Natylee was shaking frenetically now, metal clanging together at the joints. It sounded like a giant was throttling a suit of plate armor. Rai still had a million questions to ask, but in Natylee's current state, that wouldn't be helpful for either of them. What really mattered now was making a decision. Rai had to get her back to the Tower, but Natylee seemed pretty intent on staying. It didn't seem like she would go back willingly, and trying to force her would likely start a fight. One of them would probably be dead by the end. [i]I've been through worse...[/i] Rai attempted to sound as calm as a lake on a windless day, "So, what's our first move?" She came off like a stern mother instead.

Nat was pleasantly surprised by Rai's response. She looked down and relaxed her shoulders and legs. Nat raises her head up again "Thank you. Like I said, it's getting dark and a small camp wouldn't be the worst idea." The two move away from the open and setup a small fire, Nat didn't need it but the feeling of fire is always nice and she assumed that Rai didn't disagree. The fire was a nice shade of orange and it glowed with a warmth that was unparalleled. The night grew dimmer and the chatter between the two continues late into the darkness of night.

Rai followed Natylee into the ground floor of an abandoned corporate office. The atrium was a giant, circular hall covered in peach-colored marble tiles. All around were black columns reaching up to the sky -high ceiling, converging at a row of elevators on the opposite end of the entrance. A Hive seeder could fit comfortably within this room. Rai gathered up some wood from nature's reclamation of the city, dumping the pile in the center of the room. Taking a particularly thick log, she channeled her Light in the form of Solar energy into the lumber. The log began to glow a warm red color before erupting into flames. Rai set the now flaming log under the pile, immediately burning the rest of it. The crackling heat gave off a feeling of a family hearth. Satisfied with her work, Rai sat down cross-legged on the fire. With both hands, she carefully removed her helmet and lay it on the floor standing up straight, finally revealing her face. Rai was an Awoken, her pale blue skin like a cloudless day, showing even in the ember glow of the campfire. Her hair was long and white, shaved on both sides. With minimal effort, she fashioned her hair up into a mohawk. At first, she sat there awkwardly, just staring into the fire, holding her hands together tightly. Then her Ghost suddenly popped out of the ether like a holiday bell, chiming,"Hi, so, ah, how were you born? Again, I mean, by your Ghost."

Natylee looks up at the awoken Titan that's sat before her. She hadn't looked before but Rai was most definitely a beautiful woman. But beside her was a quaint little ghost who asked, "Hi, so, ah, how were you born? Again, I mean, by your ghost." She was taken off guard by this question but not in a bad way. "Hold on, I forget sometimes just how stuffy this helmet is." She removes her own helmet, she was of course an Exo her metal skin was a charcoal grey. She had a teal stripe down her face and and another grey plate on her brow. She breaths a quick shallow breath and let's it out. "Hmm where to start?" Rai's ghost speaks "The beginning?" "Good a place as any I presume." ____________________________________ Well, I was risen 97 years ago, The first year was... Needless to say confusing. It got better over the years but still today I wonder why I'm here, such is the way a warlock thinks. I know not who my human counterpart was, but she was once alive... She must have been very important to be reserved an Exo conscience. I made it to the tower about 4 and a half years after being risen, but still I didn't do much for the vanguard. I was close to exile more times than I can count on two hands, why? Well as you have seen I can use bindings. I call it Sympathy, I make two things understand each other and I make them work with each other. I can draw fire to be sympathetic with a stone and then superheat that stone to help heat up some water, poor example I know. I can also draw runes as a sort of permanent sympathy. And the most powerful... I can call names. Names that define the true shape of the things that make up our world. I can call the fire in the world and make it rise I can call the wind and blow even the strongest wills down. All of these powers studied in excruciating patience. For 23 years i meddled with things most considered better left alone. I made my weapons [i]Sanabit[/i], a dagger that allows me to put the names of things into myself, as you already saw I named myself stone and survived that rubble. My hand cannon [i]Manducare[/i].. Well I can bind infinite energy to the weapon and it will push it outward into whatever it hits. I can theoretically destroy anything with output energy. And that is all 23 years of work and research and... Focus. A short month after I met my two greatest works. But... That's a story to tell for another day, as I'm sure you can guess one of them was Clarrisa. ___________________________________ Rai's ghost was not talking, perhaps speechless. Maybe expecting more. Either way Nat lowered her head a looked deep into the fire. She had a somber look in her optical receptors. And the green lights in them grew a bit dimmer.

Even Rai had a hard time keeping a blank face after hearing that. A normal person would have immediately branded Natylee as a Hive fanatic, following in the footsteps of Toland the Shattered. Rai had enough experience to know that this...Sympathy was not Hive magic, though. It didn't take a genius to know that it wasn't a gift of the Traveler, either. [i]Warlocks, why are they always tampering with powers beyond their control, let alone their understanding?[/i] She was itching to throw some accusatory questions Natylee's way, but Rai saw something on the Exo's face. Talking about her adopted daughters triggered some sort of emotional reaction...some sort of sadness. Over what, though? [i]A question for later. Now's probably not the best time.[/i] Rai straightened up her back, tilting her head straight at Natylee. "Why'd Clarrisa leave? I'm guessing there's a story behind her 'disappearance.'"

Nat's eyes sank into a dimmer green. "I..." She stops and raises her head "I think it was my fault. I don't even remember what I told her I was just so angry and she left the day after..." Natylee muttered a binding under her breath and she drew the coolness out of the air and eased her mind. She lets a long breath out, now of course she can't breath but she has developed subroutines that let her do it. It helps calm her. A sudden flash and fire lit up the alley behind their building, it flashed through windows. It was the fallen.

In one smooth movement, Rai grabbed her helmet with one arm, stood up from her cross-legged position, smashed the helmet over her skull, and reached into the fire with her free hand. Rai's entire body burst into flames. This wasn't the same friendly crackling of a fireplace, her entire being was encased in a furious inferno, blazing anger radiating off of her armor and into the rest of the room. Withdrawing her arm from within the campfire, Rai manifested a molten, silver warhammer. One end was sculpted to look like a vicious bear with its maw open. The other side, a perfectly flat surface, perfect for obliterating skulls. Rai wound up the hammer behind her, crouching low to the ground, then sprung forward, tossing the hammer with all of her might. With a metallic clang like an anvil dropping onto concrete, the hammer exploded into a supernova, annihilating the wall the Fallen were hiding behind. In its wake, a burning crater churned out smoke. Rai grabbed Natylee's shoulder,"Let's get going."

She sighs, "I was hoping to rest," Nat gets up and slides her helmet on. A fallen crew of dregs came through the door. Natylee drew energy from the crater the hammer had left and she bound it do the dregs. They boiled alive from the inside. Now only shrivels husks of what they once were. A captain walks through the door and Rai hurls another hammer of flame. The captains face caved in and he caught aflame. A second wave of fallen rush into the building and Rai is still throwing hammers. Nat makes a judgement call and she plunges her dagger into her chest and in her mind she screams the name of [i]Fire[/i] into it. Not a second later she bursts into flames. Not of the singing sun, she was not calling in her radiance. She was an embodiment of fire. She draws the fire from her body. And takes as much energy as possible. She crams it into her pistol and she shoots the floor beneath them. It lights a blaze with the fury of 10 billion Suns in the space of a few square feet around them. She bound Rai with the name of fire and allowed her to grow ever burning and insanely powerful. Nat herself drew even more energy from the fiery dagger in her [i]'Heart'[/i] and she rushed over and placed her hand on Rai's chest....

Searing power coursed through Rai's body. After Natylee put her hand to Rai's chest, she felt even stronger than usual, her fire burning stronger. Amidst the flaming chaos, Rai was the brightest thing in the room. With new intensity and vigor driving her, Rai stampeded outside through the flames, hammer in hand. The Fallen had called in for more reinforcements than she bargained for. In the air hovered 2 Skiffs, still dropping off troops. A Walker tank was slowly lumbering over on its six legs, its weapons whining as they charged up to fire. All around the street, Vandals, Dregs, Captains, Shanks moved in to take the building. [i]Burn.[/i] [i]Burn it all.[/i] Rai leapt forward, howling like a demon, the force of her jump leaving a small crater in the pavement. Bolts of blue Arc energy fired at Rai, everything happening as if in slow motion. A few shots connected, but it didn't matter. Nothing would stop what was coming. Rai landed on top of a Captain, her feet pushing it to the ground, and she brought her hammer down like a meteor to the ground. There was a bright flash...and then nothing but hellfire.

Nat tried to bind herself closer to the fire, and it took about 5 attempts before she did. Rai was throwing furious flames towards everyone in sight. A Reaver Captain, brought down to smoulders after a single hammer. And many, many, many more Eliksni incinerated. A Devil Walker drops from a jumpship and when Rai looks back Nat is gone. [i]Where is she?[/i] Suddenly around the Devil Walker and the fallen nearby, appeared the brightest flame rai had ever seen. It shone with hope. It shone with despair. [b]It. Burned.[/b] If there was anything stopping the flame from encapsulating these foes, it wouldn't matter. They were engulfed in towers of flame and the ether from their bodies seemed to boil away. This continued for about 20 minutes before everything in the surrounding area was black. Except for a Titan. And a Warlock.

Rai and Natylee stood amongst the ashes of Old Tokyo, two burning phantoms in a world of dead black. Rai dropped her flaming hammer to the ground, landing with a heavy metal thud. A layer of fine, black ash jumped into the air. A sliver a warm, orange light peeks out from behind a tower, stretching out like a needle, shining against the hammer. Rai looks up from the ground and up to the sky. Although the Guardians' wildfire had burnt out by now, the heavens were now aflame with a beautiful yellow and orange radiance. "Sunrise..." The flames emanating from Rai's body snuffed out, and she turned to Natylee. "Time to get moving."

Nat falls onto one knee, panting. "Give me... give me a minute, okay?" Rai nods and the warlock falls over to her back. "I apologize... I haven't done that in... 17 years? It tKes a toll on the body. Even an Exo body." After 5 minutes give or take a few, Nat stood up. She scanned the surrounding area. Maybe looking for a strand of something to pull at. A hint or clue... Anything that could show where her daughter was. "I'll be honest Rai," Nat shakes her head, "I have no idea where she could be..."

Rai once again was caught off by Natylee. For such an old Guardian, especially one that had mastered an obscure power like Sympathy, Rai expected her to be more than capable of a situation like this. [i]She barged out here, looking for a long lost Guardian, without any idea of how to actually find her? Perhaps...following this Warlock may have been the wrong choice.[/i] Natylee was still scanning the surrounding area, probably looking for some clue or idea on where to go. She looked like a child that lost their parents as the market. Rai was behind her, totally out of her point of view. [i]My mission is to get her to the Tower...[/i] Rai silently reached for the Shotgun strapped to her back. A powerhouse she won in the Crucible, the Matador 64. One shot from this distance would take out any Guardian. [i]Then I can just have her resurrected at the Tower...no fuss necessary.[/i] Rai tightened her grip on the fun until her knuckles were white. A bead of sweat ran down her forehead, lips pursed shut. Natylee turned around, looking back at Rai. She tilted her head, a mixture of skepticism and sadness. Natylee's expression was screaming for help. Rai stopped breathing, a million thoughts rushing through her mind. The two just stood there for an eternity. [i]What're you gonna do?[/i] Rai stared down at Natylee's feet. [i]How did she know she was...oh[/i] "Her Light. The Vanguard picked up her Light here, didn't they?" Rai tilted her head back up, her eyes bright. "There are no other Guardians here. Just the two of us, and Clarrisa. Tower sensors can't get a precise location from so far away, but we can have the Ghosts track other sources of Light!"

Natylee was taken by a cold shiver through her systems. The fear of death. She didn't know what Rai's motives were but she lost near all trust. "Y-yes that is a plan, one that could work." Nat was caught like a deer in head lights, he mind racing. [i]What do I do! -blam!-ing hell! She's going to shoot me![/i] Nat could feel the tension in Rai. [i]She thinks I'm helpless? I can't believe this! She's going to murder me in cold blood and then haul me off to the tower![/i] "Could you... Lower the gun? I don't want to do anything to hurt you." Nat was a master of combat and knew many secrets some could never be dreamt of. Even so, she had never been more terrified in her life. She had faced hive champions, Exile Barons, Gate lords, And many in the Cabal command. She had spent years getting to know horror. But the thought of not being able to find Clarrisa, petrified her. She told rai again "I don't want to hurt you" she tried to sound as menacing as she could but under her breath she sounded like she was pleading. [i]Does she even know? Has she had someone like that before? Does she realize the gaping hole that would eat away at my essence if I can't see Clarrisa again? Does she have a heart in there, or is it a black lump that only cares for cause and effect?[/i] "Please."

Rai looked down at her arms, cradling the Shotgun like a dear friend. She hadn't even realized she still had the barrel aimed in Natylee's direction. Rai's eyes widened, realizing what she almost did. She dropped her arms, the gun now hanging to the ground. "I-I'm sorry, I didn't mean to scare you." Rai turned her head to the side, ashamed. The two of them stood there in silence, the air thick with discomfort. Rai's Ghost popped into existence like bubblegum bursting. "So, ah, let's get to it then, yeah?" Ghost was obviously trying to fill in the awkward silence. Ghost floated a meter above their heads, then broke apart in midair. Each segment of her body orbited around her core, her eye, a mechanically perfect distance between each part. Pulses of bright blue light periodically burst out from Ghost. After a few moments, Ghost's eye grew large, and her orbiting segments drew back to her core like magnets, clicking perfectly into place with one another. Ghost rushed back to Rai's side, shaking intensely. "It's faint, but I sense the Light of another Guardian!" Rai smiled at Ghost, then at Natylee, trying to be reassuring.

"Good, thank you." Natylee's words where troubled and cautious. "L-lead the way," the Titan did. They walked about 5 miles up Rai's ghost is pulsing again detecting the light of a guardian. "I am detecting a heavier concentration of light and we're getting closer." "Thank you." Nat said with her defensive tone. "Let's continue then" they once again set off towards the source.

The two guardians continued their journey, slowly following the pulsing light of Rai's Ghost. The further and further they walked, the thicker the air grew with tension. It was almost palpable, like walking through mud. By now, the sun was high in the sky, it's brilliant rays reflecting beautifully off the glass surfaces of the skyscrapers on either side of the road. Shadows of overhanging decorative dragons and lanterns were cast onto the ground, creating intricate patterns. This was likely a marketplace or something along those lines back in the Golden Age. If you paid close enough attention to the surroundings, one might be able to hear the hustle and bustle of shoppers long gone. But Rai couldn't pay attention. She was distracted with the matter at hand. Rai obviously made a mistake with Natylee, just entertaining the idea of turning on another Guardian. It wasn't the fact that Natylee now distrusted Rai that bothered her. That was manageable, regaining the trust of a fellow Guardian. What really ate at Rai, what really hurt her was the fact that she almost treated another Guardian as an enemy. It wasn't unheard of to find beings blessed with the powers of a Guardian running around destroying everything that humanity stands for. The legends of Dredgen Yor were known by all, as well as the infamous Red Death, and to a certain extent, the rebellious Sunbreaker legion. Even on the side of Light, man fought amongst themselves. Rai went a step further than this though. She almost betrayed a comrade. A Guardian recognized as a protector of the city, under the authority of Ikora Rey, a mother. People that turned on friends and family were hard to forgive. Rai found it even harder to forgive herself. For the past 5 miles, Rai was silent, never turning around. Now, she couldn't take it. She stopped suddenly and turned around, "I'm sorry." Her lips were tight, eyes slightly widened but drooping at the edges.

Nat hears Rai stop mid-motion and speak to her. The words were slightly distorted, or washed out by thought but Nat knew what she was saying. If there was a residual noise laying in the air it scurried away when the sound came into contact. Nat truthfully wasn't mad she was much more of a gentle soul. Even so she still held a pinch of disdain and distrust close to her heart as it hadn't been a day since it happened. Rai needed am answer and Nat knew this. The Warlock had already stopped processing what Rai said. She turns and looks at the Titan who now looks so much smaller in posture than before. She was filled with guilt and regret. She approaches and puts a single hand on her shoulder. "I know." She very slightly tightens the grip on her shoulder "I understand" the sum was shining on Rai's face as her expression changed. Nat got an idea from this. She looked at Rai and put a smile on her Exo face. She muttered a binding and split her mind into two. With one she focussed on Rai and the Seccond she drew the gentle tingling warmth of the sun and loosely linked the two. Filling Rai with a new sensation of warmth.

That was it. That was all Rai needed. An acknowledgement that it wasn't her intention. There was no way someone like Rai would ever turn on a fellow Guardian, right? Even Natylee should see that! A warm, comforting feeling came up from inside her, embracing Rai like a blanket. Her relationship with Natylee was mended, and their bond was made stronger because of this ordeal. The corners of Rai's mouth began to turn upward into the beginnings of a smile. Everything was fine now. ... ... [i]No.[/i] Rai pushed down the feeling of joy, stifling it until it was smothered out completely. [i]She may forgive me. But I don't forgive me. I don't deserve that.[/i] Rai muttered plainly,"Thank you," and continued marching forward. In the deep recesses of her mind, Rai heard far off cries for help, as she heard so many times before. The screeches of desperate lives about to be taken away. Her self-imposed guilt made room for burning anger, creating a thick soup of the two in Rai's mind. [i]Forgiveness is earned.[/i] Just as the clouds of self-hatred began to move in, Rai's Ghost halted in mid-air, the segments of her body orbiting excitedly around her core. She was looking up at the top of an enormous skyscraper, it's shadow shielding the old marketplace from the light of the sun. This was one of the tallest they'd come across so far. "The Light...it's in this building!

Rai's smile fades as soon as it appeared and Nat was so very confused. She only wanted to comfort the Titan but her eyes said [b][i]No[/i][/b] with a stern look. Rai's Ghost adjusts and chirps out. Nat turns to it and inquires weather it's positive as well as the specifics of it all. It seems that her long lost Clarrisa was at arms reach. "Well let's start heading... Up I guess." She turns back to the Titan who had dawned her helmet and Nat does the same. [i]What is Rai thinking? Why couldn't she forgive herself[/i] ____________________________________ [b][i]At the top of the Skyscraper[/i][/b] A Hunter sits alone in a chair picking the dirt out of her fingernails with a knife. Thinking about how uncomfortable the chair was but there was nothing better she had searched the tower for the entire first half of the day. Her cloak was set to the side folded perfectly and her helm sat on top of it. She was an Awoken. Hair as black as night and dazzling emerald green eyes lay upon her face. Her lips were marked with faded red and streams of dark black makeup stuck under her eyes showing signs of tears. She was not well, but she thought it more peaceful than the towers. Always alive. Always active. Always working. Never sleeping. But out here, out her was a perfect reflection and representation of her. Longing to be active. Wanting to be alive. She went to move to the other hand with her blade when her ghost, Astra spoke. "Hey, Claire I'm detecting 2... Maybe three light signatures on ground floor." "You think they're the same ones that caused that giant explosion?" "I could only assume so." "Huh. Do you 'assume' they're looking for us?" The ghost let's out a short chirping laugh "I could only assume"

The group entered the building. Unlike the enormous atrium of their campsite, the ground floor had a simple room of average height, with modest decorations placed throughout. The carpet, eaten through as it was, would have been a dark blue in its prime, with the white paint on the walls peeling away to reveal wood and concrete. At the far end of the room, a mere ten meters, a wooden reception desk stood, back by a large map taking up the wall. The map, or rather the blueprint, was of the building, listing out what was located on each floor. Ghost whizzed over to the map, brightening herself to read it better. "Ah, the Light...it's going to be near the top. Maybe even at the very top!" Rai marched over to Ghost's side, examining the list of businesses on each floor. "Hmm...197 floors to the top. Hopefully we don't have to walk all the way there." Ghost flitted off to the side, examining an elevator door. A bright beam of light shot out from her eye, sparking on a control panel for the elevator. Ghost hovered in front of the panel for about a minute, humming and muttering under her breath, before finally turning around. She heaved out a sigh, facing towards the ground. "Well...looks like you'll be walking." -------------------- Moving up the stairwell slowly, Rai and Natylee had their weapons drawn in case of a Fallen ambush. Rai constantly had her Scout rifle pressed against her shoulder, aiming up to the top of the building. There were no windows, no working lights in the stairwell. The only light shone from flashlights mounted on their weapons, and the cool-blue eyes of the Ghosts. Wherever Rai pointed, thick particles of dust flitted about in the air. It was impossible to see more than 10 feet away in the all-consuming blackness. Low rumbling came from outside the building, shaking the walls. Even without windows, Rai could tell what lay outside: a monsoon had just swept in, bringing with it thunder and rain. Soon enough, the pitter-patter of heavy rainfall could be heard slapping against the tower, even through the thick walls. "Ghost, how much further have we got?" Rai asked. "Weeeeell, we are currently on...hmm, oh! Here we go...oh, floor 38. So....yeah. A while still," Ghost turned around to face Rai and Natylee. "If I could carry you guys, I would!"