this, how she wished she didn't have to come to the prospect of taking the life of another Hive. Why were her people like this, what did they have against the Sky, all she wanted was for them to be able to see things like she did - to see the beauty and purity in the world and life around them. But they were too stuck in their ways, and now they were hunting her, just because she didn't like killing others. Xala knew that her people weren't always like this, they weren't always a war-mongering race, they used to live regular lives on their home planet of Fundament. While things hadn't been perfect on that gas giant - they had been plagued by Stormjoys and a killer god-wave - at least they weren't murderers of entire civilizations. But then things changed, and the three sisters that would soon become Oryx, Savathun, and Xivu Arath, dove down deep into their planet's core and met a great evil.

It was all their fault, that of their gods, yes, but mostly she meant what they brought back with them. It was all because of those vile worms that things were like this now, if it wasn't for the worms, none of this would've...

...Her worm!

She stopped dead in her tracks, completely dumbstruck by what had just occurred to her. That's what was different, she had felt it, didn't realize what it was until just now - she couldn't hear her worm. Before she could always hear her worm whispering in the back of her head, always, commanding her to kill something, but now she couldn't hear anything. She could still feel its presence in the back of her mind, but it wasn't saying anything, it was like it was dormant or something. What could do that, she wondered, and then her mind wandered back to the balcony and the events that transpired there. That blast of light that killed the Guardians, when it struck her, she remembered her worm crying out in agony. The light must have hurt it somehow, putting it into a comatose state and leaving it incapacitated.

She could hardly believe this turn of events, she felt a feeling of elation at the fact her worm had grown quiet and was in bliss at the realization that it wasn't commanding her to its whim every waking moment. This was a dream come true, now that her worm was out of the picture, she was free to live her life the way she wanted, she didn't have to follow the Deep and the Sword Logic anymore - she was free!

With this newfound enthusiasm, she quickened her pace, now that she was free, she had no intention of dying on this forsaken moon, she was going to find her way off this planet, no matter what. While she didn't know how yet, she wasn't going to give up when freedom from this life was just within her grasp.

Exiting out into a large open chamber, she soon realized she had traversed much further than she had realized. This place connected to a pathway that led outside of the Arcology. Old neon billboards flickered on and off, somehow still clinging to life even after hundreds of years. All kinds of plant life imported from Earth long ago continued to thrive, as well as birds and insects, whose presence indicated that they had managed to survive in such a hostile environment after all this time.

She was contemplating maybe heading outside when suddenly a shot from a Hive shredder missed her by just a few inches. Scrambling away in a panic, she turned toward where the shot came from to see several Hive on the other side of the room. They glared at her with hate, sending curses and death threats her way.

"It's the traitor!"

"Kill her!"

"Get her!"

"Kill the blasphemer!"

Scrambling to cover, she hid behind a collum as more shredder blasts came hurtling at her. Xala clung to her outcropping as the plasma rounds encroached upon her position, each one getting closer than the last as they chipped away at her defense. She had been in tough spots before, but never like this, she had never had to fight her own people. Her heart was beating wildly in her chest, every fiber of her being on edge as she sought a way out. If she didn't find a way to escape this situation soon, either her Piller would give out from the constant barrage, or her attackers would circle around to her position while she was pinned down and overrun her.

She carefully peeked out from behind her cover, most of the ways she could go would leave her exposed to the enemy, where she would be sure to get gunned down before she could make it. The only viable option would be a path through a crack in a large glass wall, which would lead outside the Arcology and away from the Hive. There was a large trench in the center of the room which she could use to remain out of their line of sight long enough to reach the exit.

In order to reach the trench, she would have to run straight at them while they shot at her, it was risky, but it was her only chance. She took several deep breaths, trying to psych herself up for what she was about to do. Xala stood there, her breath hitched in tense anticipation, the other Hive wouldn't be expecting her to do this, so hopefully, it would stun them long enough to give her a chance.

When she couldn't afford to wait any longer, she took the initiative and made her move. She dove out from behind her cover and sprinted in a random direction to draw their fire before catching them off guard when she ran right for them. Her change of tactics proved to be successful when they ceased firing for just a moment, and by the time they came to their senses and began to fire again, she had dived safely into the trench.

Getting to her feet, she picked herself up and started running. It wasn't long before the Hive were quick to converge on her position, they came up to the edge of the trench and shot at her from above. She dodged and weaved around the blasts as best she could, staying on target for the exit as she ran harder than ever. Climbing the ramp out of the trench, she found an obstacle in her path when a Hive knight stood blocking the way out. Instead of just giving up, Xala charged straight at the Knight, courage flooding through her. Once she got close enough, the Knight raised the massive cleaver it held and hefted it above its head as it prepared to strike. Just as it brought the sword down, Xala surprised the large brute as she deftly dove between its legs. By the time it whirled around to face her, she had already taken off, leaving the Hive in the dust as she made her escape.

She ran down the walkway as fast as she could, barely letting herself come to a full stop before she came upon any turns. She came out into a large vehicle bay area that the elements had ravaged. Jumping down from the platform she was on, she ran out into the open only to be met with a crushing revelation. The bridge that led away from here and to the rig beyond lay in ruins, broken apart out of reach, leaving her trapped.

She felt that tiny glimmer of hope in her heart begin to dwindle, feeling lost in what she was supposed to do now. Maybe she could go look for another way, maybe there was still a way to get across that she hadn't seen? Turning around, she was about to double back where she came when she heard the bloodthirsty roars of the Hive quickly converging on her position. They were going to be upon hr any moment now, leaving her trapped with nowhere to go. Turning towards the broken bridge, she judged the distance between her and the first portion of the structure. She knew she had to find a way out, and the only way to do that was to cross that gap. She wasn't too keen on the idea of jumping over a vast distance, but as the bellowing of the Hive grew closer, it became clear she didn't have a choice. Either she jumped, or her brethren would catch her, and if the fall didn't kill her, they certainly would.

Taking a deep breath, she did the best she could to steady her trembling heart at what she was about to do. She backed up as far as she could in order to get a running start, her chest tight as she took a ready stance. Focusing her eyes on the target in front of her, she began to move just as the Hive tore out of the tunnel behind her. They took shots at her, but Xala barely noticed, the blood pounding in her ears as she tuned out the world around her. She sprinted ever closer to the edge, never stopping as escape lay just before her. When the time finally came, she pushed off with her feet and jumped. The world seemed to slow down around her as she soared over the gap, the Hive briefly halted in their attack as they watched her leap to the other side.

All at once, her world came into focus again as she crashed onto the other side, her legs and waist dangling over the edge as she fought to pull herself up. Hefting her whole body on the platform, she felt a momentary daze, surprised she had made it. As soon as she climbed up, the Hive resumed their assault, spurring her to her feet. There was still one more jump, and wasting no time, she ran for the next gap and pushed off like before. She wasn't able to cover the full distance this time, but as she fell, she managed to grab onto an out sticking pipe and use it to climb her way up onto the solid ground.

As the Hive continued to fire on her from the other side, Xala made her way to a nearby passageway. Ducking inside, she sighed in relief once she was out of danger. Peeking her head back out, she could see as the Hive were giving up their pursuit of her, not willing to jump across as she had.

Now that she was out of trouble, the first thing that came to her attention was the throbbing sensation coming from her wound. It didn't like all the excitement it had just been put through, and now that things had calmed down it was all coming back in full force - she had to find a way to take care of her injury.

Limping forward, she made for the exit and found herself in an area that was drastically different from the Arcology. It was all exposed to the elements, a collection of rickety buildings that were constantly being assaulted by rain and crashing waves. Ahead of her, rested a large building where she could get cover from the storm. Putting an arm up to shield her face, she crossed the clearing as the winds blew ravenously against her chitin, chilling her to the bone.

Stepping inside, she took cover from the weather and shook herself off. Looking around, she found herself in what she assumed to be a maintenance area or something similar, with large air ducts all around her. Deciding that there was nothing of interest to her, she opted to move on. Passing through a doorway, she found herself traveling down a series of tunnels, left to rot and decay against the fury of Titan.

At the end of the tunnel, she came upon a gruesome sight. A dead Eliksni slumped up against the wall after having a hole blown through its skull. The smell alone was enough to make Xala want to throw up, it was such an unsettling scene it was hard to get her stomach to stop churning. She couldn't stand to look at this or risk the bile forming in her throat, she was about to turn her head and try to get this image out of her mind when something caught her eye.

Halting for just a second, she took note of the scarf wrapped around the Eliksni's neck. She still needed to find a way to tend to her injury, and the pirate's scarf would make a suitable option for a make-shift bandage. Approaching the alien, she found that the smell was even worse up close as she knelt down by it, covering her face with her arm as she started breathing through her mouth.

"Sorry," she apologized to the lifeless corpse as she wrested the cloth away from it, not feeling good about stealing from the dead. Once Xala had it, she stood up and backed away from the body. Inspecting the cloth in her grasp, she shook it out to remove any loose contaminants before moving in a position to apply it to her wound. Leaning against the wall for support, she grit her teeth as she wrapped the scarf around her injury, fighting off the pain as it rubbed against her exposed flesh. Tightening it as best as she could, she tied the ends together before standing up straight to test her handiwork. The bandage held firm, the purple cloth wrapped around her thigh helping to keep it together and soak up the blood.

Feeling satisfied with her work, she left the dead Eliksni and continued down the hall, soon coming to an open room filled with Hive growth. After pausing a second to make sure there was no Hive present to attack her, she moved on to a nearby doorway at the other end of the chamber through which filtered in daylight. She stepped through to find herself back in a storm, the winds whistling past her with rage. Squinting to keep the rain out of her eyes, she took a second to get the lay of the land, off to her side, she could see a landing pad that led into the area she had just been, with several cargo containers atop it. Across from her, she could also make out another rig, connected to hers by a bridge directly in front of her. The buildings on the other side appeared just like they did here, however one thing did stick out to her, she was able to make out what seemed to be another landing pad on the far side of the platform, with what she could swear was a ship parked there.

Xala felt hope overtake her, if there was a functioning ship over there then maybe she could use it to get off of Titan and go somewhere else. Feeling ecstatic, she took off without a second thought, sprinting out into the open as she kept her eyes glued on the bridge. Thankfully, this other one wasn't damaged like the one at the vehicle bay, it was more compact, with two circular rooms on each end, which helped put Xala at ease when she wasn't walking on narrow pathways.

Stepping off to the other side, she felt relieved once she was free of the bridge, and back on stable ground. Heading in the direction she had seen the landing pad in, she carefully crept along, keeping an eye out for any more Eliksni or Hive. Soon, she came in sight of the pad and felt overjoyed when she spotted the ship perched atop it, its engines purring softly as the sunlight shone on its pristine hull like Hive crystal. Looking around, she located a set of stairs that seemed to lead up to where the vessel was located. She set out for it instantly, eager to get off this rock and never come back. She was a little over halfway there when she saw something glint in the distance, quickly realizing what it was, she ducked down just in time to avoid having her head blown off by a sniper round.

Her chest heaved in a panic as her lungs struggled to get enough air, she had nearly died from an Eliksni sniper. Carefully peeking out, she returned her gaze to where the round had come from, atop a crate in a clearing just beyond where the stairs were located. She quickly lowered her head as another shot came flying at her, she was pinned down. She didn't have time for this, she had to get to the ship, looking around for an escape path, she noted how several containers were arranged closely together, maybe she could use them for cover and get closer to the stairs.

Her blood pounding in her ears, she carefully moved from one crate to the next, making sure to remain out of the line of sight of the sniper. The Eliksni continued to fire at her as she ran behind the cover, shooting at her whenever there was an opening. Alerted to her presence by the sniper, other Fallen in the area started to shoot at Xala as well, blasts now coming at her from all directions. Coming up to the last crate, she was forced to leave her cover behind and emerge into the open as she ran up the stairs.

Scrambling up the steps like a psychopath, Xala kept her head down as wire rifle and plasma bolts came hurtling toward her. She did her best to dodge and make herself a hard-to-hit target but they were relentless. At one point, a shot came that very nearly hit her, that she felt the searing white heat as it soared just millimeters from her face - she was so close, she couldn't get struck down now. Reaching the top of the stairs, she pulled herself up to her feet and sprinted towards the proverbial finish line, almost tripping over herself and losing balance as she ran for the open door.

Pulling herself in, she didn't hesitate to get clear of the opening as she carried herself up to another flight of stairs just within the entrance. Collapsing to the floor, she let her lungs fill with air as she allowed herself a moment of reprieve. After she'd gotten a chance to collect herself, she got to her feet and prepared to run once more as she expected the Fallen to come after her any second now... but they never did. She cocked her head in confusion, why weren't they following her, did they just decide to give up? Now, Xal wasn't complaining, she just didn't understand why they would give up the chase now, it left her utterly perplexed.

Deciding not to dwell on it, she continued on towards the ship, passing through what to her appeared used to be a recreational area for humans that once lived here.

This was all so stressful, the running and fighting for her life, she was more than ready for it to be over. She was about to pass through the next door when suddenly she ducked back in fear. Taking a couple of breaths to steady her trembling heart, she peeked her head through the doorway and came to discover why the Eliksni didn't follow her. Standing in the next room was another Guardian, occupying a makeshift command room as the ship was docked behind her.

Xala cursed her luck, of course, there would be a Guardian watching the ship, why wouldn't there be. What was she supposed to do now, she remembered how badly her last interaction with Guardians had gone, and she doubted this would go any better. She took note of the warrior's physique, they had the bulky armor indicative of Titans, and while the other ones she'd seen had been wearing helmets, this one wasn't, revealing her darker skin and hair. Xala groaned, how was she supposed to get past a Guardian? She saw the battle-ready stance they took and doubted that they would just let her pass, and taking into account how the last Guardian had reacted when she tried to use reason, she knew asking for a ride was out of the question.

She looked past the Travellers chosen towards where the ship sat on the landing pad, she could see that the cargo bay was open, allowing for two workers to load crates onto the vessel. As she watched them, an idea came to her, maybe she didn't have to ask for a lift, if she could sneak on without them knowing, then she could hitch a ride off this moon with them being none the wiser.

Turning back the way she came, she sought to find another way to approach the ship and found it in the form of a door that led out onto a railing hanging above the churning waves. Stepping out onto the walkway, she felt her legs trembling as she stared down at the long drop towards the ocean. Getting a grip of herself, she followed the path as it snaked around the outside of the command center, leading up to the ship as she had hoped. She clung to the wall, just out of sight of the workers as she waited for a chance to enter the ship when they weren't looking. Finally, the moment arrived when one of them climbed into the cockpit as the other retreated into the building to converse with the Guardian. Taking her opportunity, she quickly closed the distance between her and her ticket off this world and boarded the ramp while everyone was distracted.

Heading to the back of the cargo bay, she took cover behind a large cluster of containers and hid behind them to ensure she wouldn't be found. As she hunkered down in her hiding spot, she listened as the other worker came back towards the ship and walked up the ramp as she had. She pressed herself as close to her crates as possible, trying to control her breathing as she tried not to give her position away. The worker walked casually through the interior, seemingly taking stock of the inventory they were carrying. As he drew closer and closer to where she was, she found herself praying to the Hive gods that she wouldn't be found. The worker stepped up just before the crate she was hiding behind, standing there for several tense seconds, and just when Xala thought she was finished, he moved away and walked back down the ramp.

As he closed the hatch behind him, sealing Xala inside, she felt a huge swell of relief hit her once he was gone. As she heard the engines roar to life, she could hardly believe that she had made it. She felt as the ship lifted up from the landing pad and soared up through the cloud cover, her with it. She'd done it, she escaped Titan, she escaped her brethren, and she escaped death, she didn't know where this ship was going, but as long as it took her away from here - that was all that mattered.


So yeah, Xala's worm has basically been knocked out, from the beginning I knew I had to find a way to remove it, as her worm has been what's forcing her to follow the Sword Logic, and I had to get rid of it in order for Xala to experience the story I have planned. Now that she's free of her worm, she no longer has to listen to it and she can live her life the way she wants.

Something I wanted to do with this chapter was explore the after-effects of the previous, how she's now an outcast from the Hive and is no longer safe among them, as well as how she had to escape what used to be her home when literally everyone - both Hive, Eliksni, and the Guardians - are out to kill her. Xala now has no one to call a friend or ally, she's on her own now.

Also, very little dialogue in this chapter, I checked and only eleven words were spoken throughout the whole thing.

Well, anyway I hope you liked what I put out for you today. Please, follow, favorite, and review and I'll see you, Guardians, next time.