War for Freedom

(Chapter 24)/A Busy Week

Rena's POV:
April 22nd, 2093, 10:59:
Vanguard Base:

Sitting in the living room of the Alpha Quarters, I was growing concerned for Chloe. She hasn't left Zero alone ever since we got back, and they both were in his room. While I doubt she'd do 'that,' I was concerned about the love she had for him, and whether or not it was an obsession. Then again, I've never been in a relationship before, so I don't really have any right to speak on it.

Looking around, both Mariana and Ruby were on the other couch, both having similar concerns to my own. As for the twins...well, Via's in the kitchen drinking some water, and Douglas is...somewhere. Wouldn't surprise me if he decided to find another area to go drink his special beer. Eh, he's always getting into deep shit, and his sister has to be the one to face the fire that comes from his actions.

Besides that, I was quite surprised with how yesterday went with the Lost and those Reaper's. I did not expect that they were capable of capturing that many at once, and the way they captured them was even more surprising, like a fairy tale. Yet, that all was minor compared to that dragon we encountered, one that was strangely mechanical, yet weirdly unnatural. The energy that radiated off it seemed very similar to Chloe's when she was in her Hellcat form, or whatever it was.

I'm going crazy with just thinking about this, I need to do something, and now. Getting up, I started walking down the hallway to our rooms and stopped in front of mine. Opening the door, I entered the room before closing the door behind me, looking around afterwards. Nothing had changed, except for the layers of plating of my armor that were lazily thrown on my bed.

I was tired when we got back, and I didn't really care about what conditions needed to be met, especially since this was my private area. Looking around, I started looking for something to keep my mind occupied, since I wasn't really feeling for the range today. As I started searching my room, I looked at the few photos of my family that I had, smiling as I reminisced about my mom, my dad, and myself.

I had visited them a little while ago, and I was glad to know that they were alright, and that they were accepting of my decision to stay, unlike Ruby's dad. According to her, her dad was in lockup, and her family was on watch, since the military was concerned if the brothers would do something as reckless as their father. Thankfully, according to Ruby, again, her mother has kept them in line and has taken full responsibility for their actions.

Ruby's life must be going through a major hurdle right now, I feel bad for her, especially with what her father did and how it made her feel. Looking under the bed, I saw a lockbox that I forgot I placed under it. Pulling it out, I dusted off the top of it before looking at it. It wasn't that big nor heavy, then again, I'm a Spartan, so there's very few things that could be considered heavy to me.

Looking at the lock, it was a simple keylock, something I could easily break, but I'd rather not do that. So, getting back to my feet, I placed the box back on the bed before turning around and began searching for the key. The search didn't last too long as I opened my bottom drawer and unblocked the hidden compartment at the bottom. Opening it, I grabbed the only set of keys that were inside it before closing it.

Afterwards, I walked over to the lockbox and began testing a few keys to unlock it. The first and second ones didn't work, but the third one did, the lock clicking to indicate it's unlocked. Lifting the top open, I looked inside and saw a few things. Inside was a small book, a couple of envelopes that have remained unopened for an unknown amount of time, and a pen. Huh, wonder what all of this is.

Grabbing one of the envelopes, I opened it up and took out a piece of folded paper. Unfolding it, I saw that it was a letter in my mom's handwriting, and I understood immediately what it was. This was a letter from my mom that she told me not to open until I found a purpose that was far greater then any genocide or wars. She said that I would open it one day without thinking after that time came.