MRY-243 SEGMENT 0-0-1: ..... START He was getting old, he was scratched and battered, his shell filled with dents even he could not remove. He had materialized a more subtle shell, to blend in and avoid the Fallen that prowled the area. He felt It, his Guardian, it was here. He looked in caves, and over ledges. But finally, in a small chewed out room, he found a dried husk. Its head reclined against the wall, its side gripped by a slender, desiccated hand. Upon further inspection there was a great gash beneath the tattered material, it had bled out here. A ring flashed on the hand, a grimy purple stone on a gold band; gleaming defiantly in its age. Scanning it he found the Signature, and began the reconstruction process. She was perfect. Standing she would be five feet and six inches. Her hair was a deep purple and her eyes as they widened were so brown they were black; her pupil pinpoints of fear and shock. As she cried out in pain he wanted to rush to her, hold her in arms he lacked. She scrambled to her hands and knees and retched, and again, before wiping her mouth and looking to him. " Where am I? Where is my Division? I was fighting, fighting..." She looked to him with confusion and fear clouding her eyes, tears beginning to well and stream from the sides like a punctured vein. Her voice was as torn as the tatters she still wore as she squeaked and croaked; adjusting to her newly formed vocal chords., Her dark eyes wild with confusion as she looked around at the room where she was reborn. He explained to her, everything, and watched as she curled up into a small ball and cried, so like a child. What did he expect, he had just torn her from the fabric of space and time, to bring her back to reality. He watched and waited as she cried out all of her pain and frustration, all of the trauma she had experienced before her death. Sooner than he thought, she raised her tearstained face to him, and a smile spread across her features. She smiled with her being. Shakily, she rose to her knees and sat on her heels, extending a dirtied palm. It was as pale as starlight, the dirt standing out stark against it. Dutifully he hovered over and leveled with her palm, his bright blue optic trained on her eyes. She chuckled and touched one of the four apexes at his fore end, tenderly and exploratively, as if making sure he was really there. " A Ghost. A Guardian. I am, what is my name?" She looked to him, as if directing it to him. She shone, not just because of her pale skin, but she shone from [i]within[/i]. " Radiance." He blurted stupidly, but she laughed, she was full of laughter. " Yes, for such Dark times. And you, I do not know who he was but he meant a great deal to me, but now you are my Thalassinius." She, Radiance, rose with confidence and walked out into the sunrise. But he was not the only one there, watching, waiting. As she exited the near ruined structure she was smashed to the ground by a Vandals stout, armored body. He remembered squealing in terror as she screamed, but this was not to be her end. She glowed with a depthless purple energy, whorling starry ethereal as it swelled from her palms; and she struck out defiantly. It stumbled back, letting her scramble away, shamelessly crying out in exertion as her newly knitter flesh scraped and bruised in the rock strewn mud. He could feel her pulse rate, saw her brainwave activity, she was terrified. He, too, was worried for her survival. The Vandal skittered after her with four arms before it, having lost its Shock Pistol in the scuffle. Chittering angrily it pursued her, leaking a thin mist in several places between its armor. Was it Burning? The Ghost could only speculate as his Guardian ran for her new made life. He scanned the area ahead frantically, looking for any and all possible escape routes... There! " Take a right at the next building, go inside, there is a door that locks. We can hide upstairs until i can contact Ikora." She acknowledged his calm command and skidded around a corner, eyes widening in joy as she spotted her target. Salvation in ruins! Thudding into the building she nearly met her end as a yawning hole in the floor loomed suddenly ahead. Crying out she gripped a rusted beam, feeling the blossoms of rust shred the pads of her soft, newborn hands. She pulled herself to her feet and climbed over a pile of debris, seeing the door ajar. It was safety, it was home. Catapulting herself forward she felt four cold fingers grab what few scraps of clothes still clung to her pale frame. No. It was back. Her momentum broke the sudden grasp, and skidding to a stop in the debris her stance was defiant as she faced it, her eyes glowing with a sulfurous light. A crackling laugh slid from behind the Vandals mas, like the low scrape of metal over rock.. She was beautiful, her Light shone within her like a beacon, and he could only exhault in it. She reached above herself and pried loose a length of rusted re-bar, wielding it for all the world like a Paladins sword. But she would never use it. As the Vandal moved further into the door way it stopped suddenly, and was drug backwards as if taken by a strong wind.. The two stared at the empty doorway in shocked surprise. She looked to him, and he to her; wonder and shaky elation spreading between them like blood through water. What had happened? The question hung unasked between them as she exited the building, he floating hesitantly behind her. The suns light shone full now, the perpetual rain of Venus pittering on the verdant greenery about them, but there was no sight of the Vandal. She stepped out further, and spied signs of a struggle. Short, but as she followed it, a chunk of white and blue armor fell from above her, steaming gently. They both looked up, into the eyes of another being. Its medium sized body was the color of dusk, Deep, amaranthine overtones whirled and warped above a bland grey stomach. It had two squat legs, gripping the roof of the neighboring building, and the body of the Vandal in four front claws. The last four claws of the front limb were elongated, webbed in samite thin leather that transluced grey in the early daylight. Its head was spade shaped, with hard brows and a thin mouth. It finished the part of the Fallen it was chewing and turned its head, surveying her with one eye. It was...Hungry. She wilted under its gaze, backing away from it slowly. The thing was no taller than her shoulder, but something told him that it was not its body that should be feared. He cried out as she tripped and fell hard on her behind, adding another contusion to her plethora of other injuries. She shuffled backwards, but the lanky creature with the curved chest was faster than it looked. It was only a few feet longer than she was tall, maybe two, but it stood over her like it was mighty. Throwing an arm over her eyes she waited for her demise, only to feel something warm slide over her arm. Opening one eye, she saw it bathe a scratch in thin saliva. But why? Was it just tasting her to eat later? [i]I Am Hungry, But Not For You, oh Human Mine.[/i] Was it... was it speaking? She hadn't seen its jaws move. A laugh resounded in her head, bouncing off of her skull and resonating in her bones; she shuddered. [i] My Lips Do Not Make Your Sounds. But I Know You. You Are A Wielder Of Secrets, But So Am I. [/i] The orb she looked into was endless, drawing her in. He watched her stare with a mouth agape, as if she was slowly suffocating. But suddenly the creature jerked its head up, looking to their right. The sounds of footfalls and sharp voices could be heard. With an audible growl the creature flapped away, surprisingly silent for its wingspread. Cresting a hill a Fireteam of Guardians arrived, and they were escorted to a F.O.B, where she was treated for her injuries. He watched her thrash in her bed, mumble, cry out. She was not well, and they did not know why. He watched her recover, take her first steps, begin her studies. But as he watched her, he saw something familiar, a Hunger. Whatever it was, it had Infected her, and she couldn't stop. MRY-243 SEGMENT 0-0-1 ...... CLOSE