Spark of Paracausality: A new spark

Chapter 24: The Awoken

Next day I wake up with full energy, ready to be flung into the air. When I ran out my room with my Hunter gear, Indigo stops me in the main room. "Hey," she says, grabbing my arm softly. Remember that crazy energy I had just a second ago? Well it flung into the air without me. Wanna take a guess why? (I think it's pretty obvious at this point) I stare at her blindly and let her hold my arm because of how soft her hand is. She brushes the side of her hair back with her left hand. "I wanted to ask you, do you need someone for the dance tomorrow?" She asked.
"The what?" I tense less.
"The dance, at Bannerfall. Tracey is setting it up and need to know if you needed someone to... Accompany you."
I shook my head slowly with a confused face. "No, I'm fine. Besides I'm probably not gonna go."
"What about Felix?" She asks. Is she really that stupid for asking that?
"What are you talking about? Felix already has a date," I reply. She tried to convince me to go, but I refused and she frowned.
At this point both of us are talking about her in third person.
I let her hand slip from my wrist, to our hands.
"Look, I gotta go, we'll talk later," I said

+ + +

With no hesitation, I flew my ship into orbit, set course for the reef and relaxed for a moment.
When we broke out of slipspace, the whole place was purple and full of debris.

[Clip Begins Here]

"Where did all this come from?" I ask.
"Every ship that fled during the collapse, guess they made it this far."
"It's so dead," I say. "Like a graveyard."
"Since you're Awoken," Nolan said in a curious voice. "Do you know how the Awoken survived?"
"Oh yeah," I raise my voice. "So basically what happened was-" before I finished my sentence the comms on the radio went off. "Intruder barring 127, you have crossed into the realm of the Awoken. State your business or be fired upon by order of the Queen," a female voice said. I check my radar and see two ships behind me. I look at Nolan. "Don't look at me," he said. "Better say something." I hesitate and think.
"We are from earth," I said "We seek to speak to the consul of the Awoken."
No answer at first. I hope I don't get shot. Especially here.
"Conform to my trajectory. Any deviation will be taken as an act of aggression," she said.
I smile. "Looks like we're in the right place."
"Why is the right place always so terrifying?" He complained.
After I follow the path of the ships and landed on the reef dock station, the woman on the comms asked for my weapons. I put the weapons in the large clear capsule she was holding. Then she confirmed that I didn't have any weapons on me by scanning my body.
"Okay," she said. "You're good. Follow me."
Nolan appears and startles the woman, causing her to pull her sidearm out. "Wait!" I said. "It's just a companion, not a weapon."
"Anymore surprises, I will not hesitate to shoot next time," she warned. "Noted," I replied.
I follow her across the outpost. I see another woman on the command station with a artificial eye and next to her is another, more younger lady with an identical hair style. Could be her daughter or something. And next to them was a Fallen-like tent. For a glimpse I thought I saw a Fallen Vandal walk inside of it with some sort of cane. They have Fallen here?! I have to check this place out after this. When we reach the end of the hallway, three guards stand straight and move out of the way to open a door, assuming where the Queen is at. When we walk through, I realize now we're on a narrow path, with a purple pit at the bottom. Wonder what Indigo's reaction would be if she was walking this path. At the end is a throne, with a man resting his leg on it, leaning against it. "So, these are the trespassers demanding an audience?" He said. "We didn't mean to trespass," Nolan said. "The Queen judges who may or may not enter the Realm. Me? I see no reason, she should be available for whoever washes up in the Reef. But here we are."
I don't like the way he talks with those red eyes. "We've come to ask for help," I said. Behind the throne, two Vandals with an unknown cloak crawl to my vision. "Fallen!" Nolan yelled. I quickly pulled the sidearm from the guard and went to shoot it. But before I could, the man had a knife at my throat, and I sensed someone behind me pointing a gun at me.

"It is afraid of the Fallen," a voice said. "I'm not afraid!" I thought. I stared at her. It's the Queen. "It does not understand these ones are mine," she said, sitting on her throne. The guard behind me snatched the weapon I stole from her holster. Then the man pulled his knife back from me and apologized to the Queen. She didn't seem like she cared as she sat down.
"I am a Guardian, from Earth. We are searching for the Black Garden," I spoke up. "Why?" The man asked.
"We seek to destroy the Darkness, at its heart," I replied.
"You want to turn it into a battleground," he said.
"How unimaginative."
"That's not what I'm trying to do," I corrected. "But can you help us?"
"And why would we do that?" He says furiously walking towards me.
"The Queen requests consul from his brother," the Queen said. Him and I stare at each other. Then he walks to her. They whisper to each other, unable to hear them. Then their voices become loud enough to where I can hear them again. "Yes, that's good," he said looking back at me. "Why not? We'll make you a key. How's that? All we need is the head of a Vex Gatelord."
"A Gatelord? Uh we-"
I interrupt Nolan.
"Why do you want a Vex head?" I ask.
"Oh, we don't," he said. "And I doubt you'll get one either. But it's your only chance of getting into the Black Garden."
"Challenge accepted," I thought.
"We will return," I said. "Or die on Venus," he taunts. "Either way."
I don't like him.
I turn and walk back with the guards still escorting me.

When they return my weapons, I was missing my Last Word. "Wait, where is it?" I asked. The guard shrugs. "I put it in here!" I look around and see the younger girl with it. But she runs toward me and gives it back. "So sorry!" She says. "Uh, no problem," I reply. "It just looked so cool and nice and-" a voice shouts from the distance. "Athena!" The older woman calls in the distance. "Coming mom!" She replies. "I gotta go!"
"So I was right." I mumble.