Archive of Our Own ^beta

Chapter Text

“This war…it takes and takes, doesn’t it?”

Sapphire opened her eyes, sitting on the beach as the crystal blue waves lapped at the beach. She didn’t know exactly where she was, but she appreciated the peace that this place brought. Next to Sapphire, the good Valkyrie sat, the fox staring off into the ocean.

“You are still alive. Still thriving…despite the circumstances.”

Sapphire looked over at the fox, “You think there is a way to defeat the Lambent? Something has to kill them, right?”

“Possibly,” Valkyrie replied, not tearing her eyes from the sun that began to peak above the waves. “You know there is a way.”

“And how do I tell Marcus that? How can I face the fact that I know what happens next?”

“Technically, you don’t know what will happen next.” Valkyrie stood up, tail curling. “Because you are part of his story, and theirs.”

Sapphire sighed, drawing her knees up, “But how can I face that reality? That I know how this all ends?”

“Let the story run its course,” Valkyrie reassured. “So far, you have done well in that.”

“But at the cost of Vectes?”

“It had to happen.”

“Then what can I do?”

Valkyrie looked over at Sapphire then, tail swiping like a whip into the back of Sapphire’s head, causing her to yelp. Valkyrie turned away to walk along the beach, tail flickering, “You do what you do best, Chosen. Fight like them and tear the Lambent apart. You will know when it is time for you to release what you have to the world. And when that happens, you’ll be ready. I have confidence in you.”

Sapphire opened her mouth to protest, but then, a resounding bang woke her up, dragging her out of sleep. Sapphire’s eyes snapped open, shooting up from her lying position. Her forehead slammed into metal and she let out a yelp, covering her head as she cursed, “What the hell?!”

It took a moment for Sapphire to realize that she was under the Eagle, tools next to her head and a lid above that was closed. She was making repairs on the wires after a close call with a Stalk while on patrol. She must have fallen asleep when she finished.

Sapphire crept out, looking up to see Baird’s smirking expression. He was leaning on the Eagle’s tail, one arm holding a fist against the metal. He only smirked wider as Sapphire hissed, “You are such a fucking asshole.”

“We were wondering where you were,” Sam’s voice replied before Baird. She looked over, rubbing one side of her face as Sam lit up a cigarette, sitting in the haul of the Eagle. “Anya wants to see us.”

“Oh?” Sapphire sat up, elbows on her knees as she drew her knees up to her chest. “How long have I been out?”

“Well, that’s the thing,” Baird replied to this time, his smirk turning nervous. “You were out, out for a while. Like three hours. Only way we found you was when I fell and saw you sleeping under this beauty.”

“Oh, fuck,” Sapphire grumbled, holding her face in her hands for a long minute. “Anybody still looking for me?”

“Marcus had us search for you, but I’m pretty sure the bastard already knew where you were and didn’t tell us,” Baird replied. Sapphire looked up at him, tired but now more awake.

“Well, he did tell us that you might be curled up sleeping somewhere on the ship,” Sam pointed out. “Should have thought to check here first. Anyways, are you up to meet with Anya?”

“Yeah, just…give me a moment.” Sapphire rubbed her face again, Sam and Baird already beginning to bicker as they went ahead of her. She hated how much she had been struggling to sleep as of late. She couldn’t have her headphones on all the time and Marcus had been taking on more shifts as of late to keep up with the demand of chores on the ship.

So, the lullaby had been keeping her up more and more often, and it always got worse when she got on the mainland. The mainland was even worse than Vectes, though there were many spots where Sapphire found some sort of relief. Since she and many others started to live on the ship a year ago, the only times Sapphire left the ship was when Stranded were involved.

According to Anya, the Stranded reacted with less hostility when they saw the Eagle flying over their settlements. So, it was decided that when dealing with Stranded to make trade, Sapphire would always be involved. Once a week, six months into living on the ship, Sapphire would accompany a squad to the mainland where she would trade with the Stranded.

But recently, it was becoming more and more difficult to be on the mainland for Sapphire. It wasn’t that the Stranded were beginning to not like her, but rather because the Lambent nearby would agitate her mind, the lullaby loud and thundering in her ear.

Sapphire wished she could say she was beginning to have a tolerance, but that wasn’t true.

Marcus had noticed that the nightmares were more consistent from Sapphire. Always the golden jaws, the red tendrils, the golden liquid, all of that amplified with the lullaby. He knew her nightmares were bad, but he didn't realize how bad they had gotten for Sapphire until they started sharing a room on the ship.

It goes without saying, Sapphire had trouble sleeping. And even with Marcus or the headphones singing in her ears, the lullaby would have a spike and turn her wonderful abyss or dream into a nightmare.

On good days, she may catch about 5 hours of sleep.

On the bad days, she had no sleep.

To combat this, she would take the chances between breaks in chores in hopes of catching some sleep. Marcus was always the one to notice first and reassured others that asked where she was that Sapphire was catching some much-needed sleep.

It annoyed people at first, especially those who've only met her once or twice on Vectes, but Delta made sure to shut that down quickly. And it helped that Sapphire made sure to be seen doing something while awake, whether that be doing the normal chores quietly, making repairs to the Eagle and the one remaining Raven on the ship, using the gym room on the ship, or helping the other squads plan their routes if they asked. It was exhausting work, but Sapphire couldn’t find the sleep and she didn’t want to stare off into the distance and not do anything.

After what seemed like an hour, Sapphire found herself standing up and walking to where Anya was. Since Hoffman and Trescu were not available, having gone to different places, Anya had taken over. Good for her too, because she deserved it. Unlike Sam, Gettner and Anya, most of the other women left in the COG were bitches to work with.

Sapphire tried her best to get to know more people, but at the same time, she wanted to stick with one of Delta squad. They brought her comfort, just being in their presence. And all of Delta was on the ship, so that made Sapphire feel more comfortable being on the ship since at least one of them always needed her help, especially Dom.

Dom knew Marcus and Sapphire were together, but in respect to their privacy, he didn’t make a big deal out of it when he first found out. Instead, he offered to teach Sapphire gardening and the pair had been talking more than they had on Vectes. Sapphire figured it was because his grief had waned, and he could feel comfortable being in constant contact with Sapphire.

The grief was still there, but he managed it through his gardening skills, except when alcohol was involved.

Sapphire sighed, rubbing her face as she walked down the hall towards the captain’s quarters where the door was closed. Out of respect, she knocked first, waiting until someone opened the door.

That person being Cole.

“There you are! Finally come crawling out of your little tunnel?” It was a light joke, so Sapphire just shrugged.

“Yeah, fell asleep once I finished fixing the Eagle up.” Cole stepped to the side, letting Sapphire in so he could close the door. Inside, Sapphire took note of everybody here.

There was Sam, Cole, Baird, Anya, and the captain of the Sovereign, Michaelson, who were surrounding a table with a map. Then there was the new face, Clayton Carmine, also known as the Grub Killer.

Sapphire was surprised that she never met Clayton Carmine before Vectes went to shit or was familiar with his name. But apparently, it was because Clayton Carmine was nervous around her, according to Sam.

In her exact words, “He’s afraid of getting his ass beat by Fenix if he tries to make a pass at you. So, he tried to avoid you so that he doesn’t catch any feelings.”

It was a dumbass excuse, but soon after Vectes fell and some of the COG got on the ship, that was when Sapphire formally met Clayton. He truly was a man that was ruthless in battle, but overall was quite the food-driven guy, with his favorite food being bacon.

Sapphire spotted his tattoo, the one he got from Sam that was dedicated to his lost brothers, Anthony and Ben. Sapphire instantly looked away, not wanting to go into an episode this early upon waking up. He noticed her, his helmet hiding his face as he nodded in greeting her way.

Upon Cole closing the door, the group surrounding the table looked up, Anya smiling upon seeing Sapphire, “Glad Baird and Sam found you. We were just about to discuss sending a squad to the mainland.”

“To do business with the Stranded,” Michaelson added, crossing his arms. “Think you’ll be awake enough to do the mission?”

Now, that wasn’t a light-hearted joke. Sapphire crossed her arms, “Yeah, can’t a girl catch a few hours of sleep? I can just leave, you know, Captain Michaelson.”

“With the Eagle?”

“If I have to.”

“And fly where?”

“Anvil Gate isn’t that far.”

“Okay, okay,” Anya sighed, turning to Michaelson. “Stop giving her a hard time. She fell asleep after spending all night fixing the Eagle.”

Sapphire gave Anya a raised eyebrow and the woman only smiled, “Clayton here said that he saw you in the bay throughout his entire shift last night.”

Sapphire looked over at Clayton, who visibly straightened while looking straight ahead. With a sigh, Sapphire’s arms uncrossed, “I see. Well, anyway. So, what is all this talk of Stranded?”

“We’ll be passing Hanover,” Anya replied, all eyes on the map again. “We need more food and ammunition since we’re running low. You will be accompanied by Cole, Baird, Sam, and Clayton.”

“That’s one more person than usual, Anya,” Sapphire noted, then looked over at Cole. “Didn’t you tell me one day that Hanover is your hometown?”

“It is!” Cole clapped Sapphire’s good shoulder softly. “Home of the Cole Train!”

“And we haven’t been to the mainland in a few weeks,” Anya added. “Who knows, there might be stalks.”

“But polyps haven’t been seen in months,” Baird pointed out. Sapphire bit her cheek from replying. Easy for him to say. Those things sang the lullaby to Sapphire like an opera singer. “Sapphire has this all handled. Just leave Sam here.”

“I’m not risking anybody,” Anya replied, crossing her arms. “We need more hands to bring back more supplies. Besides, Hanover should have a pharmacy, right?”

Sapphire grimaced at this. At the reminder, her tattooed arm let out a small tremor. Despite Good Valkyrie’s attempt to repair her arm, Sapphire’s arm still had pain from the nerves that were still damaged. It wasn’t shaking as much as it did when Sapphire first woke up from her coma, but Marcus had admitted to telling Anya that they should look for medicine when they went out for supply runs.

Sapphire was mad at first, since the survival of humanity was far above her health and comfort. But after a night spent in the gym, and a long talk with Marcus later, the anger turned into exhaustion.

Damn, when was the last time she had a full eight-hour sleep? Hell, a night without terrors?

The only reason her depression hadn’t reared its ugly head was because of Marcus and their friends.

As much as she hated it, Sapphire was their best bet at getting supplies peacefully and without anybody getting shot. So, for their survival, Sapphire would stay alive until she died from an accident or something.

Sapphire shook her head slightly, ridding the dark thought that came with the train of thought she was beginning to have. She didn’t need that now. She needed sleep. And the routine basis of life on the ship was doing her no favors. Sam spotted this but didn’t point it out in front of the others.

“Will we be taking the Eagle?” At Sapphire’s question, Anya nodded.

“We have to,” Anya replied. “Gettner says that her Raven won’t be able to move much without some much-needed fuel. And depending on how heavy of a load you get and how long it will take, the Eagle is much more reliable.”

“Glad you’ve been giving Gettner lessons on the Eagle. Or else how are you going to pilot and trade with the Stranded,” Baird said, with a little bit of sarcasm.

In response, Sapphire shrugged, “Didn’t you forget that I installed a new program?”

Baird gave her a confused look and Sapphire sighed, taking her good hand to rub her temple, “The Recall program?”

“Does that really work?”

“Have any other options?” Baird shut his mouth and Sapphire turned to Anya. “Gettner should stay here. If something happens on the ship, I don’t want a pilotless Raven just sitting there. It can be used for defense.”

“As long as you are comfortable with that, then I say go for it,” Anya replied. “Just be careful out there. All of you. You’ll head out tomorrow morning, so get some rest and make your preparations.”

It was the dismissal that Sapphire had grown to recognize from Anya. The finality in her voice showed it. This was only a debrief, nothing more or less. As they filed out, Clayton, Baird, and Cole out first, Sam fell in step with Sapphire, bumping her shoulder as soon as Anya closed the hatch to the Captain’s quarters.

“You going to be all right there, Saph,” Sam asked, concern clear in her voice. In response, Sapphire shrugged, looking ahead to see Clayton and Cole already going at it with playful jabs and throwing casual jokes while Baird grumbled.

“Yeah, just need more sleep is all,” Sapphire replied casually, though from Sam’s unchanging expression, it was unconvincing. “Maybe I’ll get lucky and find another CD for the player I found.”

“Quite an odd trinket you found,” Sam commented.

“I traded it with a Stranded a while back, a man who was going deaf,” Sapphire corrected softly. “Best decision of my life, but Marcus made it a rule that I could only use it when I actually needed it in our room. Doesn’t want me to depend on that and go deaf myself.”

“You do have the sharpest ears out of all of us,” Sam chuckled, the trio going down a different hallway while Sam and Sapphire headed to the gym. “By the way, how are you and Marcus doing? Things still going okay?”

“For the most part, yeah.” A fond smile grew on Sapphire’s face at the thought. “Few bumps here and there when it comes to my safety but we’ve been communicating and all that jazz.”

“Are you wearing protection?”

Sapphire paused, taking a look over at Sam, who was smirking ear to ear. After a moment, Sapphire sighed, the pair stopping just in front of the gym, “No. Don’t need to.”

Sam blinked, her amusement turning to shock. Then, Sam asked, “Aren’t you afraid of getting pregnant or anything? Little dangerous nowadays.”

Sapphire rolled her eyes, crossing her arms. “I’m infertile, Sam. I can’t have children. I’ve been told all my life that I can’t have children.”

Sam stared at Sapphire for a long moment. Then, she burst out laughing. By now, Sam had heard of Sapphire’s deal with Prescott, long ago on Vectes. When her arm came back, his deal was void. And then, months later, he would vanish, never to be seen again. Or at least, everyone but Sapphire thought he was gone. She knew he went to an island. An island that she didn’t remember the name of.

Since coming onto the ship, Sam and Sapphire grew close as friends. Always throwing jabs at each other when it came to their relationships. Sapphire gave Sam an eye roll before she pointed out, “You’re in the same situation with Baird, are you not?”

At this, denial flickered across Sam’s eyes as she waved Sapphire off, “Me? With that prick? No way. No goddamn way would I sleep with him.”

At this, Sapphire smirked. Oh, how the tables had turned as she teased, “That’s not what I saw in the hangar last week.”

Sam rounded on Sapphire, giving her a warning glare, “You said you wouldn’t bring that up!”

“You were the one to ask if I used protection or not,” Sapphire playfully threw back. “Besides, Marcus and I don’t have sex all the time when we’re in the room. We have to consider Luke.”

Sam’s eyes widened, “Is THAT why you have Cole take Luke two days ago?”

“I’m not having sex in front of my emotional support dog,” Sapphire replied sharply. “That would be awkward. Now, how about we do some rounds in the gym and then go see what's on the top deck?”

Sam sighed, rolling her eyes, “Yeah, let’s. I’m done talking sex for now. Though…I can’t help but wonder how you handle Marcus in bed.”

Sapphire couldn’t stop the flush that she felt heat up on her face. She looked away from Sam, in a futile attempt to cool her face as she remembered the first time Marcus and her had spent the night together.

It was a sweet moment. One that was soon after they were assigned their own private room. It had started with a conversation about each other’s past experiences with relationships. And her and Marcus were only similar in that they’ve both only had one relationship before themselves.

Long ago, Sapphire fell in love with a man who she felt she was going to marry, back when she first joined the army. A man that was the opposite of Marcus. Always smiling, skinny for an army man, and someone who always asked her if she was okay when she was down. After two years together, Sapphire was transferred to the airforce.

His attitude changed then, gaslighting Sapphire and pushing her into situations she wasn’t comfortable with. The time spent away from him brought Sapphire to the realization that he was a toxic man, similar to her father once she looked at him from a distance. It haunted Sapphire that she had once considered that toxic man close to being a soulmate until she received the news that he was KIA.

She didn’t cry nor attend his funeral.

It was around that time that she also found out that she was infertile. She was scared that she would end up like her mother, falling pregnant with a man she wasn’t married to. That she would then have to marry. But after multiple doctor appointments, all with different doctors, Sapphire was brought relief when all the results pointed to infertility. Her chances of having children would be absolutely zero.

Marcus didn’t know whether he was viable or not, having never been truly tested. But they both trusted each other and they both agreed that their first night together was one of lovemaking, not of stress relief.

Sapphire remembered that night like it was yesterday.

Hands tracing scars, clothes left on the floor, open-mouthed kisses to both lips and skin, and the afterglow of the action. Sapphire remembered lying against Marcus’s side, hand combing through his military cut hair that hid under his head rag. She remembered him whispering to her that he hoped she enjoyed herself, to which she would breathlessly reply that she did and hoped that he did too.

Since then, they really only had passion whenever they found the time or when they felt like it. Many nights, they’ve simply collapsed into bed together, falling asleep with their day clothes still on. Too tired to do any deed.

Not all relationships had to be entirely sexual.

Sapphire preferred Marcus over anybody else. Lately, the smiles he sent her way, the soft gaze that was only referred to just her, made her heart flutter even more than before. The best part was coming back from a tough job on the mainland. Landing the Eagle on the raised helipad before running into Marcus’s arms.

PDA and displays of affection were rare for them, but Sapphire could never forget the time that Dom blatantly asked her and Marcus what they planned on doing for a wedding. It was supposed to be a joke, but Baird and Cole were completely caught off guard. Baird had choked on his beer while Cole whooped, clapping Marcus on the back in congrats. It was their first time hearing confirmation, and honestly, Sapphire didn’t mind, replying back to Dom’s question with a firm ‘too early’.

Sam and Sapphire didn’t spend too much time in the gym, especially as it neared noon. Once the afternoon came rolling, the gym would be full as people took a break. Sapphire didn’t put much effort in her tattooed arm, mostly due to the fact it was still shaking from the last time she used it.

Sam went elsewhere, leaving Sapphire to walk up to the deck where the clouds were dark yet the sun’s rays cast down, giving the world a strange yellow light. The air was stale, despite being miles from the mainland and surrounded by ocean. Ocean that wasn’t really blue like it was on Vectes before the Lambent took over.

Leaning on the railing of the ship, Sapphire looked out into the ocean, thinking once more about how the Lambent had been taking over. Ruining the environment, a plague on the land, something that she somehow had to find a way to fix if Valkyrie's words had anything to go by. But how?

The answer laid on that island, where-

“There you are.”

Sapphire straightened at the sudden greeting, turning to find Dom approaching her. She smiled, asking, “Is Marcus still looking for me?”

“Sort of but not really. He knows you're on the ship so he's not too worried. Though Luke might think otherwise.” Dom came up to her side, leaning on the railing with her. “Poor dog doesn't know why Marcus doesn't let him out of sight.”

Sapphire chuckled, “Probably because I gave him an earful when I found him without Luke.”

Dom let out a small laugh, “Yeah, can’t forget that. I wasn’t there, but Marcus was grumpy after that. I only told him that’s what you get with a woman like yourself.”

At this, Sapphire let out a boosting laugh, “Glad he has a best friend to turn to! Where is Marcus, by the way?”

“I would check the gardens again. I was about to head there myself,” Dom offered, and Sapphire nodded, following the man in the direction he was going. The ship moved smoothly over the calm waves despite the unclear sky.

The gardens were the most colorful on the ship. The greenery seemed stained, but it was still a brighter green than any other plant on the mainland. The few of the dying plants around. Seeds collected from destroyed Stranded camps or successful exchanges.

It wasn’t a forest of greens though, so it wasn’t hard to spot Marcus for the pair. Sapphire smiled softly at the sight of Marcus, almost looking normal without all his armor on. She couldn’t help but whistle as he stood up, showing off the muscles proudly on display on his arms and shoulders. He was wearing one of the tank tops Sapphire found while exploring the ship.

It fit just right in her opinion.

Her whistle wasn’t what got his attention. It did get Luke’s attention as he barked, racing towards Sapphire. Gone was the puppy phase Luke had when Marcus first gifted the dog to her all those months ago. Now, the mutt was mostly muscle, the type that wasn’t abnormal for a dog Luke’s age, but it was a sign of his development under Sapphire and Marcus’s training.

Luke’s sprint to Sapphire got Marcus’s attention, smiling as Sapphire knelt down to greet the happy pup. Tail wagged as Luke whined, clearly excited to see her again. Dom chuckled, talking to Luke, “I don’t think she was whistling for you, Luke.”

Sapphire flushed, biting back at Dom, “I was!”

“Uh huh.” Dom looked up, gesturing to her with a thumb. “Found her.”

Sapphire looked up, seeing Marcus approach, “Sam and Baird found me. I fell asleep after I was done fixing the Eagle.”

She straightened, Marcus shrugging, “I figured. You didn’t come to bed last night.”

“Hopefully I didn’t leave the bed too cold for you,” Sapphire replied, Luke taking a seat at her side. “I received a mission from Anya. I’ll be taking Sam, Baird, Cole, and Clayton to the mainland as we pass Hanover.”

“Isn’t that Cole’s hometown,” Dom questioned, and Sapphire nodded, looking between the two best friends.

“Yeah. I’ll be taking the Eagle to aid in the talks with the Stranded there tomorrow morning.” Sapphire looked down at Luke. “You can’t come with me, bud.”

Luke whined, looking up at her with ears perked. Looking back up at the pair, Sapphire continued, crossing her arms, “I’ll be using one of the features I installed. Found a watch and decided to put it to good use.”

“How many features can the Eagle even have?”

“Don’t know, but it's helped us get this far,” Sapphire replied. “In the meantime, I was going to continue my sleep in my room. Or at least try to catch some more shut eye before tomorrow.”

“Sounds good,” Dom commented, looking down at Luke. “Are you going with her?”

Luke barked in agreement. She turned to Marcus, a small smile on her face, “I shouldn’t be too busy tonight. Eagle is all fixed up so I’ll be sure to get as much rest as I can.”

“Good,” Marcus replied simply, giving her his own smile. Then, his eyes slightly widened. “Oh! Before I forget. I gotcha something.”

“For me?” Sapphire questioned this with a tilt of her head. Marcus dug into his pocket of his military pants for a moment, rummaging through before grabbing what he needed. When he pulled it out, she blinked.

“Traded for this for you. Thought you’d appreciate a different playlist this time,” Marcus said, handing her the CD disc in its container. It wasn’t the exact album, but it was by the same band. She turned it over before looking up, smile falling.

“Marcus, you shouldn’t have-”

He put his hand up to stop her, causing Dom to chuckle behind a hand, “Don’t worry about it. Go and rest before your mission. If anything happens, Luke will let you know. I’ll get you for supper, okay?”

It took Sapphire a moment to recompose herself, smiling in appreciation, “Thanks, Marcus. I’ll listen to it the moment I can. This deserves a little reward though.”

He blinked, confused until she approached him and gave him a peck on the cheek, though she had to be on her toes to reach. His boots gave him more height. Dom chuckled even harder behind his hand, especially as his best friend flushed, blinking rapidly as the rather public display of affection from Sapphire.

Sapphire pulled away, her head still turned to him as she added, “More reward later, Marcus. Love you!”

And with that, she whistled for Luke to follow her, leaving behind a blushing man and his giggling friend. As soon as she walked out of earshot, Dom turned to Marcus, a knowing smirk on his face, “Looks like you’re getting some tonight, huh, Marcus?”

To which Marcus replied with a sharp glare.

Though its affect didn’t do much as Dom began to laugh.

Sapphire got to their room soon after, Luke hopping onto the bed despite Marcus’s insistence not to. Sapphire didn’t care, especially since she’d rather have Luke right next to her instead of in his dog bed while she napped.

She plugged in her disc into her music player before putting on her headphones. Slowly, she laid down, leaving the door hatch partially opened. If anybody needed her, Luke would let her know.

Closing her eyes, Sapphire listened, hearing the beat as the music began to play.

The music echoed in her head, slowly draining away the dark lullaby to a small whisper as the music played.

“I’m tired of being what you want me to be, feeling so faithless, lost under the surface.

I don’t know what you’re expecting of me, put under the pressure of walking in your shoes.

Every step that I take is another mistake to you!

I’ve become so numb, I can’t feel you there!

Become so tired, so much more aware,

I’m becoming this, all I want to do,

Is be more like me and be less like you!”

Sapphire sighed heavily, mind spiraling into a heavy sleep. As darkness claimed her, she had no idea that tomorrow would be the beginning.

Valkyrie raised her head, heavy with slumber, watching as her smaller self slithered through the forests all around her. Calculating yet not motivated to do much at the moment. For now.

On Azura, Dr. Fenix looked out of the window, towards the storm that swirled all around them. Protecting, yet weak against the coming storm.

And deep in the ocean, golden jaws are hungry for the one hidden on the ship, biding its time until the ship makes it to Hanover.

The calm of the storm was ending, and the storm was hungry for destruction on all life.

Chapter Text

“Hey, you really think the program will work?”

At Baird’s question through her headphones, Sapphire sighed, gripping the controls of the Eagle as it flew closer to the city of Hanover, “Baird, for the last time, it will work. How many times have I questioned your shit and it ends up working?”

“Yeah, because it's my shit. Not yours.”

The Eagle flew over the port, heading towards the closest open space Sapphire could find. From Anya’s information she gathered, the closest warehouse units should have something. They would need to get as much supplies from the surrounding area before making their way over to the Stranded.

Sapphire needed some leverage compared to her title.

“No stalks in sight,” Sapphire reported, checking the cameras of the Eagle. “No Lambent lifeforms in sight. All clear to land. We’ll contact you if we find something.”

“Stay safe out there,” Anya’s voice replied. “Take care.”

“Thanks, Anya. Over and out.”

Behind Sapphire, through her headphones, she could hear the squad in the back. She listened, careful with where she was flying as she got closer to a clear spot in the sea known as a port. Sam spoke through her headset, “Hey, Carmine, you all right? You’re awfully quiet.”

“Someone’s gotta be, with Baird yapping all the time,” Clayton Carmine replied, sounding somewhat annoyed. Sapphire knew that Baird had been talking in the back with the others, mostly to Cole since he and Sam bickered all the time. Clayton did speak somewhat to the others, but he was quiet most of the time.

Sam chuckled, “Oh, I could gag him if you like. Be my treat.”

At this, Sapphire chimed in plainly, “Use a clean cloth when you do so. Not one of his oil rags.”

Baird didn’t reply, so Sapphire figured that he was probably looking out through the open doors of the Eagle. Normally, Sapphire would not allow such a thing, but considering the need for evaluation of the surrounding environment, Sapphire had bitten her tongue about it after the first time.

Clayton, however, yelped, “Fuck! I keep forgetting I have the headset on! Whose side are you on? I thought you and Baird were buddies?”

“Just because he gave me a weapon doesn’t mean I don’t get annoyed by his antics every now and then,” Sapphire replied, slowing the craft as she found a spot. “Are Baird and Cole at the edge?”

“Yeah, they’re going through a brotherly moment,” Sam replied. Sapphire accepted it, lowering the Eagle towards its destination.

The Eagle slowly landed in the closest clear space Sapphire could find, a space in the part of the port that connected to much of Hanover. On the way in, Sapphire could see Hanover wasn't some small town. It was a whole city, though half seemed damaged beyond recognition over the years, with towers lopsided or completely toppled over on top of other buildings. The port itself was lined with warehouses, box crates, and sunken boats.

Sapphire put the Eagle on standby as the squad filed out. Attaching the new modules to Ghidorah and checking her watch on the way out, Sapphire hopped off the aircraft and walked backwards, pressing the buttons on her watch. A blue flash emitted from the watch’s frame before the Eagle beeped, signaling to Sapphire that it was linked up.

“All set,” Sapphire announced, turning to the group. She gestured to Cole, a serious expression on her face as she spoke. “Lead the way, Cole. This is your home, your territory.” Turning to the others, she continued. “Everyone, keep your eyes peeled for any signs of glow and don’t be afraid to speak up. Let's go before we begin to lose sunlight.”

The group nodded, thought Baird huffed, “Who made you the leader?”

Sapphire sent Baird a quiet glare, to which Baird sighed, “Got it. Got it. Don’t get all pissy now.”

Sam rolled her eyes, looking around before her eyes set on the town’s buildings ahead. There were still buildings that held good structure compared to the surrounding devastation. Sapphire saw them as old Scottish housing, or Scottish cottages. Turning to Cole, Sam asked, “So this is home, eh, Cole?”

“Classy,” Baird commented, looking around before looking over at Cole as the man began to walk in front of the group. “Has it changed much since you’ve been away?”

Sapphire could see Cole’s thoughtful look as he took a look around. He didn’t take Baird’s joke as he replied plainly, “Hey, the whole damn world looks like this. Let’s move out.”

Taking longer to look around, Sapphire could see what Baird was hinting at. Skeletons of Stalks lay everywhere, through some of the buildings and out of the surrounding area. She couldn’t tell how old they were, as the trees tended to shrivel and stay the same afterward, as if stoned. In a way, they did turn to stone. But even shriveled, a trace of the lullaby could be heard and Sapphire forced herself to move forward towards the city of Hanover.

Ahead, bad signs were already showing as Baird pointed out, “Whoa, whoa! Take a look over there. I’m guessing that used to be a Stranded outpost.”

Sam and Clayton stayed by Sapphire’s side as she slipped past them, noting the damage all around. Dying fires could be seen from within the building, but didn’t produce enough smoke that Sapphire had seen it from her craft. It must be old, or at least, as old as these stalks have been dead.

Written in blood in big letters on the wall of put-together metal panels were STAY AWAY, with a man that had a missing lower half to his body. Seeing this, Sam sucked in a breath, scowling, “Ugh. Somehow I don’t think he died of natural causes.”

“Oh, really, doctor,” Baird asked sarcastically as they got closer to the ruined wall of metal.

“Yeah, call it a woman’s intuition,” Sam replied with equal sarcasm.

Sapphire sighed lightly, especially as Baird grumbled, “Told you this was gonna be a waste of time.”

“An outpost is an outpost,” Sapphire pointed out tiredly as she looked around the surrounding area once more. “Just because one is destroyed, Baird, does not mean all of them are gone. Let’s keep looking. If luck is on our side, we might find the main camp.”

“Why would you want to find the main camp,” Clayton asked. “They’re like cockroaches. Hiding in the darkest corners. You can’t trust them.”

“Some are, but not all. I think Cole and I can convince the Stranded to give us more than usual.” Sapphire gestured to Cole. “Let’s keep going. See if we can find survivors.”

Cole nodded, leaving them to walk back towards the port, going around a dead stalk to a cobble-stoned street. As Cole led the way, Baird huffed, snorting, “I’m tellin’ you, this place is crawling with freaks. You know what stalks mean. Polyps.”

At the word, Sapphire’s spine straightened, the lullaby rising somewhat in response to her spike in anxiety. It always liked taking opportunities to drive her closer to madness. Sam was quick to correct Baird, “We haven’t seen polyps for months. Relax.”

Sapphire could see Clayton give her a look at the corner of her eye. He must have noticed Sapphire tense as Baird and Sam spoke. Sapphire looked over in his direction and he was quick to look away, his helmet hiding his expression. Looking back over the street’s landscape, Sapphire paused, seeing the giant stalks ahead, one grabbing a crane and others digging into the surrounding buildings. She hadn’t seen them that size since…Sapphire closed her eyes and took a deep inhale.

She wasn’t at Vectes. She wasn’t in the Hollows.

“Sapphire? Are you coming?” At Sam’s question, Sapphire opened her eyes, seeing that the group had stopped to look back at her. Cole gave her a worried look, and she knew why.

All of Delta made sure she was safe, and that included minding triggers for her PTSD. Now was not the time to be vulnerable to episodes.

And with the lullaby, those episodes have been close to happening more and more often.

Sapphire nodded, “Let’s keep going and find these Stranded. If there are survivors.”

The group accepted that answer, Cole going back to his thoughtful, cast off look. They passed a collapsed part of the street, an old sinkhole that didn’t cover itself up, or was a result of no maintenance. Could be an old sewage system down below them.

As they passed a group of houses, Sam gasped, “Ohh, Baird, look! That house over there…I can see us. You and me, couple of kids, a dog…”

“Yeah! And my great big bottle of suicide pills.”

“Well, that’ll save me poisoning your dinner.”

“Yeah, you’ll miss me one day.”

“Only if somebody bumps my elbow.”

“Ha, ha, ha.”

Sapphire smiled just a bit at their banter. She was glad Marcus and her weren’t like that, but she found it entertaining. And she found herself relaxing as she gave Sam a knowing look. Sam spotted this, growling with a pointed finger at Sapphire, “What about you? Marcus and you have plans? Gonna buy a house after all this shit is over?”

“If it ever does,” Baird grumbled, only to be elbowed by Sam, hard. He wheezed as Sapphire thought over her answer, looking ahead next to Cole.

Cole glanced over at her, curious, and Sapphire could feel the others staring at her, waiting for her answer. After a while, taking a corner and continuing along the houses, Sapphire replied thoughtfully. “I think I’d like to build a cabin in the woods, away from people. When I was younger, my grandfather took me camping often. And I would want to make my house, just as my grandfather did. Just the way I dreamed. And Luke would like a forest to run around in. It’s the best I can dream at the moment.”

“Sounds corny,” Sam commented. “But I get it. Marcus doesn’t seem to be a people person. Though you are…”

“Yeah, how does that work,” Clayton asked. When Sapphire looked back questioningly, he raised a hand in defense, Lancer in his other hand. “Unless you are the one doing the peopling and Marcus is the one who does stuff.”

Sam facepalmed, rubbing her nose with an exaggerated sigh, “Really, Clayton? Do you mean how can an introvert go with an extrovert?”

“Don’t even know what that is,” Clayton admitted, to which Sam smacked the back of his helmet. He yelped. “Seriously! I don’t know!”

Sapphire couldn’t help but chuckle, “Sometimes, opposites attract. Now, let’s focus on the mission, shall we?”

Just as Sapphire turned away from the group, a bright spotlight suddenly turned on, from another metal wall ahead of them, blocking the street. At this, the group stopped, a speaker voice echoing through the street towards them, “Hey, you down there! Step into the light and do it slow! Try anything dumb and we’ll blow yer heads off!”

“Everybody chill.” Cole’s words were firm and Sapphire put away Ghidorah, the rest switching their safeties on. “Relax, my man! Safety’s on!”

After several tense moments of standing in the spotlight, the light switched off. Sapphire walked past Cole, looking up at the disshrivaled man up top. He was wearing a heavy version of a mechanic’s outfit as he looked down, noting their armor.

The Stranded growled, “Hey, it’s the COG coming to civilize us! Oh, whoopee!”

Sapphire crossed her arms, eyes narrowing as she spoke, “They have no time for that. They’re just looking to trade for some food. We’re not pioneers coming to colonize this place.”

The man looked over at her, eyes narrowing in observation to Sapphire’s words. After a long pause, he gestured behind himself and growled, “Well, we ain’t got any spare food. And if we did, we wouldn’t be trading it with you COG assholes. But…I’ll give you a side of bacon for you girls, though.”

Sapphire’s face scrunched up at this, disgusted at the suggestion of being touched by another man. It made her tense up and Cole noticed, giving her a questioning glance.

“Ohhhh…bacon,” Clayton said dreamily. At this, Sam hit the back of his head with a fist, causing him to yelp.

Baird, on the other hand, turned to lean over to Cole, “Hey, take the deal, Cole. I haven’t had bacon in six months.”

At this, Cole straightened, asking Baird, “Are you really asking for a beat from Marcus? You realize he’s involving Sapphire, right?”

Sapphire ignored the bickering, arms uncrossing as she spoke, “Thanks but no thanks. We’re going to have to refuse. You wouldn’t want to sleep with me anyways. I’m known to be quite rough on my partner. And he’s a strong man compared to these three behind me.”

Cole, Baird, and Clayton all turned to her, shocked. Sam only smirked, taking her Lancer against her chest. The man straightened at this, eyes widening in surprise as he took into account the three men of the group. At this, Sapphire smiled, “Now, if you won’t give us food, are there any other camps around that we can check with?”

The man leaned over the wall, gesturing with one hand as he spoke, “Some. You can try the warehouse down at the pier. Or the stadium. Course, you gotta get past all the glowies first, but you hairy-assed heroes can breeze through all that shit!”

Next to them, a garage door opened, as if summoning the way. Sapphire smiled innocently, nodding her head, “Thanks. We’ll see what they have to offer.”

The man laughed at them on their way out. As soon as they passed the garage door, Sapphire looked back at Clayton and Baird, “You boys better be on your best behavior from now on. I don’t want any deals concerning body parts involved, unless both parties consent. Is that clear? Or do I need to make it clear?”

At this, Clayton and Baird paused, briefly looking at each other. Sam chuckled, switching her safety off as she commented to the pair, “You better be careful. Sapphire might be good with people, but Marcus isn’t, remember?”

Baird looked flustered, but Clayton shrugged, “Oh, I know she has that scary dog privilege. If Sapphire can talk to Marcus so casually, I think Stranded isn't a problem for her. I mean, they are pretty anti-social.”

“I would prefer calling the Stranded ‘assholes’,” Baird grumbled, shaking his head.

“We still got options,” Cole spoke up, turning to Sapphire. “There’s even an old grocery store around here. Let’s see if my coupons are still good. And find you some medicine.”

“I am not the priority, Cole,” Sapphire gently reminded the man as they walked side by side. Her arm, the traitor, shook as if to disagree. Sapphire was quick to hide it by grabbing Ghidorah to twirl it in her tattooed hand. “Let’s go see if there’s anything still left. The Stranded might have picked it off already, but maybe they missed something.”

The alleyway led into another street, this one with more vehicles left abandoned. And a massive stalk grabbing a large building. This place had to have been hell to be in when the Lambent passed through. Ahead, there was a metal gate, closed and no way to clearly open it.

Seeing this, Cole sighed, “Damn shame we ain’t got Jack to rip that gate. I miss that little guy!”

At this, Baird scoffed, “Hey, he isn’t scrap yet, okay! I’m just looking for a power supply for him. He’ll be better than new before you know it! Let’s just open this the Delta way.”

Cole and Baird sided each other at the metal gate, kicking it off its hinges and opening the street to a park of sorts. As they entered, Cole pointed to the rusted swing, jokingly stating, “Hey, Baird, why don’t you hop on, and I’ll give you a push.”

“Uh, yeah, you know what? No thanks,” Baird replied, almost shivering as if a rusted swing would give him rabies. The squad continued on, beginning to cross through the city playground park.

That was, until the dark lullaby grew in pitch.

Sapphire stopped, wincing as the lullaby began to growl, as if rearing its head for a strike. Looking around, Sapphire saw the swings begin to move slightly. Sam stopped, noticing Sapphire had paused in the middle of the playground park. Jokingly, Sam asked, “You getting sudden baby fever there, Saph?”

Sapphire’s head snapped to Sam, eyes wide as she exclaimed, “Guys! We’ve got Lambent incoming!”

The squad all turned to her, confused at why she spoke such. And just then, the ground began to really shake, enough for all of them to notice. Safeties switched off as the shaking got worse, until the rusted merry-go-round was thrown into the air, a massive stalk limb rising into the air with a roar.

Cole exclaimed, “We’ve got a live one!”

Clayton shouted to the group as they dispersed, “Watch out!”

The merry-go-round fell between them all, breaking apart as the stalk waved around, blisters forming on its surface. Sapphire twirled Ghidorah, the squad taking cover behind rusted vehicles and concrete walls. A blister burst, spilling yellow liquid onto the ground.

And from the blister, a creature spilled out, followed by two more. And they weren’t the dog-sized ones they’ve been dealing with. This was bigger and more humanoid. The lullaby pitched high, causing Sapphire to wince again and grab her head. Now was not the time!

Sam shouted, “What the fuck is that?”

“Whatever the hell that is, that's a new world record in ugly,” Cole exclaimed.

Sapphire gritted her teeth, forcing herself to raise her head. She turned to Ghidorah, pondering what to do. She couldn’t do close combat, but she had her arrows on her side, hanging off her belt. She grabbed one, ignoring the lullaby singing in her ears.

She had to ignore it.

The squad didn’t hold back, firing at both the creatures and the blisters forming on the stalks that came erupting from the ground. Sapphire used three arrows, when she found an opportunity to do so between the pounding headache and constant firing. The squad was quick to take down the strange creatures, the stalks shriveling up and dying as they ran out of energy. Enough bullets into those things, or one of her arrows, would blow those creatures up. Just like those dog-sized creatures.

Sapphire had to recompose herself as the lullaby receded, leaving her almost breathless as she made her way to meet up with the squad on the other side of the stalks. Sam turned to her, eyes widening as she asked, “Shit, Sapphire. Did you get hit in the face?”

Sapphire tilted her head in confusion. “What do you mean?”

“Nose is bleeding,” Clayton replied, gesturing to his helmet where Sapphire assumed where his nose was. She raised a hand up, feeling a wetness just under her nose. When her hand pulled away, crimson blood covered the tip of her fingers.

Shit.

Sapphire was quick to shrug it off in front of the others, “I must have fallen or something. It’s nothing. Let’s keep going before more of those fuckers show up.”

Taking a cloth from her pocket of her cargo pants, Sapphire wiped her nose, passing the squad as they all stared at her. She hated the attention, especially when this happened. It wasn’t the first time such a thing happened.

Back on Vectes, when the Lambent overran the island, Sapphire’s nose began to bleed as the ships pulled away from the island quickly. She suspected it was because of the prolonged exposure to the Lambent. That thought was quickly confirmed by Good Valkyrie, who told Sapphire, “It will get worse over time. Your mind is being pulled in two different directions.”

What two directions, Valkyrie would not say. Sapphire assumed it was her own mind and the Lambent Hivemind. It was the only explanation Sapphire could find. Even after a year of searching.

Since Vectes, her nose did not bleed and she interacted little with Lambent since. Now though, it seems a group of them could cause her nose to bleed.

Which would undoubtedly raise questions.

They continued on, Baird filling the silence with a scoff, “You know, maybe I’ve been too harsh on the polyps. I kinda prefer them to these new glowies.”

Sapphire couldn’t agree more as Baird then turned to Cole, “Cole, you sure you know where the grocery store is? I mean, when you were a big Thrashball star, didn’t you have people for that?”

Cole let out a bellowing laugh as he replied, “Yeah. One of ‘em must have told me where it was when I was gettin’ my manicure…keep it moving.”

They continued on, and as they did, Cole caught up to Sapphire’s side. He was quiet as he spoke to her, which was rare from the guy, “You going to be okay? You aren’t looking so good.”

Sapphire sighed, wiping her nose once more to make sure it wasn’t bleeding as she held Ghidorah in the other hand. “Cole, as much as I respect your worry, we need to focus on getting supplies. We need to worry about surviving this damn war.”

“Yeah, but you’re part of Delta,” Cole argued back softly. She noticed the others had fallen back a bit, probably letting him talk to her. Probably to make some sense. “Sapphire, I know you like to worry about others, cause you’re selfless, but if you need-”

Sapphire held a hand up, silencing Cole quickly. Turning to him, Sapphire said more firmly, “Cole, I’m fine. I’m not some young teen or something. I appreciate the worry and I get it. I get why you are so worried about me, Cole. But please focus on the mission. Now, can we please make our way to this grocery store?”

Cole sighed, “Look, I get it. What if I spoke as a survivor then? Technically, the only reason we’ve lasted so long is because you talk to Stranded like they’re in the COG. You treat everybody equally and with respect. If we lose you, we might as well lose all future hopes of getting supplies. Now, you think you can continue?”

Sapphire and Cole stopped, turning to stare at each other. For a brief moment, Sam, Baird, and Clayton watched as Cole Train and the Huntress seemed to have a standoff. It wasn’t every day they saw Sapphire as the Huntress that the Stranded saw her. Stubborn as a mule, many say.

And it’s only gotten worse since Marcus and Sapphire got together. They seem to rub off on each other, from everybody’s perspective of them on the ship. Two stubborn people made the worst of debate arguments.

On the ship, Cole might have backed down, knowing Sapphire would stand her ground.

But out here, Sapphire found herself exhausted. Torn down from the one and only fight with Lambent they’ve faced since setting off from Vectes. Run-ins with polyps were a different story compared to what just happened.

And if more of those fights were coming, then Sapphire needed to reserve her strength.

Sapphire broke the stare-down, sighing, “Sorry, Cole. I’ve just been…going through a lot. I just want to get this over with as quickly as possible, all right?”

Cole smiled reassuringly, patting Sapphire’s shoulder, “I get you, baby. Maybe when we get back to the ship, you can find a doctor or medic. Don’t want you to falling sick now.”

That brought a tired chuckle from Sapphire as she rubbed her forehead, “Thanks, Cole. And don’t worry, I think whatever sickness I’m catching should be remedied by normal sleep.”
Cole smiled widely, “Good! Then when we get back to the ship, maybe someone has something to help you sleep. Now, the store should be just up ahead. Let’s cut through here.”

Cole led them further down and slipped under a razor wire fence. As they slipped past it, Sapphire heard the lullaby echo louder. Looking up, she saw the various stalks rising from the streets and impaling the sides of the surrounding builders. Ahead, a parking lot with a degraded shopping center sat in silence.

The silence didn’t last long as a stalk burst from the asphalt and launched a vehicle their way. The squad disbanded and the stalk’s strange organisms were dealt with quickly. Sapphire hung back this time, her nose bleeding once more, but she covered it up quickly.

This time, nobody noticed as Sapphire wiped her nose of blood. She needed to be more careful with the Lambent.

And inform Marcus of this new development.

Clayton shouted out to the group, “Let’s get inside before more glowies show up!”

The squad made their way past the puddles of yellow liquid and dead stalks. Cole and Clayton opened the security door at the entrance of the shopping center. Once the squad was inside, Sapphire looked around, not liking how dark it was, aside from the light streaming down through the broken ceiling above them. It had a musky smell, no doubt mold that had grown over the years.

Ahead, Cole let his Lancer fall to his side, attention on what stood in front of them. In front of them was a cutout of Cole in a football uniform and holding a cereal brand, a smiling excitement showing on his face. At this, Cole let out a dry scoff, speaking blandly, “Ever feel like you’re dead, but nobody told you?”

Sapphire gave Cole an empathetic look, knowing full well what Cole was referring to. Sometimes, she had those thoughts. That coming here to Sera was her in the afterlife.

Some fucking afterlife this was.

But as quickly as Cole looked sombered, he brightened up, turning to the group, “Okay, let’s see what they got on special this week.”

Sam nodded eagerly, “Right-o. Where’s the coffee?”

“Where’s the bacon?” Clayton’s dreamy voice made Sapphire chuckle.

Down the hall, they removed the wooden planks and began their search through the bare aisles. Cole announced to the group, “Come on, let’s work our way to the back. Look for anything useful.”

The aisles were empty with trash strewn everywhere. In the middle of the massive room, Sapphire saw what looked to be a pharmacy. It looked empty from afar and some of the big red letters had fallen onto the tile floor. Sapphire holstered Ghidorah, walking towards the pharmacy. Baird scoffed, “I thought you didn’t want to take your meds?”

“Fuck off, Baird,” Sapphire replied as she jumped over the counter. “Any medicine helps the others.”

Sapphire checked underneath the counters and shelves, searching for any medical supplies that they could use. As she did, she heard scuttling, a small pitch in the dark lullaby echoing in her head as Sam griped at Baird, “Okay, Baird, now we’ve got polyps! Happy?”

“Yeah, ecstatic!”

Sapphire continued, but found nothing of use. She sighed, getting up and over the counter. Cole was standing there, having stood guard while she looked, of course. Cole had become very protective over her on their missions. Made sense considering her episodes and all.

To her fortune, no episodes felt like coming up.

They continued, finding nothing of great use aside from trash. While Sapphire was disappointed that the shopping center held nothing of value, that meant the Stranded had something to trade. And she was focused on that as she continued into the shopping center.

A couple of stalks later, they got to the end of the shopping center. After the latest encounter with Lambent, Sapphire’s nose bled once more and she tried her best to hide it, hearing Valkyrie speak in the back of her mind, “You need to block them, Sapphire. At this rate, you’ll lose enough blood to pass out.”

Sapphire couldn’t speak out loud, eyeing the others as Cole cheered in victory after the latest Lambent was blown up. Instead, she thought of how she could block the lullaby. And why Valkyrie didn’t say anything earlier about it.

Would have saved her sleep.

“Is it really a lullaby? Or are you hearing the whispers of voices?”

Sapphire blinked, wiping the last of the blood from her nose. It had been a lullaby for so long. She could handle bouts of it, but after all these encounters, she’s realizing that the lullaby may not be fueled by just the presence of Lambent. Geez, this was so confusing on so many levels. And Valkyrie wasn’t helping!

“Nothing will help you.”

Sapphire jumped at the new voice, looking back down the shopping center. At the end, Sapphire saw something. No, someone. Sapphire unconsciously began to walk towards the figure, despite Baird noticing and asking, “Hey! What’s got your attention?”

Sapphire didn’t even hear Baird, staring at the shadowy figure at the end of the hall. And slowly, the figure morphed its features.

“I see you.”

Myrrah.

Sapphire’s eyes widened, taking a step back. The Locust Queen smiled at Sapphire, continuing, “I will see you soon, Blood of Another. And this time, I will have the power of the Titanmind.”

Titanmind? Did she mean Hivemind?

Valkyrie said nothing, as if silenced. Sapphire saw Myrrah take a step closer, before launching forward. She morphed into a massive bug whose mandibles opened towards her like those golden jaws in her dreams. Sapphire jolted, stumbling back when slender hands grabbed her from falling back.

Sapphire startled, turning to see Sam’s worried expression. And seeing the whole squad giving her the same expression. Sam was the first to speak, saying slowly, “Breathe, Sapphire. Breathe.”

Sapphire hadn’t realized her chest had constricted or that she felt out of breath. At this, Sapphire closed her eyes and took a deep breath. When she exhaled, her heart rate calmed, eyes opening to find Sam still worried. Slowly, Sam’s hands fell from Sapphire and Sapphire sighed, “Well, aren’t I a train wreck…Sorry, it was another episode. Came out of left field there.”

“What triggered it?” Sam’s question was answered with a shrug. “You think you’ll be able to keep going? You haven’t had this much difficulty since Vectes.”

Sapphire shrugged, “I don’t know, Sam. Maybe with the emergence of new Lambent, my mind is panicking. Some of these Lambent remind me of…nevermind. Let’s keep going, shall we?”

Ignoring the stares, Sapphire turned to Cole, asking, “Where to next?”

Cole straightened up, smiling as he gestured, “There are storage units in the back of the center. Through here!”

As Cole and Sapphire led the way, Sam hung back, noting Baird’s sudden thoughtful expression. Clayton looked between them before asking, “What was all that about? I thought those episodes are over now that she’s better.”

“Physically she’s better,” Sam agreed before shaking her head. “Mentally, she has her bad days. I think it was a bad idea to have her out here. Cole could do well enough on his own. Don’t you think so, Baird?”

For the first time, Baird didn’t have a snappy comeback. Instead, he sighed, “I don’t know what to think, Sam. Some days…I wish I was in her place. I was almost captured by the Locust, almost tortured like…fuck.”

Baird rubbed his face, though no tears were shed. Sam had heard snippets of what happened in the Hollows. Delta had the worst time there, and were the most silent about their time in the Hollows. After Baird recomposed himself, he turned to the other two, scowling, “I think either way, Sapphire would want to come with us because we are going to be dealing with Stranded. She wants everyone safe, so just forget she had the episode and let’s get on with it.”

“And what if she has an episode while we’re fighting Lambent?” Clayton’s question earned him an eye roll from Baird. The blonde man scoffed, looking away and refusing to reply.

Sam elbowed Clayton hard in the ribs, causing the man to yelp at the action. He turned to her, hands up, “What the fuck was all that about?”

“The less we talk about it, the more likely you’ll go to bed with both balls, Carmine. Everyone has hallucinations at one point or another.” And Sapphire didn’t have episodes that often. Maybe one every once in a while.

Sam remembered one episode with Sapphire, bringing bowels of stew to the woman as they took a break from working in the gardens on deck. Sapphire didn’t thank her, which was odd and Sam thought nothing of it.

That is, until she sat down and saw Sapphire’s expression. Her pupils were small, full of what looked to be dread or fear. And her hand was over her mouth. For a long moment, Sam wondered if Sapphire was having a stroke or something and had asked, “Hey, I thought you liked the bean soup?”

It was like Sapphire didn’t hear her. But before Sam got up, Marcus came out of nowhere, having come down with them. Without a word, Marcus tossed a green leaf, clean from the kitchens. As soon as it landed, Sapphire seemed to snap out of it, smiling as she looked up at Sam, “Thanks, Sam!”

Later, Marcus had pulled Sam to the side, where he explained to her that Sapphire had just had an episode and it wasn’t anything she did. According to Marcus, the episodes ranged from small two-minute freezes to sudden outbursts. Luckily, the sudden outbursts haven’t happened since Sapphire first woke up from her coma.

Sam learned to recognize her friend’s mini episodes. Even if they only popped up after six to eight weeks. As a friend, Sam cared for Sapphire’s safety.

They continued on, Sapphire thinking of what she just heard and saw. While Valkyrie remained silent, Sapphire didn’t really need her to say anything. She never figured out why the Locust Queen wanted her sacrificed or why her blood was so important.

But one thing was for certain.

Queen Myrrah was alive. And she wanted either revenge or wanted to use Sapphire for something else.

Chapter Text

To the scavenging Gears’ luck, in the back of the shopping center was a shipment of food cans, blocked off from sight and hidden behind fallen lockers. Sapphire walked in front of Cole, who was in a Silverback that carried the shipment out of the building and into the open. The rest of the squad followed, Baird turning to Sapphire with a scowl, “All right, pilot. Time to recall the Eagle.”

“Sure thing,” Sapphire replied simply, bringing her watch to her face. “Okay, requesting a call back to coordinates.”

With a few taps of her newly restored watch, there was a ping and the watch’s numbers rotated. She lowered her arm, turning to Baird, “Watch and learn, mister.”

A minute passed, then another. The squad waited. As they did, Sam turned to Sapphire, “You still want to talk to the local Stranded? Maybe get some more supplies?”

“I would still like to, just in case,” Sapphire replied, checking Ghidorah swiftly as she did so. “Never know what they might have.”

“Might have some medical supplies we can use,” Clayton suggested, then added quickly. “And maybe ammo. Definitely ammo to deal with these guys.”

As Sam, Sapphire, and Clayton talked, Cole had gotten out of the Silverback and approached Baird. The pair went aways to talk in private from the trio. Cole didn’t hide the issue, telling Baird, “We got to tell Marcus that his lady is not doing so good. I know she wants to deal with the local Stranded, but every time we face the Lambent, she looks as sick as a dog.”

“She’s stubborn, Cole,” Baird pointed out, Lancer resting against his chest. “I want her to be back on the ship as much as you. And I’m not the only one who noticed that she had an episode earlier. She won’t tell us but if we contact Marcus to contact her, she might be more willing to go back and let us continue.”

Cole looked back, seeing Sapphire giving Clayton a glare at something he said, Sam laughing as if it was a joke spoken just moments before. Turning back to Baird, Cole asked, “Should we contact him now? Or at least tell Anya?”

“Let’s tell Anya first then tell Marcus. Don’t know how long it will be, but I would do it now.”

Cole nodded, “Keep her distracted while we wait for the Eagle to come by.”

Baird nodded, stepping away from Cole and back to the trio. Left alone, Cole brought a hand to his ear. He knew they were still within distance of the ship. And he knew that Anya kept one private channel open to all of Delta. Quietly, he spoke, “Anya, are you available at the moment?”

The response was quick as Anya replied, “I’m here, Cole. Everything all right?”

“Everyone is safe. We ran into some freaky Lambent, but nobody suffered any major injury.”

“Okay, then why…hold on, Marcus just asked if Sapphire’s okay.”

“You with Marcus?”

“Yep. Before I tell you why, what’s going on with Sapphire?”

“Okay, first, she doesn’t know I’m talking to you. Second, it seems that every time we fight the Lambent, it seems Sapphire gets really sick. She’s been bleeding by the nose, and while she blames it on the dust and all, I don’t think that’s it. Squad is getting worried but Sapphire insists that she’s fine. Then she had an episode, the frozen kind. She still wants to talk to the local Stranded and Baird and I thought Marcus could convince her to go back to the ship with the supplies we got.”

There was a long pause.

Then, Anya sighed, “I don’t think having her on the ship at the moment is a good idea.”

Cole raised an eyebrow, “Why’s that?”

“Because Prescott is back.”

It was now Cole’s turn to pause. They hadn’t seen the man since Vectes, having run off in the middle of the night with his Onyx Guard. How was that man still alive? “Oh, shit. Really?”

“Yep, came with a King Raven out of nowhere. Marcus and I are coming up with a plan to deal with him while he’s talking to the captain. He keeps asking to see Sapphire and we tell him she’s with you guys in Hanover. Marcus doesn’t feel Sapphire is safe since the Onyx Guards he brought have been searching the ship for her.”

“Why the fuck does he need her?” Behind Cole, he could hear the Eagle’s silent blades as the aircraft touched down. This earned a cheer of victory from Sapphire and a groan from Baird at being proven wrong. Cole turned to see Sam and Clayton beginning to load the boxes of cans individually into the Eagle while Sapphire checked the mechanics of the aircraft.

“We don’t know. As much as I worry for Sapphire too, I would rather have her out there than here on the ship until Prescott leaves. He may be the Chairman, but his insistence on having Sapphire is starting to sound maniac, even for him. Marcus says to keep an eye on Sapphire. Is her arm still shaking?”

“Yeah. We’re trying to find the medicine too.”

“Okay, then keep searching through Hanover. If any one of you gets injured, get your asses back to the ship immediately. And try not to piss off Sapphire. She knows we all care for her, but Marcus says that Sapphire will only get more pissed off and stubborn if you all keep trying to question how she is. I don’t want one of you having Ghidorah sticking out of your ass by the time you get off the ship.”

“Roger that. We’ll keep an eye on her. And let you know if anything else happens. Cole, out.”

“Thanks, Cole. Good luck out there.”

Cole turned the channel back to the public channel and walked over to the others to join them in loading the Eagle. Once the Eagle was secured with supplies two minutes later, Sapphire got everyone out and gave the Eagle orders to go back to the ship through her watch. As the squad watched the Eagle fly off, Clayton turned to Baird, “Seems like you got outplayed as an engineer.”

“Hey! She and I found it on Vectes. She didn’t make it,” Baird snapped back.

At this, Sapphire rolled her eyes, “I made the computer program. It really isn’t that hard.”

“That’s what you say! How did you even make a computer program when we barely have a computer?”

“The Eagle is basically a large computer, Baird.”

“Is it really?”

Sapphire sighed, crossing her arms as she grabbed Ghidorah. “Let’s just go to our next destination. Cole, where to next?”

“We still got to go check out the warehouse and, you know, the stadium.” Sapphire and the rest of the group could see the excitement on Cole’s face at the thought of the stadium. Sapphire figured that if the stadium was in the center of the city of Hanover, then the chances of it being a Stranded camp was much more likely.

At this, Baird grumbled, “Oh, of course. The stadium. You’re not making a pilgrimage or anything, are you?”
“Hey, I’m just being thorough!” Turning to the others, Cole gestured ahead. “Follow me this way!”

Cole led them through an opening out of the mess in the yard behind the shopping center. It used to be a street under a highway, the highway itself barely held up by old stalks. The street itself had collapsed, almost seeming to float on top of the river of Imulsion. Seeing this, Sam commented, “Seems like the Imulsion is folding some of the sewage systems…”

“Meaning that Hanover has been dealing with Lambent for weeks now. There seems to be a resurgence of some sort,” Clayton added. “Wonder why?”

Sapphire had no firm answer. Strangely enough, the dark lullaby didn’t seem to spike by much as they went through the destroyed street, avoiding any puddles of Imulsion that managed to leak onto the streets as the asphalt floated. Sapphire couldn’t help but wonder if the reason why is because none of the organisms they’ve been encountering were in the river.

Seems to Sapphire that only the ones in tightly formed bodies seemed to emit such a dark lullaby pitch. Course, Sapphire learned that the dark lullaby started when Valkyrie awakened. Hence why when she encountered Imulsion that she heard not a single syllable of the dark lullaby before the Hollows.

They crossed onto a normal street where at the end, Lambent was fighting something blocked from view by buildings. Lancers were switched off their safeties and Sapphire brought out Ghidorah, all five of them heading towards the Lambent.

“Baird, Cole, shoot the pods on the stalks!” Turning to Clayton and Sam, Sapphire ordered quickly, “Sam, Clayton, on me! Let’s get those fuckers!”

“Right on,” Sam shouted back and the five joined the fray, uncaring who the Lambent were attacking.

Sapphire saw the Locust drone like creatures firing with second hand weapons. The lullaby sang loudly in her head now, something she had to block out by aiming her arrow towards one drone. She fired, the arrow sailing into the neck of the drone. A second later, a burst of fire from Sam took care of the drone, leaving five left.

Sapphire saw the stalks, wiggling in the air as Baird and Cole fired the pods. With each pod burst, a half-made organism fell out, dying and blowing up into a flurry of yellow liquid. Sapphire thought the battle would be quick, until a massive ball of amassed Imulsion sailed near her and Clayton, hitting the side of a building.

The explosion was powerful, sending Sapphire to her knees as the building’s corner crumbled. She looked up, seeing a massive creature of Lambent emerging from the bottom of a stalk. It was massive, its features indistinguishable as it used a thick arm to ready another ball of Imulsion.

Quickly, Sapphire raised an explosive arrow, firing it just as the Lambent creature threw the ball of Imulsion towards them. She didn’t know where she hit it as Clayton grabbed the back of her light armor, avoiding a direct hit from the Imulsion. Clayton shielded Sapphire the best he could by pushing her behind him. Little Imulsion got on Sapphire, which added a few headache-inducing notes of the dark lullaby.

Clayton turned back to Sapphire, asking, “You good?”

Sapphire nodded, “Yeah, I’m good. Is the big guy still up?”

Clayton looked and nodded, “Yeah. That’s one big motherfucker. But you got one of his arms that he’s trying to grow back.”

“All right, have my back, Clayton.” Sapphire notched another explosive arrow. After another Imulsion ball was thrown, this time to the right of them towards Baird and Sam, Sapphire rose up, aiming. Just hidden in the chest was a pulsing organ, just waiting to explode.

Sapphire fired.

The beast had no clue what hit it until it was too late, exploding into many pieces that fell in chunks to the ground. The explosion shook the ground, Imulsion liquid spilling everywhere. Sapphire was lucky to have ducked in time.

The stalks became stones, at least at first.

Then three more stalks popped up on the other side of the park, along with another big guy.

“All right, Gears! Pop those fuckers and let me deal with the big guy,” Sapphire shouted to the others.

They moved forward, the same plan as last time. But with Sapphire dealing with the massive Lambent that threw another Imulsion ball towards them. The squad scattered, Sapphire sprinting next to Sam. She looked over at the woman, asking, “Frag?”

“Got two left. Want one?”

Sapphire held out her hand and Sam gave her the frag, Sam adding, “Don’t kill yourself out there.”

“Not trying to.” Sam smiled, skidding to a stop to lay cover fire as Sapphire sprinted, heading towards the concrete wall running alongside the charging squad of Lambent. Bringing out an arrow, Sapphire wrapped a frag around the end, knowing the weight might give her aim a disadvantage.

None of the Lambent drones noticed her as they were fired down by the squad, but the big guy noticed her as she passed a break of the wall next to it. Before she could react, a tentacle grew out of the back of the big Lambent, heading straight for her. She tried to dodge, twirling her body around to avoid the oncoming attack from hitting the frag.

The tentacle wrapped around her tattooed arm, the touch burning. The dark lullaby screamed in her head, and she could already feel the blood dripping down her face. She held back the scream with all her will, not wanting to draw attention to herself to the remaining drones. She felt light-headed and could hear a worried cry of her name. Though by who, she didn’t know.

The pain felt like a punch to the gut, yet the held back scream turned into something like a hammer. Sapphire couldn’t exactly explain it, but her mind seemed to know, the hammer coming down onto the notes of the dark lullaby. For a brief, somewhat relieving, second, the dark lullaby broke its rhythm. The large Lambent cried out as if in pain, the tentacle unwrapping around her arm.

Sapphire didn’t hesitate, notching the arrow before firing it raised higher than her target point. With the explosive arrow and frag combined, this blew up the large Lambent and Sapphire ducked behind the wall. For a brief moment, it was silent and Sapphire took a moment to lay down in the grass, hands on her head.

Her head felt like it was on fire. Whatever that was, she didn’t know.

And Valkyrie didn’t say anything. In fact, the entity seemed to have disappeared for the moment.

And Sapphire didn’t know if that was because of Myrrah or the surge of Lambency she’s been encountering.

Hurried footsteps approached her, followed by Sam’s chidding, “What did I tell you not to do?!”

Sapphire uncovered her face, sitting up to look at Sam as she replied, “It worked.”

“For fuck’s sake, is this what you guys had to go through during Operation Lightmass Bomb,” Clayton asked Baird and Cole.

Cole chuckled, as if pretending it was a joke, “That’s only a small dose of what she was up to during her first mission with us. Though, it wasn’t really a mission for her.”

“We were basically her babysitters,” Baird added, looking over at Sapphire. “Nose is bleeding again.”

“I noticed,” Sapphire replied, taking the cloth out from her pocket to wipe her nose. She was going to have bloody markings on the skin for days at this point. And there was fuck all she could do about it. She lifted her tattooed arm, seeing the burn there.

Sam clicked her tongue, “Shit. You’re lucky it’s not a bad burn. Here, I got some gauze.”

Sapphire let Sam wrap her arm, turning her attention to the wall of metal that lay on the other side of the dead stalks. She knew exactly what would happen next. A memory of Dan playing Gears of War 3 played in Sapphire’s mind as Sam wrapped her arm in gauze.

She had been cooking lunch when she looked up at Dan’s cry of “No!”

She had looked up, seeing a sniper aiming for who she now knew as Clayton. The sniper struck the helmet, but it wasn’t a high-powered rifle, so it didn’t blow his head off. Or pierce through his helmet.

As soon as the memory came, it faded, along with what would happen next. She hadn’t had much memory of Gears of War between Jacinto’s sinking and Clayton almost getting his head blown off here. Maybe that was because there was no game between the two main games.

When Sam was finished, Sapphire nodded her head in thanks before turning back to the wall, “Anybody else hurt? If not, let’s go talk to the nice people over there.”

“I’ll let you take the lead on this, Sapphire,” Cole replied, Sam helping the woman up. Sapphire began to walk, until Cole noticed how her arm shivered. He turned to Sam. “Got any morphine in that kit?”

Sam shook her head and Sapphire stopped just next to Clayton and Baird, turning to give Cole a raised eyebrow. At this, Cole gestured to her arm, “Your arm is shaking again.”

“That’s because I just got burned, Cole. The nerves are just shocked.” Sapphire crossed her arms, mentally hoping that her tattooed arm would stop shaking. She knew it was making the squad nervous about her wellbeing. She also wished they would stop babying her. “Now, are we ready to face some Stranded?”

“How come you want to talk to these assholes? They should be thanking us,” Baird grumbled and Sapphire rolled her eyes. Baird sighed, lifting Ghidorah up for her to take. She took it wordlessly, figuring she had dropped it after firing the frag arrow into the large Lambent.

“I don’t want to be here either, Baird,” Sapphire huffed truthfully. “But we need the supplies, at least until the gardens produce enough of a substance to live off of.”

“As much as I want to disagree, she’s right,” Clayton pointed out. “Whenever you’re ready, Sapphire. We’ll be right behind you.”

Sapphire nodded, turning away towards the wall of metal sheets and bronze pillars. The squad followed and Cole took this opportunity to walk up to Baird, whispering, “We can’t go to the ship for the moment, Baird. Anya said so?”

“Why?”

“Later. For now, let’s just support our lady friend.”

“Uh huh.”

As they got closer to the wall, Sapphire could already see a Stranded sniper aiming. She steeled her face, becoming more stoic, almost like Marcus did when dealing with business. She stopped, voicing out to Clayton, “Clayton, duck.”

Clayton paused, giving Sapphire a confused look before she snapped in his direction, her seeing the trigger fingering in position to fire from where she was, “Now.”

Clayton recoiled, just as a shot rang out, scrapping the top of Clayton’s helmet as it passed the group. Clayton startled, shouting out, “Jeez louise, what the fuck?”

Immediately, Lancers were aimed up at the wall, prepared for any more shots. Sapphire, however, remained calm, shouting out, “Check your sights.”

Lowering his Lancer, Clayton looked at Sapphire, “What the fuck?”

Sapphire didn’t even turn to him, her eyes on the wall as she continued to walk forward, as if the shot never happened. She was starting to get why Marcus stayed as calm as a cucumber by not giving a flying rat’s ass, as he once told her. He was starting to rub off on her and she didn’t know if that was a good thing or a bad thing.

So far, it was a good thing. But she would rather let that be decided in the bedroom than out in the open.

The sniper raised up from the cover, lifting a hand as he shouted down, “Sorry!”

Beside the man, two gates parted, revealing a woman in second-hand clothing and armor, covered with some moist rags and a tattered cowl. The woman smiled in greeting, an old Lancer in hand, “Well, there’s a surprise. The armored wonders turnin’ out to save us! And you bring the Huntress to grace us with her presence!”

Baird grumbled under his breath before he growled to the woman, “Don’t you people ever try gratitude? Just to break up the friggin’ monotony of sarcasm?”

Sapphire gave Baird a silencing glare and Sam was quick to rectify his outburst with a chuckle, “Don’t mind him. Someone stole his teddy when he was little.”

Sapphire turned back to the woman, asking, “Is everyone okay?”

“Yeah, thanks for the help.” The woman’s grace was more genuine this time, carrying little of the sarcastic tone she carried when she came walking out of the gates. “We owe ya. We heard some fighting in the direction of the shopping center. I saw you charge at that Lambent giant as if the bastard were nothing, blowing him up with the arrows fit for a huntress. And I know you’re the Huntress. Every Stranded knows ya. Scarred, dragon-tattooed arm, calm demeanor, runs around with the COG claiming no ownership, and a staff with the spark of thunder.”

Sapphire nodded, “I carry the name with mild appreciation.”

“Hard to find people that help both sides, with little discrimination. You’re lucky I’m a woman, Huntress. Or else you would have a much harder time leaving in peace.”

“Oh, don’t worry. I haven’t had a Stranded male leader try to keep me in one place. And if they tried, usually I make sure they have a reason not to try to claim it on me.”

The woman chuckled, wagging a finger towards Sapphire, “I knew I liked your reputation. It’s an honor to have you walk among us, even for a short while.”

“I’m not the only one whose reputation you might like,” Sapphire replied, turning to gesture to Cole. “A son has come home.”

The woman finally seemed to see and recognize Cole, her eyes widening as excitement bubbled up in her face, “Hey, you’re him, aren’t you? You’re Augustus Cole! Cole Train! What brings you back here?”

Cole took the recognition in stride, using his signature happy self as he walked up to stand beside Sapphire, “Hey, surprised you remember me, baby! Just passin’ through, looking for food. If you got any to trade, the Cole Train would sure appreciate that! And the Huntress too!”

“All right, come on in,” the woman said, gesturing towards the open gates. “We haven’t got any food to spare, but we might have something else you need.”

Baird, Cole, and Clayton looked at eachother with knowing grins. But to Sam and the woman’s amusement, Sapphire addressed it with a snarl, “Put your dicks back in your pants. None of that shit here.”

The trio of men shrunk under the Huntress’s glare, making the woman laugh along with Sam. The woman turned to Sapphire, whose hard glare softened just a margin to look at the woman, “I really like you now. Are you sure you want to return with these folks?”

“I have a duty to fulfill. Besides, one of these Gears helps in saving my life, another for morale, and other is…well…he has something that has yet to show.”

“HEY!” All three men growled, but quickly silenced and backed down at Sapphire’s deadly glare.

Sam chuckled behind her hand. Looks like Marcus was really rubbing off on Sapphire. Marcus may not be a people person, but he grew up rich and was posh. Though that rich posh had faded, the skills never went away.

The leader of a woman let them in, signaling to the gatekeepers to close the gate. They filed in and the woman gestured with her head, “This way, folks.”

Sapphire and the others followed. As they walked, Stranded of the camp began to crawl out of their homes to watch the newcomers. While they looked at Sapphire and Cole with admiration, the Huntress and Cole Train, the others were either looked upon with clear disdain or ignored. Lancers were put away as they walked, Sapphire holstering Ghidorah. She could hardly feel the burn, though she felt the itch that came with the burn.

As they passed a group of gathered Stranded huddling around a fire, one of them stared at Sapphire with a gaping mouth, telling the others, “There she is! That’s the Huntress! With the Cole Train! Who knew one so pretty could survive from the hands of the Locust.”

Sapphire’s eyebrow twitched, ignoring the comment as they walked. To stave off the annoyance, Cole asked, “Hey, we’re heading for the stadium. Anything we should know?”

“Well, it ain’t empty.” Around them, more Stranded whispered. Both of the Cole Train and the Huntress. The camp leader ignored it as she continued, “Let’s just say that the boss over there ain’t a COG fan. You might just want to take a detour around her.”

“Well, where there’s people, there’s supplies.”

The leader smiled at that, “Hey, you’re the Cole Train! Maybe you’ll be able to work your magic on ‘em. Hanover is still your house.” She then turned to Sapphire. “I heard some rumor that some of the Stranded there were down in the Hollows. Saved by a particular someone.”

“So that’s how I’m known here, huh?” At Sapphire’s sarcastic question, the woman chuckled.

“Sort of. But your dealings with Stranded aren’t in the dark. Heard about the debacle of one Stranded dealing you did. Where Husk got a little too freaky about ya. Heard you decked him in front of his whole crew.”

Sapphire huffed in amusement at the memory, “I did. And gave him a swift kick in the nuts to prove that I ain’t some lady in distress.”

The woman chuckled, “All the Stranded women love that kind of harsh punishment to the guys who messed with them.”

Another gate opened, leading them deeper into the camp. Or through the camp, Sapphire guessed as more junk appeared, mostly hidden in shadows from the tall structures of Hanover. As they continued, a random woman spat at the ground near their feet and commented, “Funny how there’s a lot more Lambent around as soon as the COG shows up…Must be their fan club. You know who the big guy is, don’tcha?”

Sapphire ignored the comment. A couple of Stranded were throwing a ragged ball at each other, passing the time as the group neared a set of double doors leading into a building. Seeing this, Sam piped up, “So, what have you got for us, then? Shampoo, conditioner, a gag for my friend here?”

The double doors opened and they entered the building. Sapphire realized it was the warehouse that Cole was looking for as he looked around, interested in finding something. At Sam’s question, the woman leader chuckled, “Nah, just ammo. It’s out in the back.”

Baird clicked his tongue, smirking as he said, “Now that’s my kind of groceries!”

As they got deeper into the warehouse, the more bunk beds and bedrolls arranged among the box crates and generators appeared. More Stranded perked up at their passing, some still sleeping until the others woke them up to let them in on the deal. Sapphire glanced at Cole to see the man smiling, nodding to the people who commented with excitement.

“Wow! Is it really you, Cole Train?”

“Cole Train’s back!”

“Look, it’s the Cole Train!”

“Hanover’s Son! Damn, never thought I’d see him come back!”

Cole soaked up all the attention, a remnant of his days as a football star. Sapphire smiled at this, glad that he was enjoying the attention and glad they pushed forward. Everyone needed their moment to shine. The moment where they get a small droplet of the past to refresh them.

Hanover seemed to not have forgotten about the Cole Train, the football and son of Hanover.

As they walked past the groups and more into emptier hallways, Baird asked, “So…where did you get a hold of it?”

“Well, now, you’d be surprised how much y’all left lyin’ around over the years.” The woman seemed to take no offense. But Sapphire caught a glimpse of malicious pride at the statement. She began to wonder how the COG and Stranded would ever get along, if they could ever get along. After the war was over, of course. For now, Sapphire didn’t have time to be a diplomat, not with all the Lambent running around.

And with the Lambent getting worse by the month, Sapphire knew Sera was on a time limit.

They got through another set of double doors before a garage door opened, boxed crates all around the concrete pier in front of them. And in the middle was a stack of ammo. Perfect for the taking.

The leader gestured to the ammo, “There you go. All it’s missin’ is a bow.”

Sam smiled upon seeing the ammo pile, turning to Cole, “Michaelson’s gonna be well pleased with this. Nice one, Cole. And good thing you wanted to keep going, Sapphire. Maybe Michaelson will finally get off your ass.”

“I doubt it,” Sapphire replied as she lifted her watch. As Sapphire put in the coordinates, Cole turned to the leader with a kind smile.

“That’s real generous of you, ma’am. We appreciate it.”

“You are welcome, Cole Train,” the woman replied, turning to Sapphire. “Keep these boys in line, yeah?”

Sapphire nodded, watch pinging to bring the Eagle back.

“Yeah, your fans still love you,” Clayton commented as they waited. Cole laughed at this, a sad smile taking the place of the kind smile he wore as the woman walked away and back into the building, the garage doors closing behind her.

“It’s because my momma taught me some manners, son,” Cole pointed out. Sapphire chuckled, nodding in agreement. She sure did teach Cole manners.

As they waited, Baird’s earpiece came to life. It was KR-Seven-Zero, who was out scouting before they departed on the Eagle, “Heads up, guys. There’s some joker on Centennial Bridge taking pot shots from a gun turret. We’re givin’ it a wide berth. Tell Sapphire to watch her six. Eagle took a few hits.”

“Opps,” Baird replied sarcastically, turning to Sapphire. “KR-Seven-Zero reports a gun turret on Centennial Bridge. Apparently, your aircraft took a few hits.”

“Oh, for fuck’s sake,” Sapphire grumbled.

The pilot fo KR-Seven-Zero startled at this, “She’s with you?”

“Yeah, she can explain her batshit craziness later. And oh, by the way, trust me, I’m on permanent guard around these assholes! Baird out.”

The earpiece went silent in Baird’s ear just as the Eagle came into view. The aircraft landed, empty of food cans, and as the squad began to load the supplies into the Eagle’s cargo, Sapphire checked the aircraft. As she did, Baird took Cole aside, leaving Sam and Clayton to strap and secure the cargo to the Eagle.

“Okay, so, what’s going on, Cole?” At Baird’s question, Cole checked to make sure the trio were occupied before turning back to Baird.

“I talked to Anya earlier. And apparently, they have a guest on the ship that wants Sapphire.”

Baird raised an eyebrow, “A guest on the ship? Who would visit the ship?”

“If I tell you, you’re gonna get mad.”

“Who, Cole?”

Taking a cautious look over at Sapphire, who was dealing with something under the aircraft, Cole sighed and turned to Baird, “Chairman Prescott.”

Baird stared at Cole for a long moment. Slowly, his face turned red with anger, his lips becoming a tight line as Baird closed his eyes. Usually, he would burst out and demand why, but knowing Sapphire was close, and probably would want to beat the shit out of the Chairman as much as everybody else, Baird had to stay calm.

He took some moments to collect himself before asking Cole, “You said he wants Sapphire?”

“Yeah, and Anya says he sounds maniac when he’s demanding to see her. Didn’t have time to ask if he asked for anything else. But we haven’t seen him since Vectes. Marcus and Anya are dealing with him, so we should only go back if one of us gets injured before we’ve raked through Hanover. So, let’s head to the Stadium.”

“After we were specifically told to avoid it?”

Cole shrugged, smiling in reassurance, “Oh, Baird! Who can refuse the Cole Train?! And Sapphire knows her way to charm people. If it’s a woman in charge, Sapphire will know something.”

“Uh huh,” Baird sighed. “Okay, let’s just keep this whole Prescott thing between us. I don’t want Sapphire losing her shit just yet.”

“I’m with you on that.”

Someone cleared their throat and Baird and Cole turned, finding Sapphire looking between them, approaching them with crossed arms. From her curious yet demanding expression, she knew they were talking about something. She asked simply, the Eagle taking off behind her back to the ship, “What are you both talking about? Did Anya let you in on something?”

“No,” Baird and Cole replied. Cole continued, leaving Baird to look over his Lancer to distract himself from Sapphire’s inquiring look. “We were just wondering what route we should take to the stadium. We’re heading there next.”

“Oh.” Sapphire blinked, Clayton and Sam joining them. “All right, then Cole, lead the way!”

Cole nodded, turning to lead the group along the pier and towards where Hanover’s Stadium was. Sapphire couldn’t help but wonder what they were really talking about. Baird had looked absolutely pissed about something. And he didn’t get pissy over routes.

Whatever it was, Sapphire would have to wait to figure it out after they deal with the Stranded at the Stadium.

Which may or may not be a good idea for them, even with the Huntress and Cole Train.

Chapter Text

“Okay! Next stop, Cougars Stadium! I’m feelin’ lucky!”

Sapphire could both hear and feel Cole’s excitement as they went through the gates. Cole thanked the Stranded who let them out of the compound and along the pier, to which Baird mocked, “You’re so good with the fans.”

“It’s helping us so far,” Sapphire pointed out, looking around. Ahead, Sapphire saw where their next destination was. Hanover Cougars Stadium looked like any typical football stadium. More practical and less architect as Sapphire knew of the most recent stadiums being built before coming to Sera. Beside it, a bridge was shadowed in the darkness of the ever-present cloudy sky.

They went through the crates that lined the pier, all with the COG symbol. Sapphire heard the lullaby pitched just as a Stalk popped up out through the water, right next to the pier. Baird groaned, turning to Cole, “Hey! Still feeling lucky, Cole?”

“Show no mercy,” Sapphire shouted.

“These bastards are really starting to piss me off,” Clayton commented as guns fired. Sapphire focused on the big guy that popped up, grabbing an offered frag from Sam as she hopped up onto a crate.

An explosive arrow later and a short gunfight, the group moved on. But the dead stalks blocked the way straight to the stadium, forcing the group into a warehouse to cut through. As they walked, Cole turned to Sapphire, “So we’ve got some crazy bandits on the bridge now.”

Sapphire grumbled, “Yeah, and I wish I can give them a swift ass kicking for shooting at the Eagle. It ain’t doing nothing to nobody.”

“Well,” Clayton spoke up, gesturing towards behind him. “The ship’s gonna pass right under ‘em!”

Sapphire tilted her head as she thought about it vocally, “Well…that would give me another good reason to beat their asses.”

“Come on! Even the Stranded gangs wouldn’t take on a warship,” Sam pointed out.

Baird rolled his eyes, Lancer waving in the air as he said, “I’d blow the shit out of that bridge, just to be sure.”

“And that’s why you never get promoted,” Sam snapped and Sapphire sighed.

“Like ranks even matter right now,” Sapphire commented.

“Then we’re no better than the Stranded,” Clayton pointed out. Sapphire turned on her heel, walking background as they walked towards the exit.

“The only rank I care about is in the bedroom.”

Cole let out a bellowing laugh at that, patting Sapphire’s shoulder, “Wonder why you say that?”

“Okay, what is with all the dirty jokes,” Clayton questioned, earning a smirk from Baird.

“This is the Sapphire I met. Course, she is less injured now,” Baird spoke, gesturing to Sapphire. “Not shot up or anything.”

“That’s because I was getting used to the environment,” Sapphire chuckled.

Cole chuckled with her, “I remember meeting you for the first time when you dropped down from the ceiling and used that massive blade you granddaddy gave you. Dropped that Locust like they were nothing!”

They exited the warehouse, a wooden bridge ahead of them. The group walked towards and across, Cole shouting to the others, “Holy ground ahead, people!”

Indeed ahead, Sapphire could see the stadium looming, growing in size as they walked towards the site. Baird joked, “Remind me, Cole. What was it you played again? Oh, yeah, ladies’ field hockey, right?”

Sapphire chuckled, “Ladies’ field hockey…I like it.”

Clayton gave Baird a confused tilt of his head, Cole explaining briefly, “Case you don’t know, Carmine. Baird was a Sharks fan, cause he didn’t know any better. He’s still bitchin’ about it!”

“Allfathers Trophy. Blind referee. That’s all I’m say’in,” Baird puffed.

They got to the end of the bridge. This time, it was locked firmly and the lock looked new to Sapphire as she knelt down, Ghidorah holstered on her back. After a few seconds of trying to gauge how thick the chains were, Sapphire sighed, “Lancers ain’t going to cut through this. I need to pick the lock.”

“How are you going to do that? Why not the Lancer,” Baird asked, holding up his Lancer to her. Sapphire looked back at him, and while maintaining eye contact, she grabbed a bobby pin from her braid. “How many do you have in your hair?”

“A few. Just for cases like this in case there’s supplies locked up somewhere. Besides, I saw no Lancer because if the chains are this thick, I’m afraid it's rigged. I’ve encountered a few of those back home. Now watch my back while I pick this. In case-”

Just as Sapphire was about to set up a defense, two large stalks burst through the wooden bridge, Lambent already popping out of ready made blisters. Sapphire finished with gritted teeth, “-They show up. Fucking great. Cover me!”

The gun fight started and Sapphire turned around, undoing the bobby pin to begin poking around. It was a little difficult with all the noise, but with her sharp hearing, she could hear when she unhooked a gear within the lock. She picked until the lock jolted, unlocking. Sapphire cheered internally as she slowly removed the chains.

And just as she suspected, in the middle of the thicket of chains was a device that was clearly a bomb. Sapphire grabbed it, turning and chucking it towards the remaining Lambent still standing.

The device exploded, triggering the explosion of the Lambent, yellow liquid and body parts flying. All four slowly turned to Sapphire as she looked at Baird with hands on her hips, “See? Bomb. Told ya.”

Baird glared at Sapphire but she simply shrugged and turned, opening the gates for the squad to go through. The stadium loomed ahead, casting its shadows and blocking any light from seeping into the dark hallway they found themselves in. As they walked down the hallway, Sapphire spoke quietly, “Weapons put away. We don’t want to spook the Stranded here into giving them a reason to fire at us.”

Lancers were soon put away and Sapphire made sure Ghidorah was within reach but holstered as well. At the end of the hallway, there was some light, an opening for them to go through. As soon as they rounded the corner, Sam pointed out to the group, “Hey, look. He’s still the hero.”

Ahead, marking an entrance to the stadium, was a clear statue of Cole in his football uniform, rushing with a football in his metal hand. At this, Baird added, “Yeah, the bums didn’t even melt down his statue for scrap! Now that’s respect.”

It sure was, and that became more apparent as Stranded hanging around the statue looked up at their entrance, seeing Cole first before anybody else.

“Cole Train? Shit, it is you!”

“Wow, Cole!”

“What are you doin’ back here?”

Sapphire stepped to the side to let Cole deal with the Stranded, who acted like they were his fans. One Stranded in particular came practically sprinting up, “Man, you look just like I remember. Hey, you finally comin’ back home or something?”

There was hope in that tone, something Sapphire found strangely out of place nowadays. The little hope that was held together at Vectes had broken long ago and now it was mainly just surviving. But hearing the hope that Sapphire picked up made her heart lift a little.

The Stranded began to crowd as Cole replied, “Hey, can’t keep me away forever, baby! Just checkin’ everything’s the way I left it, more or less.”

Another Stranded lifted his hand, approaching with the first, “Hey, you wanna have a beer with us? We brew some good stuff!”

Cole turned to the Stranded, giving him a reassuring, polite smile, “Thanks, but I’ll pass. Still on duty. We’re looking for supplies, though. Anything you wanna trade?”

The first Stranded that approached Cole gestured behind him towards the stadium, “Better ask the boss…we can take you to see her!”

Cole chuckled nervously, “I hear she might not be a fan.”

The second Stranded replied with a puff, “Aw, but she’ll listen to you. You’re the Cole Train! Woo Woo!”

The nervousness dissipated, followed by Cole chuckling, “Yo, the Cole Train don’t go woo-woo. It’s WHOOO!”

The crowd of Stranded went wild, the sound a pitch to all the Gears. They jumped around and clapped, welcoming their celebrity home.

But the noise did nothing to hide the pitch in the lullaby, a warning.

The speakers turned on, echoing out of the stadium, “Lambent! They’re inside! The stalks are coming up inside the stadium!”

The cheers cut off, followed by silence before the gate behind Cole’s statue burst. Cole shouted to the crowd, “Get down! Find some cover!”

“Okay! Cole, Baird, Clayton, take the lower level! Sam and I will take the upper level. Make sure to stay safe out there,” Sapphire ordered, already sprinting up the stairs, Sam following. The three male Gears went under the opened garage door of the lower level.

Sapphire and Sam sprinted past a couple of retreating Stranded, seeing three Lambent drones coming straight for them. Sapphire drew Ghidorah while Sam raised her Lancer, firing rounds at one Lambent. This left Sapphire with the two Lambent, Ghidroah lighting up like a yellow glow stick as Sapphire slammed the butt end into the first Lambent’s face.

With as much strength she could muster, Sapphire flung the Lambent into its comrade, sending the two exploding into the wall. Sam rejoined Sapphire as they ran down the stadium’s concourse. Deeper within, both could hear the fire fight below them. Sam took a moment to fire down below, leaving Sapphire to sprint alone just as another stalk rose from the Stadium’s floor.

Sapphire kept Ghidorah’s electricity, being close enough to jump off the stairs to stab Ghidorah into the stalk. The stalk’s veins grew brighter as Ghidorah’s electricity went through. Sapphire yanked Ghidorah out as the stalk began to wiggle as its glow beat like a quickening drum. Landing on a container, Sapphire dived into cover before the stalk’s blisters burst, yellow electricity striking the air like lightning, striking the remaining Lambent.

Cole whooed on the other side of the room, “Nice one!”

“Can’t believe that worked,” Sapphire grumbled. She didn’t plan on that. It was just a split second decision her body made.
Whichever the case, the doors leading further into the stadium burst, revealing another massive Lambent. Baird, Clayton, Cole, and Sam fired collectively, Sapphire hanging back as the Lambent burst into pieces. This cleared the way and they heard no more screaming or fighting from within the stadium.

Sapphire grimaced as the squad proceeded deeper into the stadium, “Hey, Cole, let’s be careful with the boss lady. This will piss her off royally. Everyone else, let Cole and I handle the boss lady. Including you, Baird.”

“Am I really that bad?” Sapphire ignored Baird’s question with a roll of her eyes, siding with Cole as he nodded in agreement.

“All right, then let’s go see if the boss lady’s in a good mood.” Sapphire nodded, Cole and her leading the squad through, passed a dead stalk. Sapphire guessed it’s where the massive Lambent came from. The bigger the Lambent, the less the stalk provided. They went towards the Players Only area, walking down the stairs.

Seems they will need to go through the lockers.

They opened the locker rooms and Sapphire was instantly hit with the lingering scent of sweat and new mold. The floor was covered in newspapers and merchandise, much of it being about Cole Augustus, the football player. There were even some hats, number one signs, and a Cougars trashcan toppled over, filled with newspapers. Sapphire looked around at the expansive locker room.

Her focus was on Cole, who looked around the room with a distant look. Reminiscing in a life he once had. The life he loved. If it weren’t about his mother or fucking up Locust, Cole liked to talk about football and his experience with it. Sapphire sighed, turning to the others and gesturing with her head for them to continue.

Looking back at Cole, Sapphire said softly, “Catch up when you can, Cole.”

Cole nodded so slowly that Sapphire barely caught it as she walked away. They left Cole in the locker room, heading up into the stadium’s field.

And what greeted them was nothing short of a nightmare.

Sapphire’s head swam as the lullaby pounded her head, hitting her repeatedly until she could feel the blood dripping down her nose. Shouting to the others, Sapphire was already drawing Ghidorah, “Let’s go, Gears! Stranded! Get to cover!”

Stranded left over were already running past them towards safety as the massive stalk filled both the field and ceiling of the stadium. The first Lambent that tried to charge at Sapphire, she swung Ghidorah with the electricity coming to life halfway. The Lambent’s head separated, the golden electricity striking through her hit. Sapphire jumped back before it could explode on her.

A scream caught her attention, a Stranded female who shouted, “A giant stalk in the field! Get the bomb!”

Bomb?

Sapphire turned, seeing Cole already sprinting towards a bomb lying on a table. Freshly made and bigger than a football. Sapphire trusted Cole enough that she turned back, seeing two more Lambent drones going after her.

With Ghidorah lit in her tattooed hand, bringing it to full function, Sapphire struck hard down on Lambent before kicking away the second. The first tried to get up, but Sapphire already slammed through its neck and into its chest, the hard skin useless against the active Ghidorah.

The second raised a Hammerburst, but Sapphire was faster, swinging Ghidorah up into the Lambent’s hands before sending Ghidorah down onto the Lambent’s head with as much strength as she could muster in that moment. Sapphire was getting tired of Lambent, gritting her teeth as she turned to see where Cole was.

And there, Sapphire didn’t see Cole the Gear.

She saw Cole the Cougars’ quarterback, the son of Hanover.

He ran through the fields as he probably had done many times before, heading straight for the stalk with the bomb tucked under his arm. Sapphire smiled, cheering, “GO COLE TRAIN!”

Cole charged, diving under a massive Lambent before lifting the bomb away from his hold. He put it on the massive stalk and turned, lifting his arms. As if he was showing off as the football star as he once was.

And for a horrifying moment, Sapphire was already sprinting towards him, shouting, “COLE! GET AWAY FROM THE-”

The bomb set off, sending Sapphire stumbling into the ground and Cole flying off somewhere as the stalk exploded. The other Gears cried out at the explosion, the remaining Lambent also blowing up at the action as ignited parts hit them. The stalk burned, flames rising high as Sapphire groaned, feeling some heat on her skin from the growing flames.

Looking up, Sapphire saw Cole on the ground, unmoving. She got up to her feet, rushing to his side to find him still breathing. Seeing this, Sapphire breathed a sigh of relief, the other Gears joining them. “You okay, Cole?”

Cole slowly rolled over, sitting up quickly as if he wasn’t thrown halfway across the field with a wide smile on his face. Giving them two thumb-ups, Cole cheered, “Ha! The Train’s still got the moves, baby!”

Sapphire stood up, Baird coming up to help Cole up to his feet as a part of the stalk fell yards away from them with a loud crash. Cole continued excitedly, eyes shining, “Now that was a move I first used against the Eagles in the national finals. Of course-Ha ha!-them bitches didn’t explode.”

Sapphire could see the relief on Baird’s face as he smiled warmly at Cole, “Yeah. You still got it. Now, let’s go sweet-talk the Queen of the Bums.”

Cole nodded in agreement and they all set off. Sapphire patted Cole’s shoulder as the two got to the front of the group. She smiled, commenting, “Nice moves, Cole. Maybe one day, after all this shit is over, you can play football again.”

Cole bellowed a laugh, “As long as you are my coach!”

“We’ll see,” Sapphire joked. “Aside from my piloting skills and biology skills, I can’t teach people shit.”

“I think you’d be a great professor-” Cole suddenly stopped, two fingers reaching to his ear piece. Sapphire raised an eyebrow as they walked across the devastated field. After a long pause, and from the drop in everybody’s faces, Cole continued, looking over at Sapphire. “Sovereign just came in. The ship’s under heavy Lambent attack and they’ve been boarded. They’re requiring immediate assistance.”

“Oh, dammit! Well, that changes our dinner plans,” Clayton cursed as Sapphire processed what Cole said. She began to walk faster, up the stadium’s stairways leading in the higher levels. She raised her arm with the watch, holstering Ghidorah as she began to tap away.

“Sapphire, whatcha doing,” Cole asked as Sapphire practically began to run up the levels. “You calling the Eagle back?”

“Sort of,” Sapphire called back, taking a moment to lean on the bars of the stairs. “I’m putting the Eagle into temporary defense mode and it’s helping the others. I don’t want to take the firepower away from the ship now. Let’s deal with the boss here to see where we can intercept the ship.”

Sapphire wasn’t realizing it at the moment, but she was panicking, her heart hammering. Lambent was on the ship. On the same ship that Anya and Marcus were on. The Lambent had never been able to board the ship, much less invade it so heavily. For once, the lullaby was in the back of her mind, drowned by her reeling mind as the Gears caught up with her.

Sapphire knew deep down that the Gears won’t die on the ship. She remembered some of the storyline, the most important stuff when needed, even after all this time. She thanked her dreams for that. She knew everything was going to be okay.

It was all going to be okay.

They got to the near top of the stadium, where a group of Stranded with weapons were rushing everywhere to get ready. But the readiness was fruitless as the destroyed stalk was torn apart by new stalks. Sam cursed as their group stopped to look around for the leader, “Oh, well. Nice while it lasted!”

Suddenly, rushing feet came towards Sapphire as she turned, only to face a heavily scarred Stranded woman who thrust a finger into her chest. Her eyes were fiery with fury as she nearly shouted, “This is all your fault! Those things left us alone until you brought the COG!”

Usually, Sapphire was a calm woman. In a normal situation, Sapphire would have stated calmly for the woman to calm down, the clear leader of these Stranded. Sapphire would have held a disapproving look, crossing her arms and correcting the Stranded.

But to everybody’s shock, Sapphire grabbed the front of the woman’s shirt, snarling, “This was going to happen sooner or later and you fucking know it. Our ship is in trouble and we need to get back fast. Any way we can get out of here quicker. And you better not fucking play with me. I just need a simple answer and then we’re out of your hair and the Lambent can ‘leave you alone’. Understand?”

The Stranded woman’s fury turned into terror as seeing Sapphire’s irises. The cold blue that began to sparkle through Sapphire’s green eyes. Clayton and Sam didn’t notice, but Baird and Cole noticed. The pair froze, ready to intervene if Sapphire got worse. It may have been a year, but both remembered the entity well.

When the woman didn’t reply, Sapphire scoffed, pushing the woman towards a bunch of crates. There was a moment of silence as Sapphire said in a dangerous tone, “Get out of my sight and help your people. We don’t need your fucking help. I don’t have time to play fucking games.”

Turning on her heel towards the Gears, Sapphire asked, “Anybody mention a bridge that ship will be passing over?”

“Yeah,” Baird replied, noting the cold blue had gone away. He was about to say something when Sapphire interrupted, her voice hard set as she got into the serious Sapphire few got to witness.

“Time to kick some assholes off that damn bridge and give more firepower.” The Stranded woman looked to say something behind Sapphire, but Sapphire was quick. “Good fucking luck out there. Go into the woods, away from any Imulsion-filled places. I need to take care of some of my people.”

Sapphire was already setting off, the Gears having little choice but to follow her as Sapphire told them, “We’re going to use those turrets and get those bastards off the ship. The Eagle only has so much firepower involved so let’s be quick.”

“I know there’s a cable car leading to some ziplines,” Cole provided, giving Baird a knowing glance. Baird nodded, keeping a close eye on Sapphire as she pushed a locker from the front of double doors. Kicking them open, Cole gestured with his head. “This way!”

The group began to run, getting to the cable car that would then lead them to the ziplines. Sapphire didn’t even have time to question why there were ziplines. Now was not the time for pointless questions. All concern for the Stranded left as they got to the roof. They could handle themselves. They didn’t need Sapphire to be their holy savior.

Once the doors of the cable car opened, Sapphire was already jogging out. Her eyes widened at the sight before her. In the distance, where she could see the line of the ship with its lights, she saw massive stalks, as big as the ones in the stadium.

Were the Lambent trying to eliminate them all in one go?

Sapphire gritted her teeth as Cole asked in a tense, joking way, “Uh…anyone afraid of heights?”

The stadium rumbled, Sapphire’s head snapping back towards the building as three stalks burst through the roof. She upholstered Ghidorah, extending it into its bow form but not the bowstring as she usually did. Baird replied to Cole’s question with a groan, “Uhhh…not anymore. Love heights. I love ‘em. Fuckin’ love ‘em!”

Sapphire put Ghidorah over the zipline, jumping off and sliding down the zipline. The bridge lay at the end as Sapphire tucked in, allowing gravity to yank her down. Ghidorah held, gathering the energy obtained from the friction for its electric charge. Sapphire was aware of this somewhat. She’d done a lot of experimenting with Ghidorah over the months sat sea on the Sovereign.

Her main concern was Marcus and the ship’s safety.

When they got to the bridge, Sapphire let out hand go, dropping down from the zipline before she reached the pole. As soon as her feet landed on the bridge, she turned, seeing the familiar metal wall ahead of them away from the city. For a split second, Sapphire wondered why the Stranded there didn’t stay within the city. It wasn’t like them.

But she didn’t care who they were as she leaned on the railing of the bridge, ignoring her pounding headache. There was so much Lambent that she swore she was suffering blood loss as she wiped her nose with the same cloth for the tenth time today.

Ahead, over the ship, the Eagle operated on auto, its artillery firing across the bow of the ship shrouded in thick fog. Unbeknownst to Sapphire, on the ship’s bow, Lambent exploded as the Eagle practically flew after them, avoiding the stalks. Once again, Sapphire was grateful for all of its systems. And the watch told her that the autopilot would run out in five minutes.

They had five minutes before the Eagle went to land automatically. And if they were going to fight, Sapphire wanted to make sure that she gave it instructions. She could feel and hear the bridge instability, so she pulled up her watch, entering the codes for her command.

Empty bullets before coming to retrieve them from the bridge.

“Cole to Sovereign, Cole to Sovereign. Come in, Sovereign!” From the lack of response, Cole wasn’t getting anything. He punched the railing with an enraged fist before turning to them. “Shit, the comms are still down, and I can’t see a goddamn thing. We need to get to the center of this bridge!”

“Yeah, but we have to get past that first,” Sam pointed out as she gestured to the metal wall.

“My unique charisma should do the trick,” Baird joked before turning to Sapphire as she tore her attention away from the watch to them. “Since someone seems to have lost it.”

“Uh, yeah, I’ll have to lend you some of mine,” Clayton quickly played along, in hopes of staving off the death glare Sapphire gave Baird as she, Cole, and Sam walked past them towards the metal wall. They approached cautiously, Sapphire in the front.

Usually when Sapphire faced Stranded, she didn’t feel the looming anxiety. For some reason, the marks on the back of Sapphire’s neck near her spine itched and Sapphire stopped, looking up at the metal wall. She saw no movement and that was odd considering Stranded rarely tried to ambush the COG with her present.

Baird voiced the same feeling as he asked with a point to his own head, “Am I the only one who can feel crosshairs just about here?”

“Hold,” Sapphire spoke quietly, causing the four to stop. Cole noted the paleness in Sapphire’s face as she stared ahead, watching. Cole tried to go ahead, but Sapphire stopped him, shaking her head.

She listened. The lullaby seemed to mingle with another sensation, one similar to what Sapphire felt in the mall. Her eyes scanned the metal wall, feeling a pit begin to form in her stomach.

“Sapphire, do you think those are really Stranded? Or some variant of Stranded,” Cole asked. Sapphire didn’t speak, staring at the wall as her heart began to hammer against her chest.

Memories of the Hollow came unprovoked to her and Sapphire felt nausea as she finally saw movement.

And then, the dreaded voice carrying the name she hated.

“Blood of Another.”

“GET DOWN,” Sapphire shouted just as a piece of the metal wall fell away, bullets flyign towards them. They got into cover and Sapphire could feel her ears pounding as she felt that strange mingle in the lullaby. Cole looked at Sapphire with Baird on the other side of her.

Cole asked with confusion, “Who was that? Stranded that are not friendly with ya?”

Sapphire shook her head, realizing when Baird placed a hand on her shoulder that she was shaking. With a strained voice, Sapphire whispered, “Locust.”

And just then, Sam confirmed, having brought out her snipe to look at the assailant, “Hey! Those aren’t Stranded. They’re Locusts!”

Sapphire’s heart felt like it dropped at the confirmation, the dread and anxiety mixing dangerously as she closed her eyes to recover herself. Now was not the time for an episode.

Could this day get any worse?

Chapter Text

Sapphire couldn’t believe her eyes or her train of thought until Baird cursed next to her, “Oh great! Look who’s back in town!”

“Well, we did flood them out their tunnels,” Cole replied, looking down at Sapphire as her breath came quicker. “You okay there, baby?”

Sapphire closed her eyes at Cole’s voice, sucking in a breath before nodding quickly, “Yeah, I should be. Sam! What did we get up there?!”

“Gun position at that toll booth,” Sam replied.

“And top of the barricade too,” Clayton added as he lifted to fire.

Sapphire closed her eyes, taking a deep breath before grabbing Ghidorah. As she did, Cole stopped her gently, “Sit this one out, Sapphire.”

“But-”

“Listen to Cole, Sapphire,” Baird interrupted, putting a hand up to defend himself as Sapphire turned to glare at him. “I know you want to fight, but how many arrows do you have left?”

“Enough.”

“None, Sapphire. Let us deal with this…please.”

Sapphire was stumped upon seeing Baird’s rare plea. And it wasn’t the sarcastic plea she’ll get once in a while. After a moment of hesitation, Sapphire nodded, holstering Ghidorah past into its place. Baird nodded, a look of relief on his face as he and Cole shot up, taking shots up towards the wall.

As they fought, Sapphire grimaced. When can she not be useless? If only she did more gun range training with Bernie back in Jacinto more often, even took up the offers once her arm got back to normal.

A sharp increase in the lullaby snapped Sapphire out of it. If Queen Myrrah could communicate with her…then shouldn’t she be able to do the same? Just like with the Lambent?

Slowly, Sapphire let out an exhale, closing her eyes. The lullaby didn’t go away, but as Sapphire concentrated, she could hear another song. One that was more muted, but the same feel as when Sapphire saw Myrrah. Sapphire reached for it, like her hand wrapping around a series of tendrils, all connected to what looked to be balls of light, that formed in front of her.

All she had to do was pull it, snap it in half.

And that’s exactly what she did, pouring in the carefully concealed hatred and pain she had. From both the Locust torture and the fact that they ruined her. She grabbed the tendrils in both hands and pulled, wringing her hands at the same time to twist the tendrils.

While it was difficult bunched together, Sapphire held back the scream that threatened to erupt in the back of her throat. She felt the strain and heard the turrets and guns from the Locust cease their fire.

She felt the snap, the lights going dark, and then heard the result.

A chorus of Locust cries rung through the air. Sapphire’s eyes snapped open, feeling her nose begin to bleed again. Taking her cloth quickly, she wiped the blood away, noting how heavy it looked.

Sam called out, “What the fuck are they doing?”

“They’re just running around,” Baird grumbled, clearly confused. “Just shoot ‘em!”

Sapphire covered her ears as the firefight went on for several minutes. When it was done, she uncovered her ears and stood up, seeing the field littered with Locust bodies. Clayton chuckled, putting his Lancer over his shoulder, “Guess they got really scared of us suddenly.”

“Odd,” Sam scolded one deceased Locust she approached. She bent down, observing the Locust. “Maybe they felt something we didn’t…”

“Who gives a shit? They’re dead,” Cole shrugged, a large smile on his face. “Humans +1, Locust 0.”

Baird walked over to the turrets, humming, “Creative assholes, aren’t they? Looks like they’re building turrets out of old Lancers. A for effort.”

Sapphire looked down at one Locust body as Sam stood up, snorting, “Everyone’s salvaging stuff, even the bloody grubs.”

Sapphire knelt down, seeing dark blood coming from the Locust grub’s helmet. With both hands, she slowly took off the helmet, with some tugging. As she did, she saw the bloodshot eyes leaking blood and then the dark blood trailing from its ears and nose.

What did she just do?

“Yeah, those things could stop a truck. As long as the recoil didn’t dislocate your shoulder,” Baird grumbled from beside her and she startled, looking up at Baird. “You good, Sapphire? Out of everyone, I know you have a good shiny bone to pick with these assholes.”

Sapphire stood up before she replied, wiping her hands, “Yeah, I’m better now that they’re dead. Didn’t realize I would freeze in the moment.”

“Hey, at least you weren’t running around like you have a screw loose,” Baird replied, looking her up and down. “We’ll have to go through those gates to get to the ship, so stay behind us.”

Sapphire nodded, “Sounds good.”

The group headed towards the wall, the gates opened with Cole, Clayton, and Baird’s combined strength. All three startled before Sam and Sapphire saw what was beyond the doors. Cole whistled, “Hot damn, did we get lucky! They did it to themselves!”

They continued, the trio stepping over or going around the bodies of two Boomers, both of whom smashed their heads from each other’s artillery. Like they turned on themselves. Something settled in Sapphire’s stomach as they continued through the now cleared outpost.

Whatever she did, she must have severed the connection of the Locust to their queen. Maybe it was because they shared a mind with Myrrah and Sapphire had severed it. A hivemind. One that was much quieter than the Lambent hivemind.

Sapphire began to feel light-headed as they walked through the outpost, Baird commenting on the surrounding walls of old cars, concrete, and crates. “Hey, I like what they’ve done with the place. The informal, squalid look.”

Sam rolled her eyes, scanning around for any more threats. “It’s grubs we’re talking about here, Baird. Squalid’s normal for them.”

“No, when they were underground, they were organized. This looks like they’ve gone feral or something. Stranded. Savage, even.” Sapphire looked at Baird, realizing he was right. She began to look around more closely, remembering the structures of the Hollow. She involuntarily shivered at the memory.

“Savage, eh? Does that make them easier to fight or not?” At Sam’s question, Baird shrugged.

“Don’t know. I would say easier after what just happened. It’s like they suddenly realized how far they’ve fallen.”

Sapphire tried not to react, her mind reeling as she realized the reason why they weren’t that organized.

While these Locust remained connected to the Hivemind of Queen Myrrah, losing total connection was too much. The organization was from being grouped together, being in the same place: the Hollows. Myrrah had more control and therefore the Locust were more organized.

But between Operation Hollowstorm and now, the queen had been weakened, the connection therefore weakening. The once organized structure of the Locust was now torn down, a shell of itself. But still there.

Sapphire severing that tendril was the last straw for these Locust, no longer recognizing each other as allies or comrades. Just…animals with guns.

They continued, finding more Locust bodies. This time, they seemed to have shot themselves. Concern started to grow within the group, Clayton voicing, “Doesn’t anybody think it’s strange that the Locust just suddenly kill themselves when we arrived?”

“Hey, less bullets wasted on their asses,” Baird growled, bending down to remove ammo from a Lancer of a Locust. “Besides, we can just use the ammo to get rid of the Lambent on the ship when we get back.”

While Baird was right, and it made Sapphire feel better that he was unknowingly giving her an out, she couldn’t shake the fact how the lullaby seemed louder now. Almost achingly loud again.

Much like-

Her watch dinged, letting her know that the Eagle was retreating.

A roar shook the bridge and Sapphire’s stomach dropped.

Leviathan.

“Now we got bigger things to worry about,” Cole grumbled, the group picking up their pace. “We gotta get to the ship! Sapphire, where’s the Eagle?”

“It went somewhere safe,” Sapphire replied with a hiss. “And that worries me because after a certain level of danger, the Eagle is grounded somewhere far.”

“Meaning it's useless,” Baird growled at Sapphire.

She rounded on him, growling, “Not useless. You’d rather have it destroyed?!”

“No, but it would be nice if you could summon it to us. But if you can’t, I guess that means the Eagle isn’t actually yours.”

“It’s smarter than your ass, Baird. Sorry if that pains you,” Sapphire sighed, turning away from Baird as the group continued up the bridge towards where the ship would be located. Baird didn’t reply, grumbling under his breath that none of them could hear. More Locust bodies greeted them, with a few barely hanging on that Clayton and Sam killed with unfortunate mercy.

The bridge’s levels were wacky at best, but it soon evened out on a floor. Despite the corroded cars, falling metal walls of the Locust outpost, and deceased Locust bodies, Sapphire’s pace remained the same: quick and hastily. Outside, another roar echoed, loud and thunderous.

It took all of Sapphire’s willpower not to collapse on the floor from the lullaby’s peak. She did wince, feeling her nose throb as blood threatened to spill. This was much worse than on Vectes. Back then, she barely felt the Leviathan’s presence.

But now, it was thunderous in the back of her mind.

Looking over at Cole, Sapphire asked, “How are they?!”

Cole put two fingers to his earpiece, and while he got snippets on the radio, it was still white noise. He shook his head, much to Sapphire’s frustration, “Sorry, Sapphire. Looks like we need to get out of this bridge’s level.”

“Alright, then let’s focus on that!” Sapphire picked up her pace, gesturing forward. “We need to get to the ship! Now!”

As they rounded corner after corner, Sapphire felt fear grip her. She hoped that if she needed to, she needed to prepare herself for trying the leviathan. It might hurt a lot, but if it means saving Marcus, Dom, Anya, and Jace, and the whole crew, she would do it.

For a split moment, the thought of being free of this dark lullaby felt too sweet to shake off.

But that meant dying, and Sapphire wasn’t ready to die just yet.

Ahead, another roar caused the collapse of asphalt, a car falling from the lower level at an angle. A way up. Sapphire was quick, jumping over piles of asphalt and over the corroded car, the others behind her. The light didn’t even bother Sapphire as she looked over to where the ship would be.

Her heart stuttered to a near stop.

Holding onto the ship was the biggest Leviathan that Sapphire had ever seen. Much bigger than a Burmak. Its tentacles rose up, some wrapping around the ship in an effort to keep a hold of it as its jaws ate at the helm. Sapphire grabbed the railing, anger rising even as the dark lullaby began to strike at her like a knife.

“Marcus, whoo! That’s one big ugly motherfucker!” Cole’s words were nearly drowned out by Sapphire’s rising anger, her hands knuckle-white on the railing. “Baby, we got a grandstand view. We’re crossing the bridge, right above the ship.”

Cole turned to Baird, who made a blasting motion to his head. Sapphire looked around, looking for anything that wasn’t the newfound ability she had. Cole continued, “Uh, puttin’ it scientifically? We need to blow his brains out his ass.”

There was a bout of silence and the group turned to Baird, who nodded his head with a knowing grimace, “No problem. I’ve killed glowie Leviathans before, remember? At Vectes dockyard. Saved your asses.”

Sapphire heard something ticking, something she hadn’t heard since the Hollows. Going towards the sound, Sapphire could barely hear Sam tell Baird, “You killed one. A baby. And you wrecked the harbor doing it. That one’s twice the size!”

“So what’s your place? Nag it to death? Wait a minute-you actually could!”

“Look, ladies,” Clayton cut in, getting between Sam and Baird as they got in each other’s faces. “One way or another, we gotta help Sovereign. Or she’s screwed, and so are we!”

Sapphire felt a pitch and looked over, just for the bridge to lurch as three large tentacles rose out from below the bridge, one swiping down a platform with turrets next to them. One slammed between Sapphire and the team, only possible as Sapphire dived out of the way. Sapphire’s heart picked up as the Leviathan roared, the lullaby wrapping around her mind.

As if trying to take over.

“Shit! Sapphire!” Sapphire barely heard Cole’s voice as she got up, the tentacle rising up.

“I’m okay! Can you hear any Tickers?”

“Tickers?” Baird raised a hand to his ear. “We can’t hear shit compared to you! What’s your dog ears picking up?”

“Aside from telling you to fuck off? There’s Tickers here somewhere! You want to blow its brains out, Tickers is your best bet!”

The Leviathan roared, another tentacle rising to slam down where Sapphire was. This time, Sapphire was prepared, taking out her staff as she rolled out of the way. Just as the trembles from the tentacle’s hit began, Sapphire roared out, slamming an electrified Ghidorah into the Leviathan.

The lullaby pitched, and so followed the Leviathan’s scream as its tentacle rose away. The others ran towards Sapphire and she called out, “GO! Find those Tickers! They’re here somewhere!”

Another tentacle rose above the group and they barely managed to run away from the crash as the tentacle wrapped around the bridge. Roaring out again, Sapphire slammed Ghidorah back into the Leviathan’s tentacle. She yanked the staff away just as the tentacle reared back sharply.

She followed the group as soon as it was in the clear, holstering Ghidorah. As she ran after them, jumping over old concrete barriers and around corroded cars with metal plates covering their broken windows, something snipped the lullaby for a second.

One Sapphire was becoming oddly familiar already: Locust.

Ahead, Sapphire heard Clayton cheer, “Here! Found a box crate full of Tickers!”

Perfect. Now for the hard part-

A deep call interrupted Sapphire’s internal victory, one accompanied by that Locust feeling. This was followed by Clayton exclaiming, “Hey, what the fuck is that? A floating Locust barge?”

Sapphire got out from behind some box crates, seeing what the group saw as Baird grumbled, “Oooh, big slow target full of gas. Is it my birthday?”

It was a massive creature, definitely full of gas and strapped with Locust equipment. All finished with a Locust symbol shining just below its ugly jaw set. Cole grabbed a mortar, Sapphire shouting to the others, “Don’t let it fire on that crate! Or the Leviathan isn’t the only one being blown up!”

While Cole and Clayton grabbed mortar, left by dead Locust boomers, Sam and Baird fired. Sapphire took a chance to climb up a blue transport box crate, hearing Tickers within, and seeing them through a slit in the top of the crate. The bridge rocked as the Barge scored a few hits on the concrete structure, but this was quickly rectified as both Cole and Clayton’s mortars hit the Barge, seeing it falling out of sight on the other side of the bridge.

Sapphire looked over, seeing the Leviathan rear back before its jaws snapped on the bow. And not only that, tentacles could be felt wrapping around the bridge’s support pillars. Sapphire dropped down from the crate, gesturing to the others, “Let’s blow this fucker up!”

“Right there with you,” Baird replied, all five at the side of the crate. Once all were in position, Baird instructed. “All right! One, two…three!”

All five pushed and Sapphire felt the Leviathan reach out to her. And with the perfect window of opportunity, she roared out, using both mental and physical strength on the crate and Leviathan.

The tentacles unwrapped from the pillars as the crate tipped over, the top opening to let Tickers, laced with bombs, down towards the Leviathan. Baird cheered, “Yo! Bombs away!...and all that.”

Because the Tickers went straight down the gullet of the Leviathan, Sapphire was both happy and exhausted as she realized that she gave them a perfect opportunity, using this new ability with newfound grace. Baird chuckled, cheering into his ear piece, “Hey, I thought you’d enjoy the witty irony of Grub-on-Glowie violence!”

Sapphire didn’t hear what was replied, because two large tentacles came up, wrapping around their part of the bridge. The bridge lurched, one side collapsed while the other stayed. All five grabbed a hold on whatever was close enough to them, their part of the bridge falling at an angle.

From beside her, Cole shouted, “Jump for it!”

“No point! We’re so dead,” Baird exclaimed, him skidding further down than the others. Sapphire looked down, seeing the water below before looking up.

Just from a car to come careening towards them.

Quickly, Sapphire let go, grabbing Cole and Clayton on the way down with a shout, “FUCKING JUMP!”

The other tentacle finally snapped the other end. There must have been another crate of Tickers as their part of the bridge exploded with the five falling towards the water below them. Sapphire felt her body hit the water just before the screaming of the lullaby caused her to cry out under the water.

Her first reaction was to rise to the surface, where it was much quieter. She rose out of the water, choking on the seawater that threatened to overtake her as she looked around. Just yards from her, the bridge collapsed, sending waves towards her.

She used this to her advantage, beginning to swim away from the waves and towards the shore. Which side of the bridge, she didn’t know. But this allowed the waves to carry her faster to the bank, where she counted Sam, Baird, Cole, and Clayton all scrambling out of the water before it took them again. Clayton looked back, seeing Sapphire swimming towards them and rushing to help her to her feet as soon as she hit the shallow water of the shore.

They all coughed up the seawater they inhaled on the way to shore, careful not to trip as the water lapped at their legs hungrily. Sapphire tripped as soon as they got out of reach from deep water, collapsing onto the grassy patch of the bank. The lullaby had stopped, blissfully for now.

So blissfully in fact that Sapphire didn’t even realize she went unconscious until she felt herself being shaken. She shot up, her head hitting Baird square in the nose, sending both reeling back with pained cries. Baird growled, “What the hell, Sapphire? I thought you fucking died!”

Sapphire rubbed her forehead, sitting back up and quickly getting to her feet, “I just went cold for a split second, asshole. But thanks for caring. Didn’t know you were capable of that.”

“Haha, you’re a fucking comedian,” Baird growled back as he rubbed his bruised nose, standing up next to her. “How lucky are we? We gotta go shoot some grubs! They want a round two!”

Sapphire looked, and with a pained groan, she realized he was right. Coming down towards the shore was a Burmak, followed by Locust grubs and Boomers. Cole came over, shouting to the whole group, “Come on, we gotta haul ass! We gotta get to the ship before that freak parade does!”

Even with waterlogged armor and clothes, the group was quick to grab their weapons. Sapphire was glad Ghidorah’s holster clung to her body like a vice, the staff silent for the moment. The Locust song in her head rose, but it wasn’t as bad as the dark lullaby, which now fully alert, was a low hum. Like when she was on Vectes before the Lambent attacks.

But for now, the mystery solving had to wait until they got to the ship, which couldn’t been seen but heard the groan of metal that could only be from a ship. The group ran, fighting Locust along the way. Sapphire hung back more than she should, but she helped with some Ghidorah finishing moves and some grenades she found from both the ship’s supply and Locust bodies.

Seeing the Locust again didn’t trigger any episodes, and they shouldn’t now, and Sapphire found herself more worried about those on the Sovereign.

As they rounded a rock formation of the shore, the Sovereign appeared. Cole said it best as he sighed, “Poor ol’ lady. Not looking too good.”

Sapphire looked around, seeing the deceased Leviathan in the distance as it lay in the shallows of the shore. She called out, “Marcus! Dom! Anya! Jace! Anybody!”

The others called out with her and it only took minutes before Cole announced, “Found them!”

Sapphire rushed to Cole’s position from where she was heading towards the Sovereign. Relief flooded through her at seeing Marcus and Dom lying on the shore, passed out. Cole and Clayton helped Marcus sit up and Baird and Sam helped Dom up. Sapphire couldn’t help herself, embracing Marcus as he gathered himself.

“For fuck’s sake, I’m glad you’re all right,” Sapphire whispered into his ear. He nodded, embracing her with one arm back before hearing Sam behind her.

“Come on, Santiago, breathe!”

At this, Marcus perked up, asking quickly, “Dom! Is he okay?”

Sapphire pulled away, rushing to Sam’s side to see Dom still. Instinctively, Sapphire did the same technique as Bernie did on her back on Vectes. She spoke swiftly as she opened Dom’s mouth, “Sorry, bud. But it is far from your time.”

Taking two fingers, she delved into his mouth, hitting the back of his throat. Instantly, Dom’s eyes shot open, rolling to his side to cough up water. As soon as most of the water was out of his lungs, he cursed, “Damn it! Oh, God!”

“Your welcome,” Sapphire replied, patting his back heavily. “You’re not dying today, Dom. Not on my watch.”

He looked up at her, blinking away the seawater, “Is that…the same technique Bernie did?”

“Yep! And I know from experience that men have a worse gag reflex than women,” Sapphire joked with a cheerful grin. Sam groaned while Dom chuckled, smacking her arm.

Helping Dom up, Sapphire looked over at Marcus, seeing his eyes rake over her form as she helped Dom. Probably noting any injuries. And as soon as his eyes hit her face, she mouthed, “Later.”

Something must have crackled in their radios because everyone’s fingers went to their earpieces. Then, ever so slowly, Sapphire felt eyes on her as they all glanced at her. It was Sam who broke the silence that settled over the group, “I heard Prescott. Tell me that’s just my ears ringing from the explosion of the Leviathan.”

Sapphire froze at Prescott’s name, staring at Marcus with wide eyes. Clayton growled, “Seriously? He’s back?!”

“What,” Marcus snapped, looking at everyone but Sapphire. “Do we got a echo here or something? Yeah, Prescott’s back, Michaelson’s dead, and my father’s alive. Film at eleven. Anya, we’re comin’ to get you!”

For a moment, there was a brief silence as everyone checked their ammo. A swift glance of concern from Sam caught Sapphire’s attention as Marcus turned to face her, “You got it. Sam and Carmine are on their way. Sapphire is with me, Dom, Baird, and Cole. Tell Prescott that Delta is coming to save his ass.”

Marcus then looked at Sapphire in the face, his gaze hardened, “You’re helping Anya with Prescott.”

Sapphire frowned deeply at this, feeling an old anger rear its head, “Are you fucking serious, Marcus? You want me to help that asshole after all he’s put me through? After all the fucking torture he put us through?” With gritted teeth, she gestured to herself. “To me?”

“He’s dying,” Marcus said stiffly, bringing his Lancer to his chest. “You can have one last ‘fuck you’.”

“I don’t want one last ‘fuck you’, Marcus,” Sapphire hissed. “He can fucking die. This world is better without his ass anyways.”

The pair stared each other down. Dom and Cole shared a look before Marcus stepped forward, glaring down at Sapphire, “You’re helping Anya, whether you like it or not.”

“Oh, I’ll help her, but I don’t give a rat’s ass if that man dies.” Grabbing Ghidorah, Sapphire snorted. “He thinks the world can run with his government system, his power, but the world really needs less of him.”

Turning to the others, Sapphire said firmly, “Carmine, Sam, go. Everyone else, let’s go get Anya and Jace.”

Marcus went to grab Sapphire, but she only hissed low enough for him to hear, “We’ll talk about this later.”

“Oh, we will. We have a lot of things to talk about,” Marcus stated. Something under his tone told Sapphire that he was wondering if she knew his father was alive. Maybe even knew that Prescott was on the ship and that the Leviathan would attack the ship.

And while she knew his father should be alive, she was no longer certain of the games compared to what she’d been going through. She was messing up the timeline just with her mere presence. Things were bound to change. She wasn’t some fucking fortune teller.

And thinking about it, Sapphire stole a glance at Dom.

Because she knew he wouldn’t make it to the end. She couldn’t remember exactly when or how, only remembering a massive truck and Marcus’s devastated face.

Before she gave anything away, she turned away from Dom and jogged forward. When that happened, Sapphire was going to do her best to prevent it.

Because she would rather die than ever see the devastation on Marcus’s face. No, he didn’t need to lose another person. Not another person he considered family.

With that, Sapphire took a deep inhale, knowing that no matter what it took, Dom was going to make it through this war with Marcus.

Even if it cost her relationship with Marcus. Maybe even her very life.

Chapter Text

Anya was struggling.

Below her, Prescott was barely hanging on, his chest a mess from the ship’s collapse. She knew there was a metal piece in there, but she didn’t dare take it out. They needed Prescott alive to know where Marcus’s father was.

Luckily, he and Delta were on their way. With Sapphire. And while Anya was glad for the fire support, with Jace barely hanging in there as he fired away on a near-empty Lancer, she worried about Sapphire’s reaction. She should have told Cole to tell Sapphire before this shit happened instead of hiding it from the woman. Sure, Sapphire would be pissed, but over time, and upon knowing the situation, Sapphire would understand.

But it was still a big ask. And knowing the past between Prescott and Sapphire, Anya wouldn’t be surprised if Sapphire refused to help.

Anya kept trying to keep Prescott alive, the man barely breathing as his head barely moved, his chest staggering. Jace ducked down from oncoming fire, grabbing at his belt. Then, with gritted teeth, Jace looked back at Anya from behind a metal wall of a crate, “I’m out of ammo! And they’re trying to flank!”

“Shit!” Anya tapped on her earpiece, “Mayday! We’re out of ammo! We’re surrounded!”

Through her ear piece, Marcus responded, “We’re almost there! We can see your position. Sapphire! Goddamnit!”

An explosion sounded and Jace peeked around. A smile broke out of his face as he cheered, “Yeah! Get it!”

The firefight turned away from Anya and Jace, turning to wherever Marcus and the others were. Anya could hear Sapphire shout, “Come on!”

“Can you not?!” Baird’s shout was occupied by another loud explosion. “Hey! Careful!”

“Then get out of the way,” Sapphire called back.

After what seemed like minutes of a firefight, it went silent. Jace got out of cover, waving down Delta as Anya imagined them coming down towards them. Then, Jace slowly lowered his hand and turned to Anya, “Uh oh. We got a dragon, maybe two, incoming.”

Anya exhaled through her nose. Yep, Sapphire was extremely pissed. And Marcus might be pissed too, possibly never getting a chance to talk to Prescott.

Marcus, Dom, Baird, Cole, and Sapphire appeared, Jace following them to Anya as she tried to keep Prescott alive. Anya dared to glance at Sapphire’s face. And to her shock, she saw nothing. Just a cold, serious expression that held no sympathy and no pity. But instead of saying something about it, Anya sighed, “Oh thank God, anyone got a hemostat dressing? I’m out.”

Suddenly, hands replaced Anya’s and she looked up, finding that hands belonged to Sapphire. Sapphire didn’t look at Anya, looking at Prescott in that stone cold expression. Her hands put pressure on the bleeding wound and Anya found herself internally sighing with relief that Sapphire wasn’t going to make Prescott miserable in his last moments. Pulling away, Anya turned to Marcus, informing him swiftly, “Don’t expect too much conversation. One lung’s collapsed. His chest cavity’s filling up.”

Marcus nodded, Anya letting him take her place at Prescott’s side. Sapphire stayed quiet, watching Prescott even as her hands pressed down on his wound. Marcus asked, leaning towards Prescott as he said seriously, “Can you hear me?”

Prescott’s eyes squeezed tightly shut before he replied with a choked gasp, “I hear you, Sergeant…where’s that…chat you promised me?”

“Where’s my goddamn father?” While Sapphire stayed quiet in her anger, Marcus was the opposite. Anya didn’t know how to exactly feel, seeing the parallels between her ex and her friend. But she couldn’t help but notice, even as the Chairman was dying.

Prescott choked, “The disc…Azura.”

“And I’m supposed to know what that is?” While Marcus’s demand held both confusion and frustration, Anya spotted familiarity at the name from Sapphire. Her eyes widened just slightly, a small frown forming.

“No…it’s a research facility. He’s been working there…Queen…Myrrah captured it days ago…” Prescott was struggling more and more as blood ran out of his mouth, staining his pearly-white teeth red. Blood spilled from between Sapphire’s fingers, even as she kept the pressure. Dom and Baird were crowding around with Marcus and Sapphire, both more curious of what he was saying than Sapphire.

“Goddamn you, where’s Azura?” Anya couldn’t take it at that point, seeing Marcus’s frustration rise. Soon, he wouldn’t be able to think clearly.

Going around to put a hand on his shoulder, she said softly, “Marcus…come on.”

“Anya.” Anya’s head snapped up to see Sapphire staring at her. Not at her hand in jealousy, but rather straight in her eyes. Those forest-green eyes held no warmth. Rather, they were harsh and cold, holding barely contained frustration.

Prescott coughed, digging into his pocket to bring out a drive. He choked, “Encryption…” Marcus took it from his hand before Prescott looked over at Marcus with a glint of victory. “That old bastard…he’ll be…furious…”

Prescott then looked at Sapphire, smiling at her, “But…needs…important…”

And then, Prescott went limp, the life dying from his eyes as he fell silent, his chest stilling. A silence fell on everyone, save for the fires and smoke. Anya’s head fell as she felt sorrow grasp her. With a somewhat heavy heart, she said, “He’s gone.”

Anya took a glance at Sapphire, seeing the woman’s look of shock that melted to that of fury. Bloodied hands lifting off the man’s chest, Sapphire hissed through gritted teeth, “A coward until the fucking end.”

“Sapphire-” Anya began to scold, but the woman’s cold expression turned to Anya, striking her with a cold shiver.

“This man didn’t give a shit about any of us,” Sapphire snapped. “Didn’t give a shit about Delta, Hoffman, Bernie, or you! He only came here, tail between his legs, hoping we would go to this research facility that he kept secret, to save it from Queen Myrrah. And guess what, Anya? That’s what we’ll do. But not for him. For Marcus’s father. Because I have a feeling that he’s still alive.”

The last sentence was directed at Marcus as Sapphire turned to him. The pair stared at each other for a moment, something communicated between the pair that Anya couldn’t figure out at the moment. Anya looked over at Dom, who shrugged. Even he didn’t know, and he’s known Marcus since they were children.

Anya sighed, breaking the silence, “Okay. Well, maybe there’s something else in your father’s message. We’ve got to find a data reader.”

Dom asked, brows furrowed, “Who was he talking about?”

Sapphire looked down at Prescott, Baird grimacing as he replied to Dom’s question, “Hoffman. The bastard is Hoffman.”

Marcus and Sapphire looked up, both confused before Marcus growled, “Spit it out.”

Baird groaned, rubbing the back of his neck as he shrugged, “Look, Hoffman’s been hanging on to that data disc he stole from Prescott back on Vectes. All those goddamn months I spent trying to crack the encryption for him and we still didn’t have a frigging clue what was on it. Well, I bet it’s the data on Azura, and that unlocks it. We have to get it to Hoffman and crack that disk.”

Sapphire looked over at Baird, “THAT’s why you had that disc? And why you never let me look at it?!”

Baird shrugged, hands up to defend himself in case Sapphire pounced on him, “I knew you were a biologist and somewhat decent medic, considering you get hurt all the time. But I never took you as a tech enthusiast, much less a hacker.”

“For fuck’s sake, Baird! I programmed the Eagle and you watched me do so! With codes! Did you ever think that maybe the Eagle could have gotten what we needed from the disk?!” At this, Baird’s face turned to one of shock and disbelief. Anya found that she was more glad that the cold expression was gone, despite the fuck up that became apparent.

Then, he meekly said, “Oh…”

“Well, either way, Hoffman is at Anvil Gate,” Anya interrupted, getting between Sapphire and Baird. She then turned to Marcus, concern on her face. “That’s a hell of a long journey, Marcus.”

“One we will do,” Sapphire replied with a slight snap towards Anya. One that almost made Anya flinch. “Because I have a feeling that we’ll need the data on the disc to have a final showdown with Myrrah, or at least save Marcus’s father from whatever she has planned.”

Cole suddenly looked over, his head then snapping to the others to announce, “I hate to interrupt, people, but we got visitors!”

Marcus and Sapphire glanced at each other before Sapphire nodded. Dom and Baird were quick to follow Cole, Cole throwing ammo to Jace as the four began to walk away. Marcus stayed put, Anya seeing that he was observing Sapphire once more. She noticed he was getting worried on the ship, when Prescott first arrived. Almost as worried as when Marcus worried for Dom during his drunken moments on the Sovereign.

Sapphire looked down at Prescott for a split second before going to follow the four. Marcus was quick to intercept her, grabbing her forearm before Sapphire got too far. She rounded on Marcus, snapping, “What? I did what you asked.”

“You’re hanging back.”

“Now is not the time, Marcus,” Sapphire growled. “They need help.”

“I saw you nearly get your head blown off just minutes ago. Stay. Here.” Sapphire opened her mouth to protest, but Marcus shook his head. “Just…please.”

It was rare for a man like Marcus to pull his gentleman act, but knowing how much he cared for Sapphire, Anya didn’t find herself surprised. She had been at the end of that years ago. And really, Anya didn't care. Those two deserve each other, that much was evident the past several months she’s seen them interact.

“Anya, take a medical look at Sapphire. Something’s going on,” Marcus ordered lightly before pulling his Lancer up to join the firefight. When he left, Anya turned to Sapphire, seeing the woman press her back to the crate shielding them before sliding down to take a seat.

Anya approached, kneeling before Sapphire as the woman’s knees drew up enough to rest her elbows on her knees comfortably, “Something wrong? I know you’re reckless, but if Marcus is asking me to take a look, something’s going on.”

“I don’t like being babied, Anya,” Sapphire replied grimly, eyes downcasted. “Just tell Marcus I’m okay. I’m just very tired.”

“No wonder, considering you haven’t slept much since you woke up from that coma,” Anya pointed out, careful as she reached out to put a hand on Sapphire’s chin. Sapphire did not protest, letting Anya lift her head. The cold expression was long gone, and the simmering anger. Now, she seemed more reserved and tired like on the ship.

But Anya then noticed her nose, the skin under her nostrils raw and stained pink. Like Sapphire had a constant nosebleed. Concern rose even more as Anya saw Sapphire’s eyes.

Her pupils were two different sizes. “Sapphire, follow my finger.”

Eyebrows raised as Sapphire looked over at Anya, Sapphire asking, “I’m not drunk.”

“I know, but your pupils are two different sizes. Did you get hit in the head?” Anya pulled a finger up in front of Sapphire’s face. “Follow the tip of my finger.”

Sapphire’s eyes followed with perfect timing and smoothly. But those pupils remained different sizes. Anya instructed, “Okay, blink five times.”

Sapphire did so, and after the third blink, Sapphire’s pupils went back to normal, now both the same size. Anya hummed, “Odd.”

“You sure you saw right? I can see you perfectly, Anya,” Sapphire replied.

“And your nose?”

Sapphire shrugged, “Dry air mixed with lots of strenuous activity can cause nosebleeds. Are there any metal bars or arrows lying around? I need more ammo for Ghidorah.”

“Maybe you-” Sapphire’s head suddenly shot up, almost hitting Anya as she spoke. Anya leaned back to avoid an accidental headbutt, but Sapphire was looking past her.

“ANYA!” Anya startled as Sapphire grabbed Anya’s arm and pulled her around herself. Sapphire shielded Anya with her body as a blast sent both women to the other side of the ship crate. Sapphire winced as she pulled away from Anya, grabbing Ghidorah as she stood up. Anya looked, on her knees as she turned to where Sapphire charged. There was some new variant of a Boomer that went around the corner, laughing as they appeared.

Sapphire jumped to the crate’s wall, swinging Ghidorah on her jump off into the variant’s face. The staff stabbed through the cheek of the Boomer, down towards the throat. The Boomer cried out, but was silenced as Ghidorah came alive. Yellow electrified effectively split open the Boomer’s head.

As soon as the Boomer fell down, Sapphire switched Ghidorah and turned to Anya, straightening up, “We need to go.”

“But Prescott,” Anya began, turning to where Prescott is. Or was. His body had been flung by the blast, floating towards the wreckage of the ship by the waves. Sapphire scoffed, Jace coming around the corner with Marcus.

“Are you both good?!” At Jace’s question, Sapphire nodded firmly.

“Yeah, we’re good. Must’ve been an attempt at a flank,” Sapphire replied. Approaching Anya, Sapphire offered her hand and Anya took it. With Ghidorah in her tattooed hand, Sapphire looked up at Marcus. “We need to move. Before more…”

Sapphire stopped, looking behind herself more towards where the fire fight from the rest of Delta began to ebb away. And for a moment, there was a brief silence.

Then, a roar. A roar from a Brumak.

“Ahh,” Marcus cursed. “Frigging terrific. Everyone, destroy that Brumak!”

Anya, Jace, Sapphire, and Marcus all traveled back into the open, seeing the Brumak smash through a wall of rock created from the Sovereign ramming into the shore. It stopped, roaring out once again with its artillery loaded.

“Target its artillery,” Dom shouted out, bullets flying from the Brumak as they all took cover. Anya covered with Sapphire, bullets flying over them as the Brumak roared out with its loud thunderous sound. Anya lifted up to take aim, finding the Brumak turning towards her at her appearance.

She took cover, looking over at Sapphire who was checking something on her watch. She was planning something, but Anya couldn’t tell what.

The Brumak roared again, its steps awfully close to Anya and Sapphire as the others tried to draw it away, firing on its artillery. One of the Brumak’s arm artillery exploded after being pelted by bullets, and soon the other followed. This left the Brumak with its top artillery, firing a series of bombardic bullets.

After one round, Sapphire shouted to the others, “GET DOWN!”

Anya covered her head as she heard the telltale sound of projectiles whistling in the air above her and Sapphire. The Brumak fell with a cry, and Anya took a chance to look, seeing the Brumak with a gaping hole in its chest, exposing its heart. Everyone took aim at that point and the Brumak fell, as it couldn’t do much in shielding itself with its fiery artillery.

Anya looked around, seeing the Eagle flying in, landing away from the Brumak and in the only clearing of the shore. Sapphire was on her feet, shouting to Baird, “Give me that encryption.”

“And you need Dr. Fenix’s message,” Dom pointed out, to which Sapphire nodded, everyone gathering around the Eagle. Sapphire and Baird climbed into the Eagle first, Marcus and the others soon following. Anya, Jace, Dom, and Cole sat in the seats of the Eagle.

Anya could see Baird and Marcus hovering over Sapphire’s pilot seat, Baird messing with a holographic screen while Marcus watched. Sapphire was typing too, taking the Encryption from Baird and putting it above her head. The speakers activated and Anya could hear Sapphire speak through the speaker of the Eagle, “Everyone, Baird is working on the message. Anya, there is a medic package to the right capsule of the Eagle. I stored some there after I patched the Eagle up.”

Anya turned to the capsules locked above the seats, hearing one of them unlock. Anya stood, opening the capsule’s door that unlatched upon her rising. When she opened it, she sighed with relief. There in the door was a supply of medical items. Perfect for such an emergency.

As Anya checked the supply to take inventory, Sapphire spoke through the speakers again, “More ammo is stored in another capsule. If you didn’t find ammo out there, take some from the Eagle supply.”

“Damn,” Jace whistled. “You’re the best pilot out here, Sapphire.”

Sapphire didn’t reply, but her silence was enough of an answer for Jace to clear his throat of his discomfort. But soon, Baird’s voice echoed from both the pilot quarters and through the speakers, “This is all I could recover.”

Baird joined them in the main haul, leaving Marcus and Sapphire alone. And to Anya’s surprise, Baird shut the door to the pilot’s quarters. Never had Anya seen that sliding door closed, but when she went to speak to Baird, the blond man shook his head. The speakers relayed Adam Fenix’s message with clear clarity.

“I’ve tried to contact you over the years, but I’ve been held prisoner at Azura since Prescott abducted me - your mind on the Imulsion countermeasure! That’s all that matters-at Azura since Prescott abducted me from the estate-Prescott abducted me-Prescott abducted me-”

A slam on metal jolted everyone, resounding from the pilot’s quarters.

From within the pilot’s quarters, Sapphire took off her headset, slowly putting it on its hanger before her face turned slightly to Marcus’s direction. His fist was now settled on the frame of the Eagle’s front panel window, a look of anger on his face. It simmered there as Sapphire remained silent, knowing his anger wasn’t all at Prescott.

After a long pause, Sapphire finally spoke, “I didn’t know if your father was alive or not. I don’t know where Azura is. I didn’t want to get your hopes up, Marcus. And to that, I’m sorry for not being open about it with you.”

Marcus didn’t reply and Sapphire sighed, turning off the message from the holographic screen of the Eagle, “We need to go to Anvil Gate, Marcus. To get to Azura, we need its location from its disk that Hoffman has.”

When Marcus still didn’t reply, she turned her head to him, seeing him looking at her. And to her surprise, he was looking at her with worry instead of anger. She blinked, wondering if she was reading his expression wrong.

But then he spoke, “I know it's not your fault. I shouldn’t be angry with you since all this”-he gestured around himself-“is new to both of us. Besides, I was an asshole earlier. You don’t deserve that.”

“It’s not all about me,” Sapphire replied softly, a hand drifting to the one on her chair. “I should have told you earlier. That I didn’t know about your father’s status. I hoped that none of this would happen just because I was here. And I was foolish. And…Marcus…”

She needed to tell him. She couldn’t not tell him. Now was not the time to keep secrets. He needed to know.

“In the games…everyone survives except Dom,” Sapphire admitted. She looked away from him, not wanting to see his expression. Out of everything she could remember, Queen Myrrah alive and Dom’s death were the only ones that stood out to her. “I’ll do my best to prevent it, Marcus. Because if I’m good for one thing, I can prevent certain things from happening. Just promise me you won’t try anything drastic. Please…”

Marcus didn’t reply, but she heard his fist pull off the frame. And before she knew it, she was pulled into an embrace. A loving embrace that not only surprised her but made her feel like an apology. She embraced back.

After another long pause, they pulled away from each other. Marcus nodded firmly, his face soft despite the seriousness of the situation. “Understood. Just…make sure to take care of yourself.”

Sapphire smiled, standing up with him. “I’ll do my best. And you too. Now, let’s not keep the others waiting.”

Marcus nodded before his eyes went down her face. She shook her head, pulling away from Marcus, “Let’s go. We can talk more later.”

Sapphire opened the pilot door, seeing eyes instantly turn on her and Marcus. There was a hesitant silence. Then, Baird asked, “Uh…so now what?”

Before Sapphire could reply, Marcus did so for her, “Now we go see Hoffman.”

Suddenly, footsteps approached and everyone looked over, seeing Sam and Clayton approaching, covered in both blood and wet from seawater. They both panted, Sam speaking after regaining some composure, “We found some survivors on the way here before we heard a Brumak. But it seems that you guys had it handled. We’re going out to search for more.”

“You’ll need the Eagle’s supplies to help more survivors,” Sapphire pointed out. “It has enough supplies to last you a good long while, and it can defend itself. I’ll set it on autopilot so you can put in coordinates without having to actually pilot it.”

“How will it know it's not Locust,” Clayton asked.

Sapphire smiled, “Because, Clayton, the Eagle is intelligent enough with its systems.”

“But then how do we get to Hoffman,” Anya asked. Marcus turned to Sam at this, leaning on the side of the Eagle.

“Sam, you’re from Anvil Gate, what’s the quickest route?” At Marcus’s question, Sam immediately gestured towards the direction where the Locust came down from.

“Across the Deadlands.” Sam looked around before staring at Marcus. “It’s going to be rough, but I can take you straight there.”

“Just give us directions, Sam,” Marcus replied. “You and Anya stay here with Carmine and Jace and supervise the salvage. Keep the Eagle since you’re going to need supplies and backup if need be.”

Anya looked worried, but upon seeing Marcus’s determined face, turned to Sapphire, “We’ll catch up with you when the situation’s under control, okay? And you’re sure we can use the Eagle?”

“Yes,” Sapphire replied, her face falling as she guiltily about one member in particular. “You’ll need the supplies more than us, and we’ll find a way. Good luck. And…please, if you can, find Luke. That dog is stubborn when it comes to death, and I hope you find him.”

Anya nodded, tapping Sapphire’s shoulder softly, “We’ll find him, don’t you worry.”

“Stay safe, all of you,” Jace added as everyone got off the Eagle.

“Let’s get going,” Marcus stated. “We’ve got a long walk ahead of us.”

Everyone said their goodbyes and then Marcus, Dom, Baird, Cole, and Sapphire began their trek away from the wreckage. The path the Locust came down on wasn’t hard to find and Sapphire noticed Marcus talking to Dom more as they continued up the path. She smiled at the interaction, hoping that she could fulfill her promise to herself. She may have told Marcus that she could prevent Dom’s demise, but she didn’t want to tell him.

Not yet.

Behind them, the Sovereign groaned as more of the ship submerged into the water, the smoke billowing into the already cloudy sky. Sapphire took a look back at the destruction, hoping that the others found more survivors. Sapphire hoped that Luke was okay. She had left him behind on the ship for a reason, but now, she dearly hoped that Luke was okay and that Anya found him.

Besides, they’ll need as many people as they could get to Azura, where Queen Myrrah had captured it.

Whatever she had planned next, Sapphire was now more than ready for it. Before, she had no clue who this person was, or what the Queen of the Locust looked like.

But now, she did.

Dom coughed every once in a while, which he chalked up to having some water still in his lungs. Sapphire hoped that he was wrong, knowing the dangers of secondary drowning. Baird walked next to Sapphire and asked, “So, you guys are cool?”

“Are you talking about Marcus and I?”

Baird shrugged, “You two didn’t really have a good reunion kiss when Prescott got mentioned.”

Sapphire sighed, “We don’t kiss every time I or he comes back from a mission. Besides, we had a discussion and now we’re good.”

“Better not get too wedged between those two,” Cole chuckled ahead. “Might piss off the wrong one of the pair.”

“Yeah, now deal with your own relationship issues,” Marcus growled, a firm indicator for Baird to shut up.

Baird snorted, “What relationship?”

“Between you and Sam,” Sapphire replied, earning snickers from Dom and Cole. Baird opened his mouth to protest but Sapphire cut him off with a shake of her head. “And don’t deny it. I’ve heard a rumor that you and Sam did some cooking together. In the janitor closet.”

Baird’s jaw dropped as all the men turned to him, Sapphire giving him a knowing smirk. After a long moment, he slowly closed his mouth. He then looked at Sapphire, asking, “Nothing. Happened.”

“Uh huh.”

They continued until Dom stopped something, pointing ahead, “Hey, it’s a barge.”

Sapphire looked ahead, seeing what Dom saw. Baird walked up to Dom’s side, seeing what he saw. His eyes widened before he turned to the rest of the group, “Looks like the one we shot down earlier.”

All five jogged down the stone path, the mangled mess of the barge lay in a fiery heap in front of them. The smoke billowed into the sky, not as much as the ship but coming with the smell of burned flesh. Dom looked at the dead barge before looking around at the group, “Anyone got a pump? And some duct tape?”

Scuttling could be heard and Sapphire saw naked Tickers crawling around, some with burned flesh in their mouth. One went right past Baird when he went down to pick up something and he jolted back up, “I hate those Chompers. Little creeps can’t leave anything alone. Ugh!”

Dom chuckled, “Yeah, imagine rooting around looking for parts all the time.”

Baird snorted, “Hey, I make intelligent use of free resources. That’s how come we’re still alive to bitch about it!”

Sapphire smiled at the banter. But unfortunately, they didn’t have time to argue, even if it was good banter between comrades. Something Marcus put forth as he came up, between the pair, “Come on. The Locust must have more of these gas barges.”

“I agree,” Sapphire replied, the five beginning to walk away from the wreckage. And as if by chance, in the distance, Sapphire could see another gas barge. It called out, echoing through the dark sky in its inflated form. It went over the wreckage of the Sovereign. If Sapphire had to guess, the Locust on board were assessing the situation.

Marcus pointed the barge out, determination on his face, “There’s our ride. Let’s track it.”

They began to jog after the barge, though as four of them began to jog, Sapphire saw Baird stop, running back somewhere behind them. She smiled, shaking her head as he rummaged through some wreckage of the barge and pulled out a component. When he turned back and joined them, he gave Sapphire a narrow look and said, “Don’t you dare say a fucking word.”

She chuckled, the squad continuing after the barge and towards a potential Locust outpost.

And Sapphire hoped that getting a barge was quick.

Chapter Text

“When we hijack the barge, let me drive. I think I’ve got a way to control it,” Baird spoke up as they tracked the floating barge ahead.

“It’s all yours, Baird,” Marcus replied, the squad walking down the narrow path of rock and sand away from the burning barge.

“Good, oh, and I know because I was digging up parts like a Ticker,” Baird added sarcastically over at Dom. Sapphire smiled, seeing Dom roll his eyes with a chuckle.

“He’s right,” Sapphire pointed out. “Now, let’s focus on catching up with that barge. Can’t let it go too far or we lose it and have to find another way to Anvil Gate.”

The conversation dropped off as the rocks around them began to rumble, dust and pebbles falling from above. Quickly and without a word, all five ran ahead, out of the tunnel and into a more open path. Behind them, the ceiling collapsed, blocking them from where they came from. Sapphire sneezed, huffing out, “Who’s keeping count of the close calls today?”

“Too many to count,” Marcus replied, the group continuing on.

As they rounded a corner, back into the light of day, the barge emerged from the stone, flying by them and deeper inland. Sapphire stared at the barge for a long moment before metal caught her eye. Looking up, in a dead tree, Sapphire saw a cage swinging. It was an odd sight to behold, one Baird pointed out as he asked, “Uh….who’s in those cages?”

Marcus kept on walking, simply replying, “It’s a keep-out sign.”

“Well, it almost worked,” Cole replied, the group continuing on past the cages of skeletons that hung from the dead tree. Sapphire didn’t know who was in those cages, but with no gear on except rags and bones, it could be anybody. The Locust were not discriminatory to humans.

And she couldn’t help but wonder if she could have been one of those corpses. Displayed in the Nexus.

Sapphire must have been staring for too long as Marcus stopped, looking back to see her watching the cages swing. Dom must have noticed too as he elbowed Sapphire, bringing her back to them quickly with a jolt, “You okay?”

“Yeah,” Sapphire nodded, giving the cages one last glance before they continued. When she looked away, Sapphire turned her sights on the barge. “I could have been one of those corpses…if you guys hadn’t saved me.”

Nobody wanted to reply to Sapphire’s words. But Marcus, however, did not allow such a thought to dwindle as he said, “You’re here now and that’s all that matters, Sapphire.”

Sapphire nodded, a small smile coming back to her face, “Yeah. And I’m grateful for it every day.”

That is if everything went accordingly, Sapphire added internally.

Ahead, the barge was joined by another and Marcus pointed out, “They’ve gotta land sooner or later. Come on, or else we’re gonna lose ‘em.”

Down below the barges, deeper into the valley of rock and murky water, large bones jutted out. Sapphire couldn’t help but wonder what the Riftworm looked like. After Vectes, Delta shared with her the story of the Riftworm. And for such a large creature, Sapphire wondered if one day she could go back to it, and see it for herself. She only saw a few images of it when Dan played the game.

Thinking of Dan made Sapphire smile just a little. She had accepted long ago that she would most likely never see him again. But she would join him sooner or later. For now, she looked over at Marcus, him and Dom having a short discussion. Just seeing the two interact made Sapphire happy that they had each other growing up.

And she hoped that she would be able to keep them together.

“Doing okay?” At Baird’s question, Sapphire nodded. “Just wanted to ask since you’ve been acting weird all day.”

“It’s just been one of those days, Baird,” Sapphire replied. “You know, we lost the ship, potentially most of its crew, and we’re heading into Locust territory. Not happy about any of those choices, but we got to push through.”

“If shit hits the fan and it gets too much, don’t be afraid to fall back.” At this, Sapphire gave Baird a hard glare and he sighed, his eyes straying to her tattooed arm for a second before looking up at her. “Look, I just want to make sure you’re safe. The last time you faced the Locust was before…everything that happened. Pretty sure Marcus and Dom would rather have you hang back with Cole or I, but we all know that won’t work for you.”

“No.” Sapphire sighed, shaking her head. “I just want all this to be over. The Locust to be gone and the Lambent gone. But…once they’re gone, I wonder how long it will take for this land to recover.”

Baird and Cole perked up at this, including Dom and Marcus. Sapphire gestured to the bones out in the valley, continuing, “What’s left out here…it’s getting choked up by the Imulsion fumes, the Lambent is taking over life. Once all that is gone, what will be left?”

There was a heavy silence. Dom tilted his head suddenly, “You know. I remember coming to the mainland with Hoffman and Marcus. We saw a stag that wasn’t afraid of us. Didn’t even run away. Just ate a patch of grass before looking up to stare at us. Even if we walked, it just calmly walked away. Seeing that, it makes me wonder how much this world will change if both sides lose, or we win. It’s never going to be the same world as it once was before Emergence Day, before the Lambent took over.”

“You think it’s a good thing,” Cole asked the group as they all continued down the path. Ahead, the barges kept on rolling in the skies.

Dom shrugged, “Maybe. Depends on which side wins.”

“Hopefully it’s us,” Baird piped up. “Because for fuck’s sake, I did not fight this war for seventeen years just to be blown up by some bug.”

“If the fumes don’t kill you first,” Cole added. Sapphire smiled at the mood shift that came with the topic of the future. Spirits heightened and she couldn’t help but smile at that fact. Slowly, she looked over at Marcus, seeing him smiling just a little.

Sapphire and Marcus eyed each other. They had talked about how the war would end. Sapphire knew it was going to end, but not how or why. Just that it was going to end. Sapphire remembered one night that she and Marcus laid in bed, Marcus having just returned from a trip to the mainland. While Luke was with Cole that night, the two were satisfied with just cuddling, talking about a possible future.

And it helped Sapphire a lot. When her mental state was low, she would think about a future with Marcus and her friends.

Marcus and her planned to pick a place, close to a future settlement and in a forest. They would build a cabin together, with some help from Dom, Baird, and Cole. Maybe Anya and Sam could help too. They would find a record player and play music as they worked, or tell stories of good times and humorous young moments. When the cabin was built, they would build a barn next. Maybe start farming. Live life in peace, as both Marcus and Sapphire wanted.

It would get boring after a while, sure, but Sapphire and Marcus would be happy with a long, well-deserved break. Work on each other and themselves. Enjoy life as they should have after the wars they fought. Maybe, just maybe, they would find professions outside of being soldiers.

Sapphire wondered what it would look like, that kind of life. And hearing Delta vocalize the same desire made Sapphire realize that this war had to end soon. Even if she was here, that shouldn’t change the fact that both Locust and Lambent were going to lose.

The barges were still in sight as they got deeper. But as they did, Sapphire noticed more granite structures. Strategically placed like a battlefield if Sapphire had ever seen one. Her senses were on as high alert as one with a constant lullaby placing on loop could be.

As they walked through the strange field, Sapphire saw a door ahead. One with the Locust symbol. It was closed and the mood shifted back to a more serious atmosphere amongst the group. Sapphire couldn’t help but say quietly, “Keep your guard up, Delta. If there’s a door, there’s guards.”

Grabbing Ghidorah, Sapphire walked over to the door, leaving Delta to watch her back as she looked around the structure. It didn’t seem bolted down and she tried her best to ignore the symbol as much as possible as she knelt down. Looking back, she told the others, “I need two of you to lift this!”

Just as Cole and Marcus began to make their way over, however, the song of the Locust began to thrum in her head just as Dom pointed to the ridge, “Locust! Up there!”

A Locust drone had snuck its way to a horn, blowing it. The sound was ominous and bolstering, sending a chill down Sapphire’s back. Dom shouted just as the ground shook, “Ambush!”

Three Locust, new variants, shot from under the ground, dust and dirt following them as they landed on the surface. They brandished swords that looked like long butcher cleaves, a Locust type look to the weapons. Cole whistled, “Oh, shit, look at the hang time on those bitches!”

While Delta took cover behind the boxes and granite stones, Sapphire rose up from her crouched position at the gate. These Locust variants were the perfect enemy for her to face. Without guns, and only swords, Sapphire felt a smirk form on her face. She began to jog past Delta, feeling a rush of adrenaline as she raced to face the first new Locust variant, shouting to her group, “Cover me!”

Dom looked over at Marcus, wondering if Marcus was going to put a stop on Sapphire. But to Dom’s surprise, Marcus simply shrugged, “She’s got a bone to pick with them. Let’s just cover her ass.”

Switching Ghidorah’s electricity on, Sapphire swung the staff with her tattooed arm. The energy thrummed her arm to life, to its full potential, as the Locust blade met the metal hide of Ghidorah. The Locust hissed towards her, but Sapphire wasn’t having it, kicking the Locust back before swinging Ghidorah downwards to strike through the Locust’s head.

She was not the woman from the Nexus, tortured and beaten to the point of mindless fear. Of mindless madness. Even as she faced another Locust with their blade against Ghidorah’s, she didn’t feel the fear from the bridge. She was caught off guard then.

But with these new variants, and add to the fact that they were struggling just as much as humanity was against the Locust, Sapphire felt only anger. Anger from being fearful of them for so long. Anger from being nearly crippled. Anger from her pain and anguish under their imprisonment.

Back then, she was so new to it all. And while she can’t say that she was an expert at using Ghidorah, she was good enough to ignore any fear that may come up when the Locust attacked her.

Now, she was fearless, Ghidorah at the ready and lit with its golden electricity, just as the alien kaiju once wielded.

Her renewed confidence was rewarded, with four dead Locust soldiers, along with more that Delta got rid of. Tearing Ghidorah out from the head of the last soldier, she turned to Delta. While a woman smiling while covered in blood was supposed to be scary, all Delta saw was a recovered woman, no longer fearful of the very enemy they faced for the past seventeen years.

Dom couldn’t help but ask, “All better?”

Sapphire smiled wider, switching Ghidorah off and swinging it to let the loose blood off. “Never been better, Dom!”

With the ambush over, the group resumed their pursuit of the barge. Marcus and Cole lifted the door, allowing Baird, Dom, and Sapphire to slip under before Marcus and Cole followed. The two songs in Sapphire’s head would have been annoying, but there came that slight relief from the constant dark lullaby that had plagued Sapphire since Vectes.

But with the two lullabies mixing, Sapphire’s senses of the dangers were restricted to mostly sight as Baird shouted, “Whoa, whoa, whoa! Artillery, incoming!”

On the other side of the door, down the path towards a divide in the rocks, was another ridge. And on it was a creature similar to those creepy seeders. And it was loaded with a ball of fiery something. They all began to sprint, Marcus ordering, “Run! Get outta range!”

They sprinted down the path, away from the siege beast that threw the massive fiery ball towards them. It missed by a margin, Sapphire making sure to keep up as the ground shook. Shots were fired, but none made connections as they took the path around and towards the ridge. This kind of chaos wasn’t new, so Sapphire wasn’t as confused by it as when she was in Ephyra all those months ago.

“Keep moving! We’ve gotta take out that catapult,” Marcus told the others. They continued to sprint, another fiery ball missing but hitting the path that they were on. The rock beneath must be thinner, because it began to collapse behind them. But to Delta’s ever present luck, they managed to get on more solid rock before the path behind them completely collapsed.

Cole grumbled as they took cover, telling Baird, “Well, there better be a ride at the end of this!”

Sapphire hoped so. Delta fired on the Locust and Sapphire could only take frags and throw them at Locust that began to close in. In a firefight, Sapphire had to be more careful where to take her arrows. As they mowed down the Locust soldiers charging towards them, Dom turned to Marcus, his face full of surprise, “Marcus, anything about those turrets look familiar to you? They’re using old Lancers!”

“Yeah, they were using them on the Centennial Bridge, too,” Baird pointed out.

All Marcus could say was grunt and tell them, “Well, give ‘em points for ingenuity.”

“At least they’ll have more ammo for us at the end of all this,” Sapphire pointed out, Delta pushing their way forward. She thought that was the end of the conversation until Cole spoke up as they mowed down the last of the Locust.

“Hey, Baird. Don’t you think it's strange that the ones on Centennial Bridge dropped dead after we fired at a couple of them?” Sapphire couldn’t help but feel a cold chill shiver down her body. Like cold water being dumped on her. “These guys didn’t do that…”

“You know what, Cole,” Baird said, rubbing his chin. “You’re right. Wonder what happened on the bridge…maybe they were the odd ones out?”

Sapphire looked at Marcus, who was already staring at her with a serious look. Seeing this, Sapphire immediately looked away, telling Baird, “I say that maybe it was just coincidence, don’t you think? Or they are like you say, the odd ones out. Maybe after we killed a couple of them, they went crazy knowing how fucked they were.”

Baird laughed at that, “Oh! That would be a treat!”

They climbed higher after that, but this time, Sapphire felt Marcus’s eyes on her. She didn’t exactly disclose what she could do, but she knew that he connected the dots. And that meant he knew why her nose had so much red underneath them. But he couldn’t pull her aside, not with Locust bearing down on them or the others around.

But at some point, he’ll catch her and probably demand how damaging her ability was.

For now though, all sights were on the Locust.

When they climbed up the ladders to the siege beast, Sapphire’s face scrunched up at the smell emitting from the beast. It sat there, grumbling and slowly moving up and down as if getting impatient. Dom was the first to walk ahead of them, turning back to them, “Whole lotta grubs coming’ to crash the party, Marcus!”

“That turkey gun could save us a whole lotta sweat,” Cole pointed out, and Sapphire could see Marcus already heading towards the beast. She stayed away, wondering for the first time since encountering the Locust if Queen Myrrah was watching her. Cursing her existence. It made sense, considering how things have been for her.

Her people scattered and almost extinguished, she was desperate. And was probably keeping an eye on Sapphire in case Valkyrie made her appearance.

And so far, Sapphire was lucky that the bad side of Valkyrie has kept quiet since before Vectes.

“I’ll take any help I can get, if it means we get a ride outta here,” Marcus told Cole, bringing Sapphire’s attention away from the beast as Marcus readied it for a shot. “Okay, let’s see how good this thing is. Sapphire, eyes?”

Sapphire smirked, saluting Marcus, “Sure thing, sir!”

“Just be careful and don’t get your head blown off,” Baird commented, only to be elbowed by Cole. Sapphire rolled her eyes, getting ahead of the three to see down the pathway that would lead them deeper into the territory. She could see the Locust coming down, guns ready but waiting until they were in range. Good thing was that they were bunched up.

Shouting back to Marcus, Sapphire told him, “Turn ten degrees to the left! Then fire!”

After serving as a pilot, Sapphire knew the ends and outs of flying projectiles. Marcus didn’t question her, the beast moving when he moved before it fired. The ball of explosive fire sailed just over the rock wall next to the wooden gates of the path. When it landed, it exploded. Taking with it nearly an entire group of Locust, with a few stragglers. More were on the horizon but they would need to wait before firing again.

“Baird, Cole, Dom, go handle the stragglers! Marcus, wait for my signal and be ready two degrees to the left again!”

“There’s the pilot captain,” Dom chuckled, patting her on the shoulder before heading off to face the stragglers of the first group. When the second group got closer, Sapphire shouted back to Marcus. “Fire!”

Another explosive ball of fire sailed, missing the rock by an inch as it sailed over the mountainous wall. When it hit the second group, it missed two, killing the rest. And with the quick work of Dom, Baird, and Cole, the stragglers were taken care of.

“Good work, Delta,” Sapphire cheered, the five joining up further up the path. “Now to keep going and find that barge. It should be close by.”

“Then we keep moving,” Marcus said, the five continuing up the path. But when they got up to where the Locust came barreling from, Sapphire paused. She looked around the newly opened gates, seeing the inside littered to the brim with ammo.

Dom whistled, “Look at all this ammo! They’re definitely setting up home here.”

“Grab what you need and keep moving,” Marcus told the entire group. While everyone went around to collect the available ammo, Sapphire couldn’t help but hesitate, looking ahead. It didn’t feel right and Sapphire felt a stone weigh on her chest, like dread.

Marcus must have noticed because he was quick to walk over to her, asking softly, “You okay?”

Sapphire looked over at him before shrugging, looking back up at the gate ahead, “I don’t know…I thought maybe the Locust were just setting camp here, like a war camp. But…it feels like what Dom said. That they’re setting up a home here.”

Marcus nodded slowly, getting what she was really saying. When Sapphire entered the Nexus, it was unexpected and painful. Now, facing the fact that they were heading into a Locust settlement and not a war camp, Sapphire felt her back and arm heat up. As if the pain had returned.

At least for her arm, the pain did emerge somewhat and Sapphire put her free hand on it, grasping her scarred elbow. For a moment, she wondered if it was a good idea to just turn back and join Anya and Sam with rescuing the survivors.

But that fearless nature, one that had emerged victorious a mere hour ago, came rushing back. She wasn’t going to head into this place scared that the same thing will happen to her as the Nexus. She had Delta with her and that was enough to shake her head, closing her eyes to set a determined face on her expression. When she opened her eyes, they were hard, fueled with a vengeful fire, “No, forget what I said. This time, I’m not alone and I’m stronger than ever. And I’m not the inexperienced woman I once was.”

Marcus didn’t say anything, but Sapphire spotted pride in his eyes, just the tiniest of smiles lighting his face. There was something else in his gaze, something from before Vectes, but Sapphire didn’t pay much mind. Turning to the others, Sapphire asked, “Everyone got what they need?”

“Yeah,” Dom replied, before lifting something into the air. “Think you can use these with Ghidorah?”

Dom threw the items and Sapphire caught them, finding a quiver with arrows once belonging to the Torque Bow. She hadn’t seen these in a long time. But the more ammo she had, the merrier. She smiled, “Thanks, Dom. This will come in handy when we get inside.”

“Let’s keep moving,” Marcus gestured, and all four followed him. When they exited the tunnel on the other side from the ammo stash, they came upon what looked to be a camp. Seeing this, Delta watched as the barge they had been following began to lower into the camp.

Smartass Baird told the group, “See, that’s what happens when you flood their tunnels. They rebuild anywhere they can.”

Cole took it in stride, “Yeah, I thought it was kinda weird to see them up here strolling around. They ain’t the kind for a day at the beach.”

“Seems like they’ve dug themselves a new home,” Marcus observed, his eyes scanning the settlement before them. “They must be excavating the whole area!”

Ahead, the barge let out a call, disappearing behind the wall ahead as it lowered. Sapphire smirked, looking over at Baird, “Looks like this is our chance. Anyone up for a hijack?”

“Yeah, first-class to Anvil Gate? Let’s do it,” Dom smiled. Sapphire couldn’t help but smile wider at Dom’s increasing mood. On the ship, he may have had his happy moments, but he was still grieving for Maria. Not as much as he did in the games since he didn’t have to put down his wife, but Sapphire didn’t know if that had any influence towards his death.

Sapphire shook her head at the thought. She shouldn’t be thinking about that now.

Delta moved forward, beginning to delve deeper into the world of the Locust. It was definitely different, being in a Locust stronghold in broad daylight. But they couldn’t just walk in and start shooting up the place. That would take too much time.

So, Sapphire implemented her own emergency plan as Delta quietly took out guard after guard. They didn’t want to sound an alarm just yet. Otherwise, the whole of the Locust stronghold would converge upon them.

And they didn’t have that kind of time.

Just in case, Sapphire made sure to have her focus ready. If she can mentally incapacitate a Locust group, a single Locust wasn’t all that difficult.

When they got to some heavy metal gates, leading towards where the barge was heading to land, Marcus spoke lowly to the group, pointing to where a side door had opened to allow a Locust patrol out, “Let’s try that side entrance.”

Sapphire let Delta take out the patrol before proceeding forward. As they snuck to the side entrance, Dom commented snarkily, “That’s what Hoffman would call a serious lack of vigilance.”

Marcus let out a huff of a chuckle while Cole had to cover his mouth to control his chuckling. Baird only rolled his eyes, but still cracked a smile. They got to the side entrance, slipping in before Marcus pulled a lever. And soon, the side entrance was closed off, and not a single alarm had been lit.

Sapphire looked around, suppressing an unconscious shiver. No need to lock up now. The gate ahead rose as soon as the side entrance closed, letting the humans into winding tunnels of the Locust. Cole looked around, saying in a low voice, “We better start liberating some supplies!”

Indeed, ammo was laid everywhere. Somewhat haphazardly and open to pickings. Delta picked up as much ammo as they could before continuing, Sapphire leading. They soon got to another gate, where Sapphire commented to Delta, “Let’s see where this little door leads us. Stay alert.”

Slowly and quietly, Marcus and Cole lifted the gate open, letting Baird, Dom, and Sapphire by. As soon as they were on the other side, the gate shut, there was a loud cry of a Locust. One that was alarmed and ready just before Baird could walk out of the tunnel into the open. A hail of bullets shot from above, nearly taking out Baird if he hadn’t pulled back.

Baird cursed out, “Ah, crap! Ah, at least we didn’t walk into a hail of instant death!”

Dom nodded, the pair readying their Lancers as he commented, “Yeah. If we don’t take out those gun turrets, that comes next.”

Sapphire let Delta move forward, shooting down Locust as they went. Sapphire made sure to cover them when they reloaded, using her newly acquired Torque Bow arrows. And just as Dom predicted, a turret began to fire, blocking them from going forward. Sapphire smiled at this from behind a crate, telling Marcus, “Hey! Remember what we did back in Ephyra?”

Marcus, hiding close to her, gave her a funny look before he rolled his eyes, “Which one?”

“With the turret then! Distract them!” Before Marcus could protest, Sapphire was already climbing to get into position. Dom, Cole, and Baird watched from the corner of their eyes as Marcus rose up from cover, firing towards the siege turret of Lancer fire. His success came in a hail of bullets, to which Marcus dropped back into cover. Sapphire grabbed Ghidorah as she climbed onto a solid rock wall covering the turret from flanking fire.

With the torque bow arrow notched, Sapphire whistled. Marcus responded by opening fire as soon as the turret turned towards Sapphire. With the turret distracted, Sapphire rose up, aiming and firing within a few seconds.

The arrow hit home, blowing up the Locust at the turret. And while two more came out to claim the turret again, Marcus stopped one while Sapphire shot another arrow into the second, both dropping into pieces. The fighting slowed after that, Delta mowing down the last of the Locust.

Sapphire joined them, a skip in her step as she patted Marcus on the back, “Thanks for the distraction!”

“Anytime,” Marcus replied, half sarcastic at seeing Baird smirk. “Though I think we should switch roles.”

“Marcus, you may be good with a Lancer, but a bow? Nah, I don’t see it,” Sapphire observed. Marcus stared at her for a long moment, and the three members of Delta saw Sapphire’s face heat up as if some silent exchange just happened. “Nevermind, I'll take that back. You are good with a bow, just a different kind.”

That burst a laugh from Cole and Dom as Sapphire slipped away from Marcus’s side, focused on what was ahead to avoid the catch. Baird rolled his eyes, “I don’t want that information broadcasted.”

And while there were enemy reinforcements, a turret that Marcus and Sapphire claimed made quick work of them. This allowed Delta access to a large gate. Which had to mean something considering this was the largest gate they’ve come across. Baird chuckled as he and Marcus used two levers to raise the gate, “Well…that was character-forming.”

“You gotta hand it to them grubs,” Cole commented, shrugging. “They build to last!”

“So, any idea where we are now,” Dom asked, looking around with wide eyes, alert and curious.

“Um…in the shit,” Baird replied, then gestured above his head. “Up to here.”

The tunnels didn’t have Locust, the enemy reinforcements having originated there. Sapphire could see the discomfort among the Gears, and she herself was included. It would be years before everyone got used to being underground. On the other side of the tunnels was another gate, which they opened with another two levers.

With the sun beginning to drift down, Baird scoffed, “Why did Hoffman have to move to the other end of the fricking world?”

“I just hope the old man’s still alive,” Dom pointed out, his voice dropping as he continued. “How long since we last had radio contact with Anvil Gate?”

“Just over a year,” Baird replied grimly.

“If he’s dead, Bernie would hang on to the disc,” Marcus pointed out, though his face did twist at the thought of the Colonel being dead. They did just reconcile, just before Operation Hollowstorm, back in Jacinto.

“He may be old, but if Anvil Gate is as fortified as I think it is, they’re fine,” Sapphire said sharply. All eyes turned to her as she continued ahead. Before anybody could question her, or she continued, a call of a barge brought everybody’s attention to the sky. A barge was flying ahead and past them, deeper into the stronghold. “Let’s see where it lands, Delta.”

They continued down the path, but as they did, Sapphire noticed that the barge was circling. And if it was circling… “Guys! TAKE COVER!”

They sprinted ahead just as the barge fired upon them, the force of the artillery sending them into the canopy of dug out soil and tunnel. They had to be careful if they wanted to get out of this, Sapphire ahead as Marcus told them, “Careful! Wait until they drop, then we run!”

It was tedious, but it was necessary. It no longer felt like they were fighting Locust. Sapphire could almost relate it to the bombings she had been through when she was still in her army days. One development before she left for the airforce. Her heart thudded in her chest as she sprinted with Delta, careful not to trip as the barge dropped a barrage of bombs in the open areas.

It felt like hours of constant sprinting and the barrages of bombs being dropped on them and where they needed to go. It was both patience and enduring to deal with. When they retreated into the tunnel on the other side of the bunkers, the barge stopped and they walked onto a balcony of sorts.

And ahead, their barge was seated on a tower.

“Looks like we need to scale that tower.” Dom’s words seemed to ease everyone as their ride became apparent.

Marcus looked over at Dom, nodding, “You read my mind.”

Turning to Baird, Marcus asked, “Baird, you sure you can control that overgrown bladder when we grab it?”

Cole nudged Baird at that, laughing, “Yeah, tinkle toes! Cause you know bladder control ain’t your strong suit.”

Baird’s face flushed, “Once! It happened once, okay?”

Cole smiled big as Baird sighed, turning to Marcus with his face still red from embarrassment, “Anyway, I grabbed the nav system from that wrecked barge. One direct course to Anvil Gate, programmed and ready!”

“Hmm,” Marcus hummed, nodding appreciatively. “Nice job.”

Sapphire looked over at Dom, giving him a smirk. Dom sighed, rolling his eyes at Sapphire’s obvious, playful, dig at him. Baird smiled at the praise, but it quickly grew serious as they began moving again. Strangely enough, however, the Locust seemed to have disappeared for the time being, with none blocking their path in their search to find a way to the tower.

Sapphire found it strange, rubbing the back of her neck where Skorge once dug his claws into her spine. She couldn’t help but wonder if the Locust were watching now, wondering Delta’s next move.

Or Queen Myrrah told them something.

Either way, they ended up going past another gate, another that had to be lifted by Marcus and Cole. When they entered, a horrid smell reached the whole group, Sapphire’s face scrunching up at the smell. Cole chuckled, looking around at the cages stacked, filled with Tickers. Some armed and some not.

“Hey, a pet shop! Hey, Baird, look, that one’s cute,” Cole joked, gesturing to a Ticker gnawing on the iron bars of its cage.

“Yeah, it can do tricks, too,” Baird played along, arms flying up into the air. “Like blowing up in your face.”

They continued, and again, no Locust came in their path. Sapphire perked up, saying out loud, “Anyone else wondering where the Locust went? I’m starting to feel like we’re being watched.”

“You know, I was beginning to wonder why we aren’t being fired upon at every corner,” Dom replied with a firm nod. “Considering we are in their stronghold.”

“Yeah, strange enough that I’m thinking we may have made them retreat,” Baird said sarcastically. “I mean, one group of Locust killed themselves because we fired at them! Now they’re disappearing…”

Baird stopped, looking around, “Wait, Sapphire’s right. How come we haven’t come across more Locust? In their stronghold?”

Marcus shrugged, “Keep alert and your guard up.”

Cole looked over at Sapphire, noting that she was increasingly becoming more uncomfortable as they followed the tunnels. Nobody else wanted to voice their concerns, and Cole already had his fair share of concerns with Sapphire today alone.

Then, without warning, Sapphire spoke, staring straight ahead near the front of the group, “I wonder if it's because of me…”

“What? The Locust being afraid of you,” Baird asked, raising an eyebrow. “I mean, I can see why. Probably scared the shit out of them earlier with how vengeful you are.”

“I don’t think that’s what she means, Baird,” Dom said. Not once did his eyes stray from Sapphire as she kept walking. “I think…she means the entity.”

“The entity?” Cole was confused for a moment before his face fell, realizing what Dom meant. “But we haven’t seen it since we got Sapphire out of the Nexus.”

“Quiet,” Marcus suddenly snapped, glaring at the trio as Sapphire continued on. “The entity is gone. Let’s just keep going and think the Locust have retreated for now.”

Sapphire stopped at hearing Marcus’s words. And for once, she felt numb. Like back in the Nexus when she led that rebellion of other prisoners against the Locust. She must have frozen because the next thing she felt was Marcus nudging her. She blinked rapidly, feeling herself tremble.

She took a deep breath before telling Marcus, “I’m fine.”

Marcus didn’t seem to believe her, but he dropped it for now. Turning to Baird, Sapphire smirked, pretending all was normal, “Think of me as a little deterrent, Baird. Let’s keep going, shall we? Take advantage of the temporary peace!”

Baird huffed, “Great! Lead the way, fiery Haze!”

That sent a chuckle through the group, except Marcus. He couldn’t help but grow more concerned as Sapphire kept a mask over the pain she was feeling. It was already hard enough coming into a Locust stronghold.

And even worse when that brought up the worst memories.

Chapter Text

While the Locust were almost nonexistent, the Tickers seemed to be scuttling around freely. As if released from their cages. Only a few had bombs, dispatched by Cole and Dom before the group continued on. Sapphire kept quiet, the mood soured as they kept their guard up in the Locust stronghold.

Soon, they came across a ladder. At this, Marcus stopped, looking back at the ground as he said slowly, “Let’s see where this takes us.”

Sapphire was first, wordlessly climbing up the ladder. She stopped at the top, looking around before looking back down to tell the group, “Careful. We might have stumbled upon some nest.”

She climbed into the cavern, the ceiling held up by naturally formed stone pillars. Dug by something that Sapphire didn’t really want to know. Looking around the area as Delta climbed up, Sapphire could see eggs all around, steam rising up from them. As soon as the whole group was up in the cavern, Baird turned to Dom, eyes scanning the area, “Hey, Dom. Do eggs…freak you out, too?”

One egg nearby suddenly cracked and soon burst open. And to their horror, a baby Corpser came scuttling out, eyes closed as its legs began to feel the ground. Unlike its small legs, its longer, bulkier legs were stumbling on the ground, blind to the danger it had emerged into.

Cole hummed, all five staring at the baby Corpser, “Ah, so that’s where Corpsers come from.”

There was a beat of silence. Only broken by Baird as he said, “When a mommy Corpser and a daddy Corpser love each other very much…”

The baby scuttled, letting out tiny chirps as it felt its way around. Soon, another egg burst near them, to which they saw Baird jump. Cole chuckled, “Whoa, stay back, Baird. It will think the first thing it sees is his mother.”

Sapphire stopped to let another, smaller, baby walk past, careful to keep still as to not attract its attention. Marcus growled lowly to the pair, “Why don’t you two guys shut the fuck up before we wake its mother?”

They continued on until they got to the other side. Sapphire watched as Delta searched for a way out, but the gate ahead had no lever and could not be lifted. Sapphire watched silently as Cole and Marcus attempted to lift the gate, but it wouldn’t budge, only making a slight metal clunking noise at being messed with.

Dom cursed, “Looks like we gotta find another way.”

“What other way,” Baird snapped quietly, gesturing around them. “We need to go this way!”

Sapphire crossed her arms, keeping quiet as she watched Delta brainstorm. She was more focused on staying calm. With so many memories coming up, Sapphire didn’t want to suddenly go into an episode. As she hummed quietly to herself, something touched her pant leg.

Looking down, Sapphire saw a baby Corpser had scuttled to her, its legs feeling on her pant leg. It was so gentle that Sapphire only felt it because one of the heavier front legs dug into her pant leg. Its claws were not sharp enough to pierce her pants, but its mouth was getting too close, opening just ever so slightly.

An idea hit her. One that was uncomfortable and dangerous. But she didn’t see any other way. And while she had a soft spot for young organisms, these Corpsers would grow up dangerous. Nature had to take its course sooner or later.

But what caught her eye that made up her mind was when it looked up at her. Something was wrong. And it was only confirmed when Sapphire felt a mixture of the dark lullaby and Locust song coming from the baby Corpser.

It was infected. Not Lambent but it would get there.

“I have an idea.”

Delta turned, seeing Sapphire unholstering Ghidorah as she looked at the group. Baird sighed, “Oh yeah? What plan would that be?”

Sapphire just shrugged, “You’re not going to like it.”

Marcus gave Sapphire a knowing look, seeing the baby Corpser at Sapphire’s side. “You really think it’ll work?”

“Maybe,” Sapphire replied quietly. “That gate is our way out and it's tough enough to keep us in. But big mama? Not so much.”

“Uh, Sapphire, you do realize that-” Before Dom could continue, Sapphire used one end of Ghidorah to crush the newborn Corsper’s skull. It was quick, but the dying shrill that the Corsper managed to let out was enough to cause the ground to rumble. As if something big was coming towards them.

Baird was in utter shock along with Dom and Cole, who stared at Sapphire. She nonchalantly kicked the Corpser away, pulling Ghidorah out as she shrugged, “You want to get out of here? Now is our ticket.”

A roar echoed in the cavern and Baird snapped loudly, “You just HAD to kill the baby AND piss off his mama?”

Again, Sapphire shrugged, waving Baird off, “I wasn’t hearing many ideas from you, so I thought of one and worked with it.”

“We could have just made a whole bunch of noise and drew her attention,” Baird pointed out.

Sapphire rolled her eyes, “Then we’d waste more ammo.”

Baird grimaced, just as eggs began to pop all around them as he grumbled, “Remind me to keep babies away from you.”

Sapphire rolled her eyes again before another roar cut through the air, Dom shouting, “Looks like she’s waking up the whole family! Those damn eggs are hatching!”

The group readied, the eggs bursting as Corpser Hatchlings began to skuttle around, some with blinded eyes while others simply raced towards them. Guns began to fire and Sapphire used Ghidorah to kill any hatchlings that got too close. Though Sapphire knew this would anger the mother, they needed that anger if they had any chance of getting out of here.

“Uh…isn’t it bad luck to kill spiders or something?” At Baird’s question, Cole called out somewhere.

“They ain’t spiders! It’s bad luck if we don’t kill them!”

“And have you never seen a Corpser before, Baird,” Dom asked sarcastically. Sapphire rolled her eyes at the bickering, hearing the rumble of the mother getting closer to save her hatchlings. She expected the rumble to come from any of the tunnels above the cavern, leading up to the surface.

But then she realized that it was coming from behind them. She looked up at the tunnel above the gate, seeing the massive legs that she recognized from long ago. Back when she was in the mines when Marcus and Dom drove that one Corpser into the Imulsion.

To think that would come back to haunt them was something Sapphire found herself sighing at. The signs were there, but she never could have expected this.

“Must be feeding time! Here’s mom,” Marcus called out from ahead. Sapphire was quick to sprint, only turning around when she got close to Marcus. She thought the Corpsers with their armor was scary enough. And oh how wrong she was.

It was like the Nun seeing the Corpser lift its massive legs to show her face. Large, glowing eyes, unblinking, stared at the five as they readied themselves. As soon as it shielded itself and it's body began to lift, Sapphire shouted, “Go for the eyes!”

“You are one ugly mother,” Cole shouted at the Corpser, beginning to fire as the Corpser charged, using it's large, bulky legs to push forward before striking out upwards. The five scattered and Sapphire was left gritting her teeth as she ran to a pillar.

The dark lullaby seemed to only come from the hatchlings as they walked blindly all around. And if they were infected enough…

Sapphire took Ghidorah and swung, like she was golfing in a grassy field. Except her ball was a hatchling and the grass was stone and dirt. The hatchlings sailed, striking the mother Corpser on one leg. The Corpser let out a roar, the hatchlings blasting apart as soon as it reached its mother's leg. The blast caused the female Corpser to lift her legs, allowing a clear shot of her eyes.

Before her legs fell down, Dom and Baird managed to strike out two of the four eyes. The Corpser charged at Baird and he barely dodged as Sapphire hit another hatchling at the Corpser. It didn't explode like that last one and it only seemed to piss off the giant mother as it turned to Sapphire.

Sapphire gritted her teeth, beginning to sprint as it chased her. It charged right into a stone pillar. It only stumbled, but the ceiling above groaned as the ground shook, sending rock and dirt falling from the ceiling. Sapphire could hear the song of the Locust echoing in her head as a leg stabbed the ground just inches from her as the Corpser stumbled.

As she fell forward, rolling into the dirt, the Corpser stabilized, raising all its legs to drive down at Sapphire.

“Sapphire!” Sapphire felt a hand grab the back of her shirt, just as she heard a frag be thrown into the air. An explosion echoed and the Corpser let out a terrifying bellow, stumbling back as Sapphire was hoisted to her feet by Dom.

More hatchlings rose up, but it wasn’t just hatchlings. Young Corpsers began to erupt from the ground and began to attack the five. Sapphire ran with Dom, the mother stumbling as it let out a bellow to its brood. An idea occurred and Sapphire looked at the mother, seeing it huddled there. Waiting for the brood to weaken Delta.

But with her blind, Sapphire had a chance.

In a brief pause behind a stone pillar, Sapphire closed her eyes, grabbing for a strand that led to the Corpser. With the large brood that began to emerge and fester, it was difficult. Sapphire felt blood begin to run out her nose as she finally grabbed a thicker strand.

As soon as she did, the Corpser mother shrieked, its legs raising from the ground as it roared out in pain. Sapphire pulled the strand, knowing by pulling, it would defeat the Corpser one way or another.

Delta was too busy fighting the brood to notice the mother going limp.

Then, it rose up and charged.

Sapphire could see the Corpser’s movements. Feel the pain and rage. The mother knew its babies were infected. Sapphire grabbed that thought, knowing that the babies would only die sooner rather than later. The hatchlings had no chance in this world, not with the Lambent. And despite the strong maternal instinct, the female Corpser knew that it was better to let her children be free. To not live under the Locust anymore, trapped until they could be used.

Marcus took up just as one of the young Corpsers fell, leaving two more to face him while three others kept Dom and Cole back. Baird was busy getting rid of hatchlings to notice the Corpser mother striking the ground.

But not at Marcus.

When the mother raised its leg, both youngsters were dead, their dark blood glistening with yellow Imulsion. And from there, the mother went berserk.

Dom shouted, “Oh, shit! Now she’s pissed!”

Sapphire opened her eyes, quickly wiping the blood from her face before sprinting away from the stone pillar. And with her guidance gone, the mother was raging. Both at the Lambent for poisoning their children and them for invading her nest. Marcus shouted, “She’s tearing the place apart!”

A rock dropped from the ceiling, striking the lever on the other side of the door as Sapphire ran towards the gate. She didn’t even question how it opened, only chalking it up to luck as she shouted to Delta, “RUN! ALL OF YOU! THIS WAY!”

“LOOK OUT!” Dom jumped, nearly tripping as a rock slab fell near his feet. The roar of the Corpser mother was the last thing Delta heard before the ceiling began to collapse. “The ceiling is collapsing!”

Sapphire waited, Ghidorah holstered as she gestured to them to the exit hastily. Fear began to set in as the Corpser mother charged directly behind them, gaining on them fast. She couldn’t control it now, and hoped all of Delta was fast enough.

Just as the ceiling of the cavern fully collapsed, all four jumped, Sapphire pulling the lever down from two of the legs of the Corpser could get them. The gate only partially shut, stopped by the bulky legs, but the Corpser couldn’t escape the cavern. In a shower of blood, the Corpser died, crushed by the very ceiling it had carved its nest in.

Without another word, the five got up and ran to an elevator shaft, Dom pulling on the lever with a remark, “Let’s hope that barge is still around!”

Sapphire sighed heavily, trying her best to stand up straight. While she was physically okay, mentally she felt more torn apart then back in Ephyra. Without a word, she felt Marcus step closer to her, letting her lean on him if need be as the elevator took them up. She silently thanked him, though she knew that he was beginning to worry about her more and more.

Just because they were together didn’t mean he would baby her, though. He wouldn’t subject her to that now. Cole and Baird did a good job today not to bombard her.

She barely registered Cole’s excited voice as they got back on the surface, the bellows of multiple barges above them, “Whoa, yeah! We got plenty of gasbags now! Choose any model you like!”

Something pricked at Sapphire’s mind, something she hadn’t felt since Hanover. The Queen’s voice whispered in her mind, “There you are.”

She didn’t have time to warn Delta as ahead, in front of the barges flying around, a massive bug appeared, as ugly as a Brumak. And on top of it…was Queen Myrrah herself.

Sapphire grabbed Marcus’s forearm, the steadily growing fear overtaking her as she began to shake. And not just her body, but her arm was shaking furiously at the memory of the pain, her back burning. Marcus stood straighter, and though it wouldn’t hide Sapphire from the queen, he still put himself between Sapphire and the massive bug observing them as it carried its queen.

Queen Myrrah stared at them, as if in disbelief. Then, she announced, “It’s him and the Blood of Another!”

The queen turned to a Locust on a floating Reaver, “Alert the fleet. I want every outpost between here and Azura at full readiness. And make sure we don’t lose either of them again.”

When she looked back at them, her eyes met Sapphire’s. And her voice whispered in Sapphire’s mind again, “Good that you live, Blood of Another. We shall meet more personally again before the day is over.”

Dom cursed, “Goddamn it, she’s still alive! How the hell did she survive the flood?”

Marcus looked back at Sapphire before growling towards the large bug, “So…she’s still running the show…”

“Holy shit,” Baird whispered before looking over at Sapphire. “What kind of bug-”

He realized Sapphire wasn’t all there, her eyes wide with fear. Memory of her bleeding out on that table flashed before Baird’s eyes and he quickly looked away and back at the queen. For now, he would keep his mouth shut.

“Look at the size of that bug,” Cole observed with an awed look. It was a mixture of reactions, but one seemed to be felt through the group.

Marcus’s glare hardened, “I got your number, bitch.”

The bug slowly went away, carrying the queen with it. Sapphire could feel her knees begin to shake, threatening to buckle if she didn’t start walking forward. Delta watched as Sapphire walked forward, almost silent if her breathing was steady. Before anybody could stop her, she bolted.

Marcus cursed, “Sapphire! Stop!”

“Let’s just get to those damn barges before more of those fuckers show up,” Sapphire shouted back, as ahead, barges were coming straight for them. Probably filled with Locust ready to shoot them on sight. And while some might take her statement as a clear objective, Delta could hear the shake in Sapphire’s voice.

Clearly, the visible proof of the Queen being alive shook Sapphire to the core.

Sapphire didn’t stop, bolting up the path as the barges got closer. Delta did their best to keep up, and they only caught up because Sapphire had stopped at a heavy gate, tapping her foot insistently. When she spotted them, she snapped with a serious expression, “Come on! Quickly before more show up!”

Three barges began to slow, lowering further down the path where they just came from. It was clear that they were going to get flanked if they didn’t get through. Marcus and Cole lifted the gate, allowing three of their group to slip through. As soon as they got in, the heavy gate shut with a loud banging, gunshots hitting the wood but not once getting past the thick iron.

Sapphire was quiet as she walked forward ahead of Delta. Dom took the opportunity to whisper to Marcus, “She’s being reckless again.”

“I know.” Dom stared at his best friend, seeing Marcus keeping his eyes on Sapphire as she looked around the tunnels.

“It figures the queen would be behind all of this,” Dom spoke up. “Maybe not as powerful as before, considering how disorganized the Locust have become. But she’s still running the show.”

“Yeah, it’s her we’re gonna have to deal with. One way or another,” Marcus pointed out. Then, more towards Sapphire, Marcus added. “And we’ll fight her together.”

Sapphire didn’t stop, looking around with Ghidorah unholstered. It was either she was ignoring Marcus or too focused on the task at hand to avoid the truth. Sapphire could handle the visions, the voices. But seeing the Queen, knowing that the Queen knew where Sapphire was, it physically hurt Sapphire.

Her chest tightened as she tried to keep herself calm. She needed to keep calm. She needed to be vigilant from now on. Alert for what came next.

On the other side of the gate, the stone turned to wood as it led to an elevator. Above, a barge called out above them, one darting past the window on the right. Delta gathered on the elevator before Marcus pulled the lever, another barge calling as one came flying towards the tower. Seeing this, Marcus turned to the others, his sergeant voice commanding, “Last chance to grab that thing and get the fuck outta here.”

The barge that was heading for the tower began to circle and Dom commented, “It’s gotta come in close. Everyone up for boarding it?”

Cole cheered at this, the mood lightening up just a bit, “Oh, yeah, it’s pirate time, baby!”

Marcus looked over at Sapphire, who was following the barge like a predator. Sapphire wondered if she could control the barge, but when she closed her eyes for that strand, she didn’t find one that she could identify. Not when the Queen’s voice echoed in her head painfully, “You won’t use your little tricks on my people any longer, Blood of Another.”

Sapphire winced, grabbing her head as Dom, Baird, and Cole looked over. Marcus went to put a hand on Sapphire’s shoulder, but she waved him off, shaking her head, “I’m fine, Marcus. Let’s just get that damn barge.”

As soon as the elevator stopped at the top, bullets flew and the group separated. As they moved, Sapphire was quick to duck behind a crate, hearing the barge make a temporary stop. Dom appeared next to her, lifting out of cover to fire.

Just as he did, Cole shouted, “Queen’s guards coming!”

Sapphire grimaced, but focused more on Dom as he dropped back down, looking over at her. He quickly asked, “Want me to distract them?”

“Just focus on shooting. Don’t worry-” Sapphire stopped as she saw a Locust, one with thick armor, come up behind Dom. “DOM!”

Dom turned, the Locust raising his weapon. Sapphire didn’t see what happened next as she was grabbed and yanked up hard. She yelped, feeling herself be thrown out from the safety of the crate. She heard gunfire from where she once was and the fear from earlier turned to rage. She rolled back to her feet, getting up as soon as the Queen’s guard turned his gun towards her. Ghidorah lit up just as Sapphire dodged the gunfire, feeling a graze as she swung wide. The guard let out a shrill as Ghidorah struck its helmet, making it fly off.

And with this exposure, Sapphire stabbed Ghidorah down. Blood splattered as Ghidorah’s strike and energy killed the Locust guard. As soon as it died, Sapphire’s head snapped to Dom’s direction, seeing him standing with a dead guard at his feet. Relief flooded through her as Marcus shouted towards them, “You guys all right?!”

“We’re fine,” Dom replied with a shout before his eyes turned to her. His eyes widened at the blood welling up on Sapphire’s arm. “You good?”

“Yeah, I’m fine,” Sapphire replied, waving him off just as she did with Marcus earlier. “Don’t worry. It’s just a graze. Are you okay?”

“Good as I can be,” Dom replied before he looked passed her. “Look! Marcus, Baird, and Cole seemed to have gotten the barge!”

That quickly?

Sapphire turned, seeing that Dom was right. Baird was heaving a Locust guard over the edge of a settled barge. Maybe the Queen didn’t have many guards right now. Or at least available at this outpost. Either way, Sapphire wasn’t going to question it just yet.

For now, she would take what they could get.

By the time Dom and Sapphire got back with the group, Baird was already looking at the console. He was tapping away, the component that Sapphire had seen him take from the wrecked barge installed and blinking. In a somewhat humorous gesture, Baird greeted the pair with a customer service smile, “Okay, ladies and gentlemen, if you look over the side, you might see Anvil Gate, the lovely historic city of Anvegad…”

The barge began to move, slowly pulling away from the loading tower and away from the other gas barges. Baird then dropped the facade, looking over at Dom, “It is lovely, isn’t it?”

Dom shrugged, “Huh. Even Sam says it’s the ass-end of the world…and it’s her hometown.”

Baird rolled his eyes as Sapphire holstered Ghidorah, moving to take a seat against a railing. While she liked being in the air, she wanted to be in the Eagle. Not in this…thing. As soon as she sat down, she curled up, closing her eyes as the dark lullaby thrummed, but faded from the chaos of the Locust song. The barge was sort of helping, but not really helpful in keeping the lullaby at bay.

Dom and Marcus moved towards the front of the ship, Baird controlling the console. This left Cole to look around, bored. When he saw Sapphire sitting alone, Cole wondered if it would be too much for him to simply sit next to her. Sapphire was somewhat unpredictable, and he didn’t really get to know her as well as Marcus and Dom did.

But still, they were friends. And she was a much stronger person than two years ago.

However, when he sat down next to her to take a break from standing, he found that Sapphire was dead asleep, snoring softly as her head was cradled by her folded arms. Baird looked over, seeing Cole simply sitting next to Sapphire and he asked sarcastically, “She ain’t dead, is she?”

“Nope, just sleeping,” Cole replied quietly before scolding Baird. “Let the poor lady sleep.”

“Yeah, let the lady sleep while all the men do all the work,” Baird grumbled. But he quickly recoiled as Marcus looked back at him at those words. Baird straightened, knowing he was stepping on thin ice.

Dom looked over at Marcus, seeing the man stare at Sapphire for a longer moment than his glare at Baird to shut up. Seeing this, Dom smiled, knowing the feeling. He felt it once upon a time. With Maria before she got pregnant. Teasingly, Dom asked, “If you keep staring at her, some people might see that as creepy.”

Marcus gave him a warning look, but it didn’t phase Dom as he shrugged, “I’m happy for you, man. And she’s lucky to have you. You two were pretty quiet earlier, when talking about the future. You two are thinking of what to do when all this is over?”

Silence was all Dom got. At least for a brief moment. Then, Marcus nodded slowly, “We’ve been talking.”

“Really?” Now Dom was interested. They had a long journey to Anvil Gate anyway. “Now you got me curious.”

“It’s not important right now,” Marcus insisted, but Dom stared at him. Rarely did Marcus shift his weight in discomfort, unless it was with Sapphire. “But if you’re that fucking curious, we thought that we’ll want to retire. Maybe build a cabin in the woods.”

“Wow, sounds like a good plan to me,” Dom smiled. Then, he asked his biggest question. “Not to be…you know…too much. But I was wondering if you guys thought about beyond just knowing where to live. You guys going to take up gardening with all the work you both put on the ship? You’d like it, Marcus.”

“Is this about your damn tomatoes?”

Dom chuckled, “I heard from a little lady that she keeps the seeds in a special place.”

Marcus rolled his eyes, “Of course Sapphire would tell you.”

“You like gardening, admit it.”

“I don’t,” Marcus growled half-heartedly. “I’d rather spend my days relaxing, catching up on sleep.”

“I don’t think you’ll have much sleep with that woman once she’s had her rest,” Dom jokes, looking over to see Sapphire still asleep, but leaning more on Cole. “I feel like she’s going to sleep for days after all this is over.”

Oh, Marcus wouldn’t doubt that. He had grown used to the grit that comes with a Gear, but Sapphire didn’t. She was more quick, less endured than other Gears. It wasn’t an attack on her character. But she couldn’t push herself too hard like Operation Lightmass bomb.

“I think you and Sapphire will build a good life, Marcus,” Dom commented, Marcus turning back to see his friend smiling. “It’s nice to see you happy. And I think Carlos would be elated to know you finally found someone special.”

Marcus didn’t reply, looking back at Sapphire with another glance before turning to the front of the gas barge. His first friend, Carlos Santiago, would always be considered a brother. Marcus could already imagine Carlos giving him shit for not taking things further with Sapphire, or give him advice on how to impress the woman. It wouldn’t have been good advice, but advice nonetheless.

For a moment, Marcus had to close his eyes for a moment as Dom pulled away from his side to look out the side of the barge. Sapphire’s words still ring in his head. That out of everyone, Dom would not make it. And that she would prevent it somehow.

And that worried Marcus.

Both his best friend and beloved girlfriend have had tough times. Dom with the loss of Maria and Sapphire with the torture of the Locust and the heavy burden of her secret. Both have had mental degradation, sick of the guilt that followed them, sick of the whole weight of the world on their shoulders, and both desired some sort of end at some point in his time knowing them. Marcus didn’t want to choose between them. He didn’t want either of them to die.

The painful truth was that no matter what he did, it would be Dom and Sapphire to decide who gets to stick by his side.

He shook his head. He did not need that thought in his head. He needed to focus on the final length in this war. Because the war was going to end, just as Sapphire said it would. He would make sure of it.

He turned away, keeping a watchful eye out for any enemies that may come greeting them.

Besides, it was better to think about the present than think about the possibility of losing one or both of his closest relationships.

Chapter Text

Sapphire’s peaceful nap was interrupted when she felt a spike in the Locust lullaby.

“Baird, are you sure this thing’s still on course?” At Dom’s question, Sapphire could hear Baird scuff as she got to her feet quickly, startling Cole.

“Look, I programmed the course Sam gave us,” Baird told Dom as Sapphire made her way to the back, Ghidorah vertical to her side. “You want a coloring book or something? Pencils? Look, something shiny!”

Cole was quick to interject before Dom and Baird could go after each other, “You kids better behave. Don’t make me turn this thing around.”

Sapphire stared into the fog they were crawling out of, the gas barge letting out a call above them. Her eyes scanned every shadow and corner of the disappearing fog, giving way to mountainous terrain and dark sands. Sapphire began to feel uneasy, eyes continuing to scan for any movement as Marcus asked, “Baird, how long before we’re in radio range of Anvil Gate?”

“We’re past the halfway mark. Ooh, maybe Hoffamn will have the coffee ready,” Baird nearly squealed in excitement. Cole chuckled while Dom sighed, as if the thought was good enough to taste at this moment. Funny how you could taste anything but ash and dry paste in the air.

“Oh, yeah, and some cookies, too,” Cole added dreamily. Marcus seemed to notice Sapphire’s sudden alertness, looking this way and that. He approached slowly, seeing Sapphire’s grip nearly white on Ghidorah. The sleep didn’t seem to have helped ease any nervousness from the earlier encounter.

When he got to her side, he asked sincerely, “Hanging in there okay?”

At his question, Sapphire slowly shook her head, her voice low enough for only him to hear, “I should have known that she was here. I thought it was just her voice, or that we didn’t have to face her until we got to Prescott’s secret island. But knowing she’s so close…every shift of the wind makes me uneasy.”

“Did you at least sleep okay?” At Marcus’s question, Sapphire shrugged just slightly.

“Somewhat. Was too tired to dream, but I’m still bone tired,” Sapphire replied stiffly. A gleam caught her eye as the gas barge flew out of the mountain canyon. In the distance, she could see some gas barges, getting blasted from below while they returned fire. Sapphire’s confused face already told Marcus that it couldn’t be Lambent as she tried to take a look at the ground.

“Someone’s taking a pounding out there,” Marcus observed and Sapphire nodded in agreement. She tried to strain a sight on the ground, not knowing that the comms were coming to life as a familiar voice radioed in to Delta.

“-I’m holding them off as best I can. Anyone picking this up? Hey, this is Truck 54. I need some help fast, or else I’m gonna be kissing my ass goodbye!”

Marcus perked up, his face brightening in relief and disbelief, “I don’t believe it…that you, Dizzy?”

Sapphire’s head snapped to him with wide eyes, a mixture of panic and urgency in her face. Much different to the calm and relief the Gears felt. Dizzy sounded delighted as he replied, “Marcus Fenix! Well, I’ll be damned! Where are you, son?”

The gas barge the Delta were on was already turning towards Dizzy’s location when Marcus replied to Dizzy, “We’re on our way, Dizzy. See the extra barge coming in? That’s us.”

“You jacked a grub barge,” Dizzy asked in mild surprise. “Damn, Marcus, you got some hangers on ya!”

“Hangers. Son of a bitch,” Marcus cursed in his most joking manner. “We’ll get those grubs off your back. Hang on.”

Sapphire extended Ghidorah, readying herself for their offense on the group of barges ahead. Marcus called out an order, “Fire at those barges! Take them out!”

Dom and Cole were immediately at the side of the barge, Lancers ready. Ahead, the gas barges called out, seeing their impending enemy approaching. Sapphire grabbed an arrow from her belt, raising it to aim, ready for when they were close enough. The barges closed in on each other and the firefight turned from the ground back into the air. Dom and Cole fired their Lancers with Marcus, aiming for both barges.

Sapphire pulled back, walking as she took aim and fired herself. Her arrow flew to its target: the console on one barge. There was an explosion and suddenly, both the rider of the barge and the console were destroyed. The barge, with no control, veered into the other, both platforms slamming into each other, sending some Locust down to the ground.

“Nice job!” Sapphire smiled at Dom’s praise, the three Gears dispatching the barges’ inhabitants and leaving them without Locust to steer them. With them now completely harmless, the fight should have stopped there.

But gunfire could still be heard.

Sapphire looked down with Marcus, seeing Dizzy firing at Locust that were on the ground, surrounded by a compound as old and worn as Hanover was. It wasn’t heavily fortified as expected, but if Dizzy was there, something was there that was useful. Turning back to Baird, Marcus told him, “Baird, get this thing as close to the ground as you can. We’re going in.”

Baird steered the barge lower, low enough that they all could drop down. Baird grabbed the drive and took it out, smirking at the others, “Just in case it decides to go exploring without us.”

None of them argued with that, all five using the ropes to rappel down. As soon as they touched down, Sapphire was the first to charge forward, Ghidorah extended in her hand. Marcus was just behind her, shouting to Dizzy, “You taking on the grub army single-handed again, Dizzy?”

“I guess I shoulda learned my lesson against Skorge,” Dizzy jokes, and while Dom sucked in a breath, Sapphire rolled her eyes before firing an arrow into a rising Locust sniper.

“Fuck you, Dizzy! I faced the bastard! You were busy taking care of good ol’ Betty!”

Ahead, Dizzy barely ducked when he looked over at them, eyes wide for a moment before a smirk overtook his face, “Hell yeah! I should have known that where Marcus goes, you follow!”

“Not always,” Sapphire shouted back, firing another arrow into a charging Locust drone. “Sometimes, I have to put him in the doghouse!”

That got a laugh from Cole, “Oh boy! I remember that one time!”

With five trained Gears and Sapphire, the Locust were quickly dispatched, considering they were once half of the squads up in the abandoned barges. Sapphire sighed, Ghidorah going back to a simple staff that she could twist into its holster. She didn’t feel the Lambent here, but no doubt that she will soon if they continued traveling. It was a relief to be rid of the worst of the lullaby, even if for a short time.

“I wasn’t expecting to run into you boys again,” Dizzy greeted before adding comically to Sapphire with a gentlemen’s gesture. “And lady!”

Sapphire smiled, finding herself glad to see Dizzy again. Since Vectes, they had been separated, Dizzy taking his girls elsewhere. And she was glad he did, or else there was a chance they would have been casualties on the ship. He quickly pulled her into a hug, much to Marcus’s barely hidden annoyance, laughing in his cowboy redneck self, “Glad to see you still standing, girly! The girls would love to see you again! Where’s the dog though?”

“Don’t know at the moment,” Sapphire replied, pulling away from his crushing hug. “But let’s focus on what you are doing out here all by yourself.”

“Ah! Yes! Gotta pick that up before the grubs come back! I found a stash back here before the grubs jumped me. Fort needs every round we can get,” Dizzy explained, pulling away from Sapphire to gesture around the compound, specifically to a large building that looked to be a warehouse.

Marcus was quick to stop the man before he opened his mouth to go on some long explanation with no clear direct question aside from explanation. He was patient as he said, “Dizzy, we’ve come to find Hoffman. Last time we saw you, you were both heading for Anvil Gate.”

At this, Dizzy put one hand on his hip proudly, the Lancer lifted to lay on his shoulder, “Yeah, he’s got the fort fitted out real nice! I drive this route trading supplies with other camps. When I can slip past the goddamn grubs, that is.”

“But has he still got Prescott’s data disc,” Baird asked. “You know, the one I could never crack? Because we really need it.”

“Sure he has,” Dizzy nearly cheered. “He’s still cussing about it! Hey, you found the magic word to open it?”

“Long story,” Marcus interrupted. “Let’s grab the supplies and go.”

“You know what? I agree,” Dom replied, griping on his Lancer tight as he looked around. “Reinforcements are bound to come knocking once they find out their first barges didn’t work as planned.”

Dizzy grinned, gesturing to them to follow him towards the warehouse. They did so, Sapphire keeping an eye and mind out for any approaching Locust. While the others didn’t need to be convinced if she said they were coming, it was different in a more confined, isolated place to seem like she didn’t just know from the top of her head. And she sure as hell can’t blame it on some spidey sense.

They got to the warehouse, where Dizzy opened the warehouse and revealed the items within. And Sapphire could hear the Gears suck in a breath in surprise and glee. Cole chuckled as they walked in, surrounded by crates upon crates of ammo symbols each contained, “Now, this is more like it! Some serious stopping power!”

Piled against those crates were more ammo. While Sapphire was glad to see the amount of ammo they had, they couldn’t carry it all themselves. And if there were Locust reinforcements inbound, they would need to be quick before the Locust were organized and smart enough to blow the warehouse with them inside.

“Grab whatever you can carry,” Marcus said, the Gears already grabbing ammo as he spoke. “And let’s get back to the barge.”

While Sapphire didn’t need the ammo, she grabbed them anyway for the Gears. She grabbed as much of the Lancer ammo as she could, seeing Dizzy give Marcus a look that clearly asked if things were all right. Sapphire wondered if it was because she was still the same, if not smaller, size when they departed from Vectes. And he would have noted her sunken eyes too, caused by lack of sleep.

Speaking of sleep, the nap didn’t do any good for her.

Something tugged at Sapphire’s memory then. Reinforcements would be on their way, but they didn’t take down all the barges, just unLocust them. Meaning that if she guessed right, she had a plan forming to make their journey faster. Turning to Marcus, Sapphire asked, “Hey, how low is one of those barges?”

Marus gave her a raised eyebrow before replying, “Don’t know. We got to take a look outside. What plan do you have now?”

Sapphire smirked, knowing she might be crazy to think the way she does. But she has always had crazy ideas. “Reinforcements will be looking for a barge that we hijacked, right? Why don’t we give them one to chase?”

“How are you going to get on one of those barges,” Cole asked.

“I’m light and I have good aim. If I can get one to lower, preferably one with a console, we can armor it up and Baird can set it up with a bomb of some sort.”

Baird looked over at Sapphire with a disbelieving look, “Deceiving the Locust?”

“Might as well,” Sapphire huffed before giving Marcus her bag. “I need to be as light as possible, so take this while I set up a little surprise for the reinforcements.”

Marcus didn’t question her, only taking her bag and nodding, “Do it quickly. We probably don’t have long. Use one of those rappels on our barge.”

“Copy that,” Sapphire replied, and she saw a tiny smile brighten on Marcus’s face. She was confused at the response to her own. But as she ran out of the warehouse towards their barge, she realized that she said that a lot back when they were in Ethyra. It seemed so long ago that she had forgotten that it was basically her saying when she first met Marcus.

Maybe he was thinking about when he first met her.

While that should have made Sapphire happy, it also made her worried. There was still Dom’s impending doom and she was going to do her best to prevent it. And it would be difficult to do so if she made him reminisce. With a shake of her head, she climbed up the rappel from their barge and unhooked it from the side.

The blind barge had fallen to the ground, burning away on the dark soil near the compound. But the other barge was still circling the air, clearly confused on where to go. And to Sapphire’s luck, the barge was low enough that she could throw a rappel onto the platform if she threw hard enough.

With determination, Sapphire used the other rappel to drop down before climbing onto the rooftop of one small building. If she timed this right, as she ran across the rooftops, that barge should be rappeled quickly. From the corner of her eye, she could see Delta bring out ammo and go towards their barge, Baird hanging back with Marcus to watch as Sapphire lined up to the circling barge. It let out a cry as it made a pass near the compound, close enough that Sapphire was ready with her rappel. With a strong throw, the hook sailed, hitting the side of the platform as the rogue barge cried out.

Sapphire pulled, making sure the hook wouldn’t unlatch when she finally swung off the wall of the compound to climb up the rope. She was glad that the days on the ship didn’t cease her arm strength. It was nice to know that, especially if she needs to do so more often.

Once she was on, she cheered at seeing the unharmed console, walking to it quickly. A small pull alerted her to Locust coming, but they were far enough away that she had time to steer the barge on the opposite side of the compound. She left the rope hanging down so that Baird could climb up, shaking his head as he told her, “You are insane, you know that?”

“Stop griping and hook it up with a bomb. Those reinforcements will come any moment,” Sapphire replied sharply, watching as Baird climbed the rope. She looked out into the sandy dunes around the compound, seeing black dots appear from the clouds. “Shit! Baird, you better hurry! They’re coming!”

“Got it! Got it!” Baird was quick to get on the ship then, on his way to the console as Sapphire kept a look out.

From afar, Marcus shouted over at them, “You two better hurry up! We've got some company!”

“Give us a moment,” Sapphire shouted back, turning to Baird. “Almost done over there?”

“Yeah, already got a bomb hooked up. Just need to get coordinates in here.”

“Don't go the exact opposite direction, go thirty degrees off our course,” Sapphire told Baird, her eyes now on the dots. After what seemed like minutes, Sapphire asked, “Almost done?”

“Yeah! Got it,” Baird replied before gesturing to the barge’s edge. “Let's get off this ticking time bomb.”

“How long?”

“Five minutes.” Baird dropped another rappel so that he and Sapphire could go down at the same time. Sapphire nodded, keeping an eye on the dots as the Locust reinforcements got closer.

“Should be enough time. We'll leave once they notice the other barge long enough.” Both descended back to the ground, before sprinting towards their captured barge. The barge behind them called out, leaving the compound with a load of explosive artillery.

“You sure this is going to work?”

“We managed to trick them last time, didn't we?”

Baird huffed, the pair getting back to their barge and climbing up to join the others. By the time Marcus and Cole helped Baird and Sapphire onto the barge, the decoy barge was already a few miles away. A fast barge that had Sapphire looking over at Baird, “What speed did you set it to?”

Baird shrugged, patting himself down as he replied, “Just got it out of here, didn’t I?”

“Look! They’re taking the decoy!” At Dom’s exclamation, everyone turned to see the Locust reinforcements were heading after the decoy, too far away from the compound to see their barge. Baird raised his arm to pretend he was watching a clock, his smirk rising.

“Give them about two minutes and the whole thing goes boom!” Turning to Sapphire, Baird asked. “When should we leave?”

“Give them a minute before we set off,” Sapphire replied. She gestured to the others. “Let’s get everything ready before we go. Now.”

The gears set off to prepare the barge for take off before Baird got to the console and started the barge up. The barge let out a call, but just as everyone turned to check if the reinforcements were on their way, an explosion could be heard and seen from where the decoy barge went. Sapphire turned to Baird, telling him, “Let’s go. Time’s up.”

Baird nodded and their barge was back in the air, taking them towards Anvil Gate. Sapphire walked over to the edge, looking back at where the decoy barge was. No reinforcements seemed to be on their way to them. Meaning they were either all dead or were now on the hunt. Sapphire didn’t feel any connection that posed a threat, breathing a sigh of relief. Dizzy caught up with most of Delta, especially Marcus in a quiet tone.

Just as she settled at the railing and closed her eyes, she heard Dizzy come up, patting her on the shoulder in greeting, “Hey, girly! Still struggling with sleep?”

“Are my eye bags showing a lot,” Sapphire grumbled, straightening up but still leaning on the railing. Dizzy laughed out loud at that, leaning on the railing next to her.

“You said it, not me!” Sapphire couldn’t help but smile at his cheery mood. Once Dizzy calmed down, he took a moment of silence before he softly prodded. “You doing okay, girly?”

Sapphire shrugged at that, knowing that no amount of lying would get past the old redneck. She sighed, “I’m trying, Dizzy. It’s just a lot.”

“I know you’re doing your best. Especially around these boys!”

Sapphire chuckled, “Yeah, they can be a handful when they want to be.”

Dizzy huffed a laugh before he patted her shoulder, “Well, I think you need to hear it. But you are doing well for someone who is in a fucked up situation.”

“Thanks, Dizzy,” Sapphire replied, giving the old man a smile. Just as she was about to look away, Sapphire’s head suddenly rang, like a tsunami had slammed into her. Her hands gripped the railing hard, knuckle-white, and it took all her strength not to sway or fall on her ass right then and there.

Her first instinct once the nausea went away was to look down.

Suddenly, she shot up, seeing what was down below. Dizzy looked down to see what Sapphire saw before he too shot up, Sapphire calling to the others, “Guys! Are we in radio range for Anvil Gate?!”

Dom and Marcus gave Sapphire confused looks before Dom went over to the side of the gas barge. He exclaimed to the rest of the group, “Damn, that’s a hell of a lot of firepower down there!”

“Better warn Hoffman the grubs are coming if we are in radio range,” Cole said.

Marcus put two fingers up to his ear, his radio turning on at the action. He urgently requested, “This is Marcus Fenix to Anvil Gate, over…”

There was a pause. Then, Marcus cursed, “Ah, damn, I’m just getting static!”

Everyone looked down at the horde of Locust heading for Anvil Gate, only hoping they got to Anvil Gate in time. Sapphire suddenly felt a tug, violent enough that she bit her tongue not to cry out. A dark, familiar voice felt whispered in her ear from within her head, “Fools.”

Sapphire’s head shot up, seeing through the maze of clouds the giant bug they had seen at the fortress earlier, coming down to meet them. Sapphire shouted in warning to the group, “She’s back!”

The giant bug wasn’t alone, surrounded by flying Reavers that began to circle around the captured barge. Dizzy grabbed his Lancer from next to the railing, beginning to fire with the Gears at the Reavers and the giant bug. The Reavers weren’t hard to target, since they moved sluggishly compared to the bug, but the bug was fast, zipping side to side.

Sapphire grabbed Ghidorah firmly, pressing the button to extend it to a bow. While she didn’t have her own arrows, she did have the arrows from the fortress. She could hear the bug mount ready an attack, its jaws opening before spewing out a hot, white light into the barge.

She could feel the light burn her arm as it narrowly missed her. But when she went to fire a readied arrow, she found the bug already flying off somewhere. Nearby, Dom cursed, “That beetle of hers must be turbo-charged, she’s too fast to target!”

Indeed, Sapphire could see the Lancers fire but not one bullet hit the bug as it began to circle at a much faster speed than the Reavers. And it didn’t help that it was getting dark, the last rays of sunlight falling away to darkness that the moon barely gave any light for them to actually see. And with no torches on, it was even harder to see the remaining Reavers and bug.

“Ahh! I can’t get a fix on her, either,” Marcus exclaimed, ceasing his firing to turn his attention to the Reavers.

Sapphire fired her readied arrow into a passing Reaver, her arrow hitting the side of its head seconds before it exploded. This sent the Reaver’s body careening down into the dark abyss, into the Horde below. Sapphire readied another arrow towards another Reaver that was getting close to the barge, but before that happened, however, the giant bug suddenly appeared from below, its jaws open.

Instead of dodging though, Sapphire fired the arrow moments before the bug released its mysterious attack. It let out a piercing cry, jolting downward from the explosive arrow. Sapphire smirked, calling out to Myrrah, “Try again, bitch!”

The bug flew off ahead of the barge, just as Dizzy exclaimed, “There it is, Anvil Gate! Maybe we can make it!”

Sapphire and the others hoped that Sapphire’s explosive arrow sent the bug running. It seemed they would make it, despite the fires all around them on the barge’s platform, but the barge itself kept going, if not faster than before. Suddenly, just as they all thought it was clear, a piercing shrill echoed in Sapphire’s head, causing her to drop to her knees whilst clutching her head.

She couldn’t stop the cry of pain that felt lurched from her. Grabbing her head, Sapphire attempted to stand up, only to be grabbed just before she felt an immense heat streaked past her. She barely heard Baird’s loud exclamation from the console, “Shit, the bitch got us! Hang on-we’re going down!”

There was another lurch, this time from below. Above, Sapphire heard Marcus shout calmly, “Baird, any way we can slow this thing down?”

“Oh, it’ll slow right down. When we crash.”

Sapphire felt arms tighten around her just before she felt her body jolt up into the air. The crash of the platform, the barge giving a dying cry, and the Gears bracing themselves for the impact seemed to go by in a painful blur. Sapphire barely felt the impact of the ground, her head spinning.

Aside from the light of the fires all around, it was entirely dark. If it weren’t for the fires, Sapphire would have thought she had been knocked out. Unfortunately, that did not mean the throbbing migraine went away.

Instead, it seemed to keep that momentum that was apparent on the barge.

“Oh, man! Everybody in one piece?” Marcus.

“Uhh…I’ll get back to you on that.” Cole.

“Sapphire, you okay?” Dom.

Sapphire didn’t have time to respond, as she felt a large hand on her arm. She slowly turned, seeing someone looking down on her. She didn’t know who it was until there was a light somewhere ahead of the downed barge platform that she saw Marcus looking down at her with worry. She didn’t know why until he said, “You’re bleeding.”

Confused, Sapphire brought a hand up and wiped her nose, feeling fresh blood on her face. She looked back at Marcus, nodding grimly, “Yeah. Not much we can do about it. Must have hit my face pretty hard.”

Marcus said nothing, though he looked up as they both heard footsteps. Sapphire lifted her head up, trying to prevent too much of the piercing light that would glare her to blindness. Suddenly, a new, familiar voice said in his commanding tone, “Hold your fire!”

“Hoffman,” greeted Sapphire as she tried to lift herself up. Marcus was there at her side, helping her up.

Hoffman was in his Gear outfit, similar to when they first met. He looked both of them up and down as everyone got up. After regarding them for a brief moment, he asked, “Fenix! Haze! What in the hell are you doing here?”

Marcus was immediate, urgency in his tone as he spoke, “There’s a column of grubs heading this way, Colonel. Let’s get out of here and we’ll explain.”

Instead of doubt, Hoffman nodded firmly before looking back, “Okay, mount up! Get on the radio and warn the fort we’ve got grubs inbound!”

Turning back, Hoffman looked between Marcus and Sapphire, “Seems like you two have been through a lot of hell recently.”

“You have no idea, Hoffman,” Marcus replied before gesturing to the barge. “Rough ride before and after.”

“And during,” Sapphire added. Hoffman regarded her a little longer than regarding Marcus. She knew why, addressing it quickly. “Don’t worry about me, Hoffman. Let’s just go. Before the Horde gets here.”

A look exchanged between the two men was all that Sapphire got before Hoffman gestured for them to follow. The lights turned out to be from three Armadillos, which all of them piled into. As the engines revered and all three began to speed towards Anvil Gate, Sapphire couldn’t help but hold her head.

The further they drove away from the downed barge, her migraine lessened. It was honestly a relief, but she also dreaded for how long they were going to stay at Anvil Gate. Hopefully they stayed until before the Horde got there…

Sapphire sighed, rubbing her face, only to forget she was still bleeding. She silently cursed, hoping nobody would notice as she sat in the Armadillo. But then, just as she was about to give up on trying to clean up, Marcus nudged her for her attention. When she turned, she saw Marcus holding a piece of cloth. She didn’t need to ask what it was for, thanking him quietly as she took the cloth.

She felt better after cleaning her face, leaning against Marcus’s side. He didn’t speak, just looking over at Hoffman who watched the whole scene with a small smile. Sapphire didn’t know what the two men were thinking, but she decided that she shouldn’t care for a moment.

Instead, she closed her eyes and hoped to get a wink of sleep before they got to Anvil Gate.

Chapter Text

“It’s been a long time, Fenix.” Marcus looked away from his careful watch over Sapphire, who had once again fallen asleep against him. Hoffman was giving him the approving stare of what Marcus doubted was of fatherly intention. “I’m guessing you didn’t come all this way to inquire about my health.”

“No,” Marcus replied, almost quietly so as to not disturb Sapphire. Beside him, Dom and Dizzy stopped their conversation to listen. “We’ve got something for you. The key for Prescott’s data disc.”

“Well, you must think it’s pretty damn urgent. Hell, I’d almost given up on the damn thing.” Hoffman seemed to not believe Marcus for a moment, or he didn’t want to believe Marcus. Either way, they came to Anvil Gate for a reason.

“Yeah. It contains information where Prescott’s holding my father,” Marcus said. Hoffman stared at him with confusion, urging Marcus for more information. “Azura…ring any bells with you?”

“What the hell do you mean, holding your father?”

“I got a message from him. He didn’t get killed after all. Prescott had him kidnapped.”

Marcus could see the growing redness in Hoffman’s face. The old man was getting angry, but Marcus knew it wasn’t directed at him. It was directed at a dead man whose body was strewn in the waters next to the Sovereign. But Marcus kept his mouth shut until Hoffman asked about Prescott. Didn't want to give the man a heart attack from the stress, as Sapphire would have said.

“Dear God Almighty, and all that shit’s on the disc? Well, where’d you get the key?”

“Prescott handed it to me today, just before he died.” Hoffman fell silent, and from the window of the Armadillo, they all saw Anvil Gate coming into view, gates opening to let the vehicles in. Gently, Marcus nudged Sapphire.

The woman shot awake, looking around for a moment with wide eyes before her eyes landed on Hoffman. After a long moment of silence, she turned to Marcus, “You told him about Prescott?”

Before Marcus could reply, Hoffman sighed heavily, disbelief clear in his tone, “Well, Fenix…I have no goddamn idea what to say. And that’s a first for me.”

He then looked at Sapphire, who was quick to put both hands up as if to defend herself from a potential Hoffman offense, “Before you go accusing me of anything, I didn’t kill the bastard.”

Hoffman huffed at that, “Glad to see your humor hasn’t faded, Haze.”

“It did for a while, but things have been going much better.” Sapphire rubbed her tattooed arm. It hadn’t been shaking much, the lack of fighting helping her. But to Hoffman, the shaking drew concern from him. But before he could say a word, Sapphire beat him to it. “The tremors are normal, Hoffman. It comes with damaged nerves.”

Hoffman hummed, but didn’t say much after as the vehicles entered Anvil Gate. As soon as the gates closed behind the vehicle, Sapphire felt a pull again. She didn’t say anything until they climbed out of the vehicle, meeting blaring alarms and an announcement that contact was made. Sapphire grabbed Ghidorah, now fully awake as Marcus told Hoffman, “I’ll fill you in after we’ve dealt with our visitors.”

Hoffman nodded, watching as Sapphire went to join the others. In the brief separation, Hoffman asked Marcus, “She’s not going bat shit crazy on the Locust, has she?”

“Depends on what you categorize as bat shit crazy,” Marcus replied. Hoffman chuckled at that.

“I should feel bad for you, with the type of woman you have. But I don’t have much to speak against that myself.”

“Wasn’t expecting you too,” Marcus replied sharply before the pair picked up their pace to grab the needed ammo and weapons.

Hoffman told everyone in the vicinity, “Load up and meet me at the front gate. I’ll be damned if I’ll let those bastards take this fort!”

Then, to a radio in his ear, he spoke, “Bernie, you’re on ops. Get on the PA system and call it out!”

They all climbed the stairs, getting towards the front gate as quickly as they could. Already, a firefight was breaking out in the direction they were heading. Sapphire was light on her feet, almost overtaking Hoffman as she rushed towards the front. As they passed a weapon rack, Marcus shouted to Sapphire, “Hey! Take this!”

Sapphire briefly turned, Marcus tossing a sniper rifle in her direction. Luckily, she caught it, though it did almost knock her off balance with its weight. But she wasn’t the weak soldier from Operation Lightmass Bomb. The months in Vectes and on the ship had her doing gym workouts and practicing carrying a weapon. She was stronger now, heaving the rifle to her chest as she nodded her thanks to Marcus.

Both Sapphire and Hoffman got to the wall, where a large group of Locust were rushing towards Anvil Gate. Even in the darkness of the night, the Locust appeared with the help of lights being beamed from Anvil Gate towards the upcoming attack. Chaos erupted as Hoffman told Sapphire, “Never seen this many of them before.”

“That just means more target practice,” Sapphire replied as she continued on without missing a beat.

Behind Hoffman, Marcus told him, “Well, I think we might have pissed them off. We ran into the queen.”

Hoffman whirled on Marcus then, growling, “She’s alive?! Goddamnit…Fenix, any more shocks you want to share with me?”

“Not yet,” Marcus replied nonchalantly.

Meanwhile, Sapphire had gone way ahead of them, meeting the gatling turrets the Gears used towards the large group of Locust. Sapphire got ready, settling the sniper rifle directly in the middle, where two plates rested perfectly for her to use. She settled the rifle on her shoulder, kneeling down in a comfortable position as Cole and Dom took her flank with their Lancers.

“Okay, fuckers,” Sapphire growled, taking aim with her first bullet. “Let me show you that I ain’t dangerous just in the sky.”

She fired, blowing a Locust’s head off just as they came rushing down the bridge towards Anvil Gate. It was utter chaos. Lancers fired until they ran empty, turrets were run until they were too hot to fire, and Sapphire popped head after head with lethal accuracy.

The game changed when Reavers entered the fight. They landed, letting their riders use their own artillery at them. Sapphire ducked as one headed right for her. The rifle remained intact as she lifted up to aim for the riders. She had to pop both heads for a Reaver to leave or be lost in the chaos.

Bullet after bullet, Sapphire kept going, ignoring the pain growing in her shoulder from the repeated action. Not one bullet missed, unless on purpose. Sapphire made sure to keep stock of her bullets as she reloaded. She wished these rifles had more in the chamber.

But no matter how hard they tried, it wasn’t enough to deter the Locust as they kept pressing on, no matter how many bodies dropped.

Then, someone called out, “Enemy Reinforcements ahead!”

“Fuck,” Sapphire cursed, continuing to fire, even as a catapult came out from the forest, readying its aim for the front gates. Sapphire aimed, but just as she was about to fire, pain struck her head, causing her to cry out as she fell back behind the wall.

Dom was immediately at her side, asking, “Did you get hit?!”

Sapphire felt her most vital parts, finding them intact and with no bullet entry or exits. But then, she felt warmth running down the side of her neck. She brought up her hand, feeling a familiar wetness. Well, her head wasn’t blown and she still had the normal functions. “A graze to the head! I’ll be fine! You?”

“Armor protected me,” Dom replied before the wall shook violently.

From somewhere, Hoffman shouted for all to hear, “Fall back! They breached the outer courtyard! Come on, move!”

Sapphire couldn’t take the rifle with her. Checking her chamber, she only had one bullet left. Dom asked quickly, “Think you’ll be fine?”

“Have no choice, Dom,” Sapphire told him sharply, getting up despite the dizziness that followed. “We got a second gate to protect!”

They all regrouped at the second gate, where the chaos continued, but deeper into the fortress. They ran along the catwalks, careful not to get shot in the chaos before they settled behind the barriers. They all took turns firing, Sapphire grabbing a down soldier’s rifle. She checked, finding it was full of bullets but no backup ammo. Meaning only two bullets in the chamber.

She had to choose wisely for this one.

“I thought nobody ever got past the defenses here,” Baird complained loudly over the chaos, continuing to fire at the Locust below them.

“They didn’t, but that was the Pendulum Wars,” Hoffman replied back from elsewhere along the catwalk.

While everybody used as much artillery as they could to get the Locust back, Sapphire waited patiently. Then, she saw a familiar sight.

A beast, ridden by a Locust, came strolling in through the gate. For a brief moment, Sapphire froze. She remembered those beasts. They were fed deceased prisoners. And Sapphire could hear their gnawing on the deceased like rabid dogs. She remembered their smell, what they were like in their cages. Blinded mounts for the Locust to use but no less brutal.

Sapphire decided to take out the beasts’ riders with her two remaining bullets. In the chaos, the beasts couldn’t know what was friend or foe, eating nearby Locust when they got the chance.

There was a sharp ringing to Sapphire’s ears that she began to feel numb again. Similar to when she was in the Nexus. Functioning but not all there. She hadn’t felt like this in a long time.

But this time, Valkyrie was silent.

When Sapphire ran out of bullets, she dropped her rifle and grabbed Ghidorah, hearing the second gate fall as a pair of Maulers pushed the gate down off its hinges. Sapphire could hear Hoffman’s voice, but not his words as she raced to the inner courtyard. She grabbed another sniper rifle, but this time wasn’t patient.

She ran out of bullets before they breached the final gate, but Sapphire was beginning to worry internally that she was becoming too numb. Was she in an episode? She couldn’t tell. Nor could she as the heat of battle drew her to become more ruthless when she managed to grab more weapons that she could aim and burst.

They headed to the garage, where the vehicles of Anvil Gate were stored. There, Sapphire didn’t grab a weapon. She simply grabbed Ghidorah, swinging the staff into battle with a gleam in her eye. She was aware of bullets flying her way, but she let instinct take course, just like in the Nexus.

This time though, she wasn’t weakened by torture.

Instead, she was raging.

With a battle cry, she used Ghidorah’s electric quality and her strength to her advantage. She aimed for the vulnerable parts of any Locust bastard she came across. Mostly the drones. The larger enemies were handled by the Gears around her.

Then, the chaos went to a standstill.

Sapphire panted heavily, her knees weak as she swung Ghidorah onto her back. For a moment, she stood there, breathing hard as she regained herself. Feeling grew back into her limbs, that numbness going away. Whatever that was, Sapphire could only guess it was adrenaline.

A hand was on her shoulder and she turned, seeing Marcus giving her a questioning look. She knew why. A graze to the head still bled quite a lot and she was sweating from the fight she had to undergo. After a bout of silence, Sapphire reassured him, “I’m fine now, Marcus. Adrenaline made me numb to the fighting.”

Marcus didn’t seem convinced, but he nodded before he spoke into his ear piece, “Colonel, it’s time for that chat.”

Sapphire didn’t know how Hoffman would react to the news. She followed Delta inside, deeper in Anvil Gate’s fortress. She barely heard Hoffman and Marcus talking, but she didn’t need to listen in under they got to a room where they could gather and brainstorm. Hoffman was in disbelief at the whole situation, and voiced it too, “But that’s downright unbelievable, even for that asshole!”

Sapphire couldn’t help but silently agree, Hoffman pausing in the room to continue his train of thought, “So, this thing your dad’s invented, it'll kill off the Lambent? What about the rest of the grubs?”

Baird was already messing with the electric wiring of the room, probably a breaker or radio station. Whatever it was, Sapphire couldn’t help but wonder if Baird was trying hard not to be drawn into the conversation. Maybe all this fighting was overwhelming him.

Hell, it was overwhelming her.

“No guarantees,” Marcus replied. “Just because they turn into Lambent doesn’t mean it’ll work on them. But we’ve still got to find out where Azura is.”

“Shame about the hammer,” Baird spoke up, finally tearing away from the electric wall of wires and buttons of the room. “It’s just what we need.”

Hoffman cursed at this, “Goddamn thing! It still triggers a few satellites, but forget about accuracy.”

Baird hummed, looking back at the wall of electric wiring before turning back to Hoffman with a knowing smirk, “Maybe I can fix that.”

Hoffman took it in stride, grabbing something from his armor to give to Baird. “Baird? Here’s the disc! Amaze me.”

But before Hoffman gave Baird the disc, the door on the other side of the room opened. Bernie strode in. Older, but healthy otherwise. She spotted Sapphire briefly on her way in, the pair giving each other a soft smile before Hoffman turned to Bernie at her entry, “Bernie, you are not gonna believe this shit!”

Bernie’s smile faded, replaced by a worried expression, “It’ll have to wait, Vic. Is anyone monitoring the radio net? It’s Sam and Anya. They’re pinned down outside the perimeter.”

Marcus nodded firmly, “We’re on it, Bernie. Come on, people, lock and load.”

Sapphire went to turn, but Marcus was quick to grab her. Lightly, but still making Sapphire turn to give him a confused look. For a moment, she thought he would tell her to stay behind. Instead, he asked, “Can you drive the truck?”

Sapphire nodded, internally relieved that Marcus wasn’t forcing her to stay behind. She knew she looked terrible, but she would rather save Anya and Sam before ever considering rest. “I can still see, Marcus. Let’s go.”

As they made their way to the garage, Marcus ordered along the way, “Cole, with me and Sapphire. Dom, you and Bernie get up there and give us some cover while Baird works on the Hammer.”

Nobody questioned Marcus as they approached the heavily armored truck. Sapphire was quick to get in the front seat, needing to adjust the seat a little as Marcus and Cole got on the truck. As soon as they were in the truck, just behind Sapphire on the bed, Sapphire floored the truck out of there and out towards the perimeter of Anvil Gate.

“Anya, we’re coming to get you! Are you okay? Where’s Jace,” Marcus asked into the ear piece. Sapphire didn’t hear her reply, but Marcus pounded the top of the truck. “Okay, Anya. We’re on our way. Sapphire, we’re hanging on tight so give it all you got!”

“Copy that,” Sapphire shouted back, shifting the gears of the truck before slamming her foot on the accelerator. As they made their way around Anvil Gate’s walls to Anya’s location, Locust tried to get in their way. Sapphire didn’t brake, the truck slamming the Locust hard enough to tear them to pieces, sending them scattering across the ground.

Ahead, Sapphire could see a couple of downed vehicles, one on fire. Sapphire could see Anya and Sam behind a flipped over Packhorse. A sting struck Sapphire just as Marcus shouted, “Look out! Digger!”

Seconds later, Sapphire felt the truck lurch up, the passenger seat next to her stabbed through by said Digger. Barely missing her. That didn’t stop the truck from flipping violently on its side, sending Sapphire lurching off the seat. She forgot to put her fucking seat belt on!

For the thousandth time, pain erupted through Sapphire, making her cry out. The Digger struggled, but ultimately died in front of her, leaving Sapphire trapped in the now-burning truck. Taking Ghidorah, Sapphire used the blunt end to strike through the window of the truck before it could burn her from the cabin.

She climbed out, ignoring the glass that bit through her skin as she did so. She heard Anya shout, “Fall back! Marcus! Sapphire! Cole! Come on!”

Sapphire heard Marcus and Cole providing cover fire while Anya and Sam took turns falling back to provide covering fire for them. Sapphire was glad to see Cole and Marcus seemed unharmed by the crash. She got to Anya and Sam’s side quickly, though she had to kill a Locust that came between her and the pair with Ghidorah.

Suddenly, just as they were retreating back to the fort, mowing down any Locust in their way, Sapphire felt a very familiar lullaby sing in her ears. It was thunderous and loud, back with a vengeance. In front of them, a group of Locust were charging right for them, only for the ground to split under them.

A stalk, almost as large as the massive stone stalks in Hanover, erupted from the ground, its branches stabbing through all five of the Locust. Sapphire shouted to the others, “Just RUN! RUN as fast as you can!”

While fighting could prove useful, they needed to get to Anvil Gate.

They sprinted towards Anvil Gate’s courtyard, the Locust now turning their attention to the oncoming Lambent. And with the Lambent occupied by the Locust, this left an opening. As they got near the courtyard, the dark lullaby took a different tune, one that had Sapphire nearly tripping as a short, but thick, stalk erupted from the ground.

Before anybody could say anything, the large pod that took up most of the stalk burst. Sapphire felt her blood run cold as what looked to be a Berserker Lambent emerged, equipped with thick armor, two appendages, and a glowing abdomen. It raged, roaring out before taking out two soldiers that were waiting for them at the gate, ripping one in two before throwing the other into a rusted vehicle.

Its two tentacles wrapped around the rusted vehicle, taking it and throwing it their way. Marcus shouted to the group, “Look out!”

The Lambent Berserker charged forward as soon as the car landed, taking the group’s collective dodge as an opportunity. Sapphire knew it was only a matter of time before the Berserker tore them to shreds.

But what she didn’t count on was it going straight for her.

She barely dodged a clawed swipe, followed by another that nearly caught her if she wasn’t already rolling on the ground. She got to her feet, shouting to the others, “GET TO THE FORT! NOW!”

“Baird, where is the damn Hammer!”

Sapphire sprinted, seeing the others doing the same. But the Berserker was still after her only it seemed. A tentacle wrapped around her leg suddenly, lifting her up and over, throwing her from the fort. She landed harshly, hearing Sam shout out, “Sapphire!”

“GO!” Sapphire was quick on her feet, especially as the Lambent Berserker went straight for her. “I’ll catch up!”

“RUN!” Marcus’s shout didn’t surprise her, especially as Sapphire saw the glowing light beginning to grow in the sky. “GET TO THE FORT!”

Sapphire pushed herself into the fastest sprint she could muster, the Berserker charging right for her. Sapphire grimaced, knowing she couldn’t go around. So instead, she dropped and slid under, narrowly missing another clawed swipe as she continued to bolt to the fortress. The others waited for her, keeping the gate open long enough for Sapphire to rush through, feeling the Berserker hot on her heels.

As soon as she was through, the gates closed and a bright light of red and orange streamed from the sky. Sapphire could have dropped to the ground if it wasn’t for Marcus getting a hold of her. At this, she sighed, “That was shit.”

“Yeah, yeah it was,” Marcus replied. But he left something unsaid that Sapphire could see on his face.

She didn’t bring it up in front of the others, but she knew Marcus was probably feeling guilty at allowing Sapphire out of the fort so quickly after a Locust attack. They took a moment to breathe as the Hammer struck the ground with immense heat, followed by the dying wails of Lambent and Locust alike.

For a moment, it all seemed over.

“Did we fry that bitch,” Cole asked out of the blue. They all turned to him, to which he shrugged nonchalantly.

“Looks that way,” Sam supported.

Marcus helped Sapphire right herself on her feet before turning to the others, “All right, everybody get inside. We’ve got unfinished business to-”

Marcus was stopped by a loud bang from the freshly closed gates. He exclaimed with a growl, “What the hell?”

Several more bangs met his question and Sapphire heard the dark lullaby suddenly spike. But something was different. There was a dark voice, one she never heard before. Not in all her time on Vectes. It was dark, deep, and foreboding as it grumbled in her head like the devil itself, “Kill the Chosen.”

A shrill filled the air before the Lambent Berserker jumped from the outskirts of Anvil Gate on the bent gates. It roared out furiously, making Sapphire’s head throb as it roared towards her.

It was after her.

THAT was new.

Queen Myrrah may have been targeting her, but the Lambent never seemed to care much. Sapphire was up on her feet in an instant as the Berserker jumped into the courtyard. Marcus told the others quickly, “Fall back! Run!”

The Berserker roared after them as they began to run, but the truth was, there was nowhere to run. If the Hammer couldn’t kill that thing, then what can?

An idea startled Sapphire as she grabbed Marcus, telling him quickly, “I have an idea, but you have to trust me.”

“What?” He looked confused, and he should be. She didn’t explain further, the Berserker roaring behind them getting closer by the second as they ran. She tore from the group, hearing Marcus shout behind her. “Sapphire! What the fuck are you doing?”

“Trust me.” It was all she could throw back as the Berserker turned its attention on her, roaring out in anger at her running away. She kept running, making sure to use corners to her advantage when she moved around crates and boxes left over in the courtyard. She could hear its enraged roar, but she hoped that by doing this, she could give the others time to escape or at least show a weak spot in her pursuer.

Though she didn’t exactly plan to go out this way.

For a brief moment, Sapphire turned out, spreading her arms and shouting, “COME ON, YOU NASTY BITCH!”

The Berserker let out a piercing shriek, its two appendages pushing the two crates it was trapped behind into the walls of the courtyard. Sapphire turned back and started sprinting away from the raging beast. From somewhere, she heard someone shout, “It’s chest! Aim for its chest!”

Sapphire didn’t dare look to see who said it, not when she rounded a corner to escape the Berserker’s charge. She wouldn’t be able to keep this up for long, feeling her legs grow weaker as she avoided the giant.

Just when she thought she could get ahead after another sharp dodge, an appendage wrapped around her ankle, pulling her into the air. Sapphire cried out as the Berserker once again threw her into the courtyard. All strength left Sapphire for a brief moment as soon as she hit the ground.

Shock. She was in shock.

Sapphire tried to get up, hearing the Berserker walk towards her. Why it didn’t charge, she didn’t know. And she didn’t have time to question it as it grabbed her by the throat, pulling her up into the air. The moon shone down, the clouds giving it a brief window and allowing Sapphire to see the Berserker’s face.

It was ugly, all right. But what shocked Sapphire wasn't looking up at her, but the dark lullaby forming words in the same tone earlier, “You cannot avoid us forever, Chosen. You will die, a better death than your cowardly ancestors.”

“SAPPHIRE!” Marcus. Marcus was shouting for her. She needed to distract it, no matter how much pressure it was gripping her.

She spat back verbally, “I don’t know what the fuck you mean, but we aren’t giving up!”

To emphasize, she sent the Berserker a strong kick to the face, making the Berserker cry out at the action. Seconds later, bullets fired into its glowing chest, where Sapphire can see its ribs were falling off. Possibly from the Hammer strike. The Berserker roared out, before throwing Sapphire away from it to turn to the Gears.

Sapphire landed harshly into the grass, making her head spin. For a long moment, she laid there, hearing the bullets fire and Berserker screaming out. Sapphire didn’t know how long she laid there, but when she finally gathered herself, she lifted her head to see the Berserker withering on the ground before it exploded. It was far enough away that nothing spilled on her, but Sapphire could feel weakness in her limbs. Before she could collapse back onto the ground though, she felt pulled into an embrace, a tight but careful one.

“I’m okay, I’m okay.” It was Sapphire’s immediate response as she let herself be held.

“That was stupid, even for you,” Marcus told her bluntly, and Sapphire could hear the disapproval in his tone. She simply embraced him back, nodding into his chest.

“Gave you an opportunity, dickhead,” Sapphire grumbled. “Besides, I told you to trust me.”

Marcus didn’t reply, but he didn’t have to. He helped her to her feet and she made sure to obtain her balance before daring to pull away from his careful embrace. Sam and Anya approached, breathing hard as Anya asked, “Are you okay? Shit, Sapphire, I thought you were going to die there.”

“I didn’t,” Sapphire replied with a shrug. “But it was close.”

“Too close,” Dom said from the side as he approached. “Why did it go after you?”

“Maybe because it didn’t like to be outrun,” Sapphire joked with a small smile. Marcus gave her a look and she responded with her own look. They would have to talk later of what just happened. Turning back to Anya and Sam, Sapphire asked slowly. “What about Luke?”

Anya and Sam looked at each other before Anya smiled, nodding as she turned back to Sapphire, “We found him! He wasn’t too injured. A little burned but better than okay. He’s been looking for you. Found him in the same place we were when we faced the Locust at the shoreline. Showed up a few hours late though.”

Relief flooded Sapphire as she nodded, “Thank you. I can’t wait to see Luke again.”

“Let’s get back inside,” Marcus said suddenly, causing the whole group to turn to him. “Rest up while Baird does what we came here to do.”

They all nodded in agreement, but before Sapphire could pull away from Marcus’s side, he stopped her with a light hand on her back. She turned to him, seeing his confused but worried look in his eyes. Turning to make sure the group had gone far enough, Sapphire turned back to Marcus, keeping her voice low, “It was after me, Marcus. Whatever the Lambent exactly is, the dark lullaby formed words.”

Marcus raised an eyebrow before he scolded briskly, “Why the fuck did you run off from us?”

“Because it was after me, Marcus,” Sapphire repeated sharply. “I heard the lullaby call me what Valkyrie calls me, Chosen. But unlike Queen Myrrah, they straight up want to kill me. I don’t know why, but whatever it is, you guys need to be more careful.”

“We need to be more careful,” Marcus corrected. “Do not forget that you are one of us too. And just because they are after you doesn’t mean we aren’t going to protect you.”

“I know.” Sapphire chose her next words carefully. She didn’t want Marcus to risk himself for her. Not after all he’s been through. She was only a pawn in this mysterious game, and she would not allow Marcus to sacrifice himself for her if given the chance. So far, she has succeeded. “But this is war, Marcus. We are nearing its end. Azura is our only hope for ending this war and defeating the Lambent for good.”

Marcus didn’t say anything, staring at her for a long few seconds. She could see the conflict in his eyes, because she was right. This was war. They were nearing the end.

To comfort him, Sapphire stepped forward, eyes closing as she gave him a sweet and slow kiss. When she pulled away and opened her eyes, Marcus was giving her a strange look. The conflict was still there, but something else was mixed in there.

For now, she smiled, “Now, let’s get back to the others, okay? I don’t want Baird or anybody else to be giving us a hard time like on the ship.”

Then, she turned and walked away, going into the fort to rest. And maybe look for a medic to help her.

Meanwhile, Marcus was at a standstill.

His heart still pounded hard in his chest. He came so close to losing Sapphire, but she was taking it all in stride. While it shouldn’t, it worried him. And he felt guilty for having her drive the truck when there was the chance of the Lambent coming out.

But he can’t coddle her. He couldn’t bring himself to do so now. Not when she was right. This was war. But this war had already taken so much from him.

He didn’t want to lose anybody else in this war.

Not to either the Locust or Lambent.

Chapter Text

Sapphire couldn’t stop the hiss of pain as the medic treated her graze. Luckily, the medic treated her quickly with alcohol and gauze. She refused the stitches, as it would take too long to do such a procedure in a lack of a sterile environment. Inches from her that she was somewhat paying attention to, Baird had finally cracked the disc, a hologram showing up with a tower on what looked to be an island.

Baird announced to the others, “There you go…Azura. No pictures, but plenty of data and maps. Knock yourself out.”

Then he gestured to Sapphire, still sitting while the medic cleaned her head wound. “Except her. Don’t knock her out. She’s brain damaged enough as is.”

Sapphire flipped him the bird as everybody gathered around.

Marcus bent over to look at the hologram, confusion in his gaze, “But it’s an island. How the hell do you hide an island?”

Baird tapped a few keys that brought up what looked to be a whirling hurricane around the island. Hoffman exclaimed with an accusing finger, “That’s how! More of Prescott’s top secret bullshit!”

Taking another look at the display, Hoffman spotted something on the papers that Baird took notes on, scoffing, “What the hell’s a ‘Maelstrom Barrier’?”

“From what I can gather, some kind of shielding device,” Baird replied, his eyes not once looking away from the hologram. He tapped a few more keys and the whirling became more formed, showing a smaller tower on the other side of the hologram island. Baird whistled at this finding. “Wow, an artificial hurricane around the island! Hey, Prescott was really investing in the ‘crazy-tyrant technology’! I almost admire that.”

All the cheer from Baird’s voice slowly went away as he gave the bad news, “But, it looks like the only way in is to go under it.”

Hoffman didn’t take it as such, pointing out, “Well, there’s an old sub laid up at the shipyard in Endeavor.”

Baird sighed, “Yeah, if it’s seaworthy, if you can get the motors running, and if you can fuel it.”

Dizzy walked up then, a big smile on his face as he exclaimed, “Now son, that’s where I come in. I’m ex-merchant navy. I can fix it, drive it, and fuel it. If you can find a place to fill the tanker.”

Dom nodded, adding, “We can detour via Mercy or Char. I know Mercy, it’s an Imulsion pumping station. Let’s try there first.”

Sapphire paused at this, gesturing to the medic that she was done. Sam walked up to Dom at this, worry clear in her face, “You sure you want to go there?”

“What, because it’s Maria’s hometown?” At this, the room went silent. Dom sighed then, nodding his head firmly. “I can handle that now and we need the fuel.”

Sam nodded, though she still looked worried. And with that, the conversation died down, now turned to rest and recovery. It would be a while before anything was ready, so before they scattered, Hoffman told everyone, “Get some rest. Nobody’s leaving until first light. Until then, get some sleep and food in Anvil Gate’s mess hall.”

Sapphire nearly shivered at the mention of food. She hadn’t had anything in a while. And her stomach told her clearly. Bernie approached then, followed by Sam and Anya. Bernie had a smile on her face as she asked Sapphire, “I heard you’re hungry. Haven’t eaten anything?”

“Not since before this morning,” Sapphire replied. “Are the boys going to join us?”

All women looked over to where Hoffman and Marcus were talking, Dom and Cole having a conversation with Baird, and all the other soldiers in the room seemed distracted by other things. At this, Bernie chuckled, shaking her head. “Looks like it’s just the girls. Follow me.”

Sapphire got up, following Bernie with Anya and Sam right behind them. As they walked out of the room and into the streets within Anvil Gate’s fortress, Bernie gave Sapphire a look over, “Looks like your hair has grown a lot.”

“Yeah,” Sapphire replied. “Not much to use to cut my hair around here or on the ship. Besides, it hasn’t betrayed me yet.”

Bernie chuckled at this, patting Sapphire’s shoulder. “You might look like shit, Sapphire, but you sure look happier.”

At this, Sapphire gave Bernie a confused look. Bernie simply shrugged, “I know young love when I see it. And don’t think nobody saw you giving Marcus a sweet kiss.”

“Oh.” Sapphire’s face flushed at the mention, looking away from Bernie. “That was to give him a sense of peace. Especially after what happened.”

Bernie hummed knowingly, “I know, darling. I’m just glad you’re happy.”

Sapphire smiled at this, nodding in agreement, “Thanks, Bernie. And I assume you and Hoffman are doing well?”

“Let’s just say these old hips can still take a man down,” Bernie jokes, leading both ladies to laugh. Sam and Anya gave each other a look before they both sighed. They had forgotten how much Bernie and Sapphire used to joke around on Vectes.

With the ladies gone to grab something to eat, Hoffman decided to change the subject, giving Marcus a prideful gleam. Marcus gave him a raised eyebrow and Hoffman chuckled, “Bernie has been missing everybody. But I am glad to see that some things never changed.”

“And what exactly are you implying, Colonel?”

“Come on. Don’t blame me for being proud that you didn’t lose that woman since we left Vectes. Not that I expected you to. If you had, I probably would have been more disappointed then the day you disobeyed me,” Hoffman replied. At this, Marcus rolled his eyes, but didn’t say anything. This led Hoffman to scoff. “You still going to take her with you when you all leave in the morning? She’s free to stay at Anvil Gate.”

Marcus gave Hoffman a look, but the Colonel didn’t know if it was one that considered his offer or giving Hoffman a are-you-serious glare. After a few moments of what Hoffman was now convinced was consideration, Marcus shook his head, “No. She’ll be grumpy as a hellhound if she’s left here. Besides, this is probably her only chance to face the Locust and help as she wishes.”

Hoffman stared at Marcus for a long moment, wondering if he heard him right. But after some consideration, Hoffman chuckled, messing with his hat briefly, “I see. Well, Go get some food and rest. You have a long road to get on, Fenix.”

Marcus nodded, turning and walking away. Hoffman stared after him, wondering if Marcus was actually serious or if he would change his mind. That man was hard to read sometimes. Everyone was given a place to sleep, Delta sleeping together so that they would wake each other if needed. But while everybody slept, one was wide awake, deep in thought.

Sapphire had found her way to the same courtyard where they defeated the Lambent Berserker, this time on the walls, gripping the railing as the moon shone down on. The Berserker’s parts were still blown across the fields, no longer glowing against the dark grass below.

Leaning forward against the railing, Sapphire crossed her arms and rested her head on them. She couldn’t help but feel…impatient? No, anxious? She couldn’t really know. She just felt like there were so many questions and what ifs. Sure, she could vaguely remember the third Gears of War game, but actually living in its events was wildly different to the game version.

And she was already a wrench in the storyline. A sparkling, shiny wrench that has caught the attention of the Locust and the Lambent.

It confused Sapphire as to why the Lambent were now targeting her after all this time. The Locust too, since there was no Nexus to be sacrificed in. What would Queen Myrrah and the Lambent be going after her for? Maybe the Lambent are afraid that Sapphire would use what skills she’s been utilizing against them. Whatever the case, Sapphire knew that she couldn’t stay at Anvil Gate, a beacon to the enemy now that she knew she was specifically being targeted.

‘You really should sleep.’

Ah, and who decides to come and talk to Sapphire. Valkyrie had been absent most of the time, so why come back? The entity heard Sapphire, chirping in an agitated manner before Valkyrie spoke again, ‘The Lambent are getting anxious, Chosen.’

Why is that a problem? What changed?

‘Because they know that you know something,’ Valkyrie replied curtly. ‘Adam Fenix has something they are afraid of.’

Is that why Myrrah captured Azura then?

‘That seems to be part of it,’ Valkyrie remarked. ‘And I have a feeling that you and that Marcus fellow are pieces of a grander game.’

Seems like Valkyrie knew something.

‘Not really. Just an observation.’ Valkyrie then became silent, like she wanted to say something. And soon, she said in a serious tone, ‘Chosen, you must remember that you have been brought here for a purpose. While I have been out of commission due to all the traffic being rammed through your head, I can hear your thoughts still.’

Sapphire straightened up, anger growing as she responded with a quiet whisper, “Stay quiet. Just shut up.”

‘Whatever this Adam Fenix has, you need to help him, Chosen. The Locust and Lambent are afraid of you. They want to get rid of you because you hold a power no one else has ever gotten. Do not be selfish.’

“Just shut up,” Sapphire said quietly, her arms unfolding so that her hands could come up and hold her head. It was really beginning to hurt. “I just want to get to the end of this war. Do what’s right.”

‘Then when Dom is supposed to die, let him. The sacrifice of one is far more important than an entire world, Chosen. You know of this.’

Sapphire let out a shaky sigh, realizing that she had been holding her breath. Suddenly, another voice echoed, and it didn’t take long for Sapphire to realize that it was the darker side of Valkyrie who spoke. ‘Still lacking the social skills, huh? Leave the Chosen alone. Let her do her job.’

‘And risk her sacrificing herself over a pitiful human?’

There was the click of the tongue, darker Valkyrie hissing, ‘Chosen, you know this isn’t who you think it is.’

There was a screech before Sapphire heard Valkyrie tell her, ‘Wake up.’

Sapphire shot up, finding herself in the courtyard still, but curled in on herself as she sat against the wall just inches away from where she had stood against the railing. She must have fallen back when exhaustion hit her. The Locust lullaby hummed, strong at first before retreating. Sapphire blinked, looking down at her hands, finding them shaking.

That wasn’t the real Valkyrie.

But who could have done that? It wouldn’t have been from Myrrah. She never manipulated her voice. And it sure wasn’t the dark lullaby. Whatever it was, the nightmarish feeling had disappeared, leaving Sapphire shaking in its aftermath. The sky was beginning to brighten, but the sun hadn’t yet peeked over the mountains.

Minutes later, Sapphire found herself joining the growing crowd in the courtyard, the Lambent pieces long gone now as the morning sun slowly revealed its rays. Long shadows were cast as Sapphire approached the gathering group. As she approached, Sam called out, “Hey! Been wondering where you were this morning.”

Sapphire turned her direction to join Sam and Anya as they were talking to Cole and Baird. She replied softly, “I slept, once I walked around for a bit. I just woke up earlier than you lazy bums.”

“It’s called regaining energy,” Anya chuckled, taking Sapphire’s lie in stride. “At least you got some sleep. We’ll be heading out soon.”

“Good. The sooner we’re on the road, the better,” Sapphire said, looking over at Cole and Baird. “You boys ready?”

To Sapphire’s surprise, Baird and Cole shook their heads, Baird telling Sapphire, “Sorry, Saph, but we’re going on a different mission. We’ve been tasked to find backup for when we’re ready to take Azura.”

“Oh. Well, good luck to you guys then,” Sapphire said, a little deflated that they wouldn’t be coming along. But she knew they were right. Azura was the end game, humanity’s last stand in this war of extinction. She couldn’t blame herself for being disappointed, since she’ll miss their charisma.

“Hey, we’ll be back together soon, baby,” Cole reassured, taking Sapphire into an airtight embrace. Sapphire couldn’t stop the smile that began to form at Cole’s reassurance. “Besides, somebody has to make sure Marcus is focused.”

Sapphire shook her head, chuckling as she said, “Okay! I’ll keep an eye on him. Make sure to take Luke with you if he shows up with Jace. Hopefully someone here knows how to fly the Eagle when it arrives.”

“You won’t be flying it,” Anya asked.

Sapphire shook her head, “Not for when we get to Azura The Eagle is useless against the storm around Azura. But once we find a sub and find our way in, we’ll strike down that tower to let everybody in on the fun.”

“Sounds like a plan,” Sam said with a firm nod before turning to Baird and Cole. “You two be safe out there, okay?”

The pair nodded before they departed, Sam and Anya departing to go to a truck waiting for them. Anya gave Sapphire a parting gift in the form of an earpiece for communication from Anvil Gate’s stores, which Sapphire gladly accepted. It was crucial that she had it, especially now. Alone, Sapphire crossed her arms, looking around before her eyes landed on an approaching Bernie. Bernie smiled fondly at seeing Sapphire, greeting her, “Good morning, lovely. Marcus is waiting for you at the other transport truck.”

“You aren’t going?” At Sapphire’s question, Bernie let out a sad chuckle, shaking her head slowly.

“No, Sapphire,” Bernie replied. “Just wanted to come out and say goodbye for now. Hoffman and I are too old to keep running. We’re just going to treat Anvil Gate like our porch, maybe find somebody to make margaritas if there’s any so we can at least enjoy killing more Locust bastards.”

Sapphire chuckled, “I can see you and Hoffman doing that.”

Bernie smiled at this, “And I hope you and Marcus get to someday. I heard from Anya and Sam that you and Marcus have been talking a bit after the future. It’s nice to hear hope when there is some to spare.”

“Hopefully by the time we meet each other again, Bernie, the war is over.”

“Oh, come here, darling,” Bernie offered, embracing Sapphire with a light hug. “You just promise to survive the war, yes?”

“I’ll try,” Sapphire replied, the pair pulling away before they locked an arm. “Good luck, Bernie.”

“Good luck to you too, Sapphire. See you on the other side.”

With that, they departed. Sapphire headed to where she could see Marcus waiting on the truck, talking to Cole and Baird. Probably some parting words before Delta split up. A bad feeling began to rise in Sapphire’s gut, but she buried it with a smile, which quickly turned to confusion when she spotted who was her and Marcus’s driver.

“Jace? When did you get here,” Sapphire asked, taking a moment to reach the cab of the truck, leaning on the open window. Jace smiled, looking like he hadn’t gotten a wink of sleep.

“Just a few minutes ago with this bad boy,” Jace replied, patting the wheel of the truck. “I was told to hurry my ass up from the shoreline. Gettner almost put me through the ringer when I tried insisting on staying to tend to the injured. She still has Luke, by the way, and the Eagle.”

Sapphire felt a wave of relief. She had been told that Jace would come here with Luke, but worried when she saw that Jace was alone. She nodded, “Guess his nose is too good to give up.”

“Yeah, it was a last minute decision to leave him with the Eagle and Gettner on my part. He was worried about you but he listened to Gettner. I think it’s because she had your helmet on. Almost had my dick chopped off for that comment.” Sapphire rolled her eyes, huffing a chuckle. “But it’s good to see that you made it.”

“Thanks, Jace,” Sapphire replied. “Good to see you made it too.”

Jace rolled his eyes, “I know you were looking forward to your dog. But let me reassure you that he’s better at helping Gettner than being on this mission.”

“To that, I agree,” Sapphire replied, leaning away from the truck. She walked away from the cab, going through the back where Marcus turned away from Cole and Baird. With a hand, Marcus helped Sapphire up into the truck, allowing them to balance themselves as Baird and Cole walked away with farewells.

“You ready to take this thing to the end,” Sapphire asked when they were out of earshot. Marcus nodded.

“Ready to get done with all of this, for once.” Both headed towards the cab, Sapphire grabbing the rails while Marcus pounded the roof of the truck. “Okay, let’s roll.”

The trucks moved out first, one with Sapphire and Marcus first then Anya and Sam’s. Dizzy drove the fuel truck with Dom, just behind the two trucks as they exited Anvil Gate. It didn’t take long to get on an old, crumbling highway where the two trucks separated to flank the front of the fuel truck.

As they drove, nothing bothered them, at first. There was just wind, no bird song or animal call to be heard. The land around them looked dead, darkened in color after years of little sun. It was clear that the planet was dying and Sapphire couldn’t help but wonder once more about how the world now transformed into its beauty in Gears 4 and 5.

It was a fleeting moment of thought, one that was nostalgic to think about since Sapphire knew that this planet would recover, once this war was over. But as they drove down the highway, that bad feeling rumbled in Sapphire’s mind, feeling like she was forgetting something.

Whatever the case, Sapphire kept her eyes ahead and stewed in the silence. Marcus was also silent, though he kept looking over at her. She didn’t know if it was from worry or if he was wondering about how much she knew that was about to happen.

Unfortunately, all Sapphire knew at this point was Dom’s potential doom and the end of the Locust War and the Lambent infection.

They soon left the mountains surrounding Anvil Gate, and immediately everyone was on edge. Ahead, in the distance, Imulsion was pooled right underneath the highways, stalks of stone reaching towards the skies. Marcus put up the artillery guns on the trucks, making sure to mount them correctly before calling out, “Imulsion field ahead! Take it steady, people!”

Ahead, some of the highway began to crumble as spouts of Imulsion blew through the old concrete. From their headsets, Dom said into the comms, “Marcus, there’s no other route to Mercy. We’re gonna have to drive through that shit.”

Dizzy cut in, telling them quickly, “Heads up! We got buzzards coming in!”

There were a few pulses of the Locust lullaby, but the closer they got to the Imulsion field, Sapphire could hear the dark lullaby drown out those pulses, becoming a bother in the back of her head as a migraine began to throb. Two Reavers were heading their way, approaching quickly with Locust on their backs. Anya said through their comms, “No choice now. We gotta get out of here!”

“Okay, hit the metal,” Marcus ordered. “Go, go, go!”

Sapphire braced herself as all three trucks floored it, the Reavers streaking past them. With the gatling guns, they all began to fire, Sapphire included. Reavers were shot wherever they appeared, shot from the sky or blown in the roads as the trucks took different paths to avoid the Reavers and blocked paths. The sound of bullets being fired from the guns was enough to drown out the lullabys of both enemies, making Sapphire smile a little as she fired.

Soon, the trucks had been forced to go off the road and off the highway, where once sandy fields were now just an Imulsion ocean underneath ashened ground. Almost like the arctic sea during the winter with ice splitting to show its cold, clear water. The Reavers were temporarily off their tails, probably to avoid a surprise stalk that could come erupting out of the ground.

They needed to get back on the highway, since now they had driven themselves into very dangerous territory. A stalk might very well be waiting to erupt from the ground as they drove on the ashened ground that moved with them. Dom said in their comms, “The highway’s on the other side of those Imulsion pipelines.”

They weaved under the highway’s bridge, Marcus pointing out quickly, “They’re rusted to hell and full of vapor. Let’s try blowing some holes in them!”

All bullets turned from the sky to the leaking pipelines, Marcus adding, “Brace for this, people, it’s gonna be close!”

With all their firing power, the immulsion pipeline exploded from the bullets finally making it through the rust to the immulsion underneath. The fuel truck honked behind them, making it through the new gap as they kept going on. Two more pipes burst from the continuous firing, the last one opening up to an exit back to the highway.

Once all three trucks were ascending to the highway, Marcus remarked, “Okay, let’s see what else they’ve lined up for us!”

Getting on the highway led to a city, its factories and high skyscrapers that were crumbling even from a distance. With more structures crowding the highway, Sapphire got more nervous, and that nervousness only increased when Anya shouted, “Hey! Roadblock, ahead!”

Ahead, Sapphire saw what Anya spoke of. It was a wall of sorts, similar to a Stranded-made one. But it was clear that the Stranded weren’t the owners of it anymore. Marcus asked, “Dizzy, get in front and plow them out of the way!”

The two smaller trucks hugged the guardrails, just enough room for the fuel truck to wheel passed them. Dizzy cheered through their comms, “Coming through! Whoo-wee-haw!”

The fuel truck barreled right through the wall like it was nothing, continuing in front of them as Dizzy remarked jokingly, “There goes my good-driver discount!”

As they continued to drive, Dizzy cured, “Ah, damn! It’s the crawlies!”

Emerging from the ground, adolescent Corpsers, just out of the hatchling stage. They must have stumbled upon a nest! Sapphire cursed internally, knowing that her senses were jammed by the dark lullaby that seemed to occupy her every moment since they entered the imulsion field just outside of the city. They were small, so it was easy for the trucks to run them over while Dizzy kept his pace.

“It’s just the small ones,” Dom said in near relief through the comms.

But Sam was quick to point out, “Yeah, but where’s their mother?”

They shot at the young Corpsers, Dizzy keeping ahead as they rounded the corner. Where they found the answer to their question in the form of an angry roar and a massive Corpser jumping off a crane to the ground. The highway began a rollercoaster, the concrete cracking as the metal wiring holding the highway began to react to the Corpser jumping onto the road. Old dust, both concrete and other unknown items, spread out into a massive cloud, hiding Dizzy’s truck and the adult Corpser.

The concrete's cracked and worn state finally led to the metal wiring snapping, the road collapsing in front of the two smaller trucks. The ground lurched, Sapphire bracing herself as the trucks pitched forward, bouncing as they hit the fallen highway roads. The dust lightened, showing that the Corpser was in front of them, Dizzy nowhere to be seen right then.

“Get that motherfucker,” Sapphire shouted, beginning to fire her gatling gun into the Corpser as it raised its arms to slam down on them. Luckily, the Corpser startled as Sapphire ruptured one of eyes, the others following suit from the others. The Corpser let out a howl, stepping back and allowing an opening for the two smaller trucks to push through, Dizzy revealed as his fuel truck maneuvered around the fallen debris and old pipes and cars.

Sapphire pounded the cab, shouting, “Go! Go!”

The trucks floored it, catching up to Dizzy and Dom as they drove through smaller Corpsers with ease. Finally, they emerged from under the dark highway and back into the light, where a few more smaller Corpsers were waiting for them.

While some were mowed down by the fuel truck, one Corpser emerged in front of Marcus and Sapphire’s truck. It was way too close to Sapphire for her to fire her gatling gun as one of its arms destroyed it. It roared in their face, two arms going to strike Sapphire. She fell back, nearly falling off the truck as both struck down, destroying the bed of the truck, luckily missing its transmission and tire system.

A roar of anger was heard before Sapphire saw Marcus rever his Lancer, the chainsaw slicing through both arms before he fired into the Corpser’s face. It let out a wail as it fell back, its body getting caught under the truck. It disappeared, the truck rocking as its wheels rolled over the Corpser, the shredded arms falling out behind Sapphire.

Sapphire panted, her heart pounding as she held the side of the truck, Marcus regaining his balance by hanging onto his gatling gun with one hand. For a moment, they both gained their breath, Dom asking in their comms, “Hey! You guys okay?!”

It took them a minute before Sapphire answered with a press of her earpiece, “We’re okay, Dom. We’re okay.”

There was an audible sigh of relief from Dom. Sapphire looked up at Marcus, seeing his expression turn to its usual neutrality, but she saw his relief. She smiled, getting back up to her feet as she said, “Thanks, Marcus.”

“Anytime,” his simple reply was before he sheathed his Lancer. This let his hand be free to press on the earpiece in his ear. “You’re navigating, Dom. Where are we?”

The seriousness of the situation returned as Dom replied in the comms, “There’s an airfield up ahead. Once we get there, it’s a clear road to Mercy.”

They drove on, Sapphire grabbing her destroyed gun. She sighed, “Guess I’ve been disabled again.”

“At least you’re alive,” Marcus remarked.

At this, Sapphire chuckled, turning to him with a relieved smile, “Thanks to you. Good job there, facing that Corpser so quickly.”

Oh, Sapphire got butterflies at the reddening of his cheeks. She liked to praise him, and he liked her praises. She dared say that only her praises would actually be appreciated by Marcus, with the exception of Dom.

The moment was fleeting, however, as Dom announced in the comms, “That’s the airfield up ahead! You see it?”

His answer came quickly as Dizzy drove the fuel truck right through the gates barring entry to the airfield, the sign of greeting breaking as the tires of the fuel truck struck it. In a sing-song voice, Dizzy replied in the comms, “Yup, and I opened the door for us!”

As they drove down the road leading to the airport, some Locust could be seen trying to blockade the road. Dizzy mowed right through them, his fuel truck blocking the two smaller trucks from passing him and Dom. Marcus asked, “How are you holding up there, Dizzy?”

“I’m glad this rig’s empty!”

They got closer to the airfield, but Locust continued to try and block them. Dizzy kept on mowing down them and whatever stragglers were left were quickly dealt with. As they kept on going, away from the city and over the airfield, there was something ahead that began to glow. Marcus asked beside her, “What are they doing?”

As their trucks got closer, Dizzy braked hard, saying to them, “Something’s up!”

The smaller trucks went ahead, just as the strange boxes exploded, the ground splitting and sinking concrete and soil underneath what looked to be a pre dug hole. Jace and the other driver were quick, swerving around the massive hole as Dizzy swerved with them. They narrowly avoided the trap that the Locust no doubt left in their path.

They kept going, the smaller trucks pushing forward as the fuel truck trailed not far behind them. While they avoided the initial trap, Locust still came out in droves, firing as soon as they were close enough. Marcus fired while Sapphire dropped down to avoid a stray bullet, Anya and Sam firing their gatling guns into the Locust soldiers. Without seeing, Sapphire kept herself braced, closing her eyes.

Then, Anya shouted in alarm, “Brumak!”

Brumak, of course. Sapphire cursed, wondering how she could help. The further away they were from the Imulsion field, the dark lullaby slowly began to rescind, leaving only the lullaby of the Locust. Just like before, Sapphire began to feel for the right tether as Marcus shouted above her, “Jace, look out for the rockets!”

“I’m on it,” Jace shouted from within the cab. Sapphire tried to focus, looking through the tethers of the song for the Brumak. If she was useful for one thing, it was defeating the Locust where nobody else could do but her. While she didn’t have the energy for all the Locust, a Brumak was more dangerous.

The roar of the Brumak was distant but getting closer as the trucks continued, the fuel truck slowing to avoid the Brumak’s rockets. Its roar drew Sapphire to its tether, feeling the strong connection. Just like before, Sapphire felt her mind wrap on a hold on the tether.

Immediately, the Brumak roared again, shrieking in pain as it dropped from the platform it was on. For a split second, Sapphire could feel Queen Myrrah, the Locust Queen growling, “Fool!”

Dom’s voice spoke in the comms then, announcing to the others, “We can’t bust through the barrier with the Brumak there!”

Sapphire felt her hold weaken as the Brumak roared, mentally fighting her back as she pushed it to command to her will. Above, Marcus pointed out, “But we could go over it! It’s fallen between those two structures!”

Right where Sapphire wanted it.

“Oh, yeah, I’m up for that one! Let’s do it,” Jace cheered, both smaller trucks flooring it towards their destination. The Brumak roared and Sapphire squeezed the tether, leading to a shriek of pain from the Brumak.

“Hey! We’re dragging razor wire,” Sam pointed out.

“Let’s take its head off then,” Dom said in the comms. “Go! Go!”

It all happened so fast as the smaller trucks floored it, before there was a cut-off roar from the Brumak. A jolt of pain hit Sapphire as the tether of the Brumak disappeared, leaving her hold to grasp at nothing but itself. Her eyes snapped open as the trucks went airborne, bouncing back onto the ground. Sapphire saw the Brumak’s body fall back, its head rolling before the fuel truck rammed through the barrier, sending the Brumak’s body and head further away from its final stand.

“Ooooh, now that’s gotta hurt,” Jace laughed into the comms, everybody taking the time to relax as the trucks continued on out of the airfield.

“Damnit,” Dizzy cursed through the comms, laughing as he did so. “This rig’s got more holes in it than my shorts! We should be in Mercy in a few hours.”

“Well, watch your six, people. We left a lot of pissed-off grubs back there.”

Sapphire couldn’t agree more, her head falling back against the cab. Marcus sat down with her, the pair silent as the trucks continued to drive on. After a few moments of silence, Sapphire looked over at Marcus, finding his eyes closed.

With a smile, Sapphire asked, “Are you going to try and get some sleep before we get to Mercy?”

Marcus shrugged, eyes opening as he turned to look over at her. “We’ll see. You okay?”

“I’m just peachy,” Sapphire replied, but then noticed how Marcus continued to stare at her, as if unconvinced. Cautiously, Sapphire wiped under her nose, finding it wet. When she pulled her hand away, she saw the blood, realizing that her nose had begun to bleed with the connection of the Brumak.

With a sigh, she corrected herself, “Well, I’m breathing still.”

Marcus sighed heavily at this, “Try not to push yourself, all right? Last thing I need is for you to pass out or something when we get to Mercy.”

Sapphire nodded, then slowly scooted over to press against Marcus’s side. The pair remained silent as the trucks continued, Mercy just a few hours ahead.

Chapter Text

Nobody slept in the minutes before reaching Mercy. Nobody was surprised that Dom didn’t cheerfully introduce Mercy nor that he didn’t want to speak. The structures of Mercy were hard to decipher at first, except an entry to the town and what looked like a gas station with a barely intact canopy.

That sense of deja vu hit Sapphire as she and Marcus climbed out of the trucks with everybody else that parked on the opposite side of the street from the gas station. If anything were to happen on one side, at least they had getaway vehicles if need be. As they converged to the center between the vehicles, Sapphire noticed how quiet it was. Not a soul could be heard aside from them, and something about that unnerved her.

Along the way, Dizzy had said that the last time he had been in Mercy, a few months ago, the town was occupied. Marcus pointed this out, approaching Dizzy with a cautious statement, “Dizzy, I thought you said this town was occupied.”

Even Dizzy looked confused as he looked around. Slowly, he took off his hat, revealing the bandana underneath as he scratched his gray hairs, “Yeah, it was busier than a fiddler’s elbow a few months ago!”

Dom had walked away from the group, looking around with a distant look. Sapphire watched him, curious as to how he was taking all of this. But in the silence of confusion, Dom turned around, pointing out, “People don’t abandon a fuel depot for no reason.”

Dom was right, nobody would. It was simply too dangerous to leave such a valuable resource behind. Sapphire looked around, noting how the quietness of the place was also followed by the quietness of the dark lullaby. It had been quiet for a few hours, and by quiet meant it was a low hum in her ear. As Sapphire assessed the situation, she came to realize that the low hum was still occupied by a migraine.

Sapphire blinked away at this, shaking her head as Marcus cautioned the group, “Okay. Keep an eye out for grubs. We might need to get out fast.”

Dizzy separated from the group first, in the effort to start filling the fuel truck. As he messed with the pump, Dom came up to Sapphire’s side, the both of them looking out into the town. When they both looked at each other, Sapphire voiced her thought, “Odd how such an important fuel depot isn’t occupied by some angry Stranded. In all the time I’ve been dealing with Stranded, fuel was the absolute necessity. We would have been shot by now.”

“I had the same thought.” Dom’s agreement set Sapphire’s on edge. Something felt wrong. Almost the same feeling as when she first met Baird, before the Locust ambushed them. Before she was shot and before she faced General Raam.

Suddenly, Dizzy shot up, roaring out, “Ah, shit! Looks like they shut down the main pump!”

Dizzy looked around, gesturing towards the gas station’s pipeline, something that looked built after Emergence Day, “The controls have to be somewhere along this pipeline.”

“All right, let’s follow it,” Marcus agreed before turning to Dizzy and Jace. “Jace, Dizzy, you stay here while we check out the town.”

Anya turned to Sapphire, asking, “You want to go? You took quite the beating back there.”

Sapphire knew it wasn’t about the Corpser encounter that Anya referred to. Logically, it wouldn’t hurt Sapphire to stay here, since Marcus, Dom, Anya, and Sam had each other. But that sense of deja vu didn’t go away. In fact, it got worse at the thought of even a moment of leaving Dom’s side. She shouldn’t feel this way, but it was strong enough for Sapphire to reassure Anya, “I’ll be fine, Anya. Besides, I have a feeling you’ll need me if we encounter any Stranded here.”

Anya hummed, “You’re right. Ready Ghidorah in case you need it.”

“Will do,” Sapphire replied. With a few goodbyes exchanged, they split, following the pipeline to a set of double doors surrounded by sand bags piled to form barriers.

Sam asked into the air, “Hello? Anybody home? We just need some fuel!”

Nobody answered, which led to an eerie feeling to fill the air. Marcus and Dom attempted to open the double doors, but it wouldn’t budge with a simple push. Together, they rammed through, the group now entering an abandoned gas station store. It was evident that this place had been ransacked long ago, the shelves holding no rings where cans or bags would have collected dust, leaving an outline of their presence. It was also dusty, causing Sapphire to cough and Anya to sneeze.

The back way of the gas station store had no doors, or at least doors attached to its hinges, which explained the mildew smell swirling in the store. They exited through there, finding themselves behind the gas station store and in an alleyway where several garbage steel containers laid in rusted silence.

As they proceeded, Sam got up close to Dom, seeing his distant look as if he was trying to ignore the town’s existence. With a quiet tone, which really wasn’t that quiet with the silence of their surroundings, Sam asked Dom, “So when were you last here, Dom?”

To Sapphire’s surprise, Dom replied honestly, jolting back to the present as he turned his head to Sam, “Fifteen years…Maria’s family is buried near the church. I wanted to bury her and the kids here, too, but…”

They rounded the corner, finding themselves on a cobble-stone road where the pipeline became more evident. It was definitely made after the Locust War started. If OSHA were still around, they would have several lawsuits in the works. But Sapphire wasn’t focused on the pipeline the longer they walked down the road.

Stands that were evident of Stranded presence were completely abandoned, some rotten skeletons of rats hanging from one stand and tattered, molded-covered clothes from another stand. It was unnerving how a Stranded camp would be abandoned in such a state. Even a scared person running for their life would grab whatever they could to survive outside of town, to survive the harsh environment and cold nights. The low hum of the dark lullaby began to increase in vibration and thrum as they continued down the streets. It almost felt like the streets were made to draw people to a certain direction, like rounding something or someone up.

Sapphire slowed her pace, letting Dom and Sam pass her so that Sapphire could look around the tops of buildings. She didn’t feel watched, but the deja vu already had her on edge if her caution wasn’t on edge already. Sapphire grabbed Ghidorah from her back, keeping a knuckle-white grip on it as they continued.

As they came upon a street where it narrowed from the lines of stands, Sam suddenly perked up, announcing sharply to the group, “Hey, everybody stop! Look ahead. The pipeline’s rigged.”

She pointed, revealing that one of the buildings along the street had a busted wooden gate, which showed a bomb attached to the pipeline. If caution wasn’t already high, it was even higher as Marcus growled, “Stay sharp, people. Could be an ambush.”

Sapphire inspected the bomb closer, just as it beeped a blinking green. Anya cautioned quickly, “Look out, it’s got a motion sensor!”

Sapphire was quick, seeing the button just above the blinking green light. Sapphire was quick to tap on it, the green light disappearing as the rigged bomb chirped happily at her. Sam let out a shaky breath, “Well…so far, so good.”

They continued on, finding more along the pipeline that they had to disable before it could explode. Dom was the first to observe audibly, “This isn’t a trap. It’s sabotage.”

“Let’s just disarm it and keep moving,” Marcus said, the group continuing after he disabled a rigged bomb. They continued on, the street still narrowed and a lack of flexibility in their movement. Sapphire could see a charge ahead as they walked up a series of stairs, telling the others, “I’ve got this one.”

She jogged forward, the charge beeping at her at sensing her motion. She disabled it with a small smile, just before a loud bang rang through the small stairwell, a bullet hitting just inches from the charge. Sapphire jolted back, just in case the bullet managed to hit the charge as Marcus called to the others, “Take cover!”

All four Gears took cover, being a little behind Sapphire, leaving her to immediately turn up towards where they were heading, hands rising to the air. She shouted, “Hey! Check fire!”

Slowly, Sapphire ascended the rest of the stairs, praying that the person didn’t immediately shoot for another round. Hands still raised, Sapphire saw an elderly man holding a Lancer aiming right towards her. He was still as stone, giving her a narrowed eye as he aimed for her. In a calmer voice, Sapphire told the elderly man, “It’s okay. We’re here to help! I’m with Gears, right behind me.”

“Get your hands off those goddamn charges,” the elderly man growled dangerously, his finger on the trigger.

“Did you rig this pipeline,” Sapphire asked, hands still raised with Ghidorah in one hand. The man slowly relaxed, but still aimed the Lancer at her.

“Yeah,” he exclaimed. “I have to stop this thing from spreading! Just let me get on with the job and don’t touch those charges!”

The elderly man then backed up, grabbing a rusted door and tried to slide it closed. It only budged an inch and Sapphire could see he was struggling to close it. Sapphire looked back, gesturing for the Gears to ascend the steps and join her. As they got to the top of the stairs, Sapphire asked, “What thing are you talking about? You got some disease spreading around?”

The elderly man stopped trying to close the door, glaring at Sapphire as he snarled, “How the hell should I know what it is? It’s…it’s…it’s…it’s some kinda fever!”

The elderly man sounded more deranged as he continued, closing the door and looking around as if the thing he was referring to was going to jump out at him at any moment. “People started burning up, screaming and fighting, turning crazy. And I’m damned if I’m gonna turn up like that, like some rabid dog, not even human no more!”

Marcus walked past Sapphire, grabbing hold of the door to keep the man from closing it. He said to the elderly man, “You better come with us. We can get you some help.”

“No!” The man howled, stumbling back and falling into the ground of the building he had attempted to retreat in. “It’s too late! Leave me alone!”

He bolted then, getting to his feet in a scuttle before running off. Sam called after him, “Hey, come back! We need to know where else you’ve laid charges!”

“Well, he was interesting,” Dom remarked as they continued, chasing after the old man as they heard him scuttling through the town just ahead.

“Whatever fever he was talking about, I hope it’s not contagious,” Sam pointed out, looking around. It made Sapphire nervous too.

Marcus snapped the group back to attention, reminding them, “Let’s just follow the pipeline and get the pump started.”

Sam tried reaching out to the old man again, “Hey, we’re COG! Don’t run! We’re on your side!”

They found themselves approaching an old Deli shop, where it was clear from the scuff marks on the ground of the blockade entrance where the old man went. With his Lancer, Marcus cut through the boards with ease, allowing them entry into the shop. They entered the shop, looking around to see if they could spot the old man, Dom remarking with a scoff, “Maybe he’s the one who’s gone nuts and they’re hiding from him. Crazy bastard.”

“Crazy bastards shouldn’t be treated lightly,” Sapphire warned lightly, following the group as she looked around.

The dark lullaby suddenly pitched, so suddenly that Sapphire had to close her eyes for the painful migraine wave to pass. Shaking her head, she continued following the others, taking in her surroundings more cautiously. Ahead, Marcus informed the others, “Looks like the pipeline takes us into the sewers. Let’s go.”

Sapphire didn’t have a problem with this until they got to where the Deli shop’s wall and floor had fallen, revealing said sewers. At this, Sapphire stopped, the group continuing as she froze. She hadn’t been underground in a long while, aside from those caves of that Locust stronghold.

But after such a sharp pitch in the lullaby, Sapphire hesitated on entering the sewers. Anya saw this, stopping briefly to watch Sapphire stare at the sewers with a distant look. Turning to the others, Anya asked, “Do you think the old guy could be down here?”

“In the sewer? Definitely,” Dom replied. Anya shot an apologetic look at Sapphire, but the woman was already entering the sewers, Ghidorah in a tight grip by her tattooed arm.

They walked further into the sewers, until they came upon the old man’s body, slumped in a pile of Imulsion. If it weren’t for the Imulsion glowing in the corner, they would have completely missed him. Sam sucked in a breath at the sight, “Oh, God. It’s the crazy old man. But what killed him?”

“Well, it wasn’t a fever,” Marcus replied, glancing back at Sapphire. Sapphire passed them all, crouching down to examine the man. Grabbing her flashlight from her pocket, Sapphire looked at the man closer, seeing immediately that the Imulsion spots were occupied by scratch and bite marks that ended the man’s life. Quick in both the kill and hiding before they appeared.

But what worried Sapphire the most was the handprint of Imulsion of the man’s arm, where he had been supposedly grabbed. Seeing this, Sapphire looked back, telling the group, “Whatever killed him is still around. We need to be very careful if we’re stuck down here with something.”

Marcus nodded, turning to address the others, “All right, it’s close quarters down here and we don’t want to be walking all over each other if things go to shit. Dom, Sam, go right. Anya, Sapphire, stick with me.”

Another pitch in the lullaby caused Sapphire to turn down further in the sewers, slowly standing up. Through the silence of the sewers, she picked up a wheezing sound. It was quiet and she could barely pick it up, but something was definitely down here. Sapphire turned to the others, finding them staring at her with confusion. She asked, “Anybody else hear that?”

A silence fell on them. And there, in the distance, a wheezing sound could be heard. Anya perked up at this, “Is there someone down here hurt?”

“Don’t know, but if there are survivors aside from that old man, I would rather get to them first. Help them,” Sapphire replied. Though in all honesty, she had a feeling that it was something that killed the old man. Feet away, deeper in the sewers, the pathways split. With Ghidorah in her hand, Sapphire led Marcus and Anya down to the lower tunnel, Dom and Sam going down another tunnel that led to another level.

Now separated, Sapphire felt her cautious increase as they walked down the path of the sewers. The dark lullaby began to slowly increase in thrum, causing Sapphire to become even more alert as she looked around for Lambent. When they walked into a room of the sewers, Sam and Dom revealing themselves on the second floor behind a railing, Sapphire saw movement.

The group stopped, Sapphire peering into the darkness to see a woman crouched down, wheezing. Something about her felt off, something that put Sapphire on edge. Beside her, Marcus made his way closer to her, asking, “Ma’am, are you okay? Who did this?”

Sapphire stopped Marcus with an arm, feeling his confused glance in her direction. Sapphire couldn’t tear her eyes away from the wheezing woman, feeling the thrum of the dark lullaby increase with each passing second. Slowly, she pulled away from Marcus, approaching the crouching, wheezing woman.

Sapphire didn’t say anything, feeling her mind begin to thump as she felt a close proximity to a tether, thready and not as whole as the Locust. But it was familiar as Sapphire gripped Ghidorah, ready to use it if she needed to. Slowly, Sapphire reached her free hand towards the woman.

Suddenly, the wheezing woman fell silent as soon as Sapphire’s hand was close.

Then, it whipped around, humanoid features of a woman mutilated by Lambent, much like how it affected the Locust.

A sharp ringing echoed in Sapphire’s mind as the Lambent woman let out an angry screech. Sapphire fell back as Anya exclaimed behind Sapphire, “She’s Lambent! It’s spread to humans!”

Sapphire fell back as bullets flew past her, striking the infected woman to the point she blew up, pieces of Lambent-infected human flesh spreading out in the small room. Another screech caused Sapphire to shout to the others, “She isn’t alone! We need to find a way out of here!”

Thank whatever deity was watching over them that these parts of the tunnels still had lights in them. No doubt from when the elderly man hid down here. Otherwise it would have been a very dangerous situation. Getting to her feet, Sapphire twirled Ghidorah as a Lambent human came rushing out of a side tunnel into the room.

Sapphire was quick, Ghidorah lighting up as she struck the human down. Marcus grabbed Sapphire, pulling her along as he and Anya fired their Lancers into the approaching Lambent. They proceeded forward, Sapphire behind Anya and Marcus to avoid any more of that screeching. Too much of that would disable her. And she didn’t want to get killed this soon. The sewers were the least of their worries, she felt.

The tunnels of the sewers continued on, Lambent humans at every corner. Some Lambent humans attempted to come up from behind, but Sapphire fought them before they could explode into Marcus and Anya’s backs. Soon, Anya pointed out, “There! An elevator!”

Ahead, an elevator was indeed waiting for them. Coming from the side, Sam and Dom rejoined the group, the brief separation well and done with the end in sight. Lambent humans still rushed out and instead of firing away bullets like it was a never ending stream of water, the Gears fired in short bursts, Ghidorah taking out any stragglers behind them.

They all rushed into the elevator, Marcus and Dom turning the wheel to rise out of the sewers. The dark lullaby faded slightly, but it was still holding strong, much to Sapphire’s disappointment. Sapphire slumped against the side, Anya confused as she exclaimed, “How can humans turn Lambent? It only affects Locust!”

Sapphire was quick to correct, “Not just Locust, Anya. Hollow creatures in general. When we went through the Locust stronghold prior to Anvil Gate, the Corpsers there were infected with Lambency. And now it’s spreading to humans.”

As soon as they were at the top of the elevator, where the sewers led to the outside, Marcus was quick to inform Dizzy through the comms, “Dizzy, we’ve got Lambent humans!”

“You shitting me, son,” Dizzy asked, astonished in his tone that could be picked up through the radio.

“I wish,” Marcus growled as he led them forward. “We’ve got to stop them getting out.”

“We gotta get that pipeline working first,” Dizzy reminded sharply. “I know we’re in the shit, but that sub ain’t gonna run on piss and moonshine like the Eagle!”

Dom and Marcus led the group to a steel double door, which they both had to pull to get it open. Once all were through, light filtered ahead of them in the tunnel leading out of the sewers. Dom grumbled, “Huh, Lambent humans. No wonder the old guy wanted to frag the place.”

“Is that it,” Sam asked, looking around the group before they exited the tunnel through a ladder. At the top, everyone turned to her as she continued. “Are we all gonna end up like them? Former humans?”

“No, we’re getting out,” Marcus reassured, stealing a glance at Sapphire, who nodded firmly in confirmation. “We grab the fuel and we’re outta here.”

“My great idea to come here,” Dom pointed out with a heavy sigh. “Sorry, Marcus.”

At this, Marcus reassured Dom in particular, “It’s just as well we did. Now we know the whole human race could turn Lambent if we don’t do something about it.”

“We survived this far,” Sapphire added, gaining the group’s attention. “Might as well see it through.”

There was a silent agreement, one Sapphire would take over hopelessness. What she left out was the fact that she won’t see it through with them. She was needed for something bigger, something Adam Fenix had. And if she was targeted, the fake Valkyrie from her nightmare was right about one thing.

She was part of some big part. What, she didn’t know yet. But it could very well have been deceitful still.

For now, her main concern was getting everyone through it. She knows that the Gears with her didn’t need her for the final showdown. She didn’t know her exact role was in this whole end-of-war stage, but she was going to make sure that every single person made it to the end, even at the cost of her own life.

They continued onwards through an empty field of stone and old fountains. The center of town where the pipeline could be seen continuing on. Sapphire grew cautious again, keeping an eye and mind out for the dark lullaby. A gleam caught her eye and she looked up, seeing that there was a town hall building just ahead of them. On the balcony, Sapphire saw someone, but their aim wasn't on them.

So there are survivors.

Suddenly, they heard what sounded like a horde of zombies coming straight for them and Sapphire turned, seeing Lambent humans begin to reveal themselves from the dark corners of the yard. Sapphire was quick to tell the others, “Get to the town hall! Straight ahead!”

They began to run, Anya, Sam, and Marcus taking turns to fire with their Lancers at any Lambent humans that got too close. As they approached the entrance to the town hall, Sapphire saw that there was another gatling gun waiting for them. Dom was the first to get there, prepping it up while the others joined him behind sandbag barriers. Above, the person hiding in the balcony called out, “Hey, Huntress! There's a snipe behind you!

Sapphire turned, seeing what the person was referring to. There was a sniper rifle leaning just behind a bunch of extra sand bags. Sapphire was quick to grab it, setting it up while shouting up towards the balcony, “I got it!”

Immediately, Sapphire began to aim and fire. It was nice to have a weapon she was good at that didn't require her to be up close. The dark lullaby sang in her head like an orchestra that annoyed her to the point of firing with more misses than usual. Luckily, she had enough ammo to cover her mistakes, quick with the bullet cases she had on hand.

There were so many Lambent humans that Sapphire knew that this was probably most of Mercy’s people. Infected by Lambency in the same way as Locust. It was probably painful for them, but by killing them now, Sapphire wished she could say she set them free. She certainly felt it as she fired, each downed Lambent human causing the dark lullaby in her head to become less and less pressurized.

When they reached the final group, they made sure to leave none alive. When the last human was downed, Sapphire felt much better mentally, the dark lullaby back down to a somewhat low hum. An odd feeling came to encroach on Sapphire as she stood, leaning the empty rifle against the sandbags. This was not the end. Mercy was a big town, a large fuel depot. While it was a lot of Lambent humans, it didn’t justify Mercy’s old population with how many houses they’ve passed. Sapphire had been to enough Stranded places that things were crowded.

And maybe that was the reason for the Lambency spreading so fast within a few months. Close proximity in deplorable conditions would make diseases spread faster. With a frown, Sapphire turned, the doors of the town hall opening to let the Gears and her in. Greeting them was a man who was smiling fondly at them, as if relieved that they were actually here.

“Thanks for the assist,” Marcus told the man, who nodded kindly at him.

“Gears,” the man greeted thoughtfully, looking around at the group before his eyes landed on Sapphire. “And the famed Huntress. You’re the last people we expected to see.”

As the man beckoned them to follow him, Sam asked cautiously, “Hey…are you feeling okay?”

The man nodded, “Fine, so far. But he’s not looking too good.”

He then gestured to a bench, where they all could see a man lying on his side on the other side of the building. It was evident he was sick, visibly shaking as they approached. To them, his coughing and fevered state was enough to tell them all that he was very ill. But to Sapphire, she could hear the lullaby emitting from him, growing ever so slowly in rhythm. LIke it was taking over him slowly.

Dom turned to the man, asking, “Is this how it starts?”

“Yeah. You seen this before? Cause this ain’t just rustlung-” A pitch in the lullaby caused Sapphire’s eyes to go from the dying man to the window, where a brief shadow of movement caught her eye. Quickly getting Ghidorah, lighting it up with yellow electricity, Sapphire got in front of the healthy Stranded just as the window shattered, revealing a Lambent human.

Like a bat, Sapphire swung Ghidorah into the Lambent human into another coming through the window, just as a third pounced on the dying man with vigorous intent. Turning to the man, Sapphire warned, “Stick close to us if you want to live!”

The man looked at her in pure shock, but her eyes then caught movement behind him, pushing him into Dom to stab Ghidorah into the Lambent human’s skull. Marcus told the others, “Come on, we’ve got to get to that fuel pump!”

The man shook his head out of his shock, turning and running to a closet that he opened, revealing COG weapons. He turned to the others, telling them, “Here! Let me help with this!”

He grabbed a retro lancer while the others grabbed ammo as they heard a group of Lambent humans fast approaching them. Briefly, he turned to Sapphire, as if to offer a weapon, but Sapphire was already running out to meet the Lambent humans face to face.

With Ghidorah still lit with energy, Sapphire swung her staff through four Lambent humans, feeling some of their tainted blood on her skin. Behind her, the Gears and surviving Stranded man began to fire. The Lambent humans seemed to start coming from everywhere as they all proceeded further into Mercy, the man now leading them as he told them, “I know where to go from here. Follow me!”

Sapphire was beginning to grow sick as they kept fighting. Her migraine, exhaustion, and overall energy were being greatly affected. While she was still vigorous in her combat fighting against the Lambent humans, that didn’t mean she wasn’t beginning to feel slightly feverish herself. Getting to that main fuel pump was a lot harder than she originally thought and that sense of deja vu was still bothering her.

Like she should remember this part of the game. But she was too busy to notice what part as she fought the Lambent humans.

Soon, they came upon a gate that the man opened for them, pushing it open enough for them to go through before closing it. They all took a moment to catch their breath, Sapphire putting Ghidorah away with its energy spent. Marcus confirmed verbally as he looked around, “Okay, we’re clear. For now.”

The man nodded, “Yeah. Thanks for saving me back there. Come on, this way to the pump. I assume you guys need the fuel, huh?”

“Yeah, you’re crazy friend in town rigged the pipeline,” Sam replied. At this, the man sighed.

“Of course he did. Probably didn’t expect you all to walk into town. As you can see, things have been difficult. But let’s get that pump going and get the fuck out of here.”

“You tagging along,” Dom asked curiously. At this, the man shook his head.

“As much as I appreciate you saving me, I have my own way out. Get away from here as far as I can.”

“Smart,” Sapphire replied, gesturing ahead at the pipeline. “Now let’s get to that pipeline, shall we?”

“Looks like it's been rerouted towards the church,” Dom pointed out, rather oddly with the way his voice began to crack just slightly. This drew Sapphire and Marcus’s attention, hearing the crack before anybody else could. But he kept it together, shaking his head in reassurance to Sapphire and Marcus’s worry.

They continued on, Sam muttering under her breath, “I am not gonna end up like them. I bloody well am not.”

Dom nudged Sam slightly, reassuring her, “You won’t, Sam. We’ve got your back.”

As they ascended the last steps, where the pipeline seemed to keeping going towards their targeted destination, Anya pointed out quietly to Marcus, “The grubs are gonna be here soon, Marcus. We’re running out of time to fuel up!”

“This way,” the Stranded man told them, leading them on. Sapphire could tell that he heard Anya but kept her silence as they kept going. She continued in her own silence, looking around at all the ruined buildings and church, which used a part of itself to hold up the pipeline as they walked around it towards where the Stranded man was leading them. Soon, it appeared as they rounded to the back of the church, where next to the pump was a graveyard.

A heavy silence began to weigh down on them as Sapphire saw Dom stagger just slightly, his eyes going to the graveyard with distant heaviness. A part of Sapphire wished that Dom stayed behind with Dizzy and Jace, but that would probably have not been a good idea. Since it was evident that they needed as many people to fight off the Lambent humans. That sense of deja vu began to bother Sapphire even more now as she stopped in her tracks behind Dom, watching as his Lancer lowered.

Marcus told him, “Dom, we’ll deal with the pump.”

Dom looked over at Marcus, nodding, “Thanks. But don’t wait for me if anything goes wrong.”

This bothered both Marcus and Sapphire as they briefly looked at each other. After a moment, Marcus told him in a quieter tone, “Just make it fast.”

With a parting glance at Sapphire, Marcus, the Stranded man, and Anya continued on. Sam paused but soon walked away herself. This left Sapphire and Dom alone. Sapphire stayed silent, watching vigilantly as Dom began to slowly walk into the graveyard. His sights were on an angel, a rather well kept one, with hands in prayer and a weathered face.

When he finally got to it, Dom kneeled down, bowing his head. With the silence of the air, Sapphire could barely hear Dom as he talked to the statue. She didn’t want to shed tears now, her eyes lifting away from Dom to the plate next to the graveyard’s entrance. There was a name there she couldn’t even make out, but it was probably referring to the angel’s name or something.

Quietly, she listened as Dom said to the statue, “Maria…Baby, I’m sorry I couldn’t bring you home. But…you’re with the kids now. That’s home, yeah? I’ll see you all again one day.”

With a dry chuckle, Dom gestured to the main pump, where the team was trying to find a way to get the main pump working. “Look, Marcus is busy saving the world again, so I gotta be there for him…sleep tight, sweetheart.”

Sapphire’s chest felt heavier than before, and Sapphire was tempted to go join the others when something happened that froze her.

She watched as Dom took off his Gears tags, putting it on the statue’s neck with a sad smile. Attached to his tags was the pendent of Maria’s necklace. Something flashed in memory at the sight and Sapphire realized with a sickened heart and stomach that her sense of deja vu wasn’t unwarranted.

As Dom walked away, Sapphire took her moment to approach the statue. The exact image she saw gave her uneasiness as she realized what she saw this from. She remembered the angel clearly now that she was closer, and the tags with Maria’s pendent only made Sapphire’s fear come true.

This was right before Dom’s death.

Flashes of that scene came beckoned and Sapphire had to close her eyes to take a deep breath. A part of her wanted to let it happen, let Dom join his family in the beyond.

But that other part of her, the one who cared for Marcus deeply, didn’t want to let that happen. Dom was such an important part of Marcus that Sapphire didn’t want to see him hurt from his death.

Looking over at the main pump, Sapphire saw Dom give a struggling Marcus his knife for the main pump. His final act was soon upon them, unexpected and sudden that Sapphire knew it was going to leave a deep scar.

But she?

Sapphire may have become an important person in their group, but that didn’t make her so important that her loss would leave a huge scar. Sure, Marcus will be upset, probably enraged at her action to save his brother. But Sapphire knew Marcus would come to understand.

Besides, she was tired. Tired of all this that was coming towards her. Tired of the fighting and dark lullaby. Tired of the depression and anxiety that had plagued her since the Nexus.

She just wanted to rest too.

Turning back to the statue, Sapphire spoke softly, “Sorry, Maria. I wish we could have met on better terms. I’ll make sure to protect your husband. He deserves to see this to the end. I’ll make sure of it.”

Turning back to the group, Sapphire began to approach, quiet as they finally got the main pump going. She watched as the pump’s gears began to steam and move, grinding metal against metal. Above, leaks covered by clothes began to seep Imulsion, Marcus calling Dizzy, “Dizzy, the fuel’s online. Stand by.”

Suddenly, as they turned away from the pump, a spike in the dark lullaby followed by a howling screech of a Lambent human caught their attention. All their attention turned to the church, where boarded up doors began to splinter and spread old dust as what seemed like Lambent humans banged against the door.

Sapphire readied herself, knowing that this might as well be her final stand.

She would make sure Dom made it through all this. Even at the cost of her. Within her mind, the dark lullaby called to her, screamed for her blood. And she couldn’t help but let it hear her own song, feeling the blood rushing in her head as she readied herself with the Gears and Stranded man.

She’d make sure they all made it out.

Chapter Text

“Somehow I don’t think that’s the choir,” Dom remarked as they readied themselves for what came streaming out of those doors. The doors continued to move as whatever nightmare lay behind them was doing their best to try and escape.

Marcus told the others, “We finish this bunch, and then we get the hell outta here, okay?”

“Copy that,” Sapphire replied, giving Marcus a smirk. “Let’s see how many we got in this church!”

They readied themselves, taking stations behind any barrier they could find as rusted nails and boards began to fall off the door, splintering one leg of the barricade. Dom asked, “You think the old guy laid enough explosives to blow the town?”

“No, but it will put a big hole in it,” Sam replied, briefly turning to the Stranded man as he checked his ammo. “No offense.”

“None taken. This place can go to hell for all I care,” the man remarked.

“Then we’ll have to settle for slowing them down,” Marcus replied.

“And hopefully we don’t get tag-teamed by Locust,” Sapphire grumbled, taking shelter next to Marcus as she checked Ghidorah’s levels. “Marcus, I won’t be able to help much right now.”

“Just don’t get cornered.”

The constant banging suddenly stopped, a silence weighing on the tense group. For a brief moment, there was only a split second thought of the Lambent humans maybe heading elsewhere. But that was quickly proven false when the doors burst open, wood and rust flying towards them.

Like a zombie horde, Lambent humans charged towards them. They spitted and shrieked, beginning to fill the graveyard. Sapphire only struck a couple before three began to overpower her, their dark lullaby songs mixing and piercing through her skull as she felt blood begin to drip from her nose. She tried rolling away, letting Marcus fire at them, but Marcus was busy firing into another group coming right towards them. She felt them claw at her, their melting nails and skin somewhat causing irritated scratches that didn’t hurt her physically, but very much mentally.

Suddenly, one was taken out on Sapphire’s left, on the opponent side of Marcus. Then a second. This allowed Sapphire to strike Ghidorah through the last one, turning to see the Stranded man giving her a nod. She nodded back, only to see two Lambent humans surge over the barrier.

She didn’t even have a second before the Lambent humans tore through the screaming man. And when Sapphire finally struck them both down, the Stranded gurgled, face mutilated and soon became limp. Sapphire cursed sharply, turning to find the last of the Lambent humans charging at them.

With all firing on them, it didn’t take long for the Lambent humans from the church to lay in crumpled, ashened heaps of imulsion. Sapphire cursed again, looking away from the torn Stranded man. She may have saved him briefly, if she ever did, but he still died.

She tried not to think about death much. Not when the prospect of finally having peace was so close. She was afraid that if she looked too much at the dead man who just saved her from being mauled, she would reconsider her choice of replacing Dom’s demise with her own.

She would not be deterred, no matter how her mind seemed to cringe at the whole situation, unconsciously looking for other ways.

Her thoughts were interrupted by Marcus talking into his ear piece, “Dizzy, we’re done here. We’re on our way.”

Turning to Dom, Marcus asked, Dom what’s the fastest way back to the fuel station?”

“Just cut through the vaults under the church. It used to be an air raid shelter in the Pendulum Wars,” Dom replied, leading them on. “This way.”

“Better hope we’ve cleared out the Lambent from down there,” Sam wondered aloud. A genuine concern as they entered the battered church. Dom led them to a boarded up entryway, the smell of Imulsion strong from between the rotted wood. With a swift kick, Dom broke the boards, letting the others in.

Sapphire ignored the heightened pitch in the dark lullaby, sourced by the Imulsion at their feet. Dom cursed as they entered, shaking his head, “Smell those Imulsion fumes. Never used to be like this.”

It was daunting to look below, seeing the Imulsion river running just under Mercy. They continued on, Dom leading them as Sam asked, “Hey, Marcus. Your father thinks it's the Imulsion that’s killing Sera, right?”

“Yeah,” Marcus replied with a sigh. “We killed to get the stuff. And now it’s killing us.”

As they continued underground, going away from the Imulsion fumes and further underground, Jace suddenly called. His voice was frantic as he told them, “Yo, Marcus, we got grubs, up the highway!”

“Is the tanker ready to roll,” Marcus asked, the group picking up their pace through the lit tunnels.

“She’s still spewing fuel, Marcus! I can’t plug all the leaks. She ain’t going nowhere,” Dizzy reported with a frustrated growl.

“Ah, shit,” Marcus snarled, the group practically running through the old shelter. “All right, leave the damn thing. Get to the pickup!”

“Roger that, we’ll be locked and ready to go,” Jace replied, before their communications went dead. Sapphire could feel her mind running on fumes, the dark lullaby beginning to take its toll as she lagged behind. Dom slowed his pace, seeing the blood dripping down Sapphire’s nose.

“Hey, come on, Sapphire. We’re almost there,” Dom encouraged. Sapphire shook her head, feeling the dark lullaby beginning to merge dangerously with the Locust song. “Keep going!”

“Keep up with the others, Dom,” Sapphire pleaded softly, forcing herself to pick up the pace with the others. “We cannot stop now!”

Their running went from jogging to full on sprinting. Soon, they rose, the shelter coming to a stop at locked doors. Together, Marcus and Anya surged through, breaking the rusted lock and allowing them all through. Sapphire felt the hot rays of the sun beaming down on them as they ran out of the shelter, finding themselves over the gas station, the broken canopy surrounding them.

Sapphire’s heart pounded, that sense of deja vu now a heavy weight on her stomach as she twirled Ghidorah to rest on her back. They got to the edge of the canopy, where Jace and Dizzy waited by the pickup trucks, turned on and ready to roll out. Dizzy shouted towards them, “Marcus! Come on, we’re good to go!”

The ground shook, and when they turned towards where they had come out to Mercy, the tunnel echoed the roar of a Locust platoon, their inhuman roars echoing in the tunnel before some emerged. They were cut off from the highway!

“We’re cut off,” Anya shouted in warning. “Defend the trucks!”

Sapphire took a moment to kneel, her head throbbing painfully. She was exhausted, the dark lullaby and Locust song combined, beginning to stab painfully into her head. In an effort to soothe it, she tried to grab tethers of the Locust, the closest she could grab. Each snap of a tether hurt like all hell, increased by the fact so many were echoing through her head.

Locust continued to pull out of the tunnel and Sapphire sparred a look around her.

Marcus fired along with Sam, Anya, and Dom, his face vengeful and annoyed. Below, Dizzy and Jace fired too, protecting the trucks the best they could.

They were all fighting. Fighting to survive.

She had to do the same. Until the very end.

Grabbing Ghidorah, Sapphire saw grapples on the side of the canopy. With a furious roar, Sapphire struck whatever Locust came to the canopy with growls of anger towards her. She could feel their hatred towards her, their queen’s command to kill her.

And that fueled Sapphire’s fight response.

Each grapple was met with Sapphire’s Ghidorah, the last of its energy echoing as she killed Locust after Locust. Their song never lessened, meaning more were coming.

At least, until a surge of the dark lullaby drew her to look behind. Coming down towards them from the shelter, Lambent humans were sprinting towards them from behind. Sapphire roared out in her fury, Ghidorah ready and covered in the dark blood of Locust.

She met them head on, Ghidorah swinging and battering Lambent humans off the platform and careening down below. The impact is hard enough on their frail bodies to eradicate them from existence. Sapphire knew she was beginning to wear down, her movements becoming sluggish as her vision blurred. If it weren’t for the adrenaline rush, she knew she would either drop dead from exhaustion or pass out with a long sleep spell.

At least it wouldn’t be painful when the end came.

Suddenly, a stalk burst from the ground next to the shelter, effectively cutting them off from ever thinking of retreating back to the shelter. Not that they would, but that was still one less escape option for the Gears.

Behind Sapphire, she heard another stalk burst from the ground. But her focus was on the one behind the Gears. With Ghidorah in hand, Sapphire roared out, surging forward into the Lambent drones that came out of the pods. As she killed one, two more seemed to take its place.

As much as she fought vigorously, she knew she was nearing her limit, especially when she missed Ghidorah’s next hit. This provided the perfect opening for the Lambent drone to grab her by the throat, its empty, hollowed face screaming yellowish goo into her face. She kicked out, her foot caving its rib cage but its grip was still tight.

As black began to grow in her vision, she heard the reversing of a chainsaw. Then, those hands were away from her throat. She looked over as the Lambent drone was then kicked off the canopy, seeing Dom with Imulsion painted on his chainsaw. He asked hurriedly, “You good?”

“Trying,” Sapphire replied, surprised at her voice’s cracked and fragile state. Sided by Dom, Sapphire grabbed Ghidorah and kept going.

The two stalks became spent after its Lambent parasites left, becoming stone. But it only gave them a brief reprieve before three more stalks burst through, one collapsing one side of the canopy where a platform was then opened up to them to the roof of a building closer to the trucks. Marcus saw this opportunity, shouting to the others, “Run! Get to the other side!”

Sapphire heard this.

She should have listened, but when she turned, her exhausted reaction time was long enough that Anya and Sam were already on the other side and rushing to the trucks. Marcus also got to the other side before a fourth stalk burst forth, breaking the platform that led to the other side.

Trapping Sapphire and Dom. Boxing them both in.

Sapphire looked down, seeing that the fourth stalk had pushed the tankard off the fuel truck, leaving an opening. Behind her, Dom fired, keeping the Lambent back. Ahead, Anya and Sam provided covering fire for each other as they got down towards the trucks, leaving Marcus to provide them covering fire from above.

For a brief moment, Sapphire had second thoughts. If she was making the right decision.

“We’re surrounded,” Sam shouted from below.

Dom looked back, seeing Sapphire at the edge and Marcus continuing to fire, “There’s too many! We’re not gonna make it!”

Hopelessness. They were beginning to lose hope.

Marcus, however, thought overwise, shouting to all of them, “Hold them off! Just hold them off!”

Sapphire smiled. Even at the edge, he was still full of hope. A strong man who saw the best of things even when people thought otherwise.

Maybe that’s why she fell in love with him. His strength and kindness. The last two years…they may have been hard. But he made it all better. He and Dom. And Baird. And Cole.

Marcus looked over to check on Dom and Sapphire, finding Sapphire staring at him. Time slowed as she briefly looked between Dom and Marcus, the smile fading. Her face told him all he needed to know.

This was the end.

For two years, she fought vigorously, giving Marcus hope when none could be found. Gave Delta hope when she could provide. The past two years were well worth all the pain and fighting, the memories of all their time spent together flashing through both of them.

Marcus felt his heart tighten, his fear coming true.

Sapphire, on the other hand, felt lighter. At peace.

Because she knew that even without her, they could continue and win.

A hand grabbed her arm and Sapphire turned, seeing Dom giving her a confused glance. Both of his weapons were on the ground, out of ammo and emptied clips scattered. He told her, “You need to leave! I can get you across! Just go!”

She gave him a smile, which only furthered his confusion as she said to him, “Thank you, Dom. Take care of him, yeah?”

“What?” It was all Dom could say before the platform underneath their feet shook, the stalks having weakened the structure.

Before Sapphire could push Dom off, the platform beneath them collapsed. They both tumbled and fell, the platform breaking into pieces upon landing on the truck. Sapphire felt the breath knocked out of her as she let out a cry of pain. Beside her, Dom landed too, letting out his own grunt of pain.

Above, Sapphire heard Marcus shout down towards them, “Sapphire! Dom!”

She could hear his pain. His fear in that shout. But she couldn’t give up yet, looking up to see the truck within feet of her. Just one more push. One more last stand.

She was quicker to her feet then Dom, taking off the tubing to the tanker from the truck. Dom got to his feet at that time, calling out to her, “Don’t!”

She heard gunfire behind her, the lullabies so painful that she could barely see. She felt her shoulders be grabbed, spinning her around before she could even go around the truck, facing Dom. She was quick to spit out, “Go! Just let me go!”

Sapphire could see Dom’s conflicted gaze. They had no time for this! But no matter how she struggled, Dom didn’t let her go, instead telling her, “No. I’m not letting Marcus lose another loved one.”

“Dom, let me go! Damnit!” No matter how much she struggled, trying to use her flexibility against Dom, but he was stronger than her in her weakened state.

And to her surprise, he shook his head, “I’m sorry, Sapphire. Marcus needs you. Now more than ever.”

Before Sapphire could even snap at him, her vision suddenly swam as pain erupted in her face. She felt a hand on her side briefly, the pain blinding her to what was happening. She didn’t register being thrown away from the truck until she heard the engine. She looked up, seeing Dom in the driver’s seat, his demise imminent.

She felt her body shaking and she couldn’t register what was being said in her ear as she got to her feet, using the pillar next to her to right herself up as she watched the truck pull out of the gas station and back into the highway, mowing down Locust as Dom drove down the tunnel.

Her heart felt heavy, the pain almost too much as she shouted after Dom, “DOM! FUCK!”

She could feel the tears form as she turned towards the trucks, finding a Locust Boomer heading right for her. It was useless for her to fight, Ghidorah still at her back. With frustration and rage coursing through her, she screamed, a roar as she violently broke the tether of the behemoth. The boomer fell with a cry, leaving Sapphire to pant heavily as she tried to find a way out.

She only had a limited amount of time when she heard the bellowing honks of the fuel truck coming back, full speed. Sapphire’s legs shook as she began to run, everything muffled to her ears before an explosion could be heard behind her.

Everything happened so slowly that Sapphire thought she was dreaming.

The truck’s impact into the leaking fuel tank.

The Imulsion inside igniting, ripping the stalks and surrounding structures apart.

The explosions going up Mercy from the gas station, the rigged pipelines bursting.

When Sapphire registered what had just happened, she found herself on the ground on her side, shaking violently. She could feel the hot tears running down her face, cursing Dom with choked sobs. The smell of burnt flesh and smoke was harsh in her lungs, causing Sapphire to choke, trying to get up but having no energy to do so.

Mercy, once a bustling fuel deposit, was nothing more than a trench in the soil.

Hands grabbed Sapphire as she tried to get up. She didn’t know who it was, sobs wrecking her body.

She tried so damn hard.

She was so close to the sweet release of death.

But in the end, she wasn’t strong enough to stop Dom.

No matter what she did, Dom was going to end up dead. That was just proven in the form of an exploding fire, hearing Marcus’s pleas to go in there and retrieve Dom.

That only upset Sapphire further, hearing Sam above her, “Hey, come on. We got to go. Take deep breaths.”

“I couldn’t stop him,” Sapphire whispered, only loud enough for Sam to hear. “I couldn’t stop him, Sam. I tried. I fucking tried-”

“Hey, less talking, more breathing,” Sam instructed. “Come on, get in the truck.”

Sapphire didn’t want to, wanting to just die right there. But Sam pushed her in, letting Sapphire on before anybody else. Inside, Sam sat next to Sapphire, wrapping the woman into a soft embrace as the exhausted woman cried.

There, Sapphire curled in on herself, whispering to herself, “It should have been me. It should have been me.”

Sam listened, but didn’t say anything, not when she spotted Marcus and Anya getting into the same truck. Marcus only gave Sapphire a brief glance, his face unreadable before he sat as far away from her as possible. On any other occasion, Sam would have cursed him out, but now wasn’t the time.

All she could do was comfort her friend, who sobbed quieter as the truck peeled out of there. Anya and Sam shared a brief glance, grieving over the loss of a friend but also growing worried over both Marcus and Sapphire. Dom’s loss hit them the hardest out of the group, but there was something there that neither wanted to touch on with what Sapphire whispered to herself in Sam’s range of hearing.

Grief hit them all hard, but for Sapphire and Marcus, it was different. She was guilty for not helping Marcus, her promise to him now shattered. Just like the last promise they made to each other. Marcus had just lost his brother, a brother he cherished since he was a young boy.

With Dom gone, it left a gaping hole in both of them. A gaping hole that felt as wide as the distance that they had now in the truck.

Mercy was left in smoke and ashes, their next destination unknown to a quietly grieving Marcus and a destroyed Sapphire.

Chapter Text

Sapphire couldn’t even lift her head as the truck banged along the road, the truck quiet. Marcus nor she had spoken a word to each other, and she knew she deserved it. She was right there, yet she couldn’t do shit for Dom. Dom was gone and she had one less friend while Marcus had one less brother.

She didn’t know why, but she felt a stab into her pocket after a particular bump in the road that caused her to ruffle through her pockets. There, she found a photo that wasn’t in her pocket before. When she pulled it out, she nearly choked back another sob at seeing Dom and Maria, taking a selfie with smiles bright on their faces.

He must have slipped it in her pocket before he threw her from the truck. She didn’t know what to actually do with it, folding it in its original form and gathering the courage to hand it to someone. She didn’t lift her head when she finally held the photo to Marcus however long later, feeling the photo’s fold slip from her hand, but she didn’t hear it fall onto the truck.

Her scarred arm was shaking at this point, stressed from the use it had dealt with. Her arm had slowly gained more and more momentum over the years, but constantly using it for hours straight was getting to her.

It was Sam who finally spoke, “Do you have medicine for that?”

Sapphire shook her head, “I’m fine, Sam.”

She felt a soft hand on her shoulder, and she tried not to break down at the sudden comfort it brought her. Sam continued, “Your arm has been shaking this whole time. Can you still move it?”

Sapphire didn’t move. She didn’t want to. Everything hurt, from her head to her chest and to her arm. Instead, her mouth moved, and she repeated numbly, “I’m fine, Sam.”

The hand slowly withdrew, and Sapphire was left alone once more.

When the truck finally stopped, she felt the truck shift as people got off. She followed soon after, never once looking up at anybody. Marcus finally spoke, seeming to be farther than the others, “All right, you can cut the shit.”

She heard the powdery crush of ash as Marcus turned to them all, continuing, “Dom’s gone. We gotta make sure he didn’t die in vain by getting that damn fuel and going to Azura. Dizzy, stay here with the truck.”

Dizzy was still in the vehicle then. At her feet was just ashes that blacked her boots. She didn’t have the strength to be bothered by it as she made sure Ghidorah was still on her back. Sapphire was about to go forward when suddenly Marcus spoke, catching her attention as her eyes met dull blue eyes, “Sapphire. Stay here with Dizzy. That arm needs to rest.”

Sapphire wanted to say she was fine, but the look everyone was giving her told her not to try. Besides, she didn’t want to argue with Marcus. Not after what she put him through. She nodded, watching them all leave and seeing Anya and Sam steal glances at her once before following Marcus and Jace.

Marcus didn’t look back.

She shouldn’t be surprise, though it still pained her as she crossed her arms, watching them disappear out of sight. Sapphire leaned against the truck as Dizzy climbed out, stretching before checking the truck. As he checked the tire nearest to Sapphire, he pointed out, “After all this, I think you both need a moment alone.”

Sapphire didn’t say anything as she checked her arm, the tattoos of the dragon hiding the scars well even after all the stress.

Dizzy stopped, looking up with a strained smile. “Now, don’t be like that. It ain’t your fault Dom did what he did.”

Sapphire glared at Dizzy and Dizzy looked to move to defend himself, if need be, as she hissed, “Don’t you realize I’m the one to end the line of the Santiagos? I was down there in the Nexus, forced to kill Maria so she did not have to suffer in those bastards’ hands. I could have saved her. I could have saved Dom. I should have been the one in that vehicle. I was right there…I was…right there.”

Sapphire looked away, trying to regain her composure. To distract herself, she looked over towards the back of the truck where she spotted a face zip behind cover. She grabbed Ghidorah, growling, “Who's there?!”

Dizzy was up to, turning around and cursing. “Looks like we’re surrounded.”

Sapphire glanced around and she spotted people with drawn aim to them. Sapphire couldn’t help but hiss, “You think they’re Stranded?”

“From Char? Definitely,” Dizzy replied, but he didn’t dare move to his pistol. Sapphire could see the people in front of her move into view, brawling-type men sneaking out with guns drawn. One of them, one with a scruffy beard and cigar walked out from behind with no gun, but with chains instead.

“COG bastards, huh? Pretty risky separating your party here,” the man stated before his eyes glanced over Sapphire. She tightened her grip on Ghidorah, eyes narrowing. “You, drop your weapon.”

“How about fuck you,” Sapphire growled as she pushed away from Dizzy, staring down the man as the men who trained their guns on her tensed, fingers over the triggers. “We’ll only be here for an hour. Leave us alone and no one gets hurt.”

“Oh! Look here, boys! We got a bitch with her claws out,” the man chuckled as he pointed to her. “We don’t want to shoot you. You’ve got a body many men would die for around here. Instead of killing you, we’ll take you to Griffin. Let him take the beast.”

“Try me,” Sapphire growled, flipping the switch. Ghidorah came alive, the yellow electricity tracing through the staff in a continuous wave. Dizzy stood silent as the men watched with wide eyes.

The man raised an eyebrow before he started laughing. “If I’ll be damned! Looks like we’ve got the Huntress!”

“Mu,” one of the men stated. “She’s dangerous. I don’t think Griffin can do anything with her.”

“Nonsense. This just makes the prize better,” the man chuckled before he turned to the men who still had their aim on Dizzy. “We got some collateral anyways.”

Sapphire’s rage grew as she went to cover Dizzy, careful that Ghidorah didn’t touch the man. “Like hell you will. I’ve been itching for a fight anyways!”

She swung, the electricity shooting out in a diagonal line into the first man that was closest. Mu growled, “Seize them both!”

Sapphire was fast, blocking a Gnasher from hitting her face before uppercutting the man holding it. When she turned, three men had pushed Dizzy into the truck, one approaching him with the butt end of a rifle. Dizzy went down and Sapphire became enraged, swinging the staff like a bat into the man who did the deed.

She easily knocked the man back a few feet before she swung back, meeting two charging men with Ghidorah being smashed into one while the electricity shot out and hit the other. As Sapphire turned to get to Dizzy, she was met with a punch to the face, sending her reeling back. The pain of the punch only made Sapphire more enraged as she realized just then that Dom had punched her before he threw her away from the truck.

That sneaky bastard!

She hit the ground hard, still gripping Ghidorah as she fell on her side. The injuries from earlier ached after the impact, causing her to cry out. She went to lift Ghidorah before a foot kicked her in the ribs, her arm falling as her wrist was held down by a foot. Mu stared down at her with a grimace. “Turn it off.”

“Fuck off!”

Sapphire growled, trying to pull her wrist from under the man’s foot. As she did, an arm curled around, cutting off her air supply as it pulled her up. Mu’s question was a blur as her vision blackened.

She dropped Ghidorah and all went black.

At least, until Sapphire opened her eyes moments later, finding herself lying down in an empty field. When she sat up, she didn’t see a single tree or rock in sight. It was…empty. Just nothing for miles.

Slowly, Sapphire got to her feet, finding that she was no longer in any armor or the clothes she had worn for the past two days. Instead, she was in some strange purple silk dress, covering most of her body. Sapphire examined the new attire before looking up.

“Where am I?” It was a thought she said out loud that caused her to sigh, rubbing her face with one hand. “I always ask that question, don’t I?”

“That you do.”

Sapphire whipped around, finding herself face to face with Griffin. The old Titan seemed more youthful than the last time Sapphire and him talked. She realized then that this must be, in an odd way, his realm. As if hearing her thought, Griffin chuckled, his wings holding him up as he shifted, “Yes. In an odd way, as you put it. You have gotten yourself in quite the pickle, hm?”

“Getting kidnapped by locals isn’t exactly the worst thing. Just an inconvenience,” Sapphire replied. “Why did you bring me here?”

“Because Valkyrie is not in the right mindset to speak with you. It seems the two sides are beginning to war against each other once more,” Griffin replied, slowly lying down, his head towering over Sapphire. “Not because of you. More so that the darker side of Valkyrie is waking up. A year of rest is enough for all that…poison to be rid of the system.”

“What Skorge poisoned Valkyrie with, right,” Sapphire asked. Griffin nodded. “So I’m assuming that the lighter side of Valkyrie is back in hiding. Or trying to.”

“That and because the Infection is getting smarter.” At Sapphire’s questioning look, Griffin huffed. “I think you may have noticed how they speak now.”

“Yeah…I have noticed it. The Lambent Berserker specifically targeted me. Have any theories?” Sapphire crossed her arms at this, sighing. “Not to mention how Queen Myrrah used the lighter side of Valkyrie to try and steer me away from Azura.”

Griffin hummed. “Strange how she has managed to do such a feat. Unless it was out of desperation…or somebody helped her achieve such a feat.”

“Like who?” Griffin stared at Sapphire, as if telling her silently that she should know. After a long moment, Sapphire paused, looking away from Griffin as her thoughts went to one person in particular. “Adam Fenix.”

“Seems to be the case,” Griffin replied. “You only know him through a screen. He made a weapon that wiped out many cities, including the one you are in. He knows of us.”

That caught Sapphire off guard, her head snapping back to Griffin, “What?”

Griffin huffed, “I did not officially meet him, but the Gray One has told me of Adam Fenix. A smart man who would do anything to protect his family, even when he is powerless against fate.”

“And you never thought to mention this to me?”

“As you have held the information from his own son?”

Sapphire gritted her teeth, growling, “Marcus is not part of this, Griffin.”

“Yet you tell him that you knew of him in your world,” Griffin snapped back with a snort. “You tell him things you shouldn’t have. How his own leader would abandon his people, how the war will end soon, how the Lambent are the new threat, and, finally, tell him of his friend’s demise.”

“Not in detail, Griffin. That’s different,” Sapphire replied, growing increasingly frustrated. “Marcus was there. He saw through me the moment we met. He knew I wasn’t all I said I was. Unlike everyone else, he’s the only one who’s been at my side and helped me in a way nobody else could.”

With a furious shake of her head, Sapphire warned Griffin, “Whatever this shit I’m going through is with you, that island dragon, and Valkyrie, stays in my head. Marcus is not part of this fuckery! I want all this to stay in my head! He’s already going through enough as is! And to top it all off, he hates me! Because I didn’t stop Dom, because I wasn’t strong enough when Valkyrie was able to throw a whole fucking table into a monitor feet above the ground!”

Griffin went quiet, staring at Sapphire as she kept going, “For two years, since I was trapped and imprisoned by the Locust, I’ve wondered what the fuck is with all this business with you and everything else relating to you, Griffin. NONE of this bullshit was in the games! But you know that since apparently every being can see into my mind! So why not tell me what the fuck all this is? What is all this ‘Blood of Another’ bullshit? You, Valkyrie, and that island dragon? Why are the Lambent after me? Why does Queen Myrrah believe my blood will bring an army?”

Sapphire stopped, realizing that Griffin was waiting for her to stop and calm down. With a shaky breath, Sapphire sat back down, trying not to cry. It was all too much.

Not only was she confused, but also completely lost.

With a sigh, Sapphire covered her face with her hands, whispering, “I should have been the one in that truck. I’m just done with all this bullshit.”

Griffin said nothing, watching as Sapphire began to break down, her walls shattered and all questions forgotten. Slowly, the world faded to black. This time, however, Sapphire welcomed it, becoming as detached as when she was in her coma.

She was so tired. Just for a moment, she needed space.

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Marcus didn’t know what to expect when he and the others were escorted by a disgruntled Stranded to their leader. A man by the name of Griffin. Ironic since the only other Griffin that Marcus knew was a giant flying reptile of fuck no. Facing this Griffin wouldn’t be as terrifying as that encounter was.

His mind was muddled with the reality of the situation, his face distant as he followed the elderly man into a ruined commercial office building, Stranded spitting at his feet or cursing him out. If Sapphire was here, they probably wouldn’t have to face the bullshit. She probably would have faced this Griffin with more authority than he or Anya.

But in all honesty, he needed the space. And she needed the space too.

His mind had been muddled with all that had happened in the span of a day. In the end, he didn’t have to make a choice. Dom and Sapphire chose for him. Well, at least Dom chose for him.

He saw what happened, as much as he wanted to deny it. Everything up until that moment was foggy until the moment he turned and saw Sapphire staring at him with a look of what seemed like peace. Like she had a plan already in motion with how to deal with whatever happened next.

While he was aware of Dom’s future demise, he should have realized Sapphire would try something in desperation to prevent such a thing. She knew him well enough to know what Dom meant to him. She knew Dom’s death would set Marcus off-balance, cloud his thinking.

He should have broken by now. He should have done something in anger by now. And while the grief was fresh as a new wound, Marcus couldn’t decide which would have destroyed him more. Losing his brother-in-arms, the younger brother of his childhood best friend, or his partner, who loved him in a way he never felt before. And that is what gave him pause.

Because he didn’t know which would have destroyed him more.

When Sapphire wordlessly handed Marcus Dom’s photo of him and Maria, Marcus couldn’t help but wonder if Dom had given it to her before or during the moment of his last few minutes of life. Either way, knowing Dom as well as Marcus did, Marcus knew it was given to Sapphire then to Marcus for a reason.

The sickening reality was, Dom saw no reason to live. Not when he lost his kids. Or realized his wife was dead. He stopped Sapphire from sacrificing herself because Dom would rather Marcus have a life after the war. Dom had lost everything and he was once vocal about it to Marcus one drunken night, when it was just Marcus and Dom on the deck with a whiskey exchanged between the two.

Marcus remembered Dom telling him, “You know, you and Sapphire could make a good life out there in the woods. Away from people and all the bullshit. When all this is over.”

“What about you,” Marcus had asked. Dom only took a chug of the whiskey before he sighed.

“I don’t have nothing left, Marcus. My kids are gone. My wife is dead. I don’t have a future. But you do. And that’s all I care about. That you have a future,” Dom had replied. Those words hurt, but at the same time, Marcus understood. At the time, Marcus thought it was Dom just being drunk and down on his luck.

But he was naive to think Dom didn’t think that way all the time.

Yet, foolishly, he couldn’t bring himself to face Sapphire just yet. A small part of him blamed her. But that was overshadowed by the fact she tried so hard to replace Dom’s fate with her own that Dom had to punch her to prevent the action. And knowing Dom, that was the first and only woman he had ever punched in his life that didn’t try killing him.

Marcus was brought back by the Stranded man in front of them taking them to a door, where two Stranded men with old Retro-Lancers opened the door. The man led them up a flight of stairs, where an office door remained closed. With a polite knock, the man opened the door, revealing a once lavish office, with wood akin to a mansion’s room. The old fashioned decor brought Marcus back to the days he was hanging out in his father’s office, unaware of what his father or mother were actually doing.

The Stranded man spoke, approaching a large oak desk with an office chair swiveled around, hiding whoever was sitting in the chair. “Mr. Griffin, sir…these COG guys showed up, and they did a great job on the glowies. Now they want some fuel.”

In a slow motion, the chair swiveled back around, revealing a black man with a bald head and dark shades. He was dressed like a Stranded leader, more lavishly than others. He held a cane in one hand, which he used to point at the ash-covered Stranded man, “What the fuck are you doing bringing the COG here, into my city?”

The ashened man shrunk as Griffin stood up, his anger evident in his posture. The ash-covered man replied, “They-they-they killed the glowies, sir! They-they just want some fuel!”

Before he could finish his plea, Griffin growled, “Boy, get out of here before I lose my patience.”

It was all the man needed to hear before he walked fast out of the office and back down the stairs, the door closing behind him by a hidden guard. Griffin turned to the Gears, a sneer on his face as he greeted, “So welcome to the Griffin Tower, COG. It was here before you destroyed Char, and it’s still standing now. And so am I. You’ve got some nerve coming around here asking for favors, motherfuckers.”

Anya gave Marcus a glance, but he didn’t say anything. She turned back to Griffin, speaking, “Sir, we understand. We just need fuel, and then we’ll go.”

The leader snorted, gesturing to Anya before gesturing to himself, “Bitch, you don’t understand shit. You seen those ash remains? Those were my workforce. My employees. My family. I don’t like their rest being disturbed by outsiders, and especially no fucking COG.”

“Oh, I think we understand grieving,” Marcus growled, catching himself and others off guard as the words tumbled out of his mouth.

“Ohhhh,” Griffin snarled. “And who the fuck are you?”
“Marcus Fenix.” Something in Griffin’s posture changed as he hummed.

“Now there’s a name I think I recall. You know the first rule of business, Mister Fenix?”

He didn’t have time for this. With a warning tone, Marcus growled, “Remind me.”

“It’s ‘what’s in it for me?’. You need fuel, so do I. Ironic, seeing as how I built an empire on it. So you go get my fuel back and I’ll let your punk-ass keep some.”

But if he built his empire on it, then, “Well, what’s stopping you from getting it?”

Griffin gestured behind him, through the boarded up windows where there were more intact buildings, “Our refinery across the way is a little late with the fuel shipment. Shit, they didn’t even send my cable car back. So I’m asking you to progress the order for me. Get my fuel and my cable car. Now, can you manage that, killa?”

“You wouldn’t be setting us up now, would you?”

Griffin raised a hand, snapping his fingers. On the side, two doors opened, revealing Dizzy, cussing up a storm as he was pulled out by two large Stranded men. He spat at the pair, “Goddamn it, get your hands off me!”

When he spotted Marcus, Dizzy perked up, “Marcus, they jumped us and took the truck! They-”

Dizzy was cut off when one of them grabbed his throat. He struggled, but the man held strong. Griffin smiled as Marcus whipped back towards him, anger clear on his face, “Every contract has a performance guarantee, Fenix. Your associate is now mine.”

“Hey, where’s Sapphire,” Sam piped up, getting to Anya’s side with worry and anger mixing. “What did you do to her?”

“Oh?” Griffin chuckled, straightening up and crossing his arms. “Now that one is a wild one. Fought my men off pretty well.”

With a gesture, two more Stranded came from behind Dizzy. Anya and Sam both gasped as Sapphire was hoisted up, completely limp. Marcus felt his anger rise, his fingers twitching for his Lancer. Griffin saw this, chuckling as he wagged a finger towards Marcus, “Oh no, big man. This one…woo, she’s a fine one.”

Griffin walked from the desk to the two, Dizzy finally silenced with a rag put over his mouth as he struggled even more at Griffin’s approach. To their disgust and Marcus’s fury, Griffin gripped Sapphire’s chin, lifting her head up to show the nasty bruises over her right cheek and eye, accompanied by the bruise on the right side of her jaw. She looked unconscious, her breaths shallow as Griffin spoke, “This little lady you have almost killed four men by herself. And I know who she is. The famed Huntress, revered by many as a deity sent to save their sorry asses.”

Letting her head fall, Griffin turned back, a smirk on his face at seeing Marcus’s barely contained anger, “Now this one, we’ll have to talk about later. She has to pay her side of the deal for killing three of my men. And maybe for the fourth if he survives his injury from her little plaything.”

Causally, the man walked back over to the desk, sitting back down in his chair. Marcus knew his fists were curled up so tightly that he felt like punching the man, his knuckles turning as white as a sheet. He could feel his body shaking with rage, a combination of anger, grief, and guilt. Once again, his decision endangered Sapphire and Dizzy.

Jace came up behind Marcus, whispering to him, “Don’t worry. We’ll be back before she wakes up.”

That calmed Marcus, but only by a little. He glared daggers at Griffin, growling, “You don’t lay a fucking hand on either of them. Don’t you fucking dare.”

“Oh, don’t worry, big man,” Griffin chuckled, seeming to be delighted at their heated fire. “They’ll both be safe under my care. As long as they behave themselves.”

Marcus didn’t want to move, his eyes drifting to an unconscious Sapphire before she and Dizzy were hauled away. The doors shut behind them, cutting out Dizzy’s muffled cursing. When he didn’t move, Anya and Jace stepped between him and the doors. Silently pleading for him to let it go for now.

With a barely contained snarl, Marcus turned away and Griffin parted from them with a grin, “You got an hour. Don’t waste it.”

Marcus stopped, but Anya was quick to tell him, “Let’s go, Marcus.”

The guard led them out and back to the elevator. Marcus still felt anger coursing through him, fueled by his grief and guilt over letting this happen so soon after losing Dom. A light hand was on his arm, Anya telling him in a low whisper, “They’re going to be fine, Marcus. Let’s go and get what he wants. Then we’ll get out of Char with Dizzy and Sapphire.”

As much as the words were comforting, that did not soothe Marcus in any positive way. He looked back up to the top of the tower, hoping that they got back before Sapphire woke up.

Because knowing her, she was going to fight like hell against Griffin and his Stranded people.

Chapter Text

Sapphire could barely register the world in her delirious state. The dark abyss was nice while it lasted, but then, she heard Marcus’s voice. The words were muffled but she recognized his scratchy, deep tone. It wasn’t pleasant sounding, like he was angry, but hearing his voice was enough to bring Sapphire out of that dark abyss.

After some relatively nice silence, Sapphire found that she was unusually calm when she began to register the world more and more. She didn’t know why. Maybe talking to Griffin about how she felt about all this was a nice change. It gave her no answers, but it definitely gave her some clarity.

There was still a war to fight in. That was much more important than dwelling in self-pity.

Slowly, as Sapphire came to, the first thing she registered was the dark lullaby. It was a small throb now, its high pitch and unbearable song calmed down from when she was in Mercy. But she also registered the Locust song. Just like when they were in the lands between Sovereign's sinking and Anvil Gate, the Locust song was somewhat stronger than the dark lullaby of the Lambent.

Meaning that a strong presence of Locust was either coming or nearby.

Then, Sapphire’s body swiftly reminded her of the pain she was in. That caused her to wince and suck in a pained breath. Her face was throbbing from the punches she had received, adding to her throbbing migraine. Not to mention all the bruises and scrapes and cuts from all her encounters with both Lambent and Locust.

“Sapphire!” Sapphire winced at how loud her name was called, her eyes refusing to open as she tried to wake up. “Sapphire, come on! Stay with me!”

Dizzy. That was Dizzy.

Sapphire tried to turn her head towards where she could hear Dizzy. But found that she couldn’t move much aside from lifting her head slightly. Her shoulders ached, as if kept behind her for a long time. The last thing she remembered before seeing Griffin was her and Dizzy being surrounded by Stranded and being overpowered by a guy named Mu. And if Dizzy was still with her and she was in this state meant that they were captured by the hostile Stranded.

With a groan, she tried to open her eyes as she raised her head a little higher. Dizzy caught this as he shifted closer to her, or at least seemingly closer to her.

“That’s it…Marcus should be here any time now,” Dizzy reassured in a calmer tone. “You okay?”

She could only groan in response. She felt like a train had hit her full force the more she woke up to the world. She couldn’t form any words right now, but Dizzy was successful in reassuring her. Marcus was coming for them, that much Dizzy was sure. And that man would do anything to get his comrades back.

“Marcus and the others should be here soon. There’s a med kit in the truck. Should treat that nasty bruise. You coming to yet?”

She sort of was, her eyes finally opening when she willed them to. As she opened her eyes, she realized something that gave her pause. They were in a dark room and she could barely see Dizzy at the other end, his shadow in the dark. From the shadows she could see in the dark room, they were in some sort of storage room, like one in an office building. Meaning they were still in Char.

As more of Sapphire’s senses came, a familiar voice whispered in her head. ‘There you are.’

Sapphire’s eyes snapped open at the voice.

That was Queen Myrrah.

She’d found them.

The Locust song was getting louder by the second as Sapphire took in her surroundings more. She was sitting against a pipe, her hands tied around it and behind her. They were indeed in a storage room, old and moldy files everywhere, choking up the room with a mildew stench. On the other side, where she had seen Dizzy earlier, she could see him move just an inch, being tied to another pipe. He was only missing his cowboy hat, but otherwise looked fine in the darkness.

Dizzy sighed in relief as he realized she was fully awake, “Oh dear me! I thought you were never going to wake up after the beating you took.”

Sapphire huffed, the simple action sparking pain in her face, “How long was I out?”

“Long while. I woke up right before I saw Marcus and the others. Oh, you should have seen the look on Marcus’s face. He was rightfully pissed.”

Sapphire felt warmth at that. Meaning he still cared about her. Even after what had just happened. No, now wasn’t the time to think about Dom. Queen Myrrah was coming and her and Dizzy would be sitting ducks if they sat here tied. In a strained whisper, Sapphire told Dizzy, “We need to get out of here, Dizzy.”

Dizzy gave her a confused look as she shifted her legs together, feeling her grandfather’s knife still miraculously in its sheath. At least the hostile Stranded hadn’t raped her while she slept. Meaning they also didn’t find her knife and took it. They did take Ghidorah though, which fucking sucked.

As she rose up the pipe to stretch her hands down to get her knife from its sheath, Dizzy said, “Honey, I hope that you're reaching-”

“I am,” Sapphire replied quietly, unsheathing her knife and twisting it to cut the ropes. They must have thrown the chains at how passed out she was. “Keep quiet.”

Dizzy shut up then, watching as Sapphire cut the ropes and slowly rising. Her feet were quiet as she crept to the door, seeing two guards posted. Crouching down, Sapphire went to Dizzy, cutting his ropes and letting him flex his wrists to get feeling back into them. Looking around, Sapphire saw that they made sure to clear most of the place of weapons.

They didn’t have time to look. Her knife would do.

She whispered to Dizzy, “Dizzy, mind a distraction?”

Dizzy grinned at her, “Girly, you gonna show your moves?”

“Only what Tai taught me,” she replied.

Dizzy didn’t show it, but he did perk up a little. Sapphire stepped back, making sure to be behind the door while Dizzy pretended to be still tied up. Staying in the shadow, she nodded to Dizzy, who chuckled to her in a whisper, “Just you watch, girly.”

Then, with a more panicked tone, Dizzy began to shout, “Holy shit! Girly! Someone, help! She’s choking! She’s dying!”

The two guards looked at each other before slamming the door open. Sapphire made sure to keep pressed to the shadows as she watched the guards look around. They saw her missing, turning sharply to Dizzy. Their backs were to Sapphire, one of them asking Dizzy with a growl, “Where the hell is she?”

“She’s right here.”

Both guards turned as Sapphire swiftly struck one through the neck, blood splattering from the blade. The other tried to raise his gun, but Sapphire was quick, kicking up and into the man’s hand. The gun fired, missing as it shot through the ceiling rather than at the prisoners. Sapphire then twirled, her other foot quickly striking the man’s temple.

Dizzy laughed at this as he stood up, grabbing the gun of the first dead man, “Hell, girly! Didn’t know you’d be that frightening! Though Marcus is going to be pissed.”

“I can say sorry to him later, but we need to go-” Bullets firing floors below caught their attention. Running out of the storage room and into the hallway, both Dizzy and Sapphire saw a Reaver zip past a boarded up window, the sound of Locust roaring below echoing up the floors and through the halls.

“Shit! The Locust are here,” Dizzy cursed, looking at Sapphire. “What are we going to do now?”

As much as Dizzy’s concern was valid, Sapphire didn’t feel as much concern. Instead, she knew they needed to move.

“Go to the roof,” Sapphire replied. “We’ll find a way out along the way. Marcus and the others should be here soon, right?”

“I’m hoping,” Dizzy replied as he grabbed more ammo from the guys. “Let’s go. Griffin said he had cable cars up a few floors.”

Sapphire paused at this and Dizzy coughed, “Oh, sorry. Didn’t realize that you weren’t really all there. Griffin is the leader of the damn place. He’s the one who sent Marcus and the others on his own damn errands. Just so we could get some fuel.”

“Well, they should get back. Let’s go!”

Sapphire and Dizzy began to sprint down the hall, avoiding guards and other Stranded that began to go to the lower levels to combat the Locust. Though with the Reavers coming in, they were going to have to face them from above and below. As they ran, Dizzy pressed his fingers to his ear, his earpiece intact, “Marcus, come in! This is Dizzy!”

Sapphire’s earpiece must also be intact because she could hear Marcus’s voice as he replied, “Dizzy, go ahead. We’re on our way back with the fuel.”

Sapphire saw two Stranded go right for them, their faces full of fury. Dizzy fired once at the first man while Sapphire pushed the other man to the edge of a broken window, that man falling down with a scream.

He looked over at Sapphire. She kept looking ahead, the stairs leading to a balcony. The sound of wings caught Sapphire’s attention and she was quick to pull Dizzy behind a broken pillar of the balcony before a blast of light came streaming at where they had just come out of. In response to Marcus, Dizzy told him, “You better hold off! Queen Myrrah just showed up with her war-beetle! We’re under attack!”

Above, the beetle flew about, firing light attack after light attack into the building, shaking it. Within her mind, Sapphire heard Queen Myrrah tsk, ‘foolish, Chosen. Foolishly trying to sacrifice yourself for simple humans. You are better than this.’

Sapphire felt fury rise, tearing away from Dizzy’s side to be in view of Queen Myrrah. With a middle finger, Sapphire roared out, “FUCK YOU, MYRRAH! KISS MY SHINY ASS!”

Sapphire must have been heard by Marcus because she heard Marcus’s voice in her earpiece, “Is that Sapphire I just heard?!”

Dizzy huffed a half-hearted chuckle, turning back to where they had come from, only to find Locust Drones coming towards him and Sapphire. He fired a few shots before replying to Marcus, “Yeah. Let’s just say she got us out. And she’s a fiery pissfire!”

“Where’s my fucking staff,” Sapphire growled, looking around as she turned back to Dizzy. “Hey! Let’s keep going to the roof!”

Dizzy nodded, following her as he fired back at the Locust drones that came up. Sapphire and him went back into the building, rising into the broken building towards the roof. As she ran, luck seemed to be on her side as she spotted something with the corner of her eye.

A Stranded soldier was on the ground, dead, with Ghidorah in his hand. She scoffed as she realized it was Mu, yanking Ghidorah out of his dead hand. Nearby, Dizzy picked up his cowboy hat from another dead Stranded that had captured them. With a spit, Sapphire growled to the deceased Mu, “Nice try, fucker. I got enough shit on my list.”

Dizzy laughed, “Serves the fucker right! We’re getting close to the roof!”

They kept going, Ghidorah now safely in Sapphire’s hand as she sprinted up the stairs. They passed by both Locust and Stranded as they fought each other. The Locust were overpowering the Stranded easily, and from the increasing firefight approaching them from below and above, the Locust were taking over.

Queen Myrrah was nowhere to be seen when they got to the roof. There, Dizzy pointed in the distance, where there were gas barges flanking a cable car, “There they are!”

Sapphire nodded, looking around. But found no landing for a cable car. She cursed, “But there isn’t a landing!”

Dizzy was the first to the edge, looking down. He sucked in a breath, “Looks like they’ll be three floors down.”

“Well, shit,” Sapphire huffed, turning around to see Locust Guards coming up. She readied Ghidorah, telling Dizzy. “Let’s make sure the others get up here without a hard fight!”

Dizzy nodded, raising his borrowed Lancer, firing at the guards as they advanced towards them. Sapphire waited patiently, knife sheathed in her leg while Ghidorah lit up with yellow electricity. Two guards managed to get passed Dizzy, advancing towards her and around him. Sapphire growled, charging forward.

As she fought the two guards with Ghidorah a lightning fury, she spotted a Stranded man come up from the stairs, firing behind him. More guards seemed to arrive with him as Sapphire got the best of the two guards. Dizzy cursed a few feet away from her, “Shit, there’s Griffin!”

The man turned around, half of his sunglasses destroyed. He stared at them with pure hatred, spitting, “Motherfuckers! You brought them! You fucking brought them!”

“Now’s not the time for a fucking blame game,” Sapphire snapped, facing forward as more guards came charging forward. “Let’s deal with these fuckers!”

Dizzy and Griffin fired, Sapphire charging forward when the guards got too close. As she fought a guard, she heard Dizzy call towards Marcus through the comms, “Marcus? Marcus! We’re in the shit up here! Me, Sapphire, and Griffin! We’re on our own now! We can’t hold out much longer!”

“We’re coming to get you guys, Dizzy! Just hang on!” Sapphire smiled at Marcus’s voice, swinging harder on her next turn against her opponent. The guard snarled at her a final time before she struck between its armor, finally striking with sharp energy through the Locust.

It shivered and died as its heart seized, leading Sapphire to face her next opponent.

Only to face a massive guard with a giant sword for a weapon. Instead of being afraid, Sapphire bristled, roaring out, “Come on, you lousy motherfucker! I’m really pissed off!”

The guard chuckled darkly, twirling his sword before charging forward. Sapphire was ready, charging forward as well as Griffin and Dizzy fired at the other guards. When the large guard swung, Sapphire dropped, front rolling to grab her knife from her sheath, Ghidorah lighting up one last time in her other hand.

The guard twisted around, sword coming back from her that she had to jump back, narrowing avoiding the sharp blade. This left an opening, and Sapphire took it gladly, striking with Ghidorah first. The guard let out a howl of pain before throwing a fist towards her. Sapphire dropped again, her knife flowing outwards with her as she rolled between the Locust’s legs, her blade striking the ankle, where there was a small opening between the boot and pants of the guard.

She felt the heat of dark blood as the guard howled again and she made sure to roll completely out of the way as it gained its balance. Standing up, she readied as the guard took another swing, this time followed by a fist. Sapphire simply jumped back again, but this time leaned back for the fist, her body flowing behind her as she kicked up, feeling the Locust’s helmet as she kicked it off.

She didn’t let the Locust gain his balance as she quickly jumped as soon as she was on her feet, her knife striking the vulnerable skull of the guard now that his helmet was off. The Locust fell back with a dying cry. Sapphire panted as she yanked her knife out, letting the guard bleed out.

She let out a victorious scream, turning to see if she needed to face any more guards. She knew she was covered in blood as she turned towards the remaining guards, roaring out, “Come on! Is that all you got!”

But before she could be fired upon, bullets flew behind the remaining Locust Guards, bringing a swift end to them. Sapphire panted as she gained her breath, Ghidorah barely holding her up as she looked out, finally seeing the ruined city. It looked like a city that was bombed by a nuclear weapon. And she knew deep down it was the Hammer of Dawn that resulted in this destruction.

The thought was only a small distraction as she heard Dizzy cheer to their reinforcements, “I knew you’d make it, Marcus!”

Sapphire was turned away from them, so she didn’t know how they were reacting. Except Marcus as she heard him growl to Griffin, “Okay, Griffin, we got your goddamn fuel. We’re done.”

They were. They had a war to end. They had so many things to do.

Sapphire shifted her balance, Ghidorah still holding her up. But to her short-tempered disappointment, she heard Griffin growl back, “You’re done?! They’re fucking dead! My people are all dead! We’ve survived Hammer strikes, the grubs, the whole damn war, and then you show up, and I lose fucking everybody! You fucking COG bastards!”

Something grew in Sapphire at that. And it wasn’t anger. It was pent-up frustration. Dealing with Stranded bullshit so often, Sapphire had learned to ignore their rants, their complaints, their excuses. But something about now rose a memory in Sapphire.

The one time Stranded almost broke her was a few months after beginning to explore the land more for supplies for the Sovereign. Someone had noticed Dom, shouted at him that he was a deadbeat who couldn’t save his own wife, a dear friend of their’s apparently. That it was his fault. They had learned of her death because they had been part of the group that Sapphire helped escape. The few Stranded of that group seemed to have done the opposite of what others of that group had done.

It was such a minor thing, overshadowed by the good the name of the Huntress came with.

But this, remembering Dom’s horrified expression, his drinking that night.

Sapphire’s frustration rose as Griffin talked more, ranting, “Everywhere you go, everything you do, it’s always nothing but death, pain, and miseries! You piece of shit motherfuckers!”

Sapphire turned slowly then, seeing Marcus trying to keep his composure, though his reddening face showed that he didn’t appreciate Griffin’s words as Griffin turned to him fully, a finger jabbing towards his face. Self-control was slipping from Sapphire as Griffin continued to attack Marcus, shouting in his face, “You damn pieces of fascist shits! I hope you all go to hell as, because of you, I got nobody left! You’ll pay for this one day, COG bastards! Just you wait! I’ll keep pissing on your ‘brethren’ as much as I want because you are all the same. GODDAMN PIGS!”

Anya looked over just as Sapphire moved, the snap nearly visible, but she didn’t expect the explosive result. Sapphire turned so sharply that she left a clear mark on the roof, raising Ghidorah to swing right into the middle of Griffin’s legs, earning a yelp from the man as Griffin fell back, away from Marcus as Sapphire stood over him, her face full of fiery.

The Gears watched in horror as Sapphire snarled, “Want to say that again, motherfucker? Call them whatever you want when we live, but you WILL NOT, and I repeat, WILL NOT, talk down to those who gave their lives to get to where we are! You’re talking shit to a man who just lost his goddamn brother since childhood, and you DARE piss on his memory?!”

Sam took a step forward, a hand reaching out to Sapphire. “Sapphire-”

Sapphire turned her head sharply towards Sam, snapping, “Let me deal with this!”

Sam flinched at Sapphire’s snap, looking at Anya with wide eyes. This was new. And from Jace and Dizzy’s shocked expressions, and Anya having no words, this was not a normal outburst. Marcus’s face was stoned, watching as Sapphire bristled over the Stranded man.

Sapphire turned back to Griffin, the noise in her head confusing her momentarily as Griffin finally attempted to get up. She snapped out in fury when the man hissed out, “Damn bitch! You have no idea-”

Sapphire visibly gritted her teeth before she sent a foot across the downed man’s face. She growled dangerously, “Want to continue, you son of a bitch!”

“Sapphire, chill out, man.” It was rare for Jace to talk to Sapphire, but it seemed to only enrage Sapphire as he tried to take a step forward. “You need to calm down. He just lost his entire base.”

“And we lost an entire world,” Sapphire hissed out, but she didn’t look at Jace. She was beginning to sound less and less like the Sapphire the Gears knew. To everyone else, they couldn’t come up with any reason why Sapphire would act out in this way.

But Marcus saw it. It was faint, but he caught the darker tone. One similar to Valkyrie from when they saw each other the first time in the darkness of the labs. She must be using Sapphire’s mental vulnerability to let out some steam. Steam that turned into a growl as Sapphire stared down at a now shivering Griffin. “They did nothing to help us and therefore, why should we help them if they want to be little rats in the sewer? They blew up our friends and comrades, stole our food from children’s mouths, and berated us for fighting a war to survive! He’s only feeling a quarter of what we lost. Of what we are trying to fight for!”

Nobody spoke. And Griffin didn’t have any words. It was like time froze, with only the wind moving. Anya hoped that Griffin would stay quiet, especially as he scooted far enough so he could stand up. Marcus had yet to say anything, and Anya wished she was next to him to nudge him into action.

But she didn’t have to.

“Sapphire.”

That seemed to calm the fire, though Sapphire still glared at Griffin, ready to strike if he continued. Nobody moved.

“This isn’t going to bring back Dom.”

A slight twitch of her free hand was all he received.

“He’s not worth the time. And beating him to a pulp isn’t going to fix what happened in Mercy. We’ve got work to do.”

Griffin chuckled weakly as he stood up, backing up away from them. Sapphire looked ready to pounce, rigid in her posture. Ready to strike if need be.

Marcus continued, taking on a more authoritative tone, “You want to release that rage? Save it for the Locust and the Lambent. The Stranded don’t deserve it.”

Anya and the others could see that Marcus was slowly breaking Sapphire’s rage down, her body beginning to shake.

“Let it go.”

The words were soft. And that did it.

Sapphire’s face fell, falling into a neutral, stoned expression. She didn’t speak, slowly twirling Ghidorah back into the strap holster on her back. With a shake of her head, she turned to the others, her voice empty as she told everyone with a tired but serious expression, “Let’s get this fuel back to the truck. We’ve got a submarine to find so that we can get to Azura.”

And with that, Sapphire walked passed them, ignoring Griffin’s retreat as she left for the truck, presumably. Nobody spoke up, though everyone looked at Marcus, who stared after Sapphire. He was calm, almost looking like he wanted to go after her. After a couple of seconds of silence, Dizzy told Marcus, “I think you and Sapphire need a chat. We’ll get the fuel cans back to the truck.”

Marcus didn’t say anything, but he did begin to move, going after the same direction as Sapphire. The others waited, letting Marcus and Sapphire get enough distance to have a chat. As Marcus disappeared from sight, Sam turned to Jace, telling him, “I think from now on, I would not want to stand between Sapphire and a dickhead she’s having a fight with.”

“She took down that guard so he got balls of steel to go rant in her presence,” Dizzy commented, gesturing to the downed giant Locust guard. The others stared at it for a long moment.

Before Jace gulped, “Yeah…I’m going to take Sam’s advice.”

Meanwhile, Marcus found Sapphire walking down the steps in solemn silence. Her head tilting to the side gave away that she heard him, but she didn’t stop, continuing to walk albeit slower. Waiting for him to catch up.

He took it, falling in step with her as they continued to walk in silence.

He was about to break it, asking if she was okay like a fool. But she beat him, her eyes forward and not once facing him, “I’m sorry.”

He paused at this. She was sorry? Before he could question her, she continued, hugging herself, “I was trying to prevent it. And I failed you, Marcus. I failed you and the others this entire time, because I couldn’t remember everything. Because I failed to do my part in this war.”

Marcus didn’t say anything, seeing Sapphire’s eyes water as she spoke. She continued in a small, weaker voice, “I should have been in that truck. I should have been the one to die in Mercy. Not Dom. He didn’t deserve it.”

“No, he didn’t.” Sapphire didn’t respond to Marcus as they both looked forward, walking past the deceased of both Stranded and Locust. And he didn’t give her time to respond as he continued. “But he saved us in Mercy. He wanted us to continue, because he had faith in us, Sapphire. Faith that we will get to the end and bring an end to all this pain and suffering. And that’s what we’re going to do.”

Sapphire didn’t respond and Marcus finally looked over, seeing her giving him a neutral look, similar to his grim neutral look. No more words were exchanged, Sapphire nodding in confirmation as she silently agreed with him.

They both knew that their grief needed to be on the back burner. At least until the war ended. But even if no words were spoken, they both made it clear that neither were to be blamed. To show it, Marcus put an arm around Sapphire and she accepted it, leaning more into him as they walked.

A silent way they both showed that mutually, neither of them were at fault for Dom’s death.

Because deep down, they both knew that Dom would have wanted to do it. He had no reason to go on. But they did. They had a reason to go on, to end the war and shape the future. And he told them both in the aftermath of his death through his gift formed in a photo.

The photo in the pocket of Marcus’s armor between him and Sapphire as they walked together back to the truck. In this quiet moment, they both pushed their grief down in the dark pit of the abyss, saving it for the battles ahead.

All the while, dark Valkyrie hummed deep under the dark lullaby’s throbbing song and the Locust dying rhythm. She didn’t know where this would go, not when what lay ahead was two armies converging into one to determine which would survive and thrive on Sera.

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Queen Myrrah watched the truck pass, making its way out of Char and towards their next destination. Next to her, her war-beetle hovered, waiting for its next command as it too watched the truck. With a huff, Queen Myrrah spoke, “Marcus Fenix seems to be as persistent as his father. And just as predictable. If he lives, our entire species dies. The Chosen continues to help him, somehow still alive despite the song of the Lambent. What a waste that girl is.”

Turning her head slightly, Queen Myrrah continued, “Make sure that their touching little mission ends here.”

Appearing from the shadows of the beetle and ruined buildings, three Locust appeared, looking like three metal-encased versions of Skorges. They bowed to her, hissing, “Yes…”

As they walked away, Queen Myrrah looked back, seeing the truck disappear towards their next destination. An old submarine hangar they knew of. In hopes of finding a submarine to use.

Queen Myrrah had hoped the Chosen would have died in Mercy. The songs of both Locust and Lambent would have driven the poor woman into insanity. And that woman knew more than they all did, from what Queen Myrrah could gather. But she had handled it since Valkyrie’s awakening.

Queen Myrrah knew that Adam Fenix was working on something to help. Only reason she left him alive. Adam knew what was killing Sera, the Infection of the Ancient times coming back once the organism’s hivemind realized the world’s situation. The Gray One confirmed it himself. That the Lambency was just a repeat historical event not seen in a millenia.

This time, there wasn’t an army of Titans to fight against the Infection. Just a lousy, weak woman who managed to live this long.

Who also had the help of a Titan entity.

Queen Myrrah hummed, wondering how the Chosen would manage from here on out. She had managed to survive the continuous torture of the dark lullaby and Myrrah’s chaotic hivemind. And she was handling well against the Lambent and Locust physically. She was even beginning to use her hidden abilities to humanity’s advantage.

It seemed that the hivemind that the Titans possessed was stronger than she expected.

Chapter Text

Arriving at the submarine hangar was far easier than Sapphire or the Gears expected. Just a Locust outpost that they fired up and rammed their truck through to get to the hangar. Sapphire looked around as they all began to walk away from the truck, Dizzy and Jace taking the back while Sapphire and Marcus were at the front. Sam and Anya walked between both groups, keeping a look out as they began their approach to the submarine hangar.

But of course, their gut feeling of something fishy was spot on as Locust appeared. Sapphire learned quickly that the war beetle Queen Myrrah had produced these smaller bugs, which the Gears called Shriekers.

And damn, they were loud and obnoxious when they really wanted to be.

Sapphire vaguely remembered them, as they did briefly appear when they first encountered Queen Myrrah in the Deadlands. As she shot them with a borrowed rifle, she asked Marcus, “You said this was Endeavor, right?”

“It’s a decommissioned COG Naval Shipyard,” Marcus replied as he shot as the Locust drones coming towards them. The call of a barge caught their attention, where a barge was slowly descending to let off more Locust soldiers. Seeing this, Marcus grunted in frustration. “Looks like they really want to kill us, don’t you think?”

Sapphire sighed, feeling bored even as the Locust song sung sharply, “Honestly, they had plenty of chances. Could we find one place they don’t have a place in? Cause at this point, it’s like they’re following us.”

“That’s what I said,” Sam called from the side.

It was almost like they were fighting like before. Like it was another day in Jacinto’s outskirts. Firing upon Locust, making small talk here and there. And it helped ease the tension that had been built up since Mercy. It was a little awkward, but since they all got back to the truck and left Char, nobody questioned Marcus or Sapphire about how they were. If they are made up or not.

But with the casual conversation moving, Sapphire and Marcus gave the indication that everything was fine now.

And everyone left it at that.

“Motherfucker,” Jace shouted as he threw a grenade towards a party of approaching Locust Boomers. Dizzy threw one himself and cracked on Jace’s grenade, the combined explosion enough to kill the Boomers that were in their way. As soon as the fight had started, it was over.

Sapphire sighed, twisting Ghidorah in her hand before scratching the back of her head, looking around. With the Locust and barge gone, the shipyard looked like it was emptied of supplies long ago. Crates busted open, the sharp edges molding from the weather, and giant metal units were rusted to all hell, some even husked shells of their former structures. It wasn’t hopeful, but Sapphire knew that their chances weren’t zero.

Looking over at the massive warehouses that served as the hangars, Sapphire knew one held a submarine that they could use. At least, that’s what she hoped.

“This way,” Marcus told the others, leading them to the main entrance that had a large sign above it titled HANGAR I. Jace and Marcus grabbed the handles of the gate, lifting it high enough for the others to come into the hangar. When they let the gate close, it fell heavily, dust clouding from the force of its fall. This trapped Sapphire and the Gears in the giant hangar, the smell of rust and mildew almost overwhelming.

They began to walk down the hallway, Sapphire commenting, “Seems Endeavor’s been abandoned for a while.”

“Probably after the Stranded pillaged as much as they could from outside,” Sam theorized. “Hopefully we have no big surprises.”

“How about we not jinx ourselves,” Jace said ahead of them just before they entered the large cavern of a hangar. He stopped, cursing under his breath. “Shit, I hope they all ain’t rusted to hell like that one.”

With the ship in full view, he was right. Its hull couldn’t even be identified as a hull, taking on the look of a sunken ship rather than a buoyant ship. Sapphire noted the strange substances on the ship, massive cobwebs that were accompanied by some odd icky substance. She hoped it wasn’t some new threat and hoped more that it was strange weathering in the hangar. Jace looked back at the others, gesturing forward, “Let’s try the next hangar.”

As they began to walk through the walkways around the ship towards the next hangar, Sam asked Dizzy, “This submarine’s something we can’t miss, right, Diz?”

“Yeah, you ain’t going to trip over it,” Dizzy replied cheerfully.

“Just keep looking,” Marcus said, getting to the front of the group. As they passed by the ship’s point, more of the strange stuff seemed to accompany every rusted corner, reaching the walkway. Dizzy snorted as he looked around.

“What the hell’s that white stuff everywhere? Spider webs?”

“Never seen webs like that before. Doesn’t look like spiders to me,” Sam replied, looking around before her eyes landed on Sapphire. “You notice it, right, Ms. Biologist?”

“Yeah,” Sapphire said, distracted by the webs. There was a different song there. More Locust than Lambent. A strange mixture that had Sapphire wondering what could have made it. “I recommend not touching any on purpose…or on accident. We’re lucky that they aren’t accompanying any doors and that whatever made them isn’t present.”

“Oh, I’m sure we’ll find out what made them soon enough,” Jace commented with a slight shake in his voice.

“Dizzy, how are six of us going to operate a submarine,” Anya suddenly asked, probably wishing for a different topic to pull everybody’s concern to a lower level. Exiting the first hangar, they entered another hallway, rusted cables crumbling with their footsteps like some clumps of cobwebs hung on the walls.

Dizzy replied cheerily, “That’s what I’m for, ma’am!”

As they continued, Sapphire found herself wondering what could have made those webs. There wasn’t any species of spider aside from a Corpser, but they’ve seen their nest. And Reavers don’t make nests like those webs. As she tried to find an explanation, Sam chuckled, “Looks like someone is thinking real hard.”

Sapphire looked back, raising an eyebrow to Sam, “What do you mean?”

Sam pointed to her own face, smiling as they continued walking, “You get this look. I call it the Thinking Face. You and Marcus both share it.”

“Hey, I’m not as scary as him,” Sapphire huffed, much to the amusement of the group. Marcus sighed next to her, shaking his head.

“I wouldn’t call it scary,” Marcus remarked, much to Sam and Jace’s surprise. Sapphire looked over at him, raising an eyebrow in question as she silently asked what he meant. He simply looked ahead, at two doors that he kicked open. As soon as he began to walk again, he finally replied. “Unsettling is what I call it.”

“Unsettling? That’s you,” Sapphire snorted. “You unsettle a lot of people.”

“But you are unpredictable,” Marcus said. “That’s how Baird refers to your decision-making.”

“What? He doesn’t think that, does he?”

“Since you stole that Raven and played drifter with it.”

Anya chuckled when Sam exclaimed next to her, “You stole a Raven? How many aircrafts do you secretly have? I mean, I’ve stolen a few vehicles here and there, but no pilot lets their aircraft get stolen.”

“Shit, I think if you were actually COG, you would be court-martialed, Saph,” Jace remarked, quite surprised too. “I think I remember you stole a Raven, but what does Marcus mean by drifter?”

“It was a simple maneuver I learned when I was in my country’s military,” Sapphire replied with a heavy sigh. “It isn’t that hard to learn.”

“That’s because the Eagle lets you do it more often,” Marcus pointed out. He stopped at a wooden scaffolding bridge that went over the water. After a swift test with his foot, he continued forward, the others following in an organized line.

The water was calm below them as they walked over the scaffolding and to the other side. Nothing was amiss as they began to walk towards the second hangar.

Except when a pitch in the Locust song drew Sapphire’s attention to a Locust Guard pulling a lever. At this action, the sound of two small gates fell ahead of them. The Gears stopped, Sapphire grabbing Ghidorah quickly as two centipede-like creatures crawled into view, raising their head to reveal the serrated jaws on their head. Seeing this, Marcus shouted to the others, “Look out!”

Anya let out a disgusted grunt as she shot at the Locust Guard, the new centipede-creatures beginning to crawl out of view, “What are those things, Serapedes?”

“Do they grow that big,” Sapphire asked.

“No, but those ones are the biggest I’ve seen,” Dizzy replied as they began to fire at any sight of the creatures. “Goddamn!”

“Mind their jaws,” Sam reminded everyone as Sapphire jumped up onto a crate to overlook the yard. She spotted both coming towards the Gears in a flanking formation. They were heavily armored, bullets bouncing off their hard plates. Their dark coloration made it harder to keep up with them but there was also some strange yellow organ at the back.

One launched at Anya and she met it with a chainsaw-revering Lancer. But as soon as she hit it, there was a shudder through her body as she yelped, jumping back, “Ouch! Looks like they have some shocking defense!”

Sapphire twirled Ghidorah, smiling, “Good thing, because this boy needs to charge. Hey! Dumbasses!”

One that was heading for Dizzy and Jace turned, steel mandibles clicking together before going for her. Sapphire jumped off the crate as it got close enough, Marcus, Anya, and Sam dealing with the other. Raising Ghidorah, Sapphire made sure to keep her hands towards the ends of Ghidorah as it launched at her. The mandibles clamped around Ghidorah, the shock evident in tiny increments, which made Sapphire smile more as Jace told Dizzy, “Shoot at their glowing ass!”

Combined, he and Dizzy fired, each segment exploding upon being fired upon until Sapphire could kick the Serapede off to prevent as much blood from landing on her as possible.

Meanwhile, the other was disposed of by Marcus, Anya, and Sam. Sapphire huffed, twirling Ghidorah and checking its charge. And to her delight, it was fully charged. The most charged Ghidorah has been in since Char. Happy with it, Sapphire turned Ghidorah off as she twirled it into its holster.

With the place clear, they continued to the second hangar, Jace grumbling along the way, “Shit, I wonder what other surprises the Locust have waiting for us. Cause I feel like that was just a test.”

“At least we know what rusted that ship all to hell in that first hangar,” Sapphire said. “Looks like those Serapedes were making a nest out of it.”

“You think there are more?”

“Probably, but Locust might have placed them elsewhere,” Sapphire replied. “At least let’s think like that, right?”

Jace stared at her for a long moment before sighing, “Yeah, let’s think like that.”

Once again, Marcus and Jace pulled the doors open, which were easier than Hangar 1’s doors. As they slide open, Sapphire could hear the small hum of machinery, which was a good sign in her mind since she didn’t hear the same from the other hangar. As they entered and walked down a similar hallway to the first, they arrived to a room where what looked to be a massive naval submarine lay suspended in the air.

As they gathered on the platform facing the entirety of the submarine, Sam whistled, “So, Hoffman was right. One submarine.”

“Yeah,” Dizzy cheered excitedly, his eyes raving over the submarine with clear interest. “And she’s still in one piece! Let’s look her over.”

While most seemed excited, Jace looked perplexed, commenting, “Man! Is that it? I thought we had subs the length of a Thrashball field!”

“But this is just what we need, son,” Dizzy replied, sounding like a father for a split second as he spoke. “A small one’s gonna be a lot easier to sneak into Azura! You see, size ain’t everything!”

Sapphire hummed, “Usually I disagree with that, but what we have here is what we’re gonna get.”

“Ew,” Jace grumbled as Dizzy led them closer to the submarine. Handing his Lancer to Anya, Dizzy began to climb onto the submarine to get a closer look, the others watching him work.

“Don’t you mind Dizzy none, sweetheart. Just gonna look you over and see what kinda shape you’re in.” Sapphire and Sam chuckled at this, giving each other a knowing look. Dizzy did have a lot of charisma, for both people and machines.

Marcus asked Dizzy as he looked over the submarine, “Didn’t special ops use these in the Pendulum Wars?”

Dizzy paused, looking back with a wide grin, “Shit if I know, but she’s real handy for the job!”

Dizzy continued to look, opening hatches here and there all while the others kept a lookout or watched Dizzy work. After a few minutes of looking, Dizzy looked up, his head popping up from the other side of the submarine’s roof. He reported, “Marcus, this lady’s gonna need some parts. Got a rotor that’s cracked clean through. And then there’s the fuel. She’s empty.”

“Okay, time to look for the goods then,” Sam exclaimed.

“So what’s first,” Anya asked the group. “Maintenance bay for the rotor or dockyard for the fuel?”

They all looked at each other, Sapphire and Marcus glancing at each other in thought. They wouldn’t separate, not with the Locust potentially out and about. They had encountered a few of them, but that didn’t mean there weren't quite a few lying in wait for them to come out. After a few moments of thinking, Jace suggested, “Why not the fuel? It’s the most important.”

“Sounds like a plan,” Sapphire replied, turning her head towards a now busy Dizzy. “We’ll be right back.”

Dizzy waved a hand to them, “You go get the fuel while I dismantle this.”

They began to make their way to the dockyard, navigating through the hallways of the hangar deeper into the naval base. A spike in the song of the Locust made Sapphire more alert before they entered a large room with a smaller ship in the center already on water. Locust waited for them around and from within the ship, firing as soon as they entered.

Sapphire parted from the others, flanking a Locust Guard closer to the group. Ghidorah roared to life as she struck the Locust through the opening in its helmet. Hot blood splashed on her as the Locust’s body shook. She kicked the shivering body away from her before swinging Ghidorah into a charging Locust guard, knocking the helmet off before she swiftly swung back down, striking through the Locust guard’s vulnerable head.

It died before it hit the ground, thanks to Ghidorah’s release of energy upon contact, the Gears firing down the remaining Locus Guard party waiting for them. With the Locust dead, they continued on, the ship creating a bridge towards the dockyard just ahead, according to the signs.

Sam did take a brief look at the ship’s fuel before reporting back to them, “Well, nothing worth salvaging from this rust bucket. Leaving us with only the option of looking outside, huh?”

“Yeah, there’s bound to be fuel there,” Anya replied.

“This way.” Marcus led them down a hallway where signages pointed outwards to the dockyard they needed to get to. They found themselves exiting the hangar into the dockyard of Endeavor. Though like earlier, another Locust Guard party waited for them. Sapphire hung back as the others shot down the Guards, continuing forward and into the dockyard.

Anchored down and at the dockyard was a singular ship, and Sapphire could see from where she was that there was a massive tank on it. She pointed this out, telling the others, “I think we found our fuel supply!”

“Yeah, surrounded by Locust,” Jace sighed. “I have a bad feeling about this!”

“Let’s just get rid of them and get back to Dizzy,” Anya called out before turning to Marcus. “There has to be a Sliverback around here, right?”

“Maybe, because we need that fuel,” Marcus replied before pointing out grimly. “We need to use the brow to get it off the ship first.”

“What the hell’s a brow,” Jace asked, to which Marcus gave him a hard glare.

“The ramp, Jace,” Sapphire replied before Marcus could. “We need to move the ramp.”

“Well, he should have said that then,” Jace complained, only to get cuffed by Sam. “Ow! Why am I getting abused today?”

“Because you’re an idiot,” Sam grumbled before reloading her Lancer. “Let’s clear out that ship!”

“You guys clear that ship,” Sapphire called to the rest. “I’ll get the brow!”

Nobody protested, providing cover fire as Sapphire sprinted towards the ramp’s control lever on the dock. She pulled it down, hearing the gears of the ramp beginning to approach to connect the anchored ship to the dockyard. By the time the brow connected the ship to the dock, Sapphire was the first up, the Gears having cleared the ship’s deck of Locust.

But as soon as she got up onto the ship, Sapphire found that there were more Locust Guards waiting in the control room, some of them carrying torque bows. Seeing this, Sapphire smiled, shouting, “Bingo! I need those arrows, assholes!”

She charged, eliminating one quickly with Ghidorah’s electrified state as the Gears got on deck. With the Gears on deck, the Locust were handled in a timely manner, their bodies soon littering the control room. Sapphire got to the controls first, grabbing torque bow arrows as she made her way there.

At the controls, Sapphire quickly found the buttons for the crane, the weathered labels barely legible. Watching the crane, Sapphire drove it to the fuel, the claws similar to one of those claw machines that could be found in an arcade, or randomly in a tourist area. But instead of plush toys or flimsy prizes, the claws were grabbing an actual fuel tank.

As soon as the claws clamped on the bars of the fuel tank, the call of a barge could be heard.

With a curse, Sapphire told the others, “Get rid of the reinforcements! I’ve got this!”

Nobody tried to protest the Gears already leaving the control room to deal with the Locust. For a brief moment, Sapphire waited patiently as Marcus and the others got rid of the Locust reinforcements, their song rhythms dying with each one that fell.

And it was then that Sapphire realized her tattooed arm was shaking again, gripping the lever for moving the crane back and forth. Since Char, Sapphire had tried to push all the negative feelings down, replacing them with a numbness that seemed to only get rid of the feeling in her mind.

But her body thought otherwise.

Sapphire ignored it, just as she ignored the dark lullaby that sang lightly in her head. Once the reinforcements were gone, Sapphire charted a course for the fuel tank after raising it up. There were hangar buttons that gave the fuel a destination. Swiftly, Sapphire chose the one that led to the submarine’s hangar before leaving the control room entirely.

Getting back to Dizzy was faster without the Locust on their ass. As soon as they arrived with the fuel coming in on the crane, Dizzy smiled at this, “Well, that’ll get us to Azura.”

Sapphire did the controls while Marcus, Jace, and Dizzy positioned the fuel tank where it needed to go. Once that was attached and ready to be assembled, Dizzy turned to them all, “Okay, now find me a rotor. You know what you’re looking for, right?”

“Yeah, big heavy round thing with fan blades,” Marcus asked and Dizzy nodded. But before they could leave, Dizzy turned to Sapphire.

“Hey, could you stay behind this time and help me with this fuel tank? I still need someone to assemble it and somebody at the controls.”

Sapphire looked at Marcus briefly before nodding, “Yeah, sure. Are you guys good to go ahead?”

Anya nodded, “Yeah, we can handle it. We’ll be back.”

Marcus simply nodded before leading the others to the maintenance bay. As soon as they exited the room, the doors closed behind them, Sapphire turned to Dizzy, asking, “You don’t really need my help, do you?”

“Nope!” Dizzy turned, leaning down to check the fuel tank. “Well, let me rephrase that. I do need help, but not with the fuel.”

Sapphire raised an eyebrow at this, “What do you mean?”

Without looking at her, Dizzy replied, “I’m trying to wrap my head about what’s been happening recently…you still thinking those thoughts, girly?”

Sapphire instantly got what Dizzy was talking about, eyes narrowing, “Can’t see why that’s your business.”

“Just making sure,” Dizzy said, continuing to work on the fuel tank as Sapphire crouched down next to him. “I know you and Marcus had a chat earlier…but you two have been so quiet that I wonder why, you know? You two didn’t make some suicide pact, right?”

Sapphire snorted at this, “No. We had a chat to understand each other. You know, communication works best in a relationship.”

Dizzy’s head shot up at that, eyes wide, “You two didn’t break up?”

“Were we supposed to?”

Dizzy laughed at that, shaking his head, “No, girly! I’m just messing with you. I can’t help but be protective over you and Marcus. You both have been through so much and I want to make sure you both are all right.”

“Thanks, Dizzy,” Sapphire replied, continuing to watch him assemble the fuel tank. “But everything is fine. No suicide pact, no dramatic breakup, and certainly no blaming the other.”

“Well, good,” Dizzy replied before he added as he disappeared into the fuel tank area of the submarine. “Also, what we just discussed, stays between us. The main reason I wanted to keep you here was because your arm is shaking real bad.”

“I’ve noticed…somewhat.” Sapphire raised her arm, looking at the tattooed arm’s shaking form. “Hopefully with some rest it wears off.”

“Let’s hope.”

In the silence, they continued to work, Dizzy assembling the fuel tank while Sapphire handed him tools. Thirty minutes went by before the doors of the hangar opened, a giant machine walking with what looked to be a rotor. Sapphire recognized Marcus, greeting the approaching Gears with a short wave of greeting as Dizzy climbed out of the fuel tank area, done with his task.
With the Silverback, Dizzy directed Marcus to install the rotor. And unlike the fuel tank, it didn’t take long for the rotor to be installed.

By then, the submarine was ready to be let into the sea and Sapphire’s arm had stopped shaking. Conversation was minimal to say the least, a mixture of determination and gathering themselves of what had transpired the past couple of days.

As the submarine began to move, hangar doors to let the submarine through, the Gears and Sapphire fought any resistance, firing at Locust Guards and high-leveled drones and boomers. Sapphire was glad for the torque bow arrows from retrieving the fuel, using them sparingly at boomers and snipers when she found them. Together, the Locust were mowed down by skill and determination. Not once did the submarine stop as the hangar doors opened one by one.

When they got to the last door, Sapphire felt a wave of alertness wash over her, sensing a strange song of Locust entering the array of Locust song already there as the last door opened. Looking up as soon as the final door opened, Sapphire saw something standing, looming on a platform next to the stabilizers that would hold the submarine until water flooded the area.

It looked like Skorge, but more Sonic the Hedgehog sort of vibes. Or the dark version of Sonic really. Scales were covered by bristles of steel, the new Locust roaring out sharply, magnified by the bristles tapping against each other. The sound pierced the air as Jace shouted, “Ah, shit. Somebody upgraded!”

The armored Kantus dropped down, a voice echoing in Sapphire’s head as soon as it landed in front of her and the Gears, ‘Finally. A worthy opponent. Give it your best, Chosen.’

Sapphire gripped Ghidorah tightly as the Gears began to fire. The Kantus simply rose its arms, the bullets bouncing off its steel scales. Sam cursed out, “Ah, shit! The rounds bounce right off them!”

“Let me handle this,” Sapphire said as soon as the bullets stopped upon all the Gears realizing it was useless to keep firing. She twisted Ghidorah in her hands, the yellow electricity coming to life as she made her way in front of the Gears. “I got this.”

“You sure,” Marcus asked.

“Just watch my back,” Sapphire replied. The Kantus shrieked, the song spiking sharply in her head as Sapphire readied herself. “Everyone, keep a watchful out.”

“More Locust,” Jace shouted in warning just before Sapphire charged, the Kantus charging as well. Sapphire was the first to swing, swinging wide towards the Kantus as bullets fired all around them. Gears fought Locust as Sapphire began her fight with the Kantus.

The first attack was dodged swiftly and the Kantus swung what looked like a sword. Sapphire leaned back, twisting her body out of the way before twirling around, Ghidorah alive with light. Ghidorah and the Kantus’s blade, a jagged sword, met briefly, both twisting away from each other.

Sapphire could see that the Kantus had pistols to use, but it seemed it didn’t want to use them. Tough shit.

The Kantus charged and Sapphire parried with it with Ghidorah. Sparks flew as Ghidorah and the serrated sword met. A swift movement of the hand caught Sapphire’s eye, the Kantus reaching for one of the pistols that she took advantage of. She swung her leg, managing to hit the Kantus’s targeted pistol off just as she grabbed the Kantus’s wrist holding the sword.

The Kantus roared in her face at that, as if cursing her, revealing a weird opening in the armor.

Sapphire grimaced, using the Kantus’s moment of anger against it as she shifted Ghidorah and stabbed right into the opening. The Kantus sputtered, shaking as the yellow electricity went through its body. When she yanked Ghidorah out, the Kantus fell, dead.

But she couldn’t throw in the towel, seeing more Locust coming down the stairs towards them, including three Serapedes and another Kantus. The new Kantus jumped onto the railing, roaring at her before it jumped off to make its way towards her.

Sapphire sighed, turning Ghidorah off briefly to gather energy for the next fight. The Gears took care of the Serapedes and Locust, leaving the Kantus to go after Sapphire only. As Sapphire and the new Kantus began to fight, Marcus shouted to the others, “They’re throwing everything they got at us!”

“They really wanna stop us reaching your dad, Marcus,” Sam pointed out as she fired at a Locust Guard in her clear line of sight.

“Must be one hell of a weapon he’s built,” Anya theorized as she faced a Serapede, keeping clear of it and its steel mandibles.

Sapphire parried most of the new Kantus’s attacks. Though as she fought the Kantus, she realized that halfway through the fight that her nose was bleeding. Probably from the Locust song, she thought as she fought the Kantus. In one of her parried attacks, the Kantus hissed out in her mind, ‘You could have been the greatest commander! And you wasted it! For these pitiful humans!’

Sapphire gritted her teeth, growling as she began to return the Kantus’s attacks with more anger, “Sorry to disappoint, bud, but I ain’t going nowhere till the Lambent are dead!”

The Kantus paused at that, seeming confused. But this was just what Sapphire needed, turning Ghidorah on before stabbing through the weird opening. Just like the first, the Kantus’s body shook violently as Ghidorah’s electricity went through it. When Sapphire deemed it dead, she yanked Ghidorah out, kicking the body away from her as she did so.

And that was that.

“Looks like they failed to stop us this time,” Sapphire said as soon as she turned to find Marcus approaching her.

“Then let’s flood the dock and get the fuck out of here,” Marcus agreed.

Looking back at the dead Kantus, Sapphire wondered if he heard what she said would reach Queen Myrrah. And if it did, Sapphire wondered if Myrrah would be as persistent as in the game.

Wiping her face of blood, Sapphire turned to join the Gears, ready for the last leg of the journey to get to Azura.

And once there, Sapphire didn’t have a clue what was waiting for her there.

Chapter Text

Sapphire watched from the platform surrounding the filling dock, the submarine slowly being lowered as the water got higher. Marcus was next to her, holding his Lancer close as Ghidorah laid on Sapphire’s back. Dizzy kept checking the submarine, making sure things looked good as he checked how it was going in and how it was floating. Sam and Jace were keeping an eye out, just in case the Locust made one more effort to thwart their attempt to escape Endeavor with the submarine.

Meanwhile, behind them all, Anya had stepped to the side, her conversation open to everyone present as she said into the comms, “Anya to Cole, over.”

To no one’s surprise, Cole replied quickly, “Cole here!”

“Cole, this is Anya,” Anya reassured lightly, smiling as she informed him. “We got the submarine running.”

“A sub? Ha! That’s Baird’s favorite kind of toy! But you gotta see what we found, baby! Whoo!” Sapphire smiled at Cole’s optimism, wishing he was here with them. And that feeling bloomed into loneliness. It was strange that it was just Sapphire and Marcus. Sapphire remembered fondly of all the times her, Cole, Baird, Dom, and Marcus were all together.

But at the same time, Sapphire was glad that Baird and Cole weren’t with them.

Unfortunately, Anya did not share Cole’s excitement, telling him, “Cole…please.”

Instantly, Cole’s tone became worried as he asked, “Anya, you don’t sound right. You got trouble?”

Sapphire and Marcus looked back at Anya, wondering if she will tell Cole. But to their relief, Anya replied, “We’re heading for Azura now. We’ll rendezvous with you outside the Maelstrom. Might take us some time.”

The optimism and excitement came back to Cole as he replied, “Oh, yeah. We’ll be there. With some backup, too.”

“Watch your six, Cole. Anya out.” Sapphire didn’t blame Anya’s quick disappearance from the comms. She understood that Anya was grieving just as much as everybody else over Dom. Sam tried to comfort Anya, going up to her as Anya sat down on a box on the platform.

“Don’t worry, Anya. I’ll break it to them.” It was a nice comfort, but Sapphire and Marcus exchanged a look that clearly said no.

Baird and Cole were part of Delta. They fought by Dom’s side too. The best person to give the news was someone from Delta. Sapphire stayed silent as Marcus told Sam, “No, you won’t. I’ll tell them.”

Sam nor Anya tried to protest. They stayed silent as Anya got up and Sam led her to the submarine, where Dizzy had opened the hatch, letting Jace inside first. Sapphire and Marcus looked at each other before they nodded. In a quiet whisper, Sapphire told Marcus, “This is it, Marcus. Azura is the final stand.”

“We’ll both make it,” Marcus replied with a determined look on his face. “Queen Myrrah will regret messing with Delta. She was lucky to get away from us the first time.”

“And this time, she won’t get away,” Sapphire finalized.

Wordlessly, they entered the sub, Marcus closing the hatch tightly behind them. The submarine was smaller than the Clemetine back on Vectes, its halls tight. Luckily, more space was provided once Sapphire entered the control room. Dizzy stood there, looking up at her entry. When Marcus entered behind her, Dizzy asked them both, “Which one of you will take the last pod? This submarine has four pods with guns attached to them.”

Before Sapphire could reply, Marcus volunteered, “I will. You’ll need Sapphire for navigation.”

“Sounds good to me!” Turning to Sapphire, Dizzy gestured to her. “If you can fly something as advanced as the Eagle, this is nothing!”

“Seems like it,” Sapphire replied, already looking around the control room. “How long until we reach Azura?”

“Might be several hours, so we got time.” Dizzy then gestured behind him. “There’s some rooms back there. You might want to take some sleep now before we get close to Azura.”

Sapphire and Marcus looked at each other before Sapphire nodded, “I need my own sleep. A quick nap will do the trick.”

Dizzy nodded, waving them off in dismissal. Sapphire and Marcus made their way to the back, where Jace and Sam were already lying in the cramped bunks. Anya was nowhere to be found. At their entry, Sam spoke up before Sapphire and Marcus could ask, “Anya needed a moment. Take your naps now. Cause this will be the last time before we get to Azura.”

“That’s what Dizzy said,” Marcus said, taking the bunk below Jace. “We need to be at full energy if we want to face the Locust and potential Lambent on Azura.”

“Thanks for the reminder,” Jace grumbled. In response, Sam threw a spare pillow at him, causing him to yelp in surprise. “Hey! Again with the abuse!”

“Don’t be a jackass then,” Sam snapped back before turning to her side, back away from everybody. Sapphire took this as an opportunity to grab the bunk below Sam, right across from Marcus. As she got comfortable on her back, she spared a glance at Marcus, finding him already lying down and snoring lightly.

With a sigh, Sapphire closed her eyes, trying to blank her mind. It was going to be a difficult time once she woke up. This would be the last time she would be able to sleep before the big battle. Once they shut down the Maelstrom to let reinforcements, it was a final stand for humanity.

Sapphire hoped that none of her actions or her mere presence changed any of the game’s ending.

The thought didn’t help her sleep, but luckily her old exhaustion creeped up at the chance to finally sleep. She could feel the submarine begin to sink below the surface, moving away from the naval base. But to her surprise, the dark lullaby wasn’t as heavy or loud as she feared it or how it felt when she was thrown into the ocean back at Vectes.

Instead, it was a loud hymn that was only drowned out by the sounds of the submarine whirling. Sapphire considered it a blessing, really. Meaning she could actually get a wink of sleep.

Or so she thought.

Sapphire was woken up within seconds after supposedly falling asleep, finding herself in the same cavern as before, where golden jaws would have come up while red tendrils came from above. But instead of the usual atmosphere of that nightmare, she didn’t feel threatened. Instead, Sapphire found herself in a quiet echo. She could still hear the dark lullaby but it sounded like it was outside of the dark cavern.

As Sapphire laid there, surrounded by water, she heard something splash. Slowly, she turned her head, seeing a shadow within the water, swimming in a circular motion. Sapphire sat up, watching as the shadow circled in the same spot over and over. Sapphire got up to her feet before trudging closer, the circling shadow curving to stop in front of her.

The shadow stayed briefly, as if examining her. Then, the shadow rose from the water, revealing a jet-black fox, similar to the fox form that good Valkyrie took. But unlike the small form, this fox towered over Sapphire, its sharp, icy blue eyes examining her. After a long moment of silence between Sapphire and the dark fox, the dark fox spoke, smoke dripping from its white teeth, “You have grown since I last saw you.”

“It’s been a while, Valkyrie,” Sapphire replied in the same monotone voice. “Finally awake?”

“More like paying more attention,” the dark side of Valkyrie replied, getting to her paws as they reached the surface of the water. “But you are far from what you need to be, Sapphire Haze.”

Sapphire shrugged, “I’m basically by myself. Why bring me here?”

Valkyrie raised her head, looking up at the ceiling of the cavern, “Because we need to reach an understanding. We were both fooled, but it seems you got the better end of the stick, so to speak. Queen Myrrah must be dealt with and this division we have had should end for what will happen next.”

“What do you mean by that? What happens next?”

“Something that isn’t in the ‘games’ you keep mentioning,” Valkyrie replied. “I have siphoned through your memory and found some interesting parallels, aside from your mere presence. Defeating the Lambent and Locust isn’t as easy as those games depicted the story.”

Sapphire didn’t respond, listening with crossed arms as Valkyrie began to circle her. But Sapphire didn’t feel threatened, interested in what the entity had to say. Valkyrie continued on, “While Adam Fenxi found a way to ‘destroy’ the Lambency, that does not mean he can completely destroy it. I think you may have noticed the dark lullaby, Locust song, and their abilities to be heard and felt by you. You also know the Lambent are getting smarter, just as they did a millenia ago.”

Valkyrie puffed out, the black smoke turning into three spheres. Valkyrie explained, “The Locust have their Hivemind, and the Lambent have developed their own as they draw more infected into their ranks, the Lambentmind. The reason you in particular can hear their songs and voices is because of me. My presence as being a part of you has allowed what I call the Titanmind to manifest back into existence.”

“Titanmind,” Sapphire repeated, raising an eyebrow. “And what do I need to do?”

“Adam Fenix knows,” Valkyrie replied. “He knows that in order to completely destroy both, end the Lambent and Locust War, he must destroy the minds behind it. That gives them purpose. That allows them to live on beyond mortal bodies.”

“Stopping a cycle,” Sapphire observed and Valkyrie nodded. “Why am I the one that has to do it? Why can’t you?”

“Because you are the Chosen, simple as that,” Valkyrie replied. “Besides, I will be helping. You don’t have the capacity to do what you need to do alone. Else your brain explodes halfway through the process.”

Sapphire sighed, “I see. Well, I guess getting to Azura just got a lot more important for me.”

Valkyrie hummed, stopping to stand in front of Sapphire again, “Yes, it is.”

Before Sapphire could continue however, a crack began to form above them. Valkyrie lifted her head before sighing, “Guess time’s up. You best be waking up.”

Sapphire couldn’t ask what Valkyrie meant, not when the fox disappeared back into the water just as the crack broke, dropping what felt like a ton of water straight onto Sapphire. She woke up at this, the song of the Locust hitting her upon her awakening. She shot up, looking around to find the bunks empty.

Quickly, Sapphire got up and walked into the control room, finding Dizzy. Seeing him looking up at her, Sapphire asked, “Where are the others?”

“In the pods,” Dizzy replied before chuckling. “You must have been tired because nobody could wake you up. But I told the others that I wouldn’t need you until we got closer to Azura. And you woke up right on time.”

“Oh,” Sapphire replied, looking at the center table, “Where are we now?”

Dizzy hummed, looking down at the sonar map, “I don’t know, but we’re coming across something big. Let me radio in the others.”

Taking a mic from the wall, Dizzy asked, “Anybody know what’s coming up here?”

“No idea,” Sam replied, her voice carried from the speaker in the opposite corner of the room. “But the grubs must have sunk it.”

“Man, this is beautiful,” Jace’s voice commented through the same speaker. “But I’ve had my fill of ghost towns.”

Then, Marcus’s voice filtered through, mission-focused, “Okay, we’re close to Azura, so we’ll hit the Maelstrom soon. Everybody check your pods. Diz, Sapphire, take us in nice and easy.”

“Yeah, I better start powering up the guns,” Dizzy pointed out, turning to Sapphire. “You think you got this navigation for a moment?”

“Yeah, I should,” Sapphire replied, looking past Dizzy towards the front end of the submarine. “Just like flying the Eagle.”

Dizzy chuckled, “Don’t let Jace hear you say that. Anya told him about your antics with the stolen Raven. Went as pale as a ghost! But I trust ya, girly.”

Dizzy then disappeared, leaving Sapphire to observe the control room, finding that at the very end of the room was a corner with a wheel and two arms that looked to control the up and down. In front of this set up were monitors that showed images of a ruined city that was covered in kelp and coral. Sapphire took her place there at the seat, taking the wheel temporarily.

Somewhere in the submarine, there was a hum before one of the monitors beeped, informing Sapphire that the guns were loaded. Soon, Dizzy came back and Sapphire gave him the chair, watching over his shoulder as Anya spoke to the group through the speaker, “Jacinto probably looks just like this now.”

“Yeah…and we did that to ourselves, too,” Sam replied. “With the help of some giant reptilian monster that essentially blew up Jacinto.”

“Well, there’s no point crying over what we could have done differently. Because we’ll never know,” Marcus pointed out.

Sapphire grabbed another mic from next to the wheel, telling the Gears, “No matter what, these drowned cities will serve as a safety template for any species in the ocean. More coral means more life, and more life means a better future for Sera.”

“That’s a nice way to look at it,” Anya thought aloud. “See any fish species you like, Sapphire?”

“No, hard to tell through the monitors, but they might also be hiding. I’m looking for sharks though,” Sapphire replied. “They might be hiding too…Nevermind that. I see these blobs on the screen. Are those explosives?”

Sapphire and Dizzy both looked at the monitors more closely, just as Jace said, “Yeah, Marcus, I’m seeing a lot of explosives out here.”

“Everyone keep their eyes open. We didn’t come this far to get killed by our own goddamn mines,” Marcus reminded everybody sharply.

“Marcus is right,” Sapphire agreed. “Even if we were to clear those explosives, any shockwave could move the submarine into another explosive that we drivers can’t see. So don’t fire unless absolutely necessary. Dizzy, you still got this?”

“I do, darling,” Dizzy replied, moving the wheel to avoid the large obstacles of buildings and planted explosives. Just as they passed a rusted statue of what looked to be an angel, something called out through the water. Through the side monitor, Sapphire saw a strange creature emerge from the sands, spooked by how close they were. Marcus pointed it out quickly, “Hey, check this thing out.”

The strange creature swam, similar to a dolphin but with bug-like limbs and a giant flat tail to propel it forward. It followed them, flowing through the monitors twice. Anya chuckled, “Looks like we got an escort.”

Its calls kept going, and Sapphire realized from the corner of one screen that it wasn’t alone. Jace pointed this out, “And he brought some friends, too.”

“I see them,” Marcus reported. Sapphire watched their movements, seeing them circle through the monitors, circling the ship. One of them got closer, giving them a slight tap on the side that Dizzy and Sapphire could hear. It quickly swam off, but it didn’t go far. In fact, it circled back with two more of its kind.

Sapphire warned the others quickly at the behavior, telling Dizzy, “Fire up those guns, Dizzy. They’re testing how vulnerable the submarine is.”

To the others, Sapphire told them, “Keep at least one in your sights. If we fire first, we set them off and potentially get ourselves in a bad situation. But if one attacks, we fire. Got it?”

“Got it,” all four podded Gears replied. For a tense moment, the creatures swam next to the submarine. Then, one came from the side, jaws opening. The submarine flinched hard as the creature hit the side. Not hard enough to steer the submarine away, but it was enough to send a resounding call of a hunt from the swarm.

“Fire!” Marcus’s command was quickly followed by the sound of the underwater guns going off. Sapphire saw the bullets pierce through the creatures, some bursting to pieces.

Sapphire tapped on Dizzy, “You need to speed up, Dizzy! We can’t be in the middle of this swarm!”

“Got it! Gears, keep shooting them, I’ll get us out of here!” The Gears continued to shoot the creatures, Dizzy warning the others as Sapphire grabbed hold to keep balanced, “I’m taking her down! I got to get these things off our ass!”

After a few more creatures were blasted apart, Jace asked hurriedly, “Yo Dizzy, how deep can this thing go?”

“Son, that ain’t gonna matter if those crazy fish bust a hole in us,” Dizzy shot back.

“Focus on driving the sub, Dizzy,” Sapphire reminded the man before speaking into the mic. The submarine rocked as the creatures kept up their attack, trying to snag whatever they can. “Just keep shooting them! We need to lose them somehow!”

Looking at the monitors, Sapphire could see tendrils of shadows in the distance. An idea formed and Sapphire pointed to the tendrils that slowly formed into kelp, “Go in there, Dizzy.”

Dizzy nodded, maneuvering the submarine towards the kelp forest. After a tense few minutes, the shaking of the submarine stopped, followed by the ceasefire outside in the water. Anya soon spoke through the control room speaker, “We’re clear. I can’t see them.”

“Yeah, but that doesn’t mean they can’t find us,” Sam pointed out. Sapphire noted this, looking at the monitors for any shadows. From what she could see, the creatures didn’t have the bulbous head that dolphins or whales had, so echolocation most likely wasn’t a trait.

Turning to Dizzy, Sapphire told him, “Kill the lights, Dizzy. We need to lose them entirely. Use the sonar for any big stuff that could get in the way.”

“Sounds like a good idea,” Dizzy said, turning off the lights. Jace cursed at that, his voice sighing into the speaker.

“Thanks, Dizzy, I can’t see a goddamn thing!”

“It’s okay,” Sapphire reassured. “If anything that’s big enough to harm the submarine is in the way, we have the sonar.”

“Anything tailing us now,” Marcus asked. With a quick look at the sonar, Dizzy shook his head.

“Nothing we can see on the sonar,” Sapphire replied. “But keep your guard. The submarine can only take so many small hits and very few big hits.”

Silence took over, the creatures they had just encountered seeming to lose them. While it was a good sign, Sapphire wasn’t sure if they didn’t just lose the pack. There could be many reasons while a pack would abandon a seemingly massive meal. They could have realized that the submarine wasn’t real or not worth the effort of losing too many of their own. Or-Sapphire felt a shiver go up her spine as a strong tether made itself known, followed by a familiar sensation.

“Everybody, keep quiet,” Marcus suddenly said. “You hear that?”

A low rumble could be heard in the following silence, something Anya commented on as she said, “God, it sounds like an earthquake. That’s weird.”

Sapphire felt her body shake as she realized what tether she felt. Golden jaws went through her mind as she tapped Dizzy’s shoulder, “Dizzy, hit the lights! Full brightness and full throttle!”

Dizzy was quick to respond, the submarine lurching forward as all its lights turned on, reflected by the kelp.

And pushing through the kelp in one of the monitors were massive jaws, similar to the golden jaws from Sapphire’s old nightmares. The submarine narrowly avoided the jaws, and Sapphire watched one of the monitors towards the back just as the sonar pinged a massive form that was zipping right past them. Jace howled at this, “Whoo! That was close!”

“Hold on,” Dizzy warned everyone as he pulled the submarine up sharply. They rose above the kelp, but didn’t go to the surface. The last thing they needed was to be caught up in a Maelstrom. Dizzy rebalanced the submarine as it rose above the kelp and towards a shallower area.

Jace asked through the speakers, “Now where did it go? It was right there!”

“I don’t see it,” Anya reported.

Unlike everyone, Sapphire felt the giant Leviathan give chase, rounding to go back at them. Dizzy saw the sonar’s warning and shifted the submarine, narrowly avoiding the tail being caught by the giant Leviathan as it emerged from the kelp forest, roaring at them. Sapphire tried not to show it as the roar sent a painful shiver down her spine. Dizzy told her, “Hey! Strap in! I don’t want you to be sent flying!”

Sapphire internally thanked Dizzy, finding a chair facing away from him to strap herself in. She could already feel the blood dripping down her nose as the Leviathan roared again. She could hear Marcus through the speaker tell the others, “Come on, we got to shake that thing!”

The sound of underwater fire rang through the control room, followed by the Leviathan’s growing anger and frustration. Suddenly, the submarine pivoted and then jerked as it slammed into a hard surface. Without the monitors, Sapphire couldn’t see, hearing Jace’s voice grow in alarm, “Damn, that nearly breached the hull!”

“Keep it away from the sub! Shoot it in the face,” Marcus told the others, followed by more shooting. Besides Sapphire, she could hear Dizzy suck in a breath as the Leviathan slammed into them again, pivoting the submarine almost entirely on its side.

“God help us, we got the whole damn navy down here!”

The submarine pivoted again and Sapphire could feel the submarine flinch as it narrowly missed the Leviathan’s attack. Sapphire closed her eyes, willing herself to focus and drown out the voices. She could feel its tether, the submarine rolling and diving up and down.

Through the chaos, Sapphire could feel the tether bite painfully at her, as if a dog was snapping its jaws in hopes of getting a chunk of Sapphire.

But then, Sapphire remembered how on Vectes she prevented the Lambent Leviathan from killing those pilots. If she could change its course temporarily, she could deal enough damage that they could escape.

If she could steer it.

Keeping her eyes closed, Sapphire mentally reached out, grabbing the tether. It was painful at first, enough to make her tattooed arm shake as if it was reliving its trauma. But soon, Sapphire found herself looking through the Leviathan, seeing their submarine trying its best to flee the giant Leviathan.

Seeing the mines closest to the submarine, Sapphire aimed for them, hoping that the Leviathan would miss but eat the mines. The Leviathan roared, charging towards the submarine as it came upon a clearing within the mines. Just before it reached them however, Sapphire pulled harshly, steering the open jaws into a whole group of mines.

She felt its pain as the bombs blew up, the Leviathan roaring out in pain as Sam cheered, “Serves you right, bastard!”

Sapphire smiled. At least she could help this way.

She kept a hold, despite the prickling sensation that pained her. She needed one more hit. With the world drowned out into the ocean, Sapphire followed the Leviathan after the submarine, but every time it tried to attack them, she steered it away at the last minute by pulling a tether.

After a few swallowed bombs, the Leviathan was breathing and choking on its blood, its inner jaws blown. As the submarine disappeared into the tunnel to escape, Sapphire made sure that when the Leviathan charged after them, she made sure to aim it just right.

As the Leviathan entered the smaller tunnel, the extra force from Sapphire’s pull on the tether caused it to ram into the sides of the tunnel, trapping it. The Leviathan struggled, but instead of loosening itself up to go after the Gears, its frantic struggle led to the collapse of the tunnel on the Leviathan.

The tether snapped then, disappearing from Sapphire’s mind as she opened her eyes to hear Dizzy cheer, “Whoo, baby! Damn! For a minute, I thought we were gonna end up like the rest of them shipwrecks!”

Jace did not share the same enthusiasm, sighing, “Shit, you will never ever catch me in one of these again. You hear me?”

Dizzy looked back, asking Sapphire, “You still alive?”

Sapphire nodded, replying weakly, “Yeah, a little banged up but alive.”

“Good!” As Dizzy turned back to the monitors, Sapphire did her best to wipe the blood from her face. As she dealt with hiding the evidence of what she did, Anya warned the others through the speaker.

“Hey, dead ahead. Looks like we’ve got our escort back.”

“Come on, let’s kill those things before they come back and sink us,” Sam suggested. After a couple of seconds, Anya spoke up, confusion clear in her tone.

“Where did they go? Looks like they were swept away by the current.”

Sam added, “I can hear something, like a motor…a waterfall…”

The submarine began to shake before Dizzy reported, “Marcus, the current’s getting a lot stronger! I can feel it in the controls.”

The sound coming from outside soon became deafening and Sapphire felt her stomach drop, like she was in the air. Dizzy called out in alarm, “Sorry, Marcus! I’ve lost her! Hang on!”

The speaker was then bombarded by the Gears letting out surprised shouts as the submarine shook and spun. It felt like a roller coaster ride and Sapphire couldn’t help but cling to the edges of her seat as the submarine spun. She began to feel nauseous, and it didn’t help that she just managed to get her nose to stop bleeding.

After what felt like too long, the submarine finally balanced, Dizzy letting out a sigh of relief. The sound slowly ebbed away, Dizzy reporting, “Whoo-weee. Okay, Marcus, I think we’re through!”

“Nice job, Dizzy. Thanks,” Marcus replied, relief clear in his voice.

“I’m glad that’s over,” Anya agreed, sighing into the speaker.

Sapphire sighed, relaxing into her seat. She was exhausted, even after a restful nap. At least the Leviathan was dead. As Sapphire let herself relax, Dizzy suddenly cursed, making her shoot up in her seat. “Shit! We got torpedoes!”

This time, Sapphire sighed with exaggeration, rubbing her face. With a deep breath, she gripped her seat, readying herself for the wild ride next. She knew after this that they would arrive to Azura.

But for now, she needed to focus on not being sick because she was very close to it.

Chapter Text

“That’s it…we’re in. Welcome to Azura.”

Sapphire was glad to hear Marcus’s words as she breathed deeply, trying to keep from puking. The submarine was a whole roller coaster that even the bravest couldn’t handle well when it comes to the stomach. No matter how many times Sapphire had flown, this was the worst nausea she had ever felt.

Dizzy chuckled, telling Marcus from beside Sapphire, “Yeah, Marcus, your dad’s gonna be real happy to see ya. Real happy.”

“Yeah…if he’s still alive,” Marcus pointed out. Sapphire unbuckled, getting up to join Dizzy again. “Okay, Dizzy. Take her up.”

Sapphire could see nothing on the monitors at first. But as Dizzy pulled the submarine towards the surface, the monitors picked up a massive dark mass ahead. Sapphire squinted her eyes at this, trying to see what it was. Dizzy was also doing the same thing, raising the submarine to the surface slower than before.

Soon, a body hit a monitor and Sapphire could hear Sam curse as she spoke though the speaker, “Those bastards! They’ve killed the civvies!”

Passing by what now looked to be a combination of blood and bodies, the submarine soon notified Dizzy and Sapphire that it had reached the surface. Sapphire readied herself, Ghidorah on her back as Dizzy steered the submarine to dock.

Jace spoke through the comms this time, now that they were on the surface, “So the government shipped people out here? Nice of Prescott to keep us in the loop.”

“Yeah, the important folks that were worth saving…while we weren’t,” Dizzy growled. Clearly, he and Jace were on a similar understanding when it came to Prescott.

“Didn’t save them, though, did it,” Marcus pointed out before he continued in his mission-focused attitude. “Okay, let’s move. Dizzy, when we’re clear, get out of the cave and stand by. The sub might be our only way out.”

“Sounds good,” Dizzy replied, turning to Sapphire behind him. “Good luck out there to all of you.”

“Thanks, Dizzy,” Sapphire replied, moments before the others came into the control room from the side doors that led to the pods. “Everyone ready to climb out of here?”

“Yeah, I’m all done with this shit,” Jace replied first, taking the lead to the outside. Sapphire let Sam and Anya through before Marcus gestured to her to go. Sapphire followed the three, Marcus trailing behind her as they all filed out of the submarine.

As soon as Sapphire exited the submarine, a foul smell hit her nose. It was a mixture of blood, mildew, and old stone, all trapped in the cavern that the submarine was docked in. Bodies floated around the submarine, their blood filling the water with red. Ahead of the docks, Sapphire saw lights in the distance, giving the dark cavern a light glow that felt like she was in the Nexus again.

Sapphire pushed that thought down quickly. No use in focusing on the past. She had to focus on the now. She could feel Valkyrie slightly more here, the entity waiting patiently for what will happen next.

As soon as Sapphire’s feet hit the wood of the dock, the realization hit her hard as to what being here meant. This was the end. They only had one chance to defeat the Lambent and Locust, saving Sera from the Imulsion that was poisoning it. And somehow, Sapphire was part of it.

If Adam Fenix was alive, of course.

‘Things would be much harder if he is dead,’ Valkyrie remarked quietly. Sapphire noticed it was the dark version of Valkyrie that spoke, the light side nowhere to be heard or felt. She must have hidden when the dark version of Valkyrie became fully awakened.

As everyone made their final preparations, Marcus radioed Dizzy, telling him, “Dizzy, take her down.”

“We’ll hook up again! See you later!” Behind them, they could hear the submarine slowly submerge, disappearing back into the bloody depths to wait. Ahead, the lights formed into lanterns as their eyes adjusted, showcasing the steps that led out of the cavern.

They began to walk, their steps filling the cavern. The silence bothered Sapphire, as there was a chance that Locust hid in the shadows. But as they continued, the only thing to greet them was an automated female voice, “Welcome to Azura, you have been chosen to be under the protection-”

“Protection,” Jace snorted. “I wonder why Prescott didn’t spend all his freaking time here.”

Sapphire wondered that too. And now that she was thinking about it, she wondered if Prescott intended to send her here. He did seem adamant that she be sent away when they were on Vectes. And there was a good chance Adam Fenix knew who she was, and what she was.

Before her thoughts could wonder, Marcus spoke up beside her, “Anya, you’re navigating. Where’s the Maelstrom generator?”

They continued on, ascending the steps and into view of a well-lit area just ahead of them. Anya pointed up ahead with a hand, replying, “Up there. That’s the train station. Let’s follow the tunnel.”

Originally, Sapphire thought it was the train station itself, but only found that it was a garden of sorts, underground. Strangely, nothing greeted them once more. Sapphire grimaced at this. The Locust would have guarded all entrances, especially when they left the naval base. They should have been greeted by some Locust by now.

Sam pointed this out, her tone uneasy, “Anybody else weirded out by no Locust so far?”

Marcus glanced at Sapphire, who shrugged. She had no clue where they were. Clearly, it was either the Locust were waiting or they didn’t have enough to guard every entrance. Sapphire looked around, wondering if maybe she was misremembering. But she remembered a lot of fighting on Azura. And a shit ton of it.

The fact there were no Locust by the time they reached the final flight of stairs, revealing an underground train station, really unnerved Sapphire. And what made it worse was that she could feel the Locust song grow higher the closer to the train station they got.

A low rumble caught their attention, all Lancers pointed to the tunnel where a light began to emerge. A small glowing dot that expanded as the sound of a train horn echoed in the tunnel and underground cavern. Anya smiled at this, “Guess someone is on our side.”

“Hold on,” Marcus interrupted just as the train stopped. “Something ain’t right. This is too easy.”

“Come on, Marcus, Anya is right,” Jace replied, going to the double doors to wait for them to slide open. “Just have to be patient.”

The doors didn’t open.

Jace hummed, “Weird.”

Sapphire felt a pitch in the Locust song and was quick to grab Jace by the back of his armor. With an alarmed shout, Sapphire told the others, “Get away from the train-”

The next thing she heard was a loud explosion and a bright light filled the train station. The breath was knocked out of her as Sapphire landed on her back, Jace over her. He groaned and Sapphire could hear the others coughing. Slowly, Sapphire sat up, seeing the train completely destroyed, and the tunnels blocked.

Jace got off Sapphire quickly, cursing out, “Damnnit! The train’s blocked the tunnel! Where the hell are we gonna go now?”

“Anya, is there a way around this,” Marcus asked nearby and Sapphire got to her feet just as he got to her side. “You okay?”

“Yeah, just a bit bruised,” Sapphire replied. She rubbed her face, but to her surprise, she found blood on her hand. “Shit, did Jace land on my face?”

“No,” Marcus replied, turning her to him to get a better look. “Shit, you’re bleeding a shit ton.”

“I am?” Sapphire was confused. The songs in her head weren’t that bad. Not bad enough that would trigger a bleed. “But-”

“You need to sit,” Marcus told her before she could continue to question it. “You’re wobbling.”

She was? Sapphire let Marcus lower her so that she could sit against a pillar. The moment she was sitting, she felt like the world was crashing on her. Jace came up then, alarm clear on his face, “I didn’t land on you, did I?”

“No, you’re fine,” Sapphire replied, waving him off, but quickly regretted the action. She felt nauseated suddenly, much worse than in the submarine. Worry grew on Marcus’s face and as much as Sapphire wanted to reassure him, she didn’t know what was wrong with her.

“Is Sapphire okay,” Anya asked from across the train station, the sound almost piercing in Sapphire’s ear.

“Don’t know,” Jace replied. “She doesn’t look too good.”

“Let me take a look,” Anya insisted, her voice growing closer. “Did you check the back of her head after that explosion?”

“I ain’t bleeding from the back of the head,” Sapphire spoke up. Why did she feel so weak all of a sudden? The songs weren’t that bad. “I-I don’t…”

Marcus shifted to let Anya crouch. Anya observed Sapphire for a moment, grabbing Sapphire’s face gently to look. Slowly, her face began to show an expression that Sapphire recognized from the shoreline, after Prescott died and they both had to drop before a bomb hit their location. She turned to Marcus, telling him, “It’s happening again.”

“What’s happening again?” Now Sapphire was concerned. Valkyrie didn’t say anything, simply staying silent as panic rose. “Anya, what the hell are you talking about?”

“Sapphire, don’t panic,” Anya began, a comforting hand on Sapphire’s shoulder. “But I think you may have some sort of major brain trauma. I saw some symptoms at the shore in Hanover, but I was unsure because I’m not a doctor. Unequal pupil size, heavy nose bleeds, loss of consciousness, sudden mood swings all are indications of major head trauma.”

“So, what do we do,” Sam asked from next to Jace. “We can’t just leave Sapphire here. And she can’t just walk back to Dizzy. But we also can’t keep her tagging along if she’s gonna faint at any moment.”

They all looked at Marcus, who looked indecisive for what felt like the first time since leaving Vectes. His eyes were on Sapphire, deciding on what to do next. After a tense moment, Sapphire sighed, shaking her head, “We have to keep going. I can make it through this. I’ve made it this far, so what’s a few more hours?”

“Sapphire, your symptoms are getting worse,” Anya pointed out. “If we keep going…”

‘Either way, they must continue,’ Valkyrie spoke softly. ‘You must continue. You are needed to destroy the Hiveminds. If you don’t, Sera is lost.’

Anya suddenly stood up, her voice carrying through to the comms as she requested, “Anya to Cole. Anya to Cole, over.”

There was silence as Sapphire and Marcus turned to each other. HIs face held regret, guilt, and indecisiveness. And while Sapphire knew he held her best interests in mind, that didn’t mean he had to risk the mission for her. With a sigh, Sapphire told Marcus, “We have no choice. We need to press on. We must get to Adam Fenix, dead or alive.”

Marcus let out a heavy sigh, his eyes tearing from hers reluctantly. As if looking at her became too much at that moment. She understood, hearing his voice cracking as he asked, “At the cost of you?”

“For humanity? Yes,” Sapphire replied softly. “We must press on. If we don’t destroy the Maelstrom and finish this war, we lose Sera. We lose all what we fought for. This is the last stretch.”

Jace and Sam didn’t say anything, watching as Marcus internally fought what he should say or do. But in reality, Sapphire was right. They had to press on.

Anya sighed, rubbing her face with one hand before the radio suddenly crackled in their ears. Soon, a new male voice, one with odd familiarity, spoke, “Anya! Anya, is that you? This is Adam Fenix! Can you hear me?”

The hopelessness that had begun to creep into Anya’s expression disappeared, replaced by bright hope. She replied excitedly, “Professor! Yes, we hear you.”

“Ah, thank God! Prescott found you! Can you see the security camera?”

Anya looked around, trying to find what he was talking about. Walking farther away from them, Anya looked up, trying to find a security camera to look into. Soon, she found one on the other end of the train station. She smiled at this, asking the camera, “Yes, can you see us, Professor?”

“Anya! Oh, you’ve changed! Where’s Marcus? Did Marcus make it?”

Sapphire smiled at the worry in Adam Fenix’s voice. Even as they all neared the end, the father still worried over his son. Marcus gave her a hesitant look and Sapphire smiled, telling him softly, “Go see him. Jace and Sam can help me if I need it.”

Jace crouched down on the other side of Marcus, reassuring the worried soldier, “I’ve got her, Marcus.”

A few more seconds and soon Marcus stood up, leaving Sapphire alone with Jace and Sam. Sam replaced Marcus, both helping Sapphire up long enough for her to get her balance. Once she found herself balanced, Sapphire told the pair, “I think I’m good. For now.”

“Take it nice and easy,” Sam told her softly, Jace and her siding Sapphire as they moved to join Anya and Marcus.

They got to the pair just as Marcus greeted the camera, “Dad, I’m here. We’ve come to get you out.”

There was silence. Sapphire felt a little dizzy but kept a straight face, the songs of Locust calmer than before. During the silence, Sapphire asked Valkyrie, ‘Why didn’t you warn me? Now my comrades are worried!’

‘I thought it was more important to explain to you how important you are, not worrying over your health,’ Valkyrie replied nonchalantly. ‘You have one job, Chosen. And that is to use the Titanmind to destroy the other two minds.’

Sapphire tried not to roll her eyes visibly at Valkyrie’s lack of empathy. The dark side of Valkyrie seemed to be absent of all empathy or sympathy. It would have been nice to at least have a warning.

Finally, Adam’s voice came back, “It’s….good to see you again. Is Dom with you? Wait, how did you get that scar?”

“Later, Dad. Where are you?”

“I’m locked in my laboratory in the hotel tower. I need you to get me out so I can deploy the countermeasure. I’m running out of time, Marcus.”

“We’ll deal with the grubs, Dad. Hang in there.”

“No,” Adam snapped, but then calmed as he continued. “I mean the Imulsion. The Lambent organism. It’s about to reach a critical stage in its life cycle. I’ve got to destroy it before it matures and wipes out all life on Sera.”

Now that was a cause of concern. Marcus told his father, “You lost me at ‘life cycle’.”

“It’s not a fuel, Marcus. It’s a living organism. It’s turning everything Lambent-including us.”

“It’s a parasite,” Marcus concluded quickly. He glanced back at Sapphire, who nodded in confirmation. “So, you can kill it.”

“Yes, that’s it exactly! Myrrah wants me to adapt the countermeasure to kill it without harming the Locust, but there’s no time for that.”

“We need to shut down the Maelstrom first to land reinforcements. Where do we go?”

Adam Fenix was quick to reply, “There’s a train that’ll take you straight to the facility.”

“Yeah,” Marcus replied, glancing at the ruined train. “We’ve got a problem with that. The tunnel’s blocked. We need to bypass it.”

“There should be a maintenance tunnel alongside it. I can open the door for you from here. Get to the beach and you’ll be able to see the tower from there.”

Jace and Sam looked around, separating from the group. They both quickly found a large door at the end of the train station near them, Jace gesturing to it with a nod. Marcus told his father, “Dad, try opening it.”

The door slowly opened just then, rising and allowing them access to what they assumed was the maintenance tunnel. Marcus nodded to the camera, confirming to his father, “We’re in.”

As they all began to make their way into the tunnel, Marcus heard his earpiece come to life as his father spoke to him, “Marcus, you said reinforcements. Are you two on your own?”

“We’ve got Sam, Jace, and Sapphire, too. You’ll meet them soon enough.” They all heard the heavy silence that followed. It took Adam Fenix a couple of minutes to reply to Marcus.

“If there’s just the five of you, try to find a Silverback. You’ll need it. This place is heavily defended.” Something about Adam Fenix’s tone shifted. As if in either relief or some strange tension. As they made their way down the maintenance tunnel, they found a Silverback.

Marcus reported to his father as soon as they spotted it, “We see it.”

Marcus climbed into the Silverback first, before taking the lead once more. The Silverback’s light led them ahead and further down the maintenance tunnel. Sapphire felt the sharp pains of the Locust song, just before Locust began to fire at them. It was only a small patrol that they dispatched quickly, but as they continued pushing forward, more Locust could be seen.

Every once in a while, somebody would look back and check on Sapphire as she kept up with them. They continued on, fighting Locust all the way up until they exited the tunnel. There, they were greeted by dark skies and loud winds. The Maelstrom moved around them, lightning striking the island every once in a while. A continuous storm that seemed to melt the stone and plants into sand and mud. Sam commented, “This must have been a nice beach once.”

Through the darkness, it was easy to tell that the Locust had been around, their weaponry, supplies, and camps scattered in the form of silhouettes. Sapphire felt more unease the further they got into Azura, but she pushed it down. She needed to get to the end, and be ready for whatever came next. Jace snorted at all the supplies, commenting, “Damn, look at all this shit! They turned this place into Fort Grub!”

They continued, unbothered by the storm as Marcus led them with the Silverback’s light. Sam agreed with Jace, nodding, “Looks like they’re making new headquarters.”

“We better un-build it before Cole shows up,” Marcus said as they continued. “Dad, are you still receiving?”

“I can hear you, Marcus,” Adam replied. They faced more Locust, but luckily not armored Kantus or any massive threats. They pushed forward until they saw a stream of light through the storm’s winds and shaking palm trees. Looking up, Sapphire and the Gears saw a massive pillar of light reaching into the Maelstrom, Anya gasping next to Sapphire, “Look at that!”

“Looks like where we need to go,” Marcus replied before pushing forward.

Sapphire found herself having a difficult time however, barely managing to keep up with the others as they kept fighting Locust at every step of the way. She didn’t feel like this before, feeling the blood drip down her face as she jogged to follow the Gears. How was she weakening so fast?

‘Because the songs are getting to you,’ Valkyrie replied in a frustrated tone. ‘And Queen Myrrah is intensifying the frequency of the Hivemind to combat you.’

‘Why does she want to get rid of me?’

‘Because if she can’t have the army of Titans, then no one can. And because you have survived her attempt to sacrifice you, she’s afraid. She’s afraid that even if Adam Fenix’s weapon works and doesn’t kill her people, that you will go after her. And you are the only one capable to destroy the Hivemind and Lambentmind.’

Sapphire glanced at Marcus as they pushed on, wondering if she would survive this ordeal. She could, technically. But there was a chance that she could die. That in destroying the two minds that she too will die from the effort. Valkyrie didn’t comment, and Sapphire couldn’t help but sigh.

“At least the other one is more sympathetic,” Sapphire grumbled aloud as she trailed behind the Gears, resting as best as she can. If she was needed for the end, she needed to keep going.

Soon, they got to the tower after killing two Reavers and a whole squadron of Locust. Marcus exited the Silverback as it powered down, announcing to the group, “It’s out of juice. We should be able to access the tower up ahead.”

Glancing at Sapphire, Marcus asked, “Hanging in there okay?”

Sapphire nodded, though from the expressions of the Gears around her, they didn’t believe her. She replied, “As best as I can. We need to keep going.”

Marcus nodded, though he did hang back and let Jace and Sam go in front of him so he could be closer to Sapphire. Sapphire didn’t call him out and they both continued after the others, Anya sparing glances at Sapphire as they jogged up the last leg. As soon as Jace and Sam were around the corner, Jace cursed, “Shit! They blocked the entrance!”

“They knew what we were after,” Anya sighed, turning to Marcus.

Marcus was on it, asking Adam, “Dad, you know any back doors? The access is blocked.”

“There’s…nothing on the schematics, Marcus,” Adam replied. Marcus grimaced but didn’t curse his father for his lack of help. Instead, Marcus turned to the group.

“Keep looking around the caves. Damn thing’s right in front of us. There’s got to be a way in.” Sapphire looked around, feeling out for Locust songs that could indicate. After a few seconds, she found some and turned, looking down a dug out trenchline that seemed to go around the tower.

She turned to Marcus, “Let’s go this way.”

Marcus turned to look down the nearly hidden pathway. He nodded, “Good idea. Let’s go.”

They began to follow the trenchline, which was much taller and deeper than Sapphire expected. This was strange, considering this would weaken the structure overtime, but she guessed that it wasn’t as important as they would shut down the facility soon enough.

As they got near the back of the tower, the sound of doors opening caught their attention, the Gears turning to find the source. And emerging from the source were two Boomers that laughed as soon as they exited. Marcus grumbled next to Sapphire, “Thanks, assholes.”

Once the boomers were dead, it was revealed that the door was actually part of the train system on Azura. Sapphire stopped at the entrance, Sam and Anya going ahead as Anya reported to Adam on their progress. Jace spared a look at Sapphire before continuing on, leaving only Sapphire and Marcus.

And with just the two of them, Marcus turned to Sapphire and asked in a serious tone, “Got something to admit?”

“Not really,” Sapphire replied, turning to him. “Just that I believe Prescott wanted to send me here to aid Adam Fenix. Valkyrie seems to think so.”

“The entity? Where the hell has it been?”

Sapphire shrugged, “Don’t know, but she told me that Adam Fenix will need me for the countermeasure. You know how I said I could hear the Hivemind of both the Locust and the Lambent?” At Marcus’s nod, Sapphire continued. “Valkyrie informed me that it was possible because of the Titanmind. She doesn’t give me much information beyond that.”

“Of course,” Marcus sighed, before patting her back. “But you’ll be okay, right?”

The word ‘maybe’ almost came out. Because Sapphire didn’t know. This part was never in the games. Never part of the story. And the fact was that Sapphire was lost now. She didn’t know what exactly would happen next.

And after Dom…that scared her.

Instead, she put on a smile and told Marcus, “I will be, Marcus. Let’s go join the others and get your father. We’re close to the end.”

Marcus nodded, but just as they began to walk back into the train tunnel, Marcus told her, “I can’t wait for all this to end. But then what would we do?”

“We’ll see what tomorrow brings, Marcus,” Sapphire replied, giving him a soft and reassuring smile. “There will be a tomorrow.”

Chapter Text

Sapphire didn’t know how she managed to keep awake, only that it was thanks to the survival adrenaline running through her. The tunnel had been a mess, more than when they were on the way to the Maelstrom facility. And to top it all off, they barely managed to get out of the way of an oncoming train.

At least her nose had decided to stop bleeding, a good sign in Sapphire’s opinion.

Now, they were in a loading bay that was one of the train stops on Azura. Anya had no idea where to go from here, as the map didn’t show much in the version they had. Once they got their bearings and realized that they were in the clear, Marcus radioed to his father once more, “Dad, we’re in a loading bay near the rail track. We need to find a way up to the top of the cliff.”

“There’s an elevator at the back,” Adam replied.

Soon, the sound of a door opened and Anya called out to them, “I see it! This way!”

The group caught up with Anya, seeing what she saw. Just ahead of her right was an opened gate, where a freight elevator was in view. They all filled in, and as soon as they did, the elevator door closed behind them, leaving only the option of pressing the green button that pointed up.

Marcus pressed it as Sam growled out, “This bloody facility’s been here all these years.”

“With all the scientists,” Anya pointed out. “No wonder they disappeared. We thought they’d been killed!”

“Yeah,” Marcus sighed as the elevator began to move. “We did, didn’t we.”

The elevator continued and as it did, Sam turned to Sapphire, asking, “You doing okay?”

“Hanging in there,” Sapphire replied, standing up despite the strong urge to take a seat. “This is why I didn’t trust Prescott when he disappeared into his office. Probably had contact with Azura since Emergence Day, filing away all the big scientists, including Adam Fenix. Convincing asshole.”

“You got that right,” Jace agreed.

Anya nodded, though she didn’t speak ill of Prescott. But as they waited in silence, Sam’s face suddenly perked up as she turned back to Sapphire, “Hey, you and Prescott had a deal going on after you woke up from your coma, right?”

“Yeah,” Sapphire replied, crossing her arms. “If I strayed out of line and my arm didn’t recover, then I would be sent away. Why?”

“Did he know you were a biologist of sorts?”

“Not until the Lambent began to show up on Vectes. But he never trusted me. Thought of me as a Locust spy. Why?” Sapphire knew why, but she didn’t want to give anything important away. Something that could risk her identity. Risk her origin.

“I have a feeling that Prescott was wanting to send you here,” Sam replied. This made the whole group silent, so Sam continued. “Think about it. Locust captured you, you survived, and you were a capable soldier, even with the disability. He only interrogated you that one time because of the UIR wanting more information.”

“He knows that I wouldn’t have gone without a fight,” Sapphire grumbled. “No way was I leaving you guys behind.”

“And glad you didn’t. Because then we wouldn’t have found the Eagle nor had a diplomatic chance with the Stranded,” Jace pointed out. “That would have fucked us over.”

“You guys would have handled it fine, even without me,” Sapphire said. “But with my mental state? Coming here would have destroyed it just as much as potential postpartum.”

“Ain’t that the truth,” Marcus snorted. Anya didn’t speak up, her face neutral. Sapphire didn’t question her stance. She never spoke ill of the dead, even if it was a topic of conversation.

Suddenly, the elevator ceased, so suddenly that all five soldiers were almost knocked off balance. As they recovered, the elevator dropped, stopping at an open level as the nights went dark. Jace was quick to point out, “Uh, guys? This ain’t the top floor.”

“Might be an ambush,” Marcus cautioned. “Come on, keep your eyes open.”

Slowly, they walked out of the elevator, hearing scuttling in the darkness. Sapphire felt an alarm rise in her senses as they walked, keeping close to Marcus. Walking in the darkness gave everybody an uneasy feeling, slowly making their way down the hall. As they walked, Adam piped up in their comms, “Marcus, I’m tracking you on the security cams. Look for the service ladder!”

“On it,” Marcus replied, just before the sound of wretches could be heard. Grabbing Ghidorah, Sapphire lit up her electricity, showing their immediate surroundings. Just as several wretches charged at them. Sapphire was quick to meet them, the light following her as she swung Ghidorah hard. While she managed to take out three, the others broke through towards the Gears, who quickly met them with fiery bullets.

“This way,” Sapphire said, using Ghidorah’s light to guide them down the hallway. “Luckily those Serapedes charged Ghidorah up. Or else we’d be walking in the dark.”

The Gears followed and more Locust showed up, mostly drones and Guards. Wretches would come in packs, quickly dispatched by the Gears as Sapphire continued to lead them. Soon, light greeted them and Sapphire turned Ghidorah off to conserve its energy. Ahead, the lit up hallway led to a computer room.

“There’s the ladder,” Sam gestured, the ladder in a solitary room that went up. Sapphire went up quickly, back in the darkness of a building but hearing the storm as it began to intensify. As she waited for the others, a strange song began to reveal itself.

Sapphire paused at this new song, the soft tune almost like a humpback whale singing. In the confusion, Valkyrie hummed in the back of Sapphire’s mind, ‘Seems that someone has found something extraordinary.’

“What is that,” Sapphire whispered, walking closer to the downpour outside. Valkyrie huffed, amused but also trying to remain sarcastic.

‘You shall see soon, Chosen. You are incredibly lucky.’ Sapphire didn’t want to know what Valkyrie meant, but if anything, there was a chance that it could help her.

Soon, all the Gears were gathered, pushing forward and into the storm. Sapphire felt the rain thrum on her skin as they began to jog forward, seeing a silhouette in the storm. Marcus told the others, “We’re nearly there! Come on, take any assholes out!”

A Reaver descended from the skies, landing a platform ahead. Sapphire grabbed one of her few torque arrows, beginning to sprint as she transformed Ghidorah. Jumping onto a box, Sapphire raised her bow to aim before jumping. The Reaver turned to her as the Gears began to fire at the Locust ahead. Sapphire aimed for the Reaver’s side, where she could see the readied missile.

She fired the arrow, rolling in her landing as the arrow hit its mark. The Reaver didn’t release its missile in time, leading to it exploding. Sapphire and the Gears kept going, following the path towards the Maelstrom raged around them.

The Locust didn’t slow them down much, the group seeing the final stretch in their sights. Only Sapphire knew that it was true, that they would soon end this conflict. And she hoped that it remained true.

Soon, the facility was fully in sight, along with its beam of bright light that shined through the raging storm. Sam whistled as they approached the facility, “There it is. Wonder how many years it took the government to build it.”

“And when they were planning to share it with the rest of us,” Jace added with a grumble.

Ahead, more Locust began to reinforce the entrance. Sapphire saw the tiny bugs, Shriekers, try to target them, but it was difficult to fly in the stormy weather. The Gears quickly got rid of the Shriekers before targeting the Locust. As the Guards fell one by one, the door to the facility opened, revealing an elevator.

And walking out of it was another armored Kantus. This one had dual blades, serrated for extra damage. Sapphire grimaced at this, seeing the Kantus turn to the closest Gear.

Anya.

Sapphire roared out, charging with Ghidorah lighting up in her hand as the Kantus charged for Anya as soon as she stood up to fire at a Guard. Sapphire made it just in time to get between the Kantus and Anya, the dual blades striking Ghidorah’s hard metal in sparks.

The image of Skorge above her flashed as the armored Kantus roared in her face. But instead of installing fear, Sapphire felt rage rise. With another roar, she kicked the Kantus away before charging forward again, swinging Ghidorah in the way she was taught.

She met each serrated dual blade with the intention of striking back, careful with her footing on the slippery stone. With each block, Sapphire stepped closer, twirling and twisting, swinging Ghidorah to either block or try to get a strike in.

The Kantus roared out when Sapphire managed to strike its hand against a metal lamp post hard enough that the blade fell from its smashed fingers. And she took that opportunity quickly, striking through the Kantus’s mouth with Ghidorah lit with her fury.

After some moments, Sapphire kicked the Kantus away, turning off Ghidorah as rain pattered on her skin. Turning, she saw Anya approach her, thanking her with a relieved expression, “Thanks for the backup, Sapphire. Now let’s get out of this rain!”

“Agreed,” Sapphire replied. “I’ve only been out here for a few minutes and already tired of it.”

Tired of all this really, Sapphire really wanted to say. But she kept that to herself, following the Gears into the now-accessible elevator. As soon as they all filed into the elevator, Adam informed them, “Marcus, you’ve got one, two, three generators to shut down. They’re in the basement.”

“Let’s hope the elevator works this time,” Anya sighed as the elevator began to descend. There was a brief silence as the elevator made its way down. Sapphire spotted Marcus giving her brief glances, as if checking to make sure she was okay. She probably looked really bad, and with the knowledge that she had severe brain trauma and was getting worse by the hour, Sapphire didn’t blame Marcus for his worry for her.

Because she was getting worried herself, heading into unfamiliar territory as they got closer to the end.

The elevator finally reached the bottom, opening its iron gates. Bullets fired as soon as the elevator opened and Sapphire and Sam were pulled away from the middle by Jace. The Gears returned the fire, brief glances of the room revealing a lavish mansion-styled look.

When the Locust were handled, they entered the bright room. Sapphire grimaced at the pictures scattered around the room. Some had fallen, the paintings ruined by stray bullets. Sapphire didn’t know these people, but it was fucking bold of them to be hanged in this facility.

Almost mocking the lower people.

“If this was a whole government facility that the public had access to, there would be riots,” Sapphire remarked.

“Agreed,” Sam replied, eyeing one painting. “Too lavish. I wouldn’t want to see this after years of hard living.”

“Come on,” Marcus urged them as he crossed the room to a dimer area. “Let’s find the generator room.”

The dimer room was filled with computers and monitors when they first entered. There was also a large window, showcasing the machine creating the Maelstrom. It crackled and sparked as they all filled the room, Marcus asking the security camera to the side, “Any advice, Dad?”

“You’ll need to throw three switches. That shuts down the whole generator by stages. But there’ll be Locust in there waiting for you, Marcus.”

“Fine by me,” Marcus replied, but then paused. Sapphire could see the conflict in his eyes as he sighed. “Dad, I’m sorry. I should have saved you from all this. God, I tried.”

“Don’t, Marcus, please,” Adam reassured his son. “I’m the one who needs some forgiveness. I’ve cost you everything. I can see it.”

And in that moment of vulnerability, Marcus told his father, “He’s gone, Dad. Dom’s gone.”

There was no hesitation as Adam told Marcus, “Marcus, I wish I could bring him back. But all I can do is…make sure you all have a future. I won’t fail you this time. I promise.”

Marcus didn’t reply to his father this time. Probably didn’t have any more words for him at this moment. Shifting, Marcus turned to the others, “Okay, now we have a new objective. We’ll have to come back here once we’ve shut down the generators.”

He then turned to Sapphire, “Since we’ll be coming back here, do you need a break?”

While Sapphire’s first response was to refuse the offer, she hesitated. She hadn’t been much help so far, hanging back and handling Locust when she could. She’d only slow them down or get hurt trying to help them. And with how weak she was becoming; she probably needed the break more than she would care to admit.

With a sigh, Sapphire nodded, “Yeah. Maybe some rest will help. Besides, I’ve been of little help since coming to Azura. Just…be safe, okay?”

Marcus nodded, relief in his eyes at her lack of protest to the offer. He told her, “We’ll be back before you know it.”

“Just don’t fall asleep, okay,” Anya pressed. “Whatever you do, don’t fall asleep.”

“Oh, not here,” Sapphire replied, gesturing to the machine in the next, sealed, room. “Not with this noise. And don’t worry much about me. Just go and be safe. Shut down those generators and get back here as soon as possible.”

Sam smiled, “Always worrying for others. We’ll be back.”

“Close the doors when we leave,” Marcus instructed as Sam, Jace, and Anya began to exit the room to another hallway. “We’ll knock when we return.”

Sapphire nodded, “I know you guys will return. Locust can’t fool me anymore than they did before.”

Marcus chuckled at that, knowing what she meant. He then exited the room, Sapphire pressing on a button to close the doors of both the elevator room and the hallway the Gears took. For a few seconds, it was silent as Sapphire leaned on the console, head in her hands as she took deep breaths. She just had to hang on for a few more hours, then this war would be over. The countermeasure would launch and Sapphire would do whatever she can to do what Valkyrie said she had to do.

Suddenly, Adam Fenix’s voice cut through the silence through the intercom in the room, “You must be Sapphire Haze, correct?”

Sapphire looked at the security camera, hugging herself as Ghidorah laid next to her. “I am, sir.”

There was silence again and Sapphire thought that was it. But to her surprise, Adam soon came back on, “I was wondering when you would arrive to Azura.”

“You were expecting me,” Sapphire asked, standing up from the console to face the security camera. “How?”

At this, Adam replied, “I have known about you since you were taken to the Slab. You made too much of a notice to be sent to Azura, according to Prescott. And while he tried many times to send you here, he claims my son has prevented him from taking you here. And I’m glad my son prevented him.”

“Then you know who I am?”

“Not your origin,” Adam replied. “But I know you are an important piece to what is happening to Sera.”

Sapphire sighed, her frustration renewed at hearing his words, “I keep hearing that from Valkyrie and Griffin! How am I so important? Me being here is already messing with what is supposed to happen! What am I supposed to do?”

“I don’t know exactly myself,” Adam admitted. “Whatever is at play is beyond what I am able to comprehend. Queen Myrrah tried to use you to gain access to ancient technology and failed in doing so upon the flooding of the Hollows. The Lambent know that you are a threat, having the same ability that Myrrah tried to take, that will prevent them from reaching their final stage.”

Sapphire thought about it. Then she told Adam, hands on the console as she spoke. “Valkyrie mentioned that the Hivemind of both the Lambent and Locust are vulnerable to the power of the Titanmind…maybe that’s what you need for your countermeasure!”

“The Titanmind,” Adam hummed. “That must be it, the ability that both Lambent and Queen Myrrah hope to destroy. If that is the case, then I ask you to keep yourself safe. And I think I may have something that will boost your ability. Prescott brought back an orb of sorts, one that I assume was with you before he seized it just before leaving Jacinto. It still has power.”

The orb. Sapphire’s eyebrows furrowed at that, trying to remember.

Then, it hit her.

The orb that was next to her head on the stone table. The last person who had it was…either Baird or Cole. They took it, she remembered vaguely. They took it but she never learned what happened to it. It had fled her mind due to her coma and recovery. It was here on Azura.

“My son and the others will be here soon, Sapphire, so I am forced to cut this short. But I need you to know that you must keep yourself safe. Queen Myrrah wants you dead and the Lambent know that you are a threat to their survival.”

“Why? Adam, why do the Lambent view me in particular as a threat?”

“Because this has happened before. The Lambent were at this stage on Sera before a very, very long time ago.”

Sapphire froze at that. Valkyrie had referred to it as an infection. It had happened before. The Lambent had tried to take over Sera before. But they, somehow, failed.

How?

Now, Sapphire was entirely lost. Like all that she knew before was suddenly unknown to her.

“I had only learned this recently myself, Sapphire Haze,” Adam admitted, seeming confused himself. “Something stopped them a long time ago and now that same thing is back to stop them. I know my son will protect you, but you also must remain vigilant. Your ability is the last thing I need for the countermeasure, therefore it is of utmost important for you to get to me and help me prepare the countermeasure.”

Sapphire sighed, “Not like I have a choice. I hope to see you soon, Adam Fenix.”

“I look forward to finally meeting you.”

Sapphire’s head lowered as Adam disappeared from the speaker, leaving her alone. In her mind, Valkyrie chuckled, ‘I see. Prescott knew that orb was important. He must have taken it from someone who got it from either Baird or Cole. Either way, Prescott just helped you achieve a much easier time.’

“You shut up,” Sapphire hissed, shaking her head. “Just shut the fuck up until you’re needed.”

Instead of being offended, Valkyrie chuckled. But luckily, she didn’t say anything more, leaving Sapphire in relative silence. The song of the Locust was still strong, but the dark lullaby had softened. But that didn’t mean the Lambent weren’t on their way. They would be gathering the necessary forces to come to Azura. And Sapphire didn’t want them in the mix if she could help it.

Sapphire lifted away from the console, waiting patiently for the others to return.

While all this was confusing, Sapphire began to bury it. None of it would matter in the end. She just needed to stay alive long enough to help Adam Fenix with his countermeasure. No point in asking questions that will keep being unanswered. And honestly, Sapphire was tired of trying to fight the entities that have plagued her.

For now, she needed to focus on what was happening in front of her. No Valkyrie, no Griffin, no mystery dragon, and no wondering about this puzzle. Maybe she’ll focus back on it if she survived to the very end of this war, but she didn’t want to get her hopes up. She needed to be prepared for the possibility of dying.

And leaving Marcus.

She hated the possibility. She didn’t want to put Marcus through that. But she foolishly pursued a relationship with Marcus. She became more and more a part of his life, since being put in the same yard as him in the Slab. Hell, he had plagued her comatic dreams, mixing her reality and her dream sequence.

She prayed silently that she would survive. That caused a flare of determination to finally be lit, something that made her chest loosen and her mind clearer. No more thinking about what puzzle she was part of. No thinking about the entities or the dark lullaby. Ignore the whys and ifs. Ignore Valkyrie’s insults, Queen Myrrah’s speeches, and the demands of her to rest.

Sapphire was drawn out of her thoughts by a series of three knocks. She perked up at this, looking back to see the machine still going. Eyebrows furrowing, Sapphire walked back to the button and opened it. On the other side was Marcus, Anya, Jace, and Sam, relatively unharmed as they entered the room.

Adam came back on in their comms, “Marcus, the Maelstrom’s still working! What happened?”

“Well, we shut the damn thing down! Is there some other power supply,” Marcus questioned.

“The Locust must have a backup supply somewhere else!”

“Ah, shit,” Marcus cursed. “That could take hours to find!”

There was a bout of thinking from Adam before he told them, “Cut off the coolant. That’ll take the generators offline. But it’ll cause one hell of an explosion.”

“Well, that works for me.” Marcus turned to the others, nodding as he shifted with his Lancer in front of him. “Come on, let’s find the valves.”

“Marcus, you’re gonna have to get out of there fast,” Adam warned.

“Don’t worry, Dad. We will,” Marcus reassured. He then turned to Sapphire, looking more relieved than concerned as he asked her. “You good to continue?”

“Yeah. I needed the rest. Now, let’s go destroy that coolant. No breaks. No stopping. We destroy this machine and go straight to Adam Fenix,” Sapphire replied, a new pair of doors opening just behind her. The Gears nodded in agreement, a small smile reaching Marcus’s lips as Sapphire began to lead them into the new hallway, grabbing Ghidorah as she left the room.

The new hallway turned out to lead right into the machine room, where the Maelstrom machine thrummed and sparked. Once they were in, more Locust greeted them, firing at them as soon as they entered. Sapphire dived for cover with the rest. She could see ahead that there was a valve that looked like a coolant unit.

Sapphire turned back, telling Marcus just behind her, “Hey! You keep the Locust distracted while I turn those off!”

“Okay! We got them, go!” Sapphire smiled at Marcus’s confidence in her as she ran out of cover and towards the first coolant valve. With Ghidorah on her back, Sapphire grabbed the handles, pulling it out of its mechanism and turning it. At first, when she tried to turn it, it wouldn’t budge. The Gears were fighting the Locust that were coming up from the sides, hallways that surrounded the machine’s multiple levels.

As bullets flew just behind Sapphire, she hissed out, “It would be great to have your strength right now, Valkyrie!”

The entity sighed and Sapphire felt the familiar boost of energy as she finally turned the wheel. Sapphire sighed as she pulled away, whispering, “Thanks.”

All she got was an internal snort.

The light about the valve turned from green to red, an alarm sounding. A female recorded voice came over the intercom, informing them of the valve being shut. Sapphire turned to the others, shouting, “Next one!”

They began to run to the other side, where another valve was waiting. While the Gears provided coverfire, Sapphire went straight for the valve. Pulling it out, Sapphire went to turn it, feeling another surge of energy that made it possible to turn it. When that was done, Sapphire once again shouted to the others, “Next one!”

She began to sprint, the Gears following behind as they ran down the stairs near the second valve. As they reached the floor, Anya shouted a warning, “Armored Kantus!”

“I got it,” Sapphire reassured, grabbing Ghidorah. “Someone get the next one!”

Sapphire saw the Armored Kantus, coming around with dual blades. Sapphire grimaced, shouting, “Hey! Dumbass!”

The Armored Kantus turned to Sapphire and she used Ghidorah to use both feet to kick it into a metal box. The Armored Kantus let out an enraged roar, getting to its feet as Sapphire activated Ghidorah, its yellow light vibrating against the shadows. She charged as it began to roll towards her as soon as she leapt over the box.

Instead of trying to parry, Sapphire jumped, using Ghidorah to help boost her momentum to get higher. As she flew through the air, the Kantus unrolled, attempting to get at her as it shrieked her way, dual blades going towards her as soon as she landed.

But Sapphire was ready, using Ghidorah to block both strikes. Then, with a twist, Sapphire kicked the Kantus away. It shrieked, its song painful, but Sapphire pushed through.

As her staff and its blades met, Sam shouted her way, “Hey! Use this!”

Sapphire turned her head, seeing the frag sent her way. Sapphire smirked, the Kantus shrieking towards her as it pushed her back when one hand pulled away. She reached and grabbed the thrown frag, turning to the Kantus to thrust the frag into its mouth. Quickly, Sapphire kicked it away towards the edge, watching its legs catch before it fell, an explosion sounding as it fell.

From somewhere, Sapphire heard Anya call out, “Hey! We got one more left!”

Twisting Ghidorah into its holster, Sapphire joined the others as they all ran down the stairs. And there, unguarded and ready to be turned, was the final coolant valve, bigger than the others. Marcus and Jace approached, both needing to pull before they turned the valve together, their faces strained as the valve twisted under their push. When the light turned red, the alarms blared, red flashing as steam and smoke began to push through the machine’s cracks.

Above, there was a loud explosion that sent debris careening towards the bottom. Anya shouted, “Everybody run!”

“Marcus, get out of there, now,” Adam urged as a door behind them opened. They had no choice but to sprint through the door.

“That’s it, everybody out,” Marcus shouted as they all began to spring up the stairs. Alarms blared, debris fell around them, forcing them down a path that was left behind. Every Locust they came across, they sprinted past. No use in trying to fight the Locust off.

Flames burst as pipes exploded from the heat pressure. Sapphire felt the heat all around her, but she pushed herself, following closely to the other Gears. They passed by the facility’s once-lavish hallways and rooms, paintings burning on their way out.

A door opened in front of them as they reached what they hoped was the exit. A Boomer roared out, but Marcus simply shoved the Boomer before it could stop them, a burning pillar falling on it before it could have a chance to get up. The exit sign above a doorway sparked, their final chance as they all filed out, sprinting through the rain and wind.

Lightning struck the ground, the winds howling just before the building they had once been in began to fall apart. Flames erupted from its structure, explosions following to the top where the storm had been put out.

The sound of the glass dome shattering was the only warning before the shockwave sent everyone off their feet, the lightning that was created by the facility now striking the facility with the force of thunder. Around them, the storm gave its final show of multiple lightning strikes, its winds slowly dying down.

Then, light.

Sapphire, Anya, Jace, Sam, and Marcus all got to their feet as the clouds parted, revealing the sun above. Sapphire smiled, the Maelstrom disappearing as if it had never been surrounding Azura. All around, the greenery seemed to spring to life at the sun’s rays, a soft breeze from the sea carrying its sweet salty scent to them.

It may not be the end of the war just yet, but with a deep breath, Sapphire felt confidence surge through her. This was the perfect weather for a final stand.

And now with reinforcements having access to Azura, it was time to put an end to the madness.

Chapter Text

“Marcus, are you alright? Marcus!”

The peace of the moment disappeared as Adam frantically called over the comms, drawing Marcus and Sapphire’s attention as Marcus reassured him, “We’re okay, Dad. Stand by.”

The peace didn’t end for Jace though, who whistled before he commented, “Wow…look at that…instant summer.”

Sam nodded in agreement, while Anya got right back to business, radioing the comms, “Anya to Cole. Baird? Anyone receiving?”

“Hey, we heard that explosion five klicks out! Having fun,” Baird asked, trying to be joking in the moment. Unfortunately, joking on a final mission was not on Anya’s list as she sighed.

“Baird, where are you?”

“We’re inbound, baby,” Cole cheered through the comms. “The navy’s here! Whoo!”

Sam whistled, gesturing ahead of them so that everyone’s attention turned. Ahead, coming up from between channels of land surrounding Azura, were ships and a King Raven. Sapphire smiled at seeing this, putting two fingers to her ear piece as she greeted in Dutch, “Long time no see, my friends.”

In response, Sapphire heard a familiar voice reply in Dutch, “Glad to hear you still live, Huntress.”

“Bloody hell, they found the UIR,” Sam gasped, a brighter smile on her face. “It’s a Gorsani ship!”

“Yeah, we are having a reunion with our old Indie buddies, baby! Time for a grub-stomping party! You ready to roll? Whoo!” Sapphire couldn’t help but smile wider at Cole’s optimism, forgetting for a brief moment that he nor Baird were unaware of prior day’s events.

Marcus replied to Cole’s optimism with a determined tone, “Yeah. Let’s do it.”

The King Raven was fast approaching to their location, looking for a spot to land just nearby. Sapphire couldn’t help but tell Trescu in Dutch, “Glad to have you for the end, sir.”

“I thought we left on better terms than that, Huntress,” Trescu replied in Dutch, humor in his tone. “Make sure the COG don’t fuck it up over there.”

Sapphire chuckled, the King Raven landing a few yards away from them. She told him in English, “Yeah, I’ll make sure we end this today.”

Sapphire saw Baird and Cole jump off the King Raven, but they weren’t alone. A familiar bot was with them, Jack beeping as it followed Baird and Cole like a dog. The King Raven stayed, as if waiting for more orders or more people to climb on board. For a split second, Sapphire felt sheer joy at seeing Baird and Cole again, hearing Baird talk in his usual cocky self, “You know, I was expecting bouquets. A band, maybe…something.”

Cole chuckled, humming in agreement as Baird and him looked over the squad. The sheer joy within Sapphire disappeared as she realized with a harsh reality that they weren’t told yet. And it hurt Sapphire to hear Baird’s confusion as he asked, “Hey…where’s Dom and Dizzy?”

There was silence.

Then, Marcus told them, “Dizzy’s taken the submarine offshore. Dom…” He paused, his face losing its usual neutral expression to shake his head in grief. “Dom didn’t make it.”

The despair and grief that showed on Baird and Cole’s faces were enough for Sapphire to turn away in shame. All over again, Sapphire felt the guilt that came with what happened to Dom. While Marcus and her reached an understanding, Baird and Cole would definitely blame her if they knew that she was right there to stop him. Sam was quick to see Sapphire’s growing distress, coming up to Sapphire to remind her, “Hey, it’s okay. What happened to Dom happened.”

Behind them, Cole growled out in pure anger, “Somebody’s gonna pay. Somebody’s gonna fucking pay!”

In a calmer, cooler tone, Marcus told Cole, “He got us this far. Let’s finish it.”

Then, Marcus turned to Jace and Sam, “Sam, Jace, get back to the ship and help them out. They need intel on where to land troops.”

“But, Marcus,” Jace protested, Lancer falling to his side. “You need us here, with you. We-”

“Go,” Sapphire spoke up, her face hardening on Jace. “Marcus is right. Get on that King Raven and help Trescu with landing troops. It’ll be better to send people, less interference on the radio.”

Jace shut up then, Sam nodding as she patted Sapphire’s shoulder reassuringly. Baird and Cole noticed this, but neither commented on Sam’s action. Instead, Baird chased after Sam before she could get on the King Raven, their words in low voices. From the smiles exchanged, it was luck and the promise of keeping safe that were shared. But Sapphire didn’t pay that much mind, looking over at Marcus to see him giving her a comforting stare.

As if he wanted to say it’s all going to be okay to her. Or wondering if he should have sent her on the King Raven.

But once Baird joined back up with him, his smile fading to seriousness, Marcus spoke to the group, his serious expression back. “Okay, we’re heading for the main tower. This is where it ends. One way or another.”

Marcus then led them up the trail, more Ravens joining in. Silence did not weigh on them as Marcus turned his attention to Jack, who was now siding with Sapphire like Luke would if the dog was here. With a grunt, Marcus commented, “So you got Jack running again, huh? Nice job. We’re gonna need him.”

“Yeah,” Baird sighed. It was clear that the news of Dom’s death was weighing down on him from the way he was talking and carrying himself now. “He’s got a few new tricks to show you, too.”

They picked up their pace, Cole and Baird glancing at the original trio as one of the Ravens came on through the comms, “KR-Zero-Six on task, Fenix. We’ll lay down fire for ya.”

“Roger that, Zero Six,” Marcus replied.

Sapphire turned her head to Marcus, asking him, “You think they brought the Eagle?”

“We’ll have to see,” Marcus replied with a shrug. “Think it will pilot itself here?”

“I trust Gettner,” Sapphire pointed out. “I’ve only let her try once, but once is enough for any pilot.”

“Well, at least we got air support for a change,” Cole added, chuckling. Though the chuckling itself seemed forced. Sapphire tried to ignore the lavish setting as they entered what felt like a side entrance to a resort with a garden, put together with benches.

The dark lullaby was thrumming, but it wasn’t increasing violently as Sapphire had feared with the Maelstrom gone. The Locust song however was becoming more painful as time went on. The Locust themselves began to charge, but the Zero Six covered them, firing at those on the balcony.

As they walked through the balcony, a Locust Guard came into view from behind a pillar. But before it could fire, Jack zoomed by everyone, sending what looked like an electrical shock to the Guard.

Anya gasped out, “You gave Jack a stun gun?”

“Yeah, he can do a lot more than just open doors now,” Baird boosted.

“Oh, shit! Jack is back, baby,” Cole cheered as they ascended the steps. Zero Six provided good coverfire, leaving few Locust in their way, mostly Wretches and the occasional Guard. Zero Six hovered, following them as they continued on.

Sapphire tried to ignore the traffic in her head, knowing that it would soon be over. But her confidence still stood strong, stronger when she heard Cole shout to a couple of Guards approaching them, “Yo, bitch, tell your Queen Delta’s here to settle some scores!”

“Damn right,” Sapphire shouted, twirling Ghidorah in her hand as she readied for an Armored Kantus or surprise Locust. She was glad that there weren't any more arrows she could use, especially with all the traffic in her head as they continued on. And it did indeed help to have air support as Zero Six covered them.

But their luck soon ran out when the Raven began to pull away, the pilot in charge reporting, “Heads up, Fenix, gas barges heading your way-Goddamn, look out! Catapult!”

Ahead, something popped up from above a stone railing, a fiery ball thrown in the direction of the Raven. The Raven tried to pivot, but it was too late, the ball exploding upon impact. The squad could only watch as the Raven fell, leaving them with no more air support. As they reached the balcony from where the ball came from, they could see one of those catapult beasts from the fortress, gearing up for another loaded fiery ball.

Sapphire got on her earpiece as she and the Gears began to charge forward. “Hey, Trescu! Warn off the birds! The Locust have anti air weapons.”

“Roger that, Huntress! Standing by,” Trescu replied in English.

The Gears were quick to fire upon the beast and its drivers. The Locust were Guards, but that did not mean they were more powerful than the seasoned Gears. Within minutes, the Gears took out the Locust, leaving the catapult. Sapphire told Cole, “Use that catapult to fire on those gas barges!”

Cole nodded, cheering, “I got you, baby!”

Cole raced to the catapult, the gas barges coming in. Marcus and Baird helped Cole guide the beast, more accurately hitting the gas barges. Each gas barge fell with an explosion, killing the Loust on board. Sapphire felt a little relief from the pressure of the Locust song off her mind, but she couldn’t relax.

With the help of Marcus and Baird, Cole took out the four gas barges incoming. With a cheer, Cole tore from the catapult, leaving Baird to grab a frag from his belt to put at one of the holders holding the catapult in place. The trio sprinted back to Anya and Sapphire just before the frag exploded, sending the catapult’s hold into the air and leaving the weapon to roll off the side of the cliff.

There was no more cheering or words of victory as they continued on. Anya informed Trascu as they ran, “Commander, you can start landing troops. We’ve taken out the catapult and the gas barges.”

But to their frustration, Trescu replied in slight agitation, “Pilots are reporting at least two more artillery positions further inland. We have very few aircraft left, COG. I cannot commit them until those catapults are taken out.”

Anay sighed, turning to Sapphire with a frustrated look, “I should have let you talk to him.”

Sapphire shrugged as Marcus replied to Trescu, “We’ll find them. Stand by.”

Then, Marcus turned to the others, “Okay, move out. Let’s put those assholes out of business.”

They continued on, entering what looked like a hotel on a resort. Plush chairs were shredded and overturned, carts carrying blood and mold from being exposed to the Maelstrom. Cole gawked at this, half amazed and half annoyed, “Yo, check out this fancy shit! It’s a goddamn five-star hotel!”

“Yeah, but look what happens when you don’t tip the bellhop,” Baird joked sarcastically as they made their way down the hallway of the hotel. Above, a recorded female voice began to speak, but it was too soft to hear over the noise outside. Baird startled at this, looking around. “Whoa, what is she selling?”

They continued down the hallway as Marcus informed Baird and Cole, “Azura was a bunker for the COG’s elite. So they could hide until the war was over. The last war.”

Soon, they came upon a room where a tree was standing in the center on a platform. The sun shone down into the room through one of the dome’s windows, but even the shadows couldn’t hide the carnage. Bodies littered the floor as soon as they entered, and there were bodies hanging in the tree in thin ropes.

Anya gasped at this, paling as she looked around at the bodies, “Oh, God…are those the research staff?”

“Hard to say,” Baird hummed as he nudged one of them with his foot. “I can’t tell whether their coats were white or not.”

“This is the last COG base the Locust would find. Makes sense to evacuate your key scientists here,” Marcus pointed out.

“Like Prescott evacuated your father,” Anya asked.

“Yeah, maybe.” It was all Marcus could say as they passed the tree. They all stopped to stare, seeing the bodies slightly sway as the tree moved with the movement of the island. He then turned to the comms. “Dad? It looks like they’ve killed everyone.”

“I think I was the only human they needed alive…Marcus, I can explain about Myrrah.” Sapphire could hear the urgency behind the calm tone Adam took. She wondered if he was hinting at what’s happening or why this happened.

But Marcus wasn’t having it, “Dad, it can wait. Where are we?”

“You’re near the hydroelectric dam. You’ve still got some way to go to reach the tower.”

“Okay, Dad. We’re coming.”

They continued on, their sights on the siege beast crew as they entered a courtyard with marble statues and golden-slided waterfalls. The Gears went after the Locust and Sapphire almost lost herself in the chaos, making sure to keep an eye on both the sky and ground.

As she tried to plan out how she could help in getting the catapult, Adam suddenly came onto the radio, his tone alarmed, “Watch out for Myrrah! She’s after Sapphire!”

“What,” Baird shouted from somewhere, busy fighting a couple of Guards to do anything more than asking. “What for?”

“I don’t know, but she’s going right after Sapphire!”

Sapphire felt alarm grow, especially when she heard Queen Myrrah’s voice in her mind growl, ‘You have messed around quite enough!’

“Fuck!” Sapphire dropped into cover as bullets were fired at her. Sapphire radioed in Adam. “Why? Is she trying to kill me again?”

“No,” Adam replied. “You need-”

He was interrupted as a sharp pain entered Sapphire’s head, Queen Myrrah’s voice hissing in her mind, ‘I have allowed you to mess around quite enough, Blood of Another!’

Sapphire tore the earpiece out of her ear as it began to shriek, turning to see that the Gears were still distracted by the Locust. Without Adam in her ear, Sapphire felt Valkyrie growl, ‘Run, Chosen!’

“Where,” Sapphire growled as she looked around, seeing Marcus glancing at her as he continued to fire at the Locust at the Siege Beast. “Valkyrie, what the fuck is going on? What’s changed Myrrah’s mind?”

‘Seems she found out about the orb! You need to keep away from the Locust-look out!’

At Valkyrie’s alarmed call, Sapphire grabbed Ghidorah and swung behind her. An Armored Kantus had somehow snuck up on her, grabbing Ghidorah before she could hit it in the face. Alarm grew as Sapphire tried to yank Ghidorah out of the Armored Kantus’s hand, only for the Kantus to throw her off with a shove.

Somehow in the fighting behind Sapphire, she could hear Marcus’s alarmed call, “SAPPHIRE!”

Sapphire tried to get up from the hard ground, to run out of reach of the Armored Kantus. But with a drop of her stomach, she heard the laughter of another Armored Kantus behind her. She turned, seeing that not only were there two Armored Kantus, but another that was larger than the other two. The larger Kantus chuckled darkly, reaching for Sapphire as she tried to get up.

“Fuck you!” Sapphire got to her feet just before the Kantus behind her turned on Ghidorah. She felt the jolt of the electricity as she was hit in the back, sending her forward and into the grabbing hands of the larger Kantus. “Shit!”

“SAPPHIRE! GODDAMNIT!” Fire came from the Gears, but the two smaller Kantus fired back, this time with pistols instead of the blades they carried. Sapphire fought against the larger Kantus, cursing as she kicked and spat.

But no matter what she did, the larger Kantus didn’t let her go. Instead, it dragged her, its claws tearing at her worn armor and clothes as it tried to keep a firm grip on her. Without the earpiece in her ear, Sapphire had no way to tell the others to either back off or tell them where she was.

All thought left her when the larger Kantus had enough, the Kantus shrieking towards her. But unlike the others that shrieked at her, this one sent a shocking pain through Sapphire’s mind that was enough to make her scream. It was almost unbearable, like she was becoming paralyzed by the noise. Valkyrie shrieked as well, as if shocked by the same shriek.

As the shriek died away, Sapphire went to open her eyes, having closed them in pain. Her blurred vision only showed the Kantus moments before it sent an open palm into her face. Vision swimming, Sapphire fell to the ground hard, wincing upon contact. From the corner of her eye, her vision cleared briefly, allowing her to see the Gears doing their best to get back to her.

But against three Armored Kantus, it was too risky to simply throw a frag their way with Sapphire in their claws.

Her vision blurred again, black creeping in. By the time the larger Kantus had picked her up, she was out, feeling a tendril wrapping around her mind in a tight grip.

No entity greeted her. There was no cavern she was stuck in. There was nothing that Sapphire found herself in.

But soon, Queen Myrrah’s voice spoke, ‘Despite all that I have thrown at you, you continue to stay alive. While I should be furious, I cannot ignore how much I need you alive right now. You have survived so far, facing both Locust and Lambent that have been hellbent on trying to kill you. But even you have limits, Blood of Another. I can feel how the song and lullaby affect you. Anymore and you would be dead.’

Sapphire couldn’t open her eyes, but she could register that she was still being carried. Queen Myrrah continued, ‘Adam Fenix has something that the Chairman had given him, something only you have access to. The orb that the Gray One left you is very important, to give you the strength to defeat the Lambent. He knew they were killing us, yet he claimed he could do nothing.’

The Gray One. Sapphire remembered the strange humanoid she met briefly in the Nexus. Someone who wasn’t Locust nor human. Someone who took care of Griffin and allowed Sapphire the opportunity to live. Or so she thought.

Queen Myrrah sighed, finalizing, ‘Hopefully, this final task I have for you will be enough to right everything that has happened.’

Sapphire wondered what Queen Myrrah meant, only for Valkyrie to hiss at Queen Myrrah, ‘What do you have planned, Myrrah? I’m quite tired of all your games!’

Instead of being offended or insulted, Queen Myrrah chuckled, ‘Valkyrie. I was wondering when you would come back. Don’t worry, this time, I’m not hellbent on raising a Titan army like before. I have to look after my people, just like Adam Fenix wants to look after humanity. You, however, are looking after the Titans, those who are still slumbering.’

‘You may be correct, Myrrah, but I don’t trust you,’ Valkyrie spat back.

‘You don’t need to,’ Queen Myrrah replied before Sapphire heard doors open somewhere. “There you go, Adam.”

Sapphire’s eyes snapped open as the larger Kantus grabbed her to take her off its shoulder. Eyes narrowing, Sapphire went to kick at the Kantus, only for her ankle to be grabbed before it shrugged her off, letting her fall on hard floor. The breath was knocked out of her as Sapphire’s eyes closed to prepare for the impact. There was a gasp that was quickly reassured by Myrrah, who was actually speaking in reality, “Don’t worry, Adam. My Kantus made sure to keep her as unharmed as possible.”

Sapphire opened her eyes, finding an ornate ceiling above her. She blinked, vision clearing before she slowly sat up, rubbing the back of her head. The first thing she saw was the two smaller Kantus at a double door, one of them having Ghidorah. The larger Kantus glared down at her, arms folding as it towered over her.

She hissed out, “Fuck you, asshole. You’re lucky not to end up like the others.”

“Yes, who failed in their task to kill you,” Myrrah spoke up behind Sapphire, prompting Sapphire to look back, seeing the Queen staring at her. The Queen didn’t change as much as Sapphire expected, her Locust armor figure tight while her sharp eyes watched Sapphire’s every move.

Next to her, standing at a crowd of desks was an elderly, bald man, dressed in a discolored white coat. His eyes held that familiar color that Marcus had and Sapphire knew quickly that this was Adam Fenix. Slowly, Sapphire got up, careful to keep her hands up since she felt her knife in her pant leg still present.

Sapphire spoke softly, eyes on Queen Myrrah as she greeted, “I wish I could say it’s nice to see you again, but-” Sapphire held her tattooed arm up, the dragon hiding the scars. “-after this, I was hoping that we wouldn’t meet again.”

Myrrah hummed upon seeing the arm, a straight line on her face, “No doubt that Valkyrie helped reignite that arm. It would have been a shame to be disabled after such a traumatic event. Surprised that you didn’t end your life afterward.”

“Believe me, I tried,” Sapphire replied truthfully, then gestured to Adam, who remained silent. “But his son made me see reason. My friends helped me through it.”

Myrrah simply snorted, “Valkyrie wouldn’t have let you. You are needed more than you know. Has she informed you of the Titanmind?”

“She has,” Sapphire replied, arms at her sides, trying to keep still. “She told me that the Titanmind is needed to destroy the Lambent.”

“Exactly,” Myrrah replied, her head turning to Adam. “Adam here says that his countermeasure will work in favor of the Locust if you are left alive. So, I brought you in for a deal, one that you will not refuse.”

“And that would be?” Adam looked surprised at Sapphire’s swift agreement, though Sapphire ignored him. Now was not the time to exchange any pleasantries. “And it better be quick, because Marcus and the others will be here shortly.”

Myrrah chuckled, “We shall see about that. Fine. Here is the deal. If you help Adam with his countermeasure, so that it won’t harm my people, then not only will I leave him and you alive, but I will also let Marcus and his little friends live. However, if you fail, I will make sure you die before the Locust falls. And I will make sure your death is more painful than your last.”

Sapphire and Myrrah stared at each other, both trying to figure the other out. Adam looked between the two, unsure of who to trust or listen to. Either way, Sapphire knew she had no choice. And Myrrah didn’t have a choice either.

But deep in the very back of her mind, Sapphire knew Myrrah was lying. No matter what happened next, Myrrah would make sure Sapphire died. And if the Locust were to actually survive, then they would ravage humanity to the last person. But refusing the deal would prevent Sapphire from helping Adam.

Maybe that was why Adam convinced Myrrah to leave her alive. Because he knew that no matter what, Sapphire was needed alive to defeat the Lambent fully with the countermeasure. Valkyrie didn’t say anything, but Sapphire knew she was keeping quiet with Myrrah, feeling the Locust Queen probe at Sapphire’s thoughts, trying to hear any words exchanged between the host and entity.

After a few minutes of silence, Sapphire nodded, “You’ve got a deal. Where’s that orb?”

Myrrah smiled, not one of relief but more of someone who just won a dare. She reached behind, revealing from behind her back the orb. It was dull in its shine, but Sapphire could feel the thrum of that pleasant song she heard earlier. It was stronger now as it got closer and Sapphire could feel the relief as the Locust song and Lambent lullaby died down just a bit. Myrrah handed the orb to Sapphire, before departing with sharp words, “Succeed, Blood of Another, and you live. Adam, this is your last chance. I’m going to make sure that your son doesn’t interrupt.”

Adam didn’t say anything, Sapphire and him watching as Myrrah and the Armored Kantus walked out, leaving them in the office alone. To Sapphire’s disappointment, the Kantus with Ghidorah handed it to the larger one, refusing to return it to Sapphire as they walked out. The doors closed, the lock sounding as it slid into place.

As their songs faded behind the pleasant song, Sapphire turned to Adam, saying, “A little warning would have been nice.”

“I tried,” Adam replied, the man looking as tired as her, maybe even more with his age. “I wish we met under better circumstances, Sapphire.”

Sapphire shrugged, “Same, but we can only do so much. Now, you knew as well as I did that the deal is bullshit, right?”

Adam nodded, “No matter what you did, Myrrah would not let you live. She knows that we want to protect what’s left of humanity…and to protect Marcus.”

Sapphire blinked at this, but didn’t question it, holding the orb in both hands, “So, any idea of what I should be doing? How can I help in this countermeasure? I know the Titanmind is involved, but Valkyrie didn’t exactly give out instructions.”

“I believe I have a way,” Adam replied, gesturing to a nearby chalkboard. There, Sapphire saw that there was a layout of different sticky notes followed by more notes on the actual board. Sapphire didn’t really know exactly what was on the board, but Adam explained as he gestured to each note. “The Titanmind is closely linked to both the Hivemind of the Locust and the Hivemind of the Lambent. With the help of your entity, Valkyrie, you should be able to use the orb once it's installed to enter the mind plane where all the minds are reachable. This includes their cores.”

“Each core represents each Hivemind that exists. Your job is to find each core in order. The Titanmind you have to find first, so that you can grasp its power and then find the Lambent and Locust Hiveminds. Because of how advanced the Lambent mind is, there is a chance of it converging with the Locust Hivemind. This means that you have to overtake both cores within a short timespan. Valkyrie should help you with that, both harnessing and using the Titanmind’s power to destroy both.”

“And I assume that if the two minds are converging, the Locust are beyond help,” Sapphire asked. At this, Adam nodded grimly.

“I wish I could save them too. I tried. But there was never enough time. In the meantime, while you go after the two cores, you will be immobile. You will be in a deep sleep and will be vulnerable to attacks if the Locust or Lambent try to attack you.” Adam sighed, rubbing his forehead. “Never enough time…always been my struggle.”

Sapphire nodded, “I get it, Mr. Fenix. And I’ll do my best to help. But where do you need me now? And what about Marcus and the others?”

“Let me deal with the outside world. You need to go up and install the orb. Myrrah will not bother you because, as far as she’s aware, you don’t need to be looked after since you’ll be immobile until your task is complete.”

Sapphire nodded, though she was still concerned for Marcus and the others. Suddenly, Adam perked up, two fingers to his ear. Much like the way Marcus tuned in to his comms. Adam spoke up, looking away from Sapphire, “Sapphire is safe, Marcus. Myrrah brought her to me…I will have to explain later. For now, keep safe and don’t do anything reckless! Sapphire will be safe with me as long as you get here soon.”

There was a moment of silence. Then, Adam nodded, looking back at Sapphire, “I promise to keep her safe, Marcus. She’s helping me with the countermeasure. Just be safe.”

Sapphire looked down at the orb, watching it glow in her hand. Then, looking up, Sapphire asked, “Mr. Fenix…I’ve been wondering since I came here if I’ll live after all this. If I will survive this.”

Adam sighed, shrugging, “Unfortunately, I don’t know what will happen. I can only promise to keep you safe.”

“Then…if I die, can you tell Marcus that I’m sorry?” Adam jolted at that as Sapphire looked back down at the orb. Away from the glow, Sapphire could see her battered reflection on the orb’s surface, the tired look evident in her eyes. “I don’t want him to blame himself. And I don’t want him to think that I died not loving him. Aside from my brother, he made me happy. I just…I want him to know that I loved him and that I didn’t do this for myself. I’m doing it for humanity, for our friends, but most importantly, for him.”

Looking up at Adam, Sapphire asked, “Can you promise me that?”

Adam stared at her, clearly surprised. After a long moment, Adam nodded slowly, “I will make sure my son knows. I promise.”

With a nod, Sapphire reached a hand out to Adam, smiling, “Thank you, Adam. I truly wish we met under different circumstances.”

Adam nodded in agreement, taking her hand and shaking it briefly, “I wish the same. I am glad that I’ve met someone who wants to protect my son as much as I do.” Adam gestured to another set of doors, letting their hands fall away from each other. “Take that elevator and go to the top. There, my countermeasure should be readying itself. Insert the orb and begin your task. In the meantime, I will finish up things down here so that I can activate the countermeasure as appropriate. Time works differently in the plane you will have to enter, if what the Gray One had told Myrrah long ago is true.”

“Will do,” Sapphire replied, keeping the orb in her hands cradled. “I will do my best.”

Adam could only nod, watching as Sapphire approached the set of doors. With a press of a button, followed by the ding of an elevator, the doors opened. Sapphire glanced at Adam one more time, nodding to him in thanks before disappearing into the elevator.

Reaching the top didn’t take long, the elevator doors closing as soon as Sapphire stepped out. Probably to prepare for Adam’s departure from the office to the roof. The roof was a circular platform that oversaw most of Azura. In the distance, Sapphire saw the Gorsani ship and Ravens flying about. From the firefight below, humanity was making its way closer to the tower, the breeze of the sea overshadowed by the smell of gunpowder and smoke.

Looking around, Sapphire saw the dome, in a formation much similar to the Maelstrom, the machine within letting out a low hum. Sapphire walked away from the elevator and towards the dome, seeing its open windows and archways. Aside from all the monitors and the long console that took up most of the dome’s inner circular room, Sapphire saw one spot that lit up upon her approach. It looked like a circular platform surrounded by glass, the glass shield slowly rising as its base began to brighten with light.

Sapphire knew then that this was the part that she had to place the orb on. Carefully, she placed the orb on the base, the glow beginning to pulse as an electric pulse became visible around it. Above the orb, a thin line began to form, connecting the orb to the ceiling of the opened glass container. Sapphire’s hands fell, letting the glass shield lower and seal the orb within the container. As soon as the glass sealed, the orb began to rise, hovering in the middle as it began to rotate.

That pleasant song increased, clearing Sapphire’s mind from the onslaught of the dark lullaby and Locust song. For the first time, Sapphire felt a strong sense of peace as she closed her eyes to revel in the feeling. For the first time since entering the Nexus, there was only a soft, healing song, almost like a whale singing to its offspring.

But Sapphire couldn’t relax just yet, lifting her hands to grab the container.

As soon as her hands were on the glowing glass, Sapphire felt her mind and stomach plummet, like she was falling.

Eyes snapped open, but instead of facing Adam’s giant machine within its glass dome, she found that she was in a whole new place. No longer was she on the tower.

In front of her was a massive jungle, complete with tall, thick trees and thick undergrowth of brush and plants. That pleasant song was still there, but it was more distant, further away than when Sapphire was on the tower. Sapphire didn’t know what to do as she looked around, wondering if she could just walk in or call for Valkyrie.

But then Valkyrie spoke just behind her, ‘Continue forward and the jungle will welcome you. Follow me.”

From beside Sapphire, Valkyrie, in her canine form of a large black fox, began to run, leaving a trail of blue light. Leaves began to part upon her approach, leaving Sapphire a path to follow.

Sapphire knew she had no choice, closing her eyes to take a deep breath. This was it. This was her task. Find the Titanmind, harness its power, and then go after the other two Hiveminds.

Opening her eyes, Sapphire began to walk directly on the blue light. With each step, fireflies came out from the thick grass as she entered the jungle. Ahead of her, the song continued, welcoming her like a warm embrace as she walked towards her fate.

Chapter Text

“This way.”

Sapphire followed Valkyrie through the jungle, keeping watch for any surprises as she walked through the jungle. So far, the only sounds aside from the whale song that she could hear were the echoes of her footsteps and Valkyrie’s pawsteps. There were no birds singing, no insects chirping, leaves were still, and there was no smell in the air.

Valkyrie seemed to pick up Sapphire’s confusion, the fox stopping briefly to turn to Sapphire when they came upon a clearing, the blue light following behind. “Do not be surprised. This plane is usually silent, except with that of the song. Trivial sounds like birds and leaf rustling are all part of the song you hear now.”

“The song of life, basically,” Sapphire replied. At this, the fox nodded before continuing on. “Interesting how it's interpreted. Do you hear something different?”

Valkyrie didn’t reply, continuing on through the jungle. Sapphire could only follow. Sapphire couldn’t really tell time as they walked, keeping up with the fox. But she hoped that Marcus and the others were okay, seeing Valkyrie disappear behind some ferns before the ferns bent to avoid the blue light trail. Sapphire crouched down, going underneath the ferns to arrive at a familiar sight.

In front of Sapphire was a temple, but not just any temple. It was a temple that looked Mayan in nature, with its stacked squares going up to a pointed tip. There, Sapphire could see a small ball of light, its color and pattern similar to the orb. The song itself sounded like it came from there, drawing Sapphire’s attention to its tower at the very top. It looked like a bell tower, its windows shining like panels of light.

Valkyrie sat in front of the steps leading up to the tower, turning to Sapphire, “Here you go, Chosen. The Titanmind, or at least its interpretation in your head. Ancient and something few understand. You are one of the few of the human species to see this.”

“So Adam was right when he said that this whole Lambent Pandemic has happened before.”

At this, Valkyrie nodded, standing back up, “It doesn’t matter now but yes, it’s happened before. Though back then, there was an entire Priesthood that dealt with it.”

Sapphire didn’t bother asking, knowing that she wouldn’t get anything beyond that. They didn’t have time for explanations anyways as Valkyrie began to ascend the steps. Sapphire followed her closely, the temple towering over the jungle. Halfway up, something caught Sapphire’s eye, drawing her attention to the land beyond the jungle.

In the distance, a barren land of volcanic ash and fire laid, smoke rising into the clear air. A small whisper of the dark lullaby could be heard from that direction. Looking around the temple in other areas, Sapphire found that the barren land surrounded the bright green jungle, trapping it with a wall of smoke.

“That doesn’t look good,” Sapphire commented. Valkyrie only snorted, continuing up the stairs undeterred. Sapphire could only follow.

When they got to the top, the panels of light shined, as if in greeting. Valkyrie stopped, taking a seat to look up at the tower. For a brief moment, both stared at it, as if one of them wished for it to speak. Valkyrie slowly turned her head to Sapphire, telling her, “Step in.”

“Step in? And do what,” Sapphire asked. Valkyrie shrugged. “You are really helpful, aren’t you?”

“I do not know what you must do. I only know you need the Titanmind and that I allow you access. This was the Priests’ duty. Or how you know them as the Gray Ones.”

Sapphire sighed, looking back at the panel of light. “Then I guess I’m on my own.”

“That you are,” Valkyrie replied before adding. “And if you survive this, Chosen…maybe I will teach you more about all this, beyond your task if you’re interested.”

Sapphire looked down at Valkyrie, sensing that Valkyrie was serious as the fox got up and began to walk down the steps. Sapphire turned back to the panel of light, mentally preparing herself for what came next. Slowly, she took a breath, lifting her hand to the panel of light. And with a slow exhale, Sapphire shoved her hand to the panel, the light pulling her in just as much.

And for a split second, all went white. Not black, white. And that peaceful song changed its tune, added with what Sapphire could only describe as dolphin whistles and songbird singing. For a few moments, there was nothing different Sapphire could feel.

That is, until a new voice echoed, one that was soft and feminine, with the song echoing in its tone, “Fly.”

Suddenly, Sapphire found herself above the pyramid, the jungle brightening as statues began to rise. The same statues that Sapphire recognized from the room that she was once in. Their eyes were brightened with light, their light stone color cracking but remaining together.

The statues then slowly began to chant, followed by the same voice from before. “No more shall we hide. No more shall we sleep. Bring the peace that once rained on the land. Nature will return with the force of our souls. We of the Titans will rise once more. Chosen of Valhalla, carry the staff of our souls, wield it with justice. Give the voice to the voiceless and give rise to nature’s truth. Rid the world of sickness and venom and bring a new age of peace.”

The statues’ eyes brightened, firefly lights weaving through the air towards Sapphire, a staff beginning to form in front of her. The song increased in volume, surrounding Sapphire in that strong sense of peace as before, but this time, it felt like it was healing her very soul.

The staff formed a simple staff with ornate carvings that seemed like symbols of the statues all around her. It slowly rotated as the light filled its carvings with blue, leaving the staff itself white. Then, it ceased its movement, drifting towards her. She could feel its pull as she reached a hand out. As soon as her fingers wrapped around the staff, she felt the strongest surge of energy she had ever felt.

She felt like a Goddess carrying the staff.

An explosion caught her attention, drawing her towards the barren land. In front of her very eyes, the jungle began to burn, the smoke turning from black to gray as the fires began to eat away at the jungle. Sapphire frowned at this, looking through the smoke to find the other two cores.

While she couldn’t see them, she could hear their songs, the dark lullaby and Locust song mingling as the barren land encroached on the jungle. Sapphire turned to the direction that sounded and felt the strongest, wondering briefly how she would get there.

“Here.” Sapphire looked down, seeing Valkyrie standing at the base of the temple. She was much bigger than before. No longer was she a fox, but a massive wolf that stared at her expectedly. Sapphire stepped towards Valkyrie, suddenly transported to the wolf’s side. Sapphire didn’t question it, mounting Valkyrie quickly. “Let us end this!”

“Glad to hear,” Sapphire replied, hanging on with one hand as her other hand carried the staff. Valkyrie began to sprint, all four legs striving them forward. “The two cores…they’re mingled, aren’t they?”

“They are,” Valkyrie replied. “Even if you could fulfill Myrrah’s promise, her people are too infected to be helped.”

Sapphire sighed, “Yeah, either way, I was screwed too, wasn’t I?”

“If you survive this, maybe.” Valkyrie sprinted, the jungle parting in front of them as they aimed for the barren land and the direction of the cores. “I truly do not know exactly how to do this. Like I said before, this was the duty of the Gray Ones, to keep the Titanmind at peace.”

“I brought peace?”

“Not yet, but you will,” Valkyrie replied. “When we reach the cores, you need to use the staff to strike through both, but it will take both physical and mental strength. The best advice I can give you is to think of what you cherish most, then rip at what threatens them…but I think you will have no problem with that.”

“I won’t,” Sapphire said, the smoke wall ahead. “Take me to the cores and I’ll destroy them. What is the likelihood of me dying?”

Valkyrie hummed, “Usually, it takes an entire group of priests to do these sorts of purges. And if both cores are combined, this will probably be the biggest purge that the Titanmind will have.”

“So there’s a high chance.”

Valkyrie didn’t reply, which already gave away the answer. Sapphire sighed, eyes closing as Valkyrie rushed through the smoke wall, her paws going from jungle soil to dust and sand. While the comfort and peace of the soft lullaby stayed, Sapphire could feel the pressure of the dark lullaby, which was overtaking the pressure of the lullaby song.

But with the barren land gave way to something in the distance. As they got closer, Sapphire made out what looked to be a volcano. But not just any volcano. It was an active volcano, spewing out lava and even more smoke, pitch black in color.

And from within its channel, Sapphire could hear the lullabies, mingling and merging. Valkyrie began to ascend, avoiding flying debris with each spew of the volcano. Lava flowed freely, sliding right past them as Valkyrie began to use higher rock structures to jump.

Sapphire readied the staff, feeling the surge of energy as Valkyrie got to the top, standing at the edge of the crater leading down into a channel. There, floating and mingling were a combination of two Mayan-styled temples. Sapphire could see that the darker colored temple was slowly replacing the stone of the other, which looked much like the Titanmind, but in a more gray color.

Valkyrie looked up, informing Sapphire, “There are your target cores. You need to take the staff and get down there. This is where I say goodbye.”

Sapphire got off Valkyrie then, taking the staff with her. Valkyrie went to turn, but Sapphire spoke up before the wolf could turn away, “Valkyrie…do you think that if I survive this that I’ll see you again?”

Valkyrie stopped, turning back to Sapphire with just her head. For a moment, Valkyrie seemed shocked at the question. But then, the wolf replied, “If only you wish to. I tend to stay away from my host’s lives beyond their task. For thousands of years, since the Serians began to inhabit the world, I have been their parasite. In the beginning, I tried to help humanity, to become like their ancestors. But I have only seen greed and selfishness. I only came into your life because my mother took you from Earth to Sera, because Queen Myrrah drew me out with the help of the Gray One’s potions.”

With a sigh, Valkyrie shook her head, “But I guess even I had second thoughts. Hopefully that if you survive this, you help humanity take the right path. Maybe even preserve the nature that provides so much. For now, complete your task. Do what you must do to save Sera first before you preserve it.”

Then, Valkyrie turned and disappeared in a wisp. Leaving Sapphire alone.

Turning back to the cores, Sapphire took a breath, twirling her staff in the same way as she did with Ghidorah. She needed to take a leap of faith to get to the combining temples. The volcano popped and boiled, as if readying for an explosion. And maybe when both temples combined, it would, signaling the final stage of life for the Lambent.

With that in mind, Sapphire twirled the staff and took a breath.

This was it.

Time to end this war and this infection.

Sapphire didn’t hesitate this time, jumping off with the staff raised. Above, the smoke swirled into a storm, preparing itself for what came next. All sound drained yet were so loud that they became white noise. Sapphire saw the Locust and Lambent cores above the temples’ towers, already halfway mingled, mixing together like liquid.

As she fell upon the orbs, she threw down the staff, seeing it strike the two cores.

Soon as it did, Sapphire felt pain erupt through her mind, through her body. It was almost worse than when she almost died, fading in and out of consciousness. But just like before, Sapphire fought through it.

She thought of her brother, Dan. His cheeky smile and happy face as he played his video games or walked along a trail she and him took at a state park. She thought of how excited he was to know that he was staying with her and not their parents. She thought of how he jumped for joy when Sapphire won custody of him, leading them to their road trip.

Then she thought of all the friends she made along the way. Dom with his kind and generous nature, always looking out for the others. Baird with his cocky, but genius ideas as he teased and joked with her. Cole with his optimism and radiating happiness, always cheering his friends on. Dizzy with his dad-like nature and rowdy cowboy personality. Sam and Anya with their support and giving Sapphire the reassurance she needed. Hoffman and Bernie for protecting her from the politics so that she could stay with Delta. Jace for his kid-like commentary and overall sighing comedy.

And finally, she thought of Marcus.

Despite knowing so little about her, he protected her. He was the rock that became a mountain in her heart. A man who lost everything but kept fighting on, undeterred and more determined to get the job done or do what’s right. Sapphire remembered their nights together, how they would cuddle in the aftermath of their lovemaking to talk of the future. How things would be once the war was over, their goals and opportunities. And finally, she remembered the reality she had found herself while in her coma.

How much she dearly wished for that reality to be true. That he would become such an important part of her life. To become part of her and her newfound family. And while that reality will never come true, Sapphire wanted to make it happen in the future.

Sapphire was doing this for all of them. For their safety and future.

Fighting through the pain, Sapphire roared out, the sound of a loud crack echoed, the Lambent lullaby and Locust song stuttering and flickering as the crack continued. Despite the pain it caused, Sapphire kept going, screaming as the staff’s blue carvings brightened, the two cores becoming brighter and brighter with each second.

And then, with a massive explosion that shot through Sapphire’s soul, there was a blast of white, followed by a sudden silence. Stone and ash withered, leaving behind light as the jungle grew rapidly through the barren land, overcoming the volcano with lush green and white snow.

The silence was what made Sapphire close her eyes finally. The peace that overcame her was overwhelming, filling every part of her soul and nerve in her physical body.

In the distance, a new song was born, approaching Sapphire. It was a peaceful hum that echoed and pulsed as it began to circle Sapphire, layering her mind in what felt like a soft blanket.

The dark lullaby of the Lambent was gone.

The Locust song was gone.

All the stress, anxiety, and doubt melted, leaving only peace and tranquility. Sapphire had done it. She had defeated the Lambent and Locust, destroying their songs. For the first time in two years, Sapphire didn’t hear either harsh melody.

She breathed in what felt like fresh air, eyes opening slowly.

And to her surprise, she was staring up at the glass ceiling of the research building. She sat up, but it was half-hearted and a struggle as her muscles groaned in protest at her movement. Her hearing had yet to come back, but she was vaguely aware of what was happening outside.

She turned, seeing Queen Myrrah flying that damn beetle through the air. And from what she could see, she saw Baird and Cole flash into view before disappearing to avoid the beetle’s light beam attacks. For some reason, Sapphire grew angry and felt a strength she had never felt before beginning to rise.

‘Focus. Target the beetle. Kill it.’

Was Valkyrie…instructing her? Questions rang through Sapphire’s mind, but she ignored it. She needed to act, to push down the peace to fight for the peace she had acheived. Myrrah would threaten that, though Sapphire was confused as to why she wasn’t dead.

Delta might not need her, but she was damned not to help.

“Stop.”

Hands were suddenly on her shoulders, drawing her attention to the source of those hands. Her eyes landed on Adam Fenix, his face blurry until he crouched down to her level. She had no strength to speak, to tell him that she did it. But he spoke before she could reply, “You did it. The orb is projecting the countermeasure to the entirety of Sera at this very moment. You need to save your strength for the future now.”

Why? Why does he say such a thing? If Myrrah was alive, the Locust were still alive. Did she fail in her task? Did she..fail to save Sera?

It took Sapphire a moment to realize what Adam was talking about. Behind him, Sapphire could see the orb’s light begin to fade as it migrated to Adam’s machine, mixing with the power of his countermeasure. But that wasn’t the only thing she noticed.

She was bleeding. Not just from her nose this time. Her blurriness was caused by blood dripping down her eyes and ears, which led to her lack of hearing. And she couldn’t speak because of the blood that choked her. Was she dying? No, she couldn’t be. She succeeded!

Adam was quick to reassure her, “You have exhausted all of your energy, Sapphire. You need to rest. But before you sleep, listen to me. You play a bigger role than you realize. The Titans will rise, and you must be there to control them. Lead them. Marcus will understand, and so will everyone else. They will come back, and they will bring the past with them…Protect my son…please.”

Sapphire couldn’t speak, but she realized then that Adam must have heard the commotion that she caused, or at least heard the voice at the Titanmind temple. She looked down at his arms, seeing the yellow veins and feeling his fevered skin from his hands. When she looked back up at him, he simply smiled, “Thank you.”

Blackness crept it, quickly overtaking Sapphire’s vision as she blacked out, becoming limp against Adam. The exhaustion and peace that rushed through her pushed her further into the abyss. She felt like the wind, light and floating in a calm ocean of black.

A calmness she hadn’t felt since coming to Sera.

She had succeeded in her task, a reassurance that made her smile. She couldn’t wait to wake up, if she ever did. To see the peace she had left in the wake of the chaos that plagued Sera for a hundred years. To preserve Sera in the aftermath of all that just happened. Sapphire couldn’t wait to put herself out there, to heal Sera and build a better future for those after her.

And most of all, she couldn’t wait to see Marcus once again. To embrace him and celebrate the victory they had achieved. Celebrate with their friends and begin their journey in a world where war no longer existed, even if for a short period. They can grieve later, when things have settled.

But now, there is tomorrow to look forward to. And Sapphire was at peace with that fact.

Chapter Text

Sapphire didn’t know how long she slept. Only that it was probably the best sleep she’s had in ages. She felt so warm and light that she swore she could be floating in a cloud under the sun.

When she finally opened her eyes, she smiled at the soft bed that she found herself laying on. An actual bed that felt as soft as the cloud she thought she was on. Slowly, Sapphire turned, finding that it was a larger bed, probably a king from the size she found herself on.

For a brief moment, Sapphire wanted to go back to sleep, the smell of Marcus faint in the pillow next to hers. He had slept here at one point, it seemed. She closed her eyes and breathed in the scent, finding herself curling up to go back to sleep.

But then, a bird chirped behind her, catching her attention. Slowly, Sapphire rolled back over, seeing that there was a window a few feet away from the bed. The window panels were off their hinges, probably from the Maelstrom’s strong winds, allowing the soft rays of sunlight to drift into the room.

Sapphire sat up, taking her time as her muscles protested at first. With a brief look around, Sapphire realized that not only was she in a king sized bed, but she was in a hotel room, with windows adorning one side of the wall that showed the island while another side of the wall whose windows showed the gleaming ocean. Like any hotel room, there were two nightstands, absent of the usual lamps aside from an oil lamp that was smoking, as if just burnt out.

With a stretch, the sound of popping echoing in the room, Sapphire swung her feet over, pushing the sheets away. As she did so, her bare feet hit the carpet, sending an odd feeling up her spine as she took another breath. While she was refreshed, she still had an aching exhaustion from the lack of routine sleep. And after two years of fleeing sleep, Sapphire knew it wasn’t just being a soldier hitting her hard.

While it was quiet in the room, Sapphire could hear vehicles and Ravens outside the windows, accompanied by the occasional bird call from the jungle of Azura. And with signs of life, Sapphire felt a smile creep onto her face, realizing that she was alive.

And for once, it was silent in her mind, aside from her thoughts.

She took it slow to get off the bed, just in case she was injured anywhere that still hurt from however long ago the battle was. As she took it easy, memories of what happened flooded back to her, bringing her closer to the reality that they won the war, saving Sera from the Lambent and Locust combined. Sapphire wondered how long she had been out, stretching again to pop her joints.

Now that she was standing, she could process what she was wearing. She didn’t wear any armor, nor her clothes from the past few days of hell. She was in a clean shirt and trousers, bandages coming from the more serious wounds. Speaking of wounds, Sapphire felt her face, feeling the clean skin that was spared of any crusty blood. Somebody had taken the time to clean her up.

With a sigh, Sapphire took another look around, genuinely surprised by how clean it was. The furniture, while still in a poor state, were not strewn around or clearly unusable. It looked like any unusable furniture was taking out, like a missing dresser and vanity, their impressions on the wall near the windows pointing to the ocean. Between the impressions was a door, closed and quiet.

A breeze went through the open window, carrying the scent of the sea before the rustle of paper drew her attention to the nightstand opposite of her side. There was a folded piece of paper, small but noticeable. Sapphire walked around the bed, grabbing it softly and opening it.

She read, ‘When you wake up, come down and eat.’

It was Marcus’s handwriting. And it looked mildly fresh. That also explained the faded scent of Marcus on the bed. It seemed that he had been here earlier. Which only begged the question of how long Sapphire had been out. The last thing she remembered was Adam Fenix smiling down at her as he thanked her, just after she realized that he too would be taken with the Lambent. She didn’t know what happened next, but the fact they were still on Azura made her think it couldn’t be more than a week of sleep for her.

Sapphire folded the letter and dipped it into her new trouser pocket. Another breeze drew her attention to her hair, still in its braid and long. Sapphire didn’t remember the last time she cut it. And it would be too much work to deal with right now.

The less work, the better.

With that in mind, Sapphire went to where the bathroom door was opened, showing the bathroom with its shower and toilet, along with a vanity. There, Sapphire found a comb. It was old, but it would do. Pulling her hair to the front, Sapphire began to unwind it, grimacing at how crusty it looked. How the hell did Marcus sleep with this as her hair?

It was a fucking rat’s nest within. With a heavy sigh, Sapphire came to the decision that she didn’t want to wait on dealing with her hair. She looked around for scissors, opening drawers of the sink vanity before reaching the last one, finding a pair of rusty scissors. It would have to do.

Using the comb for the top part of her hair, Sapphire used the old mirror behind the sink vanity to mark where she would cut. Then carefully with the scissors, she cut her hair, grimacing as how tough it was with all the rust. Her long hair fell away and Sapphire felt lighter as she stopped at shoulder length.

Putting down the scissors and using the comb again, Sapphire straightened her hair out before putting the comb down to use the same hair tie to pull up her hair. No use in styling it anyway.

With her hair dealt with, Sapphire looked at herself in the mirror. Someone did, in fact, take time to clean her thoroughly, leaving her with little more than fading bruises. Looking down at the sink and the clumps of hair, Sapphire wondered if the water system was still functioning in the hotel. She cleaned the sink and turned on the faucet, surprise dawning on her face as water came out. Surprise quickly turned to happiness as Sapphire took a moment to wash her face and neck. It wasn’t purely clean water, but Sapphire knew that most likely Baird was working on it, or had worked on it recently if it was at least running.

Clean and ready, Sapphire looked around the room one final time. A chair caught her attention, where she saw Ghidorah and a Lancer leaning against the wall. And on the chair, her grandfather’s knife laid in its sheath, safe and clean of grime. She wondered briefly if she needed it, but found that it wasn’t necessary. There were only friends on Azura now.

With that peace of mind, Sapphire went to the door, grabbing her boots from beside it to lace on. She opened the door, walking into a freshly cleaned ornate hallway. Somebody took some time to clean the place, as chairs were put back and metal carts gone. The floors still had blood stains on them as well as the chairs, but Sapphire didn’t really care. Perfect hygiene would be hard to come across for now.

She began to walk, wandering and seeing the place. She walked past patrolling Gears still in their armor, freshly cleaned and fresh of grime except old scars from past battles. And there were surprisingly some civics who looked Gorsani. They must have been on the ships from the way they were dressed. They all glanced at her, some staring more than a few seconds in surprise.

But nobody stopped her and she ignored them, walking down the hallway and passed the many hotel rooms until she found herself in a garden. The garden looked untouched from the battle, with a few marks here and there from flying debris. In the distance, Sapphire saw the tower of Azura, quiet in the light of the sun.

She walked down and back into the hotel, passing by more Gears and Gorsani along the way. She couldn’t smell any food as she walked down a destroyed staircase to a lobby full of tents, remaining equipment, and, surprisingly, some chickens running around. As she walked, Sapphire began to notice more and more Gears stopping to stare at her, whispers beginning to echo in the lobby. Once she was on the ground floor, the smell of food hit her then, drawing her in as she began to walk towards the wafting smell of food.

No matter how hushed the whispers were, she could hear some through the breezes of the ocean and bustle of the outside.

“Is that her?”

“Looks like the Huntress finally woke up.”

“She looks like hell, but I guess that comes with the job.”

“Would you look at that? Thought she was dead.”

“Gone with the braid and in with the new, I see.”

She tried to ignore them, heading down through more hallways until she heard the familiar clatter and commotion of a mess hall. She could see the doors closed, as if trying to block the smell, but Sapphire could see people walking out with rations and hot meals. Someone was making use of the kitchens here. Probably some damn good kitchen material still left.

It seemed people were settling in nicely, or as nicely as a bloodied hotel from hell could be. This was probably the only place with good structure for a long while. As Sapphire walked past the soldiers walking out of what she safely assumed was the cafeteria, a familiar smell hit her, making her stomach rumble excitedly.

Bacon?

Oh, hell yeah!

Sapphire got to one pair of double doors, closed to separate the quietness of the hotel from the loud tables of hungry soldiers still eating breakfast. In a moment of hesitation, Sapphire wondered if she was allowed in, as there were shifts to eating at a mess hall. She could hear the loudness being close to the doors, ready to open them.

Fuck it.

She was hungry and really wanted to see a familiar face.

She opened one of the doors slowly, stepping into a well-lit room. It was filled with COG soldiers, Dutch-speaking Gorsani, and a couple of drafted Stranded, all eating breakfast with a happy smile on most of their faces. Those closest to her stopped and turned, seeing the newcomer with wide eyes.

Silence settled in the loud cafeteria and Sapphire looked around, all eyes on her for a brief moment. As she looked, a table stood up, familiar faces on the inhabitants. Sapphire smiled wider, mostly in relief as she began to move and spread her arms out, tackled by Anya and Sam first.

Anya and Sam were tight in their embrace, relief clear in their laughter as Sam began to roughly push her knuckles in Sapphire’s side, “The bitch lives! Finally time for you to get up, sleepyhead!”

“Sam! Careful,” Anya warned, both tearing away from Sapphire and leaving her confused in her joy. “She’s still healing.”

Before Anya could scold a chuckling Sam any further, both were pushed apart by a beaming Cole. His upbeat voice staggered with more greetings as he cheered, “The bad bitch of Delta is up again! Glad to see you still breathing, baby!”

Cole was quick to embrace her, twirling her around with a few swings before setting her down, balancing her as she swayed in dizziness. Somewhere behind the friendly Gears, Sapphire heard Baird sigh, “Careful there, Cole, or you might send Sapphire back to the land of the dead.”

The time of greeting was beginning to get at Sapphire as she balanced herself. While she appreciated them a lot, it was also too much in the silence of her mind. It wasn’t until one voice caused a quieted silence, “Calm down, everyone. Give her space.”

Marcus.

Cole stepped aside to let Sapphire see Marcus approaching. And she was shocked, surprised by how clean he looked. And he was probably thinking the same thing as his eyes also observed her quietly. Last time she saw him, he nearly had a beard, not as much as Dom’s, but getting there slowly. And she did remember telling him a few days before reaching Hanover that he needed to shave. And shave he did. His dorag looked clean too, hiding most of his black hair. For a long moment, they stared at each other, seeing the other fully for what felt like the first time in ages.

But instead of boldly embracing her with relief, because why would he do that in front of all the strangers currently staring at them, he gestured to the table, where there was a full plate next to a half-eaten one. “Hungry?”

Sapphire felt a smile on her face as she nodded, “Starving.”

Seeing that Sapphire was calmed from the brief startle of greeting, Sam cheered, “Well, come and join us!”

Anya and her were quick to pull Sapphire to the table, where Sapphire found that it wasn’t just Cole, Baird, Marcus, Anya, and Sam. There was also Clayton Carmine, with his helmet still on somehow, Hoffman, Bernie, Jace, and Dizzy. It was a little startling to see everyone out of their armor and in civilian clothes. Well, except Jace and Dizzy who looked like they just came from somewhere else that wasn’t a bedroom. Sapphire was surprised too to find Bernie and Hoffman, staring at them briefly in silence as she took in the people around the table.

“Glad to see you awake, hun,” Bernie finally greeted, smiling as she did so. “Hoffman and I came here just yesterday. After such a victory, we decided to come here to help out. Get a head start on what needs to be done.”

“But for now, let’s just relax,” Hoffman pointed out, looking more like an old man than the battle-hardened Colonel. “Besides, let the girl eat. You must be starving.”

“How long was I out,” Sapphire finally asked, picking up a fork to poke at the bacon as she looked around the table.

“A few days,” Anya replied, resuming her breakfast with some scrambled eggs. “When we got to Adam, you were already at the countermeasure weapon, prepping it. When we defeated Queen Myrrah, we found you unconscious at the weapon’s machinery. We feared that you had a brain aneurysm or something like that, but the medics reassured us that you were just bone-deep exhausted.”

“I felt like it,” Sapphire replied as she ate some of the bacon. She shivered at how good it tasted, prompting Clayton to chuckle.

“How’s that bacon?”

Sapphire didn’t even think as she replied, “Right now? Better than having sex.”

Anya choked while Bernie let out a howl of laughter. Cole had to pound Baird’s back to prevent him from choking on his own piece of bacon. Clayton was speechless while Hoffman looked over at Marcus, who continued to eat like normal. Jace grumbled next to Anya, “That was so uncalled for.”

“From her? Oh no,” Baird spoke up, gesturing to Sapphire as she continued to eat while trying not to laugh at herself. “Back during Operation Hollowstorm, she got covered in blood. And do you know what she said when asked to explain why she was covered in blood?”

He looked over at her and Sapphire grinned, telling him, “In my exact words, ‘I know, what a disgusting whore I am’.”

“It was Hunters’ blood, not-” Baird was quickly slapped in the back of the head by Sam.

She chidded at him, “Please, not at the table.”

“What?! She started it!”

Sapphire and Sam began to laugh, leading to Baird to sigh in defeat and continue eating, praying that there was an end to the jokes. They continued eating, Bernie exchanging stories with Cole excitedly to give others time to eat. Sapphire ate her fill, eating slowly as to know when to stop before she accidentally upset her stomach.

And while she was hungry, that didn’t mean she was distracted by her food, spotting Marcus giving her glances, a small smile on his face that he pretended was to the stories. Sapphire smiled too, continuing to eat her fill until her plate was empty.

Much to her surprise, her full stomach made her tired. As the others talked, Sapphire listened, trying to keep awake as she drifted. The feeling of being with her friends brought a tired smile to her face. She didn’t even realize that she had closed her eyes as Sam recounted a story from when she first joined the COG.

Marcus’s voice next to her ear startled her awake, causing her to flinch as he asked her, “Need to go back?”

Sapphire tried to deny it, shaking her head as she told him, “No, I’m good. I just-”

“Hey, go get some sleep,” Sam spoke up. “All of us felt the same after we all had our first breakfast after moving in. You're going to take her back, Marcus? She might not know the way back just yet.”

Sapphire sighed, rubbing her eyes as Marcus nodded next to her as he stood up, “I’ll make sure she gets back. Hopefully she doesn’t faint.”

“Please don’t,” Baird pleaded jokingly towards Sapphire as she stood up too, Marcus at her side. “You’ve got enough brain trauma for all of us.”

“I’ll faint just for you, Baird,” Sapphire told him with a joking smile. To the others, Sapphire nodded, her smile genuine. “Hopefully I’ll see you guys later. The next time I wake up, at least.”

The table said their goodbyes as Sapphire began to walk away towards the exit. She felt Marcus next to her, his hand a comforting presence at her back. When they exited the cafeteria, Sapphire turned to Marcus, seeing his peaceful expression. Though she could see the grief, she didn’t want to bring any of that up. Instead, she leaned into him, whispering, “I’m sorry that I scared you earlier-”

“Later,” Marcus interrupted before Sapphire could say anything more. “You need to rest. You deserve that much…”

“Thanks,” Sapphire replied, reveling in Marcus’s warmth as it radiated into her side leaning against him. “Have you been sleeping okay?”

“Yeah, mostly,” Marcus replied, relaxing against her as he wrapped an arm around her to pull her tighter against him. “Though sometimes it's difficult. I keep forgetting how much of a cuddler you are when you sleep.”

“I’m not as bad as you,” Sapphire joked before she yawned, eyes drooping as she walked alongside Marcus. “Will you join me? Get some rest?”

She looked up at him, silently pleading that he agree. He looked like he didn’t want to refuse, smiling down at her as he replied, “I think breakfast made me tired as well.”

Sapphire smiled, ignoring the continuous stares and whispered congrats from Gears. When they reached their room, Marcus let Sapphire go, letting her walk towards the bed while he closed the door. By the time Marcus had locked and turned, Sapphire was already curled in the bed, her boots over the side, one flopped onto its side.

His scratchy chuckle prompted Sapphire to open her eyes, seeing Marcus staring at her. Impatiently, she padded the bed, telling Marcus, “Get your ass in bed, quickly. You’re warm. And you and I both know that you need as much rest as I do.”

Marcus shrugged, getting to the bed to sit. As he took off his shoes, Sapphire stayed silent, watching his back. Images of her dream reality of the cabin flashed and she smiled, watching as he shifted to lay next to her, wrapping one arm around her as she curled into him, letting a happy shiver course through her.

No words were exchanged, though Sapphire felt lips on her head as she closed her eyes, reveling in Marcus’s warmth as he lifted the blanket to cover them both. With only the sound of the outside and the sounds of their heartbeats, it wasn’t long before Sapphire fell asleep.

No one greeted her in her dreams.

In fact, she didn’t have dreams or nightmares.

Instead, there was blissful silence and warm darkness.

Chapter Text

Marcus held Sapphire to his chest as she slept, her soft snores almost hidden from the sounds outside. His short nap was only interrupted by his sleep cycle and the fact his mind was still running a thousand miles an hour. Lying here in the bed with the other worldly woman he fell in love with, it felt more like a dream than actual reality. The past few days didn’t feel real.

But seeing Sapphire up and awake, greeting their friends with a soft smile, caught Marcus off guard. And while it still felt like a dream, he knew then that everything that had happened the past week was real. He couldn’t really bring himself to talk much at breakfast as he finally came to terms with his reality.

Now that he had come to terms with this new reality, he replayed in his mind what happened two days ago, shortly after arriving at his father’s office. His father was relieved that he was okay and alive, though Myrrah was hot on their tail. Sapphire was nowhere to be seen and, without any prompting, his father told them that Sapphire was on the roof, finishing the countermeasure so that Adam could activate it.

Marcus didn’t get to see Sapphire himself when they got on the roof, where Myrrah was waiting for them with anger. He knew that he needed to protect his father and partner from the furious Locust Queen. And with luck, he, Anya, Cole, and Baird all banded together and killed the Queen’s war beetle and her minions just before the Lambent threatened to descend upon them.

Then, Marcus heard the sound of the countermeasure going off, sending shockwaves through the world of Sera. The Lambent and Locust all began to fall, with the Locust falling heavily as their bodies hardened like reptiles burning under a heat lamp while the Lambent turned to ash. Even the stalks turned to ash, breaking off and vanishing into the world as if they never existed.

When Marcus turned to see his father, he saw his father approach him with a cracked smile as Adam turned to dust, the Lambency within too advanced to save him. Killing Queen Myrrah wasn’t as satisfying as Marcus wanted it to be, but he accepted Dom’s knife as a final strike to the bitch.

Cole was the one who found Sapphire, unconscious and bleeding from every orifice. Her eyes, ears, nose, and mouth all bled heavily as she laid there, breathing with a rasp. Anya started immediate medical attention as Marcus stood there, hoping that he didn’t lose another person he was close to.

And that feeling of fear stayed as people settled, Sapphire placed in a medic tent the first day to see her condition. From the roof to the pacing Marcus did on the beach, Marcus could only wonder if Sapphire survived. He knew there was a chance of her dying, especially as she began to show signs of major brain trauma when they arrived at Azura. Before even.

And when she was captured by Queen Myrrah’s Armored Kantus…Marcus had feared that he would find her at the end of all this dead. So much fighting for a world that wasn’t even hers, that would have taken her life without a second thought. And if that happened…Marcus didn’t know how he could have continued after the war.

It was a shattering relief when Anya approached him with a smile, telling him on the beach, “The medics say that Sapphire is going to live, Marcus. She’s just exhausted and the medics found no sign of extensive brain trauma. They don’t know when she will wake up, but once the resort has been cleaned up, we’ll be settling here for a while. Where do you think she’ll do best?”

Marcus didn’t really have an answer, but he told Anya with relief clear in his voice, “I think any bed will suit her.”

Anya had chuckled at Marcus, shaking her head as she turned and walked away. Later that day, Marcus was assigned his new quarters for the stay on Azura, opening a door to a suite where he found Sapphire sleeping on the bed already, cleaned up from the battle.

He could do nothing but sit on the bed, watching as Sapphire slept, and wondered if any of this was real. He grieved for his father and brother that night, in the silence that was only disturbed by Sapphire’s soft snores. The only reason he didn’t break down then and there was because of Dom’s photo of him and Maria smiling at the camera.

He had a future.

Now, he lay, holding Sapphire close as she slept breakfast away. And it was then that he noticed how peaceful she slept. There wasn’t a whimper, not even a hitch in her breath. It was as if she was sleeping soundly, undisturbed to the dark lullaby that had plagued her.

As Marcus thought, Sapphire suddenly yawned, one hand rubbing her eyes of sleep before she realized that Marcus was still lying at her side. Seeing this, Sapphire smiled, asking, “Cuddly now, aren’t we?”

Marcus huffed, but didn’t say anything as Sapphire shifted so that she could look at him in his eyes instead of his chest. She closed her eyes briefly, hiding the shining green irises as she breathed out a heavy sigh. At her peace, Marcus finally asked, “Is it quiet?”

“So quiet,” Sapphire replied, eyes opening slowly to look at him. “No dark lullaby. No Locust song. Not even Valkyrie has disturbed my sleep. It’s odd, with the silence. It’s both nice and…”

She trailed off, as if trying to find the right word. Marcus guessed, “New.”

Sapphire nodded, “Yeah. It’ll take a while to get used to. Is that reassuring?”

Marcus nodded, “Reassuring to me. You’ve been hearing that for two years. I would have gone insane, especially since it got worse if you were in close proximity.”

Something flashed in her expression. Sapphire’s smile slowly faded, replaced by a thoughtful frown. In response, Sapphire told Marcus, “Yeah. I almost went insane…”

Marcus could hear the pain in her voice, the shine beginning to show in Sapphire’s eyes. Before he could reassure her, her voice shook as she told him, “I’m sorry, Marcus. I…should have remembered. Should have done more. I was-I was right there, Marcus. I could have-”

Marcus softly shushed her, pulling her close to him once more. She began to sob against his chest, curling closer to him as she cried. While a very small part of him did want to blame Sapphire, he knew better than that. She was not to blame for Dom’s actions nor his father’s. His father was long past saving by the time they got to them and Dom had forced Sapphire away from the truck, going as far as to punch the woman to daze her.

After giving Sapphire a couple of minutes, Marcus finally spoke, “What happened with Dom and my father…neither was your fault. Nothing you could have done would have prevented them from doing what they wanted to do. In fact, they probably would have been upset if either of us got hurt.”

Sapphire’s sobs softened, her hands coming up to rub her eyes on the burning tears. After a few seconds of silence, Sapphire said softly, “I know. I should know that. I guess it’s just the survivor’s guilt that seems to always grasp at me. It always seems to grab at me at the worst of times. And now that the war is actually over, I can’t help but feel so glad yet so guilty I made it this far.”

“The best we can do now to overcome that guilt is to rebuild the world they all looked forward to,” Marcus replied. “And we can do that together.”

Sapphire looked up at him, her face still saddened but there was a spark of hope now. Because Marcus was right. They were here for each other. They needed to help each other the best they could from now on. Whatever happened next, Sapphire didn’t know. Nor did Marcus.

“Together,” Sapphire repeated softly, looking at Marcus with her sadness melting away. The path ahead was uncertain for them both, but in this moment, alone in this room, Sapphire felt a new kind of hope. They both had a future, they still had their friends, and there were now more opportunities than ever.

And all at once, the guilt, the anger, and pain of all that’s happened faded as Sapphire leaned forward. Her eyes closed, as did Marcus’s as their lips met.

The day melted around them, the future uncertain to both of them except that there were now bountiful opportunities.

—-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Things began to ramp up as soon as Sapphire was cleared by a medic the next day after waking up. There was a lot to do to rebuild society and Sapphire wasn’t looking forward to half of it. Especially when Marcus told her that they would have to settle on Azura for a while. While she liked the hotel room, and the newfound privacy she and Marcus got compared to the ship, the Azura tower looming over the horizon and the crystalized Locust bodies that now remained were a painful reminder of what was lost. Luckily, there was plenty of stuff to do.

But first, she had one goal in mind for the second day of her awakening.

“Marcus, any idea where Luke is?”

At her question while they were departing from the designated medical center, Marcus shrugged, “Don’t know. Last time I heard was that he was hanging around in the Eagle.”

“Then I guess I know where I’m going,” Sapphire replied, looking around at the mixture of Gears and UIR forces. Boxes were everywhere, but stacked neatly so that vehicles could go by. Tents and various structures were built, both for upcoming trades and some normalcy amongst the celebrating and chaos. Many soldiers were still drinking away, both in mourning and celebration. Things had been cleaned up really well since Sapphire had walked through these halls, without a single human body in sight. Though a few crystalized Locust were being used as punching bags by the more pained individuals.

She finally turned to Marcus, “Where will you go?”

Marcus shrugged. It was weird seeing Marcus without his armor, but Sapphire wasn’t against it. It wasn't like he was standing out. Everyone else was forgoing their armor more and more nowadays. Sapphire couldn’t help but grumble with crossed arms, “Fine, keep your secrets.”

Marcus shook his head, “I don’t really have much myself. I was going to go and check in with Hoffman. You go find Luke in the meantime. Just know that dog is not sleeping with us on the bed.”

“I get it,” Sapphire replied before a cheeky smile grew on her face. “You want me all to yourself, huh?”

While Marcus remained impassive to her tease, Sapphire could see the tips of his ears beginning to pinken. She didn’t point it out, instead beginning to walk away with the goal to find the Eagle. “I will see you later then, Marcus!”

She turned away, leaving Marcus to huff as she went to find the Eagle. As she walked, UIR soldiers greeted her in Dutch, many she recognized from fighting alongside them on the island of Vectes. The COG soldiers who greeted her made sure to give her a few pats on the back, something Marcus told her all of Delta had received since the day the war ended. She accepted the gestures, keeping steady as she continued towards the docks where she could see Ravens being worked on near the ships.

When she got to the docks, a bark drew her to the right, where she could see Luke bounding over past working engineers and traveling soldiers. She kneeled down, smiling as she greeted Luke happily, “Hey, bud! Look at you! Who's my good boy?”

Luke slammed into her out of excitement, licking at Sapphire’s face and barking happily. She embraced the mutt before giving it a couple of pets. When she stood up, Luke ran around her, tail wagging what felt like a million miles an hour. Sapphire slapped her knees, asking Luke, “Can you take me to the Eagle?”

Luke barked, turning and walking briskly back to where he was before. Sapphire followed, feeling the wandering looks of nearby soldiers. She didn’t know why specifically, but she chalked it up to her being part of the operation that ended the war. She soon saw the Eagle, on the docks and surrounded by welders and engineers.

The Eagle seemed to have taken a couple of hits since Sapphire left it in Hanover. She hummed, standing before the Eagle with an inquisitive eye. Luke paced around, happy enough that she was alive and well.

“Hey, there you are!” Sapphire turned her head in the direction of the voice, seeing Baird appear from a hidden corner of the Eagle. “Surprised to see you up. Did the medics clear you, yet?”

“They did this morning,” Sapphire replied with a smile. She noticed how dirty Baird’s clothes were before she realized he wasn’t wearing his armor. He looked weird without his armor, with the only thing normal about Baird being his goggles he moved from his eyes to his forehead as he approached her. “What are you up to?”

Baird chuckled, gesturing over to the Eagle, “Well, since Immulsion fuel is no longer a thing, I’ve taken it upon myself to study the Eagle while these folks fix her up. I have to say, the fuel system is odd, but it works. With a slight modification, the Ravens will be back in the air in no time.”

“Really? Well that’s great news,” Sapphire replied before crossing her arms. “You haven’t removed anything, have you?”

“Aside from medical supplies? Nope! Just unscrewing and putting things back together as courtesy.”

“Good.” Sapphire looked around, noticing that someone was missing that was usually with Baird. “Where’s Cole?”

“Oh, he’s with Anya right now.”

Sapphire’s eyebrows shot up and Baird sighed, scratching the back of his head. “I know, right? I couldn’t believe it myself when he told me he was going to spend some time alone with Anya.”

“You think they’re together?”

Baird shrugged, hands moving to his hips as he tilted his head at her. “Would Marcus be mad if I said maybe?”

“Oh, I’m not going to tell Marcus until absolutely necessary,” Sapphire scoffed. “Besides, it’s their business, not ours. Anyways, anything else going on at the docks?”

Baird gestured behind her and Sapphire turned, seeing a ship moving away from the docks, smaller than the Gorsani warship. Baird explained, “Trescu wants to patrol the waters of Azura. Make sure we don’t get snuck up on like on Vectes.”

“Good to know,” Sapphire hummed, arms falling to her sides so her hands can rest on her hips. “Wonder how the Stranded feel about this?”

Baird shrugged, snorting, “Hopefully the sticks up their asses have broken off.”

Sapphire glared at him and he lifted his hands in surrender. Sapphire turned back, seeing the submarine reveal itself as the smaller ship moved from port. She didn’t know if they would use that or not. But either way, she wasn’t getting into it any time soon. Not after the fuckery that happened days prior.

“Anything else Trescu and Hoffman done?”

“Well, Trescu sent an aircraft on his own, testing the prototype for the new fuel system,” Baird replied, gesturing over to where a majority of the Ravens were stationary. “It’s supposed to be going out to take images of the damage and all. See where everybody can safely return to the mainland.”

“Find places to rebuild, you mean.” At Baird’s nod, Sapphire put a thoughtful hand to her chin. “Wonder how that will go over. A lot of the ruined cities are filled with Stranded, if they still linger there.”

“Sounds like you need to talk to Trescu and Hoffman when you get a chance,” Baird pointed out. “I’m sure they have something for you to do until the Eagle is ready for you to take to the skies again.”

Sapphire nodded, “I will do that then. Try to see if I can find them. I know Marcus will be with Hoffman. Until then-”

“Huntress!” The Dutch word caught Sapphire off guard and she saw Baird give her a nod before retreating back to the Eagle. Sapphire turned in the direction of the voice to see Trescu approaching her with a kind smile.

She greeted back with an equal smile, speaking in Dutch, “Greetings, Trescu. Seems like you’ve been busy. Baird was just telling me about you sending out recons already.”

“Azura is too busy for Gorsani and COG to be back together again,” Trescu pointed out in Dutch, hands behind his back in a commanding stance. Sapphire remained relaxed, listening carefully to what was going on around her and with Trescu. “Unfortunately, peace doesn’t last long without a common enemy.”

“That makes sense,” Sapphire replied, crossing her arms once more. “What have you and Hoffman been up to since I’ve been out of commission?”

“Rebuilding a society is harder than strategizing a battle,” Trescu replied. “We have found some important information from within the resort, mostly what research projects most of the scientists here have been doing. It is simple stuff, with experimentation on the most vile and disposable humans. But my main concern is finding a new home for my people now that the threat has been eliminated. Main reason why I sent those recons. And don’t worry, I share the information with Hoffman.”

“Good,” Sapphire sighed. “At least you and Hoffman can work together. Do you happen to know where I can find Hoffman?”

“I last saw the Colonel deeper in the resort, towards that tower,” Trescu explained, gesturing forward. “I can lead you to him, if you wish.”

“That sounds good to me. Marcus should be with Hoffman so it’s like killing two birds with one stone.” Sapphire and Trescu walked away from the Eagle, Luke trailing behind Sapphire closely. As they walked away from the docks and less ears, Trescu spoke up, continuing with their Dutch-spoken conversation.

“I do not know what the future awaits us. There are many opportunities for growth. But…I fear that there will be conflict as we rebuild.”

“There will always be conflict,” Sapphire pointed out, walking side by side with Trescu as they walked. “It’s about what we do with that conflict that matters. I feel like Hoffman is going to have me do what I did on Vectes. Be the diplomat that makes everybody listen.”

“You do leave quite the impression.”

“Because I have to,” Sapphire pointed out. Luke bumped her hand with his snout and she stroked the top of the dog’s head before continuing. “With the Locust and Lambent gone, Sera is going to change. I can feel it. If we aren’t careful with this peace, we could end up in another war.”

“And none of us would want that.”

“Hopefully you are right,” Sapphire sighed. They continued on until they got to the courtyard right before the tower of Azura. When they entered the bloodied courtyard, Sapphire could see the Locust bodies pile in one corner, their limp bodies strange in their crystalized forms. Near the entrance were Jace and Dizzy.

Upon their approach, Dizzy greeted with a wide smile, “There’s little missy! How are you feeling?”

“Pretty good, Dizzy,” Sapphire replied in English. “Is Hoffman in there?”

“He is, with Marcus,” Jace replied, gesturing behind them. “We were just about to go and get you both, especially you, Saph.”

“Oh? Did they say?”

Jace shook his head, “All I was told was to go get you. You going to take the dog?”

“Might as well,” Sapphire replied, gesturing towards the inside. “Trescu and I will go in. Then we can all go get some drinks!”

Dizzy let out a bellowing laugh, “Oh! I like this girly! There’s plenty of moonshine I managed to save. We’ll wait for you all down here.”

Sapphire smiled to the pair before heading inside. Trescu commented in a lowered voice, “You drink moonshine?”

“It was my people’s drink back home,” Sapphire replied without thinking. Trescu hummed and Sapphire could tell he was intrigued. But her story of her home being destroyed should have been solid by now, so she wasn’t too afraid of discovery. The lobby of the once luscious hotel was absolutely trashed compared to the rest of the resort.

It was clear that Queen Myrrah fought the others in here, with the burned walls, paintings, furniture, and the broken glass of the elevator. Unluckily for the pair, the elevators were busted, their lines having snapped in the conflict before. Both took the steps without complaint, climbing each floor in search of Marcus and Hoffman.

The red carpet was unsettling to Sapphie, as she knew blood had probably seeped into the carpet. Both human and Locust. Something about it caused Sapphire to keep looking up and try to appear unbothered. It seems that while her arm was back and the war was over, her PTSD still lingered.

And unfortunately, will linger for a long while.

When they reached the top floor, just before the rooftop, Sapphire and Trescu arrived before a familiar room. Sapphire was quick to recognize it, having been taken here by the Locust. Adam Fenix’s office remained undisturbed compared to the rest of the tower. And at the desk, looking through files, were Marcus and Hoffman.

Sapphire knocked on the door frame, drawing the pair’s attention to her and Trescu. She asked, “What did you guys find that warrants the both of us?”

Marcus was giving Sapphire a weird look. She wondered why until he lifted a file for her to take. She took it gently, maneuvering it around to see what was inside. To her shock, it was a file of hers. Equipped with a picture of her tags and knife. Marcus explained as Sapphire looked over the file, “Apparently, my father has been keeping tabs on you since you were found by Lit. Kim’s men.”

Trescu cursed under his breath as he looked over her shoulder, “That explains why Prescott was insistent on taking you elsewhere despite nowhere else to go. Slimy prick.”

“Couldn’t agree more,” Sapphire replied, looking up at Marcus. Now she knew what the weird look was for. This was about her origins. Who she was. And what fuckery she was involved in when it came to that maze of a puzzle with the Titanmind. “Aside from your father’s interest in me, what else is there?”

“Well,” Hoffman spoke up, falling back to a white board that showed the countermeasure used a few days before. “I was looking at this and found out it was double-sided. And when we looked…”

Hoffman turned the whiteboard and Sapphire’s eyes widened upon seeing the absolute shock in front of her.

The whiteboard was a map of Sera, with dots all over that were tagged with drawings and notes. At first glance, Sapphire would have thought it was a map of Sera and were all the Imulsion was coming from. But the longer she looked, the more she found things that she and Marcus have discovered over the course of the past two years.

First, there was the symbol Carmine had sketched in the Hollows. But instead of the sketch, it was a polaroid. Taken from within the Hollows. Then, there was another polaroid of Griffin under the water, the water tinged from Imulsion and creating small bumps of yellow scales on the giant Titan’s body.

Second, there were dozens of notes. Notes about theories, pieces of strange evidence, sketches of fossils, and several lists that were too small to decipher from where she stood. Something about the paper itself drew Sapphire to remember her time on Vectes, when she and Marcus found the journal in the basement. They both had theorized at the time that Adam Fenix knew something about her.

And finally, Sapphire’s eyes were drawn to one section of the board, showing a dead mutilated child with widened eyes and bones extending out of the skin. And next to the gruesome polaroid was one name.

Valkyrie.

Adam Fenix knew about Valkyrie.

He knew about Griffin.

He knew the symbol in the Hollows.

And here it all was, pieces of the vast puzzle Sapphire had struggled with for the past two years.

“Haze?” At Hoffman’s voice, Sapphire startled, drawn back to reality. “You with us?”

“Yeah! Yeah…I’m just…confused at all this,” Sapphire replied, stepping closer to the board. “Some of this I saw down in the Hollows when I was captured by the Locust…Was this some side project Adam Fenix was working on?”

“Seems to be. But none of this shit makes sense. Except for that thing.” Hoffman pointed to the polaroid showing Griffin. “That thing sank Jactino, didn’t it?”

“Yeah, it did,” Marcus confirmed, continuing to stare at Sapphire as if to silently tell her that this could possibly hold the answers they’ve been looking for.

Sapphire hummed, putting down her file to look at a note. It had some gibberish on it, as if hastily written. But it was faded and it would take a while to make it out. Hoffman spoke up, commenting, “This just got weird. Was he looking for a connection between the Locust and that strange creature? And who the hell is this Valkyrie?”

“Strange,” Trescu hummed behind Sapphire as her eyes wandered the board. She briefly caught the word Grey One as Trescu continued. “Is this something we should be concerned with?”

“I don’t know, but I was not expecting this. This is bordering on conspiracy theory for me,” Hoffman grumbled. He then turned to Sapphire. “Fenix was just talking to me about how you get bored easily, Sapphire. And with the Eagle grounded for repairs and engineer evaluation, I ask that you get to the bottom of whatever the hell this is. You think you’re up for it?”

Sapphire pretended to think about it, despite deep down wanting to shout yes. She didn’t want to give away her excitement as she observed the board with a sharp eye. After giving it some ‘thought’, she told Hoffman, “Yeah. Give me a little bit and I’ll try to see if I can get to the bottom of this.”

Hoffman chuckled, turning to Marcus as he snorted, “I can see why you wanted me to retrieve her. Why don’t you stay here and help her with this while Trescu and I go find Anya. We have a couple of things to discuss.”

Marcus nodded while Sapphire continued to observe the board, hand on her chin as she crossed her arms. When the doors closed behind her, Marcus gave it a couple of minutes before he spoke up, “You thinking what I’m thinking?”

Sapphire turned to Marcus slowly, “Yeah. I had to think of something to explain why I reacted the way I did. I didn’t necessarily lie, but I was partially shitting myself when I saw this. What did you think when you saw this?”

“I reacted the same. Nearly shit myself seeing this. I didn’t know my father was this obsessed with you.”

“I wouldn’t say obsessed,” Sapphire pointed out, taking a seat on the desk’s surface to stare at the board in thought. “More like trying to figure out the same puzzle I’ve been struggling with for two years. I mean, Valkyrie, Griffin, the symbol, the Grey Ones…how the hell did Adam Fenix know of all this shit? He had to have known before E-Day, right?”

“Myrrah mentioned how he knew my father a few years before E-Day,” Marcus replied, leaning on the desk next to her to stare at the board with her. “He must have taken these photos when he was down there. Hiding this from Prescott as he looked for a cure with the lambency.”

Sapphire hummed, eyes scanning the map before her eyes caught something. A note near the bottom, scribbled neatly. Freshly scribbled. Sapphire slid off the desk, grabbing the note gently to raise it to her face. To her shock, she saw the exact same words the Adam Fenix told her, though slightly modified to target her specifically. Behind her, Marcus asked, “Find something interesting?”

Sapphire turned to Marcus, holding the note to him, “Your father said something before I passed out after I destroyed the two Hiveminds. How they are rising and they will bring the past with them.”

Marcus scanned the note before looking over at her, “Whose they?”

Sapphire pointed to Griffin’s polaroid, replying, “The Titans. Griffin woke up because he was infected. But Valkyrie said the others haven’t been found yet.”

“Don’t tell me there’s more of those fucking things.”

Sapphire shrugged, looking away from Marcus and back up to the board. “I don’t know. There are definitely more Titans out there, but they aren’t infected if that’s what you’re afraid of. But whatever your father referred to, he was definitely onto something and figured it out in his last moments.”

With a sigh, Sapphire took her place next to Marcus, both leaning on the desk and staring at the board. Luke laid down, watching as both of his humans stared at the board in deep thought. With a grumble, Marcus sighed, “I have a feeling something else is going on. And it sure ain’t anything we’ve encountered before.”

Sapphire sighed before shoulder-bumping Marcus softly, “Well, at least we can look at this together. Let’s see what the board has to say and then, I say, we search this whole room for any more files like mine. See if Adam was hiding more stuff from Prescott.”

Marcus hummed, thinking about it as he looked away from the board and around the room. With the sun still up and the windows providing enough light, Marcus grumbled, “Guess we better get started. I would rather be prepared for whatever could happen next.”

Sapphire smiled, leaning into Marcus. “Think of it as a date.”

“This? A date?” Sapphire chuckled at Marcus’s sarcasm as she leaned away from him to walk up to the board. Grabbing a polaroid of the symbol, Sapphire turned to Marcus, smirking.

“I like science and I know you are a curious man.” Marcus stared at her and Sapphire couldn’t help but chuckle. “Well, we better get started. Sooner we get this shit done, the sooner we can join Jace and Dizzy for some drinks. And after that…well, we got a whole room to ourselves.”

Marcus’s eyebrow twitched as he grumbled, “You drive a hard bargain.”

Leaning back, his eyes tore away from a giddy Sapphire, finding himself more curious by the second with this new project, “Okay. Where do we start?”

Chapter Text

Sapphire looked up at the board, quiet as she crossed her arms and sat on Dr. Fenix’s office chair. Marcus was somewhere behind her, grabbing notebooks that might give them more clues. It had been nearly an hour since Hoffman and Trescu left and Sapphire couldn’t help but find herself wondering just how long Adam knew about her.

Sure, Prescott filled him in, but how did Adam make the connections? Between her and Valkyrie? What made him think to gather all this evidence and keep it hidden? Was he hiding some dark truth? Or were his last words to her some sign of what was to come?

Sapphire sighed, leaning back against the chair to rub her eyes, “This is more frustrating than trying to wrangle a bull to cut its balls off.”

“Weird comparison but I get it,” Marcus replied behind her, the sound of a stack of books on the desk echoing. Sapphire turned in her chair, looking at five notebooks Marcus found. She raised an eyebrow, taking one to look into it. Unlike the journal they found on Vectes, this one was filled with notes and sketches. Symbols accompanied every page, like a bookmark.

The symbols were distinctly Egyptian but Sapphire knew they didn’t mean the same as the Egyptian language Sapphire had seen in her textbooks. Sapphire flipped through the pages, finding notes here and there. Some much older than others. Marcus remained silent, so much so that Sapphire finally looked up, seeing him stare at her. She asked plainly, “Do I have something on my face?”

“Other than frustration?” Sapphire gave him an annoyed look at the question. He continued, “Curiosity. Curious about what my dad has been researching aside from the lambency.”

Sapphire shrugged, “Yeah. But I have a feeling that lambency is tied to this whole puzzle. You see-”

Sapphire wheeled the chair around, getting up and kicking it to the side lightly. At the whiteboard, Sapphire grabbed a marker and wrote the word infection in quotes under Valkyrie’s section. She turned to Marcus, tapping a finger next to the word, “Every time the Lambent were noticed or brought up, Valkyrie didn’t refer to them as Lambent. She always referred to them as Infected or the lambency an Infection. And while in the Titanmind, she said that the Infection was dealt with by a Priesthood.”

Marcus stared at her, raising an eyebrow. After a moment, he said with a sigh, “I’m lost.”

“Okay,” Sapphire replied, more absentmindedly than sarcastic, putting the marker down as she gestured to the whiteboard. “When Kim found me, before the Slab, he found me in a state that Hoffman described similar to how Valkyrie acts when she has control of my body. When Adam got my file that Prescott and Kim made, he realized that Valkyrie had control of my body because he somehow knew about Valkyrie’s existence before actually meeting Valkyrie in person. And he knew about Valkyrie because of Myrrah, who knew Valkyrie before Myrrah met Adam. When it was confirmed after Myrrah captured me and tortured me, Prescott tried to have a reason to send me away. But we never let him and therefore, I didn’t get sent to Azura. And he couldn’t pretend to kill me. There weren't enough allies on his side to do such a thing.”

Sapphire took a breath, continuing to a silent Marcus, “When Griffin flooded the Hollow, it was because he was controlled by the Infection, or Lambency in his blood. He died from exploding himself because the Infection made him do it. And Griffin either couldn’t fight it or he had to kill himself or else we would have a giant prehistoric reject to worry about, more dangerous than a Lambent Berserker. But all the events of the past two years are only a small part of this puzzle that Adam Fenix has been trying to figure out. And he figured it out in his final moments.”

“But with the lambency gone, what else is there?”

Sapphire gestured to the board, showing the map of Sera and all the blue pins, pointing to one in particular, “He knew where Griffin was and pinned it as shown. And all these others…those statues in the Hollows were statues of the Titans.”

Realization dawned on Marcus as he asked, “So, you’re telling me that there are creatures like Griffin?”

“Yeah,” Sapphire replied, looking up at the board with Marcus. “The others have been long since buried. And these blue pins are Adam Fenix’s guesses on where the others are. Hence this polaroid of the statues in that very room with a blue pin. Griffin isn’t the only one and Valkyrie isn’t exactly part of the statues. I think with the lambent gone, the parasite gone from the Titanmind, we might have a situation where Titans begin to wake up.”

“Why did they go to sleep in the first place? And how long have they been around?”

“I don’t know. But it has to do with the Grey Ones,” Sapphire replied. At Marcus’s raised eyebrow, Sapphire sighed. “In the Nexus, there was a creature, different from the Locust. Much like us, but slightly scaly. And he was dressed in robes. Valkyrie and Myrrah referred to him as the Grey One. He made sure I got the healing I needed and I remember seeing him here and there through Valkyrie’s eyes. And from Valkyrie, she hinted that there were more of them. I’m guessing, based on what I saw of him, that he is the Priesthood Valkyrie mentioned when I was in the Titanmind. My guess is that this Priesthood came after the Titans went to sleep. Meaning they remained asleep so that others can care for them and prevent them from getting sick. How they do it, I don’t know. But back to the present, Adam hinted at the Titans waking up, and bringing the past with them.”

“Was it a warning?”

“Not exactly. It’s more that they might be waking up. With the Lambency gone, the actual parasite is gone, they might start waking up.” Sapphire could see Marcus’s face twist in worry and she was quick to reassure him. “That’s why he told me to live. Because I can communicate with the Titans in a way nobody else can. Now, I don’t exactly know what he means by ‘bringing the past with them’, but if Titans do start waking up…”

Sapphire trailed off and Marcus grimaced, realizing the same thing as they both said in unison, “How do we explain to the others how we came to this conclusion?”

“Well, fuck,” Sapphire sighed, rubbing her face with both hands. By the door, Luke flicked an ear, lying down on the carpet in soft sighs. “And that’s if these Titans even want to wake up, Marcus. For now, it all just looks like some fantasy to anybody but you and I.”

Marcus hummed, arms crossed as he looked on the board, “Whatever my father has been investigating, it can wait until we are more settled.”

Sapphire sighed again, sitting in the office chair, “Yeah. Right now, it’s not relevant to our current situation. Though…” She looked back up at the map. “The only relevant thing on this board is the map of Sera. I haven’t seen a map of Sera since I came here. Maybe we can use this map to charter our next steps in restoring humanity.”

“Hoffman would appreciate it. But I think he wanted us to make sure it wasn’t relevant to something else that’s big.” Sapphire gave him a raised eyebrow and Marcus sighed, elaborating, “And yes, technically this is big, but we haven’t heard or seen any other Titans since Griffin.”

Marcus hummed again, looking up at the board. Something caught his eye and he asked, “Those red circles with the red pins…what do they mean?”

Sapphire looked where he looked, seeing the red pins surrounded by red circles. She traced the key next to the map. Just under the blue pin that marked the map as a Titan was a red pin labeled POSSIBLE LOCATIONS. Seeing this, Sapphire hummed, standing up from the chair again. Out loud, she replied to Marcus’s question, “I don’t know. It can’t be the location of Titans. Because that’s what the blue pins are for. Whatever he means by possible locations, it has to be in some journal. Somewhere we haven’t looked yet. We might be able to find it here…”

Sapphire trailed off, looking around at the books surrounding them in the office. She continued with a heavy sigh, “But that will take some time. And time that we have now. We won’t be leaving Azura anytime soon until Baird fixes every Raven and ship known to man here to take biofuel. Which in itself is hard to come by since the Lambency made quick work of the ecosystems on Sera.”

Marcus was silent, watching Sapphire take a book off a shelf. For a long moment, silence settled between the pair as they both thought. After a while, Marcus finally spoke up, grabbing a paper from the desk to look at, “I wonder how my father even got involved with this…”

“Maybe he knew about the relation between the Lambency and the Titans,” Sapphire guessed, flipping through a book. It was nothing but Lambency research, but no clues. “However he got involved, he found out something we haven’t yet. What he said is starting to bug me a little.”

“Was any of this in your world?”

Sapphire startled at this, caught off guard by the mention of her being from another world. That hadn’t come up in a long time. But thinking about it, Sapphire grimaced, “No. None of this Titanmind shit in front of us was in the games or books. In all honesty, I don’t know shit about what will happen next. All I know is that we won the war and survived. Everything after is up in the air. But this puzzle? The Titanmind? Valkyrie? Griffin? The Lambent being connected to the Titanmind? I would have remembered all this shit. But NONE of this is in any of the canon version of the stories involving the Gears.”

Marcus hummed and Sapphire caught the doubt in his face. It was fleeting, but she caught it as she grimaced, “I ain’t lying. And you know it. If I had known about this stuff, I would have come up with ways to deal with it.”

Marcus chuckled, “I didn’t say anything.”

“Your face says it all,” Sapphire remarked with a roll of her eyes. Marcus raised an eyebrow and Sapphire waved him off. “Actually, it’s the eyes that give it away. I know you well enough to see the emotion you have plastered behind that scowl. That’s permanent, by the way.”

Marcus scoffed, “Uh huh. Don’t care.”

Sapphire took another book and tossed it to Marcus, “How about we do this. Any book that relates to the Locust or Lambent that involves nothing of the Titanmind or this puzzle we’re trying to solve, we’re stacking it outside of the door to be handled later. Scan the pages and see if we can find any tidbits of notes from your father.”

“For how long?”

“Give it a few hours,” Sapphire replied as she took another book down to flick through it. “It’ll help cut down our search.”

Marcus hummed, flicking through the book before taking it to the doors next to Luke. Luke perked up, watching as Marcus set the book down. Sapphire handed him another book to look through.

The book soon turned to three.

Then ten.

Then fifteen.

Then twenty-five.

By the time Jace and Dizzy came to check on Sapphire and Marcus, the pair found a massive stack of a total of sixty books and journals outside of the doors. Jace and Dizzy gave each other a confused glance before Jace knocked on the door politely. Luke barked on the other side and Jace announced, “Hey! Just came to check on you guys! We haven’t seen you since this morning! It’s nearly supper time.”

When there was no response, Jace sighed, “Okay, we’re coming in to make sure you both are actually alive. Please shout if you guys are undressed or some shit.”

“In Dr. Fenix’s office,” Dizzy questioned Jace with wide eyes. “Seriously?”

Jace shrugged, “Last time I almost walked in on them, Sapphire nearly gutted me and Marcus kicked my ass in the arena back on the ship. I don’t really want to repeat that.”

Dizzy hummed, watching as Jace opened the door, meeting Luke first whose tail wagged in greeting. When he opened the door all the way, they were greeted with chaos. Or well, silent chaos.

The room was filled with scattered books and journals, papers torn out and put on the walls. On some of the empty shelves, there were origami animals lining the shelf like trophies, some on top of books and journals. The once sporadically clean office had turned into a crime board for Jace and Dizzy.

They both saw Marcus at the desk, face in a book and a pen in hand. But there was no sign of Sapphire. At least, not at first.

“Hey, Marcus,” Jace greeted, looking around the room at all the chaos. Marcus barely moved, just a growl that clearly told Jace he knew they were there. He wrote something in the book with a pen. “What are you doing? And where’s Sapphire?”

Without hesitation, Marcus pointed up to the ceiling beams.

And hanging upside down like a bat with a journal in hand was Sapphire.

She didn’t greet them, eyes roaming the pages as she chewed on a pencil. Jace looked back down at Marcus, asking, “Uh…she okay?”

“We’re both frustrated,” Marcus replied gruffly, putting down the book and looking up to Sapphire. “Got a small note here out of the entire damn book on the Lambent. Want me to tear it out?”

“Tear it and put it somewhere relevant,” Sapphire replied, maneuvering to sit up instead of remaining upside down. “How many books do we have to go through?”

“We still got all those biology books-”

“We’re keeping those.”

“-And history-”

“We’re only keeping the ones we know have the correct information. No propaganda.”

“-and the weapons catalog of the COG.”

“-No need for those. Stock them away.”

Jace and Dizzy watched as Marcus tore a page of the book and put it on the shelf, where other papers were stacked. Then, with a toss, the book flew from the desk to the door, waiting to be cast out. Marcus then turned back to them, “What do you guys want?”

“We figured you were hungry and thirsty,” Dizzy replied with a soft smile as he crossed his arms. “You guys have been up here all day.”

“Yeah, and we were getting a little worried,” Jace added. He watched as Sapphire swung down from the beams and landed on the carpet of the office to toss the book she had on top of Marcus’s discarded book. With a sigh, she rubbed her eyes before sliding her hands across her hair. “Is this some new project Hoffman assigned to you two?”

“Somewhat,” Sapphire replied before Marcus could as her hands rested on her hips. “It’s a jumble, but we have the time until Baird finds some way to get us off Azura.”

“Fair enough,” Jace replied with a hum. Then, he gestured to the outside. “You guys want to come down with us and take a break? You look like you need it.”

“Yeah…yeah we do,” Sapphire said as she glanced over at Marcus. “We can continue this tomorrow. Hopefully we’ll find some leads on what this project is.”

Unfortunately for Marcus and Sapphire, the next day held no leads. Nobody questioned where the pair went during the day after breakfast. The chaos in the office became worse as hours went by. Scattered pieces struggling to be put together and the continuous waiting game.

But neither Sapphire nor Marcus complained. Sure, they were frustrated. But it gave them something to do and it gave them time together. And it gave them routine. Both had been fighting their entire lives, whether it be at home or overseas. And having something to do, a routine, was better than being stuck doing watch duty.

Breakfast and dinner was where they socialized the most with their friends. While celebrations were still an all time high for many, Sapphire and Marcus, along with the others, were more than happy to chill and eat while also talking about their day. It was mundane stuff, but it was good to see what people did while Marcus and Sapphire worked on the project.

But between breakfast and dinner, Sapphire and Marcus would disappear to the tower, Luke sometimes hanging out with them if the dog wasn’t interested in something else that day. A lot of it was reading and then having discussions about the theories they both had, which weren’t much considering the lack of evidence they could gather.

One theory they both believed in was that this Titanmind situation was much older than previously thought.

The third day of researching, Marcus looked up at Sapphire as she looked at the board for the fifteenth time that day. He asked softly, “How old do you think these Titans are?”

Sapphire shrugged, “Pretty old.”

“Has Valkyrie said anything since the end of the Locust War?”

Sapphire shook her head, taking a seat on the desk since Marcus had taken the office chair to the side of the room. The side that held the journals and books stacked that they still needed to read. She replied, “No. She’s been strangely quiet. Either she’s asleep or she’s silently observing and not wanting to give hints.”

“Sounds like Valkyrie,” Marcus grumbled as he looked down at the biology book in front of him. The book was talking about evolution and how the ages of Sera came about. Nothing indicated a more intelligent lifeform than the current age of humanity on Sera. He thought aloud as he read one section of the book. “It’s strange to think that for a long time, we thought that Imulsion was some remnant of the Riftworms.”

“Like the one that kept sinking cities?”

Marcus hummed in confirmation. Sapphire looked around the board, the finger tapping on her chin stopping as she noticed something strange. Eyes still roaming the map, Sapphire asked Marcus, “Hey, Marcus. The Imulsion originated from the Hollows, yeah?”

“They did,” Marcus replied, looking up at Sapphire as she stilled. “Would you think a map of the Hollows would provide answers?”

Sapphire looked over to Marcus, thinking as she asked, “Do you think your father has some map of the tunnels in the Hollows?”

Marcus shrugged, “In these books?”

Sapphire shook her head, “Not a book. I’m thinking more along the lines of journals. How many journals do we have left?”

Marcus looked over at the stack before replying, “We’ve got ten.”

Sapphire lifted from the desk and walked over to the task, grabbing the ones she could see. She flipped through them all quickly, but with a frustrating growl, she threw the last one over her shoulder. Rubbing her temples, Sapphire looked around in deep thought, “He has to have something. Somewhere Myrrah or Prescott can see…”

Sapphire got up, looked around and walked over to between the shelves. With her knuckle, she began to knock along the wooden panels, listening closely as Marcus watched her. She looked back at him briefly, asking, “Check the other side of the office.”

Marcus did as asked, going over to the other side of the office and copying what Sapphire was doing. At first, there was nothing but solid wood for the both of them as they roamed the room. When they both got to the board, Sapphire looked over at Marcus and gestured for help to move the board. Together, they both pulled the board away from the wall, where they had already cleared out the shelves there.

As they both checked the slither of wall between the shelves, it was Marcus who tapped on a particle part of the wall that echoed. Signalling hollowness. Sapphire grabbed her knife and felt with the tips of her fingers on one hand to search for an edge.

And there, on Marcus’s side, Sapphire could feel where nails had peeled off the part of the wall. Not enough to leave visible marks but she could feel the presence. Using the tip of her knife, Sapphire pulled the wooden panel off the hidden passage. The moment Marcus took away the wooden panel, both saw a couple of journals hidden.

Sapphire and Marcus looked at each other, surprised. Then both grinned, “Bingo.”

Sapphire’s smaller hand slipped into the crevice, grabbing a journal and handing it to Marcus. He blew on it away from Sapphire as she grabbed the other, dust clouding up and falling to the ground from the gesture. Sapphire did the same thing.

When Marcus opened his journal up, he saw the word ‘theories’ along with numbers that correlated to which page and theory. When Sapphire opened hers, she saw that the journal extended, showing a map of Sera…and the map of the Hollows.

“Shit,” Sapphire breathed, turning to Marcus. “Your father has a map of the Hollows!”

“And this journal has his theories in it,” Marcus added with a grin before turning to the others. “What about the others?”

“Let’s see,” Sapphire replied, digging into the crevice again and grabbed another journal. When she opened it up, she saw Valkyrie’s name and Dr. Niles name under. Like a file but in journal form. “This is about Valkyrie. Dr. Niles knew about her well enough to make a whole ass file of hers.”

Closing it, Sapphire gave it to Marcus before grabbing the last journal. But this one was much older. Much, much older.

When Sapphire opened it up, she paused. Marcus noticed this, turning to her with a raised eyebrow, “Something wrong?”

“Uh…” Sapphire struggled with the words at first, wondering what she should say. She slowly turned to Marcus and lifted the journal to him, her face twisting. “This journal wasn’t written by your father, Marcus. It was written by your mother.”

“My mother,” Marcus asked, confused. He slowly took the journal, looking over it. For a long moment, both were silent as Marcus grazed a hand on the first page. Where his mother’s name was written under large letters that read ‘The Way to the Future’.

When Marcus looked up, he breathed out, “I can’t believe it. Why would my father keep this?”

“That remains to be seen,” Sapphire replied lightly. She checked the crevice to make sure it was empty before putting it back. “For now, I think we should keep this discovery to ourselves until we both read the journals together. Whatever secrets these hold, I don’t want anybody else but us to know about them just yet.”

Marcus nodded in understanding, “I agree. Nobody but us comes up here, but we should lock the door from now on.”

“Can we even do that?”

Marcus nodded, “Hoffman found some keys of the resort that open this room. I asked to borrow a key and he gave me one.”

“Good. Then from now on, we lock this room if nobody else is up here. We don’t have to worry about anybody committing arson,” Sapphire remarked. She turned to the desk and opened the bottom drawer that they had emptied out yesterday. “Let’s put them in here when we’re done. But for now…”

She closed the drawer back up before clearing the desk to lay the four journals down. For a moment, both stared down at the journals, wondering which one to start with. All the journals didn’t look that important on the outside, but that could have been a deliberate move on the writers’ part. Especially for a scientist with secrets. Sapphire then turned to Marcus, “So, are you thinking the same thing I am?”

“Why did my father hide these?”

“Yeah,” Sapphire replied, leaning on the desk with a smile. “What are you thinking exactly though?”

Marcus hummed, crossing his arms, “I’m thinking he didn’t want Myrrah to have them. And thinking back to Dr. Niles’ lab, Valkyrie, was looking for something. I’m pretty sure it was one of these.”

“Meaning either Prescott knew about Dr. Niles and took it for safekeeping for Adam to take, or Dr. Fenix was at Dr. Niles’ lab.” Sapphire grimaced. “I believe the first one more than the second. I can not see your father and Dr. Niles working together.”

Marcus shrugged, “I agree. But maybe the reason why my father hid these was because he didn’t want Prescott to think he was working on this project.”

“And Prescott doesn’t bother snooping,” Sapphire pointed out. A thought occurred to her, eyes narrowing as her attention turned to the journal Marcus’s mother wrote. What exactly did she know? “Hey, Marcus-”

Just before she could ask, the doors slammed open, Sam running in with Jace. Sapphire and Marcus both looked at the visitors, confused at their panicked expressions. Before any greeting, Sam panted out, “Marcus! Sapphire! You both are needed down at the docks!”

Confused, Sapphire and Marcus looked at each other before Jace added, “Sapphire, you need to see this. Because it’s bad.”

“Okay,” Sapphire said, turning back to Sam and Jace. “Lead the way and tell us what happened.”

Sam and Jace led the way out of the office and down the stairs in a quick jog, Marcus and Sapphire following. As they descended down the stairs, Sam began, “We got an SOS signal nearly five kilometers from one of the ships Baird sent out to run the new engines. The ship barely made it to the dock before it started to sink. Everyone is accounted for, but we got some worrying reports.”

Jace interrupted then, sounding a little more panicked than Sam, “Some are claiming that they saw a Leviathan in the water. Some are claiming that the ocean has changed. Some are even saying that it was from Stranded bombings. And others are saying that something tore through the hull. Baird is looking at the ship, but everybody can see that something big tore through the hull.”

“It can’t be a Leviathan,” Sapphire exclaimed as she jogged beside the pair. “They all died off. Even if one managed to survive, it would be too weak to go against a ship.”

“Even after a week since the countermeasure?”

“Even that,” Marcus replied for Sapphire. “Myrrah was half dead and she wasn’t as infected as the others.”

“Then what the fuck hit the ship,” Sam asked, turning to Sapphire for an answer.

Sapphire didn’t answer, telling the trio, “I need to see it before I can make any assessment.”

When they exited the building, Sapphire could hear the commotion down by the docks. She turned her jog into a sprint, overtaking Sam and Jace as she sprinted down to the docks. The moment she saw the docks, her heart began to race, seeing the large crowds looking to the smaller ship she had seen take off just a few days prior. She allowed herself to half-walk, squeezing pass bystanders and soldiers.

The moment she broke free of the crowd and she saw the ship, something froze inside of her.

The ship had broken through some of the pier and rose just a little from the other half sinking down. This gave Sapphire a view of the hull, the warped metal torn in several places that allowed seawater to enter the buoyant hull. How it got back to port was mysterious to Sapphire, but she didn’t care about that as much as the song from the Titanmind began to play in her mind.

Without thinking, Sapphire began to approach the hull, careful not to trip on the broken boards as she approached the warped hull. The song got louder until she saw something glimmer in the hull. Something shiny that got stuck in the hull’s metal when it got hit.

The moment Sapphire saw it, the song ceased. She reached for it, pulling the object out of the hull and holding it up to the light of day.

Her eyes widened. For it wasn’t a tooth or skin of a Leviathan that shined in the light.

It was a diamond-shaped scale, as big as Sapphire’s palm, gleaming in the light. And not just gleaming, shimmering like bioluminesce. It shined, its origin a mystery.

And Sapphire didn’t know which was scarier.

What creature this scale came from.

Or if this was the first sign of the change Sera was about to go through.

Chapter Text

Sapphire stood next to the conference table, the room silent to her ears as she looked down at the table. All around her, there was Marcus next to her, Baird on the other side of her, Anya, Trescu, Hoffman, Bernie, Cole, Sam, Jace, Dizzy, and Carmine. They were all talking, but Sapphire couldn’t hear any of it, not when her focus was on the center of this whole situation.

The bioluminescent, diamond-shaped scale lay on the table on top of a cloth. Even with how light it was, the bioluminescence was bright and glittering even now. Sapphire couldn’t really know for sure what it was, just that it was a scale and not from a Leviathan.

“Sapphire?” At Anya’s voice, Sapphire lifted her head, realizing the whole room was staring at her. “What are your thoughts? About this?”

Sapphire looked down at the scale briefly before uncrossing her arms to lean on the table, “Well, the biggest thing about this scale is that it doesn’t belong to a Leviathan. That’s the important fact we need to know. But what exactly it belongs to, I can’t say for certain what it is.”

“But is there anything important a common person like us needs to know,” Jace asked, gesturing to the scale. “Obviously, it’s something like a fish, right? Or a reptile?”

Sapphire nodded, “Could be either. Looking at the scale, there’s a couple of things I noticed. The most prominent being the color. Bioluminescence is better known for the lighting in dark places, like in the deep ocean or at night. And the scale is prominent in ancient fish. The shape is called a ganoid scale, because of its diamond shape and the lines you can see just barely here and here. Whatever this scale belongs to, it’s definitely marine and ancient based on what I know from the scale structure and pattern.”

Trescu hummed, rubbing his chin as Anya asked, “Is it something dangerous?”

“Is it something dangerous,” Baird repeated with confusion. “It literally rubbed a hole through the hull of that ship. Of course it’s dangerous!”

“We don’t know for sure,” Sam sighed, rubbing her forehead. “But the people are scared. We’ve been fighting Locust and Lambent almost our whole lives and then this shit comes up?”

Sapphire and Marcus briefly glanced at each other before Sapphire noticed Trescu’s demeanor change. He reached a hand up to his ear and turned away, face confused as he did so. Sapphire didn’t call him out, not when Hoffman asked her, “We have information on where this happened. Maybe you could take the Eagle and go investigate with another Raven? If it’s something that can prevent us from getting to the mainland, I want it done with.”

“Will do,” Sapphire replied with a firm nod. “We’ll see it better at night. Baird, you think the Eagle is ready to go?”

“Should be,” Baird replied. “Who are you going to take? Cause I know Marcus is a given.”

Bernie chuckled at Baird, but quickly cleared her throat as Sapphire replied, “I want Marcus, Baird, Bernie, and Anya to come along with me. We have two hours until dark so I will go ahead and prepare the Eagle for scouting. For now, we can keep the scale up in Adam Fenix’s office. Nobody leaves Azura until we find out whatever attacked the ship.”

“I agree,” Anya replied, looking around the table. “In the meantime, Hoffman and Trescu will start interviewing the crew. There were twenty five men on board when it happened so I would start as soon as possible. And Sapphire, you are absolutely sure that a Leviathan is not a suspect?”

“Positive,” Sapphire replied, gesturing to the scale. “A Leviathan would not have let that ship continue sailing. And I don’t even know how many there are out there. But none of the ones encountered had these types of scales.”

“But could they have survived,” Hoffman asked.

Sapphire shrugged, “I don’t know. If some did survive, then they’ve avoided infection and adapted to the saltwater of the ocean.”

“And if you’re wrong,” Jace asked. Sapphire shrugged, looking back at the scale.

“If she’s wrong, then she’s wrong,” Anya replied for Sapphire. “You leave in two hours, Sapphire, with the crew you want. We need to get to the bottom of this before this becomes dangerous.”

“Yeah, and figure out what the hell messed up my handy work,” Baird grumbled. “I’ll go ahead and make sure things are prepped mechanically. The other Raven should be good to go for a test run, though only for about three hours.”

“That’s good to me. And set me up with the coordinates of where the ship was hit, Baird,” Sapphire said before straightening up. She noticed Trescu did not return as of yet. “Godspeed.”

As the room began to clear out, Hoffman spoke up just as Sapphire reached for the scale, “Haze, Stroud, could you girls stay behind?”

Sapphire and Anya looked at each other before Sapphire turned to Marcus, telling him, “I’ll see you at the Eagle.”

Marcus nodded, leaving with the others in silence. When the door closed, it was only Hoffman, Sapphire, and Anya present. Trescu was still nowhere to be seen in the room. He must have slipped out during the meeting. After a bout of silence, Hoffman asked Sapphire, “How are things with Dr. Fenix’s secret project, Sapphire?”

Sapphire took a seat at the conference table then, Anya and Hoffman followed soon after. She replied as she leaned back into the chair, “We might have a lead. Found some more clues and emptied out the office of anything we deemed unnecessary for now. I’m pleased to inform you both that the map of Sera in Adam Fenix’s office is well documented and we can use it when we plan for the mainland.”

“That’s great news,” Anya said with relief, a hand pressed on her chest. “As much as I hope my geography is still good, it is helpful to have a map. We can copy it onto something else with the help of Jack. I say we make this room a command center of sorts for scouting the mainland. When we are able to scout.”

“That would help,” Hoffman grunted as he leaned on the table. “Scout the mainland and see how things are there. I say we place the Ravens on the bigger ship and do expeditions. Meanwhile here on Azura, we stockpile and think of what’s required of rebuilding humanity. We already have Baird and multiple engineers working on redoing some of the operating vehicles here. And potentially scouting for more to take. But, there is something else I want to discuss. Something I wanted to discuss.”

Sapphire perked up, tilting her head when she saw Anya’s smile grow on her face. Hoffman turned to Sapphire, his tone serious but kind for a man like him, “Sapphire, Anya and I have been discussing at great length what to do with you and your skills that you’ve showcased. You are not COG, UIR, or Stranded. And because of that, you have been a diplomat for us since you joined up. Even at your lowest point, you still pulled your weight.”

Sapphire blinked and Anya was quick to take over the conversation as she turned to Sapphire, “Hoffman discussed with me at length about your new project. And from what I’ve heard from the others, you and Marcus have been very much focused on the whole project. Hoffman, Trescu, and I discussed how you can contribute without swearing any loyalty. So, I decided to take a whole new position, separate from the COG.”

Anya brought something out of her pocket and stood up. She took the object and set it next to the scale. When her hand pulled away, the object was revealed as a badge, made well by a craftsman. It was a circular metal badge with words written on the outer edge of the circle in the center. In the middle of the circle was a skull, the same skull that the COG wore, but the circle wasn’t a gear. Instead, the words surrounding the skull said RESEARCH COMMANDER.

Anya explained as she sat back down in her chair, gesturing to the badge, “You can modify this as much as you want. I give you full control. I am offering you the position of Research Commander for the future Research Commission. Your duties will include maintaining diplomacy between conflicting parties, establishing peace in shared territories, head research, and exploration into unknown territories and missions. It sounds like a lot, but you will work closely with us and Trescu and any Stranded that pledges to the Research Commission’s services. For now, the organization will be part of the COG until there is room for expansion. This does not mean you are COG, but it does mean that you cannot make changes without our permission if the changes include duties, use of vehicles excluding the Eagle, and use of resources.”

Sapphire looked at the badge, tapping a finger on her cheek. She could feel Hoffman and Anya staring at her, waiting for her to say something. Slowly, Sapphire picked up the badge, feeling the surface with her thumb. She then asked, “Does this mean that any research that is found, I am in charge of?”

“Partly yes,” Hoffman replied. “You would lead projects, organize research in categories in the Research Commission, and disclose what you think is critical for us to know.”

Sapphire hummed as Anya added, “You will work closely with us for your time here. But once you find a place to have it as HQ for the Research Commission…that is when I will willingly sign over any rights of the Research Commission to your command. I know it's a jump in status, one that will be questioned. But with your reputation and diplomacy skills, I have no doubt you have the trust of many. I will admit, it is a heavy responsibility. But one that I know you can handle.”

Sapphire looked up from the badge, staring at Anya for a long moment before asking, “May I have time to think over this? I want to make sure I can sleep on it before I make any major decisions.”

Anya and Hoffman nodded, Hoffman telling Sapphire, “Anya is opening this position up for you. So take as long as you need. I trust you enough, Haze. You fought your ass off to get to this point. And I have no doubt that you’ll keep fighting your ass off until you’re either dead or bored.”

Sapphire nodded, gesturing to the scale as soon as she set the badge down next to it, “May I take this up to Adam Fenix’s office? It might be a clue of what’s going on. Course, I will be safe keeping it there until we leave for the ocean.”

Anya shrugged, “I don’t see why you shouldn’t take it. You are the biologist, after all.”

“Thank you,” Sapphire replied, standing up. She grabbed the scale and wrapped the cloth over it. “I will go prepare the Eagle then. See you at the docks, Anya. And I will keep in contact with you on Channel seven, Colonel.”

Sapphire left the badge, leaving the room with the scale in hand. As she walked further and further away from the badge, Sapphire’s thinking took over her actions. Nobody except Marcus would see what a golden opportunity this was.

She had free range, her wings unclipped from the rigorous captivity of the COG. She could research more of the Titans, the people, the societies, and the environment of Sera. Be the person she had wished to be if she didn’t choose the life of the military. It would take time to get used to, but Sapphire could see herself accepting the role.

One side of Sapphire was excited. The excitement stemmed from her thirst for knowledge and the freedom this opportunity would provide. For once, she would not be fighting a war. And she could research more about the Titans, so that when the time came that they all began to wake up, if ever, she and the world was ready.

But another side of Sapphire was terrified. The level of responsibility she would obtain, and all the decisions she would have to make. Who to save, who to cater to, who to appease, what compromises she could provide, and how much sacrifice would it require. And the implication of future detainment from the COG, that added a whole new level.

Then, a small part of Sapphire reminded her of what the Titanmind told her. The chant that echoed as she went to separate the two minds and save Sera from the infectious Lambent. She would be able to do what the Titanmind told her to do. A promise she felt she could now do.

Rebuilding society would take time, but if done right…Sapphire smiled to herself on the way to the docks. She could make Sera a better Earth. Prevent human catastrophes and possibly prevent wars with the power she would wield. She would better the social aspect of humanity and the impact humans had on Sera.

Besides, with the state of Sera now, Sapphire found that it would be a long road before Sera would be able to handle more than a million people.

“Hey! There you are,” Baird called from the Eagle, Luke sitting on the hangar. Sapphire smiled at him in greeting. “Got the Eagle rigged up with life jackets. We may or may not need them, so hopefully the Eagle holds up on the way to find this mysterious creature. And you are sure you want to go at night?”

“We might see it better at night,” Sapphire reasoned, passing Baird and climbing into the Eagle. “Besides, the Eagle can give us sonar readings and all that. Got everything ready?”

“Most, but you’re going to have to go through the Eagle’s program. Damn thing will let me tear it apart but not access any additional programming,” Baird said, climbing in after her. “Marcus is getting geared up, just so you know where he is. And Bernie is on her way. Do you have an earpiece?”

“I’m sticking to the Eagle,” Sapphire replied. “We’re just searching for whatever this mysterious creature is. I’m bringing a crew for more eyes and just so I know I’m not going crazy. My PTSD is still an issue.”

“You still have visions,” Baird asked, more out of sarcasm than worry. Sapphire shrugged, patting Luke and whistling. Luke took a seat on one of the chairs, letting Sapphire enter the cockpit. The moment she sat in the chair, the Eagle’s programming turned on.

Sapphire smiled, putting the scale on a ledge next to her as the Eagle greeted her in its robotic voice, “WELCOME, CAPTAIN HAZE.”

“Good to be back,” Sapphire replied, mostly to herself as she accessed the computer system. Baird looked over her shoulder to watch her work. Sapphire explained as she typed out the necessary commands, “Right now, I’m having it check its systems. It’ll take about an hour, but it should be ready by the time we need to go.”

“Good-”

“Sapphire! Are you in there?” Both Baird and Sapphire turned back, hearing Trescu’s voice. Sapphire got out of the chair and pushed Baird out so that she could get out. Right outside of the Eagle, Trescu stood, his seriousness telling Sapphire that something was wrong.

She asked, “Everything okay?”

“One of my men detected a strange transmission near the mainland. Thanks to the transmission center here on Azura, we can pick up more channels away from the island.” Sapphire sat at the edge of the Eagle’s compartment as Trescu spoke, his voice growing quieter now that she was closer. “Some of the Stranded were caught talking on a channel. None we recognize, but it’s what they were talking about.”

“About our mystery creature?”

“Two.”

Sapphire glanced back at Baird with widening eyes before looking back at Trescu, repeating, “Two?”

“Two,” Trescu replied. “The Stranded were in two different places, one in the water and the other on the mainland. The one in the water said that they spotted a strange-glowing creature swimming close to shore, in the deeper part. And they mentioned seeing a ship. So this confirms how close our small ship came to the mainland and on their way back, they got attacked by our mystery creature. Now, the one on the mainland mentioned that there have been no more strange sightings of a creature they would only call a monster. Nothing much there. But they did comment on how strange these creatures are.”

“More of a reason to go after them,” Baird said, hand rising and falling back to his side to prove his point. “Kind of weird how suddenly these things happen after the war is over. Wonder what other shit has been out there while the Locust has been on our ass.”

“We’ll take a look then,” Sapphire told Trescu. “And if there are any more updates, let us know with channel seven. Whatever is happening, we need to get a headstart and not get snuck up on like with Emergence Day.”

“Sounds like a plan,” Trescu agreed, bowing his head to her briefly. “I will keep in touch.”

Sapphire nodded, though her mind was now reeling. Monsters? It couldn’t be remnants of the Locust, right? No, she destroyed the Hivemind so they shouldn’t even be functioning. But they did only mention one monster. The other creature Sapphire hopes is not some monster left over from the Hollows. Whatever it was, this was beginning to grow concerning.

Sapphire checked the Eagle as she waited. By the time the sun was setting, Bernie, Marcus, and Anya approached the Eagle, geared up and ready. Baird greeted them while she was in the cockpit finalizing the tests, “Hey, all! Welcome to the crazy craft! Where we hope you enjoy the whistling views and the potential doom we might face.”

“Smartass,” Bernie scoffed playfully, quickly locking Baird in a headlock. “Still afraid to fly in the skies with Sapphire?”

Baird choked, trying to release himself from Bernie’s hold, but to no avail. When Bernie let him go, he fell back into the Eagle. Anya clicked her tongue, “Now, now. Let’s play nice. Especially on the Eagle.”

“Gettner is ready to take off with us,” Marcus said, loud enough for Sapphire to hear as he climbed in. “She’s ready whenever you are. But she’ll only be with us for about three hours.”

“Thanks, Marcus,” Sapphire called out, getting the green light from the Eagle that all functions were operational. “Strap in and put on those headphones and seatbelts. We are going on an exploration, Gears.”

“Oh, so you thank Marcus but not me,” Baird spat roughly, only to be silenced by Marcus’s stare. “Okay, okay. Fine. I’ll keep my mouth shut. Where’s Cole?”

“With Gettner,” Anya replied. “Couldn’t leave him alone on the ground, right?”

Sapphire smiled, putting on her headphones and flipping on her channel. She checked with Gettner first, “Hey, Gettner. Is your Raven ready to take a joyride?”

“For a few hours, yeah,” Gettner replied through the headset. “It’s weird getting the clearness of your end, Sapphire. It’s unnerving.”

“Can’t help it until Baird fixes it,” Sapphire replied with a smile. People cleared the docks as two engineers waved red lights to them, prepping them for take-off. Next to the Eagle, Sapphire could see from the corner of her eye Gettner’s Raven readying itself, its blades beginning to spin like Sapphire’s circular ones. “Okay, everybody all strapped in and ready?”

“Confirmed,” the group behind Sapphire said in unison.

Sapphire nodded, “Shutting the doors. Keep on Channel seven. Trescu reported potential Stranded interference, and I do not want them to start conspiracies before I have a chance to talk to them. Gettner, the Eagle is ready for take-off.”

“I’ll let you go first, my lady,” Gettner replied. “Geez, Baird is gonna need to install that clearance in this bad girl.”

“You guys are all clear,” Hoffman said in the comms. “Godspeed to you both.”

Sapphire chuckled, nodding as she gently lifted the Eagle off the ground and accelerated the take-off to get ahead. A screen popped up, showing the docks as Gettner’s Raven began to lift off. With both airborne, Sapphire announced in the comms, “All right, Operation Mystery Creature is officially operational. Our main objective is to find out who our mystery creature is by going to the coordinates of where the SOS signal started. Gettner, I need you to be my backup eyes while the Eagle begins its sonar readings.”

“Sonar readings? Oh wait, I forget how stacked your craft is,” Gettner mocked playfully. “What are you exactly going for? I can barely see.”

“Our mystery creature lights up like a christmas tree at night. You can’t miss it if it’s at the surface or near it. I want to make sure that if it's deeper, the Eagle will be able to pick it up and map it. Give us more of a visual if we aren’t able to get photos.”

“Sounds good. We’ll keep a lookout. You can see me, yeah?”

“Yep,” Sapphire replied, the sky darkening as they flew further and further away from Azura. “It might be better to keep your light off. Don’t know if this thing will jump out so also stay as high as twenty-five yards.”

“Little high, don’t you think,” Anya asked.

“A Leviathan can catch a Raven at twenty,” Sapphire reminded gently. “And I really don’t want to lose a Raven on a test drive.”

“I would prefer you keep that thing together, please,” Baird said through the comms.

“Oh, did Baird just say please,” Gettner teased. “How sweet.”

Before Baird could cut back, Sapphire intercepted his potential snapback, “Okay, Gettner, starting sonar now.”

Sapphire turned on the system panel, tapping on the sonar button. The Eagle confirmed the action with a check mark at the other end and another screen popping up to her left, showing the data being downloaded and its usage. Slowly, the Eagle descended, creating the perfect sonar distance to accurately map out Sera’s ocean. Sapphire couldn’t hear the others converse, but she knew it might be because they turned off their channels to her. She needed the quiet.

For the first hour, nothing happened. Just darkness and glimmers of the ocean as waves coursed under them.

Heading to the SOS signal didn’t come without result however. Sapphire was getting a map reading of Sera’s ocean, especially with the direction the ship went. There was some deep water they were going through in the second half of the hour. Almost abyssal with how deep it was. And as they approached the SOS signal closer to the mainland, the depth made a slight weird decrease in the mapping unit before the map’s sloping ascended.

Sapphire watched the data with a keen eye, thinking back to when she was in college. Gosh, it had been so long. It made her wonder why she went back to the military with her degree. She probably would have found more success in that field. But competing with so many, it would take years for Sapphire to find the perfect job. Here, she could analyze the data in real time and not be bombarded with test questions.

She should have pursued her master’s…

Sapphire was beginning to wonder where the mystery creature was as they came upon and passed the SOS signal. Aside from weird depth decrease before the slopes ascended in the mapping unit, there was nothing that screamed abnormal.

Until Gettner reported from her right, “Hey, Sapphire. Look at your 11 o’clock.”

Sapphire turned, seeing something in the distance. She raised the Eagle slightly, continuing her sonar as she and Gettner steered towards the object. Without their lights on, Sapphire could see what Gettner saw. Something was in the water. A dark shape that didn’t belong there.

Gettner asked Sapphire, “Mind if we turn on the lights?”

“Turn them on,” Sapphire replied, turning her lights on. Gettner’s did at the same time, revealing what the object was. It was a bloated Leviathan, long since dead.

Gettner then asked, “Seems to have been dead for a few days. Probably from the countermeasure.”

“Probably,” Sapphire replied. The Leviathan was pretty scratched up from the shine of their lights, but it could have been torn up by a potentially underwater cyclone. Like the one the submarine had went through. The sonar pinged the object and registered it as a Leviathan shape in the mapping system. Not a moment later, it was outlined and the mapping system blanked it out as ‘deceased’. “Kind of weird that it's still floating-”

Something alarmed on her screen and Sapphire looked, eyes widening as the mapping unit warned her in big letters ‘POTENTIAL THREAT’. She warned Gettner quickly, “Gettner! Get back!”

Suddenly a light glow could be seen under the Leviathan seconds before the deceased Leviathan was lifted out of the water by a pair of jaws. It was nothing Sapphire had ever seen as she pulled the Eagle back, Gettner narrowly avoiding the creature that rose up from the water. Their lights hit scales, dull in their lights until the creature descended back down in the water. Out of the lights, the ocean began to glow where the creature’s body slid as it flanked the ocean, jaws clamped on the Leviathan.

Her breath was caught in her throat as Sapphire watched the elongated creatures slowly shake its head, its teeth crunching through the Leviathan's body like a shark on a dead whale carcass. Except the shark is much bigger than the whale carcass.

It was silent, except for the soft grumble of the creature as it tore apart the Leviathan’s body, consuming most of it. It rounded slowly, just like a killer whale turning in the water, to grab the last piece. The quickness it displayed just seconds ago was gone, leaving a creature that was slow and flexible as it turned more than a normal large animal should.

Finally, Gettner whispered into the comms, “What. The. Fuck. Is that?”

Sapphire hesitated, watching as it stayed surfaced, head moving as it consumed the last part of the Leviathan. With a low whisper, Sapphire told Gettner, “Kill your lights.”

“What?”

“Turn off your lights. Now.”

Raven and Eagle turned off their lights. And for a moment, their eyes needed to adjust before the creature came back into view, glowing like a glowstick. It’s blue pattern shined as it stayed surfaced, the part remaining in the water glowing. Sapphire reached back, grabbing the clothed scale and revealing it to compare.

Sapphire stared.

“Hey, biologist,” Bernie spoke up in the comms. “Have any idea what the fuck that is?”

Sapphire didn’t want to answer, the creature slowly disappearing into the depths, leaving on a glow until that too disappeared. The alarm on the mapping unit and sonar screen stopped, leaving behind a particular data file for Sapphire to look at later. Everything was recorded.

But Sapphire couldn’t believe it until she said out loud, “Our mystery creature.”

Chapter Text

Sapphire sat quietly in Adam Fenix’s office, staring up at the board. Well, not the board with the secret project, but she had copied down what was on the board with the countermeasure on it before erasing it and replacing it with photos printed from the Azura transmission center and the hard drive taped to the board. It had been a day since she and Gettner returned from their mission.

She was surprised that they even found the mystery creature so quickly. With how big Sera was, realistically they never should have encountered it again until a long while. To the others, this seemed impossible.

But at the same time, Sapphire only had one answer for why they encountered it so quickly: It was a local.

And with the help of slowed down footage through the Eagle’s system, there was a newly printed photo of the creature’s eye on the board. But there was a catch. Where an eye should have been was completely gone. And relooking the footage of it eating the carcass, it didn’t have eyes on either side. She had reviewed the footage over and over, taking in as much detail as she could. And looking at the photo where the ship’s damage was documented, Sapphire came up with a theory.

The creature was completely blind, but it used echolocation, but couldn’t be picked up by sonar. And the sonar didn’t pick it up because it was deep. The weird places where the depth seemed to decrease was probably the creature, hunting for something in the water. Or wondering what was above it by observation. The ship was in the deepest part in the way between Azura and the mainland, meaning this creature had come rushing up from there.

But something veered it off course. The angle of the ship’s damage showed that it hit the pointed edge of the hull before it veered off, dealing damage as it was thrown off course. And at the time, the ship had not been using their sonar, as it had not worked in years.

Lucky for them, it realized its mistake with the ship, realizing it wasn’t food.

But unlucky for them, it might happen again since it was blind. And it was huge.

Nobody, not even Hoffman or Trescu, had a clue what this creature was. Nobody knew a common name, nobody had legends tied to it, and everybody was caught by surprise with its presence. And the bioluminescence didn’t make sense. Sure, it hunted in the deep, but why glow? A hunter would be given away and evolution would see to it that this creature did not make it to that size.

Sapphire stared at the board, unsure of what to do. The scale laid on the desk next to her. Another strange thing was that she heard the lullaby briefly before touching the scale. But didn’t hear it with this creature even as it approached. And the only theory she had for that one is that it controls its song, just like every other living thing. The scale had been a message.

For her? She wasn’t sure.

Finally, after staring at the board for nearly three hours, Sapphire sighed heavily in frustration. She was missing something. Missing some piece of the puzzle that she needed to grasp. Just one more piece. One more piece to solve the puzzle.

Something was happening on Sera. Sapphire could feel it. And unfortunately, Valkyrie’s silence wasn’t helping. She was left stuck in one place, stuck in this puzzle for two years with all its evidence piled into this one room. For once, she had the time to figure it out.

But things kept getting more and more complicated.

A knock sounded at the door and Sapphire groaned softly, replying, “Come in.”

She didn’t turn the chair around as she rubbed her face, continuing with a sigh, “Did you bring some beer with you, Marcus? Cause it would really help…”

“Wish I was Marcus then.” Sapphire perked up at the sound of Anya. She turned her chair to find the woman approaching the desk, carrying some papers under one arm. She smiled politely as she walked, continuing. “He got pulled into helping at the docks with pulling that ship out of the water long enough to get looked at.”

She looked up, seeing the board and her smile died just a bit, “How long have you been looking at this?”

“Almost three hours if I’m remembering time right,” Sapphire replied, leaning back into the chair. She raised a hand to her temple, rubbing circles slowly. “Nobody has ever seen such a creature. Nor did anybody have any other information than just that it’s a monster. But I don’t think it’s threatening, though that will require some tests.”

Anya hummed, setting the papers down slowly, “Sounds like you have another project to work on. Or I can work on finding somebody for you to assist.”

“I’ll wait on that offer,” Sapphire said almost immediately. She had a feeling this monster was connected to the puzzle. “Any news?”

Anya leaned on the desk as Sapphire turned back to the board, “Nothing new at this moment. But Trescu is asking Hoffman to send one of the Ravens to the mainland to find whatever creature the Stranded were talking about. It’s got him shaken up a little.”

“Probably because it’s something new,” Sapphire replied, leaning forward in her chair as she scrutinized the board. “And I get his fear. Something is changing on Sera, I’m afraid. The world we knew is gone, replaced by the shell that is barely a planet.”

“What do you mean?” Anya’s confusion was understandable. She couldn’t quite grasp the severe state the world was in. Sapphire got up from her chair and grabbed one of the books from the shelf. Adam had written notes about the lambency and its biology, including what it does to Sera’s environment.

“According to Dr. Fenix, the absence of lambency has a few planet side effects,” Sapphire explained, reading the notes as she continued. “Potential sudden climate change, increase in fissures on Sera’s crust, terrain changes, and limited shelters for humanity above ground.”

Anya whistled a sigh, “Wow. That sounds like a lot.”

“Yeah, and that’s only what he theorized,” Sapphire agreed, looking over at the monster on the board. A thought occurred to Sapphire as she stared up at the board, raising an eyebrow at seeing the monster’s physical features and how flexible it was. How could this thing, that’s blind, remain local but never be seen until now? The oceans didn’t change that much, did they?

The only place it could hide-

“Anyways,” Anya interrupted, tapping on the papers. “I decided to take it upon myself to print more of the data from the Eagle. Maybe find a route to the mainland without running into that creature. A path where it's shallower and where we can’t be snuck up on. And I also included papers about the Research Commander position.”

Sapphire looked over at Anya, eyes wide and eyebrows raised, “Uh…you still consider me for that position?”

Anya shrugged sheepishly before gesturing to the board, “You kind of already doing what the position will have you do. But you haven’t slept on it yet. Marcus told me that you didn’t sleep at all when you guys got back.”

Sapphire sighed, sitting back down in the chair and turning to the desk and the stack of papers. Sapphire grabbed a piece of paper and looked at it. It was the depth graph data the Eagle’s sonar picked up. Anya continued softly, “But you look like you need the sleep. This can wait until you get some.”

“Thank you, Anya,” Sapphire said. “I’ll consider getting some sleep…once I’ve looked over a few of these papers. See what these hold.”

“If you say so,” Anya shrugged, then put a soft hand on Sapphire’s shoulder. “You’re doing good. And just know we’re here to help.”

Sapphire nodded, hearing Anya’s footsteps reach the door and exit the room. When the door closed softly behind Anya, Sapphire put the paper down and held her head in her hands. This puzzle was going to give her grey hairs if she didn’t figure out what the hell was going on. The Titans gave her a cryptic task, one that she thought was only the opportunity of being the Research Commander. But at the same time, this was happening.

Sapphire’s eyes slowly glossed over the stack of papers, finding one near the bottom with bold letters that began with RESEARCH. She grabbed it and pulled it out from the stack, holding it out in front of her. It was like Anya said, a list of duties and resources as a Research Commander. A chance for growth. A chance for change.

A chance for power to control the future.

Sapphire didn’t remember much of Gears 4 and 5. She didn’t even know what occurred in the 25 years that happened between Gears 3 and Gears 4. So the chance to control the future was basically a russian roulette game. And a risk she wasn’t willing to take if the Titans threw several factors in her way.

Maybe Valkyrie could help?

The Titan parasite had been quiet since the end of the Locust War. Sapphire remembered Valkyrie trying to help her control her telepathy powers against the Locust Queen’s bug, but Sapphire was too weak. And Sapphire knew Valkyrie didn’t just disappear.

Sapphire began to look through the papers, her thoughts a jumble as she tried to keep all the evidence piled into their respective categories. Her focus didn’t feel faded or misguided, not realizing she was nodding off as she slowly descended on the desk, continuing to look at papers.

When she woke up, she found herself covered by a blanket and could hear a page turning. Sapphire sat up, rubbing her face with a yawn. She heard Marcus say from nearby, “Ready to get up from your nap?”

“How long was I out,” Sapphire asked instead, letting her eyes adjust to the room. “And more importantly, did you find any leads on the mystery creature of the puzzle?”

“First, you’ve been out for a few hours and second…Nothing yet,” Marcus replied. “Though you’d be interested to find out how my father knew about Valkyrie.”

“Oh,” Sapphire hummed, seeing Marcus sitting on a spare chair against the wall. He was reading the journal from Dr. Niles. “What did you find out?”

“Seems like Dr. Niles knew about Valkyrie,” Marcus replied, continuing as his eyes looked over at her, snapping the book closed. “Even before my father did. Back when Dr. Niles experimented with Rustlung, trying to find a cure. Valkyrie took over that child in that picture. From what he writes, he noticed the boy in the most recent group was acting off. Quiet, observant, and anything that a child shouldn’t have in terms of intelligence. Mood changes, calculating risks, and reacts to certain situations in a psychopathic tendencies. Didn’t even make friends with his group much…except Myrrah.”

“Myrrah? What does she have to do with this?”

“Don’t know. Everything relating to her has been ripped out. But Myrrah and Dr. Niles knew each other. And Valkyrie knew them both. They had a past with each other. Dr. Niles did a deep dive on Valkyrie and found some records from back when we still had archives. Apparently, Valkyrie was a vocal parasite way back when. At least in the few records she’s recorded. But those, for some reasons, were restricted by the government or labeled as false by archivists. He theorized that Valkyrie had something to do with both, keeping herself a secret after realizing nobody would listen to her and whatever warnings she had. Dr. Niles didn’t have time to look over the records before the Rustlung project got in the way.”

“So Valkyrie’s past hosts…did she say anything about her past to you, Marcus?”

“Aside from her having children as her hosts. Back in the lab, she mentioned how she preferred a child host. With the veil of innocence, I presume. But she tried to escape with Myrrah, but just as they were about to be captured, Valkyrie tried to kill Myrrah. Dr. Niles theorized that Valkyrie manipulated her child host to take Myrrah somewhere to be killed, though for what reason, it isn’t said. Like Dr. Niles didn’t want it on record. But I find it interesting that my father got a hold of Dr. Niles’s journal. At the same time though, I think this was what Valkyrie was trying to find in Dr. Niles’s lab…where we found you after we killed that Riftworm.”

Sapphire hummed. She didn’t expect this. This was all new information about Valkyrie. Her, Dr. Niles, and Myrrah had a past. A past that Sapphire knew Valkyrie would not delve into, especially since she’s been so quiet and unreachable to Sapphire. With a sigh, Sapphire asked Marcus, “Anything else?”

“Aside from that, nothing else. Aside from Dr. Niles’s theories on who Valkyrie is. Definitely a parasite though.”

“If I could hear her, she would probably be angered by that comment.” Marcus perked up at this, giving Sapphire a strange look. She realized quickly the reason why, sitting up and crossing her arms on her chest. “I haven’t heard a breath of her since the countermeasure launched. I don’t know if she disappeared like the Lambency or is just thinking her job is done and doesn’t want to meddle further in my problems. And it’s been so silent in my head that it’s almost dizzying.”

“Really,” Marcus asked, sounding perplexed. “You haven’t heard any lullabies or anything?”

“Well, there was this strange, holy lullaby with the scale right before I touched it, but I didn’t feel it from the creature when we encountered it. I wonder if the Titanmind’s song is everywhere and so vast that I can no longer pinpoint it like with the other Hiveminds or my brain troubles are over. I hope it’s either.”

Sapphire could see the relief in Marcus’s eyes, and his relaxing shoulders. She didn’t realize he had gotten tense upon the mention of Valkyrie. A strange stab of guilt hit her as she realized why he tensed up. Valkyrie did try to kill him the last time they met. But before she could even think to apologize, Marcus said firmly, “Nothing Valkyrie did reflects badly on you, Sapphire. I’m just glad you aren’t bombarded like you were during the war. I’m…relieved that you are finding peace.”

“Not really with all this going on, but thanks for the reassurance,” Sapphire replied.

Suddenly, there was a knock at the door. Marcus quickly slid the journal her way so that Sapphire could put the journal in the drawer moments before she called out, “Come in.”

The door opened and Sapphire found herself surprised to see Hoffman, Anya, and Trescu. They looked a little rugged and Sapphire could sense that they had some news to share. With a sigh, Sapphire folded her arms on the desk while Marcus stood up from his spare chair. Hoffman was the first to greet, “Haze, Fenix, glad you are both here. We got something you might want to hear.”

“Oh,” Sapphire hummed, folding her hands so she could rest her chin on them to hold herself up. “And what else is going on? Some new problem? Something that can help with this godforsaken project that’s becoming more and more concerning?”

“Unfortunately, both,” Trescu replied before Hoffman or Anya could. He stepped forward, continuing. “I sent a Raven to the mainland to see this creature we’ve been hearing on the radio…and they came back with something strange.”

Anya came forward, laying a photo image on the desk. Marcus and Sapphire peered down at it. Sapphire’s eyes could see the edges of ruined buildings and something that stuck out like a sore thumb. It looked like it was walking somewhere, an elongated green body. And it was distinctly a creature. Sapphire looked up from the image and asked, “Where was this taken?”

“Near one of the Stranded camps. Seems to be their creature. Didn’t even seem bothered by the Raven, according to my men,” Trescu replied. “And it wasn’t alone. My men found four more like it. Just walking around. And that’s not all.”

“Since we’ve been dumping Locust bodies in certain deep places, some reports have come in about strange markings on recently dumped bodies. Here on Azura,” Anya spoke up. “And it can’t have been any animal we’ve ever seen before. Those bodies are crystalized. Nothing should be able to make those markings.”

Anya laid down another photo, taken of a Locust body. Sapphire had not seen one since waking up, since they were cleaned up from the area quickly. But the skin was indeed crystalized, except as Anya said, there were indeed deep scratch marks that the photo could make out. Sapphire eyed both photos, now growing more concerned.

“These…shit this will have to be their own investigations,” Sapphire replied, leaning back. “I’ll look into it. See what I can find while you guys continue trying to find ways to get back to the mainland.”

“But you will need help, Sapphire,” Anya pointed out. “You can’t investigate these all by yourself. We have the manpower now. And I don’t think the Gorsani will refuse a chance to help you, right Trescu?”

“That is true,” Trescu replied. “And I think a visit to the Stranded will be needed. You can draw information out of them better than anybody. I wouldn’t be surprised if you managed to convince a bastard to drink poison if you asked them too.”

Sapphire sighed, pinching the bridge of her nose. Yeah, something definitely strange was happening. Something she didn’t expect nor could figure out. Marcus was quick to notice this, speaking up, “Maybe a night’s rest will do everybody good. It’s been a stressful day already after such a long night. I think it’s best we all meet up with people to come up with a game plan. And convince this one to rest and plan tomorrow since we finally have one.”

“But-” Trescu was about to protest, but Anya was quick to interrupt him with a shake of her head.

“Marcus is right. Sapphire needs rest, despite her clean bill of health from the medic last week. Besides, I can continue investigating whatever is going on with the Locust bodies today. Tomorrow, we meet back up. Sounds good?”

Hoffman nodded, “I’ll go with you then, Anya. Hopefully find more information if we investigate further. Trescu, tells the crew on that Raven not to say a damn word when they get back. Or they’ll answer you and I.”

Trescu sighed, nodding. But before he could turn away, he told Sapphire in Dutch, “Something troubles you, Huntress. Anything we should be concerned about?”

Sapphire stared at Trescu for a heartbeat before replying in Dutch, “No. It could be that we are encountering changes in Sera’s ecosystem. Nothing more.”

Trescu didn’t seem to believe her, but simply nodded. Marcus turned to Sapphire, telling her, “You need to get to an actual bed. You already look like hell.”

“And you look handsome,” Sapphire replied back as soon as the door closed behind the trio. She looked down at the photos. “Though, this is beginning to bother me.”

“Why don’t we go back to the hotel room? You need to rest,” Marcus said softly. So softly that it was almost a whisper. He set a tender hand on her shoulder. “I know it’s been a difficult few days, but I don’t want you to ruin yourself over this.”

Sapphire hummed in acknowledgement, staring at the photos. Marcus was right. She was becoming obsessed with this. She stood up and both her and Marcus retreated back to their hotel room. Luckily, they didn’t encounter any of their friends as they walked. And Sapphire was glad as she felt sleep beginning to threaten her walk.

By the time they got to their room, Sapphire immediately fell onto the bed with a dramatic sigh. Marcus huffed a chuckle, taking off her shoes for her before taking the blanket and covering her. As he tucked her in, she chuckled, feeling sleep dragging her deeper into the darkness, “Aw, look at you. Being a big papa bear.”

Marcus hummed, “Not in a thousand years. Just making sure you don’t kill yourself like during the war.”

“I should be saying that to you,” Sapphire replied, eyes cracking open to see him crouching beside the bed. “I see you aren’t going to join me.”

“I might be needed back down at the docks,” Marcus replied, taking her hand lying closest to him. He held it gently, like her hand would break if he tried squeezing. “I want to do my best to make sure you don’t suffer alone. Especially up here.”

Marcus tapped his temple at his words and Sapphire got his meaning. She smiled, giving his hand a squeeze, “I don’t think we’ll have that particular problem anymore. Just stay safe out there. It would really suck if something happened to you right after we won.”

“Don’t jinx it,” Marcus replied before leaning forward. He lightly kissed her temple before standing up. Sapphire didn’t stay awake, falling asleep before she could register the sound of a door.

Her dreamless sleep was bliss compared to the past two years. But unfortunately, her mind began to roar to life as she took a deep breath, opening her eyes to a dusk-filled room. Night was fast approaching and Sapphire knew her sleep cycle had been ruined, but as she opened her eyes to the falling sun’s rays, something occurred to her.

A connection she should have picked up earlier.

“...they will bring the past with them.”

The Way to the Future.

Both Adam and Marcus’s mother talked of timelines. Sapphire hadn’t looked into his mother’s work yet.

Getting up out of bed and getting her shoes on, Sapphire quietly left the room, heading straight back to the tower. She avoided anybody she knew, not wanting them to worry over her appearance. And she didn’t want people to stop her as she made her way back to the office.

As soon as she did, she locked the door and beelined to the desk. Opening the drawer, Sapphire grabbed Marcus’s mother’s journal. She opened it, finding the handwriting somewhat faded, but still eligible. Sapphire sat on the office chair, beginning to read the faded pages in the dying light.

The beginning of the journal was mostly jumbled about the Lambency and its potential. And there were some notes about the Hollows. How life originated from the Hollows, or at least it's believed by the Locust, who she overheard on some of her expeditions while she avoided the Locust. Sapphire wondered if maybe she made the wrong connection as she got to the middle of the journal, the darkening sky no longer helping her troubles.

But when she turned just past the middle of the journal, she stopped.

Right there, on the page, was a very old photograph and a sketch below Sapphire hadn’t seen before. It was a cave painting, with an image that was familiar to Sapphire. A fish under a mountain. But it was not alone. No, it was a whole map. The cave painting had the fish symbol in the center, but surrounding it, connected by carved lines, were other symbols. There were so many, but the way they were was odd. It wasn’t a completely circular graph. It was scattered, almost like it was mapping out something.

Then, Sapphire looked below the graph, seeing the writing describing the graph.

‘Found this while searching the Hollows for more Lambent specimens. It appears that the Locust were right about something. The Locust were not the first to be here. This looks to be a map with strange symbols, carved in a way I have never seen before. It looks disorganized but that would require further research.’

Disorganized wasn’t what Sapphire would say, continuing to the next few pages. Just theories of what these symbols could mean from the perspective of Mrs. Fenix.

But then, Sapphire turned a page that once again got her to pause.

It was a sketch of what looked to be dinosaur bones of a therapod, with a description saying the sketch was made from the sighting of a dinosaur carcass found in the Hollows. But it was what was written underneath as notes that had Sapphire pausing.

‘I have seen many bones in my life. From modern day animals to the dinosaurs of the past. And while I don’t find it too odd that I found this skeleton in the Hollows, I did find it odd how close it was to Imulsion without any decomposition or any decaying signs. Could this be the proof needed to say that the Imulsion isn’t like fossil fuels? Born from the fossils of creatures as previously believed?’

Sapphire’s eyes widened as she slowly turned to the photos. Then, she turned her chair around and stared at the photos of the mysterious creature.

And slowly, Sapphire turned the board back to the large puzzle made. She looked at the pins, the circles, the notes, anything.

She turned the pages back to the map sketched out and Sapphire held the map up to side the map on the board.

And there. Every circle where Imulsion was sighted but no fossils were found made the belief that Imulsion was a form of fossil fuels. Sapphire would have disagreed, but that is not what caused her eyes to widen as she stared in astonishment at the two maps side by side.

Each circle matched up with the symbols.

Where Imulsion was found, these symbols were either consumed by it or underneath it. Symbols representing something unknown that has yet to show itself.

Sapphire sat back down on the office chair in disbelief, the journal falling to the floor on its front. The Imulsion wasn’t a result of decomposed fossil fuels. Now…because there were no fossils to begin with. Somehow, these symbols meant Titans were in those areas, protected by temples.

Temples that had creatures in them from the time those very Titans came from.

Sapphire looked down at the journal, seeing that it was flipped onto its last page. She leaned forward and grabbed it, seeing the last entry of Marcus’s mother in the journal.

‘I met someone today in the Hollows. They call themselves the Grey One. He was different from any other creature I’ve seen. So much like us, but not. Not human but not animal either. He told me that one day, humanity will regret burying the past. I do not know what he means, but maybe my theory that there once was a civilization in the Hollows appears to be more true than yesterday. I hope to meet him tomorrow, so I can ask all my questions. Might need to bring a new journal for this wonderful expedition to a new discovery!’

Sapphire stared at the last entry.

Slowly, Sapphire stared up at the board, wondering if she was finally on the right track. Did she finally solve this puzzle? Solve the greatest mystery in her two years of being on Sera?

Sera was going through a change. One that humanity wasn’t prepared for. With the planet no longer carrying billions of people, and freeing up the lands for grabs to the few thousands that remained, something was coming in. Something that had not been seen in millions of years.

Sapphire realized then that Adam figured out that once the Immulsion was gone, the Titans would want to rebuild.

And that meant bringing the past, free of pollution and Immulsion, to the surface in a method Sapphire did not expect. The Titans had held their past with them in their temples. And with the Imulsion gone…

The past was coming back to reclaim what was once theirs.

A new era was coming to Sera. One nobody could ever imagine could happen.

Chapter Text

Gabriel Diaz couldn’t remember a time of long-lasting peace. Not since he was drafted and served in the Pendulum Wars, turning into an engineer afterwards just before E-Day happened. He never could have guessed how things would turn out with the Locust War over, but since becoming a leader of his band of misfits, Gabriel didn’t see anything but taking care of his group in the aftermath.

And it was strange.

It had been nearly six months since the Locust dropped dead during an attack on his group. While he obtained losses, he couldn’t help but wonder what happened. Fortunately, he didn’t have to wait long. Rumors amongst the Stranded reached his group that the COG had succeeded in eliminating both Lambent and Locust threat. Thanks to the work of Delta Squad and the Huntress.

Gabriel knew who led Delta Squad, the war hero of Aspho Fields, Marcus Fenix. He figured that man would be brave enough to get to the center of the problem and hit it as hard as he could. He had also heard the rumor that Fenix and the Huntress were involved in some way, according to the Stranded that Gabriel and his group encountered.

Now, the Huntress was another story. More of a legend.

The Stranded who survived the Hollows, captured by the Locust, and the ones from Vectes had tales that sounded outlandish to Gabriel when he first heard about it. The Huntress considered herself a neutral party, someone who tended to think for both sides and find a solution. The most Gabriel could get as a description was that she was a woman with a tattooed arm of a dragon, that hid the scars she obtained down in the Hollows. He needed to know in case she approached them first, as many Stranded have already claimed she had.

Two months after the Locust War officially ended, Gabriel and his group found their new home to settle into. It wasn’t to any old COG settlement, but it was in an area Gabriel saw promise in, one that he hoped to grow out of that Stranded labeling and into a new label, Outsiders. The forests recovered quickly since the Lambency was eradicated, faster than Gabriel thought possible, but that would remain a mystery for another day.

Then, four months after the war ended, Gabriel heard from other Stranded that settled that a new organization was being passed around. And that they were being approached by the Huntress via the radio. According to the few Stranded Gabriel kept in contact with during daily trade-offs, the Huntress had created something to help all of humanity. An organization called the Research Commission. She had explained to them that the Research Commission was here to help and that if anybody encountered a problem with another party, she could help. And if they ran into something problematic, and in her words, like a monster species, to contact her via the radio.

It was too good to be true, this Research Commission. It was still a mystery organization and aside from the Huntress extending a hand to help, nobody knew what it was for. Just that it was a peaceful organization dedicated to world peace and networking between countries that rose during the aftermath of the war. Gabriel wouldn’t believe it until he saw it at work for himself. And when he meets this legendary Huntress.

But for now, he himself was dealing with his own problems. Aside from settling in their new home, the COG was moving back in near Old Erytha. He didn’t want to believe it, but he had no choice but to accept that the COG didn’t die with everything else. He knew that if some higher up survived, it would come right back.

And his people were disappearing.

At first, it was a gatherer who was out collecting edible veggies in the forest.

Then, it was a hunter.

And now, a child has gone missing.

Now, six months after the war, he was on a trail, following a trail of blood leading away from his settlement. It was too much blood to be a child so Gabriel hoped it wasn’t the source of the blood he followed with four of his soldiers. He was slow, cautious as he trailed after the blood through the oaks of the forest.

Soon, he and the search party found themselves approaching a clearing, one that had an old, rusty vehicle tipped over on its back. The wind howled around them, the sun going down with the birdsong. Gabriel held his Lancer close as they made their approach to the clearing, eyes scanning the clearing for any movement.

It smelled strongly of cinnamon, something Gabriel found odd. He barely recognized the scent, but it was there. Holding his Lancer up, he gestured to the others to fan out in a line and to keep alert. He felt like something was watching him. Lying in wait in the dark.

Suddenly, he heard twigs snapping.

He and the others rose their Lancers up. Ahead, a shape appeared behind the car, one with antlers and it froze upon seeing them as soon as it stopped just on top of the car.

It was a deer.

A buck to be exact.

It froze upon seeing the line of people, its eyes wide and crazed. Its tail was up, something Gabriel recongized it was alarmed by something. And from its panicked look and the way it approached them, it had just run from something.

But the deer had a chance to jump off the car and run, a massive shape bounded through the forest and out of the trees. It was so quick that Gabriel and his group automatically stepped back. Blood flew as the deer let out a blood-curdling shriek, only to be cut off by the sound of bone crunching. The deer went limp, the car now accompanied by a massive creature Gabriel had never seen before.

Gabriel froze, his eyes meeting blood-red eyes that stared at him with narrowed pupils. The creature was slender in form, with long claws that gripped the car tightly as its narrow head scanned the line. Its dark blue feathers covered most of its body except the bottom half of its head and its belly, instead covered by a lighter blue set of scales. It stared at them, the size of a draft horse as it kept the deer in its mouth.

Slowly, it raised its head and dropped the deer, letting its body fall limply onto the rusted car. Gabriel had no time to say any commands as the creature let out a roar, the air vibrating as it turned its body towards them.

All he could manage to say in the moment as he aimed his Lancer at the creature, “Hold the line!”

With Lancers raised, the creature’s tail lifted, spreading out and shaking its tail like a peacock’s tail feathers, its feathers puffing up around its body.

It looked ready to charge as its tail lowered, feathers still puffed out as it lowered its body to pounce. But just as it was about to charge, it suddenly stopped, seconds before something hit its face. Shrieking, it reared up, clawing at its face. Gabriel could barely see what was on its face before he caught the light colored feathers of an arrow.

And a blinking dot.

“Take cover!”

Gabriel and the others bolted, just in time for a massive boom to fill the forest, the creature shrieks becoming gurgles. When they stopped to look back, the creature’s attention was somewhere else to their left, half of its face gone.

“Told you to stay in your forest, you little shit.”

To Gabriel’s surprise, a woman walked out of the undergrowth, carrying a bow in hand and another arrow ready. The creature snarled, or as much as it could with blood pouring from its missing face. It charged, leaping off the car and towards the woman, gurgling out in fury.

“Fine. You asked for it.” The woman let the arrow fly. Where it hit, Gabriel couldn’t see, but the creature fell down, falling just at her side. With a sigh, the woman sheathed her bow, cursing at it with a sigh. “Damn things never get the warnings.”

Gabriel watched as the woman called out behind her, “Got it. Bring the King Raven in.”

“You know, you could have at least waited,” a new voice said sarcastically. Gabriel’s chest tightened as what looked to be three Gears in full COG armor came out of the forest. A blond-haired Gear rolled his eyes upon seeing the dead creature, giving it a kick. “How are we gonna observe this with half of its face missing?”

“We still have the organs, a damaged brain, and enough scales and feathers,” the woman replied. Gabriel stared as one of the Gears spotted them, gesturing to them.

“Hey! Who's that over there,” the Gear asked, a man with dreadlocks tight against his head. “They got some COG gear.”

The woman turned, the third nudging the second with a growl, “Come on, seriously, Jace? You got to be nicer to the locals.”

“I will, Carmine, once they stop shooting at us on sight.”

“Quiet,” the woman snapped sharply, glancing back at them as she began to approach Gabriel and his group. She then turned back to them, a smile replacing the scowl quicker than Gabriel could blink. “Apologies for the scare. We’ve been after that one for a while. Luckily for you, we were close by.”

“Um…Who are you? And what the hell was that that you just put down,” Gabriel asked, eyes wide. “I would like to also know why COG are here. Thought they would be too busy building up their empire.”

“Okay, okay, slow down, homer,” the woman said, raising her hands and gesturing to him to calm down. As she did this, Gabriel saw the arm with a tattoo.

A dragon tattoo.

Add that with a bow… “You’re the Huntress.”

Hearing the title, the woman rolled her eyes, sighing out, “Yeah. I still need to get used to that. Anyways, I’ll answer your questions one at a time.”

Behind her, the blond Gear turned and was talking with two fingers on their ear. The woman continued, “Let me guess, you saw a trail of blood and followed it because you have missing people, correct?”

At the question, Gabriel nodded, “Yeah…how did you know?”

“We’ve faced it before. That creature did that on purpose, to draw someone away to investigate. Though I don’t think it expected you to come alone. Well, guess it makes sense considering how old that male is.”

“Hold on,” Gabriel interrupted, waving a hand to the woman. “Can we start from the beginning? Like what that thing is, how do you know why we’re here…”

“Oh, right,” the Huntress chuckled, shaking her head. “Marcus always said I like to get ahead of myself when it comes to being a biologist. But to start, what you just faced is called a Scavenger. More specifically, a male of a female we have been tracking for a while now. The only monster species that actively hunts humans. The male has been collecting food for the female, hence it was hunting the deer while also waiting for its next victim. But it would have slaughtered all of you if you didn't have someone stealthy watching. Like me.”

Gabriel hummed, hearing a small noise above. It was like a low beat of a drum. He looked up, eyes widening as an aircraft he had never seen appeared in the sky. The trees began to move slightly as the aircraft stopped, a bag dropped out of the open cargo hangar. A net dropped next to the dead creature, the three Gears already on getting it under the creature and hooked up.

He must have been staring because the woman continued with a chuckle, “Yeah, the Eagle tends to surprise people with how quiet it is. We’ll take the Scavenger’s body out of here. Lucky for you, the female shouldn’t be a problem for another two months. And we’ll be taking care of that as the Research Commission.”

“So…now that you’ve ‘saved’ us, could you help us find a child?” At Gabriel’s question, the excited grin faded, replaced by a deep frown. He already knew that look. “The kid has to be alive. They only disappeared recently.”

The woman seemed hesitant on replying, eyes on the working Gears. Then, she turned away, putting two fingers to her ear, “Hey, Marcus, did you talk to Baird?...Yeah, we ran into some Stranded. They say there’s a kid missing, and possibly others. Any leads on that nest?...copy that.”

She turned to them, her face grim, “I don’t know if the kid is alive or not. But we have a lead and Marcus is checking in on it. If it's the nest, they’ll find the missing people, dead or alive.”

“Why not just tell us,” Gabriel demanded lightly. He took a step towards the woman, anger rising. “Why not send us instead?”

“Hey!” One of the Gears saw Gabriel’s approach and went to get to the woman’s side. The woman held a hand up to the Gear, stopping them before they reached the pair.

“Because the Research Commission knows what they’re doing,” the woman said in a low, dangerous tone. “I made a team specifically to deal with Scavengers. This is not the first time nor will this be the last time. They will do their job and you will hear the result tomorrow via the radio. If you interfere, you will get killed.”

The woman made a turn to walk towards the Gears when Gabriel cut her off, “I am not going to sit by the radio and wait for your team to respond. You have Gears with you, meaning you are part of the COG. I thought the Research Commission was independent. Seems to me that you have been lying to the Stranded.”

The woman stopped, her face hidden for a brief moment before she turned. She said in a fake smile, “Now, now. Let’s not start throwing around false information. The Research Commission is independent, for a few weeks. The organization was funded by the COG but I lead it. And I am not COG. I am not Stranded. I am not UIR. The Gears with me are volunteering their time, as part of the Research Commission’s new ADT, or Alliance and Defense Training. Under my direction, they are not restricted by COG but are free to continue their practice as long as it doesn’t violate the ADT rules.”

Clapping her hands once, the woman continued, “With that out of the way, are you good to be left alone and not go after my people?”

“Your people,” Gabriel scoffed. “Claims not to be COG but yet has three of them. And probably one up there.”

He pointed to the Eagle, still hovering. The woman chuckled, shaking her head, “Nobody is in there. But I can see you aren’t satisfied with my explanation so…”

The woman went quiet, thinking for a long moment before something in her eyes sparkled, an idea brightening in her head, “Ah! I have an idea. How about the Gears take this Scavenger and the Eagle, and I get to spend the night with you lovely people?”

“Sapphire,” the blond Gear hissed out, edging closer to them. “Marcus is gonna kill us if we let you get taken!”

The woman scoffed, telling the Gear, “Baird, it’s fine. I have my ear piece and I know these Stranded won’t hurt me.”

“And how do you know that?”

“Because I have a feeling that this one isn’t going to risk it,” the woman replied, staring directly at Gabriel. He wondered if she knew him. Or maybe she could figure it out quicker than others he’s faced. “Now, get going and meet with the extermination group. If you skip out and Marcus dies, I’m killing you next.”

“But I’m the one making your vehicles,” the blond Gear argued. “You-”

“Baird, that is a direct order,” the woman said sharply. “I am handing you temporary control of the Eagle. Happy?”

The blond Gear stared at her for a long moment before rolling his eyes, arms thrown up, “Fine! But if Marcus kills me for letting you get kidnapped, you’re losing your best engineer!”

“Uh huh,” the woman said back, rolling her own eyes. “Just see it as an exchange. If you guys get rid of the female and find the missing villagers, then you tell them and you can come pick me up. Happy?”

“Tell that to Marcus!”

The woman sighed, Gabriel and her watching as the trio of Gears tied the net to the Eagle before they flew off. Alone, the woman sighed again and turned to Gabriel, scratching the back of her head, “Sorry about this. I’m usually a lot more welcoming and not as information dumping. And we haven’t introduced each other yet! How dare I?”

Gabriel hesitated as the woman held out her hand, her bare left arm he noticed. But if this woman was willing to go back with them as collateral…this was the most peaceful option when it came to the COG. And with all the stories he’s heard, his wife would enjoy talking to this woman.
So, he had no choice but to grab the woman’s offered hand and shake it, finally lowering his Lancer to his side, “Gabriel Diaz. And you are…?”

“Sapphire Haze,” the woman replied with a big grin. “The Research Commander of the Research Commission and Neutral diplomat for all conflicting parties. Now, do you guys have any beer to share? Because if I’m staying here for the night, I want to get to know you lot better than when I first arrived!”

Gabriel didn’t know why, but her excitement over her supposed-to-be capture with Stranded made him smile.

Hopefully his wife liked her and he didn’t just fuck up everything he’s built.