A little fanfiction piece I started writing a while ago. Now that Xur has brought it to the tower, it seemed right to finish the story and share it with you guys. Here it goes... ----------------------- [b]Journal entry #1. Date unknown (day 3 since my awakening)[/b] I have decided to keep a journal, in an effort to make my thoughts clear. In this vast loneliness, talking and writing to myself is one of the few things that keeps me sane. Or so it seems. I will keep this running, as long as the batteries in this small device keep working. Or until I lose my mind… The first thing I remember in this new life -if this[i] is[/i] life and not some twisted afterlife- was feeling an indescribable pain, a flash of white blinding light… and a small floating machine in front of me. White in color, with several triangular metallic pieces around a grey central orb, with a small blue light. The machine spoke… called me a Guardian, and started muttering something about “darkness” that I can´t recall. I am not sure, but I think it said I had been… [i]dead[/i]?. It appeared to be damaged. Wounded? Strange thing to say about a machine. But it seemed alive and suffering, somehow. Yes- seemed. Because short after, we were attacked, and the little machine was destroyed or killed. Maybe the robot had been followed, or it was being pursued. I heard a roar, and saw two… [i]creatures[/i]. It is hard to describe them, since my memory is still shattered, but they didn´t look like anything that I had a vague notion of. Four arms, multiple eyes, clothes and armor… and masks. I somehow recall the existence of “animals” and the shape of many of them. And these creatures didn´t look anything like them. Or people. They shot at us, and some of the bolts hit the floating robot. Was it trying to protect me? I will never know. But I had no choice, no other option, than to run away. Why do I know the word “robot” and what it implies? So many questions, it feels they are going to shatter my brain. Maybe I should stop thinking… [b]Journal entry # 2. Day 6 since my awakening.[/b] Today I returned to the site where I was brought back. I found the little machine, still dead, with a hole in its shell. And so dies my only chance of knowing my identity. Who am I? Why was I chosen to return? Because many things lead me to believe that I´ve been dead, as the robot said. I have short flashes, glimpses, of another life. If I die again… will I come back? Will I return to my former self? Familiar faces whose names I can´t remember, everyday objects and places… Some elements of this new land seemed to be more advanced, yet familiar. How long was I dead? The confusion is desolating. Overwhelming. In these ruins I found a firearm. Rusty, simple, yet functional, with three full magazines. For some reason, and even when I can´t remember anything, the feeling of the gun in my hands was familiar. Like I already knew how to use it. I could defend myself now. And attack. So I ventured into the ruins to see what I could scavenge. I needed more gear, protection, and food. God, the hunger… it was tearing through me. There were some of those creatures from the other day. They weren´t expecting me. Killing them was easy from the shadows. I took some of their armor, and ate their flesh. The taste was horrible, but I needed to eat something. Some of them had knives... I decided to keep them with me. I have to save bullets. [b]Journal entry #3. Day 10 since my awakening.[/b] I have kept the gun with me for emergencies, but the longer I wield them, the more comfortable and content I find myself using knives. Sneaking up on prey is much easier now. So is running away from a threat- or maneuver for an ambush. Their light but cold lethality satisfies me very much. Sometimes I worry that I have started to act like a pure predator, instead of a human being. But then again, in this barren wasteland, only the strong survive.[i] Or the deadly[/i]. Yesterday I found a small settlement. This is the first time that I´ve found people out here. Yet... I am unsure about approaching them. I still feel lonely, but I don´t think that we are the same. For good or for bad, I have become something else. They might not welcome me. Today I found a very different creature. This one had two legs and arms, unlike the first monsters that I met with four limbs. But it behaved much more… I don´t know what words could fit. Feral? Vile? As days pass by, I feel that my ability to express myself is getting worse. Anyway, I slit the creature´s throat with one quick slash. I noticed that it had three green eyes, glowing with their own light. Maybe I could use them, somehow… [b]Journal entry #4. Unknown day since awakening.[/b] It worked. I don´t know how, but IT WORKED. I cut out a section from that last monster´s face, specifically forehead and eyes, and placed them over the helmet I´ve been using. The smell is [i]horrible[/i] and now I see everything with a slight green tint. However… my night vision has improved. SO MUCH. I can now see clearly during the night, even in the darkest of caves. I can also sense the heat and energy in living creatures, making it easier to spot them. Stalking has never been easier. And knowing how skilled I have become with knives, I don´t fear any other creature out there anymore. I am becoming [i]the ultimate hunter[/i]. I have also begun to make small incursions into the village I found. They seem to be helpless, hardly armed, and innocent, so I refuse to kill any of them- [i]unless they become a threat[/i]. But for now, I have been able to make my visits undetected. I have taken some batteries, supplies and food. I don´t feel great about doing this, but I must survive somehow. Better a thief than a corpse…. [b]Journal entry #5. Unknown day since my awakening[/b] Apparently I wasn´t as silent and efficient as I thought. Today, when I went back to the village, I head a discussion. Two men were arguing. One of them was accusing the other of theft, of taking food for himself. They must have noticed that things go missing recently. Maybe I should look for another settlement- if there [i]is[/i] one. But here´s something that made me smile. When one of the men accused the other of stealing the food, he replied saying[i] “it wasn´t me… it was the third man”•[/i] Would that be a reference to the three eyes in my mask? Or perhaps there were two men in the room when I… borrowed, the food, and I was the third one there? In any case, it´s interesting… I have a name now. [i]The Third Man[/i]… it has a nice ring to it. [b]Journal entry #6. Screw the days.[/b] Maybe I should have [i]killed[/i] the man who saw me. It seems they have called for security. Three men arrived to the settlement earlier, riding machines. Like those “Motorbikes” I remember, but… [i]without wheels[/i]? How is that possible? What YEAR is this? Wait… the machine that revived me, the… Ghost. Each of these men, these soldiers… is accompanied by one of these machines too. Does that mean… [i]that I am like them[/i]? Or that I was meant to become a soldier like they are? Not sure if they are soldiers… but they all wear helmets and plating, some heavier than others. But I heard them talk. I saw how they act and move among the people of the village. That… self-righteousness, that pretend halo of rectitude and virtue…[i] it sickens me[/i]. They stroll around, with their shiny guns, like they are the new kings of this world. I am not like them. I[i] refuse [/i]to become one of them. [b]Journal entry #7. Probably the final entry.[/b] They are tracking me. Somehow, one of them spotted me. Luckily they don´t know the terrain like I do, and I was able to lose them. Not all of them, tho. One of them, with a cloak and some knives of his own, got close to a hole I was hiding in. I had no choice but to attack… Here´s another odd thing: when I attacked, [i]my whole body lit up with electricity[/i], and a lot of it concentrated at the blade itself. I just wanted to incapacitate the poor bastard but… I think I [i]disintegrate[/i]d him. There were sparks, and then his body disappeared. I didn´t know I could even do that. Is the mask doing this? Chances are I won´t find out. I hear them coming closer. Seems they brought new friends. It´s me or them now… ---------- [i]- The journal entries shown above were extracted from a small PDA-like device at the site of the assault, probably used by the so-called “Third Man”. Fireteam Aquila was successful in locating the thief that had taken food and goods from the village situated 43 miles west of the City.- - After a brief but intense fight, the attacker was put down. This person moved like a Bladedancer in all regards- he even showed more prowess than many experienced Bladedancers, retaining his Arc infusion for a long period. However, no Ghost was found with him, so I am not sure if he is a Guardian gone rogue or not. Cavanagh and Dieter were killed by this man. No clues about the whereabouts of Johann. Should he or his Ghost not give any signs of life in the following days, we should consider him MIA.- - The most disturbing element of this particular story is the helmet he was wearing. The basic frame appeared to be a Standard Hunter helmet model Sinaa Jaguar 2.1. However… the “Third Man” appears to have modified it on his own. I cannot give any final verdict on the matter until the Vanguard analyzes the helmet, but it seems that he ripped off an Acolyte´s eyes and wired them into the Helmet somehow. The influence of the Darkness could explain this person´s rabid behavior.- - Note to Toland: I strongly suggest that this particular helmet is decomissioned as soon as the analytics are done. [/i]-