Savin’ Me | Val
It wasn’t long before the song came to her again. She’d fought it valiantly, trying to refrain from sleep or menial tasks that allowed her time to think. But the last week had been so trying and she was so very tired and anything was better than thinking of the handsome stranger and the way his face lit up in the morning light.
Thats how Io found herself on Venus, following the all-too-familiar trails on a speeding Sparrow, goal set heavy in her mind.
She remembered when she’d first come back on this very soil, the fire of rebirth screaming its way through her bones and tearing at her soul. She’d always felt half-full, and the song in her mind promised answers beyond that great silver door.
Io pushed her Sparrow faster, past the groupings of Goblins that dotted the Venus landscape. She wanted to be there already, to begin solving the puzzle that promised insight into her biggest flaw.
Akros had fallen silent after their fight earlier that morning. She wasn’t going to be talked out of it, no matter what he said, and Akros knew a losing battle when he saw one.
He only hoped he’d be able to bring her back if the worst happened.
As she approached the Waking Ruins, Io felt a sense of melancholy fall over her. If she died here, really died, would it be worth the answers she may or may not find? And what if her Ghost was right all those months ago, about how her answers could be found in people instead? What if he was her answer?
No. She shook the thought from her mind just as quickly as it came, dismounting her sparrow with relative grace. I’ll never see him again, and that’s that. No answers to be found in an empty space.
The area was surprisingly devoid of Vex, and that put Io on edge. She held her scout rifle steady as she moved up the landscape, ready for whatever she might encounter. The ascent to the Vault door was painless, though, and Io found that she couldn’t quiet the fear that had taken root in her nerves.
She slung her rifle over her back and began studying the door, trying to find a way to make it open. She’d never heard of a successful attempt to open and then leave the Vault, and information on how to open it was few and far between. Io became absorbed almost immediately, and by the time she was surrounded, it was too late.
A goblin struck her first, it’s solar bullet piercing the armor of her left shoulder. It drew her to turn around, and her chest met with a Praetorian’s arm. The wind was knocked from her and Io stumbled back, unable to reach for her gun before she was barraged by void explosions.
She took the full brunt of the attack head on with no time to react. She fell forward, losing consciousness fast as the bolts continued to strike her limp body. She could hear Akros calling to her under her hood, and she was marveled at how he was still alive.
“Fly” she croaked weakly at him, and her rapidly fading light didn’t give him a chance to argue. If he died, so did she. The construct took to the air, barely missing a precision shot from a hobgoblin. He was out of sight quickly, and she closed her eyes and waited for the end of it.
Her body was lifted up, and she heard the roar of the Vault’s protecters as her body was pitched over the cliff. She flew far, the Praetorian having spared no strength in her expulsion from the Vault’s steps. She barely registered hitting the dirt, tumbling limply onto the dirt path she had followed only minutes before.
The last thought as her vision faded to black was of a brilliant sunrise and the quickening of her heart as she met vibrant yellow eyes.