Fireteam Eagle (a Destiny fanfiction)

Falling

Sapphire

One of the most common fears in the world is the fear of heights. If you had to ask me, though, the fear of heights is absolutely and utterly asinine. Heights aren't the issue, unless you're elevated as high as an airplane can fly--but then again, why would you be up that high as a normal human? (you're human, right?) Heights by themselves usually don't hurt you.
Falling. That is what every person in their right mind should be scared of. The uncertainty, the racing heart, feeling your stomach fly up and collide with your throat, everything rushing past you so fast that your eyes blur and sting against the wind--that is more terrifying than being on the rooftop of any hotel. Much to my dismay, though, falling is all that I can remember.

I was falling fast, and presumably from somewhere high up. I couldn't see the ground that I was inevitably rushing towards. My eyes were fixed on the overcast sky ahead of me, becoming larger and larger every inch that I neared the ground. I never hit the ground. Maybe the falling was only a dream, or maybe it's what we see before we're alive.
As I said, I never remembered hitting the ground. Yet, there I was, on the ground in the snow, my eyes clouded over as if I'd been sleeping for years. Something flew in front of me, blurring my already fuzzy view of the sky.
"It's you! You're... Alive!" A voice rang out. A light glowed above me, and I realized that the object which had clouded my vision was hovering over me.
Words escaped me. I stared up at the blue light lingering above me in confusion. I was dumbfounded. I assume that was how babies felt when their parents spoke to them. I blinked harder, trying to force my eyes to focus, but my vision remained abysmally cloudy.
"Sorry, I'm sure it's quite a shock to just be... here... all of a sudden. Especially after you weren't for so long." The voice--I realized, was coming from the shape hovering over me.
I licked my lips, forcing my silenced voice to awaken. "Where?"
The shape in front of me jumped, as if it were startled.
"You... You can talk! Sorry, I just... I didn't think that they started talking so fast. I'm so glad I found you." The voice sounded mechanical, almost automated.
"Where am I?" I rasped. "Who are you?"
"You're at Twilight Gap, and I'm your Ghost."
I stared up at the shape blankly. "I'm going to need more than that."
"Well, you were dead--hold on! You're not dead anymore so you don't need to panic. I brought you back. That's what the Traveller wanted us to do. Twilight Gap is on the outskirts of The Last City. I found you out here, and to think, I searched the entire world when you were just outside of the city the whole time."
I heard the words that my ghost was speaking, but I did not process them. It was too much, and it was all being thrown at me too fast. I rubbed a hand against my forehead, and realized with a jolt how cold my hands were. I remembered I was lying in the snow. I sat up, almost knocking into the ghost that hovered nearby.
"It's a lot. Sorry. I should've started off slower, I was just so excited to meet you." My ghost made a buzzing noise, and then the light coming from it narrowed. "Let's start things off properly. I'm your ghost, and it's a pleasure to meet you. What's your name?"
Before I could even process what the words coming out of my mouth meant, I'd spoken. "Sapphire."
"Sapphire." The ghost made the same noise, as if processing my name. "You're going to be an amazing Guardian, I can already tell."
"I hate to be rude but I don't understand half of what you're saying." I felt my voice drop, trying to hide my own embarrassment.
"Okay, okay, maybe I'm taking things too fast. Let's go to The Last City, and then you can meet the vanguards. We'll all explain it to you."
I shakily got to my feet, fighting off a shiver as the wind hit my body. My legs felt stiff. They screamed at me that I shouldn't be walking. I looked around, but realized I still couldn't see anything but blurred shapes. "Where is the city?"
"You can't see it?" My ghost sounded astounded. I shook my head. He instantly rushed closer to my face, and the light shining from him had almost narrowed to a pinpoint. "Ah, I've just rushed into everything. I forgot to heal your eyes completely!"
I didn't have time to ask a question before a stream of blue light rushed towards my face. A warmth rushed through my body. For a moment, I was blinded--all I could see was the light from my ghost. I blinked hard, and then everything unfolded in crystal clarity. I was looking into my ghost's eye for the first time. I felt a small smile creep across my face.
"Better?"
I nodded, reaching out to gently brush the shell of the ghost. His eye widened, as if he were happy that I'd reached out to him.
"What are you?" I whispered, enamored by the foreign machine I'd been conversing with.
"Technology has gone quite far since you were around. Let's get to the city. You're in for a whole world of surprises, Guardian." A note of warmth crept into the ghost's voice as he spoke the last words, and then floated off.
He was going towards the skyline of a city I hadn't noticed since my eyesight returned. Buildings soared out of the snowy landscape. A tower cut through all of the buildings. Ships were rushing in and out of the city, soaring into the sky.
"It's... amazing." I murmured, my feet carrying me forward.
"You think this city's great, wait until we see the ones on Venus."
I Hesitated a beat, thinking the ghost was joking with me, but a laugh never came from the machine. "Serious?" I questioned
"Dead serious. We're just getting started." My ghost laughed as I rushed behind him, sights set on The Last City.