Dawn and Dusk
Several weeks after the encounter with Riven, Sunset found herself out on patrol with Mina near the ruins of London in the European Dead Zone. Saladin was reluctant to let her head out on patrol at all since he was certain the Fallen would only recognize her as the beast of burden she resembled, not the Guardian she actually was. Which was why Mina had volunteered to go along with the Iron Lady.
“Looks like there’s not anything going on,” the Titan said from her comrade’s side through her Helm of Saint-14, “May not have needed to patrol the area at all, really.”
“I guess,” Sunset replied, looking out over the broken up roads from the top of the roof they had landed at, “...this all makes me uncomfortable…”
“What do you mean?” Mina asked as she lowered her hand from her helmet, disengaging the optical zoom she’d added to the Exotic.
“It’s like… The City is alive and full of life and I can tell that, even from the Tower,” Sunset said as Philomena flitted about, “But out here… there’s life, but it feels… different. Not really bad, but kind of scary…”
Thinking for a moment, Mina nodded to a nearby building and said, “Might be something over there. But, about the feeling you have… I can’t say that it sometimes doesn’t feel the same for me, coming out to these old ruins. Seeing all that humanity has lost… all that we’re trying so hard to hold on to… it’s… a struggle some days.”
“We’ll set things right,” Sunset said with conviction as she Glided down to the ground where some broken overhangs and long shattered windows made a sort of cave. Peering inside and seeing nothing in the immediate area, the pony hesitantly climbed inside, Mina not far behind.
“So… any particular reason you wanted to see an Old Earth capitol city?” Mina asked.
“I was curious,” the young Warlock responded, Philomena lighting up like a flashlight in the gloom, “I’ve seen recovered pictures of how things were before the Collapse, but…”
“Yeah, post-Collapse Earth wasn’t pretty…” Mina said with a nod, her own Ghost, Tepes lighting up as well, “Dark Age it was called, apparently.”
“You didn’t live through it?” Sunset asked as she hopped over a broken table, then turned to look back at her friend.
“No,” Mina replied, “Tepes brought me back just before Twilight Gap. I was out on patrol, helping some New Lights get settled into their roles when the call came to come home and fend off the Fallen.”
“Uncle Shaxx told me that story,” Sunset said as she turned back around, winding her way through debris and to a chunk of broken ceiling that looked stable enough to form a ramp to the next floor, “...I asked Daddy why we couldn’t be friends with the Fallen, but he just told me not to try. I know he’s just looking out for me, but… They can’t be any different than we are, can they?”
For a long time, Mina stayed silent, knowing that her next words should be spoken with care, “...I heard stories from some of the older people living in the city… The Fallen would raid and attack indiscriminately. Anyone who was left alive was often left wishing that the quick death had come. An older woman, just before a party of Iron Wolves came through to stop the raid, was beside herself because a Captain had taken her youngest… and killed her. ...If we can be friends, if we can be allies, then it will be a difficult, painful battle for everyone involved.”
Sunset stopped on the upper floor, testing its durability for a moment before nodding down to Mina and saying, “Then all the more reason to mend that rift sooner. So we don’t have to fight or scavenge anymore…”
Going silent once more, Mina jumped and used her Lift ability to get up onto the next ledge, careful to keep an eye on her surroundings. She didn’t have a weapon drawn, though she did have her Fabian Strategy and a Matador ready to go if need be. There weren’t any enemies showing up on her radar, so the Titan felt that it was safe to leave them holstered.
“Peace would be nice,” Mina grunted out as she mounted the next ledge, Sunset already poking her head out the top of the building. “I’ve heard that the Reefborn Awoken have worked with the Fallen in the past. I think the one they allied with was Variks or something.”
“I see,” the pony said as she looked out over the crumbling city, “I’ll have to head out that way and meet him…”
Still observing the city, Sunset started having a nagging feeling of being watched. It was odd, especially since they were as far up as they were, but the feeling was there all the same. Looking around herself, the pony Guardian eyed the surrounding buildings with caution and a little bit of curiosity before speaking up to Mina.
“We’re being watched,” Sunset said in a low voice to her companion.
“You noticed it too then,” Mina stated in reply, “Doesn’t feel like they’re hostile, though. So we could probably talk our way out of it if you want.”
“Don’t draw unless drawn upon,” the Iron Lady said with confidence, “I want to try and make friends…”
“Understood, but I’ll have my Ward of Dawn ready at a moment’s notice all the same,” Mina said with a nod of her head, “Better safe than sorry. I’d rather you didn’t experience your first death out here…”
With a chuckle, Sunset turned and looked out over the buildings again, spotting what looked like a well made bridge connecting the one they were on to what looked like an old, and fairly ritzy hotel.
“This way,” the mare said, trotting up to the bridge and testing it under her hoof. It held and looked to be in relatively good shape, which was odd given the dilapidated look and feel of everything else around them. Keeping her head on a swivel and occasionally flicking to the motion tracker in her helmet, Sunset left her weapons holstered. Mina, however, had no reservations about keeping her weapon out and at a low ready hold, her finger resting easily on the trigger of her Fabian Strategy auto rifle. She wasn’t looking for trouble, at least truly, but as a Guardian, Mina knew trouble would find them eventually. This was a fact that was far more apparent the further into the building Sunset lead them, some unknown instinct telling the pony Guardian that there was something here.
Fallen tech made itself more and more apparent the further in the pair went, occasional pings from motion detectors in the helmets of both Guardians letting them know that yes, they were indeed being watched. Mina didn’t like this fact, her Light bristling a little at the unwanted eyes tracking her, but she disciplined herself. Sunset had said not to fire unless fired upon and so far the hidden figures just outside of sight or cloaked had seen fit to keep to the same mind set.
Eventually, however, a large purple energy barrier prevented any further progress, causing Sunset to look up and around, taking in her surroundings.
“This doesn’t feel like the outside did,” the mare said, looking at Mina, “It feels like… someone is trying to build a home.”
“What do you mean?” the Titan asked, her back to Sunset as she looked the way they had come. Mina could feel more eyes on them from around the large room. Again, the Titan’s Light bristled, ready to be called at a moments notice, but again, she schooled herself, keeping the anxiety at being surrounded by apparent hostiles at bay.
Instead of answering, Sunset took a step forward, her eyes glowing slightly in the din around them. Eventually, the pony stood just in front of Mina and flared her wings open. Light and a warm ethereal feeling came from Sunset’s body as Mina watched her friend perform an odd almost ritualistic bow, speaking flawlessly in a Fallen tongue.
“Tepes, what is she saying?” Mina asked her Ghost quietly.
“She’s… saying that we aren’t here to fight,” the drone said, “Parleying for peace essentially. There’s some kind of odd interference coming from her too, so I can’t make a one to one translation.”
A moment or so after Sunset stopped moving, the pony sat on her haunches, wings folded comfortably at her side as a Vandal stepped forward, hesitantly, from the shadows. Placing a hoof at her chest, Sunset introduced herself.
The Vandal, surprised at the display of peace, but honor bound to respond said his name.
“Ran’Daal.”