Stand as Titan

by Twisted Fate MK 2

Guiding Light had, for centuries now, sought out his partner. His Guardian. When earth offered nothing, and he found his purpose there ended, he reached out to the rest of his home - Sol. When even that failed, desperate, he pushed beyond it. Across the stars, he journeyed, seeking his Guardian. Until, at last and on a far-flung world, he found him.

2. Chapter 2

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Once they were far enough away from the black beasts for both their comfort, his Guardian asked, quietly, "You saved my life?"

"In a manner of speaking, sure." An accurate manner, that was, but simplification was alright if it made things easier. Hovering above the man's blonde hair and looking around, Guiding Light hummed, "You did die, don't forget that. I- Or, well, the Traveller, but I did it for it, I guess- Whatever the case, the Gift raised you back to life."

"But I did die."

"Mhm." Then, hopeful but more than a little resigned, he asked, "Do you remember anything at all? A name? A place? Anything?"

"No."

"Well, that's alright." Guiding Light reassured him, "Most Guardians have barely any memories to-"

"Wait." His Guardian stopped, suddenly, and on instinct he cloaked. But nothing dangerous emerged. Instead, his Guardian spoke, "I remember… Red."

"Red?"

"Red." He nodded, "Bright red, and… I can't- It's like I can't reach the rest."

"Red…" Guiding light hummed, reappearing and lowering himself to float just in front of the Guardian. "Blood, maybe?"

"No, not blood."

"Clothing?" He tried excitedly - oh what could it possibly be?! "Hair? Maybe a red building or some sort of vessel?"

"No, not-" His Guardian blinked and sighed, "I'm not sure. I'm sorry."

"Oh, don't be." He assured the man, "As I said, few Guardians remember much. You're at about their par."

"I am?"

"Indeed." He answered, "It's usually, like, you, some sort of… Impression. A feeling, or an image, or, yes, a color."

"No one remembers anything?" His Guardian asked as they came to a shallow, lazy river that he crossed slowly, watching where he put his feet so he found the sturdier, broader and flatter rocks along the muddy bottom. He only slipped once, but managed to recover before ending up in the river, before he reached the other side.

"Not usually, no." Guiding Light said now that they were safely - and dryly! - across and he wouldn't be a distracting element. "There are some who have old names. But how they got them… Well, I don't know. They could have simply elected to use them, or maybe found something nearby that made them think, right or not, that they had found their name."

"I didn't have anything?"

"No." Guiding Light answered quietly, "I'm afraid not."

They fell into silence for a long whale after that, simply traversing the forest. While his Guardian likely thought about his new existence, a normal topic of newly raised Guardian thought, Guiding Light turned his attention to duties. First and foremost, while a Guardian didn't need food - even if he starved to death, somehow, Guiding Light could just raise him again! - food was still a comfort to them. And comfort raised morale which, he sensed, was rather lacking at the moment.

So, as the sound of bubbling water reached them, he said, "Let's stop at the river and rest. Some fish and fresh water will do you good, hmm?"

"Yeah."

"Right, so, gather me some wood and…" He buzzed ahead to hover next to a vine covered tree and finished, "And a bundle of these."

"For…?"

"A fishing rod."

"Ah." He hummed and laid a hand on his hatchet, "You'll make it like you made this?"

"Mhm."

"Okay then."

"And gather some extra dried wood, too." Guiding Light added as he began his search, "We'll want a fire to cook with."

"Right."

"While you do that, I'll find a nice spot." Before his Guardian could answer, he turned and shot off through the woods, zipping along as he looked for a nice spot.

He found one not long after, a little spot of flat ground beside the river, raised up and enclosed on almost all of its sides by trees or the water. A large bit of brush and bramble blocked some of it, but he reduced it down easily, turning the fibers into an at least passable mat to lay down on. Or, well, so he hoped.

He had no real way of knowing, really… But surely something was better than nothing.

His Guardian returned a short while later with a roll of vines wrapped up around one arm and two heft bundles of dried wood and sticks. Along with more than a few bits of wet wood, limbs he'd torn off of trees to bulk out the pile. He had the blonde set those aside with the vines and then talked him through digging out a shallow pit in the ground.

"A primitive tribe far to the West of the City taught me this." He said as the man gathered smooth stones from the bottom of the river, "Lay them out, flat and neat, on the bottom of the pit."

"Alright." He nodded, getting to work on that and asking, "Why?"

"It helps some of the heat keep from being trapped by the ground around the fire." He explained, "And keeps it drier. The pit also shelters the fire from wind and the like, so it's less liable to be blown out. Or ember a forest fire, either."

"Huh." The blonde blinked, "That's smart."

While the man worked, he set to his own task, rendering down the wood and vines into a basic wooden rod, barely more than a hardened, flexible stick, itself and a few lengths of decently strong cord. He made a spare rod with the leftover wood, and partitioned out the cords as well - spares were always smart and waste never was! - before turning to what was left of the dried wood and sectioning it out into long planks, each half as tall as his Guardian but only as thick as his arm.

"Here." He said when the man was done with the pit, and had piled wood into it, "Take these and do as I say with some of the cord."

Under his directions, the Titan tied the boards together, one long length of cord for the top and one for the bottom. Then he ran the lengths around a pair of trees close to the fire and pulled. The wood planks came up taut, forming a very rudimentary wall, and his Guardian looped them together and pulled, then looped in a simple knot. The cord running from the trees hung just a bit over the fire and, once he'd caught some fish out of the shallow river they were beside, they gutted and hung the fish from it to dry in the bonfire he built.

Another pair of fish he mounted on a small spit set up between a couple large rocks beside the fire, turning it to cook it.

"Those will dry over night." Guiding Light said as the Guardian ate the roasted fish and drank from a rough wooden bowl he'd made for him, "Heated by the fire. Tomorrow, I'll have you wrap them in leaves to keep them and we'll head on."

"Alright." His Guardian grunted, "How far are we?"

"At our speed, probably a couple days." Ah, if only they both could fly… But small sacrifices were acceptable, he supposed, in exchange for a Partner. "For now, eat, drink, and get some sleep. You'll feel stronger in the morning. And who knows, maybe we'll even get you a proper weapon."

"I have one?"

"Something better." He chuckled, "Something that goes 'boom'. Or maybe 'pop- Or, heck, even 'hiss'. I'll take a laser, I'm not picky."

"Mhm…"

"You don't want a gun?"

"I don't know, I just…" He shrugged, "It's nothing, ignore me."

"No, no." Guiding Light hovered lower, next to his shoulder, and said, "We're a team. Tell me what's on your mind."

"I just… Feel like the axe is better." He sighed, "For me, I mean. Personally."

"Huh." Guiding Light thought for a moment and then said, "Well, we can keep it, too. But you'll need one to get by easier. Maybe something closer? A shotgun, or a hand cannon, or something?"

"We'll see."

"Yeah." He agreed, "We'll come up with something. Now rest up, I'll keep an eye out."

Done with his food, his Guardian nodded and rolled onto the rough mat to get some rest. While he did, Guiding Light floated up, over the campe. Eyes and ears - proverbial, of course - wide open for even a hint of danger.

"Oh, I'd like to see a wolf try." He murmured, "I'll… Concuss you."

"Guiding Light…"

"Yes?"

"Shhhh."

"Oh, right." He chuckled, "Sorry about that."

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Guiding Light woke his Guardian just after dawn and, after a small snack and a splash of water on his face, they were off. The clouds were grey and overcast, with thunder rumbling in the distance, but all it brought for the day's walk was wind and noise. And the wind, at least, was pleasant enough - it was eighty four degrees outside, and that was just a bit beyond what he believed was 'comfortable' for Humans. Not enough to be worrisome, of course, but beyond the typical comfort margin.

At least, from what he knew from all his travels.

Regardless, his Titan didn't complain. Quite the contrary, in fact, he was smiling - even humming! - as they made their way through the rolling forest.

That night they set up camp in a little dip of earth between several large oaks - or, well, close enough to call them oaks, at least - and hidden by brush grown up between them. As they worked, the Titan kept on humming. It was a jaunty, playful sort of tune, bouncing up and down energetically. Which, while not a problem, was interesting.

Quietly, he asked, "Where did you hear that?"

"Hm?" He blinked, one brow arching, "Hear what?"

"You are humming."

"Oh." He blinked, touching a gloved hand to his lips and then frowning. "I… Didn't even realize."

"It's a fun tune." Guiding Light said, to distract the Guardian from whatever made his lips quirk into a frown and his brows knit together. Still, quietly, he pressed, "I was just… Curious, if you knew where you'd heard it."

"Birds?" He suggested, "They were singing yesterday."

"They were indeed." Just not that tune. But he let it go, it was probably nothing more than a ghost of a memory, teasing at the back of his mind. Torturing his partner over it wasn't his goal, or, frankly, something he wanted any part in.

The memories would come, or they wouldn't, and he would just have to contain his curiosity.

"What, uh, what kind of songs do you know?" His Guardian asked in a painfully obvious attempt to steer the conversation onto more friendly grounds. Obvious, but one Light was willing to leap onto.

"I don't know many, I'm afraid." He answered honestly, "At least, none suited for humming."

"Then what?"

"The Ar'Uruska tribe, to the south-east of the City, had a certain way of…. Throat singing I found fascinating. Sadly, I lack the vocal cords required to emulate it." He said, calling up old - ancient, even - memories as they travelled. "Further east, on the coast, the tribes favored drums and chimes for dances."

"That sunds fun."

"Oh, more than fun." He sighed, "They used to dance for everything. Even arguments!"

"Really?"

"Oh, yes." He laughed, "If an argument had gotten to a point it was causing pain, but neither side could come to the other or find common ground, they would dance. Show their feelings through motion rather than words."

"And that worked?"

"I only had the privilege to see it once. An argument between two men over which should lead a very, very important hunting expedition whose success would decide if their tribe starved." He prefaced simply, "Neither would give in, so, they danced. The younger man thought the older was too old, unfit to lead the hunt. But the way he moved… Like liquid, I tell you."

"That convinced the younger man to let him lead?"

"Indeed it did." Guiding Light answered, "Indeed it did. And the old hunter succeeded, too. Brought in enough food and forage to feed the tribe through that winter."

"That's good." The blonde grunted, laying out on a particularly comfortable looking patch of dirt and sighing, "We'll get where we're headed tomorrow. Right?"

"If the weather holds up." He confirmed, just as lightning lit the sky. The canopy overhead was thick, luckily, which was a big part of why they'd picked it. But even so, he sighed, "Well… We'll just have to trudge on to make our time."

"Spoken like someone without legs."

"Hey." He scoffed, "Floating is work, too, you know."

"Mhm."

"I'll remember this when you get some armor plating and want a nice, new breastplate, you know." He warned the Guardian quietly, "I have a long memory."

"I'm terrified."

"As you should be, Guardian. As you should be." He chuckled, seeking out a nice little crook in the branch of a tree to nestle into for the night. Quietly, he said, "Good night."

"Good night."

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It had not been, in fact, a good night.

At around midnight, the storm finally hit. The wind blew powerfully, bringing with it shockingly frigid rain that made getting any sleep impossible. So they made their way through the woods, ironically enough, by his flashlight. Soon, though, they found an actual road. It was old, made of cracked asphalt that had crumbled away at some of the edges, and had more than a few potholes, but it made for an easier path than the rougher forest terrain had if nothing else.

And some of the street-lights even worked, too.

By morning, the rain had given way to a lighter shower. It was no less cold, but it was at least far less windy and dark. And the rain didn't hit hard enough he felt like it was peeling the paint off his shell, either. Which was always nice.

Suddenly, he heard a quiet rumble break the near-quiet and slipped down to this Guardian's shoulder, cloaking and stifling his light. His Guardian stiffened as it died, one hand on his axe, and grunted, "What-"

"Engine." He explained, "Not sure we want everyone to know about me right now."

"Why not?"

"Just trust me." He grunted, "I ran into enough dead Ghosts hanging around tech-raiders' hovels."

"O-Okay then…"

An old truck rumbled into sight after a moment, and slowed as it approached them. Its frame was covered in rust and spots the metal-paint had peeled away, blue giving way to dull steel. Its back was almost bowed, and filled with barrels and crates of what had to be farm produce. An older woman was driving, skin just a bit wrinkled and dappled by the sun of years, and dressed in a tatty dress. She leaned out of her window to shout from her window and across the road, smiling toothily.

"Hey, young'un." She called, "Y'all need a lift? I'm headin' into town."

"I, uh…"

"Take the ride." Guiding Light whispered into his Guardian's ear. "We'll get to town faster that way, and she looks kindly enough."

"Uh, alright then."

"Don't bloody answer me, she can't see me-"

"Hop on in the back, then." She nodded, waving him across the road, "Or come 'round and hop in. All the same to me."

"Okay." The blonde man grunted as he came around and climbed into the passenger seat, pulling the few leaf-packets of fish he had into his lap. After a moment, he held one out and offered, awkwardly, "Uh, smoked fish?"

"Don't mind if I do." She chuckled, taking it and setting it in her lap as the truck rumbled and groaned back into motion. "Name's Philipa by the by. What's yours?"

"Uh…"

"Cerulean." Guiding Light whispered, "Matches your eyes, best I can do for now."

"Cerulean." The Guardian grunted, ""My name's Cerulean."

"Well, it's a right pleasure, Cerulean." She beamed a smile their way before she turned back to the road, "Be right 'bout half an hour, so just rest on up. Looks like you been walkin' for a while."

"Yeah…"

"Where from?"

"The grave?"

"Light damn it, Guardian-"

"Ha!" The woman crowed a laugh, shaking her head wryly, "The grave, eh? No wonder ya look half dead as ya are. Tell ya what, I keep me some stuff in storage here. Got an old cloak I'll hand off on ya for makin' me life. Dust knows ye'll need it if ye plan on walkin' anywhere else."

"I'd… Appreciate that, Philipa." His Guardian said, "A lot. Thank you."

"Ain't nothin'." She waved him off, "Now relax. I'll get us there in a jiffy."

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So this is a bit of a shorter chapter, and calmer. Mostly, it's doing the leg work to characterise our Guardian a bit - which comes with a good bit of Jaune's natural goof and his newly raised mind's ignorance. And Guiding Light, too. As well as basic experimentation with concepts, like crafting with Guiding Light's help. Hope you enjoyed it, feel free to drop notes or suggestions.

Also, before anyone says something-

Cerulean probably won't stick. I just needed SOMETHING for him for now as normal folk wouldn't really do well with 'Guardian'.

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MM Browsing :

The ghost's name IS Guiding Light. The rest is spoilers to answer~!

Felswinter :

That's what I've been told, yeah. I just didn't know the extent. Others have filled that in for me.

ShyCinamnRol17 :

I, uh, dunno who the Witness is. Lol.

Rest assured, though, I haz a plan for the Brothers.

RedDemonEye :

I'm glad you're excited, and yes, he will get a nickname eventually.

Dr Killinger :

The engrams, to me, feel a bit too arcady for a 'real' portrayal, if you know what I mean. What I will PROBABLY do is interpret them as, like, 'That Fallen dropped a broken rifle Ghost scanned and a proper smith can replicate it or repair the broken thing'. The issue THERE is… Grimm wouldn't have those.

No stress, though, I'll figure something out.