Hello everyone! I am back, and hopefully for good this time. This is a little story I've come up with since I last disappeared. Thank you to everyone who commented on my last story, Sunrise (which is currently on hiatus), and my friend KnightSkyBear for help with the editing and design process. I hope you enjoy! -Ninja The light of the full moon reflected off of the drifts of snow that covered the floor, illuminating the room almost as well as daylight. But the quality of the light mattered little to Aurora. The Ghost darted from room to decrepit room, her pale blue eye scanning every corner for her quarry. She had come here, to this crumbling relic of a facility that still bore the remains of the medical equipment that once saved uncountably many lives, in search of her Guardian. After years of fruitless searching, she had picked up the faintest trace of Light in the remnants of this ancient Russian hospital. Finally, Aurora zoned in on her target: The decaying remains of an Exo lay at the end of a hallway, the broken window allowing the moonlight to stream in on her metallic corpse. Aurora let out a sigh of relief, her pale shell unbinding from her core and forming a sphere of glowing energy around her. A flash of light shone out of the hospital’s window into the night, drawing the attention of a nearby patrol of Fallen. Their captain let out a low growl, shouldered his golden cloak, and gestured to the rest of his crew to follow. The Exo rose unsteadily, catching her balance on the edge of the window. Her eyes widened, glowing the same shade of cyan as her mouth, which hung open as she examined her hands. Aurora chirped, equal parts surprised and thrilled by her success. After a moment of uncomfortable silence, she moved toward her Guardian. “Are you alright…?” The Exo turned toward the Ghost, looking as confused as her mechanical face allowed. “What… Where… Who are you?” Aurora perked up. “I’m Aurora, a Ghost. Well, I suppose I’m your Ghost now, but we can discuss terminology at a different time.” The Exo blinked, and looked down at the robes Aurora had clad her in. “Who am [i]I[/i]?” Aurora flew closer, inspecting her handiwork. “You’re a Guardian, someone who can wield the Traveller’s energy like no one else. I’m sorry, but you’ve been dead for quite some time.” She looked up at the Exo who stared out of the broken window at the ruins of the town outside. “Do you remember anything?” The Guardian was silent for a moment, clearly deep in thought, before she spoke. “Rain.” Aurora blinked. “Rain? Is that your name?” The Exo turned to look at the Ghost. “I don’t know. Why can’t I remember anything?” Aurora moved to reply, but was interrupted by a loud crash from a lower floor. “Oh no…” The Exo’s eyes widened. “What is it? What was that sound?” Aurora spun to face her Guardian. “We need to leave. I think the Fallen have found us.” The Exo gasped, and attempted to snatch Aurora out the air. “Hey!” the Ghost protested, “Mind telling me what you’re doing?” The Guardian gestured toward the window. “You said we need to go. This is the fastest way out of here.” Aurora chuckled. “Guardian, there’s no need to carry me. Let’s see, if I just-“ The Ghost disappeared in a flash of light. The Exo glanced around the room. “Aurora?” Aurora laughed again. “I’m right here! I’m nice and hidden in here. Now, what were you planning on doing?” The Guardian blinked. “We were about to leave.” With that, she jumped out of the window. Aurora let out a gasp as they fell, but the Exo seemed to know what she was doing, instinctively curling into a ball before she hit the ground. A convenient snowdrift caught most of their momentum, and the Guardian converted the rest into forward momentum, rolling out of the drift and taking off running, barely taking a moment to gain her bearings. From somewhere behind them, the Fallen let out a howl that carried on the wind and was soon answered by others coming from every direction. The profiles of dozens of Fallen appeared on the rooftops that surrounded the Exo as she ran. She gasped, veering off the street and down an alleyway, where she paused, pulling herself into a doorway and going silent. “What are we doing?!” whispered Aurora. “We should be running!” The Exo scanned the rooftops for movement before answering. “I’m forming a plan of attack.” “Attack?” hissed the Ghost. “Have you ever even fought before?” The Exo sighed. “I can’t remember. But I sincerely hope so.” Before Aurora could reply, the door the Guardian leaned against was pulled open, and a Vandal let out a roar, of equal parts aggression and surprise. The Exo spun to face him, instinctively throwing up a hand to protect herself. To her surprise, the Vandal was thrown back into the wall, where he collapsed in a heap. The Guardian stared at her hand in shock, and Aurora let out a laugh. “Of course! I should have known!” The Exo looked at the Ghost, no less confused than before. “Known what?” Aurora chuckled. “You’re a Warlock! In all the confusion, I completely forgot to mention it!” The Guardian blinked. “A [i]what[/i]?” Aurora laughed again, almost giddy with delight. “A Warlock. It’s a certain kind of Guardian. You’ll find that with the Light, your mind is your greatest weapon.” The Guardian shook her head. “This is all very confusing…” “Don’t worry,” Aurora said. “It’ll all make sense in time. But for now, we need to get moving.” The Exo crouched next to the dead Vandal, scanning the floor for weaponry. Eventually her eyes lighted upon a shock pistol, which she picked up and holstered. She peered out of the doorway they still stood in, scanning the area for hostiles. Once satisfied she was alone, the Guardian crept out into the alleyway. The Fallen seemed to have lost track of her location, and she used that to her advantage, staying in the shadows and moving only when the coast was clear. The moon had nearly set when the Guardian reached the edge of town. Without buildings obstructing her view, the Exo could see that they were situated on the side of a mountain overlooking a narrow valley. She slid down a small incline where a bridge had once connected the town to a highway that led into a now-collapsed tunnel, and sat down on a small, rocky outcropping. Aurora emerged from her hiding place, hovering next to her Guardian’s head and staring out across the valley with her. A range of mountains towered over the valley across from them. One mountain in particular seemed to be crowned with some kind of ancient structure, and in the lowlands beneath it sat a patch of buildings with lights shining in some of the windows. “Look!” Aurora said, gesturing toward these lights. “There are people in that village down there!” The Exo leaned forward. “People…?” Aurora sighed. “Humans! Refugees from the Collapse! The people you’re supposed to protect!” The Guardian looked at her Ghost and smiled. “Protect, you say?” She stood, stretching her arms above her head. “Then why don’t we introduce ourselves?” “Uh oh.” Aurora looked at her Guardian worriedly. Now it was the Exo’s turn to chuckle. “I mean that in the literal sense. If I’m supposed to protect them, I should at least get to know them first.” Aurora let out a sigh of relief. The Guardian, now finished with her stretches, turned towards a roughly-hewn path downhill. “Shall we?” Aurora nodded, then paused. “Um, Guardian?” The Exo stopped, turning to look at her Ghost. “What?” Aurora bobbed slightly in the air, clearly a little embarrassed. “Well, I was just thinking… It’s a little awkward calling you just ‘Guardian’, don’t you think?” The Guardian nodded. “A little.” “Is there something else you’d prefer me to call you?” Aurora asked quietly. The Exo stood in silence for a moment, staring at her Ghost, who had suddenly become very interested in a loose stone on the mountainside. Finally she spoke. “Rain.” Aurora looked up in surprise. “What?” The Guardian shrugged. “It’s the only word I can remember. It must mean something to me.” “Rain,” Aurora said thoughtfully. “Yeah. Yeah, I like that.” The Exo grinned. “Good. I was worried I was the only one.” She turned to start the trek into the valley below, but Aurora once again hesitated. “Rain?” Rain looked over her shoulder at the Ghost. “What is it?” “I…” Aurora paused. “I just wanted to say thanks.” The Exo blinked. “Thanks? For what?” Aurora averted her gaze. “Being my Guardian…” Rain grinned. “I bet you guys say that to all the Guardians.” Aurora bumped against the Exo’s head lightly. “I mean it, though.” Rain smiled, sincerely this time. “I know you do.”