Lore:The Dark Future

Chapter 1: The Family Line

Another sleepless night. Not that I require sleep, but it helps me to feel normal… whatever that is. I hear shuffling outside. Probably a rat scrounging for food. Good luck.

I'm sick of always having to search for a safe place to rest, though everyone's displaced these days—since the Last City fell.

I hear the noise again. Louder. Someone's near.

Before I have the chance to move, they're at the head of my cot.

I swing off of the taut fabric, grab my weapon from the floor, and then roll across the room, blasting Stasis at my assailant. They dodge it entirely, leaving my bed momentarily frozen in time. I fire off rounds, grazing their shoulder.

"Elsie! Wait!"

No one calls me that. Except her.

The attacker removes her hood. She's changed; a bit worse for wear, but it's her. My stubborn sister.

"What were you thinking, Ana?! Why did you attack me?"

"You attacked me!"

It's been years since I've seen her, after the Bombardment. Last family reunion didn't end well.

A crimson line rolls down the length of her arm. "You're wounded."

"It's nothing. I'll be fine."

"You're not fine. Where is that annoying gnat? Why isn't it fixing you?"

"I said it's nothing."

Something's up. I stare through her until she offers an explanation.

"She's… gone," Ana admits begrudgingly. "Let's leave it at that."

I'm not surprised to hear this.

"What are you doing here, Ana?"

"I need you to teach me… show me how to use Stasis, like you. You really understand how to control it. You're not corrupted… like them."

She sounds desperate. That's a bad sign.

"We've been over this. My answer remains no," I say. Ana is smart but too easily lead astray. It's a miracle she ended up how she did. I can't get involved.

"Every day, I make it by the skin of my teeth. Without the Light, without the Traveler, I'm a sitting Dreg, just waiting to be picked off."

"I have bigger concerns."

"Than family?" she asks, trying to pull my heart strings.

Won't work. I pick up my bag and head out the door.

"You're just going to leave? Fine. I'll find someone else to help me learn Stasis, so I can take down Savathûn."

Are things really so bad for her that she has this death wish?

"You know what she did, Ana. Stasis won't save you. This is a suicide mission."

"There are others out there who are tired of living in fear too. We can find them."

"Good. Go talk to them instead."

"Listen to me. We can attack with the Light and Darkness. Together."

"Or we can keep our heads low and move on."

"There's nowhere else to go! You want to run away—that's your choice. But I'm telling you we can do this," she says and holds up a satchel, pulling a drive from it. "We just need a little help."

"You… have him?" I ask in disbelief.

"What's left of him."

The Warmind. I guess he didn't vanish with Mars. There is power there, but this is still a foolish plan. Although Ana seems hell-bent on learning Stasis and, with Rasputin, she'll do it. Once she puts her mind to something, there's no stopping her.

I always thought the best way to protect her was to stay away from her. If I push her away now, can I really say I'm doing it for her?

"Only trouble is, he's stuck on this drive…" she says knowingly. "He could use a new vessel."

Ana smiles at me coyly. She knows exactly what to do and just how to bait me. I cast out a million second thoughts.

I can't let my sister get herself killed.

"Lead the way."