"I'm so bored," Franz complained, spinning on Wren's stool.
"Already? It's only been a few days," Beorn said. "We can get some bounties if you want."
"Nah, I want to do something fun and the City's going to be swamped with Guardians looking for bounties. Bet all the good ones are gone by now anyway."
"What do you want to do?" Beorn asked.
Wren stood beside Franz, taping a few wires together and shoving them in the tiny music player. She'd been able to get a much smaller speaker for it and had returned the one she'd taken from the Tower system.
Franz shrugged to Beorn's question and picked up a tube of super glue. "Hey, how fast does this dry?"
"Hm? Oh, a few seconds," Wren replied, hardly glancing at it.
"Is it strong?"
"I hope so. I need it to connect part of the housing to make it strong and hopefully waterproof."
"I have an idea," Franz said, hopping up from the stool. "Let's go to the hanger."
"Ahh, I think I get what you're going for," Beorn chuckled. "C'mon Wren. This'll be fun."
"No thanks. I want to keep messing with this."
"Aww, Wren," Franz whined. "Look, there's a Tower tradition we haven't had time to show you. Something super important to bored Guardians."
"And what might that be?" Wren asked, raising a brow.
"It's a surprise. We'll show you."
Wren sighed and put her tools away. "Alright, fine. But if it's not fun you owe me lunch."
"Urg, why do you Hunters always have to make terms and conditions?"
"Forget it," Beorn said. "It's just lunch and she's bound to have fun. Hunters especially love this stuff."
Wren followed them from her den to the hanger where it seemed more active than normal. New bounties had been placed at the Tower and Guardians from all over the system had come in to see what they might make some extra Glimmer from. The hanger was jammed with ships and Guardians and mechanics clogged the catwalks, making it hot and cluttered.
"Wait here," Beorn said as they neared where Cayde's area was.
She stood aside and let other pass, then leaned back against the railing to see if she could catch a glimpse of Cayde or what the Twins were up to. Minutes passed and she considered leaving when Franz and Beorn pushed their way through the crowd, laughing hysterically and frantically whispering to each other.
"Here!" Franz said, shoving the now empty tube of glue into her hand before the pair of them disappeared into the crowd.
"What?"
"SON OF A—"
Wren's head snapped around at the sound of Cayde yelling from his bay, accompanied by loud rattling and laughter.
Suddenly Cayde was barreling through the crowd, most Guardians moving out of his way as he ran through, only to slide to a stop in front of Wren. His eyes shifted between her face, down to her hand with the super glue and back up again. He stood up straight, crossed his arms, and tapped his fingers on his elbow.
"So, you wanna explain that?" he motioned his head to the glue.
"I—it's glue."
"Yeah. I know. It's fused my tools to the inside of my toolbox."
"It… oh… oh…" Wren looked down at it. "I guess this is a prank?"
Cayde ran his hand down his face, grumbling. "The Twins, right?"
Wren nodded.
"Those two no good dirty rotten Warlocks and their stupid little pranks. Get outta here, kid, and make sure you punch that little one square in the chin for me, got it?"
Wren smirked and nodded again before taking off after Beorn and Franz.
It wasn't hard to find them. They were standing out in the Courtyard doubled over laughing, watching for her to come out. The empty tube still in her fist she trotted up to them.
"Did he catch you?" Franz asked.
"Yeah."
"What did he say?" Beorn laughed.
Wren playfully uppercut Franz catching him off guard. He was taken aback and Beorn became hysterical again.
"He said to punch the little one. I guess that meant you," Wren said, trying to contain her smile.
Franz chuckled and gave Wren a shove. "Let's go have some fun, huh?"
"No more framing me?"
"Nope! We're gonna teach you a think or two about pranks."
"First of all, you don't want anyone to get hurt," Beorn said. "Accidents happen, sure, but it shouldn't be the end goal. And damaging property is usually a no go."
"What about Cayde's tools?"
"Eh, the Tower replaced most of that stuff," Franz said. "Besides, he can get the glue off. It'll just take some time," Franz shrugged.
"And Holliday will love getting her things back cuz there's no way he can hide her stuff when she has to help her sort it out," Beorn said.
"Okay, so what do we do now?" Wren asked.
"Just stick with us."
"Yeah, watch and learn," Franz said.
They spent the next several hours making general fools of themselves. Scaring people with air horns, wrapping unattended Sparrows in plastic wrap, tossing fake snakes into groups of unsuspecting citizens. Beorn's favorite was him putting his Exo voice box to use and imitating Zavala to send Guardians on random wild goose chases around the City. Of course, that one ended up going too far and the comm systems all over the City were clogged with confused Guardians trying to sort out what was going on.
Wren, Beorn, and Franz decided to hide out in a dumpling shop for a while until things cooled down. They sat in a little corner booth in the dark, watching other patrons come and go. Cayde wandered in, a filthy red rag hanging from his pocket, likely from trying to clean the glue off his tools. Wren considered calling him over, but Beorn and Franz pulled her into the booth and clamped a hand over her mouth.
"If he sees us he'll go off," Franz hissed.
Cayde stood around the bar, waiting for his order, and Wren spotted Emelie and a couple other Hunters across the way.
"Hey, I have an idea," Wren said. She motioned a waitress to come over and instructed her to take a dessert to Emelie's table and say it was from Cayde. Beorn and Franz could hardly contain their laughter as they watched the scene unfold.
Emelie got the sweets and seemed very confused, then saw Cayde at the bar and gave him a little wave and a smile to which he responded by looking around, then awkwardly waving back. Her cheeks flushed and she walked up to him, toying with her pink hair as she spoke to him.
Wren couldn't hear what was being said but she got the point through Emelie's body language. Her flirtatious fiddling with her hair turned into agitation and embarrassment. She huffed and went back to her table, pushing the dessert aside where one of her friends helped themselves. Cayde left and Franz burst out laughing.
Emelie's eyes narrowed as she caught sight of Wren, who turned away with a satisfied smirk.
"Wow, I admit that was kind of cruel," Beorn said. "Funny, but cruel."
Wren shrugged. "She slapped me in front of everyone. She deserves what she gets."
"Emelie's been shitty to everyone for a long time," Franz said. "I didn't know she slapped you, but even without that she totally deserves to get knocked down a few pegs. So, what next?"
"I think I'm going to skip out on the rest of today's activities," Wren said. "I want to get back and finish that music player. I'll catch up with you guys for dinner. Unless you've burned the City down by then."
Franz laughed. "Sure thing. Ramen shop right after sunset?"
"Okay. See you then."
Wren paid for her meal and left, taking the long way back to her den to enjoy the market as she went. It was warm enough for a baggy tank top she had tucked into harem pants that tied under her knees. Sisre had said the solid black outfit was depressing but Wren didn't care. It was soft and comfortable and perfect for Autumn weather.
"I'm getting a signal," Kiran said.
"For what?"
"It's coordinates to a place nearby."
"Who's it from?"
"It says it's from Cayde but it's not how Sundance usually sends things."
"Beorn and Franz must think I'm stupid."
"What do you mean?"
"C'mon, Kiran. They've been pulling pranks all day. The Tower is buzzing with Guardians requesting bounties and Reef access to hunt down any remaining Wolves. Not to mention Beorn's little stunt of impersonating Zavala and sending Guardians all over for stupid things. If he needed me, he'd call me to him in the Tower."
"True. I bet Zavala wasn't happy he'd come down here for lunch. Are you going to ignore it then?"
"No. I'll go, just to get them before they can get me."
"What will you do?"
"Not sure yet. I'll just go with it. Show me the way."
Kiran led her to a place a few streets over where the building in question was boarded up. Graffiti coated the ground floor and one piece of plywood had been broken in an attempt to break in.
"Another message says to use the ladder on the north side to go to the roof," Kiran said.
Wren looked skyward, the building extending some twenty of thirty stories overhead.
"Those two," she grumbled. "Of course, they'd make me climb that far for a stupid prank. I bet they're sitting around somewhere watching me."
"Are you going up?"
"I want to see this through. Then I'll punch Franz for real. Can you sense their Ghosts?"
"No, but there's so much going on it's hard to concentrate."
Wren started her climb, her flat soled shoes getting uncomfortable after the first ten stories. Wind whipped her harem pants around her legs, and she was glad to have opted for them instead of a dress.
When she neared the top, she expected to see Franz and Beorn but before she could get there, a hand grabbed her and pulled her over the half wall, one of her shoes falling to the street below. She stumbled but someone caught her from behind, wrapping their arms around her and lifting her off the rooftop.
"What the—"
The largest Exo Titan she'd ever seen held her, crushing her arms to her sides.
"Look," Emelie said to the other Hunter who had been with her in the restaurant. "All it takes to catch a rat is the right bait."
Wren gritted her teeth. "Yeah, it caught you too. Difference is, I knew it wasn't Cayde."
"You know, I love a good prank," she said, walking closer to Wren who kicked at her, forcing her back, and her other shoe flung off at Emelie. "Pranks abound here in the City. But there's something I don't appreciate. A sorry little rat pretending she has a place here. And humiliating me in front of Cayde and my friends?"
"You humiliate yourself," Wren sneered.
"I think you need to learn a lesson and I'm willing to teach you."
"I swear if you don't let me go—" Wren struggled against the Titan who was following Emelie across the rooftop toward the edge where it dropped off to the next lower building.
"You'll what? Run to your master? Oh please. I'm not afraid of Cayde." Emelie hopped down on top of a huge concrete and steel water tank. The Titan followed. The other Hunter opened the heavy lid, struggling until Emelie helped and Wren knew immediately what they had planned.
Below, the water was pitch black, the surface reflecting Wren's silhouette. A scream caught in her throat and before she knew it, bubbles rushed up around her. She struggled to the surface, sputtering when the lid closed, plunging her into darkness.
Her sinuses burned and Kiran's light illuminated the space between the water and the curved ceiling. She could hear laughter overhead then footsteps toward the edge of the tank.
"Let me out!" she demanded, a break in her voice killing any sign of threat.
There was no reply. All she could hear was her own heartbeat and the lapping of the water on the concrete sides of the tank. Only two feet separated her from the lid, but she had no way of getting leverage needed to push it open. She swam to the side, trying to get a grip but the concrete sides weren't textured enough to let her hold on. Over time water had smoothed the surface to the point that it was now only a little gritty under her fingertips.
"Look out," she said to Kiran.
"What are you going to do?"
"See if I can blast out of here," she said, putting her back to the wall and taking aim overhead before the Golden Gun appeared in her hand. She fired but the lid was so thick that only one shot penetrated, leaving a hole the size of her index finger.
"I'll reach out to Cerulean. Please stay calm."
Wren tested the depth of the tank by holding her breath and trying to drop but she couldn't touch the bottom. She had no idea how long she could tread water and something about the inky depths made her heart pound louder.
"I can't get an answer," Kiran said his voice tinged with panic.
"Help!" Wren yelled, banging on the wall while trying to stay afloat. "Keep trying, Kiran. Can anyone hear me!?"
"The Twin's prank has the comms blowing up all over the City. I can't reach them or Sisre."
"Cayde. Get Cayde," Wren said. "I don't know how long I can—"
"Shh, don't say it. We'll get you out of here and I'm telling Cayde everything. This has gone too far."
"Fine, I don't care. Just get him. Please!"
All of her thrashing around, pounding on the walls, had caused the water to splash around her, coming in like waves over her face.
"Wren, please try to stay calm. I'm here. Try to float. Don't wear yourself out. I'll keep trying for Cayde."
Her soaked clothing weighed her down, the fabric clinging to her like a second skin, making her more restricted than ever. It was suffocating and dread crept in.
Kiran hissed and cursed under his breath as he tried and failed to get a message out.
Down below something opened, and water began to rush from the tank, pulling Wren down with the suction. She didn't have time to hold her breath before being dragged under.
When it stopped, she hardly knew which way was up and her lungs burned. She broke through the surface and gasped for air, her head bobbed back under and she spit the water out.
"What just happened?" she sputtered.
"Water was drained for use. If it happens again…"
"What? What if it happens again?"
"I'm going to reach out to everyone. Someone has to be listening."
"Kiran, what happens?"
He hesitated. "Once the water level gets too low, the tank completely refills."
"Please get Cayde." She didn't even care that she was begging for him at this point. All she wanted was to hear his stupid voice over the comms and know he was coming to get her.
"I'm doing my best, I promise. Try to float. Relax and save your strength."
Wren struggled to stay afloat with her soaked clothing and tense muscles. She tried to calm her mind but all she could think about was drowning or getting caught up in the current that had drained several feet of water. What if she got stuck in that pipe? What if she were to drown here? What if it took days for anyone to find her?
"I'm going to find help," Kiran said.
"Wait! It'll be dark."
"I know, but I have to do something. I'll be right back."
He vanished and the only light remaining was the thin ray from her Golden Gun shot. She swam toward it, muscles beginning to tire as she waited. The sound from below began the second round of the tank draining and Wren barely had time to take a breath before she was sucked under.
When it stopped and she found her way back to the surface voices could be heard overheard and the light was flickering from being blocked.
A pipe overhead started pumping in the water, dulling the sounds from outside. Kiran appeared beside Wren and she blinked from the harsh light.
"I brought help but the door sealed when the water started pumping in. Our help doesn't know how to get it open," he said, nervously darting around. "What do we do?"
Rage choked Wren, crushing her heart as tears ran down her cheeks. Why was this happening? Why didn't anyone answer her call? Didn't anyone care? Or notice she was gone?
"I'll send him to the Tower," Kiran said. "He'll bring someone back! I know it. Hang on, Wren!"
He disappeared again and the water level rose. Wren shook all over, her muscles giving in against the rushing current and the water she'd swallowed burned her throat. She was so angry. So tired.
"Try Cayde again," she gasped when he returned.
"I am, I promise I have been."
The water level rose until she could push against the lid, though in vain. It crept higher and she struggled to keep her face above the surface, pressing her lips against the hole to break through it.
Where was everyone? Where was Cayde? She sucked water in on an inhale and instinctively tried to force it out but even more flooded in. She thrashed and struggled, lungs on fire as they filled the with water and she began to sink. Her limbs became too heavy to move.
Overhead the single ray of light shimmered on the water's surface, blurry in her sight. Then it faded away.