#fortnite chapter 2 season 3 | Explore Tumblr Posts and Blogs

shadows-of-ghost · 5 months

Text

Vagabond

Two wanderers trace the steps their lost ones took; in their efforts to find them, they are led astray on a journey they never could have imagined.

Eternal Knight and Siona centric one-shot.

Dearest Lorena,

Only the brave dare to cross the bridge between reality as we know it. Only the foolish follow the ocean’s waves when the sun sets. But when the storm comes, why does the butterfly continue on its journey? Because it knows somewhere out there, it preys on its next target to enter the loop. Its journey to the target is a long and winding road, and it must persevere through the struggle. No matter the cost.

Once the answer is clear, perhaps we will all return together. The Knight’s Guild, for now, is at three of its four members. Or, maybe, you will face temptation one day. You will follow through on that temptation, and you will reach us before we are done. Then, The Knight’s Guild will officially be one again.

Why does the butterfly go on its journey? Because it has a destination to reach, and it will persevere through the struggle to reach that destination. You have always said you had an unfulfilled journey to find. In a sense, you are the butterfly, and you need to determine both the journey and the destination.

No matter the cost.

Best Regards,

Ultima Knight.

Hours. She’d been sitting, standing, shifting around her desk for hours, wishing for once in her life, things would make sense.

Sometimes, she believed it did. Back in a simple, now distant past, where four knights ruled their dainty village with all the grace in wisdom in their world. Four wanderers, all brought together through fate and its unconventional circumstances, all descendents of broken legacies, broken creeds, and broken prophecies, left to band together to rule. They were mentors, scholars, always teaching the concept of honor and how it was not sought, but came to you through selfless acts and good deeds.

Wanderers could not be bound for too long, she realized. It was only so long before they became restless, before they had to travel again. So when one by one, they left behind their very teachings, she tried to tell herself that’s just how it went. That was how it had to be. The world could not sustain their insatiable greed for glory, so they betrayed their duties and themselves, leaving her the only member of The Knight’s Guild. Left to carry on their tarnished legacy.

Abandonment. A single, bitter word to describe what they had truly done to her, which she had denied for so long. When the scroll was found, she hoped it would give her real answers. An explanation to why they fell apart over the years. An apology regarding how after claiming to be one, they disappeared without ever saying goodbye. Something, anything to bring a glimpse back to better days and quiet times, in the weeks it spent learning to trust again with people who seemed to care for her so much.

The eldest had finally reached her again. Her heart stopped when at last, she reached the end of the letter, and there it was: in the same beautiful cursive she remembered, his name. One she hadn’t heard in so long… and in all the eloquent words above, he decided to speak to her in cryptics.

All she could make sense of was the mention of the butterfly. That damned creature, the gateway to each knight’s disappearance; the “opportunity,” the temptation to live a more glorious life. She had seen it herself, and the memory was hard to relive. Then there were all the other things. The “loop.” The “bridge between reality.” All something from a tall tale, a bedtime story, a legend. She would never understand any of it. The meaning behind all these strange terms. Why someone who was always clear and simple would write to her in riddles.

Why three people who always preached about small victories could suddenly no longer tolerate a small life.

She reread the scroll. Five times. Ten times, until her head spun and she had to stay sitting; until she determined there was no direct answer behind the crazed words of Ultima Knight. She picked up the portrait atop the desk, which gleamed to her under the dimmed light of the hall. Her glimpse to days happy and carefree, before one by one, they vanished.

Reckless. She was not and would never be reckless, as they had been. It was something she swore by, known by every person she’d ever come across. As long as she stayed true to her personal vows of integrity, she would never abandon the people who relied on her for peace of mind, nor would she ever abandon her own pupil like her mentors before her.

~*~

What do you do when they won’t let you leave, and they threaten your brother’s life as you pull into the sky?

Intrusive thoughts, she wanted to say, except for the fact that it had happened only days ago. Now, it was the only thing on her mind and had been for hours, clouding her normal comfort as they drifted among the stars.

After a long day, the heights of outer space provided that very comfort which no solid ground could. There was something about wandering the galaxy dusk till dawn which always drew them back for more, even when each journey was said and done. There was never a time they’d settled in the soil of one world for longer than a week at a time. That was their entire life, and had been since the beginning of their time. Orphans among the stars who only needed each other to navigate; that’s what they would always be, no matter what forces tried to throw them off.

Among hundreds of expeditions, there were very few in which Siona and Deo had been apart. Most were long ago, in their innocent youths, where one or the other would join together with other teams of astronauts and galactic explorers to prove they were capable of space’s intimidating obstacles. Each time, they aced their tests, and each time, they returned to one another, then spending as much time as possible in each other’s embrace.

Only twice had that almost not happened.

A nightmare, Deo would say. Scattered comms. The loss of the rest of their team to a strange world. An expedition which yielded little to no answers other than a time anomaly, memory loss… and a 99% guarantee that those who entered were then confined to a lifelong prison of combat and hostile nature. It was the first time they had genuinely feared their life of adventure, overpowered by the fear that that week, Siona would have been lost.

Then, there was today. Negotiations with a series of distant forces who threatened all of reality if they didn’t at least try. Temporary solutions were all that came about. Once clear their hunger could never be satisfied, Siona and Deo made their departure.

They almost hadn’t. If not for impeccable instincts and senses of timing, their ship would have been dragged to hell, and Deo specifically would have been the sacrifice, as made clear by their terrorizers. It brought her back to that time; she had heard his side of the story so many times, but never had she spoken her own truth. The fear she would be trapped forever. The fear that she would never see him again. Those fears were the only things which kept her memories intact then, and she would never risk a journey like that again if it meant they were lost to each other.

She smiled weakly as her brother skimmed through a set of holoscreens at the pilot’s seat. Pictures snapped of childhood memories—with her oversized helmet and his silly, optimistic smiles—and documents of their experiences, with the centerpiece being the picture taken of them and the astronaut team before everything went wrong.

Never again would they take such risks. Never again would they face the fate of losing each other, once and for all.

~*~

It was so simple.

Even behind the cryptics, she realized it had to be simple, because that’s what Ultima Knight preferred. The ocean, the “bridge between reality”—it had to be the literal ocean, and so with little warning, she had her apprentice pack a few bags.

The vast sea. Few times had she ever been close to its shores; it was a two-day journey to the village which housed its docks. It seldom crossed her path, even in her longest journeys, and deep down, she knew there was only one reason: she feared its depths. Never would she have considered or even dared sailing if not for the scroll.

Eternal Knight was never one to be interested in fairy tales, yet she heeded the warnings to heart when told: few adventurers have successfully traveled its entirety, and few travelers have ever returned at all. Now, she couldn’t care less. She refused to believe such a thing could happen to her. She would reach the destination and nothing would interfere. No matter the cost.

The journey was slow and silent. Only once did they stop to rest, and only once did she finally see a glimpse of her pupil’s expression: nervous. Confused. Exhausted.

Kind and just. Those she visited would use such words to describe her and all of her efforts. Her adventures as a wanderer and her eternal promise to always watch over people fulfilled her in a way no ounce of glory ever could. She vowed to never be selfish, and to always look after others’ needs before her own. But in the fine line between kind and just versus selfish and reckless, stubborn to a fault was where she resided. No one else would believe so if stated outright, but she knew her faults. Stubborn enough to keep herself grounded, to resist temptation, and above all, to know she needed answers.

Despite the glimpse at her pupil’s face, they continued on, never uttering a word, even once they’d reached the shore. As she stood, staring ahead at the stocked boat, she couldn’t fight her memories as one by one, the course of her youth and strained adolescence flooded and flashed through her head. Her, orphaned and afraid, being found and carried over miles in the cold metal of Ultima Knight’s arms. The many following days of vigorous combat training, where despite their brooding exteriors, she joked and caused mischief with Red Knight and took words of courage and motivation from Black Knight. The many nights she would sit with Ultima Knight in the courtyard, where she would rave about the things she learned over the day or rant about what went wrong. Where he would do nothing but listen until the rare moment there was nothing else to be said; where sometimes, she would fall asleep and wake up in the comfort of her bed, and she’d never have to ask how she got there because she knew, no matter how things went that day, they would always take care of her.

Something changed. She never knew what it was, but slowly, they drifted. Spoke less. Fought more. Someone would disappear for days at a time and no one would question them when they got back, not because they knew they were okay, but because they were simply too angry with one another to care. They would only ask questions when one day, with no warning and no effort to say goodbye, Black Knight disappeared in a flash of white, blue, and violet, and Red Knight followed suit the night after.

She marched to the boat. Suddenly, it was no longer a passive journey. Gone was any lingering longing of wanting to ensure they were safe somewhere rules didn’t apply, where they could be happily selfish. They were her destination alright, but their happiness didn’t matter as much as hers never did to them. She would get the only answers that mattered: why they never thought to say goodbye, why they were suddenly above the idea of honor. Why they broke their promises to always fight through their struggles together, and why the temptation of glory was more important than she ever had been to them.

She reached the boat, but she did not get in.

She couldn’t get in.

At the beginning of the shore stood her apprentice. Watching. Waiting. Oblivious as to what was happening, never once told why they were here. But through it all, she stood by her, walking at her mentor’s side for two days straight with only one stop along the way, never questioning her. She never had; for almost a year, she never had. She was nothing but kind, obedient, and always ready to do good. Once, an orphan with little to her name, wandering village to village because there was nothing else she could do, now with a purpose and someone to look up to after years of being alone.

Just like her.

Lorena turned and walked back. Took her apprentice’s hands in hers and held them tightly for a minute. When she let go, they shared a single nod, and to them, it was everything she wished she had been given before. A sign of mutual gratitude, knowing they had helped each other in ways neither could describe. A sign of well wishes, to stay safe and sound, the only thing they could ever ask of each other. And, above all, the promise that she would be back. A promise she knew would be kept forever and always. And so, Eternal Knight could leave content, knowing her pupil would not be left in the dark as she once was.

~*~

Eccentric. Sometimes, he would be described as such, and he always took the word in a positive light rather than a negative one. Only now would that word surface again, and only now was it her who thought of him as such.

Some couple years ago, however long that was, the team of astronauts would question her. Siona would deflect, because he really wasn’t any different than them. He simply viewed the world a different way and that was fine; they just couldn’t understand his brilliance at work. Maybe that was why she was the one to enter Reality Zero, while he watched and listened from afar as one by one, they all became bound to the island.

Deo pointed. There was something amiss, something blocking their path as they drifted along. When Siona ran to look, however, there was nothing there. Odd, she commented, but he insisted. There was something there, so forth came the word eccentric. It would end there, she thought… but to her horror, he decided it was time to investigate.

He would take the smaller spaceship they carried and he would find the strange creature. That was his risk of a plan, all of which he decided in two minutes. A ridiculous plan, she said. He’d had them before, and all she had to do was remind him of it so he would drop them. This time, he would not listen. They went back and forth, with his dozens of reasons on why he should go and her countless arguments on why it was a horrible idea. Their argument went in circles. It lasted hours, even when they both ran out of things to say and could only repeat their main points: he had to, while she couldn’t let him.

“Why?” he finally asked, after they said it once more.

Because she couldn’t lose him. After all they had been through, she couldn’t let this be the day they never saw each other again.

Finally, Siona could breathe. It all came out: the fear of losing each other being the only thing keeping her sane while everyone around her fell. It had haunted her every minute of the day when they reunited, and even now, it haunted her day by day. She reminded him of how only recently, their failure to negotiate almost cost him his life. It rekindled her fear, and especially now, she could not see it happen again. A life without her older brother was one without worth, one she dared not to imagine.

Silence. She could not, would not look him in the eyes. Not until he took her hand, and they sat there for some time, letting the presence of each other comfort them as they did after any hard day, any fight they eventually overcame.

He still had to go, he admitted, and if not for the glimmer in his eyes when he looked back out into the sky, she would have argued again. Siona looked out as well, hoping this time, she would see everything clearer. Still, there was nothing, but something about this was important to him. So she took on a firmer face, because this was his journey and she knew he could manage.

It was time. Deo approached the extra ship. He paused in front of it. Stood there for a while.

He turned and walked back. Wrapped his arms around her, and she nearly fell into his embrace as desperately as she did that very first time, all those years ago, when they were six and ten and he left for the very time. He took her hands in his and held them tightly, and suddenly they were kids again as she stared at him with glossy, longing eyes, while he stared back at her with the brightest smile, so full of confidence and optimism for the road ahead. A look that would always reassure her and soothe her shakes, a look that told her he could do this and nothing would ever stop him from coming back.

Siona waved and watched as the lights of his ship eventually blended into the vast array of stars, and he was nothing more than a dot on her GPS. With all the questions hanging in the air, there was only one answer she was certain of: she would not move until he returned, not even hours later, after his dot disappeared completely and his signal faded into nothing.

~*~

No matter the cost. Over. And over. No matter the cost.

With every turn, every gust of wind that tore through her sail, all she could hear was Ultima Knight’s steady, rumbling voice, as if he was calling to her through the distant thunder. Of all the obstacles she could predict along the way, the thought of a storm slipped her mind until the once rose-gold horizon was filled with dark, charred clouds. The waves sloshed against the side of the wooden boat with more force every second. She could not delay the inevitable, but neither could she delay her destination. She would persevere through the struggle, just as they always told her. The journey was only a test of the brave, and once she pushed through, the end would be in sight.

~*~

Status: Offline.

True to her word, she hadn’t left the pilot’s seat since he’d left. How could she? The radars of their ships were connected. If something came up, it would be transmitted to either of their spacecraft. But there was nothing. Deo’s signal had gone completely offline; it was as if he had simply disappeared into the molecules of the universe.

He couldn’t have. There had to be some reasonable, scientific explanation. Maybe his systems malfunctioned, and it happened so quickly she couldn’t be notified. Maybe there was an anomaly: an asteroid or another ship in his way. But strangest of all, she couldn’t track him or the path he’d taken through the remote GPS… nor could she find any evidence that his ship existed at all.

Never in her life had so much desperation clawed at her. It was a wonder how her fingers hadn’t broken yet with all the typing, all the frantic button-pressing… a wonder how she herself hadn’t broken, because a life without her brother was one she could never live. She would stop for nothing until she found him, and she would never give up the search.

No matter the cost.

~*~

If there was one thing Eternal Knight prided herself in, it was the idea that after so many years of being on her own, few things scared her. Thunderstorms, in fact, were among her favorite things. Several times throughout her adolescence, no matter how much armor she wore while all the lightning in the world struck outside, she would sit in the downpours and think. The experience of a storm while sitting among the waves was one always warned about in the stories, though, and only now did she understand why. Of all the fears, however, there was one that overpowered her hatred of the ocean’s intensity.

Just like the tales she’s been told, she too would be one of the travelers who never returned. At any moment, she would topple over. Be submerged, suffocating in her armor. It wasn’t so much the idea of death waiting for her last breath, but the knowledge she would never fulfill her promise that terrified her. Just like her mentors before her… she would officially abandon all that looked up to her.

Then, she remembered her pupil’s misty eyes and gentle, hopeful smile, which knew that despite all circumstances, she would not truly be abandoned. She had gotten her goodbye; her proper goodbye. More than either of them had been given as an orphan, and more than Lorena could ever have asked for when finally, Ultima Knight jumped into the rift. So, Eternal Knight held on for dear life, and she would hold on for as long as she could if it gave even the slightest guarantee she could push through. She would persevere through the struggle, even if the struggle won in the end. All that mattered was her legacy was left in faithful hands, and it would create a new legacy which rang even stronger and wonderful than its predecessor.

~*~

It was a miracle.

For a moment, his course flashed on the GPS. Then again. Five times, it did so, all at the same duration and in an even interval. Each gave her just enough time to chart out the general direction, and by the end, she realized the answer she’d been given was much more.

Zero, she breathed. Five long flashes.

Zero.

The dots connected, but that couldn’t be right. They had an agreement. They’d left that world behind, and they swore it would never be heard of again. But there was no denying it when that unmistakable bubble showed up, showcasing an island that was so familiar, but so different from what she remembered. Suddenly, his reluctance to tell her made sense. Something had convinced him he needed to return, and he had broken his promise. Their promise.

She needed to act. He would not be lost to that world. Within seconds, she charted her own course and set it to auto-pilot, giving her time to strategize.

There was a glimmer of light. For a moment, they’d thought it was all a dream, or their worst nightmares come true. The light at the end of the tunnel finally came to collect them or return them to consciousness, but this light radiated blue, white, and violet. Suddenly, their answers found them. They knew that light all too well.

There before them stood the butterfly, glowing like beautiful cave crystals as it steadily flapped its translucent wings. Taunting them amidst its serenity. The damned creature which represented many things: the temptation. The opportunity. The reason they found themselves alone, that damned creature which stole away their loved ones under the premise they could lead better lives.

So when the butterfly darted forward, quick as a shooting star and almost disappearing in a sparkly show, what could they do except follow?

As the gales ripped one’s sail and the lights flashed as one’s ship reached top speed, all they could think about was the destination. The place where their lost ones were taken, and the place they knew they’d have to enter, too. The things they would do when they found them, they couldn’t yet be sure. But no matter what would happen when they found them, they knew there had to be a reason, and they would figure out just what it was.

No matter the cost.

Farther and farther they traveled, until suddenly, in a single flash of light, they were no longer in their respective worlds.

#fortnite #fortnite chapter 2 #fortnite eternal knight #fortnite siona #fortnite chapter 2 season 3 #kayvi0’s fortnite storyverse #fanfiction

2 notes · View notes

ksfnmoments · 1 year

Text

The Tide Rises ~ Chapter 21

Five versus one was an unfair fight, especially when five were armed and one was not.

She was huddled under her ship’s control panel because there was nowhere else to go. Her ship had been completely wrecked, and her leg had been injured in the crash. Strangely, she couldn’t remember anything before she had begun accelerating downwards. All she knew was that she was Siona, and she was searching for her brother.

There were five soldiers of some sort, all dressed in dark colors and carrying a firearm or two each somewhere on their persons. They had come from the sky in a different aircraft, stationed themselves right outside their ship, and were now conversing in muffled, hushed voices. Her breaths were heavy in her hands. She hadn’t felt her own breaths in quite some time, nor had she felt the outdoor air.

A set of footsteps began moving towards the entrance, and one line was finally heard clearly: “No, I know I saw someone.”

The door was open. She had to pry it open to escape after the crash, but once it was open, she couldn’t close it. A short-haired woman wearing a malignant gaze walked straight in, ready to seek harm on whoever was inside. She looked around, flicked off a stub of jagged metal that was hanging from the dented door, and finally turned her attention to Siona, as if she knew she was hiding there the entire time. The woman stared at her for a moment, slowly reaching towards a pistol in her holster, and abruptly pulled it out, pointing it at her. “Up and out. Move.”

Siona held her hands to her head and limped towards the entrance as much as her injured leg would allow. Two of the men, wearing the same outfit, were waiting with their guns drawn. The woman grabbed her by her shoulder, forced her to stand straight, and threw her into the arms of the two soldiers. “See, this wasn’t too hard, was it?” She said under her breath, clearly directed at someone else. She pointed to the sky. There was a glowing crack spread out above. Had she caused that? Was that what they were angry about? “Do you know anything about that?”

She shook her head. A different soldier with a long, gray mask pulled over his head poked her arm with the end of his rifle. “Speak up, will you?” He demanded. “Cat got your tongue?”

It was only then she started to scowl, and only then the sounds of a different motorized engine could be heard from the distance, gradually buzzing louder and louder. The soldiers turned, and something negative crossed each of their faces, even more than there already was. “What do they want?” The gray soldier asked.

“Who knows anymore,” the woman said. “Tch. Can’t get a moment to ourselves, can we?”

In that distance, a red light flew into the sky and rained down in sparks. It was a flare, the astronaut noted. Normally, it was used as a calling signal for help, but whoever had shot it was most likely using it as a threat.

The two soldiers holding her down kept their places as the others went to investigate. They got bored quickly, Siona could tell, and she hoped that in that boredom, they weren’t paying attention. She eyed the weapons at their sides. If she could find the strength to do so, she could pull herself out and take one…

There was a clunk of something metallic a short distance away; there stood a figure head to toe in silver knight’s armor holding a sword in either arm. “It would seem you rather enjoy tormenting the locals of your island,” she said, walking closer. The henchmen to her side let go of her arm to hold their weapon with both hands. She took the opportunity to throw herself into them and knock them to the ground, freeing up her other arm in the process.

The other henchman struck her with his rifle. She recovered quickly and grabbed it, leading to a back and forth struggle. The henchman on the ground kicked at her ankle. The metallic clunks of the knight grew closer; behind her, the knight kicked away the henchman’s main rifle and pointed one of her swords at them. “Don’t you dare move a muscle,” she warned.

The henchman with the rifle managed to push her to the side, enough so that she lost her balance but not to where she fell. He immediately fired at the knight. The initial bullet didn’t do much to phase her. She prepared to charge forward, but Siona took the lead and caught the henchman off-guard enough to successfully take the gun from his grasp.

She kept it pointed at him as Eternal Knight kept her sword to the henchman on the ground. “Don’t be afraid to defend yourself if anything should happen” Eternal Knight kicked over their rifle. After an extra few seconds of pointing her blade, she sheathed it, but kept her eyes locked on them. “Keep them grounded. I have some business to attend to. I will return shortly.”

Siona nodded and pressed her foot atop the rifle on the ground. She dragged it with her and backed up a few feet, ensuring she had both of them in her vision.

If they struck, she was ready.

When they went to investigate the source of Fade’s power surge, they didn’t expect it to end in a standoff.

Of course, being her, Ocean decided she needed something to do away from The Fortilla, so she took the reaction of Fade’s untapped powers with a sudden rift in the sky as an opportunity and excuse to get away. Jules and Fade decided to tag along, but none of them expected the sight of three SHADOW soldiers. Then again, Slurpy Swamp was SHADOW territory, and it made sense they would be here after it was uncovered enough.

Either way, all three of them were in danger. Jules was a personal target of Sorana; Fade was the entity with magical abilities that had never reached their exploitative ways; and Ocean, though she had no personal scores, was the leader and their highest target.

Sorana took one look at Fade and stepped ahead of the group. She gestured to him with her rifle and smirked. “The job Jules never finished for him, huh? He got away, you said?” She glanced at Stingray and Scratch. They advanced forwards.

Ocean and Jules synonymously pulled their guns and prepared fire. They wouldn’t go down without a fight. It seemed to throw off the SHADOW soldiers; they paused.

“You want to play all tough, don’t you? Why did you give up when we had you at The Shark?” Sorana stepped farther than the rest again before taking aim. She made sure to emphasize The Shark and look at Jules, whose stance faltered immediately at the mention. “What, you think just because you ‘rose up’ you can win a fight?”

“We won two, didn’t we?” Ocean challenged, holding her burst tighter. “We’ll make it three.”

“Try that, then. Since we’re ready.”

The agents all kept their firearms pointed at one another. Nobody dared to move.

Sorana finally made an attempt to charge forward, but the sound of Scratch hitting the ground stopped everyone. As if she had been looming in the shadows the entire time, Eternal Knight had jumped in from the unknown. She knocked Stingray down as well. Sorana spun around and shot. Eternal Knight slowed her movement ever so slightly, but it wasn’t enough to phase her. She knocked Sorana to the ground and pointed her sword to her, making it known that if she moved, she would be in dire straits.

Surprisingly, Stingray and Scratch didn’t try to charge or shoot. They had picked themselves up and raised their weapons slightly, not enough to be incapable of defense, but enough to show they wouldn’t let another commander be taken. They had already lost Toxin and Rue, two of Chaos Agent’s most trusted, and a third would only set them back again.

“Always right behind them,” Sorana said through gritted teeth.

Eternal Knight wordlessly pushed the blade closer.

There were a few quick gunshots not far in the distance, gathering the attention of all but Stingray, who took the moment of distraction to shoot. His bullet managed to knock the sword out of her hand while she looked towards the source of the shots, and it clattered on the concrete next to Sorana.

Sorana grabbed it and jumped to her feet with quick breaths. She threw it towards Scratch, knowing he was best with melee combat.

With the sword in his grasp, Scratch charged at Eternal Knight. They found then that she carried two swords; she unsheathed her second one and deflected his attack. While they were distracted in their own little duel, Jules realized Sorana was fast approaching. They aimed their weapons at each other’s face for a moment. Sorana then switched her attention to Fade, who was completely unarmed, and walked over to him, shoving Jules aside with her rifle. “You either come with us to the boss or we’re taking care of this right here.”

Fade tried to back up, but she grabbed his wrist. He tried to yank it away. Her grasp was too strong. He looked over to Jules, whose face had gone pale with a petrified expression. Her eyes were locked onto Sorana. She was seemingly frozen in place, not daring to move, and Sorana smirked when she noticed her stance.

She must have forgotten Ocean was there, because she flew in from the side to deliver a sucker punch to Sorana’s face. Ocean immediately went over to Jules. “Hey, you okay?”

Jules stuttered out something unintelligible and backed away from the scene. Ocean looked turned back around at the sound of shuffling. Sorana was holding her nose. She wiped it on her sleeve, and even then, she charged at Fade.

Another loud bang. It was even closer than the previous set of gunshots. Sorana cried out and dropped to one knee, reaching behind to clutch a spot on her back. Stingray and Scratch were quick to reach her side. The GHOST allies lowered their weapons at the scene, and collectively with the SHADOW soldiers, they looked behind. There stood a woman with green hair tied up in four buns, holding a rifle in her arms with a shocked expression.

Sorana tried to stand on her own and stumbled back down immediately. The second time, she held onto Stingray for support. Scratch turned towards the assailant and drew both of his own blades. “Leave it,” Sorana hissed.

Scratch wouldn’t budge. Ocean held up her burst again, and the green-haired assailant decided to do the same. Finally, he let out a huff and joined in as the SHADOW soldiers made their way out of the swamp.

Ocean turned the attention back to the green-haired assailant and proceeded with caution over to her. The woman dropped the gun when she did and began backing up. “Hey, it’s okay, we’re not gonna hurt you. The other guys didn’t do anything, did they?” Ocean secured her burst in her holster and eyed the other two, but Jules was still stuck in her wide-eyed trance. Fade caught Ocean’s gaze and gently grabbed the drum gun from her grasp. He dropped it to the ground.

The green-haired assailant only continued backing away until she found herself pressed against an exterior wall of the main factory building. It was only when she saw Eternal Knight that she stopped. “I assume you took care of the henchmen,” she said, gesturing in the direction the SHADOW agents had gone. “She understands but I’m not sure if she can speak.”

“Gotcha. What are you doing here, anyway? You kinda just… show up whenever you feel like it.”

“Well, I watched the ship crash and came to be of aid, but it seems wanderers around this world are prone to unfriendly welcomings.” She eyed the wanderer up and down for a second and tilted her head, as if recognizing something. “There was someone else I came across and helped recently. A few days ago… he looked exactly like you.”

The wanderer’s eyes lit up, and for the first time, she spoke. “My brother?”

A sudden series of beeps came from her pocket. A scan she had started was complete, finally presenting an answer to where she was: “Reality Zero.” Something about the name was so familiar, but she couldn’t put her finger on why. Had she been here before, long in the past? It wasn’t only the name, but the environment, the weaponry, even something in the name itself… She was here once. She could feel it.

“My ship crashed on the other side of the swamp,” she explained. “My name is Siona, and I am searching for my brother.”

~•~

Siona hadn’t spoken since they left the swamp, but they learned that was the language she liked to speak: very few words and more small noises and simple gestures.

They arrived back at The Fortilla. Ocean went to speak to Brutus about Siona, and Jules and Fade went off somewhere. Eternal Knight and Siona were to their own devices in the meantime; they weren’t left alone for long, however.

“Eternal Knight!”

Skye came bounding in from who knows where. “Any luck on the knights?” She asked.

Eternal Knight hung her head. “I’m afraid they’ve hidden themselves rather well. Perhaps they wander, too, and we haven’t crossed paths yet. Until then, my search continues.”

“Orrr you could take a break and stay here for a bit.”

“Tempting,” Eternal Knight chuckled. “But, I may have overstayed my welcome. I should go.”

Siona tapped her shoulder. “My brother,” she reminded her. “You say you may have seen him… where?”

Eternal Knight thought for a moment and looked off into the distance. ”Oh, yes… there was a male astronaut along the shores of what the locals deem ‘Craggy Cliffs,’” she said. I helped him repair a ship-”

“So we should go there,” Skye enthused.

“No, I haven’t finished. He took off immediately after my aid. I don’t recall seeing his ship leave the island, but it did fade into the distance rather quickly and thus I have no idea where he may be now. This was also many days ago, I should have mentioned.”

Siona nodded sadly with each word and sighed. “Thank you,” she said quietly. “My signal indicated he is somewhere in this reality when I crashed while searching…”

“So he’s still here somewhere,” Skye said.

“Hey, if you need somewhere to stay until you guys find each other, we have room here,” Ocean said, walking over. “You can room with me, too.”

Siona nodded, and that was all the approval they needed.

~•~

Their third commander had almost fallen.

Fortunately for them, Sorana was a fighter; she always pulled through the toughest jobs and complications. This particular complication would leave her out of commission for a bit, however… and with now another absent leader, SHADOW was losing stability.

For a few days, Chaos Agent had seemingly disappeared. This was common when faced with losses such as what had happened with Rue and GHOST’s victory, but when he finally showed up again upon hearing of Sorana’s predicament, his rage at the top of The Authority was heard through the entire building.

Somewhere, there was still a copy of the attack plans that were originally meant for the times Jules had messed up. It was time to officially take action, but they had to be what they usually weren’t: cautious. They couldn’t rely solely on impulsivity, strength, and destruction to take down GHOST. GHOST was together and stronger than ever. SHADOW needed to regroup. They needed to tinker with the plans and account for every individual strength. They needed to do what they were always taught to do: be two steps ahead.

They would figure something out, because that’s what they always did. They didn’t have their lead scientist or their lead coordinator, who were the best at these things, but they were going to get the job done once and for all.

#fortnite #fortnite chapter 2 #fortnite chapter 2 season 3 #kayvi0’s fortnite storyverse #SHADOWs of GHOST

3 notes · View notes