Story set during the beginning of the Dark Age, before the Warlords.

"The end of the world begins the moment you die."

The fall had come so suddenly, so out of nowhere than no one had been prepared for it. Rogue remembered the terror and confusion that had smothered the system. The only warning they'd had was when Rasputin had seized control of the Planetary Defense Network and the Traveler fled from Io, ushering in disaster preparations across the planets. Lootings and riots were rampant as people tried to grab anything they could think of to ensure their survival. They flocked to shipyards around the globe to board colony ships as civilization collapsed around them and enemy forces invaded the system. But most of them didn't make it off planet.

Transmissions from other worlds brought only despair as reports rose that the Vex, once dormant, had begun to terraform. On Mars, an alien race called the Cabal, established a beachhead, preparing to invade with little resistance. And Earth was suffocating as humanity's forces were steadily beaten back. Then, when they were facing extinction, the Traveler had intervened, stopping the encroaching Darkness but crippling itself in the process.

All this, Rogue had pieced together from a variety of different sources. He had been traveling to the Cosmodrome at the time, but once he heard rumors of ships being kept from launching, he'd chosen to hunker down in an isolated cabin that he'd secured as much as he could. He'd found some old broadcasting equipment in the basement and listened in on any chatter he could pick up until the channels went silent. He'd remained sequestered in the cabin for two months until eventually a need for supplies motivated him to gather what he could find and set to the road.

As he entered the small town, he scanned the area for any sign of life, hostile or otherwise. But he could find nothing other than evidence of abandonment. No lights were on and no smoke rose from the chimneys. The windows of the houses watched him with dark, hollow eyes. He pushed on one of the doors, which creaked open without resistance, and cautiously stepped inside. He held the handgun he'd taken from the cabin at the ready as he searched to make sure the rooms were clear. The kitchen was next to empty as most of the food appeared to have been taken by either the inhabitants or anyone who'd come through afterwards.

Rogue moved on to check the bathroom, where he found a few first aid supplies that hadn't been emptied out. He was in the middle of stowing a roll of bandages in his pack when he felt the muzzle of a gun press against the back of his neck. He froze.

"Hands," said the stranger gruffly.

Rogue slowly raised his hands, letting the bandages fall. "What do you want?" he asked, keeping his tone even.

"I'll ask the questions. Why are you here?"

"Just gettin' some supplies. 'Case you haven't noticed, the world's gone to shit."

"Are you a bandit?"

"A what?" The gun pressed into his neck. "Ow! I ain't no bandit, jeez."

"How do I know you're telling the truth?"

Rogue shrugged. "Guess you'll hafta take my word for it."

The stranger seemed to consider that for a moment. "Fair enough."

The gun was removed and Rogue took the opportunity to turn around and meet his attacker face to face. His optics widened in surprise when he saw that it was a woman. She had been using a deeper tone to sound like a man but he knew he could never mistake her for one. Her clothes were durable, the kind backpackers might wear, and what he could see of her skin was dark tan. Her black hair was cropped short, but messily, as though she'd done it herself.

She tucked her gun into the back of her pants. "The name's Ash," she said, "And if I find out you're a bandit, this gun will come right back out."

"I'm Rogue-9," said Rogue, "And I swear I ain't a bandit."

"Huh. You are an Exo. I thought you might be but it's hard to tell from behind, with that baseball cap you're wearing."

Rogue put the bandages into his pack and stood up. "That's the idea. I figured folks're more likely to target me since most Exos are soldiers n' all."

Ash nodded. "Makes sense."

"Wasn't sure anyone else made it out here."

"Lots of people didn't. But there are a few camps here and there."

"You part of a camp?"

"I'm with a group. There's only seven of us though."

"Right. And bandits?"

"Humans, mostly. They attack camps and refugee columns, killing people and stealing supplies." She studied him for a few seconds. "Tell you what… why don't you come back with me? I'm pretty sure you're not a bandit and even if you were, there's more of us."

"You want me to be a part of your group?" said Rogue in surprise.

"The others have to agree. But another pair of hands never hurts. What do you say?"

"Well, it ain't like I got somewhere better to be."

"Great. Follow me."

Ash lead Rogue out of the town and into the forest. It was a couple hours' trek to her camp but nothing troubled them on the way. Eventually, Rogue found himself entering a small clearing. A makeshift fire pit sat in the middle, with several shelters and tents up in a semicircle around it. As they entered the camp, two people jogged over, carrying guns. One was a wiry guy with shaggy brown hair. The other was someone unlike any person Rogue had ever seen before. Her hair was a fiery red that hung down her right shoulder in a braid. Her skin was a pale shade of bluish-purple and her eyes were bright yellow. He noticed that the gun she held had a large scope with an extremely long barrel. A sniper rifle.

"Ash," said the man, "What's going on?"

"Zack, Scout, this is Rogue-9," said Ash, "I ran into him while I was out getting supplies.

"Hey," said Rogue.

Zack nodded at him. "Interested in joining our group then? Best of luck convincing Matt... But if that's all, Scout and I are gonna get back to our posts. See you in ten."

Ash waved as the two other survivors walked away. Rogue watched as Scout climbed a nearby tree, perching high in its branches. "What's her deal?"

"Scout? She's an Awoken. Apparently, one of the fleets reached the Asteroid Belt. When the Traveler pushed back the Darkness, it was caught in the shockwave and the survivors were transformed into the Awoken. Most of them are living out there in the Belt, but some came back to Earth. Scout used to be one of Takanome's Rangers before she decided she'd be more helpful down on the ground."

"One of what?"

"Rangers. They stay up in the mountains and use their sniper rifles to protect the refugee columns from Fallen and bandits. Supposedly, they plant blue flowers along the refugee roads. Ayane Takanome is their leader."

"Where're all the refugees goin'?"

"Most of them are heading for the Traveler. They think it can still protect them."

"Do you?"

Ash pursed her lips. "Who knows? Maybe it can and maybe it can't... But is it really worth the risk? Even with the Rangers, the roads are dangerous. We won't stay here forever, but we're certainly not leaving anytime soon."

Rogue nodded. "I see where you're comin' from."

Ash nodded back. "Well, we only have a few minutes left until the evening meal, so I guess I'd better introduce you to the rest of them."

"Sounds good."

Rogue followed her into the center of the camp where a few people were scattered around. The first people he encountered were a man and a woman taking stock of medical supplies. The man was tall and built with darkly tanned skin and black hair. His hands moved with ease as he examined the supplies. The woman was his polar opposite, with light skin and blonde hair in a messy bun on top of her head. Yet they seemed to belong together, adjusting to each other's movements and shifts in position.

"This is Doc and his wife, Cece," said Ash, "Guys, this is Rogue-9."

The couple rose to shake hands. "Nice to meet ya," said Rogue.

"A pleasure," said Doc. Rogue noticed that he spoke with a French accent.

Cece smiled. "Bienvenue," she said, "We are 'appy to 'ave you. Will you be staying wiz us for long?"

"That's what I'll be bringing up during the evening meal," said Ash.

Doc and Cece nodded. "I see," he said, "Well, we both wish you good luck."

"Thanks," said Rogue.

As he and Ash continued on, she turned to him. "As you've probably guessed, they handle our medical needs around here. Doc used to be a surgeon and Cece was an RN."

"Is his name actually Doc?"

Ash laughed. "No, but we've never called him anything else."

The next person they ran into was a teenager with messy auburn hair who looked to be making some kind of spear. He waved cheerfully as they approached. "Hey, Ash. Who's this?"

"This is Rogue-9. Rogue, this is Kit."

Kit shook his hand enthusiastically. "It's so cool to meet an Exo! Are you joining us?"

"I hope so, kid."

"We're going to talk to Matt next," said Ash.

"Ooh. Good luck."

"Thanks, Kit."

"I don't get it," said Rogue as they walked away, "Why's everyone wishin' me luck with this Matt guy?"

Ash smirked. "You'll see."

Up ahead was an old tree stump. A man sat on top of it, cleaning a gun. He was tall and strong-looking, with brown hair and a thick beard. He looked up, nodding in greeting.

"Hey Matt," said Ash, "This is Rogue-9."

The man stood up, setting aside his gun to shake hands. "Hello." He spoke with a Russian accent. "I see you have brought back another one, Ash. Are you sure he is not a bandit?"

"What kind of bandit would travel alone?"

Matt shrugged. "A spy, perhaps? Vaiting to kill us all in our sleep." He narrowed his eyes suspiciously at Rogue, who held up his hands.

"I don't want trouble man…"

Matt stared at him for several more seconds before he started to chuckle. "I joke. I know you are no bandit. If you vere, I vould have already shot you."

"...Good to know."

"Anyvay," said Matt, "I believe it is time for evening meal." He put his fingers in his mouth and whistled, a sharp piercing whistle that echoed around the clearing.

As Matt lead the way toward the campfire, Rogue confronted Ash. "All that hype for nothin'? Was all that 'good luck' stuff just to pull my leg?"

"Pretty much," said Ash. "Matt may look intimidating, but he's actually one of the most easygoing people here."

After dinner was finished, the group remained seated around the fire as Ash 'formally' introduced him. A vote was conducted on whether he could join the group and the decision was a unanimous 'yes.'

Over the next few weeks, Rogue found himself becoming cemented as part of the group. Kit in particular seemed to look up to him, asking endless questions about anything he could think of. However, Rogue could also tell that something was starting to weigh on the group as time went by. And he was pretty sure he knew what it was. Supplies in the area wouldn't last forever and he bet that they'd soon be forced to venture further out. He brought this up to the group one night.

"Yes," said Matt in answer, "This is true. There are only so many supplies that ve can scavenge before ve must move on."

Scout nodded in agreement. "We've been running low on food. Zack and Kit hunt what they can but all of our perishables are gone and we don't have that many cans left."

"We 'ave problems as well," said Cece, "Ze medical supplies are not being used as fast as ze food but zey are still lower zen we would like."

"It would most likely be best for everyone if we moved on," said Doc, "We're too used to this place and if we were to be attacked, it wouldn't end well."

"The problem is, we can never agree on where to go," said Zack, "I'll say what I always say: we should find the Traveler."

"Oui!" said Cece, "Eet ees obvious, no? We must go to ze Traveler eef we want to be safe! C'est la seule façon!"

"What?" said Rogue.

"She says it's the only way," said Doc with a tired sigh, "I love her very much, but in this, I don't agree."

"The Traveler is finished," said Matt, "It was crippled fighting the Darkness. To tell the truth, I do not care vhere ve go, as long as ve leave soon."

"I think the Traveler's our best option," said Scout, "We know others are going that way, maybe enough to get a settlement going."

"Large groups are more likely to get attacked," said Ash, "I'm sorry, but I agree with Doc and Matt."

"Vhat about Rogue and Kit?" asked Matt, "Vhat do they think?"

"I'm with you guys," said Rogue, "When the world was endin' they said we'd be safe if we got on the colony ships. Only those ships didn't launch. Thousands of people got killed for nothin'. Now I'm hearin' we should go to the Traveler. But there's no proof the Traveler's even capable of protectin' us. Only concrete thing I seem to hear is that it was crippled. I dunno 'bout you, but that doesn't exactly fill me with confidence."

"What about Kit?" asked Ash.

"Good question." Rogue looked at Kit. "What do you think, Kit?"

Kit bit his lip, visibly conflicted. "I'm not sure."

"Why don't we make Kit the deciding vote since there's an even number of us?" said Ash, "If he sides with you, we'll all go to the Traveler. If he sides with us, we go somewhere else."

"You cannot leave zis decision up to a child," protested Cece, "Ce n'est pas juste."

"Darling, it's more than fair," said Doc, "Ash could say we do nothing if he agrees with you since it would put us at an impasse."

Cece sighed. "Tres bien... We will do eet your way."

"Ok," said Ash, "Kit?"

Kit sighed. "I used to think we should go find the Traveler," he said, "But...Rogue has a good point. We don't know if the Traveler can even help us. So, I think I have to side with them. Sorry, Cece."

"Ce n'est pas important. But I would like to know where zey plan on leading us." She shot a pointed look at Rogue.

"Y'know, I actually thought about this," said Rogue, "I think- and don't laugh or nothin', but I think we should go to the Cosmodrome." There was a long pause as they processed that.

Matt frowned. "Explain."

"Well, it's closer to places where we could find supplies and it has that big wall around it. Also, there's a chance of us findin' a ship that still works."

Cece scoffed. "Zat ees a funny joke."

"Rogue, the odds of finding a working ship in the Cosmodrome are astronomical," said Scout, "If they weren't destroyed in the Collapse, other people probably found them a while back. And even if we had a ship, what would we do with it?"

"I was thinkin' we fly out to the Belt, see if we can stay with the Awoken."

"Trust me, the Awoken are pretty far from being able to help anyone."

"It's still worth a try. In any case, the Cosmodrome's still our best bet. It's close and it's defendable." The other group members were nodding along.

Matt slapped Rogue on the back. "Exo is right," he said, "The Cosmodrome is best plan."

Zack sighed. "Well I don't think anyone else has anything better… the Cosmodrome it is."

The bandits had come in the night. Zack and Matt, the two on watch, had caught them entering the camp. The ensuing gunfire had woken the others. Rogue had run out to find Zack lying in a pool of his own blood. Matt was close by, leaning up against a wall, a bullet hole in his abdomen. Rogue knelt down next to him.

Matt coughed. "The Cosmodrome vas not as empty as ve thought, eh?"

"Where're the bandits?" asked Rogue.

"They ran. There vere two. Ve hit them but not fatal."

Kit ran up, his eyes wide in horror. Rogue turned to him, touching him on the arm. "Kit, I need you to go find Doc. Tell him to bring his med kit." Kit nodded and ran off. Rogue turned back to Matt, clasping his hand. "Hang in there, man."

Matt smiled. "Do not vorry about me. You must get ready. They vill be back. Leave me."

Rogue shook his head. "No. Doc's comin' with his med kit. You'll be fine."

"If this vere Golden Age, no big deal. Men die and doctors say 'valk it off.'" He chuckled. "But there is no more Golden Age. This is new age. Age of Darkness. This vound vill kill me. But you can still live if you get ready."

Rogue nodded. "I will."

"Good. Go." Matt waved him away.

Rogue stood up, turning around just as Kit ran in with Doc. Doc made for Matt, but Rogue stopped him. "You can't fix this one, Doc."

Doc's face grew somber and he nodded. "Then I will try to ease his pain."

"Do what you can." As Doc moved past him, Rogue walked up to Kit. "Are the others awake?"

Kit nodded. "Ash and Cece are gathering weapons. Scout is up in a tower with her sniper rifle. Here." He passed Rogue a rifle and his handgun.

"Thanks, kid. Let's show those bandits who's boss."

Cece and Ash arrived not long after and the group waited in tense silence. Then a shot rang out through the stillness, causing them to jump. "Must be Scout," said Ash, "They're here."

Cece sat against the wall, muttering in French as Doc sat next to her with a gun, one arm wrapped around her. More shots rang out and Rogue saw holes appear in the wall above their heads. Then the crack of Scout's sniper rifle rang out, granting them a brief respite.

"Now!" said Rogue.

He, Doc, Ash, and Kit rose to aim at the bandits outside. There looked to be a dozen of them. Rogue got two in the kneecap before he had to drop down again. The exchange continued like that for the next few minutes as the bandits drew closer to the building. Doc took a bullet in the shoulder and Ash's side was grazed. Then the door flew open as the bandits tried to force their way in and the room dissolved into chaos.

Rogue took down three, but the last one got a shot off before he died, hitting Ash in the neck. Kit lunged forward, but Rogue pulled him back. He was in the process of pushing the kid behind him, when a bullet caught him in the chest, causing him to fall. With a growl, he shot down two more bandits before his arm was shot off.

He pulled Kit down with his other arm. "See that grenade by my boot?" Kit nodded, tears in his eyes. "Hand it to me." Once his hand closed around it, he sighed in relief. "Listen kid, you need to get out of here."

"What? No!"

"I ain't askin', I'm tellin'! You get outta here and find Scout. Go!" He pushed Kit toward a small window.

Kit looked back one last time, then climbed through it. Rogue allowed himself to feel thankful for two seconds before he called out to Doc and threw the grenade to him. Doc caught it and met Rogue's optics, nodding once.

As the rest of the bandits swarmed in, Rogue saw him turn to Cece. "Je t'aime." Then he squeezed his eyes shut and pulled the pin, letting the grenade fall to the floor.

Rogue saw it roll once, twice, three full times before his world became a blazing inferno.

A/N: Oh man this is the longest one I've written yet! It's been really interesting to incorporate things from before Destiny's events into these oneshots. If any of you guys feel like leaving a review, I'd like to know what your favorite oneshot has ben so far and why. Also, I'd like to give a big shoutout to Cf96, ConnorPerson, and ChaztheEpic for their reviews. Much love, guys. :)

- TheWolfParadox