Hello everyone, this is Soul of Ragnarok, bringing you yet another chapter to Brightest in the Dark, last chapter I did not leave you all a little message beforehand, because I wanted to just get the chapter out, however, this time I just wanted to say thank you all for the support that this story has been receiving, because it has just been incredible. I never would have thought that there would be this much support for it. All your reviews have been an absolute joy to read. To The Doormaster, if there is a key to this ciphered review you left...can I have it, pretty please? Well anyways, here is Chapter 3!
As days past, Ghost could feel that leaving Ruby was going to prove to be a difficult endeavor. It would spend the days watching over her from above in the cover of its ability to disappear into thin air. At night, it would talk to Ruby, sharing stories of grand adventures with their own versions of a hero saving the day, as well as discussing the members of her family. In this time, Ghost learned about the different individuals that lived in her house, as well as examining what they were like itself. It learned that her sister was a hot head but a caretaker in her sister's time of need. Her father was equally as loving, taking care of her and anything she needed. As for her uncle, the one with the red cape, he was cold and distant, almost standoffish to everyone, except to Ruby, his entire attitude shifted and became a caring guardian to her. Ghost felt that she had enough family to get her through the loss of her mother, and that it's time there was limited. One day however, her uncle left, going off on some sort of mission. Soon after his departure, her father left for a similar reason. This left the sisters all alone in this big empty house. Ghost learned that this was not a usual family. Weeks went by, and her father and uncle returned occasionally, but only for short periods of time. Weeks became months. Ghost spent its time now analyzing the pages of every book in the house, learning about this planets history, the horrific wars, terrifying beasts, and the overall instability that these so-called kingdoms called peace. Compared to the Last City, there was little cooperation, as if no one cared for their people's survival. Ghost saw this planet was in shambles, and leaving a young girl like Ruby, so full of innocence and hope, to be chewed out by this world and left to rot was unacceptable. It wanted to protect this child. It knew that it was still its Titan's Ghost, but it felt as if it had an unconscious obligation to this girl. Months turned to years, Ghost continued to stay by her side as a protector, giving her advice and helping her through the hard times, not getting involved unless she absolutely needed it. In these years, Ruby began her training as a Huntress, a defender of humanity, a hero, a role almost parallel to the Guardians that Ghost fought side by side with for years. And the little Light couldn't be happier.
(10 years later...)
A young girl stood in front of a stone grave marker, one that overlooked a cliff face. Behind her was a forest of trees that traveled for miles. Autumn had come, and the leaves were carried by the wind off the cliff and into the valley below. The only thing aside from them the wind affect was a long cape attached to a hood that covered the girl's face. She pulled her hood back. The sun's reflection bounced off her bright silver eyes. She let out a soft sigh, but just as she did, a small flying robot appeared, glancing down at the grave alongside her.
"We come here every year and it never gets easier does it?" Ghost asked hovering next to Ruby's head, glancing over to see what she was going to say.
"It's the tenth time, a whole decade, and it still feels like yesterday." Ghost shell lowered slightly over its lense as its light dimmed.
"I know what you mean, hard to believe I haven't seen my Guardian in that long." Ruby glanced over at the artificial intelligence.
"Why did you stay, Thorne?"
"It's what he would've wanted. He would expect me to do whatever it took to help people. Guess that neural symbiosis really kicked in, huh?..." Ghost's lense intensified in brightness. "And what did I say about calling me "Thorne"?" Ruby snickered slightly as she knew it would bother them.
"You told me some Ghosts get names. And you know the old saying, "Every rose has its thorns"."
"Oh ha ha, clever word play. You know I can do that too..." Ruby continued to stare at Ghost in its lense, it's eye looked away, but he kept rapidly glancing back at her. "...well I can't do it with you looking at me like that!" Ruby snickered slightly as she pulled her hand up to her mouth to hold back out loud laughter. Ghost turned away from her. She gently patted it on the top of its shell.
"Come on, let's head back, it's getting late." Ruby turned away from her mother's grave and began to walk back down the path that they came from. Ghost took a moment longer, glancing down at marker with somber regards.
"Come on, Thorne!" Ruby shouted back as she made it to the treeline. Ghost rolled its lense while facing away from her, but chuckled slightly as it looked up to the sky.
"Look what I get myself into when you're not around." Ghost turned and disappeared from sight, only to reappear by the red cloaked girl's side.
They started down the path back to their house. On the way, Ghost kept glancing over to Ruby, like it had something it wanted to say.
"I know that this day isn't necessarily a pleasant one, but you know what else it means?"
"What's that?" She glanced over to him for a moment, not having a clue.
"It's also the ten-year anniversary of when we first met. So, as any other floating artificial intelligence would, I kinda got you something." Ruby stopped in her tracks and looked to Ghost with a puzzled expression, seeing that there was no way that it could be hiding some sort of present anywhere on its being. "You might wanna step back." Ruby did ask Ghost asked and backed away slightly. Ghost shell suddenly shot out from its center orb. The parts of the shell began to orbit it, like electrons around a nucleus. Between this, a small cloud of slight blue Light kept itself contained inside the orbit. Ghost strained itself, but soon particles of Light began shimmering and grouping together to form a shape. In one final push, the particles solidified into the shape of some form of vehicle, Ruby had little knowledge of what it was. But to Ghost, it was a Wayfarer Zero Class Sparrow, a Guardians main form of terrestrial transportation aside from their feet. It possessed a red and black paint job, the seat and wings being black while the hood was a red that matched Ruby's apparel, on it as well was a blackened version of her emblem. Ruby looked as though she was going to faint from all the excitement.
"This is amazing! When did you have the time to do this!" Ruby started to run her hand across the wing of the Sparrow, looking at her reflection in the paint. As she was mounting the bike, Ghost started its explanation.
"Well I already had the files in my database, it just took some Light and...POP! Brand new Sparrow with a new paint job."
Ruby looked to Ghost happy, but then shifted to a sympathetic gaze.
"It was your friend's, huh?"
"His first one. Got it just a few days after I found him. Needless to say, he wasn't very adept with it. Shaxx never saw him coming on that first test drive..." It's light dimmed in lense as it remembered, but upon realizing its effect on Ruby's mood as well, it perked back up. "...but I think you'll be a fast learner. Your much more coordinated then he was." She nodded as the excitement returned to her face as she gripped the handles. Ghost vanished from sight, but it's voice could still be heard in Ruby's head
"Okay so you're going to want to take this slow at first before y-!" Against its wishes Ruby slammed her foot on the gas. The thruster on the back of the bike erupted in flame as they were propelled down the path. Trees shot by in a blur as Ruby could not hold in the adrenaline she was experiencing.
"Woohoo hoo!" Ruby shouted out as she weaves in and through the path, coming within inches of trees with no fear.
"Ohh my God! Ok, ok! Ruby, please slow down! I'm gonna puke! I will puke! I'm puking! BLAH!" But she didn't, for over two miles she traversed the rough terrain of the forest. Ghost started to relax, but was still terrified, it has flown a spaceship before through Saturn's ring, but when I wasn't in control, it lost control. With their house on the horizon, Ruby and Ghost came to the consensus of hopping off the Sparrow while they were still hidden by the forest from the house's view. The Sparrow, similarly to how Ghost does, vanished from this world's reality. Ghost reappeared, flying low to the ground and hovered over towards a cluster of tall grass. The sound of vomiting originated from Ghost, Ruby stood waiting for it to finish. Once it re-emerged, Ruby looked at it with an eyebrow raised.
"You didn't just throw up, it's not possible." Ghost wobbled up back to eye level.
"Do you want to be the one to go and look?" Ruby looked as though she was going to walk over and look, but hesitated. "I thought so. Come on. Let's go."
"But what about the Spar-oh?" She turned to see that the bike had vanished.
"Don't worry. I can bring it back whenever you need it. As long as you don't drive like that, that is." Ghost looked at her like there was a deal in play. Ruby jerked her head back and let out a groan.
"Ugh! Fine you win!" Ruby stomped her feet as they passed through the treeline and into the yard on the left side of their house. Ghost disappeared and started to once again talk to Ruby in her head.
"Is anyone home? Can you tell." Ruby looked around for any signs of her family. To the best of her knowledge, it didn't seem like they were there.
"Why are you still so timid around them? You've been here this long and they don't even know you exist."
"I've told you this a thousand times. I've watched what they are like, a lot of them are shoot first, ask questions later. Also, your uncle also holds such a strong distaste for Atlas technology, and from what he knows, I'm a spy drone." Ruby nodded somewhat in agreement.
"Good point." Ruby walked around the side of the house to the back door. She walked through and took in a deep breath. She reached up and began to pull her cloak and hood off, she rolled it up and pulled the cloth under her arm as she walked through the kitchen and up to her room. She opened the door and scanned the room. Aside from a few things here and there, it was relatively the same as the days when her mother still slept in it. She closed the door behind her and sat herself down on her bed. Ghost reappeared as she started to unlace her boots. She pulled them and placed them alongside the bed frame. She walked over to towards her closet and began to change out of her current clothing. Ghost turned around as a sign of respect to her, also, it didn't want to make that kind of mistake again.
"Music?" It asked her without looking.
"Umm...I don't know. Your playlist or mine?"
"I'll just put it on shuffle." Ghost randomized what music would play, the song of choice landed upon the song "Here Comes the Sun", a song that its Guardian insisted would play on repeat the time that they were hiking across the desert plains of Mercury, needless to say he had a sense of humor.
"A classic, nice." Ruby said as she pulled her pajama shirt down. Over the years, as well as stories, Ruby and Ghost exposed each other to the music from the worlds they came from. Ruby especially took to the songs that Ghost possessed in his memory banks. "Okay, Thorne, you can turn."
"Err...what did I say, Ruby, please, don't call me...Thorne?" It turned around, ready to burst, but quickly fizzled out when he saw Ruby holding a small, gift wrapped box in her hands.
"Happy 10 years, Ghost." She walked over and sat the gift atop her mattress. Ghost hovered over and slowly circulated around it. Ruby pulled the bow off and lifted the lid off. Ghost peered in to see something that melted its heart, if it had one. It was a shell, a Ghost shell, one that had was highly customized. It was red, like Ruby's cloak and new Sparrow. It had on its corner rounded points. It had four long spikes, two high and two low that extended backwards. Along on of the top portions was her emblem imprinted on it, but with a twist as it had a miniature Ghost outline within the center of the rose. On the same side, along the bottom edge, was the name "Thorne" engraved into it. Ghost glared up to Ruby with a look of irritation, it's light in its lense flickering like an eye twitch. But looking back to the shell and noticed all the work she put in, it relented its pet peeve.
"I think, given time, I can learn to love the name. Like you said, every Rose has one." A genuine smile of joy grew on the girl's face. Ghost hovered above the box, but stopped in place. "Ahem."
"Oh, sorry!" Ruby covered her eyes. Ghost chuckled to itself as she did. It extended its shell out like before, but the pieces dropped out of its orbit and onto the mattress. The red shell slowly rose up. They shot apart and started revolving around its center. The parts of the shell closed in and locked together around its lense.
"Ok, how do I look?" Ruby, who was looking the whole time, moved her hands away from her eyes.
"Better than ever." Ghost, now properly named, felt better than it ever has. For the first time since its separation from its Guardian, it felt at home. But it still couldn't shake the thoughts that tortured its mind, the thoughts that it may have failed at the purpose it was created for.
"This is Guardian ship six-one-four on approach on approach to IO, Vanguard, what do you got?" A Dawnblade Wizard radioed into the Last City, want to receive confirmation on its objective.
"This is Commander Zavala. Six-one-four, your mission is search and rescue. One of my Sentinels was sent into hostile territory with little knowledge as to what he was getting into. He hasn't checked in in several days. We need you to find and retrieve this Guardian, no one left behind." Zavala, the Titan Vanguard, responded with great concern in his voice.
"Yeah, you know or whatever scraps you find just scoop 'em up in a baggie and drag 'em back here." The wise cracking Cayde-6, the Hunters' Vanguard, intruded.
"Cayde! Be lucky that I'm not sending you on this mission, after all you're the one responsible for this."
"Zavala, I know your mad, but I wouldn't have sent him in without thinking he could handle it. Besides, he's an Exo, it's not like if he's in pieces then we ca-"
"Cayde...please. Enough." Zavala cut off his fireteam member. Though Cayde was correct it still wasn't a pleasant thought. The Dawnblade's ship cut through the atmosphere and flew down near the surface, past the Pyramidion
And over the sea of rock and the gargantuan skeletons of long dead beasts. The Warlock finally came upon the entrance to the unmarked cavern, the one the Sentinel Titan plunged into. Her Ghost appeared by her side as they began to explore into the Vex stronghold. They traversed deeper and deeper, the Vanguard members listening in as she did.
"What are you seeing, Firefly?" Cayde asked, with a bit of a dig at her subclass' expense.
"Nothing." She said rounding a turn in the cavern.
"That sounded like a bad "Nothing"."
"Yes, a bad nothing..." She stood staring into a massive opening in a cavern. A large rock structure stood and in the distance an offline Vex Gate. That's not what worried her. Littering almost every inch of the cavern, lay the destroyed bodies of hundreds upon hundreds of Vex. Vex of all types and Vex of past, present, and future. Precursors and Descendants alike, all were among the carnage. "...a very bad nothing. The destroyed bodies of Vex from different timelines. I can't even begin to count how many there are. I've never seen anything like it."
"Let us see." As Zavala ordered, the Warlock's Ghost began broadcasting the feed back to the Vanguard. The Ghost flew high to allow them to get the full scale, and what they saw was just as dumbfounding to them as it was to the Dawnblade.
The Warlock knelt to examine the core of a Descendant Goblin. Its core, the part that held the Vex Radiolarian fluid, was completely drained, dry as a bone. The Warlock moved from Vex to Vex, discovering the same scene; the Vex milk was all gone, as if something had siphoned it out of them. The Warlock worked her way towards the Vex Gate. Among these drained Vex, she made yet another startling discovery. She found the cave in helmet of the Sentinel. Her Ghost flew over and broadcasted what it was seeing to the Vanguard. Solemn silence fell over the radio, mourning what they believed was evidence of the loss of one of their own.
"The mission is over, six-one-four, we'll see you back home."
"Understood, Vanguard, I'll be back soon, over and out." The Warlock turned and began heading back to the caverns entrance. "Come on, Hearth, we're done here." The Warlock glanced back to see her Ghost, but what see saw was not what she expected to see at all. Her Ghost was suspended in midair, just several feet away from the Vex Gate, which was now activated. Some sort of hand was clasped around her friend's shell. Her Ghost was making an odd whining noise as its lense darted back and forth in a panic. She watched as this hand tightened its grip, and a crack started to form across its center, it's Light shining through it. She watched horrified as the owner of the hand entered fully into the cavern. Exhaust valves on its right weapon arm cried out with the release of pressure. The figure looked down at the helpless Light construct, Radiolaria dripping down onto the shell from its mouth. It looked up to the Dawnblade.
"So sad..." The figure began to speak as it looked down upon the Guardian. "...you're bond with it is so strong, but when you need it most..." The Vex being, with minimal effort, crushed the Ghost's shell and core with its hand, like an aluminum can. "...your friend leaves you."
"NOOO!" The Warlock cried out, letting her normally calm demeanor to leave her. In a rage, she summoned her shining blade as wings of flame sprouted furiously from her back. She took to the sky as the Vex being tossed the crushed Ghost forward, directly under the Warlock. This enraged her further. She swung her sword, unleashing the rain of a firestorm down onto her unknown assailant. The Vex being refused to move, accepting her barrage openly. The waves of solar fury, exploded upon impact with it, sending Vex parts and rock outward in all direction. The fire covered her in a burning coat of anger as she soared down with blade in both hands ready to slice the monstrosity in two. With all her might and as much Light as she could muster, swung her solar sword down upon the top of the fin of its head. She thought it was finished, that she avenged her Ghost. However, in a fraction of a second, the Vex being caught the blade between the Roman scissor and the lid of its weapon. The Warlock has a face of utter shock upon her face. With its opposite hand, it reached over and gripped the blade. It twisted its hand back and held the blade at an awkward angle, locking the Guardian in place. With its clawed right foot, it stomped on her foot and the claws dig into the ground, locking her whole leg in place. It pulled its blade back away and to its side, the black barrels around the cylinder started rotating. Through her helmet, she looked up into the being's optical lense. Again, it spoke to her.
"They've spent millennia in simulations, trying to understand what your Light is, the most ancient and greatest of Minds, none could crack the code. They were all fools...incompetent and primitive. I alone discovered the truth, and when your Guardians do as well..." the Vex uppercut The Warlock in the stomach with the scissor, the entirety of the blade passing into her abdomen. "...they will have already failed." With her vision blurring, she watched as this creature ripped her blade from her hands, it flipped the sword around and as it did wings of flame shot out from its back. It turned and tossed the Warlock through the Vex Gate. The Light construct started to dissipate, but instead of lifting up into the air, the raw Light energy began absorbing into the torso of the monstrosity. The wings faded while it looked back at the crushed Ghost, it's eye illuminating so intensely that its lense cracked. It turned back and walked through the portal, its work only beginning.
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