Chapter 7
Glancing over to the viewscreen, I am treated to the sight of a massive covenant ship hovering in close orbit over a lush green planet below. The bulbous purple ship glowing menacingly over a large city as it begins to charge up its primary energy projector as smaller ships slowly depart from the metropolis below.
Tuning to a console next to me which has a sangheili officer typing into it, I gently push the larger being aside and furiously type into the holographic display.
"Quickly Governor, there isn't much time!"
An angry, aged voice comes back from the console. "Surely you are overreacting, the evacuation is going as fast as can be expected."
Suddenly, a bright blue line of fire erupts below the ship, quickly crashing into the largest building of the city below. Smoke and fire quickly erupt from the ground as the cleansing beam begins to move back and forth, as if painting the ground in death and destruction.
The transmission from the communications console in front of me is filled with cries of horror, and a few screams from doomed people before fading into static.
Anger fills me, as I slam my hand against the console. I close my eyes as the sad wails and exclamations of my friends around me cause a tear of my own to fall from my eyes.
I did everything I could, and I still couldn't save them.
Opening my eyes, a new rage fills me as I turn to my friends around me, all of them looking at me with determination clear in their eyes. An unspoken pact was made in that small exchange as I turned back to the viewscreen.
Almost everything.
Turning back to the screen, my mind made up, I took in a deep breath before walking up slowly to the main console. I realize the moment I do this one last thing, my only option left, my world will be changed forever.
And yet I couldn't find it within myself to care.
(\(*v*)/)
Jerking awake, the first thing I noticed was the smell of scented flowers and foliage, with the sound of softly falling water nearby.
Sluggishly, I blink my eyes to the blurry sight of blue lights overhead and something green swaying back and forth in an unseen breeze. The memory of my dream faded rapidly as I tried to focus on it, only to remember bits and pieces.
Glancing around, I found I was curled up on a thick blanket in the middle of some kind of garden. Rubbing at my eyes as I try to rid myself of the fog of sleep, I try to remember why I was here.
Where am I?
Once the drowsiness of my eyes cleared, I quickly recognized where I was. I could see the familiar archways of the hanging gardens I frequently visited over the last few months close by.
Hearing the familiar sound of a plasma tool cutting into metal, I turn my head to see Timore working away on one of his projects.
Timore and I have grown close over the last two months. While exploring the city, I have visited my friend on more then one occasion to talk about one topic or another. It was rather nice to be able to talk to someone who wasn't my mother for one too, and we ended up becoming good friends.
Smiling at the familiar sight, I relax as I find no threats nearby. The soft sound of the waterfall nearby caused my eyes to droop a bit as my body called for slumber once more.
Suddenly, the memories from yesterday flood in and I remember exactly why I am here. Groaning, I begin to remove myself from the small nest of blankets and get to my feet.
Even though the padding the blanket provided on the ground was quite soft, the metal armor I was wearing wasn't the most comfortable outfit to sleep in. Pieces of my armor jutted and poked painfully into different points on my body, causing me to begin to massage the affected areas in irritation.
The jiralhanae doesn't seem to notice my movement as he continues to work on the small device his attention was focused on.
With yesterday spent running and scanning for threats, I was still tired. My legs ached and my thoughts were still a bit sluggish, though thankfully the blur of adrenaline induced fight or flight reflexes was thankfully gone.
Taking a bit of time to reorganize my thoughts, I try to use my somewhat rested mind and peaceful surroundings to try and puzzle together exactly what happened yesterday. Sadly, most of the previous day seemed fuzzy to my mind. The moment the Oracle looked at me, adrenaline filled my veins and all I could do was react.
Now that I thought about it though, one question definitely stood out from all the rest.
Why would a forerunner AI focus on me out of hundreds of thousands? Even among other Kig Yar which there had to be thousands there, I am certainly not too different… So why would it look at me? Why would it talk to me? What makes me so different?
With that thought, a small realization entered my head. A small feeling of dread that caused my blood to freeze and my heart to stop.
There was only one thing that set me apart from the rest of the Covenant as far as I knew. One singular reason as to why a forerunner AI would pick me out of a crowd if it somehow knew.
I used to be human.
My former memories at this point are vague recollections of moments from before I hatched in this dangerous new world, but one thing I did remember was that the forerunners chose humanity as their successors.
The idea made me feel a bit odd. My human past was an odd point for me to even think about at this point considering I have spent seventeen years as a T'vaoan now. While I could remember a few bits and pieces at this point, most of which were related to the games that I now see as reality, I couldn't help but see myself as who I am now and not who I was before.
I can't even remember my old name… Why should I even consider that to be who I am when I don't even know anything about… them.
Them. The word filled me with a realization that who I was before I hatched was definitely not who I am now.
Glancing down to my hands, I see the familiar three fingered talons I have come to recognize as my hands. They were definitely vastly different to what I can remember, but they seemed far more familiar to me now.
Do I even consider myself to be human anymore? Does it matter? Who am I really?
Beginning to panic, I realize that I don't know the answer. All this time I thought that I knew who I was, but now I'm beginning to doubt truths I thought I knew since I hatched. If the Oracle can recognize my past as a human, does that even make me a T'vaoan? Is my Syma even really my mother?
The memories I have seem so distant now that it almost seems like someone else's memories and not my own. Faded bits of a life lived among a society not nearly as advanced as the one I have found myself a part of.
The time spent in a universe so far away from this one seems like time wasted to me now as I stand here in the Hanging Gardens of the Covenant's Holy City. Looking over the city, I can spot a corvette hovering over the golden city lazily. The massive ship needs no support as it conducts its business.
The biggest aircraft I could remember from before was a jumbo jet, that those definitely were not capable of faster than light travel. This universe seemed much more clear to me then anything from before I hatched.
Are these memories who I was and I have just lost my way during my time here, or are they the fragments of who I once was but can never be again?
The thoughts shook me to my core. For some reason, the idea of letting go of them and forgetting they exist left me feeling like I would be leaving behind a comfort I didn't even know was there.
The Oracle definitely noticed something about me that was different, which can only mean that I used to be human and it isn't some crazy hallucination. Nothing else made any sense, but I am no longer the person I used to be even if I wanted to go back.
No, now I am Sohm 'Bir, daughter of Syma 'Bir and Moruun. The memories of the past don't matter nearly as much to me compared to who I care about now. They are a part of me, but not who I am.
My talons clenched into fists as determination filled me. Who I am and what I care for now means so much more to me now that any fuzzy memories of a past life I may have lived. I will not let the past define who I am, and look forward to the future in front of me.
"Sohm, you alright?"
Snapping out of my thoughts, I looked over to see Timore glancing over his shoulder and away from his work. He appeared to be worried, as he set the device he was working with aside for the moment to focus his attention fully on me.
I attempted to give him the most reassuring smile I could as I responded. "I'm fine Timore, thanks."
The jiralhanae smiles as he swings his massive bulk around to continue to tinker with his technology.
"Good. You were tossing and turning so much in your sleep, I thought you might fall off the edge there."
My eyes widened, as I took a quick glance over to the near mile long drop. I can feel my feathers press themselves against my skin as the thought of falling that far makes my blood freeze.
Chuckling nervously, I stride over to the massive being, careful to stay away from the edges of the gardens. I peer around him to see a small device he is working very intently on. As far as I can tell, it isn't a piece of technology that I recognize. From what I can see, it looks to just be an incomplete black handle with a small activation rune over a pressure trigger on it. There is a small mesh sphere of intricate woven metal covering half of it that Timore is working very closely on. My perceptive eyes easily see a large hole in the bottom of the tube, along with the small runes and engravings etched into it with various meanings, though without turning it around and reading it closely I couldn't discern what the text could mean,
Even after a few moments, I couldn't figure out what the device was, but I could very easily tell that the sheer amount of work and detail that Timore put into it easily made it a work of art. The engravings and the wave like pattern of the metal looks absolutely stunning, and the amount of effort the brute had to have put into it baffled me.
"Going above and beyond this time for that one aren't you Timore? Are you working on commissions now? That is definitely not any kind of military technology I recognize."
Not even bothering to look up, the tool in his hand raining a small storm of sparks onto the ground below us as he worked. "Something like that." Silence fills the area for a few moments before he continues. "Why were you at the Sacred Promissory last night Sohm?"
Smiling, I poke him playfully which doesn't even cause him to budge. "What? I can't come visit my new best friend without there being a reason?"
Timore blankly looked over to me and arched an eye ridge. "You were about to fall asleep between two crates. Not to mention you didn't seem to know where you were and seemed surprised to see me which leads me to believe you were not there by choice… So I will ask again my friend, why were you there?"
My smile disappears as I get assaulted by hard logic. Lowering my head, I begin to try and explain.
"Something… scared me yesterday and I panicked and ran." Jostling a small patch of lush green grass below my feet, I continue. "I ended up getting lost, and I was trying to find some place to rest for the night when you found me."
Timore appeared to be going over my answer in his head for a few moments before nodding. "Do try and be more careful in the future Sohm. High Charity isn't the safest city to be out at night in… Though I suppose you know that already. I wouldn't want my only friend to be killed because they got scared a bit in the city."
Surprised, I tilt my head. "I'm your only friend?"
The jiralhanae grunts out a deep melancholic chuckle. "Not many people want to stay near me Sohm, let alone try and get to know me. Somehow, they find me more than a bit threatening."
"Well then that's a shame." I say with certainty. "You make a wonderful friend, and anyone who says otherwise is stupid."
Timore was good company, and anyone who judged him only because of his size or his race was surely missing out.
The jiralhanae gives me one of the brightest smiles I have ever seen from him before he turns back to his work, seemingly more focused than before.
Sighing, I turn and step towards one of the archways over the creek. Laying down, I prop my back against the base of the structure, relaxing into a recline as I look towards the bright city in the distance. I idly note that Timore is less than two feet away from me as the smell of hot metal reaches me.
My wandering gaze inevitably turns to the dreadnaught looming in the distance, causing a shiver to run through my body. The Oracle was not something I am willing to face again anytime soon… if ever. I will try my best to avoid the center of the city from now on, and the dreadnaught was definitely off limits.
Something must have shown on my face, as Timore piped up from his work.
"You seem more distracted than normal Sohm. Is something wrong?"
The concern coming from the jiralhanae was evident in his tone, though he didn't turn away from the device he was working on.
"I don't know… trying to clear my head I guess." Sighing deeply, I decide to just let my mouth go without any checks.
The brute seems content to continue his work, only giving me a soft grunt as a way to let me know he was listening.
"Ever since I arrived here I have felt… confined. As if I should be out there doing something…" I gesture toward the sky, only to slump back down to my reclined position when I realize that it is just the domed roof. Shaking my head, I look back toward the bright dreadnaught. "I don't know… My parents have both said that I was destined for something great, but from what I can tell I am just a hatchling that doesn't know what to do…"
Shutting his sparking tool off, the brute lifts his current project up and inspects it delicately in the light. Apparently finding some kind of flaw with it, he sets it back down and continues.
"Well, what do you want to do?"
Thinking for only a moment, I open my mouth only to shut it again. Any answer I come up with I seem to shoot down before it can even be verbalized.
"... I don't know."
Timore's shoulders begin to shake as the deep rumbling of his laugh fills the area. "Well there's your problem! Without a destination, there is no journey, is there?"
Thinking over his words for a moment, I realize he is right. "But how do I figure out what I want to do? The galaxy is just so… vast."
"And you are so small." Turning to send my massive friend a hateful glare, I see he has now turned and given me his full attention. "I do not mean in comparison to myself, my friend. The galaxy around us makes everything look small… even me."
Laughing, I smile widely at the jiralhanae. "Thanks Timore, but how does knowing that I am small help me figure out what I should do?"
His face morphs into a sad melancholic smile, reaching over and gripping my shoulder comfortingly. I idly note that his hand almost covers half of my entire torso.
"I have known you for a little while now, and during that time I have come to enjoy your company. You are a good and kind person, something that is rare among your species for certain. Yet, just like the rest of us you are struggling to find your way through this life, looking for a path forward…" The brute reaches back toward the device he was working on, before picking it up and slowly getting to his feet and walking to a small pile of scattered equipment.
Confused as to what my friend was doing, I stood up from my spot slouched against the archway and made my way over to him.
"... But unlike those around you, you are a fighter at heart, Sohm. When your family was threatened, did you hide? When you were unarmed and surrounded, did you panic? No."
Feeling a bit of self deprecation fill me, I mutter softly under my breath. "I did yesterday."
His response was quick. "We all get scared in this life Sohm. Do you think I didn't panic when my clan left me in this city for dead?" He let out a loud bellow of laughter, the air vibrating from the noise. "I was a wreck! Stealing anything I could get my hands on, and threatening unggoy for their rations to stave off my starvation for another day. I found my way through my troubles though, and so shall you."
Somehow, the idea of the gentle giant in front of me shaking down grunts for food just didn't fit into my mind.
The brute didn't seem finished however, as his crimson red eyes burned with an intensity I have not seen from him before. "What matters is what you learn from your fear, and if you can manage to conquer it. Learn from it, and find who you are in the process."
The brute stands up, towering over me as he walks over to a scattered pile of equipment nearby. He pulls out a strange curved metal cylinder and inserts it into the hole on the bottom of the device before carefully examining it. With both pieces together, the handle looks complete and the top begins to glow a slight orange.
Turning back to me, he holds it out, gesturing for me to grab it. Hesitantly, I grab the small device and examine it for a moment. Looking back towards Timore, I tilt my head in confusion.
Giving me the biggest smile I have ever seen from the massive jiralhanae, he stepped back and gestured to the handle. "You are a warrior, Sohm 'Bir. Someone who fights for what they want to protect. I can see it in your eyes the same way your parents do, and I am deeply honored to know you, my friend. I know many others in the future will be as well. Take this gift, and use it to find your own way in this wide galaxy of ours."
Glancing down, a few things quickly click into place. This isn't a tube, or a handle.
It's a sword.
Carefully I press down on the activation rune, causing a loud hiss to fill the garden. Superheated gas violently spilled out of the hilt and formed into a short curved blade. The light orange that made up the sharp edge of the blade was a shock to me, but even more surprising was the secondary light green that made up the flat side opposite of the edge. Looking down to the runes, I can easily see through the metal basket to the hilt where several intricate runes spelled out a single word.
Destiny.
"Well? What are you waiting for? Test it out!" He practically exclaims as he backs away and gestures to a low hanging plant dangling from the scaffolding above the garden.
Timidly walking toward the plant, I square my stance and lift the weapon. I expected some kind of resistance, but found there was none whatsoever. Swinging downward, I make sure not to completely follow through with the slice, careful not to slice into the ground.
The plant lets out a loud hiss as steam erupts from the cut. The detached foliage falls to the ground with a rustle as the leaves pad its fall.
Looking at the steam billowing off of the dangling plant, I turn to Timore in confusion. "Why? Why did you go through all this effort for someone you met only a few cycles ago?" Glancing back down to the carefully constructed sword. "I don't know if I deserve this…"
Timore examines his handiwork from a few feet away, smiling happily at the brightly glowing weapon and smoldering plant. "After you lost your carbine, I realized you were a lot less protected out there walking around with only a plasma pistol, so I've spent the last cycle or so finding parts for it. It is surprisingly hard to adjust the way that the electromagnets shape the blade of the sword, but in the end I believe I did a well enough job. Yesterday only made the need more apparent, not to mention if it keeps you a bit safer in this wife galaxy of ours, it was time well spent."
Unable to even think of a response, I ended up standing there for a few moments, completely floundering at my friend's show of generosity. After a few moments of switching my gaze between the glowing energy sword in my hand and the excited face of my friend, something in me snapped.
Quickly switching the blade off, I rushed over to give him the biggest hug I could. Sadly, my arms didn't even come close to fully reaching around him. Chuckling deeply, he returns the embrace, carefully making sure not to crush me in the process.
After a moment, I break away from the hug and meet the jiralhanae's red eyes. "I didn't know you cared so much about me…"
My massive friend reaches up and scratches the back of his head, bashfulness showing through. "To be honest? You are my only friend, and I wanted to show how grateful I am that you even take the time to visit me."
Smiling brightly at the jiralhanae's words, I clip the sword to my armor, idly noting that it fits perfectly on my right hip. "Thank you Timore, this means much more to me then you know. Though… Now I'm going to need to find someone to train me on how to use it. Mother only taught me marksmanship and self defense."
Timore's eyes grow wide at the revelation. "But I thought you took down five Kig-yar with a pole?" He asks, baffled at my admission.
My face flushed purple in embarrassment as I ran my hand through my feathers. "I'm pretty sure beating up some thugs with a pole, and becoming a master swordsman are two very different things Timore."
Looking embarrassed, he hangs his head in shame.
Trying to cheer my large friend up, I pay his arm comfortingly. "Don't worry, this just means I need to get you a gift too! Just you wait, it's going to be the best gift ever!"
Seeing a smile return to his face, he places one of his massive hands over mine. "I look forward to it."
(\(*v*)/)
Destiny, huh?
Walking down the street of the Kig yar district back toward my apartment, I keep my hand protectively on my new weapon.
Several people in the crowds around me were eyeing me a bit suspiciously today, though I didn't know why. Thankfully I was better equipped to deal with any threats now then when I was when I left this morning.
Making my way to the blue skyscraper, I type the entry code and open the door and step inside.
I am a warrior… isn't that what he said?
My mind was still abuzz with what had just happened. All throughout my life, I have been training for combat, preparing myself for a large scale conflict in the distant unknown future. The war with humanity always seemed so far away, some massive unachievable goal to prepare for… but now?
Reaching one of the unoccupied gravity lifts, I key in the command button to have it spit me out on the correct floor and step inside.
I need to take it one step at a time. Live my life as best I can, and roll with the punches as they come. I am only one person, and trying to prevent an event from happening that I don't even have the slightest information on is dumb.
Landing on the hard metal that makes up the floor of the apartment hallway, I casually walk down toward my home.
No matter what, I need to know how to navigate a warzone without panicking. Remembering how calm and collected my parents were when flying through a full scale invasion flashing through my head. If I couldn't stay calm in a situation like that, then I was done for when the bullets started flying… literally.
Stepping in front of the door to my apartment, my hand hovers over the command button to open the door. Pausing for a moment, I lower my hand and stare blankly at the blue metallic surface.
I need to join the Covenant.
There was just no other option for me. The Covenant was the only military available to me right now, and as much as I love her, my mother m couldn't give me the one thing I desperately needed at the moment.
Experience.
My mind firmly made up, I reach up and press the command button. The sound of the thick metal door sliding open fills the small apartment as I make my way inside.
Even with the light comforting weight of my new sword on my hip, I stroll into the apartment with a frown on my face. Timore's speech surrounding his gift forced me to face a fact about myself that I have been putting off this entire time.
I am a fighter, not a schemer… how could it have taken me this long to see it?
Spending all this time debating plans on what to do and how to prevent a coming disaster was taxing on me, and in the end it didn't do a thing to stop it. If I was going to create any meaningful change, I would need to do it directly.
Pressing the command button to close the door, I made my way into the main living area. Immediately, I can smell the savory scent of seasoned meats as I pass our small kitchen. Glancing over I can see my mother casually preparing a meal, causing a slight bit of fear to well up within me.
I have decided I am going to join the Covenant, and the only person I know to ask about such a thing is my mother.
Putting off the inevitable conversation for just a moment longer, I continue toward the seating area and plop down noisily.
"Hello sweetling, how was your day?"
Shifting my weight from side to side in order to get comfortable, I smile back at my mother. "Great! Timore gave me a gift today, and I absolutely love it."
"Well that's good! I hope you're being careful around that jiralhanae though, they tend to be a tad… aggressive."
Rolling my eyes, I cross my arms. "Timore's different."
"Yes I know sweetling, we have been over this before. I just worry about you, is all."
Feeling the warm familial love for my mother fill me, I take a moment to clear my thoughts. I am about to break the news and I have no idea how she will react.
Will she let me? Will I have to run away to do it? I know she doesn't like the idea of me joining, but I need to.
Looking back down to my new weapon once more, I see the intricate basket hilt firmly attached to my hip. Feeling a bit of uncertainty at my decision, I look back up to my mother, who is giving me a calm but loving smile. One I have seen a thousand times before, but for some reason this smile seemed different.
I remember having this feeling before, the dread and uncertainty that filled me when I faced the unknown. The situation was very different, but the cold pit in my stomach was the same as when I was only eight years old learning to shoot for the first time.
Feeling a gentle hand on my arm, I look up to see my mother, her gentle gold eyes looking down on me from above. "Don't worry my daughter, you have a warrior's spirit, I know you will do fine."
"How do you know? I have never used a weapon in my entire life…"
"I know for one simple reason, my young." She says, kneeling down into the grass and nuzzling me, "You are my daughter. I can easily see it in your eyes the same way I saw it in mine that you are destined for much more than this small nest sweetling, the same that I was all those cycles ago."
"I want to join the Covenant."
My mother looked over to me from the kitchen, her face quickly becoming unreadable. "What brings this on sweetling?"
I need to somehow save an entire race of people that you don't even know exist from near extinction, and in order to do that I need to learn how to navigate a warzone.
Gripping the hilt of my new weapon, I respond with instinct.
"It's my destiny."
My face contorts into a grimace the moment the words left my mouth.
That was so cheesy, did I really just say that?
Not seeing my internal dilemma, my mother set down the food she was preparing and walked over to the cushions that make up our seating area. Sitting down next to me, she catches my eyes and gives me a neutral expression.
"How do you know?" Her tone wasn't accusing or condescending, merely waiting for my answer.
Taking a deep breath, I steady my nerves before I begin to speak. "I have been training my entire life, preparing myself for… something." Glancing down to my hands, I ball them into fists before looking back up to my mother with steel in my eyes. "I don't know if joining the Covenant is what I am supposed to do, or if it is just a stepping stone to where I am going to go next… But I know that I need to find out. All I know is that sitting here in this apartment with you isn't what I was meant to do."
A long silence fills the room before my mother sighs again. Scooting closer, she wraps her arms around me and squeezes, throwing her muzzle over my shoulder. "I know sweetling, I know." After a moment, I could hear the sound of my mother sniffling over my shoulder.
Is she crying?
"Mom?" I ask, hesitation clear in my voice. The idea that my unshakable warrior mother was sobbing over my shoulder began to make my own eyes begin to water. "Are you okay?"
"M' fine." She squeezed me tighter for a moment before she let go, allowing me to see her misty eyes. "I knew this day would come sooner or later. After what happened on T'vao… I thought you might try and follow your father out on whatever adventure he decided to go on next… but you stayed with me." She laughed, but half way through, her sobs came back creating a bitter sound that made my heart ache. Reaching over, she caresses my face, giving me a sad but accepting smile as she does so. "I have always had this stupid thought in the back of my head that you will always be here with me… My little hatchling."
My heart tearing in half at this point, tears reach my eyes as I struggle to even speak. "I'm sorry mom, I… I love you so much mom, and can never repay what you have given me. I would hate to leave you with your injury here all alone." I gesture to the small apartment around us, my throat catching as I thought of how empty the place would be without me.
Reaching up to wipe her muzzle, she smiles brightly at me even as a tear streaks down her face. "I love you so much, my sweetling. You mean so much more to me than you can ever imagine, Sohm. Don't you worry about me, I've been through much worse than loneliness and come out the other side unscathed. You go out there and show the galaxy what you are made of."
Nodding, I embrace my mother again adding my own sobs into the mix. Out of all the reactions I expected from her, this wasn't one of them. The acceptance and pride in her voice was something that I will remember for the rest of my life.
In between my own sobs, I hug her tighter. "I'll make you proud mom, just you wait."
"You already have, sweetling. You already have."
After a moment of sitting there sniffling and trying to catch our bearings, I decide to break the obvious next question. "Umm, mom? How do I join the Covenant?"
—Authors Note—
Hey guys, another blooper scene at the end of the AN. Let me know if you like them, otherwise I'll stop doing them. They are stupid thoughts my mind has while writing and don't have any relevance to the story at all.
Anyway, sorry for the week delay, but it was a perfect storm of about 3 things that stopped me from writing, the most important of which is someone asked me to be a dungeon master again, and I have spent a lot of my time preparing for a DD campaign. (Woot)
The second was that this is actually the 3rd try of me writing this chapter. The first two just didn't seem right so I had to erase them and try from scratch each time. I think this one is alright, but I'm still iffy on it. Thankfully Sohm joins the Covenant next chapter and that will be… a thing that happens.
Also, it isn't a katana. Katanas are so overused it isn't funny, and I am of the uncommon opinion that pirates are cooler than samurai. It is a cutlass. I made my profile picture the sword that I based her sword off of, and the orange and green color scheme is the exact same as the Vorpal Blade energy sword from halo 5.
As always, leave a review and follow Favorite if ya like it.
Blooper Scene
I spent a whole day trying to come up with a good name for her sword, and the moment I did, I had this stupid scene pop into my head. Enjoy!
Sad and depressed, I made my way over to the hanging gardens with the destroyed remains of my sword, Destiny.
The blade has seen many battles at this point, and it was only a matter of time before it managed to outdo its usefulness.
Rounding the corner, I saw the hulking form of Timore still working away in his normal spot. Deciding to just get it over with, I shout out to him.
"Timore! I'm so sorry, but I broke the sword you gave me."
The brute doesn't look the least bit surprised, as he reaches over and plucks another hilt from beside him.
"Worry not my friend, for I have crafted a newer, better version!"
I notice a few things about this new sword, namely that it doesn't have the same basket hilt, and the intricate designs aren't there.
"I call it, Destiny 2."
With that, he lights the… blade?
The normally solid curved blade appears to be made out of Swiss cheese now, and was nearly half the size.
"Timore, what's wrong with it? It looks like it's missing most of the original!"
"Don't worry, all you need to do is download the expansion packs, and it will be as good as new! Heck, this one will be much different and better once you are done anyway."
Frustrated, I look down to my worn original sword. "But I spent so much time working with this one, I don't know if I want to try something new… especially if I have to start from scratch again."
"Well that's too bad! If you wish to stay friends with me, you too will use the new sword instead of staying with the fun old one!"
Looking down, I see my beloved weapon crumble into dust in front of my eyes, before the ground opens up, and swallows me whole. The last sound I hear being Timore's loud laughter.
Waking up in a hurry, I nearly scream as I throw myself out of the nest of blankets. Looking around frantically, I spot my sword on its display not even a few feet away perfectly unharmed.
Oh thank the gods. That was a nightmare.
"Sleep well?"
Slowly turning around, I spot the figure of a humanoid robot standing close to me, holding what appears to be a golden flaming gun aimed directly at my head.
"Stay loyal to Bungie, OR ELSE!"
"AAAAAHHHHHHHHH!"
Fin