Archive of Our Own ^beta

Chapter Text

“ A hunter?”

Those were the first words she heard. Not a welcome greeting. Not a concerned “are you ok? Anything to be more warm.

A hunter.

It came out like an insult. As though this disembodied voice didn’t get what it wanted. She didn’t even know what it was, or where it was even coming from.

She didn’t know where she was.

That thought swirled in her head as she took her first sharp exhale. particles travelled into her throat, scarring the inside of her lungs. A wheezing cough out the sand jolted her entire body up from the ground as she heard the disembodied voice ponder it’s…

Whatever it was.

“ No. That can’t be…

A Warlock would have made sense.” 

A Warlock. What was a warlock? What was a hunter? 

What-

Who was she? She can’t remember anything, not even her own name. 

Another desperate cough escaped her lips, one where the flem of her throat finally began to push out the particles that had invaded her lungs. She slowly opened her eyes, and a bright purple hue overthrew her blurry vision. 

“ Mmm, maybe I miscalculated, ” the voice said.

She gripped sand beneath her fingers. Sand. How did she know what sand was but not her own self? She was so preoccupied that she didn’t ponder the knowledge of what this substance was all around her. 

Each movement she made became a chore. Every muscle in her body ached as though they had been locked in place for years, unable to even twitch her eye. She blinked more, trying to give her eyes more substance to them. The wind blew against her dark hair, pushing more sand onto her body.

Her vision began to clear to what she saw. 

The sky. It was…

Quite beautiful.

 It was a dark purple with some dark purple clouds. Giant rocks stayed in place all around the sky. Some of them were connected with wires and bridges haphazardly stuck in holes or places there by force. The landscape she was on was no different from the other craters, connecting others by a single large wire. It was flat, with just a few small rocks here or there and sand covered most of it. The flatness of the surface led to a small black mountain, smaller than a hill but big enough for someone to live in. It had holes which could have been from other craters crashing into it, forming caves at its sides.

She then looked up higher to see a sky full of colors mixing together to make…

Some sort of spiral. Or a little star. She wasn’t sure. It was too small to be a light.

Many circles surrounded the unknown light. These circles were made by something, or someone. They were mechanical. Their black jagged look made them unnatural to the graceful light and purple clouds of the sky.

“Anyways…”

The voice said, then an odd little shape came in the corner of her vision. It made a little, hollow clicking sound, like the gears or dings were searching for something. 

“ Eyes up guardian.”

She gasped. For the little shape wasn’t just a trick of the eyes. It was real. And it was really just floating around her. it wasn’t just a singular shape. It was multiple triangles surrounding a sphere in the middle, made up of some shiny blue metal..

In the center was a light. It consisted of one circle with two bent shapes surrounding it. It must have been its eye. It moved within the circle it was confined to, like this singular eye was looking for something. 

She opened her mouth to say something. Possibly a “who are you?” Or “What are you?”

Her lips moved yet nothing came out. Her mouth and throat felt too dry to speak. 

The robot spoke, like it was reading her mind, “ I am a ghost. Well, actually, I’m your ghost.”

A ghost? My ghost? What’s a ghost?

The little robot didn’t explain further. It moved up and down, likely scanning her. 

She looked down too, wondering what was so special.

She wore no helmet, which made her face exposed to the elements. The sands of the drifting shores dried out her body as slept there for…

How long?

What she wore felt strange. Not only that but it looked strange too. She wore black armor, tightly fitted around her body. Just a little below her hip was a belt, but no weapons were held in it. Whatever weapons she had must have been stolen from her. What was still there was a purple cloth. A shredded, dusty cloth with a shape embedded in it. Actually multiple shapes. More triangles. But these were thin. Thin and sharp as three pointed to the bottom and two pointed to the top, connecting them perfectly as they did so. 

It must have been important to her, but she couldn’t remember.

“ The Awoken’s symbol,” it answered, like it was answering an unasked question,” We’ll have to get you new clothes.”

Awoken?-

A growl in the distance startled her. Then another. Soon, multiple growls came, like an invisible shock to her body. They were like rapid fire, pulsating throughout the emptiness of this .

“ Fallen!” The little shape yelled, then disappeared in a wisp of glitter.

She panicked as the growls came closer. The little thing now was gone, nowhere to be seen. she stood up, frantically looking from side to side as she did so to search for the strange thing. She began to breathe heavily and her fingers began to twitch. They were shaking. Like they wanted to leave this awful place without her. She was lost in a world, with no way of getting anywhere and these things she had no idea existed were chasing after her. 

“ It’s alright,” the voice said.

She jumped. The voice.

“ I’m still here. We need to get you a weapon.”

It seemed to come from nowhere and everywhere at the same time.

Was it in her head?

How’s that possible?

She couldn’t ponder on it for long, for the growls of these mysterious fallen grew ever more closer. So close that she could almost feel the vibration of their voices through the ground, along with rapid footsteps.

 She stood up quickly, gripping the sand to get a head start.She didn’t want to think about what was behind her. All she wanted to do was run. Each footstep increased with speed as she ran across the flat surface of the landscape. She needed to hide in a cave, near the small black mountain.

 She ran so fast she didn’t even see the small rock at which she tripped on. She hit face first into the sand, taking in another mouthful of it. She breathed and coughed once more.

The voice urged her,” come on! Get up!”

She didn’t want to. She wanted to stay. To die right there, before she even knew anything. The malicious growls could be right there so what was the point. Yet something in her body moved her fingers, like her mind and body were separate beings fighting for control. She moved her arms to push herself once more and just like that she was up, running again for shelter.

The black mountain became closer and closer as she ran until she finally came close enough to touch it. Or so she thought. Before she could run into the safety of the cave a cliff came before her, preventing anyway of escape. She stopped just in time, her feet pushing sand into the forever of space with the rock underneath the sand revealed. She looked back up to see that wires connected the mountain area with the crater she was on. 

Another look behind her and her fear became tenfold. The shaking in her fingers worsened as she saw a ship. A jagged ship with aliens dropping off its loading area. It seemed to have no weapons for it never shot at her. It must have been old or partially destroyed. The fall to the ground didn’t bother the aliens as they hit the ground, Like they did it their whole lives. Two of their four arms held weapons. Spears and guns. They scouted for something before the heads turned towards her. With one of their free arms, one of them pointed and growled. Others followed the order in pursuit. Their other two arms crawled on the ground like an insect, their bodies becoming bigger as they got closer.

She stepped back in fear only for her foot to slip on the rock. She held out her hands and positioned her feet once more, stopping her descent into the void. 

“You have to jump!” The robot yelled.

“What? I can’t!” Her first words.

The robot groaned in frustration, “ Just do it!”

She turned back to face the cliff. The shaking was even more uncontrollable now, but she had to do it. The growls and footsteps of the fallen we’re getting closer and closer. It would only be a matter of time before they would catch her.

She breathed in once more, half expecting more sand to fill her lungs. The air felt clean. At Least the cleanest she ever felt. She took a steps back and positioned her feet. 

She then ran. 

For a moment, she could almost feel herself flying into the air. Until the weight of gravity began to push her down. She closed her eyes and hoped. Hoped that she didn’t mess up her jump.

Her feet landed on hard ground. Rock not air. She tucked and rolled into the sand that was on the other rock. She landed in an area below the upper ground like a little room of its own without a roof. 

She made it. 

“ That wasn’t so hard now was it.”

She would have been happy except for the fact that the fallen still could be chasing her. 

She ignored the voice and stood up once more, kicking sand off her feet. The small mountain had many caves she could hide in. She picked one to the right and ran straight for it. It was dark but it was better than dying. The light of the craters disappeared as she entered the cave, leaving her only in darkness being chased by her own fear. She didn’t care that she couldn’t see anything she only needed to run far enough away. 

A wall interrupted her escape. A hard rock wall and The rocks were sharp as a dull arrowtip. She rammed into it with her shoulder first. Pain hit as she stepped back and dropped to the ground. A grunt escaped her lips. The pain surged throughout her body as she covered her arm. Something hot and sticky covered her hand. She tried to lift her arm up to see the problem but flinched back as more pain shot through her arm. She breathed in through her teeth, the pain still lingering on so much it gave her a headache. 

Cautiously she removed her free arm and turned her palm over.

Blood. It was a warm, and dark substance.

The hand which held the blood began to shake. She must have hated the sight of blood because Looking at it could just make her vomit. 

Then a light came to her vision. A bright light. She looked up to find the robot again, looking at her new wound with morbid curiosity Or what she thought was curiosity. Was it inspecting it?

“What are you-“

It looked at her arm. Then a light came out from it as it expanded its shapes from its sphere body. Just then, a feeling of mending began to surge in her arm. Her skin and bones felt as though they were connecting themselves back together. She looked down to see-

It was healing?

The scratch slowly disappeared, along with some of the blood as it returned to its normal state of light blue skin. 

The healing light stopped.

Her eyes widened as she slowly lifted the formerly injured arm. 

It didn’t hurt. It didn’t cause her to flinch. The only indication of a scratch was the ruined armor on her arm. 

She looked back up to the robot in awe.

“How did you-?”

She couldn’t even finish her own words. She must be dreaming. Healing at that rate was impossible. Was it?

“ Like I said,” it began, “ I’m your ghost.”

“What does that even mean?” She pleaded.

“ There is a lot to tell you, but first we need to get you out of here.”

She noticed she had stopped shaking. shock set in place as the little robot shined the light around the tunnel. 

“ I can’t get a signal out here to contact Earth, so we’ll have to improvise.”

“Earth?” She asked.

That name felt familiar. Yet she couldn’t figure out why.

The little robot simply answered. “ Home.”

***

This new guardian walked through the tunnel of the small mountain, hoping to find anything that could help her escape what the little robot called the reef. 

The cave was a small tunnel for what felt like ages. Rocks were the only thing she could see. 

Walking felt like a pain, like she hadn’t done it for a hundred years. The two didn’t talk for that long either. An awkward silence drowned out all the noise in the room. Only the crunching of the sand beneath her foot was the only thing she heard.

“Listen,” the robot, ghost, started, “ sorry about what I said back there.”

Confusion came across her mind. Sorry for what? This robot healed her. The look she gave the ghost must have signaled him to explain.

“ For… not exactly expecting that you’re a hunter.”

That word was back. A hunter. 

She opened her mouth to finally speak,” what is a hunter?” She noticed that her voice was light and…

Graceful.

“ A hunter is one of the classes a guardian can be. There’s Warlocks, Titans and-“

“Hunters,” she finished, “But what does that mean? Guardians and hunters.”

The cave opened up slightly, giving her room to scout out for anything valuable. The ghost just floated there still at her side. Its light lit up the entire tunnel, but all she saw were black rocks and sand.

“ It’s a lot to explain, but it basically means you’re not afraid to take risks.” 

That little sound it made appeared again. It was almost like a clicking and grinding gears kind of sound. She couldn’t really describe it.

“ And a guardian,” it paused, trying to find the right words to say, “ is a protector of the last city .”

She paused. Last city. Not all of Earth. Not just any large city, but the last city. 

“Oh,” was all she could muster out. 

She wanted to ask more. About the city. About her past and name. About the ghost’s healing abilities. But she couldn’t say anything else. Not at the moment at least.

“ Wait, up ahead.”

She paused, wondering if there were more enemies. The cave opened up more, leading to a room with light. She slowly walked up to the room, expecting the fallen to be there.

She turned the corner. Instead of fallen or any other strange alien, she found an arch. A beautiful arch, its tip pointing to the now open sky of the. It seemed to be made of light purple and dark blue crystal, shaped to beautiful edges leading up to the sky. She might have been hallucinating, but she swore she saw little glints of light shining in the room ever once in a while. 

In the middle of the open room was a ship. An old, beaten up one, but a ship nonetheless. Its purple paint shone in the light of the little star as it sat there, waiting to be recovered. Sand had blown over the vessel, covering the window of the seat.

The ghost appeared again, “ this should be able to get us back.”

It flew above the ship, scanning for anything that might make it work.

“ Sit tight. This might take me a while.”

Was she going to fly that thing? She couldn’t even remember how to hold a weapon that she doesn’t have anymore, much less fly a ship. 

The ghost flew again, using its eye to scan for anything. It cycled through the ship multiple times. She only watched as the ghost did its thing. 

Healing and hacking?

the ship rumbled, then it jutted, like it was waking up from a hundred year sleep.

The ghost turned towards her once more.

“ There that should be- Look out!”

Before she could turn to see what was happening, a hand swung at her body and flung her across the floor. She hit her back on the side of the crystal arch with a loud *CRACK* of her back. 

Pain surged through her once more. A pain that made her unable to move. She looked up to see what hit her. 

The sight alone made her frozen in fear.

It almost looked like fallen, with what she had so far seen. But this one was different. Its body looked…

Decomposed. Dead. Rotting.

Two of its arms were cut off at the “shoulders.” Its armor looked as though it had been made from a scrap pile. Jagged spikes stuck out of random places on its body. Its helmet, breastplate, they also came out of the exposed rotting skin, leaving a disgusting sight of the wound the spikes left.

It crawled around, circling her for a moment. It growled, but not like the fallen. It growled like it was out of breath, trying to find air within its crooked lungs.It held out its rotting arm towards her, 

“ Kin,” its voice was just as rotting as its body.

“What?” 

Kin ? Kin of what ?

She didn’t have time to ponder it before the monster ran for her, its claw made of scrap extended, ready to slash at her. It went right up to her and raised its claws to her.

She rolled out of the monster’s swing just in time. The claws made a screeching noise when it slashed at the arch, leaving deep cuts within the crystal.

She didn’t even know how she was able to move in such a condition, and the aftermath proved she shouldn’t have done it. Yet she was still there and not at the mercy of the monster’s claws.

It creaked its neck to face her and extended its claws once more. 

She sat up a little but the pain in her back aches throughout her body. She could only kick her legs at the sand in an attempt to escape. It ran once again, extending its claws once more.

“ Quick! Use your light!” The ghost yelled in her head. 

“My what-?” She yelled back. The moment she was distracted.

Before she could even lift her own arms, the monster pinned her down with its foot. Her back hit the ground again, shocking her whole body.

The monster pointed its disgusting finger at her, “ not reefborn. Not kin.”

She didn’t know what to do. All she had was her own fingers. If only she had a gun or large stick with her. She wouldn’t be able to use the gun at all in her fear but it would have been worth a shot. 

The monster raised its hand up with its scrap claws ready to kill. 

She held out her hands to defend herself. Her hands were the only thing that could help. She squeezed her eyes shut, ready to wake up from this terrible nightmare. To find herself in a warm bed, with a family teasing her to get up and a nice home that she just forgot in this dream. But it would not come. 

And yet she felt warm. Hot in fact. Like fire. A sound erupted from her ears, making them ring. But she didn’t feel the slash she was expecting. Her right arm gripped something. Something like metal but not exactly. She opened her eyes slowly to find little black flakes in pace of the creature floating in the cool air. In her hands, a bright orange weapon made of fire itself wrapped around her fingers.

She stood up abruptly and dropped the weapon in fear. She backed away from the weapon but it seemed to disappear the moment its owner let go. Vanishing in smoke and flame as it did so.

Did she just do that? Turn an enemy into ashes with a single shot?

She looked at her hands again. The hot feeling was gone but the power she had from it was still there and it felt almost like…

Life.

“ Solar,” the ghost answered.

“ Most hunter’s first subclass,” it appeared once more, inspecting her back. A light came from its eyes and just like that she was healed again. The small of her back was straightened to its normal position. Even broken bones were not a problem for the little thing.

She stood up slowly to make sure she was going to break it again.

The ghost cleared its throat. “ Right. Let’s get back to the city.”

Chapter Text

“You need to be steady, guardian!” 

The ghost’s robotic voice was barely heard through the loud, constant buzzing sound. The words *ERROR* illuminated her the metal insides of the ship red. She- the “guardian”- could not keep the ship steady whatsoever. It shook so violently that her head began to spin and ache at every movement. Her fingers found no place on the steering of the machine. 

“I-I can’t! The ship won’t steady!”

When the guardian tried to veer the ship left, it turned so suddenly that it made her sick to her stomach. The continuous buzzing became louder and louder with every attempt she made. For many painful moments this cycle continued. The spinning of her head only became worse as time went on.

“Alright!” the ghost yelled, appearing in front of the controls in front of her. “Let go of the steering! Just try to relax!” 

She did as she was told, but the ship still continued to rumble and shake like a feral animal unwilling to be tamed. The ghost shell made obits around its circular eye as it pointed a beam of light into the system. The buzzing never stopped as his small, robotic body rummaged through the controls, doing whatever it was to make it stop. The glow of the red *ERROR* message painted his body a bright crimson. 

It was so loud that her ears rang. She couldn’t take it. Nor could she take the overwhelming view of the vast emptiness of space. It made her small, so small. 

Please just stop! She silently pleaded with the ship.

The guardian, in a desperate attempt to hide, brought her knees up to her chest and covered her ears. She clenched her eyes shut, so tight that it hurt. The rattle of the ship caused her to shift in her seat, occasionally jolting in any and all directions. 

This is a dream. It had to be. 

None of this was real. She so badly wanted to be anywhere but here, but not back on the pale sands of the reef. Somewhere…

Warm. 

Yes, warm. It didn’t matter where she had to be now, she just wanted to feel that warmth again. The same one that turned that monster into ashes. The same one ignited in her fingers and was pulsing through her veins. How it made her feel something other than fear. 

Comfort. It comforted her. LIke a blanket wrapped snugly around a sleeping infant. The guardian craved such a feeling.

She clenched her palm, hoping-praying, that such warmth and light would strike as easily as a match. In and out. Her nails dug into the skin of her palm in an attempt to get something. How she wished the buzzing would stop.

The ship ceased its violent outburst, like it was obeying her request.

“There,” the ghost said, giving an exasperated sigh. 

The guardian lifted her head, opening her eyes to find that the ship truly was steady. No more read light *ERROR* message to drown out her thoughts. She felt as though she could finally breathe.

“Now that that’s over with,” the small robot said, briefly turning towards her. “You may want to hold on,” before he turned back to the controls.

With one more spin of his shell and another beam of light from his single glowing eye, something within the ship began to rev to life. The sound only got louder as time passed and if the guardian wanted to be safe, she would listen to the small robot helping her control this piece of metal and keep herself steady.

As soon as both her hands clenched tightly around the arms of her chair, the little specks of the stars began to blur into a fine white line. A loud *BOOM* came from within the ship and a powerful, unseen force pressed the guardian’s body like a giant hand. Her heart beat rapidly as the white lines grew longer, combining their elongated bodies together until her eyes were blinded by the pure white canvas. She flinched her eyes shut from the sight. 

The guardian soon found that the only sound within the ship was its loud engine, but her own breaths shaking with each exhale. Not even that little ghost gave out a peep. Despite this, she never opened her eyes. Somehow she believed that would make everything worse. 

She was sure that the ghost had finally said something, but with her heart beating so loud, she could hardly hear such words. Her nails dug into the arms of the chair. Anything to control her breathing- her own nerves from making her head burst.

That was until something pressed against her chest, not with the softness of any warm embrace.

“Guardian!” her ghost yelled. 

He chirped, as if catching himself. There was a moment where the robot took in a breath, then soon exhaled through his nonexistent mouth.  “You can relax now.” 

It took her much longer than she wanted to open her eyes. Whatever vision that pierced her eyes filled her with childlike wonder. Colors she never knew existed, mixed together like a peace of art. It was like she was inside the iridescent tail of a giant comet, made only to wander the vastness of space forever. 

She then heard her ghost give an exasperated sigh and float away from her chest. That jumped her wonder thoughts from the colors in front of her to the small robot. 

“I am so sorry!” She began. “I should have known how to drive this! If I had just controlled the ship better you didn’t have to-.”

“Guardian!” the ghost yelled again, and, out of instinct, she again jumped. 

Something was different about the way he had raised his voice this time. A slight tinge of his voice that caused him to sound…

Concerned.

The ghost didn’t need to take a breath to speak this time. “You’re fine. After all, you just woke up, so there’s a lot of things you don’t know yet.”

“And you think I’ll learn those things?” Her voice was weak, barely able to reach above a whisper, but she knew the ghost would hear it.

The robot clicked, “I- I’m not sure. To be honest, you’re a lot jumpier than I had expected. Most guardians find their way pretty easily, albeit all while very confused.”

None of that helped answer the guardian’s question. Taking in a still silent breath, she leaned back in her chair and closed her eyes. The leather covered cushioned back of the chair stopped her head from going any further backwards.

“But that’s okay,” the ghost continued. “Once we head back to the city and report to the vanguard then we will know where to begin.” 

Vanguard. Another concept she didn’t know and another answer that didn’t help, but that wasn’t the ghost’s fault. At least she didn’t think so. 

What did help were the swirling colors surrounding them. Like a giant dragon breathing a fire of many hues, it flew past them with such overwhelming veracity. The guardian wasn’t able to take it all in, but that somehow didn’t matter. Each little line, every shade she focused on gave her a small story. Though incoherent and not at all understandable from the unmatched shapes and colors, it was one that made her mesmerized. 

In the few moments since she had woken up, this time of awe and wonder was the first time she had ever felt peaceful. And yet that silence only made louder the lingering questions that still lingered in her mind.

“So, why did you find me?” 

She didn’t want to break her eyes away from the view. The ghost hesitated, as if he didn’t expect the question.

“Because-”

*ERROR*

The moment of peace was snatched away as the screeching message rang in her ear. She snapped her head away from the clear glass, scared of the implications of the deafening sound. Blinding red lights returned to consume both the ship and the guardian. 

The tense moment only became worse as the ship shook as if it were grumbling in pain. She clenched the arm of the chair.

“What’s happening?” 

Her heart began to beat as though it were going to rip out of her chest. The ghost flew over to the ship’s controls. A beam of light shot out of his eyes and onto random buttons. 

“I don’t know, but stay calm!” 

As soon as the last words left the ghost, the colors disappeared and blackened in the guardian’s vision. The once stable ship jolted to a stop with such force that it nearly shoved the guardian off her seat. The ghost gave a disgruntled click and turned to find her readjusting back in her chair.

“Auto pilot’s not working, and one of the engine’s down! you’re going have to take the controls again.”

Her pulse quickened as her breath became shallow.

“What? But-”

“JUST DO IT”

Only a few seconds were wasted until she grabbed the two sticks with shaking hands. When She looked through the glass again, she found that the vast emptiness of space was not completely what she had expected.

Earth. A beautiful mass of what lay just below the skies and the hope that the ghost had spoken of. Its body covered much of the ship’s glass view, just beyond reach and all she had to do was move her hand. 

So despite her swirling mind, sore muscles and aching bones, she took a breath and pushed the stick forward. 

And the closer she got to the diverse planet the more blurred her vision became, seeing the rage of an orange glow devouring her sight. The air constricted in her lungs the longer she attempted to breathe it in and small droplets glistened against the radiant waves of her skin. Pressure grasped all angles of her head, unable to think of her own eventual demise. 

This was not the warmth she once desired, craved even, this was the heat of torture.

There was another harsh jolt of the ship, jumping her whole weak body against the force of it. The orange glow was eventually able to disperse away from her, but a new brightness swallowed her once more. 

The guardian didn’t remember much after these words were uttered beside her. 

“Second engine down! Brace yourself!”

Chapter Text

The first of many breaths was painful for the guardian to take in. Something crushed against her in all directions and the same orange glow from before brought about the uncomfortable heat that dampened her skin. A fit of coughing interrupted her natural pattern of breathing.

She could not see through the disorientating blur and watering of the eyes, nor could she really breath through the tight air. Her heart beat in slow, abnormal *BA-BUMPS* which raged against her ears. The only thing she could truly do was hear something ever so feint, through the desperate cries of her heart. It was not in any sense audible, but it was clear what it truly was. 

A voice. 

She had to find where it was from. No matter what was in her way, what jabbed against her body, what heat made her sweat, there was the undeniable desire to be near that voice. Like a moth to a flame, the guardian had to push toward whatever was calling to her. 

With the strength she gained in an instant, the palm of hand touched something smooth. It was hot to the touch, most likely turning whatever exposed skin a shade of purple. Clenching her teeth through the stinging pain, she shifted her weight forward.

It did not take much strength for whatever was blocking her to collapse away, followed by her tumbling down with it. A bright light covered her already blurry vision like a veil over her eyes. Before she knew it, her body hit something softer than the metal that formerly pushed up against her chest. When her back finally laid on the ground, the guardian opened her mouth wide to let in cool, precious air that had not been there before.

Such cool air. What did it make her feel at this moment? 

“Guardian!” 

That was it. Relief. 

The guardian took a few more moments to simply just lie there. All for her to take in the next few breaths of fresh air, and the next few coughing fits to clear her lungs. As her fingers curled, she felt blades of grass gently poke her hand. Tightening her grip further and the damp dirt that built its foundation soon found its way beneath her fingernails. She endured the stinging sensation within her palms, just to feel something other than metal and heat. The all encompassing heat with which began to form on the soles of her feet she could do without.

“It worked,” the voice said, disbelief and relief marked its tone.

Beyond that, when her breathing wasn’t so loud, and the voice just above her wasn’t so clear, the light chirping from what she somehow knew was a bird. A song so distinct yet perfectly able to be recognized amongst its own. It was able to let its piece be picked up and gently carried by the breeze to rustle its remnants against the trees. 

She didn’t know how she knew what bird was, nor a tree or the leaves that sprouted from its branches, but she cared not for the holes and gaps of her mind. Instead, the guardian found focus on the eloquent words she could think of to describe the sensation of hearing such sounds. How beautiful. How wonderful. How…

Bliss.

A sound of whirring just above her contrasted against the rawness of the world around her. “Guardian?”

Her eyes shot open. Blood coursed in her veins faster than it ever had before and she quickly sat up. The blur in her vision immediately gave way to the sight of fire, and metal. Instinct compelled the guardian to shuffle away from heat, but did not compel her to stand. The farther she went away, the more the sight of the foundations of the flames. 

The ship. Far too damaged to indicate a safe landing, and that she was sure of. The reminder of the constant red error signs was all too fresh in her mind.

The small body of the ghost blocked her view. “Hey! It’s okay.” 

The light from the blaze illuminated the ghost like a halo. As if he was some sort of divine creature, sending his guiding light to those in need. Yet some factors conflicted against the nature of this deity. Small wisps of embers broke off from the flames and into the orange sky, only to eventually fade away within its bright hues. 

Only then did the stinging of her hands finally bother her. Her hands tightened from the sensation, but she resisted the urge to clench her fists. She wanted to see why it hurt so much.

Seared flesh covered the palm of her hand in purple blisters ready to pop at any moment. The guardian didn’t know whether to cry out in pain at such a sight or try to clench her fists and try to endure it. So, she did neither, still staring at the newly found scars that made her stomach twist in knots. 

“Here,” the ghost said as he hovered just above her fingers. 

In those same beams of light from its one eye, the damaged skin began to repair itself cell after cell. The burning and stinging faded away as the comfort of the cool breeze drifted onto her skin. Her skin returned to its normal blue hues and dance of light underneath. 

A moment passed, then two, then many, staring at what was now healed, before slowly curling her fingers around her palm. She curled, then uncurled, then curled again unsure of what to expect. Maybe a spot the ghost missed. She rubbed her fingers on the inside of her palms all while the fire still burned the ship further into the ground. 

That’s why she was doing it. To distract herself from where she couldn’t stop her mind from wandering. 

“Right,” The ghost cleared his nonexistent throat, “lucky for us the city is not far from where we landed.” He floated further away behind her and the ship’s remains. A small pinging of his shell traveled across the plains of grass. It was like he was avoiding her gaze. “I’ll send out a signal to have someone pick us-”

“Wait,” Alia quickly turned her body and sat up on her knees. Her hands once again holding the dirt. 

“How did I survive? That, I mean.” She gestured her hand back to where she thought was the pile of scrap. 

The ghost ceased his seemingly aimless floating to stop in midair and for that moment that he did, the little clicking sounds he occasionally made did too. The back of his shell was to her, his eye unable to face hers, but she could see him visibly dipped downward, with his invisible mouth revealing an audible sigh. 

“You didn’t.”

The guardian’s heart beat ceased. 

“I… had to bring you back.”

Died. She had died. She was supposed to be dead . It was no dreamless sleep she had woken up from. All from that crash. Not very many moments ago, she was nothing more than a corpse, forever within a peaceful void. Now she was brought back from the slumber by this thing with abilities unfathomable. Just like the sands. 

She shook her head in utter disbelief. “Nonononono. This is not real. It’s not real.”

Once again, she began to rub her hands to feel the smoothness of her skin. Then her nails began to scratch against her palms, hard enough to break skin.

It can’t be.

She couldn't have been dead. Not then and not just now. Is that what a guardian does? Just dies a painful death and then comes back? Was that all she was to do?

The ghost finally faced her, yelling as he did so. “Guardian, Stop!”

“Don’t call me that!” She yelled, slamming her hands back to the ground. 

“ Well that is what you are !” His harsh words compelled hers away. “The sooner you accept that, the better!”

The guardian froze, truly and utterly stuck within the meaning of it all. Expectation implied the ghost had more to say, but nothing. The fire crackled behind her and his signal continued that ping sound every few seconds.

It was then that she slouched back, done with speaking, and noticed the land was like beyond the ground she laid upon. 

Long blades of grass were set like waves across the ocean through the gentle breeze. Trees scattered about, some carried vibrant green leaves with which blew against the wind not so unfamiliar in the direction of where the grass had gone, others carried deeper hues of needles and cones. What both of them had in likeness were the birds. They cared not for the type of branch to build their nests on nor about the needles of the trees. They just perched themselves, raised their heads and chirped a song of new. 

Where the birds did not meet was also when the color also withheld its nature. Rock as black as a moonless night with heights that could reach up and touch one any star that proceeded to set its gaze to them. At their highest peak did stardust sprinkle onto them as the whitest snow and begin to cascade down from their glory as streams of life.

But higher than that, where no mountain could reach any star, was a giant. A giant like no other. It perched itself too close to be any moon of any planet. It didn’t seem forced to stay nor inclined to leave. Yet with the air around it, there it carried omnipotence. Below the fading, warm lights of a city lay under its watchful gaze. Small pieces broke off from the protection of the walls surrounding it and flew off into the sky, leaving trails of cloud like wisps into the ever changing dawn.

As if this being had sent its own angels to the outside world.

The guardian didn’t know why, but she felt compelled toward the being. She didn’t know why, she didn’t know how, but that warmth returned. It lasted for only but a moment, and yet its memory lingered within her bones. 

One piece that broke off from the city changed its direction. As if it had spotted her in the distance, instead of the wayward sky, it went straight for her. 

“Coming within the desired location,” said a voice that came from the ghost that was clearly not his. Static surrounded the speaker and the pitch was significantly deeper.

The guardian looked back at her ghost, who finished off the unknown voice with an. “Understood. Ready for standby.” 

Confusion and panic quickened her heartbeat and set her to sit up higher onto her knees. 

“What was that?” She asked.

Another glance and the angel that was sent from the god was nothing more than another ship by the looks of it. It was more polished than her own that was now turning into ash, and judging by the way it flew, much more able to keep itself steady in the air. 

“What’s happening?”

The ghost finally turned from whatever his strange action was and answered. “Don’t worry, they’re coming to-”

His words were cut off by the roaring sounds of the ship as it blew dust all around them. Only the end of its wings were visible as it whooshed right past her. She instinctively held out her arms to shield her face as if that would do her any good.

The roar of the ship had stayed, but nothing seemingly came to it. In fact, it softened without the sound becoming any more distant. Then, even through the stirred up winds, the guardian could hear footsteps, light with haste.

“Hey!” An unfamiliar voice shouted, but she did not recline from her position.

She could feel a presence of… something right above her, the warm sensation on her skin of the new day’s sun disappearing. Yet a gentle hand settled onto her shoulder. A hand. One that did not dig into her shoulder like that monster would have, but one with the missing sun’s heat at the tips of the fingers. 

Jolting up, she locked eyes with someone who had theirs hidden behind a mask, with a shadow casting over their metal face from a hood. Though she did not feel any fear when she gazed upon this newcomer’s rather sinister appearance. She could feel…

Hope.

His deep voice cut through the winds, which had now turned into a soft breeze. “You’re okay now.”

And with that, she was inclined to believe him. In the corner of her eye, she could see her ghost. Or was it hers? 

The shell’s shape was rounder and painted bright golds, not the plain white, sharp edged shell that he usually had. When it spoke, which was not much more than a mutter to no one but static, the voice was distinctly female. 

“Are you hurt?” The stranger asked. 

She did not speak, but the ghost- her ghost- spoke for her. “We’re fine. Just a little shaken up.”

The ghost came close to sitting on her shoulder but reclined to float just above it. The masked man simply nodded and said, “probably better this way, especially after just being rezzed.” 

Cautiously, he let his hand off her shoulder. 

“Can you walk?” 

Again, she could find herself to speak but all she needed to do was nod, no matter how faint the movement it seemed. With both hands on the ground, the guardian pushed herself upward. Soon, her feet were planted on the ground. Though her legs struggled to keep themselves upright, she did not want to lose the battle in front of the stranger, who had his own hands out as he stood with her.

The stranger, whose voice was as gentle as a stream, gave her a simple, “Okay. Then let’s get you home.”

He held out his hands, to which his own ghost settled herself above his palm. He cleared his throat, as if preparing a grand speech to an audience of many silent witnesses. “Minnie?”

“Way ahead of you,” the female ghost clicked in cheerful, exasperation by whatever grand entrance this man had thought up in his head .

Had it not been for the stranger’s gaze, the guardian would have noticed how a light from her feet upward, began to erase her being out of the land of the morning sun and singing birds.

Chapter Text

The ride to the city was short and smooth. Very different from the rather constant rattling of the ship and the overbearing error message screaming that she was doing it wrong. This time, it was replaced by the gentle whirring of the engine and the muffled radio speech within the ship’s controls. 

Neither she nor the cloaked figure spoke. Their ghosts resigned to the same unknown plane of existence, unable to guess if the other was speaking to their respective guardians.

The guardian sat on the edge of the very small makeshift bed that resided in the far end of a room with random pieces of clutter. Her other ship never had that before, even if the bed itself was stiff and the space around her still too tight with weapon parts and armor pieces strong on the walls or strapped to the ceiling. To her, it was better than a somewhat functioning cockpit and a broken, uncomfortable seat. The stranger controlling it was certainly a better pilot than she could ever hope to be. 

“I wonder how much the city has changed since I last saw,” Her ghost’s voice poked her mind. “There will be much to do, and last time I checked, Cayde-6 was still the Hunter Vanguard so it will be important that we see him…” 

He continued to ramble so close to her mind without reading her deeper thoughts. She tried to shut his voice out, but he seemingly passed through any barrier of silent ringing she wanted. Despite all her efforts she made, he was still speaking of everything and nothing all at once. 

The ship’s abrupt jolt for a stop was the only thing to make him cease. The guardian looked over to find the cloaked stranger had pressed a few buttons overhead and then released his safety belt. He turned his seat to face her, stood up and walked toward her. She made an effort to stand once his eyeless gaze met hers. She at first met his gaze, but then it traced down to the peculiar blade at his hip, then even lower to the gun resting in its holster.

He cleared his throat and said, “sorry about the mess.” He kicked away a random cloak laying on the ground. “I don’t usually pick up new lights.”

New light. 

Is that What I am?

Yet another term she had not the slightest clue of its meaning. She understood the “new” part just fine, but the “light” was less familiar. It was the same word shouted out by her ghost in desperation when she was nearly killed by that monster. Was the light the power she had, or was she the light?

“That’s fine,” replied the ghost. “Honestly anything is better than that old piece of junk.”

She flinched at the memory, the flashes of light, the heat…

The pain.

The cloaked figure held out his hand and there his ghost appeared as would hers if she were to do the same thing. 

“Yeah well…”

Just as before, the same cast of light trickled up her body, making it vanish into thin air. When it encased her chest, her breath was withheld and her eyes were sealed shut of her own accord. Then a moment happened where she caught herself falling though the ground was not too far below. When she hit her knees on the ground a pulse of electricity coursed through her veins. The palms of her hands planting themselves on the ground stopped her head from crashing into the pavement. 

“You were lucky enough to go as far as you did with it, even with a guardian so…”

The man’s words trailed and his thoughts were never finished. 

“Anyway, the name’s Anthony, and welcome to the tower,” the man said as she began to regain her footing. ”I assume you don't have one yet and I didn’t quite catch your class.”

The guardian fluttered her eyes open. The area they had just landed on was wide, much wider than she had anticipated. The main court itself was just up a small flight of stairs occasionally adorned in red banners. One side rested a small building reminiscent of a one-story home placed within the tall bladed grasslands.. From a glance within the open window of one of the buildings, she could see someone hold inspect something with great interest.

“Hunter,” the ghost answered for her while she drank in the rest of her surroundings.

The other side of the massive court placed three massive columns, circling around each other in a dormant dance. The use of which these columns were for was unknown to her, but near the bottom she saw a person wrapped in a long colorful robe putting all her attention on the small device it held.

“Really? Yes !” Anthony's rather giddy chuckle broke her focus on the rest of the world. “Oh, then you’re in for a treat when you meet our vanguard.” 

He began ascending up the first set of stairs and she followed not far behind.

The light of the still dawning sun was cut off by three mighty pillars reaching to the sky. While one stood shorter and with less edge to its presence, it was made up for by standing in both bulk and triumph. 

“You hear that Tasraa ?”

The guardian jumped as Anthony pointed to the one who was absentmindedly tapping away at the device. The so-called Tasraa sharply turned her head, of which was also covered in some sort of helmet, only this time no cloak was obscuring the sight of it. A little drone appeared by her shoulder- another ghost- and watched along in possible curiosity.

“Our numbers are growing!” Anthony held out his hands in defiance, while walking backwards. “We’re so winning this year!”

Many other strangers glanced at the commotion in curiosity. One such stranger was taller and broader than she could have ever imagined someone to be. His armor glistened a crimson red, even in the shade of the tower. 

Even from the distance, she heard Tasraa give out a snort and said, “oh yeah you’re growing alright. The number of losses every year!”

Anthony continued, “Damn, we weren’t that bad last year.”

Simply watching this strange interaction between the two was enough to inflict more questions in her mind. 

To this Tasraa responded in quick wit. “Really? Because the Titans had to give you guys some of their points because they felt bad.”

The new light’s ghost, who had situated himself beside Minnie - the stranger’s ghost-, asked the same question going through her mind. “Uh, what are you guys talking about?”

“Guardian Games,” Minnie answered in blunt exasperation, watching him turn back around and continue walking forward.

The ghost perked up. “That’s right. Last time I came, the Titans won and that was at least decades ago.” 

The new light crossed her arms over her chest against the gentle breeze that flew by. She said nothing as she continued to follow along. What could she say? Her ghost spoke to these strangers with knowledge that seemed quite unobtainable, even if she were to ask about it. All with the casual, still tone of someone who had just remembered an old park they used to play at. 

“You should see the new crucible arena they built for it,” the older guardian said in a once again quieter tone. 

They had reached to a point where the floor itself opened like a mouth ready to devour whatever traveled down its throat. When they stepped down the stairs, the air shifted and the sounds of their footsteps bounced against the thick, concrete walls.

Anthony continued, acting like he had walked this path a hundred times before. “Pretty sure I broke at least six bones just on the jump itself.”

At the end of the first descent of stairs, a large wall split the path forward into two, yet there was no doubt it would lead to the same place any way. On the wall itself, carved into its stone flesh, was a symbol, or rather multiple symbols, all variations of triangles mingling together in whatever position they liked. They rounded one of the corners of the wall, but the guardian never took her eyes off that symbol until it was fully out of view.

At the end of the second descent, a warm but artificial light streaked across the grey walls and floor, extenuating any cracks or chips of the supposedly strong foundations.

“Guardian!”

She gave a startled gasp at a man, broad as a bull and tall as an ancient pillar. A line running down the left side of his body separated the orange from the yellow painted onto the armor that fit his stature. Proudly did he wear the fur of some unfortunate creature on his shoulders. Beside him another ghost of a similar pattern quietly observed their guardian’s behavior.

The man approached the group with arms open wide, and a single horn on the side of his helm pointing to the ceiling. 

“Back from the hunt I see!” The armored man spoke with a thunderous tone.

Anthony chuckled in response. “Not a hunt, Shaxx, more of a pick up.”

Her ghost perked up in recognition in front of her and quickly turned to meet her eyes. 

“This is Lord Shaxx. He’s the overseer of the Crucible. Basically a match for guardians to test their skills against each other.”

The man known as Lord Shaxx turned his attention towards the new light then leaned back and gave a hearty laugh. 

“Aha! Another warrior to join the ranks of the crucible!” He triumphantly put his hands on his hips and said, “welcome to the tower guardian.”

Only then did his voice soften, if only just a little, but it did nothing to dampen the spirit of fire within.

The guardian was only able to respond with a curt nod. She fiddled with her fingers as she watched her ghost once again speak for her. 

“It’s nice to see you again, Shaxx.”

“And you as well, little light. Glad to see you have finally found your guardian.”

All the guardian could do was watch as the two exchanged words of times passed she never knew about. Through Lord Shaxx’s bursting enunciation, Anthony somehow made his voice audible. 

“Hey, why don’t you stay here with Shaxx for a bit. I know meeting the vanguard for the first time can be intimidating, especially Zavala and Ikora- the Titan and Warlock Vanguard.”

The new light raised a brow and looked back to the one-horned man, both fists now clenched at his hips. 

More intimidating than him?

Anthony continued, “I can bring Cayde here for you to meet him and besides…” the man started to back away. 

“He loves being a bad influence to new hunters when the other two are not around”

She had no time to call out before he marched straight into the open area down the hall of which she assumed to be where the so-called Vanguard were.

Funnily enough, she didn’t seem to notice Lord Shaxx and her ghost had stopped talking to each other. “Yes. Sit. I'm sure there must be much you want to discuss.”

The man before her offered a guiding hand near her arm to the furniture decorating against the wall. a couch and two armchairs aligning on either side of it to form a semicylinder encasing the coffee table . Color similar to that of the orange side of Lord Shaxx’s armor, with age fading color a memory imprinting the seat of those who must have waited before her. 

She naturally inched toward the armchair to the right and sat down. While the cushion sank beneath her weight, she eyed Shaxx as he placed himself on the right end of the couch.

“I’m sure you must have questions,” said Lord Shaxx. “It’s not good for a guardian if their ghost speaks for them.”

The guardian’s chest was held in a tight grip at the sight of his unseen but intense gaze. She couldn’t even begin to formulate the words together to ask anything in the first place. Everything just seemed to float in front of her just barely beyond her reach. 

The ghost. The last city…

Her own death. 

She clenched her fists at the memory and shook her head. 

Lord Shaxx, ever-the-so patient. “I see. You must still be in shock from all that has occurred. No matter, I’m sure life in the tower will comfort you well, and, since you’re a hunter, life outside of it will come naturally to you.” 

Her heart nearly stopped at the last words uttered to her. 

Outside of the tower? No. danger colored the sky beyond the walls. Words that swirled in her mind over and over again. It didn’t matter if it was from unexpected crashes or debris cutting deep into her flesh, or rotting corpses haunting her very shadow to impale her with a giant spear, what mattered to her was one thing. She whispered before she could even stop herself. 

“I can’t go back.” 

There was no reply on the other end, even her ghost’s constant whirring succumbed to stunned silence. The guardian saw no use to look him in where she thought was the eye. Fiddling with the nails of her fingers seemed to be the only thing her focus would steady on. The only thing that wouldn’t remind her of-

“So Cayde’s not here right now…” Anthony’s somewhat exasperated comment behind her made her flinch. 

As she and Lord Shaxx turned to find him and stood up from their seats, her ghost swung in front of her. “What do you mean he’s not here? He’s the hunter vanguard after all, that’s most likely where he should be.”

A chuckle came in response to ghost’s little complaint. “He never likes offices that much. In fact, he hates them with a solar passion.”

Minnie perched herself on her guardian’s shoulder in amusement at the simple situation. “That’s an understatement. He once tied himself to the highest building in the tower just to get that ‘rush of adrenaline’.” 

“Ah, yes! I do recall that moment.” Shaxx began. “Zavala threatened to send Ikora to get him down.” He let out a hearty chuckle. 

Fear was soon outweighed by confusion in the guardian. If this man- this Cayde-6 was the Hunter vanguard, then why did he seem to not take his job seriously? She couldn’t believe she could ever side with her ghost with something already. 

“Zavala and Ikora don’t seem to be worried about where he is though, which means he could be in one of three places right now, and I know what two of them are,” Anthony said, nodding his thanks to Shaxx and already stepping down the hall, expecting her to follow.

“And the third?” She asked hesitantly.

“That’s a secret most guardians don’t know about.”

***

It didn’t hurt as much when Cayde fell out of the window. At least it was open this time, so he didn’t have to pay anyone to fix it. 

The Hunter Vanguard’s back hit the ground with a *THUD*. Pain shot through his back and down his arms and legs. The first thing he saw opening his mechanical eyes was his own ghost, Sundance. Her form wobbled and blurred in his vision.

“That’s the third time this week you fell out of the window!” Her tone was light but slightly unsettled. 

Cayde, in an effort to prove something, held up a hand and pointed to where he thought she was. “The second time I wasn’t drunk.”

He tried to settle on the memory, but the slightly acidic liquid he had been consuming for a while now clogged his memory. At least he remembered this current incident, which was nothing more than a simple trip and stumble backward.

“Did ya pay your tab Cayde?” 

Sundance moves out of the hunter’s line of sight and now was focused on the not broken window he had just fallen out of. There, blurry and undetailed, was a man, middle aged and balding, leaning out of the window in a nonchalant manner. He was waiting for an answer. 

“Yeah. Yeah I did. Thanks for opening the window for me, Mike.”

The bartender, Mike, pushed himself off the frame of the window. “Keeping everything intact when guardians don’t want to. Have a good rest of your day, Cayde,” His eyes shifted to Sundance and his tone lightened. “See ya around, Sundance.” 

Still not making much of an effort to fully say goodbye, he used a single hand and waved in whatever motion he felt appropriate.

“Bye!” 

The hunter smiled at his ghost’s enthusiastic nature and with that, Jim slid the window shut, leaving him outside still lying on the dirt. 

“On the bright side…” Sundance started, while floating further to the side, waiting for him to stand up. “...it looks like I don’t have to heal you this time.”

After a moment, Cayde leaned his head back. He would have been looking straight up into the sky, past the neon sign that flickered at the top of “MikeyMinney’s”, had it not been for the Traveler coating the entire city from the drifting sun’s embrace. From where he laid still, only a small glimpse of warm light would display itself between the Traveler’s body and the horizon. It would never last long, for the sun would always escape behind the shadows of the mountains just so that the night could paint the sky a dark blue. 

Cayde heard a small click of his chest, then soon felt the cool metal of her shell pressing up against the side of his similarly cool face. Neither of them spoke to one another- a strange thing for both of them- but neither of them needed to, because they both took in the same sight of the marble white body that they fought so desperately to protect. Judging by the way small bits and pieces had started to break off from years of keeping watch, he wasn’t even sure they were doing a good job. 

But then his mind wandered, though inebriated as it was, to all that has happened in so little time. The Defeat of Crota, the eradication of the rebelling House of Wolves, the humiliation of the Taken King, the returned legacy of the Iron Lords. 

All of that because of one of the Traveler's chosen. 

Huh, not too bad actually.

With one hand, he was not entirely sure which, he reached out. If the Traveler felt so close, so connected to the city and what’s left of humanity, then why shouldn’t he be able to touch it?

Cayde didn’t move his hand when he could only feel air, but he did when a luminous figure approached his limp body. He let it fall to the ground, not caring much for the impact and blinked a few times. 

Staring back at him, was a girl, no older than 16. Strange for someone her age to be walking around this part of the city. Her pitch black hair outlined the radiant light of her face as it went past her shoulders. Her eyes were blue in a way. Not the sky- or was it teal?- blue eyes that enhanced Zavala’s authoritative glare. They were colder, less… saturated if that was the right word for them. He just couldn’t put a finger to the right color. 

She didn’t speak the brief seconds he took in her face. By the way her arms were crossed over her chest, and with confusion painted those strange blue eyes, she seemed too nervous to try. 

“Don’t mind me just gathering dust,” Cayde said. 

A ghost manifested itself right next to her. 

“Cayde?” 

What? That’s not her ghost, is it?

Another silhouette, definitely a hunter this time appeared right next to her. “You fell out of the window again?” 

He recognized the voice, but for the life of him could not put it to name. It started with “A” that’s for sure. Andy?

“Yep,” he emphasized his tone, but then nodded to the girl. “Who’s this?”

Sundance clicked in excitement and floated away from the side of her companion. “Oh, it's a new guardian!” She approached the girl, eager to get a closer look. “You must have come from the reef itself, I can tell by your attire.”

The young awoken backed away from the female ghost’s overwhelming approach, avoiding the gaze of her one eye as she did so.

The “A” guardian chuckled at Sundance’s happiness. “Yep. And she’s a hunter too. So, what do you have to say to welcome our addition to our class?”

So much had just been thrown at Cayde all at once, and he had already been on the dirty, empty alleyway floor for all of it. There had to be something he had to start with through all of his confusion and curiosity, whether it was for her sake or his, he didn’t know. 

Wait a minute…

“Did I pay my tab?”