A/N: Multiple POVs this chapter, if some dialogue is slightly altered between the changes, ignore it. Thank you for reading this far. Next few chapters will have some... info.
Chapter 7: Do You Think I Can Handle It?
POV:Klein(in his mind)
"Damn, I'm back here again. Seems like I'll be here awhile, but why am I here?"
Taking in my surroundings- wait… There are no surroundings since I'm in my head, so yeah, that was pointless. Why does this look like there is nothing here?
''That's a damn good question there Klein.'' Someone said from behind me.
Turning around, I noticed that same person who gave me the clue, the one to find that Fallen cache, Angry, I walked up to the entity, "What the hell did you do to me? I followed it and now I'm here. Care to explain why?''
"You mean we."
"What?" I said, as my anger drained into confusion.
"You are here because I'm here, and I'm here because you're here. Confusing I know, but it works."
"Again what?" I asked, still confused as all hell.
"To answer your questions: I did nothing to you, well mostly, and the 'why you are here' part is complicated."
"How so?"
"Well, to put it bluntly…" he hesitated, and for a damn good reason, "I'm you, well, a previous iteration of you."
"Wait, how?" I felt the blood leave my face, if I could feel anything, because again, I'm in my mind.
"Long story short, you were me before I died."
"Mind if I ask how I- uh 'we' died?"
"Sure, since you will be out for a while."
As myself explained our death to myself, I understood how we died, but not why. What drove my older, previous self to die? I didn't ask and he didn't tell. I think it is still a fresh wound that hasn't had the time to heal, even after all these years it seems. He told me stories of how he was at the Battles of Twilight Gap and Six Fronts. How he and few other Guardians pushed back the Fallen. I think my jaw would be permanently on the floor, if it was outside my helmet. Speaking of that, he also explained that the set of armor he was wearing is still out there. He gave me hints on where they are, but after you die, you kinda don't know where it all goes. He was also glad that I found the helmet, 'One down, four to go' is what he said. Also, He had asked his commander to leave his name out from the reports from the battles. Why? I don't know, must have had a good reason. I'll need to delve deeper into it.
"You understand now?"
"Well yeah, now that I finally got an explanation. The Vanguard looked at me like I had three heads when I told them my name."
"They didn't expect a Legend to rise again." he said as we fist bumped.
"Amen to that." I said then I asked, "Two questions."
"Hit me little Phoenix(His new nickname for me, because of the legend comment)."
"Can I trust Amira and Stephanie? They both seem uneasy around me, Stephanie, being even more so."
"There is a reason for that, and no, I'm not telling you why. You have to find that out on your own. You can trust them, you are in their Fireteam right?" He said, answering the immediate question I was GOING to ask.
"I am. Also, how did we get these powers? I don't know why, but they feel different. Could you explain why that is?"
"Good that you are on their team, they will help you, and to answer your question, honestly I don't know why I got these powers. The answer eluded me forever. The Speaker couldn't answer me, he asked the Traveler and it was cryptic in its answer. I STILL don't know the answer and I don't expect you to find the answer either."
"Alright, one more question."
"Shoot."
"What is Amira's deal? She acts like she wants to bash my face in."
"That is a conversation for another time. I can sense you are starting to regain conscious, relax and don't lash out. Also, Congrats on the Archon kill, you did it faster than I did, and that was a long time ago."
"Thanks… I guess. Will I hear from you again?"
"Maybe. Later little Phoenix." he said, "Ohh… before you go, you should know that Stephanie and Amira are in the same boat!" he shouted to me.
"Which boat?"
"There are a few boats, but the important one is-" he started before it was cut off.
I awoke in a hospital room and my armor was replaced by a black undersuit, I opened my eyes and instinctively moved my hands to rub my temples. APPARENTLY, being in your own head for so long really does a number on you. What was he, or uhm was I, going to say? That Amira and Stephanie are in the same boat, but which one? I think I have a migraine, because my vision is blurred in my right eye, damn though. No one was in the room expect me and-
"Oh my god, KARA!" I screamed out.
Kara rose off her little stand on the nightstand at the sound of my voice, "Klein, thank the Traveler you are alright! I got so scared, you passed out and I was worried and-" she started hysterically.
"Shhhhhhh, calm down. I'm here now. Come here and relax." I said, and then Kara came to relax in the crook of my neck, visibly relieved.
The door to my hospital room opened and three people entered, two I recognized and one I didn't, "Well sheeeeettt."
"Nice to meet you Archon Slayer, I'm Lucas." A Titan in standard armor said.
"We need to talk Klein." the people who said that happened to be….both Amira AND Stephanie. They looked so pissed, what did I do? Ohhhhhh, that's right, I owed them a conversation.
I could have said anything, but all I said was, "Ruh roh."
POV:Stephanie
Several Hours Earlier, Back in the Cosmodrome….
"You think he'll be alright Amira?" I asked with a slight concern.
"Course he will, have you met him?"
"That is not what I'm asking and you know that."
"Does it look like I want to answer that question?" Amira said, sounded distressed.
"I know he meant a lot to both of us, you especially. He'll hopefully remember." I said, trying to reassure myself more than her.
Waiting around for Klein to finish up didn't take very long, especially when we both heard, COME HUNTER OF LIGHT, USE THE POWER OF SOLEMN JUDGEMENT TO DECIMATE YOUR FOE!
That made both Amira and I take off in a dead sprint towards the building Klein entered in just 10 minutes ago.
"He activated his Super! I wonder what one he activated?" Amira shouted next to me.
"Maybe….I'll guess his revolver, he loved that thing." I replied, feeling slightly creepy, because I remember he told me that it was his favorite super. Only a few seconds after we started sprinting the voice we heard boomed again, YOU UNDERESTIMATE THE POWER OF THE LIGHT, AND JUDGEMENT HAS BEEN PASSED. HUNTER, SHOW NO MERCY!
There were so many thought going through my head at the time. What was he doing? Who was he fighting? One of which is how would he react to us. It is no secret that elemental super swap Guardians exist, he was living proof, the Vanguard made sure to have documented research since their existence was known, but the only problem is how rare they are, so there wasn't a lot to go on. The chance of being an elemental swapped Guardian is so infinitesimally small, that it honestly should be zero. You would think that people would come after us for our powers, out of jealousy, but no, they sought us out so we could try to teach them. We were hesitant in teaching them, we didn't know if it was going to work. We don't know how we got these powers, they were just there, as if it was natural, the chances happened to fall upon us. There have been six known super swap guardians, there are two of each Guardian class. The first three have died long ago, and as a Warlock, it pains me that I don't know their names. They deserve a place in history, which they are, but not in the way most Warlocks wanted; Which left the other three swaps, but for the past two and a half decades… there were only two that remained, Amira and myself. We were, and are, known as Fireteam Swap. Klein was our esteemed leader, he led us through all the tough battles, all hardships. Sometimes I would think Klein was a stone statue, no emotion for anyone, except us. Normally he wouldn't need anyone to lean on, but with us, he always told us how he was feeling. He one time broke down in front of us, and we were expecting him to. After what he witnessed, I don't blame him. It brings me on the verge of tears just thinking about it, poor Jane, I wish you were here, you were one of his anchor points. We all, at one point, took a protégé, an apprentice, we wanted to let the world know of our existence. We would attempt to teach them in the ways of one of our subclasses, and only one. It proved far too taxing on their bodies and their Ghosts. Klein taught his protégé, Jane, in the ways of Sol. Amira taught hers, Jeremy, in the ways of Arc, and I taught mine, Sully-3, in the ways of the Void. Every one of them learned and passed, exceeding all of our expectations. They went on with their lives, learning a new valuable subclass skill. Sadly, they were all killed by the Hive. Klein dealt with his grief the worst. He only broke down with us, Cayde, or Andal Brask, they knew how he felt about it; To everyone else, he was the exact opposite: Cold, unnerving, and sometimes blank, he wanted no one to know. Ironic isn't it? Only to be known by name alone, and instantly everyone knows who we are, unfortunately. Even the damn news articles like to keep up on us, like one time, the three of us went on leave for a month after the battle of Twilight Gap. We needed time to relax, so we headed out to a resort, that was somehow untouched by the Collapse, and we sat had a good time, some people more than others, but that is their story to tell. Guardian and civilian reporters alike caught wind of our little escapade, and followed us. They know most Guardians don't have relationships because we are at war most of the time, but a certain couple of fireteam mates, had a little fling. It didn't last long because one of the reporters caught sight of them snapped a picture, and before they could get away, Klein, in true hunter fashion, shot his camera with his hand cannon. It was a 150 meter shot, and he nailed it. And the relationship? The one that I thought didn't continue on much further than that instance? Turns out, I was wrong, 100% wrong. They ended up telling me afterwards, after they got engaged. I was happy for them and I was asked to be the Maid of Honor, weddings were commonplace in the City, but not in the Tower. I'm pretty sure they married in secret, which Cayde was the Pastor, which blindsided me. I said yes, because I was happy for him, my older brother. Yes, you heard me right, older brother. That is a story for another day, but at the time, my older brother was getting married. I'd bore you on the details but right now, but the Klein in the here and now needed our help.
Making it inside Dock 13, we saw Klein slumped over on the ground, with a helmet within his grasp. It was a Ghost Angel helmet, Klein's old Ghost Angel helmet. He found it, which meant that he was going to have questions. Questions I didn't want to answer. Questions that I'd have to answer. I couldn't lie to him, I never did, he took care of me since our resurrection, our first resurrections. I never died for real, like I died, but that was the first life, I'm still on the second life, Klein is on his third, whether he knows it or not.
"He found it, I thought it would take him more time to start looking." Amira said with surprise.
"He's a Hunter, what made you think he wouldn't start looking?" I snapped back.
"Quiet, we need to get him back to the Tower. Skips, give me a status on Klein here."
Skips appeared in a flash, "His Ghost is alive, she is in shock, rightfully so. Accessing wounds; he has three shrapnel rounds embedded into his chest, the wounds are slightly closed, but not all the way. He must have told her to close them part way so he didn't lose consciousness. His mental activity is off the charts, it looks like he is experiencing some mental trauma. We need to get him-"
"LEAVE HIM ALONE! I REFUSE TO LET YOU HARM HIM!" a feminine voice echoed off the walls.
"What was that?" I asked, knowing what it was, but I needed to be sure. The next thing I saw was a Ghost, in its basic shell, and its eye was beat red, in anger.
"GO AWAY!" Its eye turned back to blue when it realized who it was looking at, she knew me, "Ohhh I'm sorry I- I- was just concerned that you were goi- going to hu- hurt him." After she had said that, I realized she was just scared and thought we were going to hurt him.
Hesitantly, I held out my hand so she can land in, "I'm not going to hurt either of you. Austin, come on out, she needs some comfort."
Austin is my Ghost, his shell was round, red, with a little blue stripe, he is a little rough at some points, but he has a soft spot for other Ghosts, especially female Ghosts, I wonder why, "Hello, may I ask for you name, if your Guardian gave you one?" So polite I thought.
"My name's Kara." she said, less scared as she landed in my hand. I brushed my fingers over her shell, in a soothing way. She needed to get out of here, but she didn't want to leave Klein, she couldn't revive him, since he wasn't dead, he passed out from his wounds, possibly the stress of his fight.
"Well, Kara, my name is Austin, and Stephanie here will help you along with Amira and Skips over there." he moved his eye over to the other Ghost, hovering over Amira's shoulder.
"Thank you." Kara said, barely above a whisper.
"Austin, could you bring our ships around, we need to head back and report in. Cayde will want to know all the details."
"Ships will be here in T-minus 20 seconds." Austin beeped in reply.
"Thank you. Kara, will you be alright if Klein rides in my ship? We need to get him back as soon as possible. You can fly his ship right?"
"I can, the warp drive needs to be installed, it would make it faster to get back."
"Installing it is easy." Amira piped in, "Calibrating it is the hard part. It isn't as easy as it sounds. It will be easier for him to travel with one of us, we need keep an eye on his injuries."
"Are you alright with this Kara?" I asked her.
"I really don't have a rebuttal for this. I'll trust your judgement."
"Thank you Kara." I said as I rubbed her shell affectionately. I can act this way if I want to, so shut it.
The flight passed in so little time, and Amira installed the warp drive and calibrated it in record time, so the flight wasn't even worth mentioning. We arrived in the Tower Hanger and got Klein to the doctors, Kara immediately followed him, and I don't blame her one bit, she needed to know if her Guardian will be alright. The problem with healing is the person needs to be conscious while doing so, or they have to have died, they cannot be comatose. I know it's weird
"Do you think he'll make it Amira?"
"Course he will, he always does." Amira said, her voice breaking at the end.
Realizing she was about to cry, I grabbed her shoulders and brought her close to me. I wrapped my arms around her and I choked back a sob of my own, while Amira started to sob into my armor, if you call robes armor, but I digress. I didn't mind it though, she never really did mourn him the first time. I guess seeing him in this condition is bringing up memories that should have been left undisturbed, and it was and wasn't his fault.
"He'll make it, I'll get my brother back and you'll get your happiness back. Remember how much he cared for you? Think of those times…" I started before my voice started to break.
No one knew what Klein meant to the both of us, and most Guardians don't mourn and grieve like Amira and I are right now. Amira missed Klein, he would always cheer her up when she was stressed, they both got along well. After everyone found out about Klein's passing, every Guardian, and I mean, EVERY Guardian put a Vermilion stripe on their armor. Normally, the stripes are red, but this one was a dark yellow, per our request. Even the newbie Guardians were told to put one on, they were confused, but one history lesson from Shaxx later, they admired Klein. At one point in time, most of the Tower was down, all taking a moment of silence that lasted a month, his death hit us pretty hard. The strip, the dark yellow stripe, it matched his eyes, eyes that I couldn't see right now. I wanted to see them, to see him happy again. To tell my older brother that it will be okay. To tell his…. Well his…. Lets just say someone really missed him, and yes, you heard me correctly, my older brother. I'll explain later, but not now, it still is a soft spot for Amira and myself. (A/N: I know I mentioned brother before, paragraph above, and the dialogue from Stephanie, but this will be explained in a chapter, coming soon.)
While we were sobbing on each other's shoulder, someone walked up to us in the Hanger and asked, "Are you two alright?"
Sniffling, I looked up to a Titan who had Green eyes, grey-black metallic facial features, and he had a smear of orange paint on his face. He looked like he was trying to pick up female Guardians. I don't know how Exos do that but I wasn't interested.
"We're fine." I said with confidence, but failed.
"It doesn't sound like it, may I ask what is wrong?" At least he sounded concerned.
Before I could respond, Amira chimed in with her two cents, "She said we're fine, back off before I make you.." those last words were laced with venom.
The Titan backed up, with his hands up in surrender, "Apologies, I was trying to comfort two sobbing Guardians. So, how is the Archon Slayer, are they well?"
I looked at him in shock, "Wait, how do you know about that? That just happened like-"
"Four hours ago, word travels fast. Ohhh, where are my manners? My name is Lucas-0, you can just call me Lucas though."
Lowering my arms from Amira, "My name is Stephanie, this is Amira, but how did you find out about it?"
"I think I can answer that."
"Who said that?" I asked
"Wasn't me." Amira said
"Austin?"
"Wasn't me Steph. Skips?"
"Don't look at me… I don't even know what happened." Skips said, completely confused.
"I think I can tell you." A Ghost in a Red-Yellow shell piped in. "My name is Orion. Pleased to make your acquaintance." He had an accent that I'm not familiar with.
"Orion..." Lucas started, "Did you do that thing again?"
"No…." he said slowly
"You lying to me?"
"No…" he said again, even slower this time.
"I taught you well then, nice one." Lucas then booped Orion, kind of like a high-five of sorts, except a lot lighter.
"You have some explaining to do, Lucas" Amira said, again with her voice laced in venom.
"Shall we?" Lucas asked, referencing the path where the medics took Klein.
Breathing in, "We shall, I'll lead the way." I had Austin track Kara's location, and off we went.
POV: Lucas, couple hours earlier
Location: Twilight Gap, Crucible Match in progress…
"WAS THAT ALL OF THEM!? THAT WAS ALL OF THEM" Shaxx's voice boomed into my ear, cause me to flinch a little after I took down all six opposing Guardians with a Fist of Havoc. Idiots were standing on the Control point, no one touches my zones.
"I forgot he screamed into our ears when a good play happens." my Ghost, Orion said.
"Yeah, I've learned to lower my audio receptors while I'm in here, but even then he is still very loud." I said as I hid behind cover, away from two more Guardians firing on me.
"Hey Lucas!"
"Sup, little buddy?"
"Told you not to call me that, anyway; There was that Devil Archon out in the Cosmodrome."
"Yeah, what about it?"
"It has been eliminated, by a newbie Guardian….."
"REAL SHIT!?" I shouted, possibly startling other Guardians.
"Yes, it is true. I just saw the feeds, impressive though."
"When did this happen?"
"About three and a half hours ago, It hasn't even been made an official report."
"Why?" I asked as I punched another Hunter, "Later nerd!"
"The Guardian who defeated the Archon is in urgent care, had a couple of wounds that their Ghost can't heal properly. He is comatose, not dead, but from what I saw, he should be dead."
"Let's finish this match up and head back to the Tower, I wanna see who slayed the Archon." I chuckled to myself, "huh, when I meet them, their nickname is Archon Slayer."
"Kind of generic isn't it…?"
"Yeah it is, but it's funny to me." I replied with a smirk under my helmet.
The Crucible match went as expected, my team won and the other team lost, I hit top three on the scoreboard overall, which made me feel pretty damn good. Before we all departed from the Gap, our team said good match to everyone, because sportsmanship is important. I'm not always the guy who cracks a joke at the worst time, even though I get glares from my teammates. They are like 'Really Lucas, you HAD to say that?!' 'Yep' is all I said.
After all that, I departed to the Tower, and made it there in record time. 15 minutes from Twilight Gap, it normally takes me twice the time to get the Hangar. Setting my ship in the docking bay assigned to me, Orion transmatted me to the Courtyard and I went to go see Lord Shaxx, my mentor of sorts. It wasn't the Commander who taught me what it means to be a Titan, it was Lord Shaxx, I'd say he did a damn good job. I walked up to Shaxx's booth area thing, and I stood up straight, saluted him and said, "Reporting back from the Crucible Match Lord Shaxx SIR!"
"At ease Lucas. You fought like a Titan from the First Pillar, I'm glad to have you in the Crucible. THERE IS MORE GLORY TO BE HAD, NOW GET BACK OUT THERE!" Shaxx said in his super loud voice that makes you flinch if he caught you unprepared.
I shouted back, "SIR, YES SIR!" Hey, the man is intimidating, and he knows it.
Rushing my way through the Courtyard back to Hanger, I was about to get into my ship to depart for the next match set on the Venus, when I heard someone cry.
"Orion, could you locate that noise, it sounded like someone was crying?" I said it more as a question than a statement.
"The noise you heard is by the medical wing, are you going to check it out?"
"I will, I don't like leaving someone to cry."
"Aww, does da big bad Titan have a soft spot?" Orion teased.
"Shut it, I do not."
"Yeahhhhh, sureee."
I traveled to the medical wing to find another Titan sobbing on a Warlock, for what I didn't know. So, I walked up and asked, "Are you two alright?"
"We're fine." the Warlock tried to say with confidence, but failed. What happened?
"It doesn't sound like it, may I ask what is wrong?" I asked.
The Titan chimed in, "She said we're fine, back off before I make you.." those last words were laced with a sense of hostility.
I backed up with my hands in the air "Apologies, I was trying to comfort two sobbing Guardians. So, how is the Archon Slayer, are they well?"
The Warlock looked at me in shock, "Wait, how do you know about that? That just happened like-"
I cut her off, ""Four hours ago, word travels fast. Ohhh, where are my manners? My name is Lucas-0, you can just call me Lucas though."
The Warlock answered, "My name is Stephanie, this is Amira, but how did you find out about it?"
"I think I can answer that."
"Who said that?" Stephanie asked
"Wasn't me." Amira said
"Austin?" Who da fuq is Austin?
"Wasn't me Steph. Skips?" They talking to their Ghosts? Probably?
"Don't look at me… I don't even know what happened." The Ghost called Skips said, completely confused.
"I think I can tell you." My Ghost phased into existence. "My name is Orion. Pleased to make your acquaintance."
"Orion… Did you do the thing again?" He likes to hack into other Ghost's feeds, I'm guessing that is how he knew the Archon is dead.
"No…" he said slowly.
"You lying to me?"
"No…" he said again, this was his 'sign' if I knew he was lying. He;ll say the same response slower than the first time.
"I taught you well then, nice one." I said as I booped Orion playfully.
"You have some explaining to do, Lucas" Amira said, again with a sense of hostility in her tone.
"Shall we?" I asked, referencing the path where the medics most likely took Klein, urgent care. From what Orion shared in the short flight back, he said they have shrapnel wounds that he made his Ghost partially closed, to keep him from blacking out completely.
The Warlock took a deep breath, "We shall, I'll lead the way."
We entered the hospital room where Stephanie said 'Klein' was. The first thing that was said, "Well sheeeeettt." That came from Klein, I'm guessing.
"Nice to meet you Archon Slayer, I'm Lucas." I said, introducing myself.
"We need to talk Klein." Stephanie AND Amira said in a pissed off tone. They looked so pissed, it looked like they were going to rip him a new one, and then some.
The next thing he said was the funniest shit I ever heard, "Ruh roh." His eyes were full of fear. I do not blame him whatsoever.
"Klein, you are such an idiot, why did you challenge him? YOU COULD'VE DIED FOR REAL AG-" Stephanie cut herself off before she said 'again', the question is why?
"Relax, I killed him, and I got myself a clue" Klein said with pride in his voice.
"Klein.." Amira, the Titan started, "I should beat you to a bloody pulp, but since you are in here, I won't... for now…".
"You three have a history or something?" I asked because I was curious, they seemed to know each other.
"Something like that, we'll explain that later." Amira said, more concerned about Klein at the moment.
"Lucas?" Klein asked, directing his attention towards me, obviously curious
"Yes? That's my name, don't wear it out." I chuckled out loud, what can I say? I'm just that funny.
"Do I know you?" He was skeptical of me, and for good reason.
"No, you don't, but everyone is going to know you, Archon Slayer." I said with a hint of jealousy.
"What?" Klein seemed to be dumbfounded for a couple of seconds
"Never mind." I said as I waved my hand in a nonchalante fashion.
"Lucas?" Stephanie said, "Can we talk outside?"
"Sure." I turned my gaze towards Klein, "Later Slayer." Why does she want to talk to me? I mean, I know I'm hot, but I get a feeling that isn't what she wants to talk to me about.
We stepped outside his room and walked back up to the Courtyard, "What's up?"
"Since you are here and if I turn you away you'll get curious, so I might as well tell you."
"I mean, I am curious why you worry about him so much. It isn't like older, more experienced Guardians to watch over him... Wait- You like me don't you?"
She just looked at me like I was her next meal (Bow Chicka Bow Wow). I mean, I did kinda call her 'old', but don't get me wrong, she looked like she hasn't aged past twenty-four.
"Sorry" I said, rubbing my neck, "Continue."
"Well, where do I begin?"
"I mean, the beginning would be nice. Otherwise, I'll be lost for the duration of your story. Should I sit down for this?" I said, half-joking.
"You might want to."
I sat down on the grass, as we were over by a cherry blossom tree in the Courtyard, Stephanie leaned up against the trunk of the tree to support herself. There weren't as many Guardians since it was becoming night, unlike Hunters and Exos, sleeping is hard. Have you tried to sleep as an Exo? You can't. Hunter Exos, and Exos in general are insomniacs. Anyway, once she started her story, I think my jaw became unattached from my face….
End of Chapter 7: Do You Think I Can Handle It?
