All rights to Destiny characters belong to Bungie. Erron is my own original character, along with his ghost Shadow. Hope you guys enjoy it!
BornVillain5150 Presents….
Destiny: Stitch Me Up
It was a painful feeling stepping into the hanger, even weeks after the showdown in the Dreaming City. Erron knew it all too well, but it still didn't get any easier as everyone who saw him stopped what they were doing and stared at him.
Many of the guardians at the tower had kept their distance from him. Whether or not it was out of respect or fear, Erron did not know. Either way, he did not like being reminded of how he was alone. Some stared, some whispered behind their backs, others simply looked away.
Of course, Amanda was there to always greet him, her hands covered in grease and the same smile on her face whenever she saw him. Given the nature of what Erron did, she was the only one capable of making him feel better. But even the idea of being happy again after what happened to Cayde made Erron want to throw up in his helmet.
"Back so soon?" Amanda said, giving him a smile as he removed his helmet. Erron's ghost Shadow apparated from his hand quickly afterwards, having grown used to doing the speaking for his guardian, even more so in the aftermath of Uldren's death.
"We found the last of Cayde's stashes to repair the Ace of Spades." Shadow said, looking over at Erron, who nodded in agreement.
"Well done on the stashes Erron. Seems like no enemy can hold you back from avenging Cayde eh?" Amanda looked at him, the expression on her face almost wanting him to speak, but Erron looked away from her in shame. The sight of her alone already made his knee's weak.
"He's still taking this pretty hard isn't he?" She whispered to Shadow. The ghost nodded slowly, its purple light blinking staring at the ground sadly.
"It's been several weeks since the Dreaming City. He hasn't gotten any better…I'm worried it's getting worse." Shadow said grimly as he stared at his Guardian. Erron looked up at them, but simply shook his head. Shadow only sighed. He hated seeing his Guardian like this, but there wasn't much else he could do.
Amanda looked up at Erron's jumpship. Before Erron stole it from the Vex it was known as "The Machinoform". Now, in its jet black paint job with a blood red cockpit, it had come to be called "The Menace". Before the raid, many guardian's would flock to it in amazement, often questioning Amanda about the modifications Erron had requested she put on it. Now, much like everything else associated with him, people were afraid of it. It had even gotten to the point where someone started a rumor that Erron was still carrying Uldren's corpse in it, but Amanda shut that one down fast upon her routine maintenance check whenever he returned.
"Same check as always?" Amanda said, looking over at Erron. The guardian simply gave a thumbs up, once again not looking at her. Shadow simply gave her a look, almost reminiscent of a shrug before returning to Erron's side as he walked over to Banshee-44.
The sky was dark, with the Traveler shining brighter than the moon itself. Many of the towers residents were gone, more than likely sleeping.
"Probably a good time to come home." Shadow said. "Theres little to no people here….which I can assume makes you happy." Erron scoffed, even though he certainly agreed with him.
The only people standing on the main grounds were Kadi 55-30, Commander Zavala, and Banshee. Erron could hear the sound of The Drifter talking not far from where he was walking, probably bragging about another one of his recent gambits. Seeing Kadi did not surprise Erron, as she was the postmaster, and mail sometimes did get delivered late at night. Zavala still stood looking out over the lost city. At this point, Erron seriously wondered if he ever slept. Banshee, of course, stood in his shop, brooding. His blue eyes, however, lit up when he saw Erron holding a bag containing the last of the parts he needed to repair the Ace.
"You did it….had a feeling you would." Banshee said, a hint of pride in his normally dry voice.
"Well…you said to never forget Cayde. This is our way of remembering him." Shadow said. Erron nodded in agreement. Banshee chuckled slightly.
"You've got the uh….um…." Banshee crossed his arms and looked away, trying to remember the last of the parts he needed. Erron looked at Shadow with a grim look as Banshee's memory hit a wall. He managed to break the gap by placing the reinforced barrel and a new cylinder for the bullets on the table for him. Banshee pounded his fist on the table, annoyed.
"Damn memory gaps." He grumbled. This time, Erron managed to crack a smile and snickered. Shadow lit up at the sight of Erron smiling slightly, and Erron only shook his head. It amazed even Erron that, as bad as his mood has been recently, Banshee somehow found a way to make him laugh.
"You're smiling….haven't seen you smile in…a while." Banshee said, visibly amused as he worked on the Ace.
"Thanks to you." Shadow said. Banshee only chuckled as he went to work. Erron could tell the Exo weaponsmith seemed at peace working on the Ace of Spades. Even with Cayde gone, he still had the memory of his friend, and seemed proud working on his prized hand cannon for Erron. After all, Erron did make a promise to himself after he killed Uldren; he would wield the Ace with pride for Cayde. Erron felt that he certainly is not as good of a shot as Cayde was, but he was willing to learn.
Erron walked over to the balcony near Zavala and stared at the Last City. They hadn't spoken in two weeks since Erron killed Uldren. Zavala looked tired, but his gaze was as strong as ever.
"You found the last of the parts to fix the Ace of Spades….well done." He said. Erron looked up at him, surprised to hear him commend him for wishing to repair Cayde's gun.
"I had too….for Cayde." Erron said. Shadow blinked in shock at the notion of Erron speaking. Zavala turned and gave him a look.
"It's what Cayde would want. I still don't agree with your need for vengeance, but I understand why you did it now. People take their grief in different ways after all." Zavala said. Erron shook his head.
"I don't feel any better." Erron said glumly. Zavala raised an eyebrow.
"Oh?"
"Maybe these wounds will heal with time. But right now…I don't know Commander." Erron sighed.
"Take it easy Guardian. Wounds like these do heal in time. Maybe you should take some time off." Zavala said. Erron scoffed.
"Do you ever take time off?" Erron replied. Zavala didn't blink.
"No."
"Then I'm not either. I always feel better in the thrill of battle…makes me forget about everything wrong with the world. But maybe someday soon…my wounds will heal." Erron turned away and went back to Banshee, who was almost finished.
"Guardian!" Zavala said, looking back at him. Erron turned around and looked at the Awoken commander.
"Cayde would be proud of you…never tell yourself anything different." Zavala's words were strong, and Erron felt a well of emotions hit him all at once. He couldn't think of anything to say. The best he could muster was a smile and a nod before turning back towards Banshee's shop. Zavala returned the nod before staring back at the city.
Banshee's hands closed the Ace's chassis shut as Erron approached his bench. The gun looked brand new, the sight of it alone filling Erron with both joy and sadness.
"All parts in place." Banshee said proudly. "Ace of Spades is good as new now." He handed the gun over to Erron as both he and Shadow stared at it in awe. The gun was extremely lightweight, but it felt heavy enough to hit with the force of a mack truck. Erron twirled the gun in his hand, like how Cayde did it, and he smiled. Zavala was right, Cayde would be proud.
"It's beautiful." Shadow said. Banshee crossed his arms proudly as he watched the two stare at his handiwork.
"Take it. When you wield it, remember…" Banshee's voice drifted a bit. Erron looked at him, confused.
"Remember…now wait a minute…" Banshee shook his head. Erron felt a sense of worry hit his stomach as Banshee's memory went out again. "Hey…have you seen Cayde around lately?"
Banshee's last sentence hit Erron like a punch to the gut. He no longer remembered that Cayde was dead. Erron looked at Shadow quickly, and the ghost himself knew Erron did not have the strength to say it.
"No…no we haven't." Shadow said.
"Oh…let me know when you find him then." Banshee nodded before going back to his workbench. Erron quickly turned away and went back to his quarters in the tower in a huff, storming past Amanda and her crew.
"Hey! Is everything..." She stopped her sentence when she briefly saw Erron's face. He looked upset. "Oh that's not good."
Arriving at his room, Erron slammed the door shut and locked it. Shadow stared at him.
"That hit you pretty hard didn't it…I could tell." He said grimly.
"What gave it away?" Erron choked. He turned away from his ghost and stared out his window, before then looking down at the gun in his hand.
Staring at the Ace of Spades sent a flood of emotions into Erron. It was his gun now…but it was still Cayde's. All he could think about was his friend, how he watched the light fade from his eyes when he died. He thought of the sadness in the faces of everyone at the tower when he brought Cayde's body back, how he saw Warlock's, Titan's, and Hunter's alike burst into tears upon the sight of the fallen Vanguard.
He then thought of how he shot Uldren, the rage that filled his heart, and the rage that still tugged there. He felt the isolation when people stared at him, looking at him like a murderer. All of those feelings boiled down into his rage. But that rage then turned to sadness. Even though he had avenged his friend and was rewarded with his gun, Erron never felt more alone. He felt as though he was breaking apart, and was barely holding himself together.
Erron was once a master at keeping his emotions in check. But this time…he couldn't contain them as he fell to his knees and cried.