Prologue
The distant future, deep in an old city somewhere along the Western American coastline...
"Ghost, a little light, please?"
A brilliant floating orb shone from behind the voice, illuminating the area before them. Beyond the light's reach was complete darkness. The source of the voice, a Guardian, raised her weapon against the black void.
"What do you think is in there?" she asked to her small, mechanical companion as he cast light ahead of them.
"Something that wants to kill us, most likely," he replied.
The Guardian took the final steps down the staircase, leaving behind the last remnants of sunlight from the outside world. Her companion, her "Ghost", hovered behind, keeping his spotlighted gaze pointed ahead of them.
They continued deeper, passing through broken doorways and subtle corners along the otherwise linear path. Keeping her senses heightened and weapon forward, the Guardian was ready for the possibility of an enemy presence. Ghost remained vigilant as well, continuously scanning their surroundings for any movement.
The interior of which they were exploring was that of an old scientific research facility, in the heart of what was once among the most populated cities on Earth. Now, centuries after its human population hastily abandoned it, the city lay dormant, silently decomposing back to nature as the armies of the Darkness took over.
Curious as always when encountering new places, the Guardian had to mentally focus herself on the mission at hand, fighting the urge to examine artifacts and technology of which human eyes hadn't fallen upon for hundreds of years. The rather lengthy and, so far, uneventful trek into the depths of the facility did little to stay her impulsiveness.
“Getting a bit stir-crazy, Lexine?” Ghost asked after some time, noticing the Guardian’s subtle off-glances and slowing pace.
"No, erm... Are you sure this is the right place?" she said, ignoring his goading.
Ghost emitted some electronic squeaks before replying.
"Positive. The Vanguard want scans on Golden-Age technology reported to be in this location. It's down here.”
“Well, we should ha-”
A sudden shrill, inhuman shriek resonated through the halls, interrupting her.
"As for whatever else is down here," Ghost continued, "that I'm not sure of. Get ready."
The Guardian did not to be reminded. She focused her mind and channeled her energy from within. The circular bond on her left arm began to glow and resonate as she harnessed this energy, “Light” as Guardians called it, preparing to use it against her enemy. A brilliant flash of flame ignited from her arms as her power emerged. The fire did not hurt her, as she was a Warlock, a living conduit of the universe’s most fantastic, and deadliest, arcane secrets.
She was prepared to use this knowledge against Earth’s enemies, as are all other Guardians who fight for the same cause.
Usually, Lexine would find herself on a mission along with other fellow wielders of Light, but for this particular one, she found herself alone. There was no underestimating the power of a single Guardian, however, and the legions of Darkness that made the mistake of doing so met a quick end by Lexine’s light.
The roaring and screeching intensified as broken shadows stretched along the narrow corridor. The dark figures moved towards Lexine at a frantic sprint, their cries desperate for blood.
“The Hive is here!” Ghost shouted, pointing his bright light towards the approaching enemies. Now illuminated, Lexine could see these soldiers of the Darkness in their terrible glory. Their twisted humanoid forms moved erratically, coldly, like spiders dashing towards prey. With bodies of bone and dust, these faceless monsters, these Thrall, had no souls to receive mercy.
Lexine was ready to send them back to the Void.
With her rifle raised, the Guardian pulled the trigger. A flash of light and deafening bang sent a fiery projectile towards her attackers at supersonic speed. It ripped through the featureless head of a Thrall, knocking the body to the floor. Within moments, the body of the monster disintegrated to ash, leaving no trace of the nightmare it was. More bullets hailed the swarm of Thrall, but those behind continued relentlessly. Likewise, Lexine did not step backwards. She walked slow but constant towards the group, keeping her aim and fire steady.
One step.
One trigger pull.
One bullet.
One dead soldier of Darkness.
The Thrall, one by one, fell to Lexine’s deadly aim, but more continued to mass before her. They were getting dangerously close. Lexine quickly slung her rifle over her shoulder, freeing both of her hands. A Thrall leapt towards her, but Lexine’s reflexes were faster. She raised her arm towards the airborne monster, delivering a massive flash of heat and fire upon it, and the monster was reduced to dust. Lexine let the others try their fate as well, but the monsters all met the same fiery end.
Orange and red flashes flickered the walls as Lexine fought the Thrall in melee combat. Her strikes were quick and precise; and augmented by flame, they delivered a quick sentence to the Thrall that tried to get close.
Some of the remaining Thrall recognized it was a losing fight and retreated back deeper into the corridor, rounding a corner out of sight, their shrieking and shouting still echoing the hall. Lexine quickly gave chase, grabbing her rifle and replacing the empty magazine.
As she turned the corner, bright purple projectiles zoomed past her, forcing her to take cover back against the walls. More soldiers of the Hive, but these ones were smarter than the Thrall and possessed projectile weapons. They were called Acolytes by the Guardians, and Lexine knew the threat they could pose. She peeked around the corner before shifting back quickly, catching a glimpse of her new enemy.
Several Acolytes were taking cover past the corridor, which opened up to a large, circular room.
“That’s where our signal leads to,” said Ghost. “I think the Hive are protecting whatever is inside.”
Lexine checked and readied her rifle before replying.
“Let’s find out why,” she said, and spun around the corner. Faster than the Acolytes could react, Lexine made quick work of two of them before they their weapons were even raised. The others that did returned fire, shooting bolts of deadly energy towards the Guardian. Some of the projectiles managed to hit its mark, straining Lexine’s shields. She halted her advance and dashed behind a column along the hallway to recharge. Keeping out of the line of fire, Lexine lifted her hand before her, summoning a construct of flame to materialize in her hand. She quickly faced towards the now well-trenched Acolytes, and hurled the fireball towards them. It landed behind them, and instantly split into a web of small firebolts, each one hitting and destroying their target.
The survivors, perhaps out of fury, abandoned their cover and advanced towards the Guardian, allowing her to better place her own shots. Acolytes were better armoured than the lighter Thralls, but a single shot to their heads still served the same end. They were dealt with quickly, the last of them vanquished with a screech as its body disintegrated to whatever hell it came from.
Lexine breathing was fast but controlled, slightly exhilarated by the skirmish.
“Looks like we’re all clear,” said Ghost. “No more movement. Still feeling stir-crazy?”
Lexine laughed as she replaced the magazine in her rifle.
“No,” she smirked, “I think I’m satisfied. Now let’s see what we’re looking for.” The two of them continued down the hall and entered the large room.
“Let me see what I can do about the light,” said Ghost, floating off into the darkness. After a few moments, the clicks and purrs of a generator returning to life resonated the room, and some overhead lights flickered back on after centuries of slumber. Now the facility was illuminated, allowing Lexine to better see her surroundings. The large room was mostly featureless, except for some barricades of stacked desks and shelves were stacked to one side of which the Acolytes used in the prior fight.
It didn’t take long, however, for Lexine to spot what they’ve been searching for. In the center of the room was a strange machine, which at first glance appeared to be manmade. Upon closer inspection, Lexine noticed glowing markings along the sides of the metal contraption.
“This is it,” said Ghost.
It was built in a circular form, as if someone, or something was meant to stand on it. The machine itself seemed dormant and lifeless, but the markings along the sides were pulsating with green light.
“These are Hive markings, aren’t they?” asked Lexine.
“Yes, they are,” said Ghost. He hovered around the contraption, taking scans of it.
“What would the Hive want with our Golden-Age Technology? They’ve obviously been tampering with it.”
“Tampering is the very least of what they’ve done to this,” said Ghost quietly as he continued scans. “I don’t know what the Hive are using this for, but it’s probably for the same reason we meant to use it for in the past.”
“And that was?”
Ghost hovered backwards away from the machine, seeming to take a good look of it in its entirety.
“This is a machine that can create rifts in our universe” he said, turning towards Lexine. “This is a machine that can create portals through dimensions.”
Lexine subconsciously took a step back from the contraption.
“Hold on a second... this isn’t anything new, is it?” said Lexine. “We’ve met enemies of the Darkness that can travel through dimensions. The Hive can do this to an extent, and I’ve heard the Vex can move through time itself.”
Ghost emitted mechanical noises before replying.
“Yes, you’re right. But this machine was supposedly created centuries before the arrival of the Darkness. Humanity had plans with this technology, but the question is, what?”
“And why were the Hive protecting it? Perhaps th-”
Before they could continue, the contraption began to glow more intensely. The pair quickly backed away from it.
“What’s happening? What did you do?” asked Lexine.
“I don’t know. But it’s not coming from our end.”
Lexine raised her weapon once again, preparing herself for what was coming. Sparks of light and electricity manifested above the circular platform of the machine, forming a stripe of white hot light. The light split apart, opening up to what was on the other side. It wasn’t a continuity though the light, but rather, a completely different scene on the other side.
“The portal... it’s opened,” whispered Ghost.
Lexine peered through the tear, catching a glimpse of the world on the other side. To her surprise, it seemed calm, serene, and familiar. She saw green, grassy hills and trees, and when she looked further, she saw what seemed like a small village along the horizon. She was almost tempted to reach into the portal...
Without warning, the tear closed in on itself. Lexine jumped away, her hand almost caught inside. It pulsed before opening up once again, this time much more violently. The room began to shake loudly, as the portal tore open, revealing a completely different scene. Black and purple shards of light shot out, forcing Lexine to take cover. With a deep pulse, a figure began to step through from the other end.
“Ghost, what is that?!” Lexine yelled, struggling to be heard over the screeching portal.
“Scanning!”
She looked over her cover as Ghost transmitted information to her visor.
ANALYZING...
It looked to be some sort of quadrupedal creature. It reminded Lexine of a certain Pre-Collapse animal, but the exact name escaped her. Its eyes, or at least she guessed so, were black as night, and a pulsing purple light emitted from its head. Its body looked unnatural, as if corrupted, not different from the Hive. Besides its outer features, Lexine knew nothing of this creature that was stepping into their world. As she waited for the scan, it came closer to their side.
SCAN COMPLETE.
LIFEFORM: UNKNOWN
>SUBJECT SIMILAR TO EARTH-NATIVE EQUUS
WARNING!! ANOMALY DETECTED... ERROR!!
>DARKNESS DETECTED... SEARCHING FOR SOURCE...
SOURCE: UNKNOWN EQUINE SUBJECT>
>DESTROY/EVADE IF POSSIBLE.
Lexine quickly aimed her weapon at the creature. It was almost completely crossed over. It turned over, seeming to face Lexine as it took its final steps into their side. Her rifle was raised but hesitated to fire. As the creature continued to stare at her, she noticed a distinct horn on its forehead. It sparked with dark light, and Lexine took a mental note of a possible source of power. Her scans confirmed her deductions.
“Guardian.”
Lexine was startled out of though as the creature spoke. It seemed to have no mouth where it should, but it talked to her nonetheless, in her own language. “By the Traveler... what is this?”
“What are you?” she asked, keeping her weapon trained on target. “Where are you from?”
“What do you want?” Ghost added in.
“So many questions.” Its voice was low and guttural. “They say curiosity kills.”
“Is that what you’re here for?” asked Lexine. “To kill me?”
“No.” It paused. The portal behind it remained open, and Lexine peered past the creature for a moment, but only saw void.
“Why are you here?”
“I am here... to ascend you.”
In an instant, the creature lowered its head and fired a blast of light from its horn. Lexine barely dodged the shot, feeling the heat of the bolt as it sped past her. She wasted no time to return fire. She shot off several rounds towards the creature, but the bullets were absorbed by shield that engulfed its body.
SCANNING...
>ARC ENERGY-BASED AURA DETECTED
--COUNTERMEASURE IF POSSIBLE
“Ghost!” shouted Lexine.
“No need to ask.”
The guardian shouldered her rifle, freeing her hands, and within moments, another firearm began to materialize upon them. Powerful and volatile, and a personal favorite, Lexine held her fusion rifle with zeal. She looked over to the creature, which seemed to be charging up for another attack, its horn pulsating brighter. She aimed and pulled the trigger on her fusion rifle. As the energy within the weapon grew, it began to vibrate and glow. Lexine was no stranger to this, she knew how to operate the rifle with skill.
Quickly, the energy grew and was released from the weapon in a torrent of blue projectiles. They hit the creature, causing it to flinch and interrupting its shot.
“Good, the shields are weak to Arc damage,” Lexine thought. The creature quickly recovered, however, and was preparing for another shot. “Just need to get closer.”
The creature let off its blast from its horn, destroying Lexine’s cover. She rolled out of the way and returned fire with her fusion rifle. The creature definitely felt that one, as it roared in anger, firing another bolt towards the guardian.
Lexine attempted to dodge again, but was not quick enough, and the bolt struck her. A significant amount of her own shields dissipated as she yelped in pain, scrambling behind more cover.
“Careful,” warned Ghost. “That portal is emitting massive amounts of Dark energy. I may not have the Light to heal you should you fall.”
Lexine grunted in annoyance as she reloaded the energy sink in her fusion rifle.
“All the more reason to end this as soon as possible,” she said. Her shields now recharged, she quickly aimed over and fired. The creature saw this and reacted, blinking out of space and into another.
“Great. It can teleport.”
Lexine conjured a ball of flame in her hand and tossed it towards the creature. It tried to teleport again, but the fireball tracked it to its new location, and stuck on the creature's body. It exploded in a hot, orange flash. The creature’s shields were resistant to Solar damage, but it was enough to cause it to stagger. Lexine took this opportunity to close distance.
She leapt over her cover and reloaded a fresh sink into her rifle. Blast after blast, she unleashed a cascade of Arc energy against the creature’s shields. They fell with an unmistakable sound, and the creature was exposed.
“Shields are down!” yelled Ghost.
Lexine lowered her rifle and began a sprint towards the dazed creature. With a cry, she leapt into the air and engulfed herself in flame. She extended her arm and released a blast of fire against the creature, pushing it backwards. It stumbled and tried to recover, but Lexine was relentless. She conjured multiple fireballs and threw them at the creature, causing its surroundings to burst into fire. Several more attached to the creature, bursting with intense heat.
The guardian pushed the creature again, the blast sending it reeling against the wall. Before it could react, a storm of fire rained down upon it, until nothing could be seen except the flames. The creature screeched in fury, knowing that its end was near. Lexine approached the burning monster, her body still immersed in fire. The creature was collapsed amongst the flames, but it still looked towards her as she approached.
“Guardian,” it said, its voice even more nightmarish than before. She listened but did not speak. “You may delay but cannot stop the inevitable. Darkness surrounds you.”
“I stand ready,” she said.
“No,” spoke the creature, its body already deteriorating to ash. “Equestria... will fall. And in its wake, Earth...”
With its last words, the creature was no more. The flames claimed it, and Lexine walked away, a new haunting in her heart.
“This may be bad...” said Ghost. Lexine gripped her gauntlet as the flames around her faded away. “I’ve already alerted the Vanguard. More guardians are on the way to secure the facility and they await your report.”
“Got it. And what of the portal?”
She looked over to the machine and the portal above it, still pulsating with strange energy. Ghost hovered towards it and began scanning. Lexine shuddered, trying to image what nightmare could lay on the other side. The nightmare that sent the now smouldering creature into their world.
“It’s still active but stable. I’ve scanned the majority of its structure for the Vanguard, but I think I can-- hold on...”
The portal began to shift and pulse as it had before. Ghost’s scans were relayed to Lexine.
WARNING!! WARNING!!
UNSTABLE ANOMALY DETECTED! REACTION IMMINENT!
DANGER! MINIMUM SAFE DISTANCE, 500 METERS. DANGER!
“Uh-oh,” said Lexine. Ghost already began to hover away.
“Time to go!” he shouted.
The portal began to grow in size, and the machine reacted violently spreading sparks of electricity throughout the room. Lexine ran out the way she came in, back through the narrow corridors and hallways. A deafening blast shook the entire facility. Cries of the Hive who were throughout could be heard as the portal and the machine threatened to annihilate them.
“Ghost!” shouted Lexine as they rushed through the halls. “This hallway leading to the exit is a straight line, right?”
“No... bad idea!”
“Just do it!”
Lexine shouted and dove into the air. Below her, a large object began to materialize, and within moments, she was mounted on a vehicle hovering above the ground. She activated a control on the handlebars and the vehicle accelerated with an aggressive burst of speed.
As she sped through the hall on her Sparrow, the facility began to deteriorate around her. It was still dark, but dust and debris scattered as the walls cracked and the floors shook. A loud sound seemed to be getting closer, but she dared not look back. A faint light could be seen ahead -- the exit!
She could feel the heat behind her, but the light ahead grew larger and brighter. She pushed her Sparrow and shouted.
In what seemed like forever, her vision was then surrounded by white light. It wasn’t the blast -- it was the sun. She burst through the exit of the facility as explosions claimed the hall she just emerged from. The force of the blast, however, was enough to knock her off the Sparrow, sending Lexine tumbling towards the ground.
She moaned and shook it off, more dazed by shock than pain. She looked back towards the facility. The explosion had totaled it, and everything inside.
“The Vanguard are not going to be happy about this...” said Ghost. “When we get back, you’re going to be doing the explaining.”
“I think the Vanguard are the least of our worries, now,” said Lexine as she stood back up. She mounted her Sparrow, slightly surprised it had survived the encounter undamaged. “Whatever that thing was, and whatever Equestria is...”
“Trouble is ahead,” said Ghost.
“As always,” Lexine said, suppressing a smile. She sped away, leaving the burning building behind her. As it faded from view, the words of that creature echoed in her mind.
“Equestria will fall... and in its wake, Earth...”
VANGUARD BOUNTY COMPLETED - Scouting Mission
SCIENCE FACILITY, OLD LOS ANGELES - The facility was destroyed, but you managed to obtain some scans of the strange machine. Return to the Tower, the Vanguard await your testimony of the incident.
LEVEL UP
LEVEL 17
ABILITY UPGRADE ACQUIRED - Sunsinger Class
ARCANE FORCE - Training focused on toughness and speed.
WEAPON UPGRADE ACQUIRED - Wyestar X9
HAND LOADED - This weapon is effective at an extended range.
WEAPON UPGRADE ACQUIRED - Helios FR5
ACCELERATED COILS - Reduces charge time.
GAUNTLET ARMOR UPGRADE ACQUIRED - Locus Watcher III
ENERGY PROJECTION - Increases grenade throw distance.