#escalation-protocol

She’d barely arrived here, and already, something was amiss. She was no stranger to the idea of holidays about romance, love, and that other sweet, sappy shit, but this... this was something else. And poor Jinju was struggling to keep Ana’s head clear. 

Even when she made her way to the rooftops (which was stupidly easy for her-many of her supernatural abilities had been sealed away, somehow, and her weapons had been stripped away, but she’d find a way to get them back-if nothing else, Hunters were a clever lot, and Ana was no exception), she could not completely escape the strange scent. And the scent was making her head swim. She couldn’t stop thinking about Rasputin, how worried he must be with her so far from Mars, unable to contact her, and was worrying over his status, now that there was no one to be able to translate his words to other Guardians. She had always cared about the Warmind, but there was something in the air that was amplifying her emotions. And right now, that set of emotions was all concerning her Warmind of a “son”. 

And there was something there-both her own “eyes” and Jijnu’s scans confirmed it. Some sort of invisible, airborne particulate that had to be the cause of the suffering Ana was enduring. Honestly, the only reason why it wasn’t any worse was thanks to Jinju working overtime to counter the... whatever the hell it was. 

It was still rather hard to focus, and as such, she’d stopped the ground level, sliding down to the sidewalk, panting heavily. She was sweating visibly, but, just a few feet off to one side, she saw... well, what at least looked like another human. However, both her “eyes” and Jinju’s scans told her there was more to this man-he was no Guardian, but he gave off... something. Not of either Light or Darkness, but... something.

She couldn’t very well let herself be seen in such a pathetic condition, now could she? Ana forced herself back on her feet, and shook her head in another vain attempt to finally shake off the... whatever the hell was in the air that was making her worry more than usual for Rasputin. 

“Hey there... How are you today?” She asked, deciding to keep things simple... and pray to the Traveler that he could understand her.

Ana looked to the sky, and hissed through her teeth as she saw the even larger island descend. Fuck, and this was after power had been lost, and after all of the initial chaos that these “NULL” shitheads had started. Damnit, where was Rasputin and his Warsats when she needed him-

Oh. It just... stopped. Well, at least she, along with everyone else who lived here, didn’t have to worry about being crushed alive. (In reality, she’d come back, but she hadn’t seen any other Guardians yet, and she didn’t like the thought of being alone, with only Jinju for company.) Maybe things wouldn’t go straight to hell-

Uh oh. Those pink beams couldn’t be anything good. She tensed, mentally telling Jinju to stand by for a resurrection, just in case those were guiding beacons for some sort of missile-esque weapon (or weapons)-

Oh, fuck. That was even worse! 

Formless things manifested from wherever the beams struck, and shapeshifted into... well, it seemed anything was fair game. Some things, admittedly, she didn’t recognize, some things looked like they came right outta some cartoon or book, but there was no mistaking the forms of Fallen, Cabal, and especially no mistaking the forms of various Hive. She doubted they were the real deal, but upon seeing them fight, it was obvious that they were just as much a threat as the real deal. Shit, how was she going to stand a chance against an army like that with just her strength, regeneration, resurrection, and a Traveler-damned wooden pole for defense-

Until she felt it. Just like when the Light returned after the Young Wolf killed Ghaul and woke up the Traveler. Her powers were back! Eyes aglow with Light, a downright demonic grin came across her face. It was only widened when the full array of her weaponry appeared all around her. The IKELOS weapons all around her, Sleeper Simulant on her back, and Polaris Lance in her hand... it was as if she’d never lost them in the first place! She had Jinju transmat what she couldn’t carry on her person away, just in case. Now, time to look for some trouble-

Well, that didn’t take long. A Cursed Thrall was about to sneak up on some old guy in a large suit of blue armor (almost like a Titan, but she wasn’t sure he was a Titan), and he didn’t seem to notice... 

“HEY! OLD MAN! WATCH OUT!” She called, before drawing one of her knives, infusing it with her Solar Light, and throwing it with an aim only years upon years of practice could grant her. It landed square in the center of the Cursed Thrall’s forehead, leading to the Hive creature exploding violently with a pained shriek. The explosion proceeded to also take out quite a few of the surrounding creatures, and after the explosion finished, Ana deftly maneuvered from her perch closer to the armored man, and smiled at him.

“Do you know your way around guns? I’ve got a few I can lend to you for the moment, if you want. If nothing else, two fighters is better than one, especially against a swarm of Hive!” She offered. 

Hence what brought her to a place that she’d otherwise normally avoid-a small, chapel-esque building that was away from most of the chaos. Thankfully, the moment she entered the building (and, being a Hunter, of course, Ana didn’t enter through the front door-no, she instead found her way in via a window because that was infinitely more fun), the haze began to lift from her mind. 

In other words, she was finally far enough away from the source for Jinju to be able to compensate for the airborne... whatever the hell it was. But, of course, there was no time to rest, because mere seconds after said haze cleared, Jinju bumped up against Ana’s cheek, whispering via their neural link that she detected something... odd.

It was some sort of strange energy. The closest thing that they’d seen before was Hive magic, but it wasn’t... evil. It wasn’t... corrupting. Just... dark. Different. And, combined with the state of the environment and Ana being crippled by means unknown to either Ghost or Guardian, it had Jinju on edge. Ana, internally, had to admit that it made her a little wary too.

It wasn’t difficult to find what Ana concluded was the likely source of said energy (confirming her suspicions with a quick scan with her “eyes”)... and Traveler damn it all, she was even more confused. 

The... whatever it was looked mostly humanoid, but was really, really, really tall. And really, really, really skinny. And yet, somehow, it wasn’t showing bones. It was just evidently very tall, and very skinny. But the weird size wasn’t the weirdest thing about... whatever the hell Ana was currently bearing witness to. 

No, the literal snake legs took that cake, and ate it whole. This... thing, whatever it was, had literal snake legs! In all of her years (that she could remember, at the very least), she’d never seen anything quite like this... creature! The scientist in her was beyond excited, and the Hunter in her was very curious. 

Still, she didn’t know if those snake legs could pick up on her, and more importantly, she didn’t know if they could bite of their own accord (or at the creature’s command, or perhaps even both if she was really unlucky), or if they were venomous. She didn’t want to get within striking range, but she definitely wanted to get closer. 

Still perched in the rafters of the chapel structure, she easily and deftly maneuvered to get a closer look at the... whatever this thing was. 

Ana wondered, at the back of her mind, what Rasputin would think of this creature. (He’d probably think it was a mutant Hive thing, and attempt to kill it on the spot, sadly.) 

Ana leapt up from the prone position she’d found herself in. Where was she?! This wasn’t Mercury, this wasn’t Venus, this wasn’t Earth, this wasn’t the Tower, and this sure as hell wasn’t Mars! Was this the doing of the Pyramid Ships? She had no idea, and it unnerved her. She had no idea how to even get in touch for Rasputin, or anyone else from home for that matter.

And the worst part... she could feel it-her Light had been... sealed, she supposed the best word was for it. In terms of weapons, she only had her Polaris Lance, and it had been weakened. It could still kill, however, and she supposed that it would have to do. She still had her wits, and was still in good condition-

She blinked a few times. Was that a little kid?! Where were his parents?! He shouldn’t be out here, on his own! 

“Hey, kid! It’s not safe to be out here, on your own! Where are your parents? Are you lost?” She called over, running towards him. As she got closer, she then proceeded to notice the... snakes? She knelt down when she got close, infinitely curious. 

“What in the name of the Traveler is going on with you?” She wondered quietly. 

The first broadcast had been so sudden, and completely out of nowhere. It was so... angry as well. Just so very... hostile. Rasputin would most definitely take it as a threat, and would react accordingly. The island would be bombarded with everything he had. War frames of all shapes and sizes, Valkyries, and even any Warsats he could manage to divert to the island... it would all be brought to bear on the island, as if Crota or Oryx had claimed the island and were just casually there, doing whatever it was that Hive of any level did when not actively threatening humanity and their allies. (She honestly wondered if the Hive did do anything else besides basic things that all living beings did, such as feed, make more Hive, and the like, and threaten humanity and all of their allies. She didn’t think so, if she was being honest. But maybe that was because they constantly tried to threaten Rasputin, and thus, she had an extreme dislike for them. Disgusting, nasty, gross magical evil aliens that they were!)

She shuddered at the thought. Even she had to admit that Rasputin wasn’t exactly a saint. He wasn’t above playing dirty, and didn’t care if there was any sort of collateral damage. She wished she could just set his moral parameters and have them be set, damnit, but no, he somehow figured out how to rewrite his own moral parameters, clever bastard of a Warmind that he was. But still, he meant well, and she would defend him to the end. And to be fair, as long as they didn’t actually threaten humanity (especially so long as they didn’t actually threaten her in specific), he might just settle for watching and waiting. Even as his Voice and someone who was a key part of his development into what he was today, she still didn’t entirely understand him.

Okay, yeah, she missed him. She missed him a lot. She worried about him as a whole, and right now, she really wished she could have him as backup. She honestly wished she could have the Vanguard too. There was a lot she didn’t know, and with most of her powers sealed away, she couldn’t go out, guns blazing (both literally and figuratively speaking), and be her usual Hunter self. No, she had to be very careful. She hated having to play along with rules that would more suit the grumpy blue bastard Zavala, but she wasn’t stupid. If she was going to survive... if she was going to be able to go back home... then she had to think and act more like the man that frustrated her the most out of the Vanguard right now. 

Ugh, it pissed her off. But she had no choice. 

She took out her wooden pole, sprinted towards a building, and, quite literally, pole-vaulted herself onto the roof. She then turned, and used her Hunter agility to get to a higher vantage point. What she saw made her heart sink.

The island, as a collective whole, was in complete and total disarray. Everyone was freaking out. It reminded her a lot of the early days of the Last City. When it was under construction, and all of that. And, in a way, it reminded her of Twilight Gap. She cursed her own powerlessness. If only she had her full powers, she could bring an end to this...!