Chapter 5: The Last City

If Illuyana had a heart right now, it would be beating loudly in her chest as she examined all the threats around her. Using her transformed robotic eye, she tried to look as natural as a floating robotic eye could, and yet she could stop herself from worrying.

Floating alongside her bonded friend, Illuyana remained close by as the two of them were led someplace deeper into the tent city. The one known as Osiris was talking to Brynden, but she wasn't listening as she tried to remain distant from the other ghosts.

What if they can sense I'm not like them? Will they kill me? If they do reveal me, will I be able to use my wish-magic to tempt them into not killing me?

Looking overhead to see the massive form of the Traveler, Illuyana would have taken a deep breath if she could have. She needed to relax. This was the whole reason they stayed with Shaxx, to see if their deception was enough… It was then, why wouldn't it be now?

"Here is where you will stay. I'm assuming you have brought your own lodgings, considering your… arrival."

Brynden nodded to Osiris, taking the gesture of granting him an open plot of grassy land for what it was.

"We do, thank you."

His eyes scrunching, seemingly catching onto a word, he responded by crossing his arms and saying a simple, "We?"

Illuyana took that as her que to make herself known again by flying directly over Brynden's shoulder.

"Yes, we." She said in a bit of an annoyed tone.

His eyebrows shot up in surprise for a moment before he began to laugh.

"Ah, your ghost. For a moment there I thought you had a stowaway on your ship." Turning around, he began to make his way away from the camp. "I'll leave you to it then."

Blinking, the two were then left on their own. Turning to each other, Illuyana was met with only a shrug before Brynden began to set up his tent. Unable to help at all, Illuyana was left to her thoughts as she looked up to the giant sphere overhead.

I really hope coming here was a good idea…

Watching from the sidelines as her friend set up their tent, Illuyana's curiosity about their newfound location began to crop up as her anxiety subsided with time. Now that she had the time to pause and realize her disguise was working, she took the time to taste the air.

All around her were unfulfilled desires of the population of the city, washing over her like a tidal wave of potential energy. A veritable universe of desires all waiting to be fulfilled.

However, even with all of the desires swirling around her, only one of them stood out more than the rest. It was the hopes and dreams of the one she bonded herself to. It almost felt as if the others around her were… muted? Muffled? She didn't know, but in the end she didn't particularly care. She was disguised, and she knew full well that if she granted any of the wishes of those around her, her disguise would be blown.

Nonetheless, she wanted to explore this new strange place, but in the end that could wait until later. She needed to stay with Brynden until they were absolutely sure this place was safe for them.

Feeling a yawn coming, she waited for it to overcome her face only to realize that she was still in her ghost disguise. Becoming immensely agitated when she couldn't exercise the urge, she waited for Brynden to finish their tent before flying inside before him. Shifting herself into her familiar red draconic form, she let out a large pent up fang-filled yawn.

Following behind her, Brynden set up his little nest-bag and began to lie down. Curling up next to her bonded partner, she closed her eyes.

"Illuyana?"

Opening a single eye up toward the young man, she made eye contact as she waited for him to say whatever was on his mind.

"I'm glad you are here with me."

A smile made its way across her face even as she shut her eye to sleep.

"And I you, oh friend mine."

—

Hefting a heavy bag of grain supplies on his shoulder, Brynden walked through the morning sun through the massive tent city. All around him were the rugged looks of refugees from different fights with warlords, tired and beaten…

… but not broken.

It was a strange feeling Brynden was feeling as several children ran past him, playing some game that only they knew of. They weaved in between the crowds of lightbearers and mortals alike, fully trusting that their merrymaking wouldn't result in any sort of punishment.

It only just drove home that despite the similarities to his old camp, this place was different… Happy wasn't the right word…

Hopeful?

His introduction last night notwithstanding, he felt like he joined the community of this tent-city a bit too easily. The daily tasks were eerily similar to his old home, but there was definitely a stark difference from the old tyrannical way of life he knew.

This place didn't have the overhanging threat of violence over everyone's head. The people here were smiling, happy, and easily mingling with the lightbearers around them.

Looking behind him, shifting the bag of grain in a way to get a glimpse of his tail, he saw the strangely armored woman following behind him. She didn't seem to be too interested in his goings on, but the fact that she was following him wasn't lost on Brynden.

Making his way to a hastily constructed building, he gave the supplies to a white-haired woman who was carefully rallying up everything brought to her. Smiling to him, she gestured for a young man to relieve him of his burden.

"Thank you sweetie."

Smiling at the woman, he nodded before making his way outside into the crisp morning air once again. All around him were several people all going about their business, hauling supplies from one place to another.

What do I call these people? City folk? City people? Do they even have a unique name?

Filing that thought off for later, Brynden remained where he was with an idly floating Illuyana nearby. He wasn't quite sure how this was all going to go yet, but thankfully he had a vote of confidence from the 'Saint', whatever that counted for.

"So…"

Looking over to the armored woman that was failing them on their journey through the massive tent city, Brynden only raised an eyebrow in response. She seemed a bit aloof from how she carried herself, a strange thing considering her helmet gave nothing away, but Brynden could tell that she could mean business if she wanted to.

"Who are you… really?"

Scrunching his eyebrows, Brynden was a bit confused as to what the woman meant. Apparently deciding to further elaborate, she continued.

"No one flies up on a pristine jump ship that looks like it was pulled straight out of the golden age only to haul grain all day. Everyone has a story, what's yours?"

Unsure of exactly what to say, Brynden remained quiet as he turned back to look at his ship. It looked so unbelievably out of place there in the dirt surrounded by tents, a shining reminder of a different time long lost among the scattered cloth houses of that which survived.

"I found the ship in an abandoned warehouse on the way to the city… Not much more to tell really." Was all he said, giving the truth of it in one go. He was sure she wouldn't believe him, but he had nothing else to say.

After all, he sure as hell wasn't about to tell him about Illuyana.

Moving closer, the two stood not even a foot away from each other. The woman was surprisingly small but gave off the same aura of confidence that he felt from Shaxx. After only a few moments, she laughed before clapping a hand on his shoulder.

"If only we were all so lucky. I'm-"

Their strange moment wasn't meant to last however, as they were interrupted by a third party.

"Effedeet! We are needed elsewhere."

Grunting, the armored woman turned around and glared at her companion. "You know, you could let people introduce themselves!"

The strangely dressed man looked back to Brynden silently from behind his strange helmet. After a moment of silence, he spoke up again.

"Let's leave."

Scrunching his eyebrows, Brynden could only stand in silence at the man's obvious rudeness.

Turning back to Brynden as she left, she spoke up in an amused tone even as she made her way toward her similarly garbed companion.

"Don't mind him, he's… Difficult sometimes." Holding a hand over her head as she turned and left, she left them without so much as another word.

As Brynden watched them leave, his eyes widened as the eye of a ghost could be seen staring back at him embedded from the robed man's helmet.

What in the…

"If you wish for me to turn him into a frog, I could…"

Looking over, he saw Illuyana's robotic eye on him. He could tell she was serious, but only because he knew she could follow through on it. Shaking his head in fond amusement, he began to laugh as he made his way aimlessly through the tent city.

"She doesn't seem so bad…" He said, stepping over a small wire that led to one of the many lighting fixtures in the encampment. "… and something tells me that wouldn't be the best idea."

Flying closely, Illuyana mumbled something quietly to herself.

Walking among the crowds, the boy and his shifted companion made their way down another dirt road. By all means, this city on the surface was exactly what he was looking for when he set off on his journey to find it…

… But…

He looked down to the revolver on his hip and couldn't help but feel like something was missing. Even with the normal labor he was used to clearly being a part of everyday life here, Brynden was quickly coming to the realization that he had changed more than he realized over their short journey.

Feeling his hand idly tracing the intricate engravings on the hammer, he found himself staring out into the wilderness. He must have been lost in his thoughts far more than he realized, somehow making it through to the edge of the massive tent city. Looking back, Brynden marveled as just how many people were coexisting peacefully here.

It almost went against everything the boy knew. Everywhere else, the fallen or bickering warlords were a constant threat to safety, and yet here…

There is something I don't understand… Something I'm missing.

"It's strange, isn't it?" Looking over, Brynden came face to… helmet… with a man who was standing directly next to him. The wolf motifs and massive battle axe on his back showed him to be one of the ones that greeted him yesterday.

Confused as to what he could have meant, Brynden spoke his mind. "What?"

The man gestured toward the city. "All the work we've done here, it's still strange to see. It is from here that we will be able to rebuild what we lost in the collapse." At that, the man moved to place a hand on Brynden's shoulder. "It will be us, reborn in the light, that will lead the way, and yet it seems like a promise that will always be just a few steps ahead of us."

Shifting his stance, Brynden tried to figure out exactly where the man was going with all this. Thankfully, he didn't need to wait long, as the masked man turned back and made 'eye' contact.

"It will be up to us to protect what we have here. Threats ranging from the Fallen houses to stubborn warlords threaten the peace of this city almost daily, and yet what we are making here is far more important than anything else."

Blinking, Brynden felt Illuyana floating over his shoulder, almost possessively.

"You want something from him." She said, accusation dripping from her tone. "What?"

The man looked over to the ghost-Illuyana, and Brynden could almost tell that the man was smiling up to her.

"We Iron Lords can't be everywhere at once." He said, turning back to the wilderness in front of them. "Humanity has fallen to the darkness before. This place is the best chance of reclaiming it, and though the Iron Lords are strong, this city can't rely on us for everything. If a threat comes, it will be up to the light bearers of this city to protect it… at least until we arrive."

Lost in his thoughts again, Brynden looked back down to the revolver on his hip. He thought of everything that has happened since that day, knowing full well that this man wasn't asking anything he wasn't already going to do.

Looking up to Illuyana, he knew she could sense his desire to protect the people of this city. Somehow, he knew she understood, as her little robotic eye bobbed up and down in a nod. He knew she didn't hold the same level of empathy towards these people as he did, but she would follow him with whatever he decided.

These people are the same as my old home. They just want to survive, and if we have the power to protect them, we should.

"You can count on us."

—

Sniffing the ground with her wet snout, the newly disguised dog-Illuyana wandered aimlessly through the city searching for… nothing in particular. Normally, if she wanted to fit in, she would attempt to make her disguise more believable, but in order for her to do that she would need to be searching for food scraps. However, with her symbiotic arrangement with her bonded friend, she hasn't gone hungry since the day she met him.

This led her to sneaking through the human camp, seemingly begging for scraps that she would turn down just to stretch her legs and explore a bit.

Looking up to a group of humans sitting around a campfire, Illuyana watched quietly from the sidelines as a few of the child-humans giggled and played amongst the group. Laughter could be heard even as two of the humans sitting on a log watched from where they were, hands held between them.

She sensed their desire to remain in love, their wishes to see their children safely grow up, their hopes that this place will be the last one they would need to flee to.

And she didn't care about them at all.

With Brynden, she had a fundamental connection with him, feeling his desires as if they were her own. She cared about his feelings and wishes, hoping that in granting them, they would make him happy. It was as if his happiness was hers, and hers was his.

That fundamental truth wasn't there for anyone else it seems. Sure, she could grant their wishes, but she would have absolutely no issue with taking what she wanted in return. The symbiosis was gone, the empathy simply not there for anyone else.

Once more, she couldn't find it within her to care. She had her bonded, why would she need anyone else?

"Mutt! Shoo!" She heard, seeing an older woman with a broom ushering her away with the least threatening swipes of her 'weapon' imaginable.

Growling, Illuyana bared her teeth and let loose a violent bark towards the old human. She wouldn't be intimidated by the weak creature in front of her!

Listening as her display of self defense was met with the crowd of humans immediately turning against her, she knew that she would need to leave.

Brooms wielded by grandma? Unthreatening. Angry group of humans trying to defend their elderly? Time to leave.

Sprinting away as the sound of humans behind her, the disguised ahamkara slipped between tents, morphing into a black cat with green eyes. Popping out the other side, she decided to sell her new form to the few humans around by rubbing her side against the leg of someone nearby.

Thankfully, it seemed to work as the woman reached down to pet her affectionately for a moment, only for Illuyana to move on by completely disregarding the human.

Just like any other cat would.

Scanning her surroundings as she continued on, she found nothing more of interest as she made her way through the crowds. Ragged people all working towards the common goal of improving their surroundings was a common theme, but she couldn't care less about them.

Through her exploration, she happened upon the one known as Saint. He was with Osiris, the two of them talking amongst themselves as the armored man fed some birds.

Oh, what's this?

Stalking closer with every bit of pride and carelessness that the species she was disguised as was known for, she made her way closer. Listening in, she lied down as her feline tail swished behind her, eyeing up the birds like the prey they were… Not that she was hungry.

"-ouses are still a nuisance. We will need to deal with them soon before they get any ideas of attacking this city."

The one known as Saint sighed, shaking his head sadly even as he dropped a few bread crumbs onto the ground for the nearby birds.

"Yes, I know. They are becoming bolder. Yet another village in the cosmodrome has been…" He went silent, seemingly recalling something that angered him if his clenched fists sparkling with energy was any indication. "I couldn't save them… Mutilated, broken, eaten!" Saint fumed, turning around to glare at his companion. "They were children… Children, Osiris! Pfah! Monsters, all of them!"

Placing a hand on Saint's shoulder, the Osiris comforted him. "We can't save them all, Saint. What matters is how we recover from our failures, and if we can become stronger from them."

Nodding, the helmeted man regained a bit of confidence in himself. "If… when the fallen come here, we need to be ready. I won't let them touch a single one of these people!"

"They would be bold indeed to attack us now… But nonetheless, we will be ready for them."

The two then sat in silence, feeding birds as they seemingly enjoyed each other's company. The conversation they had, however, got Illuyana's mind whirling.

It seems as if this place wasn't the peaceful wonderland as they first assumed. She knew Brynden already promised their assistance should something come up, but she couldn't help but worry about exactly what threats they might face in the future because of that promise.

Looking up, she realized that it was getting darker outside. Now that the summer months were turning to fall, the days were slowly becoming shorter, and the time difference was becoming noticeable.

Turning away, she began to make her way back to the tent.

—

The sun was setting on the city, earlier than normal due to the mountains surrounding the valley around the city. The bite of the night came, a chill covering the land betraying the coming of fall.

Looking around, he tried to find Illuyana, but he hasn't seen her since she left to explore the city by herself. A tinge of worry came and went before he shook his head. He knew she could disguise herself, and no matter how much he wanted to go find her, he knew it would be near impossible to find a shapeshifter in a crowded place like this.

Looking behind him, he saw as yet another group of people made their way down the makeshift road that led into the center of the city. This place was filling up by the moment as more and more people filed in to have the peace and protection this place provided.

Protection he was, at least, partially responsible for now.

Sighing, he made his way into his tent only to find a midnight black cat kneading its paws on his sleeping bag. It only took him only a split second to realize who this was.

Smiling, he made his way over to his sleeping bag even as he nudged his disguised friend off his bed.

"Hey! I was getting comfortable!" She yelled, a claw still caught on the fibers of his sleeping bag.

Removing the claw, he slid himself into the bag, sighing as he relaxed for the first time that night. Closing his eyes, he felt… content for the first time in his life. Feeling his friend making her way onto his chest, he-

"Ouch! What the?"

Looking at his chest, he saw a midnight black cat with glowing blue eyes kneading his chest very painfully with her claws. Making direct eye contact, the cat-Illuyana looked very satisfied with herself as she continued without a care in the world.

"Payback for moving me, oh friend mine."

Shaking his head, he laid back down onto his pillow even as she stopped and curled up for sleep…

…

"I overheard Saint and Osiris talking about Fallen raids nearby…"

Glancing down, he saw her eyeing him with an unreadable expression…

Though that might just be because she's a cat right now.

Shaking his thoughts back to what she said, he scrunched his brow.

"You would think they would rally the light bearers in the city together for a response."

Shifting her weight, she let out a lanky stretch of her furry limbs before she yawned.

"And we both know you would be the first to raise your hand." She said, nuzzling her face into his chest even as the weight increased and she returned to her normal draconic form. "But according to them, it doesn't look like the fallen are strong enough to attack this place outright… not yet at least."

The two sat in silence at that, knowing the inevitable battle that would come. Their silence was broken, however, as Illuyana sleepily spoke up one last time.

"Goodnight, Bryn."

Smiling, he placed a hand on her protectively even as he closed his eyes.

"Goodnight, Yana."

—

Gunshots rang across the chilly field that Brynden found himself in. Lightbearers and ghostless alike were all training to the best of their ability to hit targets outlined down a range specifically set aside for target practice.

Calls of "Good shot!" and "What are you even aiming at?" resounded through the clearing, causing the serious act of training for the inevitable alien incursion to have a lighter tone.

Holding up his new long rifle that the city had provided him, Brynden took aim down the strange scope, a lone snowflake falling onto his nose that he paid no mind.

Trying to line up the crosshairs on a target, he took in a deep breath before he fired.

Ping!

Watching as the sheet metal buckled inward, Brynden smiled as he noted that the poorly drawn image of the fallen was hit dead center. Pressing the safety of the rifle inward, he wrapped the strap of the rifle around his shoulder as he made his way back toward the city. Running his hand over the wood stock, he felt content even as he felt the presence of Illuyana over his shoulder. The gun wasn't anything special, but it was functional. That was all he could really hope for anyway, and he always had his revolver should he need it.

They have been here for a while now, fall turning to winter as the two of them fully settled in. All around him were people doing their best to simply survive in this place.

Smiling, he looked up to his companion. "What do you say we get some food?"

Her strange metallic chassis spinning behind her, she responded with a happy, "That sounds wonderful, oh lightbearer mine!"

Blatantly ignoring the strange looks from the nearby city folk, the two made their way further into the city. Brynden felt content for the first time in his life, happy to live among the people here. Over the long while they have been here, they have been welcomed by everyone here with open arms and happy gestures. The two of them had quickly found their place now, happily living among the budding city under the Traveler.

While walking, Brynden took the time to remember his mother. This peaceful city was something she once discouraged him from even thinking about, but now here he was.

If only she was here to see it.

Walking into one of the few fully constructed buildings in the area, Brynden was forced to stand in line as he waited for his chance to order his dish. The shouts of the workers preparing meals could be heard ahead alongside the clashing of pans and idle conversation. Delicious smells wafted through the air, causing his mouth to water almost against his will, not that he was opposed to the sensation.

Making it to the front of the line, Brynden ordered two bowls of ramen to go. Handing over payment, the large man behind the counter nodded and began his work, comically large spoon in hand.

Grabbing the offered food behind the counter, Brynden made his way out, two cups of ramen in hand, rifle on his back, and revolver on his hip. Life was good right now, and he would enjoy it while he could… but like a stormcloud on the horizon, threatening but distant, he knew it wouldn't last forever.

As if sensing his thoughts, ghost-Illuyana landed in his hood, the comforting weight making his smile just a little bit brighter.

Whatever came, they would face it together.

-Author's Note-

Hello everyone! I don't have much to add, so I will just take this time to say "I hope you are all having a wonderful day!" Too much of our lives now are filled with negativity, so I thought I'd bring a bit of happiness into it.

In response to one review by a guest with no name: Brynden was 16 when the fallen attacked, a 'boy' by most, but still old enough to be considered normal to be wandering on his own. I'm pretty sure that the ghosts didn't discriminate on who they resurrected, so a 17 year old kid with a ghost wouldn't be unheard of I don't think…

Especially since every guardian made in the games is canon… and y'all make some strange lookin' titans.

Please follow and favorite, and if you liked it, please give me a review. I read them all, and