—Chapter One: Lunantics—
"So, what exactly are we doing again?"
The Guardian makes her way through the tower, her hair up in its usual ponytail. Her 'Eternal Ponytail' as her fireteam calls it, as it's either in a ponytail or down freely around her shoulders. Her hair is anything but normal, a beautiful red with spots of dark black interwoven in her locks. Her eyes are almost pools of gold, befitting her place as a Gunslinger of the Tower. Her Ghost lazily floats over her shoulder. It lets out a sigh, it's shell doing a cute spin. The Ghosts shell is beautiful, in a word. Seemingly being a window to the Cosmos itself with stars twinkling on its surface.
"I've already told you, Guardian. Twice. Not counting the one on board the ship."
The Gunslinger waves at a few fellow Guardians, who are currently surrounding a Titan that just kicked the beloved purple ball off the tower.
He's likely to join it's decent soon.
"Well yeah, but all the people are like 'Listen up good people of the city!' But I can never tell what they say! I wanna know the announcement!"
Her Ghost lets out a tired sigh.
"I'm sure if it were important, you'd know. Besides, we have more important matters at hand. Ikora says it's time to face the Undying Mind."
The Guardian immediately perks up a little at that, habitually checking over her firearm: The Last Word.
"If you polish that thing anymore, you're going to rub the paint off it."
Her Ghost warns and earns a pout from the girl.
"Hey. Looking good is half the battle, Enya."
The Ghost shakes it's.. body? Head..? Ghosts don't have heads..
"No.. I'm pretty sure that's knowledge, Rouge."
She only receives a pout in return, her guardian slipping Last Word back in her holster.
"I told you. Rogue. It's pronounced Rogue."
Enya blinks, staring at her guardian.
"But it's spelled Rouge."
Rouge pouts more and gives her Ghost a halfhearted glare.
"I'll put you back in Eris' Shell."
"Rogue it is, then!"
The Ghost does a happy flip in the air, coming back down beside her guardian.
"Now, let's meet Ikora, get the bounties, and kick some a-.."
The Guardian looks around for just a moment, spying all the New Lights. Freshly chosen lightbearers here at the tower to join the rest of their kind.
Children, in a word. Kinderguardians.
"Butt. How many times do we even have to kill the Undying Mind?"
Her Ghost spins for a moment as the two continue their walk.
"All of them."
Rouge glances at her Ghost a moment, hopping over a railing and down into a small courtyard with a lone tree.
"You know. There is a perfectly good set of stairs. Right there."
Her Ghost turns to them to point the seldom used stairs out.
"But.. this is so much faster. And more fun. And cool. Never Use Stairs if there's a cooler way!"
Enya sighs as she catches up to her Guardian walking through the tunnels. She waves at the Sweeper Bot, only a little sad when it doesn't wave back.
"You could break your knees. Or Ankles. More likely your ankles."
"Buuuttttt! You can unbreak them!"
"I could also not. Just to see you struggle."
The Hunter stops again, looking at her Ghost with a betrayed look.
"You wouldn't!"
"You're right. But I would think about it."
The two continue their walk, Rouge trying her best to ignore the cries of 'Listen up Good People of the City!' And Hawthornes Speeches to Guardians about how they just never quit, do they?
Rouge hops up onto a table and uses it as a springboard to hop over a fence. The citizens don't even flinch, by now used to their tables being a stepping stone to Ikora Rey, Warlock Vanguard. That doesn't stop Rouge's Ghost from furiously apologising, though.
"Hey, Ikora!"
The hunter greets mid-bow to the Warlock Vanguard.
"Rouge? You're here early."
Rouge pouts again, her Ghost holding back a silent laugh.
"Rogue! It's Rogue."
Ikora shares a gentle laugh with Enya, shaking her head.
"The Portal is ready for you to face the Undying Mind. There is a beacon on the table that will summon it, alongside your normal bounties."
Rouge happily schwoops the aforementioned supplies up, shoving them into her ghosts space backpack.
"Oh, and Rouge?"
The Hunter pouts again but is interrupted before she can interrupt the Warlock Vanguard.
"Please do not break anything this time."
Rouge looks offended, brushing a stray strand of her red hair behind her ear.
"Ah.. in my defence, that was my favourite ship."
Ikora hums in response and folds one hand over her other.
"I'm sure Ada would like to know what you did to her beloved Lone Wolf.."
"Sorrydidntcatchthatgottakillvexbye!"
Rouge slowly fades from view, her ship the Platinum Starling passing by overhead. Ikora chuckles and shakes her head.
"Hunters.."
Ikora could almost hear a familiar voice and a sad smile graces her features.
"You know? I take that as a compliment, Ikora."
Ikora snorts, going back to her paperwork.
"I'm sure you would, Cayde.."
—Line Break!—
"You think the Drifter eats his cereal with Vex Milk?"
An explosion goes off a distance away, Rouge humming as she draws another arrow in her bow. Enya's voice comes over the radio due to the constant gunfire. The Hunter stands on the steps, five other guardians running around and destroying anything that moves with ease. Her bow is intricate, acquired through many hours of grinding and killing.
(Subtle Calamity, with the Veist Poison Shader.)
Rouge, however, happily watching the guardians destroy things.
"Shouldn't you be asking him that?"
Another arrow is let loose, destroying the pretty purple shield on a Vex Minotaur. The resulting explosion taking out a few surrounding Vex and leaving the rest for the other Guardians to mop up.
"Why are you holding back, Guardian?"
Rouge shrugs and swaps weapons in a flash. She guns down a few Goblins with her Last Words fan fire. She ignores the Titan making fun of her for using a Crucible weapon in a non-crucible area. Stupid Titan.
"These guys are probably working on their Undying title, and I already did the objectives for here."
Enya gives an understanding hum as the shattering of crystals fills the air. Rouge slowly makes her way up the steps, Last Word finding her holster again.
"Come onnnn, give me something good this time chest.."
She says to herself, bouncing on her heels as the encounter finishes. The chest slowly appears and opens.
"Aaaaand! Hm. Another Imperative. Yay."
She looks it over and sighs.
"Well.. it looks like it would fair well in the Crucible. Explosive Rounds and No Distractions."
Rouge nods and jumps up to the next objective alongside her fellow Guardians.
"Yeah. Except I hate the Crucible, Enya. I despise it. I'm never going back in."
Distantly, the same Titan from earlier gasps in horror. Like someone insulted his mother.
"You say that, until the next shiny weapon has the Crucible as a requirement for calibration."
Rouge pouts as the Vex start to teleport in and more gunfire fills the air. Rouge crouches on top of one of the tallest column formations, carefully taking shots at the Vex.
"Hey. I got Ace, Last Word, Recluse, Revoker. I don't need anything else."
Rouge spots a Dark Black coloured Vex Minotaur, drawing her bow full draw. She takes a breath and lets the arrow loose. It embeds itself into the large Minotaurs forehead causing it to stagger back a few steps with its systems overloaded.
"Ugh. I hate those guys."
The staggered Vex is quickly disposed of by three other Guardians trying to use their finisher on it.
"Hm. Swap out Last Word for Living Memory, and Hammerhead for Anarchy. I'll swap to my helmet with the right ammo finder after. I think we'll need it for the Undying Mind."
The gun on her hip is quickly replaced by a completely different model. It's rather simple in its design, looking like just another hand cannon. It's paint is well worn though, the symbol of the Vanguard almost entirely scratched off and replaced with a combination of red with gold accents.
Rouge slings her bow on her back and draws her trusty Living Memory, feeling it's familiar and comfortable grip in her hand. She thumbs over the kill tracker- the number reading 17,945.
In a flash it fires with Rouges golden eyes flashing with a faint flame.
17,946.
She slides over a shiny purple brick- it quickly turning into Heavy Ammo for her grenade launcher, Anarchy. Very Aptly named..
A few more shots ring out, a Vex Fanatic being the recipient of the Gunslingers rounds. It explodes from the damage and causes a chain reaction taking a group of fanatics alongside it.
"I swear, these guys are stupid. 'Hey, lets transport all of our exploding units into a small area all at the same time. It's foolproof. It's not like we can't run trillions of simulations to figure out if it's a bad idea or not.'"
Rouge talks to herself sarcastically, missing the Vex Minotaur behind her. It promptly smacks the living daylights out of her. It sends her flying at unimaginably high speeds, the Hunter hardly able to let out a squeak as she slams into a wall.
Dying instantly.
The other Guardians don't even blink.
...Or try to revive her. Jerks.
After around six seconds she pops back into existence with a deep scowl. Her Ghost tries her best to hold her laughter.
"Stupid fucking Architects and stupid fucking bullshit Minotaur.."
She grumbles. Rouge stomps up to the chest, immediately yeeting the horribly rolled Optative off the nearest cliff. And silently wondering if she should join it.
"Cheer up, Guardian! All that's left is the Undying Mind."
Her Hunter hums in acknowledgment as she makes the journey up to where the Vex Portal resides.
"Mhm. And then we do it again. And again. And again, and again, and again, and again, and a-"
"Guardian! I get it. We have to kill it a lot."
Rouge only grumbles in answer as she places a Raid Banner. With it floating in mid air, naturally. The other guardians dance and interact, one even playing Russian Roulette with their shotgun.
It was the Titan. I'm shocked, I tell you! Shocked! Well, not that shocked.
His fellow Titan was trying to get him to stop. She looked very, very, 100% done with his crap. Poor girl.
Finally after what seemed like five minutes the portal finally whirred to life.
"Hey, Enya? Why don't we just.. you know. Destroy the portal?"
Rouge could almost feel the sigh that came from her Ghost.
"Because if left unchecked, the Undying Mind would revive the Black Heart."
Her Guardian nods in understanding, still wishing she could destroy it. Would that destroy space and time too? Maybe she should find out..
"No, she shouldn't."
"I said that out loud, didn't I?"
If her Ghost could facepalm, I'm sure it just would have.
"Yes. Yes you did. Do not destroy the portal. Ikora literally told you less than an hour ago not to destroy it."
Rouge pouts like always. The portal still warms up. The Male Titan headbutts the wall in boredom.
"It usually doesn't take this long.."
For once, Rouge's Ghost is in agreement with her. It didn't last long.
"I'm gonna touch it."
"Do not touch the foreign portal with possible time bending properties. Remember what happened to Cayde?"
Her Guardian doesn't listen, already hopping the short distance between the platform and the portal. It's whirring is much louder up close but at the same time a gentle hum.
"Guardian.. this is a bad Idea.."
Rouge pouts and hops onto the frame of the portal.
"You say that to all my ideas."
"So does Lexi. A Titan thinks your plans are insane!"
She just pouts more, drawing her grenade launcher, Anarchy. She aims and fires at the top of the portal and then the sides, and finally the bottom.
And plants one right on her chest.
"G-Guardian.. What are you..?"
Rouge slings Anarchy on her back and stretches her legs.
"Experimenting!"
She does her double jumps until she's in the Center of the portal. Arc Energy shoots off of the planted Anarchy Grenades, acting as electric pylons. Rouge however gets frozen in air unable to move. The other Guardians pay no mind, punching each other in the face.
"Guardian! What's happening!"
"Hnnn! Uhnnn!"
Rouge struggles against the Arc Energy binding her, while at the same time fuelling the portal. The pitch of its hum climbs and climbs as more power is pushed through it. Her Ghost frantically hovers around, scanning and doing all she can to help.
The portals energy finally hits its apex. The high pitched whine is almost unbearable, but thankfully it's soon cut off.
The momentary silence though is soon replaced with a deafening explosion, ripping up grass and metal along its blast wave. Two Guardians are caught in Shrapnel, dead before they hit the ground. One of the Titans quickly place down their bubble to save the rest from the same fate.
Quickly though the Garden is silent again, the two fallen Guardians appearing back after their resurrection. The five stand in a circle and look curiously at the wreckage..
It's forgotten quickly though as the final chest spawns in and with it, the loot. A few take their leave but the remaining two notice.
A name missing from their final Roster.
The two swore they could hear a very, very angry Warlock headed their way..
—Line Break!—
Ikora stands alongside Zavala next to the charred remains of a Vex Gate, tapping her foot. Her arms cross over her chest as she converses with an old friend.
"What do you mean, shut down, Eris?"
Ikora asks sharply. Zavala kneels, inspecting the charred crater. Eris Morn responds over the communicator.
"Exactly as I said, Ikora. Every active unit on the Moon went dead. Hunched over. As if.. sleeping."
Ikora's brow furrows in thought as she glances at her partner, Titan Vanguard Commander Zavala.
"Could this mean..?"
His deep voice is quiet, just above a whisper. Ikora answers with a shake of her head.
"We can't be sure. Not with certainty."
Zavala rises again and nods with a deep sigh escaping him.
"And what of Rouge? Has she simply.. vanished?"
The Commander inquires, his glowing blue eyes scanning the center of the explosion.
"It seems so. Alongside the Undying Mind. Far enough that no signals can reach her."
He gently rubs his forehead and shakes his head.
"She takes too much after Cayde.. but perhaps that will aide her. Wherever she may be. I have faith."
Ikora kicks a piece of metal into the fresh crater and winces a little as her Ghost heals her toes.
"Even if by accident. I highly doubt she has done this on purpose."
Zavala holds back a chuckle, but allows a smile to grace his face.
"As I said. Much like Cayde."
—End of Chapter One—
So! My first story! I'm still figuring things out, like I feel I'm much too.. broad in my descriptions of things, and I just kind of assume that everyone has the same mental picture as me. And I'm doing this on my phone, so the formatting may be rather screwy. I'm getting a new Computer Monitor today so I may be able to fix that though. But that's what this is for! To improve upon that. Anyways. If you liked it, let me know! Or if you have any ideas you'd like to share I'm all ears. I'm not exactly entirely sure what I want to do, honestly.
P.S: I don't hate Titans. Promise. XP And! Next chapter will probably be Equipment and description listing. The Collections/Vault will be unaccessible on Remnant, so Rouge will just have to make do.