It was a warm evening in the Last City. Guardian Charon had just arrived back in the Tower after an evening at a dance club frequented by Guardians. She arrived home in a dour frame of mind, and walked out on the wall to clear her head.
Her ghost, Phantom, floated at her left shoulder. He was a little robot in a black racing shell, his blue eye a brilliant light in the twilight.
"What's wrong, Charon?" he ventured, when she had stood at the railing for some time without speaking.
She shrugged.
"Was it the club?" Phantom asked. "I thought you had fun. Everybody was there."
"Everybody still alive," Charon said. "Did you see how empty it was?"
Phantom drooped a little. "Yes. I tried not to notice, honestly."
Charon leaned her elbows on the railing and brushed her black, gleaming hair out of her eyes. "It's not just that my fireteam wasn't there. Or that Valis hasn't come back in months. Although that does make it worse."
"Being alone is no fun," Phantom agreed. He leaned his shell against her cheek. "I'm still here, though."
She smiled and patted him. "I know, Phantom. I'm glad. It's just ... there's so few Guardians left. The Red War finished off so many. The few we have left are out in the Reef. The City will fall without us, and our enemies will take the Traveler."
She looked up to see him gazing steadily at her.
"What do we do?" he asked. "There's still thousands of ghosts out there, looking for their Guardians. I'd probably still be hunting if I hadn't happened across you. More Guardians will come along, if we're patient."
Charon frowned, a line appearing between her eyebrows. She gazed across the city to the Traveler's moon-like shape in the sky. She didn't answer for so long that Phantom thought he'd somehow offended her. "Charon? What's wrong?"
"Ghosts," she whispered. Louder, she said, "Phantom, what if you and I help ghosts find their Guardians? We'll protect them so they can hunt faster, without worrying about the Fallen. We'll help fill the Tower with Guardians again."
Phantom's eye brightened. "You'd do that? I mean, would the Vanguard even let you?"
"Of course they would," Charon said. "I know Zavala worries about our numbers. I think I know just how to ask him. There's been other Guardians who shepherded ghosts around."
"Can we survive in the wilds?" Phantom said. "I mean, you're a Titan, not a Hunter."
"I have friends who can teach me the ropes," Charon said, smiling brightly. "It might be a few weeks before we can start. In the meantime, put out a call for any local ghosts who want an escort to meet up here at the Tower. We'll figure out where to start hunting then."
Phantom projected a thumbs-up icon above himself. "I'll get right on it. Have I ever told you how much I love you?"
She smiled. "Every day, little light."
Charon received permission from Zavala to go on a quest to find new Guardians. He granted her six months, with the option to extend the time as needed.
She spent weeks in the mountains and woods around the Last City, learning how to hunt, fish, forage, and build fires. Her Hunter friends were delighted to teach her, and mostly they just enjoyed camping and hiking. It was late spring, and Charon planned to spend all summer and fall out in the wilderness.
As her departure date drew closer, Phantom said, "So far, I have three ghosts who would like an escort. There's others who are interested who are too far away to get here in time."
"We can pick up as many as want to come along," Charon said. "I plan to fly from place to place. We're going to hit old cities and graveyards, where the highest chances of Guardian matches might be."
Phantom gazed at her adoringly. "You're so smart."
She stroked his shell. "Watch out. Some of these other ghosts might like me, too. You might have competition."
Phantom's mood went from calm to enraged in a fraction of a second. His eye turned red and he opened his shell to make himself look bigger. "They'd better not! I spent six months in a cage for wanting to bond with you! No ghost had better dare think of stealing you from me!"
"Shh." She gathered in the floating shell segments and pushed him back together. "Calm down, Phantom. You're my ghost forever and ever. Don't freak out." She nestled him under her chin, feeling heat radiating from his core and shell.
Phantom was silent for a long moment. Then he said softly, "I'm sorry. It still ... hurts."
He didn't have to mention how they'd met. Charon's first ghost had been killed in combat. Phantom had happened across Charon and realized he could bond to her spark - but the Vanguard Ghost Oversight Committee thought otherwise and locked him up. Charon had brought in another ghost as a potential bond instead of Phantom. The heartbreak almost killed him.
Charon knew exactly what he was thinking about, and regretted it with her whole heart. She wished she didn't have a part of herself that held back from loving him completely, afraid of further hurt.
"You're the only ghost I want," she assured him. "These other ghosts want Guardians of their own. We're helping them out. You won't be jealous, will you?"
Phantom took his time about answering. "As long as they don't make passes at you ... I think I'll be all right."
The morning they were to depart, three ghosts met Charon in the Tower cafe, where she was having breakfast.
She'd expected them to be identical, since the Traveler had created all ghosts with the same basic gray shell design - like a star around a core with an eye in it. But these were unique. One ghost was bigger than the others. One wore a dark red shell. And one was pure white.
"Hello!" Charon greeted them. "Here for your escort?"
"Yes," said the dark red one. "I'm Galahad." He nodded to the big one. "This is Beef." He nodded to the white. "This is Peach."
"Thank you for this opportunity," said Beef. Despite his size, his voice was very soft, almost timid. "I think my Guardian is far to the south, but I can't get there by myself."
"I don't want a Guardian," Peach announced, twirling her white shell. "I'm only coming along because it sounds fun."
"She's insane," Galahad muttered.
Peach whacked him with her shell. "I am not! I just think that it's silly that ghosts think we need a Guardian to complete us. Look at me. I'm fine by myself."
"Hey," Charon said. "Be nice."
"I'm very nice," Galahad announced, giving Peach a dirty look. "My Guardian is out there somewhere. I'm pretty sure they're on Earth. But it's a big planet. Lots of dead people to scan."
"Nice to meet you all," Charon said. "I'm Charon, and this is Phantom. I'm going to lay down a few rules before we get started."
The three ghosts shifted in midair, exchanging glances.
"First," Charon said, "you do what I say when I say it. If I say hide, you get out of sight. If I tell you to run for the ship, you do it. No arguments. Understand?"
All three ghosts nodded.
"Second," Charon went on, "it's taboo to touch unbonded ghosts. But if any of you are hurt, or need shelter, or are incapacitated in any way, I'll have to handle you. Do I have your permission?"
Beef said, "Does ... does it hurt to be touched?"
Phantom flew in front of them and landed in Charon's hands. "It doesn't hurt at all," he said. She turned him upside down, twirled his shell segments, then gave him a kiss. She stuck him back in the air over her shoulder. "There. Any questions?"
"Could I have a kiss?" Galahad asked.
"No!" Phantom snapped.
Peach sighed. "You have my permission to handle me, if something goes horribly wrong or whatever."
"Me too," Beef and Galahad agreed.
"Good," Charon said. She lifted a large canvas bag from its spot on the floor and set it on the table. "See if you all fit in there."
The ghosts swooped inside the bag. "Plenty of room!" Galahad announced.
Charon closed the top flap and fastened it. "Can you three still get out?"
One by one, the three ghosts wriggled out from under the flap.
"Yes, but why?" Beef asked.
"Say it's raining and you're in there," Charon said. "And I put the bag down to fight aliens. And aliens flank us, and you need to get away. I don't want you to be trapped."
The three ghosts looked nervous. "I got out just fine," said Peach.
"Me too," the others agreed.
"Good." Charon got up and slung the bag's strap over her shoulder. "Come along, ghosts. We're going to Old Chicago."