Destiny (Anime Style)

Chapter 19: The Stranger

Ravi, Leah and their ghosts followed the female exo stranger to one last wide room at the very back of the building filled with many corpses from both Fallen and Vex.

"Is this place really safe?" Cybel asked in a concerned voice. "The Fallen might still be lurking somewhere around"

"Everything is fine" the Stranger replied in an emotionless tone. "I killed most of them before you arrived, and the ones who survived ran away in fear"

As the guardian duo found themselves amazed by the coldness in those words, and also by the number of dead bodies all around, the stranger took out a special tiny box she had stores in a nearby shelf.

"Hey! Human girl! Take this" she then added while tossing the tiny box to Leah.

"Mmmh? What am I supposed to do with this?" Leah asked, a bit puzzled.

"Isn't it obvious? Use it to treat you friend's wound" Leah didn't understand a first, but when she opened the box and saw what it had inside she finally did. The box was filled with lot of bandages, water, analgesics, and many other first aid stuff and instruments.

"V-very well"

Ravi took his coat and shirt off. And then, as Leah began cleaning and treating the wound on his injured shoulder, the exo stranger finally broke the uncomfortable silence.

"I'm glad to see you followed me all the way here" the Stranger bluntly states in a serious tone. "Though I gotta admit, I wasn't expecting 2 of you"

"Well, I'm sorry" Leah replied with annoyance and still cleaning Ravi's wound.

The Stranger stared at her with a bit of confusion. "Are you... angry by any means?"

"Of course I'm angry" the human girl replied while frowning. "You lured Ravi all the way here, and now..." Ravi turned to look at Leah who was too focused on treating his shoulder. "Now he ended up like this because of your stupid message"

"Leah..." Ravi muttered.

The Stranger stayed in silence for a few seconds. "I'm sorry if I caused you any trouble" she then stated while looking downwards, after which she focused back on the matter at hand. "Anyway, we haven't got much time"

"Huh? What are you talking about?" Leah asked with confusion.

"And who are you?" Ravi added in a firm voice.

"Those are fascinating questions... for another time" the stranger bluntly replied. "I don't even have time to explain why I don't have time to explain"

"Did she just... avoid the question?" Wire whispered to Cybel.

"Fishy" Cybel whispered back.

"If you can't answer that, then at least answer this" Ravi muttered to the stranger. "Why did you lure us here?"

The stranger took a step forward and stared directly at Ravi and Leah. "Because YOU need MY help" she finally claimed, leaving both guardians in total confusion. "Many guardians fell, you know? Strong and brave ones. But you... You made it all the way here... and survived. You came even if it meant going against your precious Vanguard's rules"

"Is that why you approached me? Because I didn't follow the rules?"

"Perhaps..."

Something was definitely suspicious. The Stranger lured Ravi there only to state she couldn't answer his questions at all, and yet, she remained so calm and cold that it was disturbing.

Also, she's an exo, and that means she was definitely once a human. However, there was no light within her. The Traveller's touch wasn't with her at all, something that Cybel and Wire easily noticed.

"You are not a guardian, are you?" Cybel asked the stranger.

"No... I was not forged in light" this last one replied and then, she walked towards one of the dead Vex bodies scattered around. "But... even if I'm not a wielder of the light, I still believe that where our paths crossed... ground could break" She finally said while stepping over the Vex's head and crushing it with hatred.

An even more disturbing silence invaded the room after that, and it stayed like that for several minutes. By this time, Leah had finished bandaging Ravi's shoulder and this last one put on his clothes again. However, it also didn't take long for the stranger to finally break the silence once more as well.

"Have you heard of the Black Garden?" she asked both the guardian duo and their ghosts.

At any rate, no one but Wire and cybel knew what that so-called 'Black Garden' was. "We've heard the legends" Wire replied as Leah and Ravi stared puzzled at the tiny droid.

"That's where the greatest threat to all of us lies. A place shrouded in darkness where these... machines... are born" the stranger said referring to the Vex.

"So, you expect us to..."

"That's right" the stranger replied, cutting Wire mid-sentence. "You must find the Black Garden... and rip out its heart"

Leah was shocked and confused. "But, why are you asking US to do it? Why not the Vanguard?"

"Because this is a job for someone who isn't scared of taking risks" the stranger replied as Ravi immediately recalled what she said before about the Vanguard's rules.

There's no doubt the Vanguard is strong, but they aren't the kind that is willing to put lives in danger unless it's absolutely necessary. After all, it was clear that they would first let the threat grow and show itself to the Last City before striking back at an unknown dangerous opponent.

Still... Ravi and Leah weren't convinced about this mission yet. "Why... why would we do it?" Leah asked with troubleness.

"Because only then... will your Traveller begin to heal" the stranger replied, shocking everyone present, after which no one said a single word for several seconds, until the stranger finally took a long sigh. "Ok then... That's all I wanted to say"

Ravi and Leah startled. "Wait! So, you are just gonna leave now?!" the bluenette asked while in surprise. "We don't even know where to start!"

"In that case, let me give you a hint"

"A hint?"

"Yeah..." The stranger stepped back a bit and took out a weird-looking device she had in her belt. "You must first speak with the awoken"

"The awoken?" Leah asked. "Wh-what do you mean?"

"It's your job to find out the rest. Otherwise, it wouldn't be fun at all"

Ravi and Leah exchanged looks without a clue of what to say next.

"I'm not gonna force you to take on this task" the stranger continued. "But, have in mind that if the Black Garden's heart isn't destroyed soon, the darkness will be a step closer to consuming everything"

And so, as the stranger said this last thing, the weird device she was carrying began glowing... and after a few seconds, she teleported away without leaving a trace.

...

...

...

Some time later, Ravi and Leah returned to their respective ships and went back home. Back at the city, they decided to rest at a nearby park while taking a seat on a bench. Also, the sky was already dark by that point.

"So..." Leah began talking. "Are we gonna discuss this?"

Ravi didn't answer. He was thinking hard on what to do next, though he already knew. He was gonna take on the mission the stranger entrusted him with. Even if she was a total unknown person for him, he had no reason to distrust her. The Vex and the Fallen were her enemy as much as they were his after all. And also, if it wasn't because of her, the Hive would still be in possession of that shard of the Traveller he and Leah found on the Moon. And that would've certainly ended up being problematic in the future.

"Ravi?" Leah then asked without any response from the bluenette. "HEY, RAVI!"

Ravi startled after Leah's yell and finally replied. "Th-there's nothing to discuss" he muttered in a soft tone. "I'm gonna finish this quest no matter what"

"I know... and I won't try to stop you. But..." Leah got closer and took a hold of Ravi's hand. "I'll go with you" she finally stated with a determined expression.

"Leah..."

They stared at each other for several seconds. But then, Leah pulled back a bit while slightly blushing, and looked to one side after noticing how close there were to each other. "I... I know I can't stop you, and I know how childish, immature and stupid you can be"

Ravi couldn't help but to sweat-drop due to such description.

"I also know we m-might regret it later... but..." the young girl then turned around and stared at Ravi once more. "I don't care" she bluntly stated with determination. "I'd rather be by your side than let you do this alone"

The blue-haired boy stared in shock at her.

"Besides..." She then showed him a soft, but very comforting smile. "Things are always more fun when we are together, right?

At that moment, Ravi widened his eyes in surprise, and then smiled back at her. "Very well" he finally agreed. "I guess we are now partners in crime... hehehe..."

"Yup! We sure are" Leah added, happily.

And with that, their next objective was finally determined: they must speak with the awoken, whatever that means. And then find a way to reach the Black Garden, wherever it is.

However, that could wait some time. After all, they had classes tomorrow, and in addition, they had just gotten back from a dangerous and tiring mission on a distant planet.