The third and final part to this arch. It's a bit odd to read I think, but it should still be a suitable end to this chapter for my favorite couple.
So please enjoy, read, and review.
Chimerical Truth Pt.3
The sands of Mars were not a forgiving terrain. Dust storms, extreme temperature drops, and decaying building now all played hazard to the inhospitable landscape. A wary guardian always came prepared, although extremely determined guardians weren't always so forward thinking.
Some paid such a trait no mind, others found it hard to ignore. It would certainly explain why some of the guardians were skeptical of the Huntress's initial attack plan as they surveyed the research facility from high atop a sand dune.
"It sounds cool and all, but dropping Dos from low orbit is just as likely to get us killed, eh?" one Titan spoke.
"Well we didn't expect to see a Goliath here." a Warlock replied.
"It's not going to make a difference if the subterranean elevators are blocked." another Warlock, one Nilanna was more familiar with, added.
"Look this will work, I've done something like this before in the past." the crimson Huntress announced.
"That's some bull, I would have heard of it." the Titan scoffed.
"Good for you, but I'm still in command here." Nilanna barked.
"Then how do you plan on following it up?" the first Warlock asked.
"I was going to lay that out before I was so rudely interrupted." Nila said as she glared at the Titan.
He only replied with a dismissive wave.
"As I was saying, when Dos makes contact, Ford and Rinna need to press forward on both flanks." the exo explained. "Hood, during all of that you need to find a way inside to see if we're able to get down to the facility."
The Huntress looked up for a moment; she panned the guardians as they looked back at her. But the distinct black trench coat of the Warlock affectionately named "Hoodie" was nowhere to be found.
"Where the hell is she?" Nilanna asked, but she got nothing but shrugs and a couple 'I don't know's'
"Well we didn't just lose a Warlock did we?" she snarled.
"We might have, you are kinda pissy today." Rinna snapped back.
"I'm trying to get the job done!" the crimson Huntress shouted.
"Yeah, but ya being an absolute arse." Ford huffed.
"I wouldn't have to be if we could keep track of one goddamn Warlock." Nilanna grumbled.
She turned to look back out over the dune only to get the jump of her life when the hooded figure of the Warlock in question filled her vision.
"I'm sorry, I thought, oh no, I'm sorry I already checked the entrance." Hoodie replied, her voice trembling.
Nila peeked over her shoulder to look at the Cabal below them, not a single patrol out of place, no alarms raised.
"Impossible." Nilanna spat.
That was the only thing keeping the small Warlock together. The stood Huntress motionless as she watched in shock as the little guardian crumpled over and sobbed.
"What is this?" Nila asked, at a loss for what was happening.
"You're being a bitch is what this is." Rinna said as she knelt down to give the Warlock a supportive hug.
"Tsk, Hoodie's just a crier." the voice of their last Hunter spoke. "But you are a bit on edge." he admitted.
Nilanna sighed in frustration and she rubbed her metallic temples, trying to piece together what Hoodie was saying in between her sobbing wails.
Apparently she had made it all the way to the facility, discovered all but one elevator was blocked, and then made it all the back to them without being detected. But that was impossible, right? There was at least 40 Cabal ground troops and a tank between them and the building.
Had she been underestimating the elite class of guardian that much? Or had she been so consumed with thoughts of Raj, she ignored their input entirely…
The Huntress twitched slightly when she felt a hand on her shoulder, she turned to find the helm of Condor looking back at her.
"Triple I wishes to speak with you." he smooth voice conveyed as he gave her a slight nod.
Nilanna looked toward the taller exo only to find him looking back at her, with his arms crossed.
"He suggested I take over for now, I will make certain our first assault is a success." Condor reassured her.
The exo sighed as she looked first back out to enemy forces then to the group of guardians that were trying in vain to console Hoodie.
She nodded in submission as Condor radioed to their single airborne member, suggesting she start her approach.
"How are you doing?" III-00 spoke as the Huntress came to stand next to him.
"I...I don't know. I just…I know I'm not being myself, but I can't help it right now." she replied.
"You fear for Raj, it is understandable." the taller exo nodded.
"Maybe this was a bad idea, I'm used to leading, but not with..." she trialed off, looking toward the other soldiers as they began to check over their weapons. Curiously, Hoodie and their lead sniper had already disappeared.
"A sound leader knows how to handle stress." Triple I commented.
"Aggression is one thing, but you find me to be unstable?"
"I am under the impression that something else is affecting you."
The Huntress peered over at the Warlock, giving him a critical glance before turning back to the battle field.
"This mission is for Raj, nothing can deter me from getting my hands on that smart matter. It won't affect my performance, only enhance it, give it purpose." she explained.
"But it already has." Triple I argued.
"Maybe if you'd just come to the same conclusion I had recently, you'd be a little aggressive as well." Nila snapped.
The male exo looked over at the femme for a moment; that was a burst of emotion he wasn't quite expecting. The Nilanna he was familiar with did have her fair share of quips, but it was always under a level head.
He tilted his head back up in time to see his sister model make landfall, the impact of her sub orbital decent obliterated the Goliath tank. The plume of sand and dust kicked up made the whole event seem like a bomb had just been dropped.
"May I ask what has changed since we last saw each other?" Triple I asked as he held his arm up to keep the wave of sand from damaging his visor.
"I realized that I love him." she said simply.
"I...I don't understand." the Warlock replied after a moment's hesitation.
"There isn't much to."
"But, I was under the impression you already loved him."
"I...what?" she replied, somewhat startled from his accusation.
"The way you've spoken of him in the past, when you two are together within the Tower. To anyone looking on, it would seem as if you two cared a great deal for each other."
"Would you consider that love?" she asked hesitantly.
"I don't know for certain, it is not an emotion I have ever felt."
The crimson Huntress moved as if to bark back, but stopped short. Triple I's words had been simple, but deep within the darker corners of her mind something stuck. Was her recent revelation false?
No, that isn't what he was saying, he was implying that her revelation was over something else perhaps.
But to say she's been in love with him the entire time, that was...
"I think I would have noticed such a change." she argued.
"Maybe, maybe not." the Warlock shrugged before pointing out over the dune. "Perhaps we should assist our fire team first, they have almost broken through the Cabal's defenses."
Although Triple I could not see through her visor, she decided to shoot him a glare regardless before she leapt down the sand dune. Together she and the prototype rained fire down on the remaining Cabal foot soldiers.
"Ay, nice of you to finally join us." Ford sneered as Nilanna brushed past him.
She ignored him as she treaded into the decaying building, surveying the old equipment and structural design. It was easy to tell the Cabal where quick to clean the place out. When the Huntress walked up the smoking remains of the elevator doors, her emotions flared, but only for moment. She was, at the least, being unfair to her team, something she knew Raj would disapprove of.
"Can we still get down there?" Nila asked the group.
"Sure we can, it's the getting back up part you're not going to like." a Warlock spoke.
"You're right about that Condor, it's gonna be one hell of a climb." Ford nodded.
"Well we're not going to arrive there by talking about it." Dos, Triple I's sister exo added as she approached the ruined elevator. Where the Warlock was designed for maximum, abet unstable, energy output, Dos was designed for durability and strength. Although she required and exo-skeleton like suit to function optimally, with her enormous power she made short work of the elevator itself, ripping it from the shaft as if it were paper.
"Let's get the lead out guardians!" Rinna commanded as she was first to make the plunge, the other the elites where quick to follow until only III-00 and Nila remained
Nilanna stepped up to the shaft and froze. She'd never been one to fear heights, but this was close to a 500 foot drop straight down to the subterranean base. So she'd be lying if she said she wasn't just a little nervous.
"Cold feet?" the Warlock asked.
"Sorry if I'm not one for jumping into an abyss." she grumbled.
"I will help you down." Triple offered. "Then perhaps we can finish our conversation."
"Agreed." she nodded as she put an arm around the other exo's neck. He put a hand at her waist before diving into the elevator shaft, using a Warlock's typical mode of mid-air travel to slow their decent.
"I think I would have noticed if I had a realization such as this before." she spoke, resuming their discourse.
"True, but I don't think this revelation you speak of is love." Triple argued.
"Well what else could it be?"
The male was quiet for a moment, contemplating a response.
"Fear perhaps, for the one you love." he answered.
"Anyone with such a close comrade would be fearful if something bad happened to them."
"True again. Perhaps a form of redemption? You realized you can use this opportunity to right any wrongs suffered between you."
"I would like to think I'm not so cold as to rationalize my emotions in that way." Nila growled a bit.
"That's ironic coming from a very rational person."
"Shut up."
"Allow me to change my questioning. Why do feel you haven't been in love with him before know?"
"Because I had not yet found a way to define it, but I will admit that constraint loosened over time."
"As it should, I have been told many times that love is an emotion that must be felt." Triple I nodded.
"But that does not mean it can't be a definitive emotion, correct?" the gynoid argued.
"I suppose not."
"Then why should I not define my emotions as such?"
"Because you may have been wrong to begin with." the prototype replied.
Wrong? He was saying she may have been wrong about her feeling for Raj this entire time? That seemed highly unlikely or entirely untrue.
She knew exactly where she and the human stood in their relationship. Sure it had been a bit...murky in the beginning stages. But as she began to warm up to the idea, she began to realize how much she would come to care for the little Warlock.
Thanks in no small part to his undying adoration for her. Her reciprocation was something the Huntress didn't even know she was capable of. And for that very reason she felt as though being truly in love with the human would have imparted a more significant feeling.
But what if it wasn't? What if the exo before her had been correct and she'd actually forged this bond ages ago.
"Watch your step Nilanna." Triple I's voice rumbled as the duo touched down at the bottom of the shaft.
A mess wouldn't even begin to describe the state this place was in. The Cabal had damn near destroyed everything in their path in order to plunder what treasures hide below. It was a wonder then that the base hadn't simply caved in on itself. Equipment left by Warlocks and Tower scientists had been slew every which way, walls had been broken through, and very single piece of furniture had been over turned.
"Heh, this place looks like me flat mate's quarters." Ford laughed, as he kicked aside the charred remains of a computer.
"This is worrying." Condor added as he checked a nearby room "The Cabal may have very well taken the items we were sent here to protect."
"That is not good, the Vanguard will be very disappointed." Dos spoke with a slight sigh.
"Vanguard? What about the smart matter? That's the real reason we're here." Tyson, their last Hunter, grumbled.
"We're on your turf now Triple', where was the last cached discovered?" Nila said as she cocked her head back at the taller Warlock.
"Perhaps I can try and get us some more light." Condor offered.
"Good idea, Ford go with him." Nilanna nodded as she and the others followed III into a rather large metallic chamber.
"So this is where you died huh? I'm not sure I'd ever really want to know such a thing." Rinna said with a shiver.
"It is not something I find distressing, but rather enlightening. So many guardians are unaware of their past." Triple explained as he waved them over in order to take a slight detour.
"At least I have a sense of my origins, why I was made." he continued as he knelt down. Buried in rubble was a stone tablet marked with an etching from an ancient language.
"What does I say?" Hoodie sniffed, already on the verge of crying.
"I believe many of my designers where French born, so I learned what I could in order to give them a proper burial. It says: 'I regret my life has brought you death, but with your legacy I hope to reclaim what was lost in doing what I was created for: Protect Humanity. With love, your son III-00'".
It didn't take the tiny Warlock long to become a sobbing mess of tears and snot as she wrapped her arms around the prototype. Triple I made sure the head stone was sitting back up right again before he lead the team further into facility.
Luckily the rest of their mission went undeterred. They were quickly able to recover the materials caches the Cabal hadn't found, and made quick work of securing anything that wasn't taken. Although the crimson Huntress was beginning to see why the Vanguard wanted an experienced leader on this mission, between Hoodie's anxiety, Ford's snark, and Tyson's cynicism, these Elites could be quite a handful. And it pained her to realize that perhaps she hadn't been the best choice after all, granted this was a fairly simply mission that probably didn't need her, it was nice none the less.
"Ma'am, I believe this is yours." Triple I said as he handed her a vial of sleek, blue smart matter.
"That it is." she nodded, now anxious to return to Raj.
"So what will you tell him when he awakes?" the prototype queried.
"That I love him. Something I can finally say beyond a shadow of a doubt."
"So you truly believe this was the event that brought you clarity."
"It must be, I cannot recall a time where I told him that with absolute sincerity."
"And I am happy for that, I suppose what I've been trying to say is that you don't have to tell him. I guarantee you he already knows." Triple I said before leaving the Huntress to her thoughts.
Was it really so noticeably before this whole ordeal. Could it really have been inferred that she'd been in love with him this entire time, but was too caught up in figuring out why to notice. Triple I was correct, Raj was a very empathic individual. But if he had noticed a change, why didn't he mention it? Or perhaps he did, and being who he is, he decided to keep her in the dark. Either way, it didn't matter now; all she would have to do is ask him when he awoke.
She looked down at the small vial of precious liquid she held. There was no time to speculate or wonder, she had a job to finish.
For the gynoid the warp back to the Tower couldn't have been any shorter, and before her ghost's transmat had her on the plaza grounds she was running. Sprinting down corridors, she pushed past anyone in her way as she skidded into her fire team's infirmary.
Luckily the awoken doctor was there making his rounds, but was quite unprepared for the Huntress's intensity as the smart matter was thrust into his hands. He smiled back at her, glad his faith had paid off, he'd already had the other half of the solution prepped and ready.
Once the adrenalin was in his system, all she could do was wait. Unfortunately she did that rather poorly, perhaps she had built up the peril within her own mind just a bit too much because she nearly tried to shake him awake when she though she saw his eyes flutter.
Seconds felt like hours, minutes like days, but it happened, it finally happened. When he began to stir the Huntress emitted the oddest sound, some cross between a sigh of relief and a nervous laugh.
Although not even the doctor's advisement could stop her from embracing the human.
"I'm so sorry Raj, I'm so sorry." her voice trembled as she held him tightly.
"About what?" he replied, his voice more than a little groggy.
"I did this to you, I...I'm sorry Raj." she apologized again as she looked at the Warlock.
"If I weren't an exo, this..." but her voice trailed off as he hand cupped her metallic cheek.
"Big deal, you know I still love you right?" he smiled.
"As do I...I love you Raj, I'm sorry I've never told." she sighed as she gently placed her hand over his.
But her confession earned the quietest chuckle from the human as he guided her face downward so that their lips could meet. She never knew how badly she had missed this soft sensation until that very moment.
"I know." Raj admitted bringing the exo out of her daze.
"You know?" she asked.
But the Warlock only nodded as he sat up on the gurney.
"But how, when could you have known?" she said, her voice a little shaky.
"I don't really think it's that simple, just more like a feeling." he replied as he gave her a quick peek on the cheek.
"A feel-...Raj I worried about this for so long. I wanted to find a way to truly love you, I can't just brush it off as a mere feeling"
"Well why not? I know I may have implied that you yourself needed to seek out a reason, but sometimes there really is no reason."
"Just like how you claimed to love me.' she smirked.
"True, but I don't quite think that's it anymore..." he frowned slightly.
The crimson Huntress moved away from him slightly, had his time in coma shifted his feels for her? Did he resent her now knowing the entire event was her fault? Her mind thought the worst, but seeing the hurt in her optics he was quick to kiss the exo again. Reassuring her that nothing had changed.
"Sorry I didn't mean it like, but I just feel...I don't know...refreshed somehow." he shrugged.
"Refreshed? I don't think comas do that." she gave him a skeptical glance.
"Maybe, maybe not. But somehow I feel as though I love you even more." he grinned. "Like a part of me…or now all of me loves you so much more."
That got a slight giggle out of the exo, Raj love her anymore that he already did? The very notion seemed impossible.
"Seriously Nila, I may not be able to show it. But I realized that I can't live without you"
That confession, that sincerity moved something within the exo. It was like a tickle almost, a weightless sensation from the way he said it. She'd felt this before, but it was never as...potent.
In fact she'd felt a variation of this sensation over the course of their relationship. Is this what III-00 meant? Had she reduced the emotion to a mere infatuation or adoration of the human's endearing qualities, had there been something more, something she over looked?
"If the ordeal I just went through is any indication, I cannot bear to live without you as well." the exo spoke quietly, almost a whisper.
"Ordeal?" the Warlock wondered aloud.
"I went through quite a lot to get the smart matter needed to wake you up." Nila explained.
Raj panned around a bit to find that the doctor had indeed left, no doubt giving them a moment alone. A fact he was very grateful for as he coaxed the Huntress into his lap. There was just something so satisfying about feeling her weight, no matter how heavy, atop his.
"So do I at least get the short of it?" he asked.
"I lead a team of elite guardians to take back a research base, it was rather exciting." she admitted.
"That certainly sounds exciting, sorry I caused so much trouble."
"No!" she cried, "You were never to blame for this. It was all my fault, everything that happened to you was because of me."
"Yeah, but you also saved me like I knew you would." he grinned.
"I also talked with someone while one that mission..." she electronic eyes took a moment to search his before she continued. "Do you truly believe I've loved you before this all happened?"
"Absolutely." Raj replied without hesitation. "If you were someone who didn't love me, you wouldn't have slept next to me on the coldest nights. You wouldn't have stuck by me when the rest of the world didn't want us together."
"If you didn't love me, I may have never come to realize that I don't just love you as person but as an exo."
The Huntress gave him an odd glance but said nothing.
"I think while I was under, my conscience had time to mull over why I was in love with you, a reason that is."
"So you need one as well?" she teased.
"I suppose, but I think the opposite applies to you."
"How so?"
"Hm, maybe it was my dashing good looks, or my irresistible charm?" he chuckled.
"Seriously Raj."
"Well..." he said as he planted a kiss on her plated lips. "you claimed this whole 'ordeal' was the tipping point for you, correct?"
Nila nodded slowly in response.
"Well I believe you would have already needed to love me in order to for this to be considered an 'ordeal' in the first place."
"I suppose that's one explanation...sort of..."
"But now that this is over, can't you just love me for me, like I do for you."
Love Raj for Raj? To love his just because? That sounded border line unconditional, and within the confines of human society, love is quite the opposite. He meant something else, something sensible, more empathic, more...Raj.
After everything they'd been through, everything that was discussed today and in the past. The Huntress was beginning to find it harder and harder to pin point why exactly his coma was the definitive reason for deciding her affection.
The claim was that she had fallen in love with the human some time ago, at some indistinguishable period in the past where she was not tracking nor paying attention to either of their actions. But then the Huntress thought, perhaps in the end, this was something she couldn't track.
"Raj, when were you so sure you loved me that you had enough confidence in your emotions that you pulled me aside to...confess your feelings?" the exo asked.
The Warlock opened his mouth slightly only to pause on the spot.
"I'm not really sure Nila." he replied slowly, "I just knew that I needed to tell you."
"And I'm certainly glad you did but..."
"There wasn't some big decision on my part. I just knew I loved you and it was going to eat me up inside if I didn't tell you. It just…felt right" he admitted.
Her argument was beginning to have less and less weight but she hunkered down for one last question, but one not so much about what she believed as much as something he mentioned earlier.
"What did you mean when you said you felt refreshed?"
Before he answered, Raj held the Huntress close, taking in the smell of hot oil and metal.
"It's hard to explain, but it almost feels like I'm in love with the real you now"
"The real me? What exactly is that supposed to mean?"
"Once again, it's hard to explain...maybe, before I loved the idea of you, but now I just love you?"
"The idea of me?" the Huntress asked.
"In a sense yes, but that's in the past, I love you, all of you, in the present." he answered with smile.
"As do I Raj, as do I"
"Then isn't that it?"
Nila only gave him a sideways look.
"Being in a coma, having you go out, probably risking your life just to help me..." he started as he nuzzle her neck a bit.
"It made me realize I love you here and now, and whatever has past, has past." he explained.
"You just want to ignore everything that's happened?" she replied a little upset.
"No no, I'm not trying to say all of it was unneeded, but rather you and I have achieved what we sought after. And that to me is what truly counts."
For some reason it was those words that burned into her memory banks. Everything from the tenderness they carried to the soothing honesty they bore. Maybe, just maybe, the past wasn't such an important thing to dwell on anymore. But to make the arguments and discussions they had trivial, it just seemed too nonchalant. She wouldn't be quick to admit it but the exo enjoyed those talks, no matter how uncomfortable the subject matter.
"Even though what's past is done, I will not so easily forget it. It shaped who we are as a couple and is the basis for where we go in the future." Nila replied.
"That's just another reason why I love you Nila. There's always that rational side that knows how to keep me honest."
"And it's you empathy that keeps me centered Raj." her static feature still managing to radiate a smile.
"For that reason I will let it be," she continued." Whatever revelation you have come to, I know it strengthened you as person and as a guardian. No matter what has happened, no matter how you claim you've come to care for a machine like me, you love me don't you? You always have-"
"And I always will." he finished.
While her face was struggling to express it, the exo seemed to be overflowing with a wealth of emotions, so much so that even her next words brought a tear to his eye.
"I love you Raj Patel. I love you so, so much, and I'm sorry it me so long to say it." she cried as she embraced the human.
"I love you too Nilanna-26" he whispered as he squeezed her back.
They sat together, basking in each others warmth for...honestly neither of them knew. Not that they cared either way, they were now two souls brought into the others misted by the Light. In that moment her legend and his legend were realized: an unbreakable union between not just man and machine, but the human Raj and the exo Nilanna.
From that day forward it would be the bond of their legend that filled the years to come.
Edit v1.1 Shout out to Hawx-new Curry for calling me out on my editing laziness, hopefully this is now a slightly better read, my apologies for the sub-par update.