Sent To Protect and Serve Humanity

Chapter 65: Protected

3rd POV

"Defi..."

A familiar voice called out to Defiance, who found himself trapped within a black void. The voice seemed like it was distant and echoed off of unseen walls before it called out to him again.

"Defi... wake up!"

He soon found the void around him begin to fall away as beams of brilliant light shot across the space, coming from seemingly nowhere with no exact destination. As this happened, he felt his body begin to shake before the voice cried out, this time much more distressed.

"Defiance! Please wake up!"

Soon, the Sangheili Warrior felt the soft songs of nature envelope his ears as a breeze caressed his body, gently sweeping beside him.

Finally, he awoke.

His eyes shot open to reveal the worried blue eyes of a ginger grenadier. The sight of her eyes, clearly on the verge of tears, were accompanied by a sniffle and then flowing tears of joy as Nora quickly hugged the alien, falling on top of the Warrior.

"Thank Oum!" She cried out through choked sobs. "You're okay!"

Defiance felt the ground beneath him, relishing the soft grass he felt himself resting before having his eyes drawn toward a brilliant blue sky. He could hear the soft melodies of chirping birds, swaying trees in the wind, and the soft cries of Nora.

"I'm okay, Valkyrie." He finally responded, feeling particularly weak as he lifted a hand to rub the girl's back, a gesture he picked up from the other warships.

The alien would soon hear the voice of a worried Jaune. "You had us worried sick, Defi!" He heard the soft sound of grass being stepped on before the blonde boy appeared over the alien's head. "Come on, Nora. Maybe he can explain where we are..."

"And perhaps why our outfits were changed." Another voice replied.

With a sniffle, Nora climbed off of her favorite alien, being helped off by Ren. Now freed, Defiance slowly rose from the grassy ground and noticed that Pyrrha had also been transported to wherever they were. Then, it would all click once his eyes landed on a field of golden wheat that appeared to stretch into the distant horizon.

A reunited Team JNPR stood in front of this field, gathering in front of Defiance's place on a well-traveled, soft dirt path. Every member of the team wore a simple white cloak that covered a plain white t-shirt with a long-sleeved white undershirt beneath it and white jeans held up by a black belt with a pair of black boots. The cloak they wore was held together beneath their chins by a silver metallic emblem that defined who they were.

On Defiance's end, he found himself wearing the same white Sangheili robe from before and a cloak that now hung from his shoulder, bearing the symbol of a golden Energy Sword as the metallic emblem that held it together.

Pyrrha approached the alien alongside Jaune and helped him onto his feet. Defiance rose, feeling a slight strain in his joints as a cool breeze whispered to him. The moment he was standing upright, he heard a strange 'POP' from above him.

Before he knew it, the Warrior would be the landing site of two more women, both of whom quickly grabbed onto his shoulders to catch themselves as the alien slightly stumbled.

"Penny!?" Nora exclaimed, bewildered at the site.

"Salutations!" Penny waved back with a bright smile. She would climb down from the alien's aching back and land on the ground with a bow. That's when she could FEEL the grass, the wind, the warmth of the sun, everything. She gasped and looked down at her hands, finding them to be warm and fleshy. "Impossible..."