Elites Chapter III: New Empire Rising

XXVI

Naimisha Forests, India
March 23rd
4am local time
It was still dark when Natalie's day-long slumber was interrupted by a bright light flashed in her face. "We need to hurry if we want to make it in good time." The Acolyte said. Natalie stood up in the dark cabin, and reached for her cloak. The Acolyte quickly grabbed them from her hands, and said "We cannot attract too much attention. Wear this one." He handed Nat a black tunic and cloak.
Under the cover of night, the two began their trek into the forest. As the sun started to rise, the sounds of crickets grew more silent. The light bounced off the morning dew on the leaves. Natalie was in awe of the natural beauty surrounding her. "Beautiful isn't it?" The Acolyte said calmly. "You live in the middle of all this?"  Nat asked in amazement. "It gets dull after living out here for four years." The Acolyte responded. Nat then asked "So, you said you knew my mom...What was she like?" The Acolyte said "She was one of a kind. She was tall, with golden hair and deep orange eyes. And if there's anything you should know, is that she was an absolute rebel with a cause. She believed in becoming something more than the sum of her parts." Nat was mesmerized, she never knew about this side of her mother. The Acolyte continued "You see, she came from a world where what you were, was all that you could be. Ambers were made to be more versatile than others, as they could be used in combat, exploration, or even as merchants. When she was tasked with watching over the Earth with some associates, she grew to love the planet and everything that lived on it. There was something special about this place that she felt passionately about. But, that made it all the more crucial when her superiors decided to terminate the Earth. She started a band of rebels to fight back and protect the planet, even if it meant losing everything. And it did. After a downhill battle, the alien leaders decided to abandon Earth. By then, the damage was already done. Much of the world was left in ruin, and Amber's rebels were left to clean up the mess, banished from their Homeworld for good." Natalie paused. "So she gave up everything just to save Earth, and humanity. The only place where she could be more than what she was made to be." The Acolyte responded "It was not a clean war. There were thousands of casualties, and humans made a sizeable amount. Their kind was not a force to be reckoned with. But now that almost all of the rebels are gone, I fear they may try something again in the future."
After many hours of walking through the forests of India, Amber and the acolyte reached an open space. "We're here." The Acolyte said calmly. The open space was surrounded by nine stone obelisks. The obelisks all had carvings and engravings on each side up to the pyramids. Natalie took a quick look at the writings, but didn't recognize it as any language she knew, or from Earth for that matter. The faded writings had frequently sharp edges, similar to Japanese, but shared no other similarities. "This writing doesn't look like any of the carvings I've ever seen." The Acolyte responded "These pillars are scripts for an incantation. A spell of protection maybe? I've never been able to decipher them myself." Nat looked up, and noticed that clouds only surrounded the obelisks, but never covered the large circle. She stretched out her hand, to touch the grey structure. As she put her hand on it, the engravings glowed a bright orange. Suddenly, Nat felt the ground below her give way, and she fell aimlessly into darkness. The Acolyte saw a small temple emerge out of nowhere. A small, spherical structure with a spire on the top. The spire fired a beam of light in all the colors, that illuminated the forest for many miles.
Along the river, assassins in black were looking for Amber's body. When they saw the flash of light, and the rainbow beam that pointed to the heavens, they knew that their mission had failed. However, they had no intentions of leaving empty handed. "Call all operatives in the area, tell them to converge on the gate."
As Natalie woke up, the floor beneath her was gone. She looked around her, seeing nothing but endless space, a void. "Acolyte!" She yelled, her voice echoing through endless cosmos. She suddenly started hearing things. Voices, coming from all around her. She could hear her sister Nicole, disgusted at another one of Roberts advances. She heard Jayson, discussing a plan to infiltrate a nuclear launch site. She was hearing voices from her memories. She also heard the clash of swords and shields, gunshots, and even laser noises that sounded like something beyond their own time. Suddenly, she heard a new voice, calling out to her. "Natalie...Natalie." The voice belonged to a woman. In the distance, she saw a glowing orange aura, on a planet of silver. In an instant, she was on that planet. It was a massive metropolis, with transportation lines on almost every level of the towers. "I knew you'd come." The voice said. When Natalie turned around, she was face-to-face with a woman. The woman looked a lot like Nat, but was taller, with golden hair, and bright orange eyes. She held a sword in her left hand, and a shield on her right. "Mom?" Amber stared at Natalie, with tears in her eyes. She clenched her sword, and swung it in Natalie's direction. Nat winced, but noticed that the sword missed her, and was embedded in the body of a larger figure behind her. The larger being fell to the ground, bleeding. "Was that...one of them?" Nat asked. In an instant, she was whisked away to Earth, but it wasn't the planet she knew. It was a war-torn hellscape filled with death. She heard the loud sounds of weapons beyond the advancements of Earth's own, as they rained down from massive alien ships, striking down many of the rebels. Nat suddenly saw Amber sobbing, holding the hand of another rebel, who lay on the ground, dying. "I'm sorry. I'm sorry I couldn't save you...This war has taken so much, but I never thought it would take you too." She let go of her comrade as he passed on. There was a bright light in the sky, and it was growing closer. "We don't have much time." Amber said, as she formed a massive shield. Suddenly, men wearing blue, white and grey, and women wearing red, green, and light blue hid beneath the shield as the light grew brighter. Suddenly,  Natalie heard Amber's voice coming from behind. This time, coming from a ghostly apparition of her. Nat stretched out her hands, and felt her mother's for the first time. "Sorry I made you come all this way." She said, as the chaotic background faded away, and they were back in the void. However, there were countless gateways surrounding them in space. "I-I understand now. I know who you are...but why did you leave?" Nat asked, holding back tears. Amber replied "There was a complication. Neither of us could live while the other survived. I had to make a choice between my life and yours. And seeing you now, I don't regret that decision one bit."
Meanwhile in the real world, the Acolyte was sitting down next to the rainbow beam when he heard footsteps. He also heard the chop of helicopters overhead. He rushed for a wall, and unsheathed a sword. When he turned around, the seven remaining assassins were there to meet him, as well as countless Endgame operatives.  One of the operatives stepped forward, and asked "Where is Amber?" The Acolyte responded "Even if I knew, I would never tell you. You're a plague on this world. You think that only by controlling humanity can there be peace, with your people on top." One of the assassins lunged at the Acolyte with dual swords. He quickly blocked the first blow, but not the second. The blade struck him in the side, and pierced halfway through his body. The Acolyte fell backwards, and lay motionless, bleeding out on the grass. "Search the place." The operative said, and the soldiers scoured the entire temple.
Inside the void, Amber let go of her daughter's hands, and Natalie now held a silver sword with a golden inscription along the blade. The inscription said "Defend to the end" in a language Natalie was unfamiliar with. The two walked together along the cosmic path. "What is this place?" Natalie asked. Amber replied "This is the space that connects all of space and time. A world between worlds. The Norse called it the 'Bifrost' in all their myths. It's the pathway into the past, present, and future. Here, you'll find your way back to the Bridge." Nat walked towards the portal that held the temple, but saw the Acolyte's body on the floor, and Endgame Operatives everywhere. "I can't go back there." Suddenly, Natalie heard noises coming from another portal. She could hear the battle cries of her friends. She followed the noise until she reached a solid white gateway. "This one, it called to me. I think this is where I'm needed. Come with me!" Amber said "Nat..." Natalie continued "I can bring you home, you could live a normal life. You don't have to live like this anymore!" Amber replied "I-I'm not alive. I can't go with you, this is where I belong." She took her daughter by the hand, and brought her to the portal. "You're needed elsewhere." Amber said as she put  Natalie into the white portal. Nat tried to break from the portal's pull, but couldn't. She was crying as Amber slowly faded away from sight. "No! Don't go!" Natalie yelled, tears streaming down her face. Amber faded more and more, until there was nothing.
The rainbow beam of light on Earth began to pulse. Endgame operatives saw as the light changed to solid white, and the beam fired off into the cosmos.