A faint voice clawed its way through the darkness, flooding his senses making him acutely aware that someone was talking to him. It was unmistakably non-human with a hint of a robotic filter yet also had a softness only something close to human could replicate. The sudden urge to move accompanied the voice processes long abandoned within his body ignited as he began to awaken. "Guardian-" it faded out, before becoming increasingly elevated, impatience edging the voice as anxiety fizzled in the air, either annoyed or worried by the lack of response. "Guardian! Eyes up guardian!" It was a timely feat but after a while his eyelids slowly peeled open, vision a blurry haze as white bombarded his unaccustomed pupils forcing a low hiss out of his parted lips while his hands covered the sensitive area. When he adjusted, he managed to gaze at the entity who had been communicating with him. A... what was it? A white shelled organism? He sat up despite his muscles burning from protest at the new movement, joints popping as his body seemed reanimated. He groaned in response to this, rolling his shoulders before gathering himself.

    "What are you?" He inquired initially his own voice undistinguishable,the sound foreign and broken from lack of use. "What is a guardian?" He added, raking his memory for any relevant information regarding the word but finding none.

    The thing rotated itself, blue eye facing the newly awakened male. "We can't talk now, it's too dangerous out here. A storm is brewing. There appears to be an old facility nearby. It may offer some form of protection from the severe temperature and winds."

    He found this response striking and perplexing. Instead of arguing he narrowed his eyes and slowly stood, swaying slightly as his own weight strained unused muscles. Given time he balanced himself massaging his temples as pain erupted behind his eyes, blossoming into a headache produced from bombardment of light reflecting off the snowy surface of the ground he was revived on. "What are you?" He gave a puzzled look as he realized gloves covered his appendages, shielding them from the cold unlike his cheeks. The low temperature allowed the surrounding air to nip at the exposed face, making his cheeks flushed, water vapor escaping his lips as puffs of breath .The information clicked as he looked down realizing plain robe like armor accompanied his body. Despite the cold in his face the rest of him remained warm. His eyes widened the only sign of his bewilderment before he cleared his throat. "How did I?-"

    "Don't worry about freezing, even basic armor has internal temperature control. And before you ask 'well then why do I need shelter?' it's because armor can only do so much. Also you can call me Anubis. Ancient religion has always fascinated me and I feel like the name is quite fitting. As for a helmet here" the ghost said having a helmet appear in the others hand.

    That named sounded foreign, It's origin there but blurred, a whisper in the back of his mind. A string of information there but undeciphered. The resurrected human looked down at the newly formed helmet and slid it on finding comfort in being shielded from the elements.

    Anubis mumbled something about a warlock to itself, then proceeded to float a foot or two in front of the other, almost like it was expecting him to follow. "And to answer that I'm a ghost, your ghost to be exact."

    Puzzlement etched itself into the male's features when he heard the two oddities among the other's speech. "Warlock? Like the class in World of Warcraft? Or like burned at the stake during the witch trials? What about this whole Ghost title? Does that mean I'm dead?"

    The organism seemed a bit confused but spoke with amusement in his tone. "World of Warcraft? I'm not sure I understand what you were referencing, and no you aren't dead...well not exactly. You'll see what I mean when we get back to the tower. I'll explain the situation when we find somewhere safe. So what's your name? I can't just call you guardian."

    The newly revived male was silent for a few moments. "I don't know" he replied eventually. "For now just call me whatever you think suits me". He surveyed the area eyes briefly traveling the horizon left to right, getting a better sense of the environment. The ghost had been right about the complex. It was about a hundred or so feet in front of him, simply a squarish shape plopped in the middle of nowhere, the rest of the foreground covered in knee deep snow. He shook off the foreboding feeling that grew in his gut, keeping his gaze trained onto what he assumed was the facility. "What is a guardian?" He repeated the query from earlier having received no answer.

    "No time to explain-" the ghost started before receiving a stern glare from the male who gave a slight huff of exasperation. He peeled his gaze off the ghost and started forward, trying not to trip on any uneven ground hidden amongst the snow. The surface was barren as far as the eye could see with the exception of the oddly human like infrastructure in front of them.

    "Now we are walking, spill" the human countered, an air of authority about him. The ghost blinked before dissipating causing the warlock to stop short and whip around looking for his mysterious companion.

    "Don't worry I'm here, just tucked away in something similar to a backpack" the robotic voice called.

     He said nothing and continued to the point of interest, rummaging amongst the crumbling complex to find anything useful. Most of the corridors were locked, others blocked by debris or a instinct kept him away. He carried on arriving in a place that felt familiar.

     "Alright, alright. You've been dead for a really long time. But you see you were chosen, you can bear the gift of light and wield it as a weapon. You are one of few who can. You have potential."

    "Sounds ominous" he responded looking around the room, gaze settling on a hastily thrown together bag.

    "You'll see once we get back to the city. Ikora will be delighted to have another warlock to mentor." The ghost responded. At this the human decided to shut his mouth, allowing the questions to brew as he approached the bag and sifted through its contents. There was a time and place to ask questions but as of right now he was preoccupied. "There aren't any ships nearby so you're going to have to bunker down. It's not safe to travel with or without light."

    "What can't you do?" He asked slightly surprised by the muli-purposes the ghost possessed, half listening to Anubis, hoping the bag contained some canned food. What he found instead was a faded picture and a leather adorned journal. His heart rate quickened, an internal drum to fend off any fleeting thought that might break its way through his mind’s amnesia . He gazed at the two smiling girls, the younger one resembling the person who must've been her mother before placing the picture down and moving onto the journal. Once the leather bound book was opened he skimmed through it, setting it down as his ghost began to respond.

    "Well there's a list of things I can't do like time travel, shoot a weapon and lots more. But I am pretty useful. I can transmat supplies, heal you, revive you, open doors and I must say I can be pretty good companionship as well." Anubis replied.

    Caught up in his discovery he glanced around at the desk that had been located next to something that must have resembled a cot, not responding to his companions answer. He moved over to it, paper mainly preserved by the intact room. He rummaged through some papers about a Clovis Bray operation, not having a clue to what that was. Underneath those papers there was a card. He stared at it for a long moment, contemplating if he should dig through whoever's personal life this was more then he had.

    Anubis had finished looking over the image, floating over to the warlock. "Hey you know who ever lived here has been dead for a long time. Maybe they would like someone to remember them and their family."

     "Or your just nosy" The guardian responded, leafing through the card anyway. His eyes floated over text freezing when he came over a name. Cain. Cain?

    "Well what does it say Guardian?"

    "Cain" he responded immediately. "My name is Cain."

~~~~~~~~~~~~

    It had been a few days and the only thing stirring outside was the wind and the white particles of precipitation it kicked around. Cain passed the time either talking to his ghost, reading the journal or sleeping. Some questions were answered and other queries arose, however he had come to the conclusion that these were his belongings. This conclusion was drawn from the fact he had been getting flashbacks of the child and of the woman in the picture. Usually it was nothing more then murky voices or blurry silhouettes of scenes trying to break their way through his amnesia. His head shot up in excitement causing Anubis to look over at him with a curious gaze. "What's wrong?"

    "Wrong- wrong? Nothing is wrong Anubis!" He exclaimed standing up, heart plunging itself into a twisted ravine of hope. "You brought me back! That means you can bring them back too right?"

    "The people in the picture?"

    "Yes the people in the picture!" He nodded vigorously, the desire to have those who made his world whole be safe in his arms once more overpowered his sense of reason. The feeling of isolation weighed on him, he did not want to be alone anymore. He craved human company.

    "I can't do that-"

     "Please" he begged helplessly. "I'm begging you. As my only friend please. I need them back. I need them- you have to.."

    "I can't. I'm sorry."

     "Well why not?" The human male asked, eyes narrowing as he glared at his ghost, glittering with a savage desperation only found in those whose world crumbled at their feet.

     "I can only revive beings with those who possess light within them. Even if I could we have no clue where they-"

    "Don't say it" Cain spat, looking at the ground a knot of anger forming in his chest as his hope shattered. "I'm going to practice, so don't bother following".

     The emotionally unstable being wandered outside, standing in the middle of a snowy area, a few feet away from the remains of what once was a testing facility for Clovis Bray. The environment was easy to manipulate, he had figured this out days ago. By releasing some light into the snow he could bend the precipitation to his will and use it as a weapon. Phantoms of a past life stirred in his mind as he tried to focus on the task at hand. It was unrelenting, the barrage of memories he could no longer obtain, an eternal torment in which could not be stopped.  

       His only friend floated out after a few hours calling to him to come inside. Jostled from his memories there was a brief moment of panic and anger and then silence. Once back in reality he realized what he had done. Anubis laid sparking in the snow due to an icicle that had hit the ghost. No more companionship, no more voice of reason. As the warlock scrambled over to pick up his unresponsive companion he couldn't help but feel the jaws of guilt clamp around him once more. He didn't know if a ghost could die or be saved but he would keep him safe. He hurried inside and emptied the bag of anything beside the journal, the picture and the card, placing Anubis in it and zippering it up. Would the city except him after what he’d done? He didn't know. What he did know was that the time of waiting was over. He picked up the bag and exited the area that had served as a shelter and continued on his way. When he came face to face with a four armed bipedal creature that matched the descriptions of beings Anubis had warned him about, curiosity and surprise left him falter, giving the alien enough time to raise its gun and fire.

~~~~~~~

An immobilizing ache left the victim hidden in the shadows amongst the small opening between the rocks. He had removed his broken armor to keep it from aggravating the wound, breathing erratic as another wave of pain tore through his body. Damn elinski.