[spoiler]This chapter contains detailed descriptions of gore, and hinted at nudity. Nothing too extreme, but you were warned.[/spoiler] The sun was high in the sky when Angel finally woke back up. She peeled her face from her arms and stared outside. The sky was clear, the sun was bright, and the vegetation was green. It was a beautiful day in Old Chicago. The rain lasted all through the night; so every pond became a lake, and every tower was that much more submerged. "We should go..." Alice said after returning from her morning scans. "Go where?" Angel asked as she slumped back onto the tower. "To civilization," Alice stated as she scanned her Guardian's body many times. "This doesn't look like civilization to you?" Angel asked with a hint of sarcasm. Alice froze and stared at the tired woman with disdain. "Shut up... and don't move..." "Why?..." Suddenly, all of Angel's soaking wet clothes transmatted off of her. "Alice?!!" Angel screamed as she panicked and tried to cover up her body. "Stop b****ing, we're all women here... And I said don't move!" The ghost continued to scan the woman. "This is so awkward..." Angel said as she tried to stand still. Finally, some breathable under-armor transmatted onto the woman, then plasteel plates covered the under-armor. Angel waved her arms around, then looked at the rest of herself. "Now, this is awesome!... What is it?" "It's the best that I could find. It'll keep you alive for now, but we really should go!" Alice started to fly away, then turned right back. "Here's your helmet, and I found a human weapon. It should be easier to operate..." "So, what's going on?" Angel asked as she slid the helmet over her face. "Um... There are some things, called Hive seeders... they crashed while we were asleep," Alice said. "Hive? Who are they?" "Think... space zombies. Yeah, space zombies!" Alice answered. Without any more questions, Angel raced up the flight of stairs to the top floor. The Guardian burst through the door and looked out over the world. She could see five objects jutting out of the ground, all around the sunken skyscraper. "Those... are seeders. Just one could infect a city," Alice said. "Huh..." The Guardian loaded the rifle and watched the swarming horde below. It was only five minutes later when the Hive noticed the lone Guardian. Like zombies, they charged the building and began climbing the outer walls. They were coming for her Light! Angel ran to the edge and held back on the trigger. She killed twenty thrall just by waving the gun back and forth. However, more still climbed on the other three walls. The Guardian threw her empty weapon down, causing two Hive to fall off the tower. "Watch out!" Alice cried as a massive Hive knight ran up the stairs. Angel turned around and, despite how scared she was, stood ready to fight. "Okay, okay! He's big!" The Guardian panicked. Just as the knight swung, Angel jumped clear and punched it in its side. The knight stumbled, but swung again. This time, knocking Angel to the ground. She gasped for air, trying to breathe. That sword hit her right in the stomach. "Go for the stairs!" Alice shouted as she flashed bright light into the Hive's eyes. Angel slowly crawled away, but stopped. She turned back to the aggravating ghost, and the frustrated knight. The monster was swinging its massive cleaver frantically in hopes of knocking the ghost down. Angel forced herself to her feet, and watched the blinded knight. This was her chance. She charged the knight, wrapped her arms around its waist, and pushed it to the edge of the tower! Before the beast fell, it caught the Guardian's arm, and held on tightly. Angel tried to hold herself up, but the beast was very heavy. She gritted her teeth. The knight precariously swung his sword again, attempting to hit Angel. As the knight dangled, it slid down, cutting open Angel's arm. She screamed in pain as the claws ripped away at her skin. Angel slipped, hitting her gut against the parapet. Now, with her feet and body keeping her from falling, Angel used her free arm to peel off the fingers burried in her flesh. Except, the knight dropped its sword, then grabbed her other arm. If the knight was going to fall, so was she. Angel fell. Both the knight and Guardian were free falling many stories down. Angel was now crying from the shearing pain shooting in her arm. The knight, who was several feet below Angel, crashed into the bog before slowly getting swollowed up by the muck. The woman closed her eyes tightly, trying to keep her stomach out of her throat. "You took quite a beating, didn't you?" Asked an unexpected voice. The confused woman opened her eyes. Her hands and her face was pressed against solid ground. Asphalt. A road. She pushed herself up and looked around. How did she get here? "What... happened?" She asked as she wiped the tears from her face. "You were fighting more Hive than you could possibly handle. You're tough and brave, I'll give you that," answered the voice. "No. No, no, I knew that. But, how did I get [i]here[/i]?" Angel asked as she spun around, looking for the man. "You fell through a portal, conjured by me, of course. Passing through the Void slowed your descent, allowing your final landing to be... tolerable." "Who are you? You just saved me, so why hide from me?" Angel asked. A figure in a forest green trench coat and hood, dropped from the sky. His very presence was ominous and intimidating, and sent chills through Angel. "My name is Silajir, but--" he paused and pulled back his hood, revealing his gentle face. "-- you can call me Logan."