Chapter IV - Far From Home

"Echo? Echo, can you hear me?"

"I've been looking for you. Let me heal you."

Echo awoke to the sound of whirring, and a dim flash of light flooded his eyes. Smokey floated over him, and as he got his bearings, he remembered what had happened. The Red Legion had attacked the Last City, slaughtered Guardians, and-

The Traveler...

Echo remembered seeing The Traveler ensnared in a strange machine that acted like a cage, and cutting off his connection to the Light instantaneously. He remembered Oris and Carrion falling, and a white-clad Cabal, monologuing about how the Light now belonged to him.

All of this came back to Echo in waves, and as he stood up, he stumbled, righting himself on a piece of rubble. As he looked around him, he saw the Last City in ruins, and above him, the drone of Cabal Harvesters. "Echo, we have to move before they find us. We must leave the Last City." Smokey worriedly spoke. Echo noticed that his voice would crackle every once in a while, as if he was barely alive himself.

"Carrion... Oris... where are they?" Echo spoke, his voice low and hollow. Smokey looked at him, and hesitantly replied,

"I'm not sure. I looked all over for them, but I found them nowhere. Not even their Ghosts."

Echo's heart dropped as he heard those last words. "And the civilians?" he asked.

Smokey stayed silent. Echo asked again, his voice rising in anger. "Smokey, the civilians? Did they make it out?" Again, Smokey stayed silent.

In a flash of anger, Echo roared, "Tell me! Did they make it out?!"

Smokey finally spoke. "Echo... I don't know."

Echo suddenly flew into an infuriated rage. He found the closest piece of rubble and hurled it against a nearby wall, and continued hurling rubble this way and that. He eventually stopped, and fell to his knees.

Smokey cautiously approached the Exo from behind. "Echo... I know you're grieving, but we have to move. Red Legion patrols will be here any minute."

Echo sat, kneeling, for a few seconds before shakily standing up once more. Without another word, he limped towards the city's boundaries.

***

THREE WEEKS AFTER THE ATTACK

Echo made his way up a rocky pathway, adjacent to a sheer cliff. Every once in a while, he would look up as a patrolling Cabal ship flew overhead, but thankfully, they never noticed him. One time in particular, something strange happened. As he looked up, he noticed a small shape sitting on a rock several yards away. As Echo got closer, he managed to make it out;

a falcon...

A lone falcon, perched, watching him intently. As Echo continued down the path, the falcon took flight, sailing on a draft of wind and flying a distance ahead of them. "That falcon... where did it come from?" Echo wondered aloud. These mountains were known for hosting very little wildlife, much less a population of falcons.

"It must be someone's pet. Keep a lookout, there could be bandits... or worse." Smokey warned. Echo knew that the bandit colonies had all but been snuffed out by Shaxx's patrols in the past five years, but nonetheless, he drew his hand cannon, ready for anything.

As he continued through the rocky pathways, his eye caught a movement in front of them. It was the falcon again; it had landed on another rocky stalagmite, and was watching the Exo with the same curious intent. "That falcon... there it is again. Be careful, Echo." Smokey warned. However, Echo had a feeling that this falcon was not there for the purpose of marking a target for a roving band of thieves or Fallen Pikes. Against Smokey's warnings, he approached the falcon once more, and it did not fly away. It only watched him more, tilting its head as he approached.

"Hey, there, little guy. Who do you belong to?" Echo questioned, not expecting an answer. It's not like animals could talk, although he sometimes wished they would. Instead, the falcon only watched him closer, and then suddenly, let out a shrill squawk and lifted off. Surprised, Echo stepped back, but slipped on a small pile of loose rocks. He lost his footing, and an instant later, he was plummeting off of the rocky cliff. He hit the ground in mere seconds, a loud, mechanical thump announcing his landing. Shortly after his fall, he attempted to get up, but found he was unable to.

He looked at his arms, and found that his left arm was wrecked, and mangled beyond use. His legs had also taken a beating, and the way he was right now, he could not walk, let alone stand properly. He called out for Smokey, but found his vocal cords had also been damaged in the fall. His vision was fading fast, and he did not know how much longer he could last out here in this barren wasteland. As he laid down, letting out a mangled, resigned sigh, he saw the falcon swoop overhead, circling him. So it is bandits, he thought to himself. He began to wonder the ways they might repurpose him; turn him into a fighting machine, barely capable of independent thought but excellent in a firefight, or even worse, scrap him for parts...

All of these thoughts faded with his vision as he once more slipped into a dreamless, dark stasis.

***

Echo awoke with a start. Immediately, he reached for his hand cannon, but found that it was not at his side. His eyes slowly opened, and they were met with a calming overhead lamp. He groaned, finding his voice box was strangely intact. He looked at his body, only to find that it too had been repaired. He could now move his limbs and fingers with ease, and he even noticed that his bodily plating had been polished too. Maybe these bandits aren't so bad after all, he thought to himself.

Groaning again, he sat up from the cot he had been laid down in. Further investigation revealed a large crate of supplies in the corner of the room, and on an adjacent table, he found his weapons. He sheathed his knife, slinging his rifle over his back, and sliding his hand cannon into the holster. Strangely, though, he found his gear missing. Strange for bandits to take gear, but not weapons or any of my parts, he thought again. Suddenly, he heard voices, and laid his hand on the hilt of his knife, preparing for a fight. He moved away from the doorway of the room, and raised his knife...

And saw three civilians walk by.

Civilians? No way, he thought. "How could civilians be here? I thought this was a bandit camp", he muttered. Almost disappointed, he sheathed his knife once more, and followed the civilians, at a distance.

Eventually, they led him to a large room crowded with people. As he entered the room, several turned to look at him, and began talking amongst themselves. Suddenly, the chatter was silenced by a voice from above. "The Lone Wolf survives!"

He swiveled around, drawing his hand cannon, but a figure approached from the side, pushing his arm down. "Please, put down your gun. You are among friends, Guardian." the figure spoke into his ear. Bewildered, he holstered his hand cannon, and stepped back to get a good look at the figure. She did not look like a bandit; instead, she looked more like a traveling merchant or bounty hunter.

"What are you? A scrapper? Bandit? Ghaul didn't hire you to fetch me, did he?" he questioned harshly. The woman only laughed.

"No, Guardian. I rescued you. Actually, Louis was the one who found you." she answered. Before Echo could ask who this 'Louis' was, the falcon he had seen days before swooped down from a rafter and landed on the woman's arm.

"The name's Suraiya Hawthorne. I'm in charge around here." she offered her hand, and Echo reluctantly shook it.

"Where's 'here'?" Echo asked. Hawthorne motioned for him to follow her, and as they walked, she spoke.

"After the Red Legion took over the Last City, us civilians and Tower Crew made a place to stay out here. We call it The Farm." she said as she opened a door. Outside, the air was warm and pleasant. Birds flew among the trees, and civilians wandered about. A large fountain stood in the center of the area, and as Echo looked, he noticed two figures standing near it, looking worried.

"You must be a big deal in the Last City, Guardian. You've got friends who'd like to see you." Hawthorne spoke. As she did, Echo recognized the two figures, who turned and looked at him; Carrion and Oris, their gear off as well. Carrion and Oris, upon seeing him, rushed over. Carrion laughed aloud and wrapped Echo in a bearhug, and Oris clapped him on the shoulder.

As they separated, Echo said excitedly, "But, the City - I thought you were dead! Smokey couldn't find you bodies, and-"

Oris interrupted. "We were awoken by our Ghosts when the wreckage had settled. We thought you were dead, and we eventually found our way here. Hawthorne's falcon found you half-dead on the outskirts, and she brought you back here."

"I didn't know Hawthorne knew how to fix Exos," Echo joked. "This new chassis is amazing!"

Hawthorne approached the three Guardians. "Oh, I didn't. I had someone else do it for me. Someone I'm sure you know quite well." she spoke, before gesturing behind her. Echo looked, and his jaw [quite literally] almost dropped.

Behind Hawthorne stood Elizabeth. She looked weary, and worn-out, but all the same alive, and that's all Echo cared about. As soon as she saw him, she rushed forward, and hugged him. "Echo, thank The Traveler, you're awake!"

Echo hugged her back, and the two separated. "Elizabeth, I... how did you make it out? I didn't see the shuttles leave." Elizabeth looked up at him, and responded,

"The escape shuttles have a unique cloaking system installed just in case anyone would attack the Last City. I guess it worked too well, since not even the surviving Guardians saw us leave, apparently." she blushed as she finished talking, attempting to hide it by lowering her head.

As he watched her, Echo thought he felt something stir within his chest. Initially, he chalked it up to a simple strange mechanical motion due to his new chassis, but as he continued to watch Elizabeth, he began to wonder whether this feeling was mechanical or not. Whatever it was, he didn't know how long it would last. Come on, Echo. get ahold of yourself. You're a robot. You don't even have a brain, let alone a heart, he said to himself before the chatting circle dissipated. Followed by Hawthorne, Carrion, and Oris, he made his way to a tent to discuss their plan of action - if there ever was going to be one.