Chapter Text
Home Again.
“Setting auto-pilot for programmed nav-data now.” Spark turns to face the man at the controls. “Not that there's anything wrong with your driving!” she nervously clarifies.
He chuckles.
Below the clouds, Klutz observes the dark, sunken city. A swampy graveyard full of nothing but danger and dead men.
It was to be his final resting place.
“Hey, Spark.” The man breaks the peaceful silence as they fly through the sky, far away from the hellish ruins of Old Chicago.
“Yes?”
“Back at the hanger, before we found this thing,” he motions his hand around the jumpship's cockpit. “You said ‘nothing had gone as you expected’. I’ve been meaning to ask, am I what you expected?”
Spark looks a little surprised. The sections of her shell spin curiously.
“You said you looked for me for years, so I’m sure you had to have expectations,” he adds while removing his boots and soggy socks.
Spark transmats the footwear to the ship's storage and hovers down directly into the man’s view. “I won’t lie, I had pretty high expectations. I've heard many stories about the heroic accomplishments of other Lightbearers so many times. I’ve dreamt of finding my own Lightbearer for as long as I can remember… I dreamt of finding you.”
The words warm the man's heart. He can’t help but show a small, sincere smile.
“Of course, you aren’t exactly what I pictured. I thought you would be a little more coordinated.” They both let out a short laugh. “Falling down the side of a building was a bit of a strange first impression.”
“A painful one too,” the man chimes in while rubbing the back of his head.
“I don’t doubt it.” She giggles again. “It took some time for you to find the Light as well.”
“I’m sure my late blooming had you worried for a while there.” He rests back in his seat.
“Not at all.” Her voice is gentle. “You may not be exactly what I expected, but like you said, ‘the unexpected can be a good thing'.”
Klutz smiles again. His eyes feel heavy.
“I was right about one thing.” Spark rests herself on the man’s shoulder. “When the time came, you became something much greater than just a Lightbearer.”
The man slowly closes his tired eyes. “Yeah? What’s that?”
Spark looks out the window as the Last City appears on the horizon “You became a Guardian.”