[b]I like to thank you all for being such great people. Thank you. CmdrX27 and cody230001's characters are in this chapter Chapter 47: Now You Know[/b] "And that is how I know your mother, Bolt." It was a lame finish but Shade had spun his tale successfully to the two listening to him. Bolt sat back, letting all the information sink in. His four blue eyes looked to Shade, as if trying to find if all he had heard was the truth in those glowing Awoken eyes of his. The Warlock in question looked back to him, waiting for any reaction. Alice sat next to him, her posture tense as she looked between the two carefully. "So you know my mom personally?" Somehow, asking made Bolt feel scared for an answer but he refused to back down. Shade had answers and he wanted them so badly. "Yes." Shade quipped, scratching at the bandages on his arm. Bolt instantly felt a pang of guilt about hurting him but the desire to know more took over that feeling. "Vala and I go way back. By that time I believe she was starting to work alone like any usual Hunter does. Never told me the reason why though." Carding his fingers through his black hair, Bolt saw questions swirling within the man's eyes as well. "Yet my question for you," Shade pointed at him, "is how Vala ended up raising you without the Vanguard being alerted up until now." Mind blank, Bolt gave the male Warlock a steady stare. "My mom found me in the ruins of a Fallen Ketch." Bolt didn't see Shade freeze up at that, too engrossed in trying remember what exactly his mother's Ghost had told him. "Said I was the last one alive in a whole room full of newborns. Also, she said she kept me hidden and raised me away from anyone's eyes because she believed that [i]'others wouldn't understand'[/i] or something." Clicking slightly, Bolt looked to the ground and not wanting to see their faces. He could handle the truth. He knew it. [i]I'm an orphan, the sole survivor of that Ketch. Mom rescued me, raised me, taught me that I was special.[/i] And Bolt [i]did[/i] feel special. He took a secret pride in knowing that he was probably the first Fallen to have ever been raised by a Guardian. To be taught things no Fallen should ever know. Yet that flame of pride was put out when he saw Shade's heated gaze on him. "You say that she found you, right?" Voice tight, Shade furrowed his eyebrows when he nodded. "And that was about a year ago, right?" Again, Bolt nodded but something told him he was in for a surprise. "No...that can't be. You're..." As if not believing what he was seeing, Shade stood up and walked over to where he sat. Plopping down in front of him, the Warlock stared intently at Bolt's face with such intrigue and barely concealed surprise. "Bolt," flinching slightly at his name being called, Bolt looked up to Shade's two bright blue eyes. "I know the reason why you were the only survivor of that Ketch." Two big hands rested on his shoulders, Bolt finding it intimidating yet oddly comforting. "Shade?" The two looked to Alice who was worrying her bottom lip with her teeth. The female Guardian had a strange look on her face, her green eyes shrouded with worry and concern. Bolt only gave her a withering glance before facing Shade once more. "How do you know?" [i]Why was I alive when everyone else was dead? Why do you know? How do you know?[/i] "I know because I'm the one who left you alive." Time seemed to stop in that instant. Bolt did not feel the wind against his skin, didn't hear any noise, didn't see anything other than Shade's grave face. [i]"W-What?"[/i] "You..." Shade seemed to try and find the words but failing miserably, "...you were found alive, [i]alone,[/i] for a reason, Bolt. And I'm the person responsible for that." "How? Why did you kill the rest of them? Why? Shade. Tell me. Please." Clicking and breathing hard, Bolt felt his whole world come crashing down around him. Like his whole life was just a lie. Shade knew the origins about his supposed birth, his reason for all the times he wondered why he was the only one alive when his mother wandered into that Ketch. "About a year ago, a Fallen House, the House of Wolves, rebelled against the Queen of the Reef." Shade started, "During that time I was a Paladin, Commander of a part of the Queen's army. I was tasked to track down an unknown signal that even our best man could not decipher." A strange look crossed the Warlock's face at the mention of that. "We traced it back to Earth where a stray pack of Wolves were hiding." Bolt felt his insides churn but he swallowed back his anxiety. He had to hear this. This was just history, the truth behind his birth and founding. "We met a Fallen Baron who was working under the Wolves' leader, Skolas. We battled and blood was shed, lives were lost, hate and frenzy the only friends in there." Bolt could imagine such things in war. His mother always supplied the legends upfront and every scar and wound she presented was a story of victory, loss, and hardships. [i]Maybe I'll present these such things later in life[/i] "In the end, the Baron perished, vanished into the Ether like wind. The rest of the Wolves surrendered but some fled to somewhere in the ship, probably the last line of loyalty to Skolas. We chased them down and killed them but they only offered a token of small resistance." Shade tensed, as if his memories had grabbed him and shoved him through time. "We didn't know. They were not only loyal, they were [i]devoted[/i] to Skolas. And they didn't resist as we killed them. Their plan was to destroy every piece of information we could have taken. It worked. And we fell for it." "What does it have to do with me?" Bolt said, trying hard not to grab Shade and shake the answer our of him. "I was getting there. Their plan was to destroy any piece of evidence of their work but they didn't get to finish the job. They forgot to completely kill their hatchery." Shade looked at him with such intensity, he turned away. "The hatchery had only [i]one[/i] survivor. And that was you, Bolt." [i]So I was an unfinished job?[/i] As if sensing his distress, Shade placed a hand over his to calm him down. It took a few minutes but eventually, Bolt felt his heart slowly tone down. Nodding his head to Shade, the Fallen urged the Warlock to continue. "I wanted to raise you. I really did, Bolt." There was warmth in those blue eyes of Shade but then the Guardian side of him took over once more. "But I knew I couldn't. The Queen wanted all traitors dead, newborns included. So I did the best I could; I sent out a signal to any wandering Ghost could pick up and discreetly lead their Guardian to its location. I never knew that the Guardian who picked you up was Vala Tash herself." Smiling softly as if finding something precious, Bolt watched as Shade clutched at a medallion that hung on his chest. "And I'm glad she did. Vala has the biggest heart for a Hunter I have ever known. And if she wishes to protect you, then I will too. Mission be damned." "Wait so we're betraying Ikora?!" Alice interrupted, her eyes wide and disbelieving. Shade nodded to her and then turned to face Bolt once more with a wide smile on his face. "You're Vala's treasure, Bolt. And I'm on her side no matter what. So pick up another knife and get ready to fight once more. After we're done with you, no Fallen will ever try to fight you and you can protect your mother to the fullest." With his heart light, Bolt nodded and picked up his four knives. Getting into a defensive stance, he inclined his head for Shade to start. With a battle cry, the Warlock did just that. [i]Don't you worry, mom. I'm going to be the one protecting you this time.[/i] And he threw himself into the fight.