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The constant hum of the ship echoes throughout the interior. Engines rumbling, pressing the Needle away from the loading dock it was once attached to. Gently, it shifts away, moving pass the fragments of debris and space rock until it clears the field and back into the expanse of Deep Space. Behind it, the massive colony starship Distant Horizon begins to grow smaller from sight. If sound could be heard in space, one might hear the great ship's metal hull moan slightly whilst surrounded by broken ship debris and rock rubble.
A sorry state for a floating tomb for a Dreamer, or, for one once was.
Gazing from the escape hatch window, the little droid Ve55e1-0424 watches in silence as the ships continues on course with intentions of never returning. For good reason as well, for one of their directives has been accomplished. Yet, still... something didn't sit right. This was, after all... Hornet's home, then a tomb for her mother and even after that, the Distant Horizon became even more emptier than a tomb. For "Little Ghost" as the captain had begun to call the droid, they found it now more than ever to check up on her.
The Needle's narrow hallways and corners now felt more... somber, quiet even. Ghost pokes around, scanning for any possible threat that might have snuck on board. Wouldn't be the first time, especially that one time Tiso left the hatch doors opened. So far, the only lifeforms detected, were that of their sleeping shipmates.
In one of the makeshift barracks, Ghost peeks in, spying on some of the crew, completely tuckered out. Tiso's scaly tail twitches once or twice into a curl outside his hammock, the end of it lightly flicking into Myla's face. The shell-covered furry creature hums in her sleep, muzzle twitching back and forth before she lazily licks her snout and rolls over till she becomes a ball in her bed filled with soft soil and loose stone. Cloth is found lightly snoring, still with her helmet securely on all the while her large body somehow is perfectly balanced on the small bed she lays on. Maybe the next trading post they come across, the droid could sneak in an order for a large, more comfortable bed for Cloth on the shopping list.
Content with what they witness, the droid continues on their way. No need to seek out their friend, Quirrel who by vital readings flashing through their vision, was already in Medbay, restocking with fresh supplies scavenged from the dead colony ship. They will seek him out once their prime directive for now was accomplished; find Hornet and assess her well being.
Dimly lit halls would lead them straight for the cock pit, knowing Hornet would be flying the ship back into the main quadrant of Hallow System again. Though, soon as they could detect her presence on their scanners, vital readings suddenly shown lower levels than normal with the indication of possible stress levels haven risen. Oh no! Something was wrong with Hornet!
Tiny metal feet tap against the grated floor, clanking in procession before they enter the cockpit. That was when the vessel discovers what their scanners were picking up.
Sitting curled up in the captain's chair, was Hornet. What was strange though, was seeing Hornet without her cloak on, seemingly topless while the distinctive red fabric laid draped over the secondary seat. What was even more strange... was the assortment of cables that were coming out from the ceiling from a secret panel Ghost had not detected before and all four in various size of thicknesses were firmly inserted into Hornet's back, or at least... some strange device attached to her back.
The black backpack like machine was slender from between her shoulders reaching down to just above her waist. A single ridge ran the length down, casting a pale white glow from between the panels, steadily growing upwards whist a single red light on her left side pulses on and off. Clearly a standby signal. The cables must be charging the device somehow, but what exactly, was this device meant for? Amazing how such a device was slim enough that when she wore her cloak it would be practically undetectable.
So closer Ghost approaches, attempting not to disturb the captain in this seemingly vulnerable state. Then again, the droid was never one for subtlety.
Hornet immediately perks up, turning her head around enough to get a glimpse of this intrusion and immediately tenses up.
"G-Ghost!? What are you doing here!? You shouldn't be in the cockpit now. Get out! Erase this from memory this instant!" She shouts, though with a strange new roughness she did not possess when the crew was exploring the remains of the Distant Horizon.
The droid merely stands still, the faint static hum of the Soul EMP crackling between their horns. Noting the odd defiance, Hornet attempts to get out from her chair, only to feel the hard tug of the cables still connected and makes a slight groan of discomfort. She stares Ghost down only to release a sigh of defeat and settles back into the pilot seat.
"Very well, if you must seek out the meaning of this, you are not to speak of any of this to the rest of the crew, understood?"
Ghost understood clearly, nodding in response before approaching closer. Taking a seat in the chair beside Hornet, they tilt their head to one side as their strange new curiosity inquires about the device. Now closer to examine it, the pack wasn't just worn by Hornet, it was, quite literally, a part of her.
"For every fighter, for every warrior, there is a weakness, a part of them that is beyond their control. It is their burden to keep secret and safe lest the world at large knows how to exploit those weaknesses. This is my weakness." She explains quietly before turning her attention back to stare out the window, the Distant Horizon steadily growing smaller from view.
"I was born a frail thing, the only survivor of an otherwise, doomed clutch. In desperation to ensure my survival, I was outfitted with a life support pack, changed out and upgraded as I aged. I can not deny it was of my father's design that I am able to take in breath now. Even still with this hindrance, I am... still thankful for the life my mother gave me. Though it was your duty to do what must be done, I can not prevent the feeling of remorse, perhaps even sorrow.
"I spent my childhood here, deep far away from intruders that would dare attempt to take my mother's territory. I can still remember the Distant Horizon's distinct engine's rumble echoing throughout the hull. How my mother used to keep me close so I could hear them as the colony flew throughout the territory, to lull me to sleep when I was in need of rest and recharge. Only on few occasions, was I not with her but to spend time with my father. I... can not seem to bring myself now to hate him as I did before. Under normal circumstances, it would be without question my hatred for him would be plausible, valid even. Yet, now as we part from what was to what is now... that part of me, that anger... I believe some of it stayed behind on that ship as a silent sentinel."
Hornet pauses, pressing down on her jaw, as the ship-liner grew smaller and smaller till the darkness of space finally swallows the ship up, fading away pass the rock rubble, possibly never to be seen again. Her hands begin to clinch into fists, starting to shake while the tips of her claws threaten to press through. No, she had to be stronger than this. She had to... had to stop.. so why did her vision start to sting slightly?
"I am alone now. That ship is no longer seen as home as it stands more as a memorial to my mother's legacy. All that remains, is what few memories I still retain." She turns to gaze back to the little droid, looking very attentive.
"I might seem stern most of the time, harsh even... but cold I am not. Though, I can not lie in say that I enjoyed having to watch idle while that fated moment to come to fruition. Now that it has come to pass with my mother's passing, I may start to repay the debt I owe for my existence. My only wish is that her passing was that of peaceful ends."
The pair turn back to watch the universe drift by their tiny ship in this endless sea of stars. Silence fell on them both with Hornet unable to draw forth more words. Maybe it wasn't needed, not now at least. As the Needle starts to shift left, there in the distance is the faint light of the center of their star system, surrounded by the planets that encircled that star. She narrows her eyes and lets out a disapproving hum. That star, that "sun", was no longer a sun worth casting its light on each life-bearing world, but instead enslaved to house the wrath of an ancient space god. Seeing its faint light in the distance would only cause the young huntress to further tense up.
Until a small, cold, metallic hand reaches out and touches her on the knee.
Concentration broken, Hornet looks back to the droid and stares in silence at this sudden act. The pair would remain still, eyes locked on one other as if studying right through the other. The droid slowly removes their hand, they then proceed to tilt their head to one side, as if... concern for her. No, surely a machine working off of some primordial essence of the darkness of space within its power core couldn't possibly possess some level of cognitive function beyond a typical programmed assistant droid?
There's a flash in front of Hornet's eyes and instead of seeing Ghost before her, it's a silhouette of a similar droid... only taller, more refine, more... life-like and alive feeling. How despite being so tall and perfectly trained for deadly combat, when alone with her so small and frail, they became so real to her, a sentinel guardian when her parents were not within sight. She could even remember something akin to a heartbeat, locked deep inside that metal shell as her child self would press up against it, the steady beats lulling her often to sleep. That was when she felt most safe. To be in the presence of her pale guardian, still as stone but gentle as starlight.
"Hollow..." She whispers before her vision clears and instead of the giant knight droid before her, it's little Ghost still waiting patiently and it hits her like a meteor shower.
"By the stars... I almost became like my father..."
The droids... the many small droids that she dismantled, ones before she amassed a crew and discovered Ghost. How she tested them, nearly tortured them in her quests, and how she destroyed them one by one when they failed in retaining the horrid plague of light that it grew to the point she would not test them further and abolished them out of mercy before they became corrupted and destructive tools for that angry goddess. Now, here, it all dawns on her.
Those droids, those vessels... they were not merely simple machines. They had hearts that beat, fluids that traveled through every inch of their shells, minds that could... think. All created by the Pale King, all created with a purpose only for one to be chosen and the rest discarded like scrape metal. For as powerful as the star wyrm was, how blinded he had become to not realize by given up some of his life force, his essence, to help aid in the creation, he basically created altered progeny, forever encapsulated in metallic forms to contain the beating hearts left behind. Now, Hornet nearly followed in similar footsteps. Oh how wrong she had become to not realize what... or who was right in front of her.
"It would seem.. we are not so different aren't we? Past the pieces of metal and wires that have been combined to form a means to continue existing comfortable, you and I... we're the same."
Ghost's EMP between their horns seems to hitch in shape, as if curious and question what she meant by those words.
"In other words... you are my half-sibling, locked deep inside those mechanical parts and springs, beats a heart deep within that core. I'm your half-sister."
There's a brief pause between the two. The small droid remained motionless with only the pale light of their EMP pulsing to indicate they were still functioning. Hornet stares for what felt like eternity. Did they understand what she said, did they know? Maybe she was mistaken and they truly were just another automaton machine built by a desperate god-king to save the star system with no cognitive means of understanding beyond 'protect Hallowstar'.
Doubts instantly dashed away no sooner when Ghost jerks up and in a fit of excitement, jumps into their sister's lap for a hug.
Hornet lets out a soft gasp, instincts telling her to defend and attack back. She shoves them away, forbidding them to return and allow herself a real, tender moment back into her life. Tiny metal arms cling around her middle, careful not to interfere with the life support pack on Hornet all the while she wraps her own arms around them in that desperately needed hug. A sigh of relief exits under her breath and she can't help before embrace her robotic half-sibling longer. For once... it just felt right.
"Forgive me..." She whispers. "For my preconceived notions that led me to believe earlier of your origins. Now, I finally understand. You are more than just an mere empty shell for parts and gears to move about a strange substance that even I struggle to understand at times."
Ghost looks up to meet their sister's face, staring before tiny metal hands reach up. They cup the sides of her face gently, drawing her close till the two of them pressed into the other's forehead. All was forgiven. Now they could begin to function as something of a family. Even if that family was a mis-matched group of aliens floating in a tiny metal 'bottle' in a endless 'sea', the droid couldn't see it any other way. Family was important, family meant everything.
They glanced back to the passenger chair. Removing themselves from Hornet's grasp temporarily, Ghost grabs her red cloak and with one good heave, tosses the garment into the air just enough for it to come floating down with the edges opened up. It comes to lay on top of the half-siblings, now forming a make-shift blanket to share between the two. A smile creeps up on Hornet's face seeing how clever the mysterious vessel had become. Maybe, she should do something in return?
"The ship's set to auto-pilot to the nearest supply station. However... I will allow for this time for this occasion for you to take control. The Needle is yours to fly wherever you need us to go to next. The choice, is in your hands Little Ghost. Where do you want us to go?"
Ghost turns to Hornet as if in thought. Before she could mutter another word, they shift over to the control panel, opening up the map. So many places to go, so many worlds to explore and gather resources. It would be one location they definitely knew would be of great value. So guiding their hands over the screen, the vessel commands the auto-pilot to a new point.
"NEW WAYPOINT MARKED, PROCEEDING TO DESTINATION: CITY OF TEARS"
The computer's voice echoes in the cabin and the hull shakes to life as the engines roar to life. Satisfied, Ghost returns to nestle back into Hornet's lap under her cloak-turned-blanket. She finds herself wrapping her arms around the little droid as the two of them gaze on ahead, the stars and pale light to guide them to their next destination. One Dreamer put to final rest, and now another waits. One by one... the locks on the cage would be undone and the Hollow Knight's location would be revealed and the false Light will be finally meet its end.
"The Capitol then? Well, what business you have there, you shall have my support. I will no longer sit idle and let the universe take away what family I have left. We shall endure this... together."
With that, Hornet feels Ghost give her another hug before properly settling into the crook of her left arm allowing the siblings to watch the stars go by. They were family now and nothing was going to separate them now. No gods or mortals will keep them apart, Ghost would make sure of that.
~FIN~