#d2drbbl

[sohelish]

Icy adventures part 2

As she was about to collapse from exhaustion, the Guardian finally made it to a suitable cave. The second wave of energy filled her at the sudden stroke of luck, and she focused on the Solar Light, keeping herself warm and cosy. 

‘How’s that signal you’re sending to Elsie doing? Is it coming through?

She even started working on the Vex parts, having run into a Minotaur on her way to safety. Brought quite a few trophies along with her, even as her ghost protested and lectured her on priorities.

‘No.’

Izi dipped down as if in shame, its voice a morbid tremble.

‘No worries,’ the ghost’s owner was way too cheerful for the ongoing situation. ‘I should’ve told her that I’m coming over. Then she’d be on the lookout for me, but, hey. Couldn’t risk her being nosy, could I.’

‘Yes, but... This is no time to laugh, Hel. This is serious.’

I’m frightened, was what Izi wanted to say, yet chose not to appear weak.

‘Relax, we’ve been stuck like this before, haven’t we?’ Hel kept on toying with the Vex Minotaur arm.

‘We barely made it to the cave this time. The storm isn’t passing, and it has been hours. You are hungry, I am concerned. Very concerned.’

The last sentence was soaked through with a sort of dark helplessness. Hel couldn’t help but raise her eyebrows at the ghost.

‘Okay, I hear it now. What’s the matter?’ She set the metal arm aside. ‘We agreed to talk things out, right? You’ve been awfully weird ever since---’

‘Ever since you dropped off that body?’

‘Yeah.’

‘Yes.’

The pause hung heavily over the human and her drone.

‘I heard something.’

Another pause settled. More sinister this time. Broken... by a fit of a hearty laugh?

‘Helena, really?’

‘Wh--- What do you want me to do?’ The woman quickly wiped a stray tear before it froze on her eyelash. ‘This dialogue feels very surreal. As if it came from some cheap horror novel. The next thing’s going to happen: we hear a large thud here and now. Then,’ she wiggled her fingers. ‘The zombies appear!’

‘Not funny. Not what I meant.’

‘Oh, wait! There’s a zombie here already!’ She poked herself in the chest gleefully. ‘See? No need to be all fussy. This zombie’s on your side and will give the others a run for their glimmer.’

‘I heard a chime, Hel. You know,’ Izi flew up closer to her Guardian’s face and whispered. ‘The one.’

‘Pfft, ah that,’ Helena waved it off. ‘I heard that too.’

‘What, and it doesn’t bother you? The moment you throw a corpse into a Europan crevasse, the Darkness chimes, and that is totally fine!?’

‘It chimes a lot, in many places, actually.’

The woman went back to tinkering on the Vex arm, falling silent for a short while.

‘There’s a rumour--- the chiming can be heard during Trials.’

‘No way, that can’t be--- Mm.’

‘Maybe it’s time to accept that the Darkness is closer than we think, eh?’

Hel brought her hand up and touched one of the petals on Izi’s shell, petting it.

‘Listen. If nothing bad has happened yet - nothing bad has happened yet. Don’t waste your energy on might-s and maybes. If the pyramid parks itself outside this cave - then we ask ourselves, what’s that all about? The chiming’s not a new thing. You clearly just weren’t comfortable with what I was doing and paid attention to a thing at the right moment. Thus you think it’s all connected, when in fact you’re---’

‘Mm. You are right. I do disapprove. Thank you for reminding me.’

The ghost grumbled with steely undertones and disappeared from sight, seemingly executing punishment by depriving the Guardian of its company.

Hel only shrugged calmly and continued working on disassembling the Vex remains.

‘Finally. Some peace and quiet. And a semblance of truth for a change.’

She chuckled.

[sohelish]

The Commander

He looks much smaller from afar. 

So tired, leaning against the railing for support. 

His fist crashes into the metal every now and then - a sign of frustration, impatience.

She never thought she would end up staying in the City, let alone learn to admire someone. But Commander Zavala has always been to her a man who does his job. Does it right, too, never shying away from the responsibility that comes with it.

When he tells her: he is glad that he can count on her - there is no higher praise from someone who strives to be reliable.

It might as well be a quality seal. One Hel uses freely to indulge in her own shady dealings.

He knows. He has to but pretends he doesn’t.

Oh, she’s sure he’d looked her up.

Why not do a background check on a person who’d died recently?

Or maybe he does trust her blindly. Guardians are reborn anew, after all. Clean slate.

Either way, she thinks, she’ll pay him back eventually for any bother she had caused.

She, too, strives to be reliable.

[sohelish]

‘A thought I had,’ she muttered, swirling around the contents of the bottle and smirking lightly to herself.

Not that anyone asked, to be fair.

Hel just randomly chose to muse out loud.

Maybe the alcohol was to blame.

‘About those deciphered messages. About the Traveller being a Gardener, and the Darkness entity being the Winnower.’

The pause that she held felt overly dramatic, rather theatrical.

There was something about the tension of her face, the movement of her mouth that foretold that she was about to spill out something hilarious.

‘What if they really are? A Gardener and a Winnower, I mean.’

Judging by the way her face began to contort, she was barely holding it together.

‘No, for real, what if they are someone’s intergalactic gardening AI tools that just rebelled and ran off?’

She couldn’t hold it in anymore, and the space boomed with her laughter.

‘And all this time,’ she started choking on air, bent over. Almost dropped her booze too. ‘All this time, we are worshipping! Worshipping someone’s high-tech crop dispersal equipment or something!’

[sohelish]

Icy adventures

What a neat business I got myself running here, Helena thought, making her way through the rigid ice planes of Europa.

Who would have thought that so many Guardians needed a “shadier” type of assistance?

Some wanted to learn more about their past. Others needed access to black market dealers and their wares, the Spider, for example.

Hel was happy to oblige and provide her clients with the much-needed reconnaissance or serve as the middle man.

Damn it, she even went as far as putting on a show and introducing people to the chubby Eliksni dealer - and, oh, how he adored the extra attention. How much easier it was to work with her ally after since he became more and more agreeable with each flare of pathos thrown his way.

More surprising, however, was the amount of Guardians that needed--- help... of the cleaning kind.

You’d think that the human population and the Guardians lived happily ever after. After all, the latter had sworn to protect the former and yet. Looked like it took a specific type of person to be forced to play the hero, or the older responsible sibling, if you will, and take it in a stride.

More and more Guardians fought with the mortal fellows. More and more accidents occurred--- or, perhaps, it seemed that way to Helena.

Always the most profitable cases. Often thrilling in the beginning, but when it came to the actual clean-ups...

Tedious and harsh.

She truly liked this side of her work the least. A lot of effort poured in earned her the goods and respect, but in the end, she could never give the Guardians a resolution or the peace of mind they wanted. What they actually needed was to turn back time and not lose their temper.

Hel had just disposed of one such poor outcome - a civilian body, which she’d thrown into the crevasse. Not many people would think to look in there while searching for the Last City resident, that’s for sure.

That took care of one problem for one Guardian.

Another confrontation resulted in a broken nose and hurt feelings - not too bad, it seemed. But were the news to reach Zavala’s ears, things could get ugly.

In the end, after a long negotiation and a lot of lightening the mood with jokes, the wronged side agreed not to voice their concerns and asked for parts. Vex parts.

Thus the trip to the distant moon felt proper - it allowed the fixer to get rid of one issue and deal with another.

There were more than enough Minotaurs on Europa, so Hel could harvest plenty of the specific bits.

The weather proved to be a huge problem, though. It was tough to spot the enemy during the blizzard. Plus, she had underestimated the scale of the windstorm that appeared somewhat out of nowhere. Or so she’d deemed.

Teeth gritted, she struggled to move through the deep snow, focusing on finding any cave where she could hide and wait out the extremes.

The problem was, oddly enough, she couldn’t find any, and it was getting colder and colder...

[sohelish]

Progress

Never had Helena thought that she'd be working with Ada. Not because she disliked the Exo or anything. On the contrary, it seemed that it was Ada-1 who held prejudice against the Guardians.

Frankly, Hel couldn't blame her for thinking so and not trusting the Traveller. What puzzled her was: why would anyone openly express their disdain around the people one was to work with regardless? It only created unnecessary tension and ruined any chance of finding allies.

Had Ada been less emotional and more careful, were she to ask around discreetly, she'd learn that the Guardians were prone to questioning their own way of life.

No, she did not dislike Ada, but she deemed her foolish and short-sighted. Book smart, not street smart at all.

Things have changed, however, now that she had returned with an entirely different attitude. Perhaps it was her legacy that had been weighting the woman down and, since the Forges were lost to the enemy, nothing was ruining Ada's mood anymore.

'That's not the only thing that's changed. She's also---' Hel rummaged through the laboratory looking for something to use as leverage to open a panel. 'Afraid. Subdued.'

'That might be. Still don't see why we are working with that obnoxious lady.'

Izi the ghost had been bothering her guardian about Ada all the way to the frozen Europa and more, along their adventure.

'She pays well.'

'All she does is share information on what we've already found for her.'

'Matter transformation and storage was exactly one the pillars that revolutionised the society back during the Gold Age. Really think looking into that isn't worth our time?'

'I think fighting the Vex is more in our interest.'

Hel glanced at her ghost, amused. There was some mischievous intensity about her. A healthy dose of arrogance seen only in those who knew a lot more than they were leading on.

This gave Izi the ghost pause. The grumpiness - easily forgotten, the drone was trying to put together what it knew and form a bigger picture.

'I don't get it. You think the synthesis can somehow help us fight the Vex? Why? Because... Clovis worked on it?'

'Aha!'

The woman exclaimed happily as she reached for an object that resembled a screwdriver. She then approached the masterfully hidden panel in the wall. Good thing she'd snatched up the schematics and knew exactly where to look.

She didn't say anything back to Izi, though, just peeked over her shoulder and winked, still grinning.

The ghost got nervous if a ghost ever could truly experience such a state of being.

'Say, how much of his project Clovis based on the Vex tech, do you reckon?'

'Don’t know. All of it?'

'You think it's that connected?'

Another pause followed as Helena finally ripped the panel out and revealed an intricate box full of fuses and circuitry.

'Tsk, darn it.'

It was all frozen, however.

Hel squinted, studying the contents.

'Mm, yeah, looks like this is the one Ada asked for. Let's see what we can do.'

The Guardian removed her gloves and started rubbing her hands together while breathing meditatively. She had to do it just right, using enough Light to warm up her hands but not too much so that she didn’t ruin any of the pieces inside the panel.

Having thoroughly concentrated and mentally prepared, she finally placed her hands inside the fuse box, heating and melting away the ice.

It took much effort to do this carefully but eventually, she was done with the procedure. A water puddle has formed at her feet, the pieces became free to remove.

Hel went on to do that, but she also unscrewed a few more parts just in case. Maybe she would need them, or Ada would, or perhaps she'd sell them to the Drifter or Spider.

'You think most of the technological progress was based on the Vex, don't you?'

It was as if Izi's switch was flipped, and it started chattering on again, right where they left off.

'Yeah, something like that, Flashlight.'

Hel suddenly looked and sounded very tired, shoulders slumped, her whole posture was off.

'The Vex are known for many things, time loops included and not only. Do you... Do you ever stop to think that humans become the Vex in the future? With all the connection to the Exos and how comprehensible and comfortable their tech is to you guys?'

'Future. Alternate timeline where the Traveller never arrived. Yeah, I've thought about it a lot, Izi.'

'...oh.'

A sigh.

'I didn't mean to...'

'You never do. Right now, I figure, we should learn as much about the Vex as possible. The more insight we have, the better, and anything to do with Clovis provides good insight, okay? Okay, so let's look around some more. Gather data. Sell it twice - to Ada and the Stranger. Rinse and repeat.'

‘Too bad we can’t ask that giant head of his.’

‘Yeah, at this point, it’s going to lie, whether it actually knows stuff or not, but perhaps one day? Last time I talked to him, I swear he’d warmed up to me already.

A lone narcissist, recognising a fellow lone narcissist...

Hel put the gloves back on and clapped her hands.

Something moved behind the closed doors, and aggressive chattering could be heard.

The woman reached for the gun on her heap.

'Alright. Back to work.'

[sohelish]

A small gift

The Pit of Heresy was one of the most unique places she’d ever been to. With an atmosphere so thick and potent that moving fast was a detriment unless you knew where you were going.

Many a time had Helena ventured deep into the corridors. Still, there were so many nooks and crannies to explore that she had to be extra careful in managing the rush and taking long breaks when necessary.

She paused right as she was on her way back after stalking a particularly pesky Hive Knight who’d been engaging in a weird ritual. She’d watched the creature closely from the shadows, taking note of its every move and the decisions it made, doing what Eris Morn had asked of her.

And then, after having spied sufficiently, like a complete creep - the irony! - she turned around and started on her journey upwards, which made her ghost particularly irritated.

‘I’m telling you,’ Hel sighed under her breath when she stopped to rest in a small dark alcove that would surely hide her from the passing-by Hive.

‘I’m not going to kill that Knight - no such instructions to begin with, plus, maybe we’re going to need to observe it more closely next time, who knows.’

‘Again, you leave the enemy standing.’ Izi the ghost’s shaky voice barely concealed its disappointment. ‘For what purpose? Is this a part of your brilliant “no-resurrection” theory? Haven’t you had enough of this tip-toeing? A month has passed since your last death. I have been monitoring your life signs, and nothing changed, mm? Hello? Ghost to Hel? You aren’t even listening!’

‘Shh, wait. Look over there. Do you see it?’

Farther on the other side, at the edge of a crevasse, the green glow rose from below in occasional bursts, illuminating the darker parts of the underground complex. In an odd moment, the foul light landed on something tiny and supposedly metallic in nature.

‘What? Uh? How did you... spot that?’

Helena narrowed her eyes and fell silent, clearly analysing the situation to the best of her abilities. 

After a while, she finally spoke up, sounding quite tired and rather contemplative, yet determined.

‘You know what? I do feel different. I don’t care what you think or what your data says. Now, come on. Let’s go check it out.’

She waved her hand, gesturing for the ghost to follow, and carefully exited her safe spot.

‘Hel, hold on. I think I hear heavy steps. I think an Ogre is coming---’

‘Relax,’ the woman checked her radar feed to find that, indeed, the red blip indicated an enemy was approaching. ‘Those poor bastards are pretty blind.’

She pulled up the HUD with the map to double-check the location, confirming a suspicion she'd had, before making her way to the shiny piece.

‘This one: won’t fight a Hive Knight. Will cross an Ogre’s path over a patch of reflected light!’

‘It might be more important than you realise. Just hide and get ready for the worst.’

One final glance to look around, a deep breath in to calm the nerves, a quick assessment of the terrain, and then the Guardian darted towards the edge, eyes firmly set on her target.

The Ogre’s sad wail pierced the stillness and echoed through the tunnels.

***

‘I gathered the intel you requested.’

Hel returned from the Pit, all worn and torn and covered in Hive remains. 

Ever so often, Eris would say: "the scent of the worm clings to you". However, in this situation, she failed to come up with anything. The Guardian's smell was that bad.

Therefore Eris simply scrunched her nose, turning around slightly, hoping that the present company might not notice.

‘I highly appreciate your assistance, Hunter.’

She hummed gratefully and nodded as Helena transferred all the info she’d brought.

‘Until we meet---’ 

‘There’s something---’

Both women let out awkward quiet laughs.

‘You were saying?’

‘There’s something else, Eris... that I thought might interest you.’

Having spoken those words, the Guardian began patting herself all over, almost as if she’d forgotten where she put the thing she was looking for. That was until she reached out to Eris and pretended to have pulled the trinket from behind her ear.

Hel grinned playfully, pushing a piece of a metal chain into her hand.

To a bystander, there wouldn’t have been anything special about the charm. It, most likely, used to be a part of an ornament, an attachment of some sort that fell off deep in the Hive undergrounds. Only, as soon as Helena had scarped the dirt off of some parts, she immediately recognised the design. It was very similar to the trinkets on Eris’s weapons.

Judging by the awestruck expression on the fellow woman’s face, she had been spot-on with her guess.

‘This--- this is--- It belonged to---’ Eris's voice trembled, hand firmly grasping the memento from the past.

‘Yeah, okay.’ That was her cue to get the heck out. ‘I’ve got to go. Zavala wanted me to check in on the Fallen near the Hellmouth. See you later.’

Gracing Eris with finger-guns, she swiftly turned around, intending to leave as quickly as possible.

‘Hel. Don’t---’

The pleading, caring tone made Hel’s whole soul twist, and she hesitated for a second.

‘Don’t--- die out there.’

The heaviness of the moment made the Guardian pick up the speed and retreat faster.

[sohelish]

Recording. Entry... number one?

I’ve never done something like this before and normally I’d call it a waste of my time. However, I need it.

I need this.

It has to become a thing I can rely on in the time of doubt, otherwise, I’ll go crazy. Crazier than I am, I suppose?

I’ve been experiencing an unprecedented sense of stability ever since I stopped dying. The longer I go without being resurrected - the more everything makes sense. My mind is clearer. As if I’ve been drunk the whole time and sobered up just now.

Before this, I’ve been secretly - or not entirely - engaging in the practices of Thanatonauts. Not that I was actually hiding - dying publicly in Gambit proved to be most effective. As I did it, I’ve indeed seen things, visions.

I was never adamant the things I’ve seen did happen. Either I was seeing the visions of my past, or I was simply... dreaming, I thought? But how can someone’s brain “dream” if you’re dead, huh?

That’s what made me lean towards the idea that I must’ve been seeing actual bits from my past life. There shouldn’t have been any brain activity at the moment of my death to justify any dream at all.

I’ve long spent months digging up information on my past. Which is easy when you’ve died recently. Can’t hide the City records from a Guardian who’s got influence!

I’ve managed to confirm some things from my visions but only a few.

Then I looked into it all some more and eventually, I think, I’ve figured out something rather... unsettling.

Yeah, the Traveller speaks to people through dreams - this has been relatively known. Ikora guided many of us towards Io through her dreams, hasn’t she.

The Traveller is not interested in telling us who we were, though. It doesn’t show us visions it “guides” us towards goals.

If I were to assume, then, that my visions were real, but the Traveller does not grant such visions...

I believe I’ve been contacted by the Darkness - no, the Entity that grants the Darkness.

I’ve been in contact with it all this damn time and it has been showing me exactly what I wanted to see, true or not. Perhaps, it restored parts of my memories. Perhaps, it embellished some of those so I’d be satisfied with what I’ve learned.

Nobody knows this but...

I had a “dream” once after I got stepped on by the Primeval. Yeah, funny, I know - insert a kink joke here. 

Ugh. I tried to stay serious, I really did.

Anyway. I died and I saw nothing. Nothingness, rather. The void.

However, I heard strange crackling noises. Deep, echoing, and quite familiar.

At first, I couldn’t put my finger on it, but then I remembered that I know these noises well.

I’ve heard them before on Io, in the grove of Ulan-Tan - which is exactly why I went there. Chased away the Vex that were camping inside. Okay, okay, I slaughtered them, let’s be honest.

I sat there, in the deep, and I meditated listening to the same noises I heard after... during my death.

Suspense... and... 

Nothing happened!

I left, shrugged it off. Had a nice rest in the grove, though.

Some “me” time.

The next thing I knew, the Darkness had arrived. It’d arrived on Io as we all remember now. It made its first contact with us near the grove of Ulan-Tan.

I don’t know what to think. Really.

The human mind is tricky that way, it looks at patterns all around and assumes there’s a connection between the things that might be random.

Correlation doesn't equal causation.

And yet.

I practised death. I heard the sounds of the grove in a “death-dream.” I was lead to the grove of none other than Ulan-Tan!

The dude was a known Symmetrist, okay? He said stuff like: the Light and the Darkness are connected, the Darkness is a necessary force, both must exist together. Oh, and, wasn’t he adamant that the Light broke the laws of time and space?

Assuming the Light can, can’t the Darkness do it too? Can’t it tap into your dead mind and show you stuff?

The Traveller speaks to us through dreams.

The Entity - through death visions. Huh, why not?

It’s only an assumption. I might be wrong, but here I am.

I’ve always said I want nothing to do with the Darkness. I don’t care for it. The Light is already a burden, a gift I didn’t ask for, a gift I’ve been studying how to return all this time.

Now, I realise the Darkness might’ve been talking to me, offering things, and I’ve been accepting them unknowingly.

...

I hate this. I hate the idea of this, but I might be in too deep now.

I feel like it said “hello” with a pat on my shoulder when it guided me to the grove, and I fell for it like a sucker. Heh.

...

Eris had a falling out with Zavala and went to Europa to support the Stranger and her Stasis research.

I’m afraid I have to join in as well even as I did my best to stay away.

Pft, yeah, right! Didn’t do shit. Not really.

...

I sent my ghost away so I could record this without it watching... listening.

Izi doesn’t know why I strive not to die all of a sudden. It thinks I’m being cool and eccentric.

I want to leave it that way.

I want Izi to think I’m just being curious, as always.

Not that I sold myself out to the Darkness long ago because I wanted to know who I was.

So. Fucking. Stupid.

But, deep breath. No use to dwell on it now.

This isn’t the time to assign blame. That’s not going to help me, just waste my time.

I can only try and learn as much I possibly can, then maybe fix this state I’m in.

I’m only human... zombie, after all.

I’ll share more of my findings as I go along.

And I’ll try to keep it more professional, but... the only valid way you can say goodbye to a recording is:

Audio-s!

[sohelish]

A fun game

The air is crackling with something that’s not easy to describe - unfamiliar energy that’s seeping through the fabric of reality. It’s definitely alien. It shouldn’t be here, and yet the desire to protest is faltered by the allure of this foreign magic. Even if you realise that it could be bad for you, it also pulls you in, offering secrets.

Helena loves secrets, and puzzles, and solving them, so she allows herself to relish in the toxic atmosphere.

Slowly she opens her eyes and takes a deep breath. She looks around lazily, and there is nothing but the darkness with a slight tint of green haze.

She is sitting in a chair that does not exist. However, she sort of feels the ephemeral surface: one moment it’s there, the other it’s almost like she’s falling, her stomach turning inside out... The next second she is sitting still again.

She gathers her willpower and focuses on what’s in front of her because there is something hidden behind a thin veil, and suddenly it starts to come clear.

There are a table and a board placed strictly in the centre. Hel recognises the game immediately -- it’s chess.

Of course, it is, she thinks, even though she is not sure if she’d ever played or even knew how.

Judging by the position of the pieces, it has been going on for a while.

She wonders if it’s her move but then notices an enormous, though gracious, clawed hand reaching towards a figure, which effectively answers her question. The hand pauses over the queen, hesitating, then pulls back... Then moves forward again.

This makes Hel laugh so hard the air is shaking.

The hand retracts into the shadows as if embarrassed.

‘Touch the queen, and you must move it,’ she mocks in a highly amused yet also mean tone. ‘I don’t make the rules.’

Hel doesn’t recognise her own voice and swiftly pokes her neck to check if she’s even material at this point.

‘Huh? What? What the---’

The words don’t come out in her spoken language, not even her phonetics. It’s a mix of growls and eerie whispers.

‘You are zoning out. Again.’ Comes a song from the other side of the table -- regal, tired and a little bit sad. ‘Hel?’

‘How long have we been playing?’

‘Months. On and off.’

The woman wants to ask something else, but a jolt rocks her very being, and she can sense herself dissipating.

‘No. Wait. Hel, don’t go.’ The regal hissing envelops her. ‘Stay until I make a move. At least.’

‘Извини,’ Helena chokes out, this time in her voice. ‘Не могу, никак. Подождешь меня? Эй? Эй! Не ходи пока я не вернусь! Слышишь?!’

In a snap, she wakes up and goes on rambling still.

‘Слышишь? Слышишь?! Скажи “да”!’

‘Yes! Yes, I hear you! Stop shouting.’

Izi the ghost lifts itself off the nightstand and hovers over its guardian.

‘Hel? What’s up?’ It ponders. ‘A bad dream, huh?’

For a moment, Helena just stares at her ghost, blinking, then proceeds to frown.

‘No. Actually, a good one.’

The next phrase sounds like a potent curse booming loudly through a peaceful night,

‘Didn’t want to wake up.’

[sohelish]

Partners

‘I thought it’d be easier than this. I’m all sorts of philosophical and accepting about death and the end of things. So why am I still unable to wield the Darkness?’

‘You don’t want to die, though. You want to live very much.’

‘I wouldn’t necessarily mind.’

‘That’s different.’

‘Wait. Now I’m not edgy enough or something? Heh.’

‘Not desperate enough, I reckon. Here’s an idea! What if---’

‘I leave you behind and go into the enemy territory alone? Ghostless and unprotected, in order to challenge myself and see if maybe I’ll start shooting ice from my a...?’

‘No. Nope. See that’s--- that’s why I think Stasis just isn’t for you. Do you hear yourself? Scared but also: excited. You’re not supposed to believe in yourself that much, you’re too passionate, too---’

‘Don’t you dare.’

‘Fiery.’

‘Stop.’

‘What if you use the Light you already have to its fullest potential? You should go Solar and forget about everything else.’

...

‘Helly?’

‘Where are you going--- Guardian, get back here!’

[sohelish]

Stasis, more like: nah

Moving painstakingly slowly towards the target - a large back Pyramid Scale on the horizon - was becoming more and more tiresome with every step. A sudden gush of wind rushed a cloud of flakes in Helena's direction, engulfing her much as a blizzard would; and for a moment she felt like losing herself in the vast snows of Europa.

That lizard brain of hers thought: hey, I could stay here.

Wouldn't that be so simple? Letting go and allowing the snowstorm to lull her into oblivion?

'Soon, you might die.'

Again - an unspoken truth which Izi the ghost chose to leave out.

'How long are we supposed to be doing this?'

'I don't know,' Helena stopped and shrugged, letting out a heavy sigh. 'Can't seem to get it right.'

She'd spent days meditating atop of the Dark Ziggurat when, finally, it granted Hel a vision: she was to approach a specific Scale, seen from a location specified by the Pyramids.

The first part, finding the place, was easy. The path towards the goal was not.

'I knew this was a test---'

'But?' Izi twisted and turned nervously as if the cold was getting to it. 'You don't know what to do? How to pass the test? Or... what it is about?'

The guardian let out a series of incoherent mutters, which her ghost understood anyway and fell morbidly silent.

'We should go back, get something warm to drink and eat,' while sarcasm was the usual tone with each Izi spoke, hearing it chirp with such dire irritation was a rarity. 'Forget this whole thing!'

Then the little drone did a flip in a desperate attempt to keep its emotion in check.

'You know me. I'm with you, always, no matter what you suggest. And your suggestions seem wild at first, but then, in the end, one can appreciate the beauty behind the chaos.'

'Hey, you don't have to say it,' Hel couldn't help but chuckle heartily. 'You, the creation of the Light, accepting something like the Darkness---'

'That's not what I was going for.'

The ghost echoed cryptically and stared into the shiny helmet, covering its partner's face. It knew the expressions Hel was making due to their connection, but the communication seemed awkward without taking in her face.

'Some ghosts may argue that, yes, using the Darkness wouldn't be natural, but I have heard your point and, maybe, even accepted it--- Don't get cocky!'

Helena's whole body got all springy like she was about to prance with joy - something she did on purpose, to tease her ghost. Then she lifted her arms in mock surrender, to which Izi replied by twirling in a certain way, designated to imitate an eye-roll.

'If I am a piece of tech at the core, what does it matter which energy I run on?'

'Well, it does matter but---'

'My point is - you're not a device and don't work like one.'

They've stopped a while ago, glancing in the direction of the Pyramid Scale now and then, and taking note: it looked like the thing was moving further away from the pair.

'I kinda have to want it, don't I?

'You don't, though.'

'But why? Izi! When have I ever given up free knowledge for frack's sake? What’s wrong with me?'

Even the drone had never seen Helena so at a loss.

Just as the woman had spoken a veil of mist appeared and covered up the Pyramid Scale entirely.

'Besides! All the good girls are running around using stasis. You must admit it's weird that I haven't joined in yet!'

'It is not about what you want. It's about what you need. I know it sounds cheesy when I say it like this but--- maybe my guardian doesn't need the Darkness.'

Hel huffed amicably, but then her tone fell to its lowest.

'Nah, that's not it. Something's off here.'

She shook her head.

'And I'll get to the bottom of this. Right now? Let's go check out a cave I've seen on our way here. There was a small sign on the side of the rock, meaning the Fallen have a stash there and I want it.'

'See! When you say that you want the sweet loot - that I believe. Mmm. Loot.'

[sohelish]

Let’s play Bamboozle || d2drabble

‘I appreciate this. Mighty appreciate.’

Helena lifted an eyebrow and glanced at the warlock with unveiled suspicion. Still, oddly enough, she was peppy and grinning and seemed to have been enjoying this state of cautiousness Bae Lee had put her in.

‘I mean it! Will you relax already? I know exactly what dealing with you means for me. I’m the one who should be worried.’

Bae muttered the last part, slightly in awe at herself, because she definitely should’ve been concerned but for some unfathomable reason, she was calm and determined.

When Viper-4, one of the members of her fireteam, went AWOL she swore she’d do anything to find her. Never in her wildest dreams could she imagine that one of the guardians had already made a business out of it: finding the lost, fixing the messed up stuff, extracting information from certain people.

She went deep underground to find out what would make a diligent Exo like Viper take off and disappear but instead came across multiple rumours about none other than Hel -- a lonesome hunter who had helped quite a few individuals get out of precarious situations.

Actually, it turned out that she personally knew one of the people this Hel had assisted. Bae and the titan named Renner went way back. Which made it even more peculiar when she decided to ask about this mysterious hunter and he refused to give up her name or mention what sort of services she’d provided - that was when Bae knew she had to find this guardian and beg her for help. After a great deal of convincing, Renner cracked.

‘Okay, let me put it this way. You have a problem. You want someone sensible to deal with said problem, right? You come to me, claiming to know one of the folks who swore he’d never tell on me--- see where I’m going with this? I have all the reason to be twitchy around you, and that’s how you know I’m the person who’s actually right for this job.’

They stepped off the designated landing pad on the Tangled Shore and made their way towards one of the less popular Fallen clubs.

‘I suppose.’ Bae let out a deep heavy sigh.

‘You’re... strangely composed.’

‘Sorry?’

‘That was a compliment,’ Hel chuckled and received a careful smile from Bae in return. ‘People who usually come to me are all fidgety and panicky. You’re set on the task at hand. Makes it easier for me to---’

They’d reached their destination and Bae was about to head through the entrance and into the club, when she felt the hunter grab her by the elbow, pulling her aside.

‘Tsk. Who said we’re going this way? Normal heroes always use the bypass. Come on!’

The warlock couldn’t help but grin and allowed herself to be dragged aside and led through the back door.

‘A short cut? Nice. Makes me think you do know what you’re doing.’

Her cheerfulness faded the moment they set foot into a giant storage room and Bae lay her eyes on twelve Eliksni who were clearly in the middle of re-arranging and documenting the cargo.

Instinctively she reached for her gun, fully aware that this may have been a stupid move: there were no grounds to set anyone off... yet.

To her utter shock, it was Helena who drew her gun first and punched the nearby loader in the face with an impressive left hook.

The Eliksni appeared to have been just as surprised as he stumbled backwards and landed on one of the boxes with a loud thump.

From the way all of his eyes rounded, Bae could’ve sworn he looked thoroughly upset, sad to be precise.

Suddenly she was the one who felt out of place, struggling to shake off an unpleasant thought of being a bully and inevitably feeling sorry for the assaulted alien.

Meanwhile, Hel swiftly rushed up to one of the Fallen that had an air of being in charge about him and didn’t hesitate to aim her hand cannon straight at his jaw.

‘You and I are going to have a chat, Big Guy,’ she tugged on his armour plate, forcing the foreman to walk towards one of the side-rooms with her. ‘Warlock Bae, you watch this lot until we get back!’

‘Uh-sure thing,’ Bae puffed her chest, doing her best to feign confidence, but, of course, once Hel had left the vicinity the atmosphere only got more awkward and strained: the workers, frozen in place, were gawking at her with all of their eyes wide; the warlock, too, stood there motionlessly, her hand still on her sidearm. Plus the deafening silence was oppressive, despite occasionally being broken by the loaders clacking their teeth.

At the same time, things were getting heated in the adjacent room as Helena and the foreman locked in an intense staring contest until... the Eliksni started laughing or rather producing the bubbly throaty sounds that could be classified as such.

‘Another good show, eh?’

‘Yeah, thanks for that, Kikran,’ Hel twirled her cannon playfully and returned it to its holster.

‘Naw, thank you, Earth-creature. Gets boring ‘round, sorting cargo.’

The two cackled quietly in unison.

‘Skalkes fell pretty.’

‘I know right? I swear the man’s acting is getting much better. I didn’t even swing that hard and his whole stumbling was so dramatic! And the way he didn’t flinch and discreetly leaned away before I touched him? Seamless, believable, like I totally hit him! Top-notch.’

‘You came for intel?’

‘Yup. The girl’s looking for her missing friend. Sobby-sob-sob.’

Hel snapped her fingers and a data-pad materialised in her hands.

‘Here, check this out for me, will you? Word is she’s been last seen on the Tangled Shore. Heh, somehow they always are.’

‘I’ll ask ‘round. Anything for you,’ Kikran paused. ‘We go back?’

‘Nah, not yet. Let her tense up a little more, truly embrace the scene, get a sense of authority.’

‘Coming to the next dance?’

‘Sure thing! Wouldn’t miss it for the world, you know me.’

Yet again they fell into a comfortable silence.

‘It’s been a while. We should make some noise or something.’

Before Hel finished formulating her suggestion, Kikran started shaking the boxes he’d been leaning against and proceeded to yell whilst making odd sounds with his alien vocal cords:

‘Human devil! Stop! Aargh!’

‘Dude-dude! Chill! You’re over-doing it! It’s starting to sound like we’re having sex in here--- for fuck’s sake, stop, you’re going to make me laugh out loud!’

The hunter covered her mouth with her hands, almost bursting from all the amusement.

‘Fine,’ the foreman shrugged, a bit gloomy about the fact that his performance hadn’t been valued highly. ‘We go.’

As soon as they’d passed the threshold back into the main storage space, Kikran visibly deflated while Helena, on the other hand, looked as imposing as ever with a fierce look in her eyes and a weapon back in her hand.

‘We got what we needed, let’s go, Bae.’

The warlock glanced at the smaller woman and nodded sheepishly. If she didn’t have any particular opinion about Helena before, now she definitely respected and feared her a little.

‘You didn’t have to be so harsh... I think?’

‘Hey, you want to find your Viper friend -- I want to do this right.’

‘Yes. Thank you. Really, thank you.’

‘Don’t mention it, madam. It’s just what I do.’

[sohelish]

Helena stood next to Zavala, casually leaning against the rails and while everyone was staring up at the giant threat of a ship that was heading towards the Last City, her gaze was focused on a single spot in front of her as she was trying to remember how she’d ended up participating in a mass event, letting herself be surrounded by people like that--- ew.

Her own carelessness was what had lead her to it, for she was a blunt person and often unapologetically so, however she underestimated that it may have literally cost her a lot of glimmer that was much needed these days as she was stocking up on gear and weapons before the upcoming apocalypse 2.0 that she’d expected to arrive any moment now.

She was in the middle of discussing terms of shipment with one of her spare parts dealers when he mentioned that he was coming up to the tower to watch Rasputin blow up the Almighty; and the mechanic said it in such a tone like it was some sort of amusing entertainment venture.

For immortal guardians -- maybe, but shouldn’t it have been terrifying for the average humans?

‘Sure. I worked my ass off helping Ana when few others did, building the sats too, but you come and enjoy the show, buddy.’ She chuckled somewhat tensely. Damn, she must’ve been really exhausted and didn’t care to filter what she was saying. ‘Waste your time on this Earth, why don’t you. I’m not even going to---’

And then, just like that, she was going to attend because otherwise she could say farewell to the abundance of generous discounts and that mechanic’s graces in particular, and he was a talented man, one of a kind. Oh, what a mouth she had... it is true what they say: you can be your own worst enemy.

Frankly speaking, even though she’d put a lot of effort into backing up the Rasputin AI she still reserved the right to be carefully sceptical and her initial plan was to spend the day as far away from the Last City as possible, for example joining Ana Bray on Mars, monitoring the numbers and admiring the result of their work from afar. On the one hand, she was about 96% certain it was going to work, therefore why would she spend her time watching the spectacle. On the other, 4% said -- be smart about it and don’t stand where the Almighty could theoretically hit.

All she could do to minimise her risks under the current circumstances was to hang out beside Zavala, selfishly hoping that in case of an emergency the mighty titan would cast the ward of dawn and shield them all; even though she was technically immortal, dying to a ship crash or falling debris like a gawking idiot was not her idea of fun.

Suddenly Hel tensed, feeling something heavy push and pull on her wrist and then her palm, and she struggled to control the urge of jumping aside, which would’ve lead to her bumping into a near bystander while she reached for the Python in order to retaliate. In the safety of the tower, standing among fellow guardians, she still was paranoid and ready to fight, always considering a possibility that someone was out to get her.

Of course she was in no danger and she realised as much when she looked at her hand only to find that it had been firmly grasped by none other than Skylar -- not an enemy, and most certainly a solid ally. Yes, they did agree to meet up and watch together, didn’t they. Good thing she didn’t act on her instinct because that would’ve been very weird.

Helena finally let out the breath she’d been holding and sluggishly examined the “hand situation” that she believed to have been accidental, since Sky’s eyes were still focused on the myriad of warsats that were slowly moving towards the lingering threat above. That made her feel...

Huh.

She looked up as well, realising that the sats had only moved so much, inching in painfully slowly, and then wiggled a little bit closer to Skylar so that she could whisper as discretely as possible--- yet for some reason she didn’t utilise that option and spoke loudly enough.

‘Did you notice that we are staring directly at the sun?’ she paused and shook her head a little. ‘Granted, the Almighty is covering it and our ghosts can treat any damage caused to us but that doesn’t change the fact that we are all staring directly at the sun and that is just--- so--- d u m b.’

She moved her arm against the rail, preparing to free her hand but then she did something entirely unexpected: she ran her fingers across Sky’s arm, coming to a still in a specific place she’d picked out - where there was a slight gap between the armour pieces and then...

D i n g.

She “pulled” a Gambit coin out of there.

In the terribly heavy silence, while everybody was morbidly static and one could hear some people breathing, that ding was deafening and rang as clearly as a high-pitched bell would echo in an empty room.

‘Can’t we just go play Gambit instead?’ Hel flicked the dreadful thing again and again, even though everyone around was staring at her by then.

‘Honestly though, I’m not an impatient woman. I knit--- and I’m telling you: I’d rather go knit right now or get that banana bread I’ve been meaning to take you out for... anything but this. The Darkness isn’t going to kill me. This is what’s going to kill me, along with the smell of the dozen unbathed guardians, fresh from killing things gathered tightly in one place.’

She may have been right to begin with.

She shouldn’t have been there, and absolutely not after saying stuff like that.

People heard.

They weren’t watching the ship anymore.

Only Zavala continued to keep an eye on the Almighty despite the fact that the wariness on his face gave way to a tiny smile. He never as much as glanced at Hel but he did clear his throat in the way common for when he was desperately trying to stop himself from laughing or, Traveller forbid, joking back.

@ofdeomnes​​

[sohelish]

She’s an unpleasant character, to say the least...

‘Котееейка---’

She doesn’t really like anyone. Lacks general empathy and the ability to connect.

‘Киса-киииса.’

There is only one person she loves fully and unconditionally... that person being her very own self, of course.

‘У кого шерстка? У кого лапки?’

Establishing a bond through touch is definitely not for her.

‘У тебя. И у тебя~ И у тебя тоже!’

Yet here she is. Cuddling. Snuggling.

Not one, not two... but three cats that sometimes hang out at her apartment in the Last City.

[sohelish]

fight or fall

For a moment, it was almost as if the time stopped altogether, and Hel was hyper-aware of the sound of her own breathing. The scene froze for her even though she knew that she could move, but something was not right, so she didn't. She blinked, and blinked, and blinked.

She could feel the rush, she could sense the ghost of the adrenaline pumping through her veins. A distant echo of a cheerful voice boomed, coming from afar, followed by gentle praise: you are my favourite guardian.

This isn't right. What is with these old immortals? Why are they amused by murder so much? Why am I?

---a flash of a memory takes Helena into the Crucible.

The surroundings are all a blur, the sounds of gunfire all meshed up and muffled. There are only her and the big bulky Titan that's charging her daringly.

Nobody else is around. It's her against him, and that's where it gets interesting. That's when her instincts kick in because she's a survivor, has always been one. In a second, she makes a decision that changes the course of the encounter. He expected her to run or dodge but, instead, she's standing still up until it seems like she is about to go down, and she does. Not in the way he'd anticipated, however. She ducks at the last minute and the charge of light that was meant to obliterate her flies by, landing mere inches away. Meanwhile, she's darting towards his legs and grabbing the Titan by his waist.

It's sheer luck, but she uses his momentum against him and tips him over her body. She can hear the crack of his skull, the bones of his neck collapse in on each other with an unpleasant yet characteristic sound when she dunks him against the ground.

The thought that crosses her mind is: I survived.

Up until she hears Shaxx cheer and that's when it hits her.

She did not survive. There was no life or death scenario. Unnecessary.

It was all a game, a sick game---

To her, it felt like an eternity had passed, even though it was hardly half-a-minute.

Why is this normal? Who are we?

Somewhere in the back of her mind, her mother's words started to scrape.

Странник знает лучше.

That was when she'd had enough, shook her head, forcefully chasing the memories and visions away with a burst of sheer willpower, and laughed bitterly.

[sohelish]

Let’s play Bamboozle || part 2 || part 1

‘I still can’t believe I fell for it. It was so staged!’

Warlock Bae Lee was leaning against Kikran, laughing like crazy and threatening to spill the contents of the bottle she’d been holding.

The Eliksni foreman let out a series of bubbly noises which probably served as a complimenting chuckle. They both exchanged meaningful glances, recalling the first time they met a few weeks prior whilst playing roles in a con that Helena had been pulling off.

‘So friggin fake! There’s no way I was that much of a sucker!’

‘Uhm, Lee? Yesterday? At the food joint?’ Hel lifted an eyebrow and proceeded to tease her fellow guardian. ‘That dude wasn’t trying to make sure you diversify your meal intake. He talked you out of your regular order because some of the stuff nobody wants was about to go bad and he thought he’d “recommend” it.’

‘Excuse you, I wanted to try something new for a change! You’ve got this one wrong.’

‘You should stop going to that place anyway. Their food is abysmal.’

‘Prove it. Cook for me and I’ll consider.’ Bae winked suggestively, causing Helena to roll her eyes and take a long soothing sip of her drink.

‘Fine then, Buttercup. If I am such a huge loser how come you agreed to help me?’

She waited all night to ask her that.

‘I’ll let you know that suckers are the most profitable group of people.’

There was a rather awkward pause during which Kikran misread the situation entirely. He thought that Hel’s words must have insulted the warlock and shifted heavy-handedly, almost knocking over the table in the process. If it weren’t for Lee pressing her worth of bodyweight against the surface while she leaned in to better glare at the hunter, he surely would’ve destroyed the piece of furniture due to his clumsiness.

Isn’t he supposed to be a cargo loader? Hel scoffed to herself but found it hard to change focus and escape Bae’s interrogating gaze.

There was no fooling her, apparently; especially since she wanted to hear the truth and seemed to have anticipated a part of it already. The woman was far from offended and it was Helena whose comfort zone was being invaded at the moment, but she didn’t waver.

‘Alright. Alright. When you came looking for help you had a certain image in your head. It was clear to me that you needed a badass outlaw who would take you out for some fun. I could either explain that I pretty much have enough connections to just sit on my ass and do actively nothing while we search for your Viper or whatever. Or I could give you the entertainment you were looking for. You were bored. I happened to have been bored too.’

‘Yes. Yes. I was... bored,’ Bae’s jaw squared as she tensed. They were forcibly drowning harsh facts in the silliness of the small talk.

‘I hate to admit it but Viper’s sudden disappearance was the only thing that made me feel... energetic in a while.’

She briefly side glanced the Eliksni male with a great deal of suspicion, wondering if he really understood human subtext or was able to comprehend some things she was eager to discuss.

‘Hey, man. I get that. I totally do.’

Naturally, Hel noticed exactly how stiff her fellow guardian had become and decided to do her best to reassure her companion and former client that all was well. At least as well as it could’ve been.

‘How much do you really get? How full of a picture did you piece together?’

There it was again -- that intense glare that Bae possessed.

It sent chills down Helena’s spine, but in a good, thrilling way. She was supposed to cave in. Instead, she ended up enjoying herself under pressure.

Lee would’ve been a great Praxic, had she not despised them.

‘Full enough.’

The strained silence was broken by the rhythmic sound of Hel’s fingers tapping against the table. It was obvious that it took a great deal of control on her side not to appear overly smug or too confident.

‘Almost forgot. Your... payment will arrive tonight. I’ll have it delivered to your apartment,’ Lee chuckled ruefully, considering whether she’d gotten involved in a bigger mess by hiring this hunter.

Her plan was simple: if she could get Viper-4 out of trouble and then talk to her discreetly, it would have solved a whole load of issues.

Now, she realised, she underestimated how much someone like Helena could have guessed in the first place. She must have agreed to help because she suspected there was a lot more to it than a mere feud between the two fireteam mates. 

‘I think it’d be good for both of us if I didn’t regret meeting you.’

‘Heh, and there I thought you weren’t worried, madam.’

Both women exchanged polite smiles with a sprinkle of something vicious behind them.

Oh, this bastard of a guardian definitely knew everything: the actual story that led to Viper’s disappearance.

Crap!

Not only did Bae manage to stay calm but she’d also feigned mirth, despite there inevitably being a vaguely threatening edginess to it.

‘You’re a decent actress, Buttercup. I dig that.’

‘Decent! That’s the word you’re using? Not fabulous. Not incredible--- decent.’

There was a thick layer of theatrical dismay in her tone. It was quite clear that Hel didn’t really care.

‘Well... I’m pretty sure that when you two were duping me and left, for a moment there, I thought you were having sex in that closet. Remember?’

Kikran had a brisk look of embarrassment about him when he rushed to excuse himself and finally leave, no longer feeling capable of handling the stress. Human company could be too confusing and exerting for his taste.

‘Hey. I told you you were over-doing it, you big bug!’

‘Don’t look so sour, Kikran. Don’t run off too far. Here, give me a minute. I’ll go gamble you a prize. What would you prefer? Glimmer? That guy’s armour-pants off, topped with a little bit of humiliation?”

‘It’s not gambling if you---’

If she knew exactly how to beat them -- Hel wanted to interject. However, Bae Lee had already successfully escaped their company, retreating to the space she perceived to be a safer one. The card table welcomed her with open arms, which the hunter thought to be a gruesome mistake on their part.

Kikran stood by her side for a bit before eventually waving his multiple arms and departing, not at all interested in getting any gifts.

Helena spent the rest of the night drinking, watching from afar as Bae blatantly robbed the Eliksni patrons of the club, and musing over the events of the past two weeks.

One of the founders of the City in my pocket.

Check.

[sohelish]

Uncovering the past || Des.tiny AU

Something's not right.

She's sitting rather comfortably on a broad spacious windowsill, legs up, arms wrapped around her knees. She's being treated to one of the best views of the city but she’s also feeling uneasy because the window is unfamiliarly large and the glass is unusually clear and freakishly clean. The duvet under her is warm and soft so she isn't at all bothered by the draft that inevitably escapes even through the tiniest of cracks.

She should be happy.

She should feel... good?

'I want to go home.'

The demand is deafeningly booming in a still and quiet room, despite the girl being very small. She can't be more than twelve by any stretch, yet her voice sounds so grown up with those notes of steel and determination in it.

Hel looks at her hands only to discover how tiny they are. Hmm, maybe that's why that window seems so intimidating.

For the longest of times, it appears as if the ageing Awoken woman chooses to ignore her ward and keeps working on the papers full of numbers and the shipping manifests that need urgent approval. She is, in fact, in the very room but it's almost as if neither she nor the impressive wooden table she's sitting at exist in the same space continuum as the girl.

The light is shimmering. Shifting.

Something's not right.

'You already are home, Helly.'

She finally replies and there's an equally challenging finality in that answer, which implies that the child must've made a similar demand before, perhaps more than once.

'I want. To go. H o m e.'

'This is your ho---'

'No, this is your home and you know it.' The girl turns her sharp judging gaze towards the Awoken. 'Why do you keep insisting?'

The woman sighs.

'You are the one grasping onto a reality that is no longer there. Helly, your home has been destroyed.'

'Damaged. It's been damaged by fire and bullets. Nothing that can't be repaired.'

'No one has enough glimmer to waste on repairing that place.'

'I could do it on my own. Don't need any glimmer.'

'Tsk. Stubborn child. What of your parents? They died in that house? Do you wish to live in a place that serves as a constant reminder of that?'

'It's not like that's something I can forget anyway.'

...and yet she forgot.

You forgot and you swore to always remember. How could you forget, Hel? How could you?

The Awoken woman falls silent again, her eyes still fixed on the workload, but at the same time, she is considering whether to go on and finally state the obvious out loud no matter how painful it might be for the little one to hear. Actually, never once did she look up and yet she was able to both take in the numbers and continue with this heavy conversation.

That's weird.

'What remained of your house has already been sold, child.'

Hel knew that. She somehow already knew that.

'Then let me live in my father's workshop! He stayed there, for weeks sometimes. There's a room. It's good enough. It's still home. My home. It's mine! It's my workshop now.'

The young girl stands up so quickly that her head starts to spin - or has it been spinning for a while? - yet she still manages to look and sound imposing, confident. How can a mere child have such a strong and clear sense of her own identity? Of what is and isn't hers?

Why is she so set on this? She lost her parents and instead of mourning and clinging to the nearest adult for support, this is what concerns her.

The Awoken woman sighs again, deeply, and in that one could easily read all the regret of taking this obnoxious, odd and troublesome kid in.

'No. The workshop is the property of the New Monarchy. Your parents left all that they owned to us and named us your guardians, little lady.'

'Lies!'

Oh, she made Helly angry. All that spite and bitterness - pouring out now.

The pain. All the pain.

'Lies. All of it! My father would never---'

'---and yet he did. And yet here we are.'

The older woman enunciates every word in a commanding tone and is suddenly standing in front of her as if she blinked up close.

Kind of like a warlock, haha.

Wait. What?

Hel...

'You listen here!'

Hel?

Static noise.

'You brat.'

Hel!!!

’Ungrateful child!’

The picture is phasing out, getting blurrier and blurrier and yet Helly is very aware of a pink-ish finger pointed straight at her nose, too close for her comfort.

She slaps the finger away forcefully and feels a sharp pain of being grabbed and pulled up by the collar but then the whole experience is fading out, while the new excruciating pain spreads all over her body.

What the h e c k is going on?

'Guardian! Come on! Snap out of it!'

...

Helena blinked her eyes open and was immediately shocked by the amount of bright greenery that assaulted her visual senses.

So beautiful! The nature. The open space. The freedom.

'Ugh. Come on! I can't rez you in this state. You have to move.'

Her mind was still extremely fuzzy like she’d been drinking non-stop for days, and it took a lot of her willpower to finally focus and begin to analyse the situation.

'Invader incoming!' she discerned a familiar voice.

'Finally! Maybe they'll kill you and we can get back in the game.'

The game. The greenery. The voice. Her ghost.

Right.

It all came rushing back to her.

She was playing Gambit on the Emerald Coast, clearing out the area around the bank because the opposing team sent a lot of blockers. Her team had the Primeval's attention but then something went wrong and just as she took down the last Taken minion she saw the mighty murderous giant towering over her and then... then it stomped.

Hel didn't really remember flying over to the opposite side of the arena, just the feeling of it: sudden lightness, adrenaline rush and extreme high. Yes, indeed, looked like she'd managed to enjoy the process of being thrown.

She chuckled. Figures.

'Oh, Light! Helena, are you smiling?! Coming to your senses or what?!'

Izi the ghost just kept buzzing.

'Can you please get a hold of yourself, partner? I swear you are twice as clueless as when I first found you. Look around! Look at what’d happened!'

Hel did.

Well. Shit.

Apparently, the Primeval's stomp was especially mighty but also surprisingly well-directed, resulting in Helena landing among the debris of an old building and ending up impaled on the reinforcement bars sticking out of the broken off pieces of concrete remains.

'Oh, boy--- Ouch... ouch.' Yet again she chuckled and winced. ‘Uhm. Important question time: do I look yummy? Kind of--- like a kebab right now?’

'Pft. Joking are we? Means you’re back. Okay, so either you finally die or crawl out of here and I heal you. We've got to get back in the game. Remember? We are winning! Or, you know, we were.'

'Right, right. On it. Enough with the nagging, you piece of rusty tech.'

'Hurry up, meatbag. Less talk, more work.'

Both the ghost and its guardian were goofing around, engaging in their usual playful banter and everything was back to their version of normal.

The invader decided that one lone participant on the side was not worthy of their attention or maybe they didn't notice Hel at all, so dying by their hand was out of the question and the only option for her was to move in spite of the overwhelming pain. That's where the drone's sedation and bordering-on-inappropriate cheering helped.

Helena often joked about being a zombie and that was the sort of a gruesome moment when she truly felt like it: when she slid up and off the rebar like an undead monster in a horror story.

'Yes! We're good to go!' Izi the ghost was quick to heal its guardian and twirled around happily. 'Now what do we--- hey! Hey, wait up!'

Hel had already rushed toward the enemy invader who was in the process of attacking her teammates and flanked them, swiftly ending their moment of fun as if that had been the plan all along. Then she ran and slid towards the others, joining in taking down the Primeval; almost regretting that she had to now put down this majestic Taken that had granted her something precious indeed -- the pain-induced hallucination of a memory from her past.

'Where were you!?'

'Took a long break, huh!'

'Catching up on that beauty sleep?'

The woman was met with friendly mockery and teasing over the comms.

'Yeah, yeah. I was resting up so I could do this!'

She jumped onto a nearby rock, pushed herself off of it in order to get up even higher and then she unleashed all of it: the anger buried deep down inside her, the fear of losing everything over and over again, all of the suppressed emotional residue from her past life. She shaped her feelings into a wave of relentlessly hateful fire and then let go. The poor Primeval creature couldn't handle any more attacks since it had been damaged so much already and it let out its last roaring cry as it drowned and melted in the flames.

'Woooooooooow.'

'What the...?!'

Somebody whistled. The others were muttering to themselves.

'Sister, you got style.'

Oh ho ho ho, they had no idea how much style she really had.