[i]"The nightmares hit me a lot. They started almost two years ago. Each night, the same thing. I started to wonder if I'd ever be free of them. Turns out, the worst nightmare of all, wouldn't be the one met through sleep"[/i] Archangel drifted off to sleep soon after Sera suggested it. He hadn't really rested in a few days, and fatigue took it's toll. Even for guardians, endurance wasn't limitless. Few nights weren't plagued by nightmares, as his memories would often turn against him at this, his most vulnerable state. It was ironic really, his worst enemy was his own mind. Recurring nightmares, over and over, haunted him each and every night. It was as if he was reliving what happened over and over again, unable to escape this cycle of torture. And as he drifted into semi-consciousness while his ghost took the controls, it happened again. Images flashed through his mind. The quiet cliffs of the moon, with the earth in his peripheral. He sat with his fireteam of six, playing games as the leader stood as a lookout. It all seemed so pleasant, so peaceful, until they came. Materializing from what seemed like the shadows themselves, thrall lunged at them from all sides. [i]"The nightmares never exaggerated what happened, it was bad enough on its own. I don't know how they moved so fast or so quietly, but we were surrounded within seconds. Even our lookout didn't see them until it was too late"[/i] One of the guardians was down in seconds. The others, including Archangel, had the fortune to make it to their feet before the knights came, charging behind the thrall. Still, they didn't last long. The Hive, the same "Black Death" that he had gone after not a mere hour ago, forced them to fall back into a gorge and cornered them there. He could hear the screeching of a wizard urging her forces to advance. His team knew they didn't have much time. The images began to fade as Archangel began to slip back to consciousness. "Arc, get ready to move. We won't let you die here." The voice of his fireteam leader pierced his mind as darkness overtook it. He woke up screaming seconds later. Sera, being used to this kind of thing after countless nights, began calming him down. She had even programmed a subroutine to kick in every time it happened. "Arc, hey, hey calm down buddy. You're okay. We're safe." Archangel found himself sweating and panting, as the nightmares were extremely vivid. He soon calmed down enough to return to normal, then sat back in his chair. "H-have we reached the tower?" "Actually, we'll be arriving in seventeen seconds. Good timing." She remarked, then looked at him as if to laugh silently. "Very funny Sera." [url=https://www.bungie.net/en/Forum/Post/115693368/0/0]Chapter 1 (Part I): The Beginning of the End[/url] [url=https://www.bungie.net/en/Forum/Post/116106337/0/0]Chapter 1 (Part II): Ambush[/url] [url=https://www.bungie.net/en/Forum/Post/116694748/0/0]Echoes [Appendix][/url]