From the Dark

by Twisted Fate MK 2

Nox is falling under the Covenant, and its people are retreating. But some aren't in a place where they can reach help. Alex Masters is one. Her friends slaughtered, and being chased by Jackals, she flees to the only place she knows of - an old shrine from a small, local following her mother had taken her to. There, she finds help - in a form she'd never have thought. (Idea Bunny)

4. Chapter 4

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Halo is back on the aaaaaaair, and I got immediately infected by the urge to write lmao

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It felt like a few whole days passed, as she explored the ruined… Shrine, her mind supplied without her even needing to think about it, perched at the edge of the cliff. It was mostly abandoned aside from Crestus and a big-hat wearing man in robes who came and went without paying her much mind, with a pool of cool water sheltered by the ruined walls and what was left of the roof of the old shrine. It was cool and clear, and filled up the entirety of the depressed floor, which meant that there were stairs at the entrance she could sit at and soak her feet.

Which… Seemed like a weird thing to do now she was apparently mostly dead, but…

It was her after-life, she was going to do what she wanted to, damn it.

A shadow passed over her after a few minutes and she sighed, "Hey, Crestus."

"Alex." He answered, his armor shifting quietly as he sat behind her, further up the stairs where the armor he insisted on wearing wouldn't get wet. "It's a pleasant day."

"It's the exact same day it was twelve hours ago." She frowned, "When it was also day. What's up with that, anyways?"

"Anor Londo was, when Vin journeyed through it, a place trapped in time, crossing between places and spaces and times. Here, it is ever-day. In the forest not terribly far from here, it is ever-night. And atop the Undead Church you will find a near-twilight." Crestus explained simple, knowing that, while she had the pieces locked away in her mind, she… Wasn't very good at pulling them out. At least for things far away from wherever she was.

Why, she didn't know, and neither did Crestus.

Which was… Great.

"Is there anywhere nice where it rains…?"

"No." He smirked, "I'm afraid not."

"Damn…" She sighed, thinking for a while before pursing her lips and asking. "Why is all this here, though?"

"Here as in…?"

"Anor Londo." She answered quietly, kicking one of her feet in a lazy circle. "Why is it here, in… Inside him? How? One person can't possibly hold all… All of this in their soul."

"A person cannot, no." Crestus agreed, "However, a Lord can."

"A Lord…" Those, she understood. Vin had been a devout Knight in their service, after all. Those beliefs were more than easy to recall - easier, even, than her own memories from when she was younger. Squaring that she could remember a countless millennia old religion better than her own memories from when she was six had been a thing, but…

She had it.

"Indeed." Crestus nodded, "Whether a memory or an imprint, a Lord Soul is more than powerful enough to do this. And, likely, more, were he in the peak of his power."

"Why isn't he?"

"There is no telling, truly." Crestus answered, "Perhaps this Age is merely one that is unfavourable to Lords. Perhaps he expended much of his power in the Kiln, and between fighting and existing, he can't maintain more than this. And, perhaps, this is such a deep imprint upon him after so much happened here it is just easier."

"Maybe the old Lords' powers help…"

"Hm?"

"If Anor Londo is where the Gods lived…" She murmured, mind racing as an idea started to bloom. Started to come together and materialize. "And this place was linked to others in spite of time and distance… Maybe their power sort of lingers, somehow. And if that is true, maybe it's still linked the way it was."

"That is quite a lot of assumptions and 'may be's…"

"Yeah, I know, but-"

"Alex, you are dead." He cut her off, actually stepping into the water to kneel so he could meet her gaze. She held it and he frowned, "Even if you find some… Rift, that very likely does not remain. You will not simply rise again."

"I know, but…" She frowned, "It's hope, right?"

For a while, Crestus just stared her down, frowning deeply and, apparently, thinking. Finally, he just scowled and grabbed her arm, turning before she could do more than squawk and hurling her bodily into the water with a splash. She flailed, suddenly cold and covered in soaked clothing, and tried to stand until her foot slipped and she fell back into the water. Her second try went better, though, and she snarled as she stood and rounded on him.

"You mean to fight monsters and abominations Vin himself faced, and fell to more than once." Crestus cut her off, stepping out of the water and sighing as he ran his armored fingers through his hair. Flicking a look over his shoulder, he added, "If you can't even resist me throwing you into a pool, how can you resist these creatures?"

"Fair…" She sighed, "So I'm guessing you have ideas?"

"You need to train, and we need to study your strengths." He answered, waving for her to follow him. "And, since you need to dry off, we'll start by speaking with Laurentius. Assuming the vapid swamp-dweller is actually here to try your hand at Pyromancy, of course…"

"O-Oh." She blinked, stumbling after him, "W-What if I'm no good at that, though?"

"We visit Logan." He answered, turning to give her a look that was all toothy smile and narrow eyes. "And fret not. Regardless, I will see your skills with a sword and shield improve."

"S-Sword…?"

"Or spear," he shrugged, turning away, "whichever you fancy. Either way, I haven't had someone to knock around in a long, long time."

Suddenly incredibly anxious, she followed after him and stammered, "Y-You're joking, right?" He didn't answer and she stammered, "R-R-Right?!"

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"We are the last…?"

"Part of the last group out, yeah." Evilyn said, sitting in the seat beside where he knelt at the back of the Pelican drop-ship, his massive, armored form almost blocking the door into the steerage on his left. Running dirty fingers through filthy, matted hair she sighed, "How the hell did I end up on the last boat? What shit luck…"

"Best fighters are last out." One of the three surviving SWAT officers on the Pelican with them grunted, pressing a hand against her bruised side as she adjusted in her seat. He'd offered to heal it, but she'd refused him, wrapping her hand around a little silver cross hanging off her belt. Shaking her head, she sad, "That's just how it is. And since the big guy was listening to you…"

"The big guy doesn't exactly listen to me…"

"Yeah, well," she shrugged, "my sergeant thought he did. And so did local High-Com, apparently."

"Fair…" Evilyn sighed, reclining in her seat. "Still, having him around has been damn useful."

"Still…"

"The 'big guy' is present, and can be spoken to quite readily, my friends." He cut in, smiling behind his helmet and shaking his head wearily. He flinched as, finally, the rear hatch of the Pelican hissed closed and the engines outside began to thrum to full life, gently shaking the hull around him. Eyeing the bay slowly, he added, "As for the risk I may have placed upon you all… I apologize. It was not my intent. I merely wished to protect who I could."

"It's the job." The officer shrugged, "I'm not blaming you. Not really. Just…"

"Whining." Evilyn offered, "We're exhausted, and running on dregs of adrenaline and not much else Vin. Not all of us are quite as enduring and fearless as you…"

"I-Indeed." He stammered as the Pelican launched and gravity shifted, pulling him forward and forcing him to lay his greatsword on the floor to instead brace himself, denting the bottom panels around his powerful fingers as he did. The officers, the two Marines at the back, and even Evilyn flinched at the sound of metal groaning under his grip and, mortified, he muttered, "Apologies."

"Vin, are you…" Evilyn blinked, brow furrowing, "Are you scared of flying?"

"Is that so strange?" He rumbled, "I have scarcely ever left the ground. Much left a planet…"

"Wow, I… Well, I mean, I could tell you were nervous, but I didn't expect you to admit it." He cocked his head and Evilyn shrugged, throwing a hand up in a flabbergasted sort of way. "What? Usually people keep quieter about that sort of thing is all."

"Yeah," one of the Marines snorted derisively from the back, "I thought you were s'posed to be some big knight. But you're just a chicken?"

"Yeah." The other shook his head, "A tall cosplayer and a bunch of bacon. Is it really worth hauling back up to-"

"Hey, just because you spent all your time playing taxi doesn't mean you get to talk shit to those of us that actually fought out there." One of the SWAT officers snapped, dropping his heavy handgun onto the seat beside him and grabbing the rail above to stand. "Maybe next time, you-"

"The first thing beaten out of a true warrior is arrogance and pride." He answered, meeting the Marines' gazes when they turned to glower at him. Then, he laid a heavy hand on the officer and urged him back into his seat and added, quietly, "The second is to control our temper, for wroth leads to the end of all who fall to it. In time."

"But they-"

"Are exhausted and stressed, as you are." He rumbled, laying a hand on the officer's shoulder as they sat. Quietly, he said, "Peace. You have done all you can, so take your rest, and pray that your grand ships shall see us away from here."

"Right…" He sighed, shaking his head and nodding, "You're right."

"Hey…" One of the Marines called, "We fought, too."

"Yeah…?"

"Earlier." He nodded, laying his battle rifle across his chest and sighing wearily. "Out towards Manis. We got called out when it fell, and stuck on… Taxi duty."

"Ha." The officer snorted while Vin tried to ignore the tremors rocking the little ship. Tremors that didn't even seem to bother the others, even though Vin's hand pressed into the decking so hard that it began to buckled, caving into the space under it and-

"Hey." He turned as Evilyn smiled and tapped her chest, "Find a static spot, and stare it down. Focus on your heartbeat and your breathing. It'll keep you steady, alright? We'll land in a few minutes."

He nodded and, as told, found a spot. A small orange sticker slapped directly into the dead center of the ramp at the rear of the bay. It read 'Caution : Blood Tray Slippery'. What a 'blood tray' was, he didn't know, though he could imagine. The sticker itself was old, though. Faded at the edges, and held in place by a strip of tape on one end that almost obstructed the 'y' in 'tray'. The decking and plating around it was new, though, which told him that it had been taken off of whatever it had been on prior and then replaced here. Even the tape was newer. A token of some sort, perhaps? Or-

The ramp began to descend and he flinched back, turning as Evilyn snorted, "I didn't think it'd work that well."

"I see…" He rumbled, watching the others disembark and then following Evilyn out, shuffling a bit from the bulk of his body, armor and his weapons.

Straightening in the relatively open space beyond, he found himself in a long, if somewhat short, landing bay thronged by ten Pelicans coming in. Crates were crammed against the walls and more was being offloaded from the other Pelicans amid the thronging mass of hundreds of people barely kept coordinated and out of the way of the five landing pads the Pelicans were using alongside other open areas they could cram themselves into. Wounded soldiers limped to barely-contained or marked triage areas and fell onto beds, cots, or even just stacks of uniforms for rest and tending while wounded civilians did similar nearby. And, in the midst of all of that, parents called out for children and children for parents. Some he saw find each other, falling into hugs and sobs while those around them meandered by. Others, though, found no one.

Or were approached by, evidently, the wrong person - and told information that drew screams and sorrow from them.

"Gods…" He mumured, standing and watching the chaos. "Where are the gods?"

"Vin…?"

"I must help." He grunted, laying a hand on her shoulder as he made to step by. "Must see to the wounded o-or minister to the frightened. Something to-"

"You! Stop there!" He spun as several armored soldiers approached in pristine armor and uniforms. There were four, and they fanned out in a line in front of them while the SWAT officers lingered nearby and Evilyn sighed tiredly. He expected them to speak to him but, instead, they said, "Staff Officer Evilyn Sharpe?"

"Sharpe…" He murmured, turning to her, "I thought your name was-"

"Formerly, Sharpe…" She sighed, letting her rifle hang beside her and flicking Vin a look. "When the Colonies had their own government, at least."

"You are to disarm and submit yourself to military arrest under UNSC military protocol section-"

"You mean to imprison her?" He snarled, stepping in front of the woman and standing to his full height and breadth. Which was, seemingly, enough to draw notice from those around them - and make the Marines flinch back a step, their hands fingering the safeties of their weapons. Weapons he did not fear, looming over them all and growling. "She has scarcely escaped battle - battle your lot ordered her to remain in, I might add! And you mean to imprison her?!"

"Colonial officers are not allowed to act as officers under the UNSC." Evilyn answered when the soldiers didn't. He turned as she stepped past him, smiling resignedly and shrugging, "It's protocol. I knew I'd be in for it. Let me guess, debrief and captain's judgement?"

"Already ruled." One of them answered, "Two weeks' prison time, then community service back on Earth, under supervision."

"Two weeks?" He rumbled, "Why?"

"And how long is our trip going to be?" Evilyn asked, raising a hand to calm him - as though he needed to be calmed, now that he saw her own demeanour about the whole thing.

"Three weeks, Ma'am."

"Three… Ah." Vin sighed, shoulders sagging as he realized what had been done, and why. Shaking his head, he stepped back and eased himself. Bowing his head, he rumbled, "Forgive me. I… Reacted poorly. I should have heard your words before I answered them."

"Right…" One of them nodded, turning and grunting, "You two, take her."

"Sir." They answered, stepping forward to take the rifle Evilyn offered and then cuffing her hands behind her waist, clipping a chain onto a little brace that went around her waist as well. He frowned, but the woman shot him a little smile and a nod as she was escorted away.

"I will see her in two weeks." He rumbled meaningfully, "Or I shall come for her. Are we clear?"

"C-Crystal." The soldier answered, "As for you, sir, we need you to come with us as well."

"To where," he rumbled, "and why?"

"The captain wishes to speak with you." The Marine answered, "We've… Had some reports about you, Sir."

"Indeed…" He sighed, nodding, "Very well. Please, lead on."

"You're required to disarm."

"I am required to do nothing, son." He answered quietly, turning his gaze on the Marine fully and going on. "I do not serve you, nor your captain, your your nation. I shall remain armed, and you shall remain polite, and we shall all get along like peas and chicken. Besides, so you are aware," he leaned down a bit, smiling wide enough it would be able to be heard in his words, "my sword and my shield are merely aids, not weapons."

"I'm… Sorry?"

"I," he let the word echo, "am the weapon here, soldier."

He let the intonation echo for a moment before he stood, satisfied he'd made his point and none here would think to play any rather unfortunate games with he or Evilyn. Instead of dwelling on it, he reiterated, "Now, please, lead on."

"R-Right, Sir." He nodded, turning and waving for him to follow. "Please, follow me."

Vin just nodded, taking a heavy step to follow the Marine.

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Lea :

N-Noooo, nothing is going to happen with them! XD

NlaEid :

Technically, they were in space the whole time, since planets exist in space. XD