#I realized I had to actually write when Andi loses her ghost and welp....

[therealsymmetra]

//Twisted

It had to happen eventually, you knew this was part of your story.  

Cillian is @tagyourjakku‘s Hunter

 “Andi? Do you hear me? Get out of there and get to your ship, now!” Zavala sounded so far away in her ears, the thrumming in her skull making it hard to concentrate as Andi tried to center herself.

         “The ship’s landing across the airfield! Let’s go!” Selune’s voice came in loud and clear next to Andi’s ear as a Cabal ship came streaking across the sky, the explosion on impact shaking the base beneath her feet. Andi took no time as she sprinted across the deck, watching as her dropship disappeared behind a complex across from her.

         Andi dropped down onto the lower deck, several Cabal still fighting their ghoulish counterparts that twitched and howled. Andi fired as she ran past, not wanting to linger before she jumped the gap that had been blown in an adjoining bridge. She landed with a thud, rolling behind a cargo box as several more warped Cabal fired at her. She caught her breath, noting the pain in her right side, probably broken ribs.

         “We just have a little further, just the other side of this complex, then we’ll be home free!” Selune said, hovering just to the side of her.

         Andi looked up at her, giving a stiff nod before standing and turning to fire. She cut her way through the opposing forces, trying to ignore the way they snarled and screamed as she dropped them one at a time. She was getting tired, the fight with… whoever it was before had left her with little else than pure force of will to get out with.

         “Andi! Status!”

         “Working on it!” She replied.

         “We’re nearly—“ Selune was cut off, a large Cabal hand wrapping around her shell, the Cabal themselves being lifted off the floor by one of those things.

         “No!” Andi shrieked, grasping for Selune before a blinding white light nearly knocked her off her feet. By the time Andi could see again her ghost was… gone.

         “Selune? Selune!”

         Andi’s breathing caught in her throat, her head spinning as she tried to orient herself.

         “Zavala? Cayde? Selune? Anyone?”

         Fear, pure and unadulterated seized her as she realized how alone she was. Truly, fully alone. Selune had been there since… everything, Andi had never been without her. It was like a limb had been severed, she could no long feel that buzzing warmth in the back of her head that she never knew she would miss if Selune was ever taken. The possibility of losing her had been unfathomable, and now it was all so real. Andi hadn’t noticed the shielded twisted Cabal in her frantic search, only seeing the blast out of the corner of her eye before it hit her and sent her flying. She hit the ground hard, letting out a sharp cry as the jagged scarred infrastructure cut through her under armor and into her side. She scrambled to hold on, her fingers slipping, it was futile seeing as the monsters before her loomed over her, surely ready to cut her down if she had managed to climb up.

         Andi squeezed her eyes shut, images of her life running through her head. Zavala and Cillian. The Tower. Selune right after she had risen in that dirty pit she had somehow ended up in. And after a moment, she let go.

         She wasn’t sure how long she had been out, she hadn’t expected to wake up, but the sharp pain in her shoulder demanded to not be ignored. She was looking up at something, she wasn’t sure what it was until her eyesight finally cleared. Her head was spinning, completely disoriented by her current position at the bottom of a ravine. She wasn’t sure how exactly she had survived. She rolled over onto her side, the action sending bolts of agony through her body, she barely stifled a cry as she finally settled in her new position. She could hear her breathing heavy and labored in her own ears as she brought her hands up to her face. She could feel something hot filling her ear, three of her fingers not responding to her demands to move, and her right leg—it felt like it was on fire.

Andi was afraid to look down, but she forced herself to survey the damage done. She nearly wretched, her skin was splayed, muscle and bone and tissue all exposed and bloody. She took in a deep breath through her teeth, pinching her eyes shut as she tried to figure out her next move. She didn’t want to die there, alone and in pain at the bottom of a ravine on one of Mars’ moons. She grappled with her belt, slipping it off before trying to position herself in a way that she could access her leg.

         She slipped the belt around her knee, just above the worst of the lacerations before tying it in a loop. She took a deep breath, steadying herself before she pulled it as tight as she could. She let out a guttural scream, the action making her dizzy, softer pained panting leaving her as she let the rush of adrenaline roll over her. She pulled herself up, every wound she had endured feeling like they were simultaneously opening up. She fell backwards against the rocky wall behind her, letting herself catch her breath. She needed to get back to her ship, she couldn’t give up here, not yet. If she could get clear of the complex above her she might be able to hail her ship again, if she was even close enough to do it without…The reality hit her again, this time the shock two-fold as she institutionally tried to find Selune nearby.

         Andi squeezed her eyes shut, trying to steady her breathing but it only came faster and shorter. Her head was starting spin again, making her feel nauseous as everything blurred together. She pressed her shaking hands into her eyes, stomach twisting with anxiety. She needed to focus on something. Anything. She took in a breath through her nose, filling her chest and holding it before letting it go. She brought her hands together in front of her, intertwining her fingers the best she could and trying to imagine it was Cillian or Zavala. She tried to call Zavala’s smile, Cillian’s laugh, their warmth, their light, into her mind.

         Andi summoned her courage, taking in a deep breath again before she rolled over onto her stomach. She began to crawl, she could hear commotion above her head and she hoped none of the Cabal or those things could see her. She took it a foot at a time, clawing at the rock and dirt beneath her as she inched towards open sky. It felt like a lifetime, her own long and arduous lifetime, until she was finally in open space. She reached for her wrist, hailing her own ship, hoping, praying that her ship was close enough. 

         She closed her eyes, resting face down, realizing that her leg had gone numb. Then she heard it, that familiar hum and suddenly the dirt and dust around her plumed and she could feel the heat of the engines above her. She could hear the airlock open, without Selune she had to climb in physically. The ramp thudded beside her and Andi reached out, grabbing for the rails and hauling herself up. She felt sick, her vision greying as all the blood rushed from her head. She was so close, she couldn’t give up just yet, she had to keep pushing.

         Andi took it a rung at a time until she was inside. The cockpit lit up and beeping quietly every now and then.

         “Access autopilot,” her voice echoed, sounding empty and gravely like she had rocks in her throat.

         She felt tears prickling her eyes as nothing replied to her. She shoved herself along the floor, the action too painfully slow. She reached up, propping her head up so she could see the control panel in front of her. She caught her reflection in the window, averting her gaze, the gash above her eye, the blood, the parts of her body that should never see the light of day showing through the viscera. She programmed the Tower, her vision going grey again as she slumped backwards, her head finding a spot on the floor to rest. She let her eyes slide shut, just for a moment, just enough to regain her energy.

         Cillian willed his warp drive to go faster, keeping an eye on the jumpship that was near milliseconds ahead of him. Not just any jumpship, her jumpship.

         “Andi, please, can you hear me?” He called only for the airwaves to remain empty.

         “What’s going on out there?” Zavala asked, his voice strained. He had done a lot of… stern talking over the past hour or so, ever since Andi had gone silent.

         “Her ship is coming in but I’m getting nothing over comms. I’d say have someone ready in the hangar.”

         “I’m headed there now.”

         “Bring a medic.”

         Cillian could hear Zavala sigh heavily, forcing the air through his nose.

         “She’ll be okay, I’m sure. She has to be okay.” Cillian said.

         “I know… I know. Hurry back,” Zavala said before the comms cut out.

         As he entered Earth airspace he could see Andi’s ship floating in orbit, not diving to dock back home like usual.

         “Lyra, get me on her ship.”

         “Her shields are down, I should have no problem getting you in there.”

         “That’s not… great. Okay, let’s go.”

         Lyra nodded, the ghost spinning her shell before they both dematerialized. When they appeared in Andi’s ship Cillian noticed how dark everything was, the interior lights hadn’t been turned on and the pilot’s seat was empty.

         “Andi?” his voice echoed eerily through the cabin, his skin crawling.

         How had her ship gotten home without anyone to fly it?

         “Selune? You there?”

         Again, nothing.

         Cillian stepped forward, Lyra lighting up the cockpit. That was when he saw the trail of blood that lead up to the control panel, two legs laying slack against the floor at its end.

         “I need medics!” Cillian rushed forward, Lyra spinning again as she hailed the Tower.

         “I need medics standing by at the hangar immediately.”

         “We’re here, they’re ready. What’s wrong? What’s going on?” Zavala’s voice faltered, fear bleeding through his usually composed exterior.

         “I just… standby.”

         “Cillian… please.”

         “I have her—I just…”

         Cillian pulled Andi against his chest, images, too familiar, too old rushing through his head. He blinked rapidly a few times, cradling Andi as he stood. He didn’t want to examine her, didn’t want to study her too closely for fear of seeing something that he wouldn’t like. But as Lyra brought them back to his own ship he felt her twitch in his arms.

         “We’re going home Andi, just… please… please stay with me.”

         He didn’t look at her as he instructed Lyra to get them back to the Tower but as he sat, trying to adjust her in his arms he heard something. A small voice replied.

         “Okay.”