[b]Chapter 2: Reunion[/b] “You look ridiculous in that awful armor!” Ashley said with a laugh and a wide grin. Her enthusiasm was infectious, even when I was in high school with her. She was my date to Senior Prom, despite her being a year younger than me. We stayed in touch until the time I died in the fire when I was 21. In all honesty, she was the one with the control in the relationship, and I was okay with that. We really only argued on one thing: What we would do when I graduated. At that point, we decided to let things play out as they would, and had called every weekend to chat. The last conversation that I had with her was the week before I died. “Oh drop it. I still feel a bit stiff after coming back from the dead, so forgive me if I am in no mood to discuss my Ghost’s poor fashion sense.” I replied with a lighthearted smirk. We chatted about various things, but then one thing came to mind. “What happened at my funeral? Were my parents okay afterwards?” I asked with genuine curiosity. “It was as you told me it should be. I was in touch with your parents immediately and told them your funeral plans for yourself. It was a real nerd fest! Anime was playing in other rooms, and the ones you wanted shown were all up! I enjoyed it a lot, and I did cry a fair bit. Sadly, I died a month later in a car accident and was buried next to you in the same cemetery.” The way Ashley described it seemed just as I had wanted, and I was reassured that all had proceeded the way I planned it. “Shit, seriously? You died a month after me? Well, at least we both came back as guardians now. It’s good to see you again!” I said, genuinely happy. “We are almost at the tower, so get ready. I will have to introduce you to a lot of people very quickly, and there will be a lot that you don’t get right away, so if you have any questions, I will answer them.” Ashley said, smiling at me with a knowing look. “That look has me concerned. I don’t like being concerned.” I said. “You have every reason to be concerned. Master Rahool will not be your favorite person, I will warn you now. You need to get lucky and find good data so he can send data for weapons and armor to the gunsmith and have the gear you find created for you.” Ashley warned sternly, “And one last thing. Be careful out there. I will not always be there to support you. Some challenges you can only face on your own are waiting for you out there. I will be happy to join a team with you, if you want, so just keep me posted!” “Will do. I am sure you would be a great addition to my team!” I said with a reassuring grin. “You saved my ass, so I would never want anyone else to have my back!” She smiled back as we landed in the tower. I looked around in awe, seeing the banners, the beautiful architecture, and… a puddle? The future is here, but they can’t even clean up a puddle? Really now? I then turned around and noticed the giant grey sphere hovering above the city below, and I immediately realized that it was the traveler. I decided I would fly by the traveler later for a closer look. AUTHOR'S NOTE: Chapter Two was slightly shorter than chapter one, but the following chapters will be longer, I promise!