Speak to self
Speak to Ghost
The group goes to Fitoria's carriage as they sit down..
"Oh I almost forgot, Raphtalia, Xenophage, the gun that you wielded," Joseph said.
"Yeah, what about it?" asked Raphtalia.
Joseph chuckled, "how did it feel to shoot a gun that has a Guardian inside it?" asked Joseph.
"Wait, your gun has a Guardian in it?" asked Raphtalia.
"How does that work?" asked Naofumi.
"Well, this Guardian, Omar Agah, his soul was turned into an insect, when I found Omar, he was being experimented on by the Heart of Crota. After I killed her, I took Omar to a former Guardian named Eris Morn; the two were a part of the fireteam that fought Crota. We encased him in an amber frame and put him in his gun, Xenophage to empower the gun even further." Joseph explained.
"That's so sad… being turned into an incest and being experimented on…" said Melty.
"Heh, yeah, and I am sure as hell, he laughs as I fire upon the Hive that did this to him when I use Xenophage." Joseph said, "I'm Just glad that we were able to save a survivor of the Great Disaster." Joseph said.
Naofumi was now intrigued with Joseph's sentient weapon, "Are there other living guns?" asked Naofumi
"Yeah, plenty more but I'll talk about it later." Joseph said.
The group were then teleported to an abandoned ruins,
They exit the carriage as they view their new surroundings
"What just happened?" Raphtalia asked in shock.
"Some kind of Instant travel magic." said Melty.
"Look at that. Impressive ruins." said Naofumi.
"Imagine the history behind them." said Raphtalia.
"What a dump!" said FIlo.
"Ruins… a nice place to make a camp for a few days." Joseph said.
"Wonder what caused this place to be in ruins…" said Xeno
"Supposedly, these are the remnants of the civilization defended by the original heroes." said Fitoria.
"You don't sound too sure." said Naofumi.
"They've been like this since before I was born, but I watch over them now." said Fitoria.
"This is a Filolial sanctuary huh?" asked Melty.
"Correct. In fact, I'm not supposed to bring humans here." Fitoria said.
"Wooow!" Melty joyfully said.
"Guess that means we're safe here, for the time being." said Naofumi.
Filo's stomach started to grumble "perhaps, you should all rest here for a little while." said Fitoria
"Yeah let's take a break." said Naofumi, Filo cheered.
Joseph stretches his back, "Ah, that sounds nice," Joseph said, he walks to an open space and then lays down his equipment and his cloak as he folds it neatly.
Naofumi notices how carefully and neatly Joseph folds his cloak, "Hey, I've been wondering," Naofumi said to Joseph, "You fold that cloak of yours neatly, yet you don't repair the damages to the cloak, why is that?" asked Naofumi.
Joseph looks at the burnt part of his folded cloak, "These scars from this cloak are like memories." Joseph said, "and every scar tells a story. These burnt edges tell the story of Cayde before he met his demise by the Scorn and Uldren, and the scars before Cayde took over this cloak tells the story of Andal Brask who was killed by a relentless murderer named Taniks." Joseph said.
"Yeah, this was your friend's Cloak before he died, sorry about that," said Naofumi.
Joseph waves off Naofumi, "Nah, don't be. Besides, this cloak gives me comfort, this cloak reminds me of Cayde and that's all I could ever ask for, something to remember a deceased friend or family member." Joseph said.
Naofumi sees that through Joseph's soft smile, he still grieves for the loss of his friend but he has a feeling, the look on Joseph's face after what he said, Joseph has lost more than a few friends.
Raphtalia walks to the two as she calls Joseph's name "Hey Joseph," she said, she stops as she sees the two, "Master Naofumi? Is there something wrong?" she asked.
Before Naofumi could speak, Joseph butts in, "No, nothing is wrong, I was just talking about the history of my cloak, nothing serious." Joseph said.
Naofumi nods, "yeah…" he said. "I'll make ourselves dinner," said Naofumi.
Joseph and Raphtalia watch Naofumi walk away and they face each other, "so, you called for my name?" asked Joseph.
Raphtalia pulls her sword out, "Yes, when I was using the sword you gave me, I heard a wolf howling and then a team fighting these red metal monsters." Raphtalia said, "One was using this sword as he slams this sword on this floating flaming eyeball." Raphtalia explained.
Joseph was surprised that the Young Wolf's Howl could do such a thing, to reveal a past memory of him and his team facing Aksis, Joseph chuckles, he takes the Young Wolf's Howl, and examines his sword, then he and Raphtalia notices that the sword begins to light up
Raphtalia was surprised to see another feature of Joseph's sword, "woah, what's happening?" asked Raphtalia.
The light of the sword begins to attract Filo and Melty, "Joseph, what's going on with your sword?" asked Filo
Joseph said nothing, he walks forward as he readies himself, he does quick slashes as solar energy leaks out of the sword as he continues to swing his sword, the light then fades to a void color. Joseph's next swing shows a beautiful combination of void light and solar energy leaking out of the sword. Joseph finally finishes his swings with a thrust, then arc light then bolts out of the sword as it strikes a tree. Joseph stood back up as he looked at his sword again.
The girls began to applaud Joseph's moves,
"I never knew your sword can do that Joseph!" said Raphtalia who was in awe of the swords new capabilities
Joseph looks at Raphtalia, "it shouldn't be doing this though…" said Joseph
Xeno looks at Joseph's sword, "could it be…" said Xeno, he begins to scan the Young Wolf's Howl. he finishes scanning as he was taken aback "no way…" Xeno said.
"What's going on Xeno?" asked Melty
"Joseph, there are traces of your light in that sword!" Xeno said.
"What?" Joseph said "and how is that possible?" Joseph said.
"I… don't know but my theory is that you're over extensive use of this sword during that one Siva operation." Xeno explained.
Joseph shook his head, "no, that shouldn't make any sense… If I used a weapon for an extensive amount of time, why isn't my father's M1911 or Ace isn't imbued with light? It just doesn't make sense." Joseph said.
"Yeah, your right…" Xeno said, "But... " he sighs, "this is a strange phenomenon we don't even understand… we should use this sword more to learn why the sword has your light Joseph." Xeno said.
Joseph shook his head, "no, I won't use it, Raphtalia will." Joseph said.
"Why me?" asked Raphtalia,
Joseph walks to Raphtalia and passes her the sword, "though this is my sword, I passed the weapon to you. Besides, if I am correct, you are able to experience the might of the light by just wielding this sword." Joseph said.
Raphtalia takes the sword and inspects the sword, "I- thank you Joseph." Raphtalia said.
"No problemo, but, do be careful with it." Joseph said, "As you use the Young Wolf's Howl, Xeno will analyze the weapon while at the same time, see if you are able to unleash Light attacks." Joseph said.
"Alright, I'll do my best." Raphtalia said.
Joseph nods as he sees Naofumi porting a large package of meat, "Huh, Dinosaur for dinner… not the strangest thing I've eaten throughout my life."
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The group began to assist Naofumi with preparing dinner.
Raphtalia and Joseph help Naofumi cook while Melty and Filo prepare the area where they are going to eat.
Joseph peels the potatoes and cuts them into large chunks as he puts them in a large bowl with the rest of the chunks of potatoes that he cut up. "Ah, this does bring back some good memories." Joseph said.
Naofumi chuckles, "really? How so?" he asked. As he cuts up the dragon meat.
"During my military years, my friends were drunkards. They can down a bottle of beer within seconds." Joseph chuckles, "yeah, Tom loved Vodka, knocked him out cold as he tries to steal one from a convenient store. Hank, heh, he loved Japanese Sake, even drank a small bottle of mirin." Joseph chuckled,
"Yeesh mirin? You aren't kidding." said Naofumi.
Joseph laughed, "yeah, I know. Anyhow, then there was Hiro. He also liked sake but he loved the hell out of Rum mixed with Whiskey. Then finally David, heh, he was basic, liked beer." Joseph said. He finishes his final potato and grabs a carrot and begins to peel it,
"What about you Joseph, do you drink?" asked Naofumi.
"Hah, no. I was young, eighteen years of age, they'd tease me that I couldn't drink. To be honest, it was for the best. Kept those drunkards out of trouble and kept them out from any demotions." Joseph explained, he laughs reminiscing the times, "I always had to take care of those bastards when they are drunk out of their minds, I would prepare food for them as they sleep so once they get up, there's a hangover concoction I always make a stew or curry with a sunny-side-up egg." Joseph said.
"You really must care for your friends Joseph." Naofumi said.
Joseph chuckles, "of course I do, all of my friends are like my only family I got. You and your party are like family to me or let me say, ohana… yeah, ohana means family… so that's why, if my friends were to die, I'd always go and seek revenge but I need to learn to control that." Joseph said.
"Ohana?" Naofumi asked.
"Ohana means family in Hawaiian." Joseph said.
"Oh, I never knew you lived in Hawaii," Naofumi said.
"Really now? Heh, the more you know." Joseph said, "Anyhow, my friends, they were a reckless group, never a dull moment with them." Joseph chuckles.
Raphtalia suddenly butts in the conversation, "what happened to them?" she asked.
"We were ambushed, tasked to kill Roseblood the man behind the murder of my family. We were overwhelmed and they decided to put me in a bullet proof glass elevator so I could escape. I watched them as they were shot dead. "Carry our hopes and dreams as you kill that sonovabitch" said Tom he said before he was killed." Joseph said.
"I'm sorry for your loss…" Raphtalia said.
"Nah it's fine. Took me a while to find and even identify their bodies, buried them on a cliffside next to a tree I planted when I was a child, with them is also my family." Joseph said. "It has a nice view of the ocean." Joseph said.
Joseph closes his eyes, as they open he sees himself on top of the cliff as there are rows of gravestones of the people he cared for. Joseph walks to the graves and looks at every name. Joseph then kneels down, like a knight kneeling to his king. A long silence but the whistles of the wind passes by as Joseph begins to shed tears but not moving a muscle keeping a kneeling position.
"If only…"
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The group began to feast the dinner that they so very deserve and earned through their hard work.
Joseph puts his bowl down as he pulls out his pistol, he takes out the magazine and pulls back the slide as the bullet in the receiver flies out as Joseph catches it. He places the gun on his lap and summons Xeno.
"What are you doing Joseph?" asked Melty.
"Like any weapon, you will need to do some maintenance on them before they begin to be ineffective and break." Joseph said, "Right now, I just plan on cleaning the gun inside and outside. This gun has been kicking for over a hundred years. It was an heirloom passed down from generation to generation used in every conflict in the past." Joseph laughs, "I'm still surprised that this pistol is still operating." Joseph said.
"What's with the numbers of the name of your weapon?" asked Raphtalia.
"The numbers? Oh, the number 1911? That's just the year it was made." Joseph said.
"I'm confused," said Filo.
"Uh, well, the "M" stands for model in short, the "1911" stands for the year it was made, right now in my home world, it is the year of 2026. This pistol was one of the first few M1911s that was shipped to the allies during the first world war." Joseph explained.
"Your world was alive for 2026 years?" asked Raphtalia.
Naofumi and Joseph chuckled, knowing that was untrue. "No, Earth, which is a planet that we live in and has existed for billions of years. But Earth wasn't full of life, but a giant flaming rock." Joseph explained.
"What! The whole world was just in flames?" Melty asked
"Yeah, but then something happened and a-nother giant rock hit the Earth!" Joseph said. "And guess what happened next?"
"What? I wanna know!" Filo said.
Joseph points to the moon as it shines bright over them, "when the rock collided with the earth, parts of the Earth were knocked out in space which then formed the moon." Joseph explained.
"So that means the Moon used to be a part of Earth?" asked Melty
"Correct, now it shines light for us at night due to the Moon reflecting the light from the Sun down to us." Joseph said.
"You sure do know a lot about Earth Joseph." said Raphtalia.
"Eh not quite, but I know enough to get around. What about you Naofumi? You're twenty years old right? You a college boy?" Joseph asked.
"Yeah, I guess you can say that. I was a sophomore when I entered this world. But, I wasn't very dedicated to my studies." Naofumi said. "I was… more of an otaku…" he said.
"An otaku? Oh, heh. I know a few otakus." Joseph said. "But wow, you were an otaku? Looking at you now, you don't geek like one." Joseph laughs, "but that is understandable, worlds like these where you have to survive, you need to toughen up, being an otaku won't get you nowhere in this world." Joseph said.
Naofumi nods, "yeah, true on that." he said.
"Master Naofumi, whats an otaku." Raphtalia asks
"You don't need to know." Naofumi and Joseph said.
Joseph began to disassemble his pistol and began to clean the parts with a cloth and hydrogen peroxide. The group watches Joseph as Xeno provides light for him. "No scratches or any noticeable damages…" Joseph said.
Joseph then grabs another cloth and oil certain parts of the gun as minutes pass by, Joseph has finished oiling his pistol. He then puts the parts together, when he finishes putting the final part of the pistol back together, he then pulls the slide back to cock the gun and pulls the trigger as a click is heard. "Ah, all done!" Joseph said. He loads his pistol, puts it in safety and holsters it in his chest holster. He then grabs his lukewarm bowl of stew and begins to eat, he expresses a mild disatisfied look as he eats his warm stew.
"Why didn't you eat before you began to do maintenance on your gun?" asked Xeno.
Joseph sighs, "y'know, I don't know… heh, I'm an idiot." Joseph said.
The group laughed as Joseph joined in as well.
"That aside, that was really impressive seeing you do that to your gun Joseph," said Melty, "your weapons in your world must be very complex…" she said.
"Yeah, you're right about that." Joseph said. "This little gun here is one of the more less complex ones. But let's not get into that subject. So, yeah…" Joseph said.
The group eats their food, Filolials begging for more as Naofumi adds more on their bowl, Melty and Filo chatting about their journey so far, Raphtalia gathering the bowls from those who are finished with their dinner, while Joseph sits down, leaning against a tree as he sees the open view of the moon.
*Suddenly drops down, Hello there. I'm just here to say that when making this part, I believe reading this while listening to Lost Light by the following:
Michael Salvatori, Skye Lewin, C Paul Johnson, Pieter Schlosser and Kronos Quartet.
I hope you enjoy the choice of the music, I sure did.
"It's a full moon today." Xeno said.
"Indeed it is…" Joseph said.
Xeno examines Joseph, the look of Joseph's face shows signs of tiredness, sadness and deprived-ness. "Joseph? Are you okay?" he asked.
Joseph looks back down towards the distant fire where everyone else is gathered, he thinks while seconds becomes minutes, "I don't know…" Joseph said. "Maybe, after talking about my past again, this time, I feel… tired, guilty and depressed…" Joseph said. "When the people I cherish needed me most," Joseph lends out his hand, reaching out to the moon, "I couldn't even save them." Joseph began to shed tears, he chuckles and covers his eyes, "even with the Light I couldn't save them. A second too late." he grits his teeth, tears seeping down his cheeks. "I just wish that it'd stop." Joseph said.
"Stop what?" asked Xeno
"I wish that all of this would stop. Every conflict in the worlds I traveled to, the terrorist attacks in my world, the Grimm, and the Darkness… I just wish it would stop, I'm tired of fighting, making alien races go extinct. Ofcourse, I am a Guardian protector of humanity and to protect humanity, I have to slaughter another race. Vex and Hive? Yeah, they can go fuck themselves but the Eliksni, they are filled with rage because the Traveler left them and chose us. Some Eliksni I've met, I could see the fear in them as I gun them down. Who knows if they had family to go back to…" Joseph said.
Joseph stands up as he walks deeper in the ruins, "the Cabal… the Red Legion took many lives but the Cabal in general are like us as well. Though warmongering giants, they too have families to take care of, civilians to cherish… like us…" Joseph said.
"I- I'm sorry Joseph, how long were you feeling this way?" asked Xeno.
"I guess… After the war between the Blood Devils, I began to see Eliksni as people and Cabal? heh, I don't even know…" Joseph said "I know I shouldn't feel this way, it is our duty to keep the Last City out of harm but how can I if I know that, slowly but surely I am wiping out an entire race?" Joseph said.
"I sometimes want this to be over so that I can go to that very cliffside, enjoy the view, and end it right then and there and never be revived." Joseph said.
Xeno looks at Joseph with sadness and concern. "I-"
Joseph chuckles, "Sorry, I know that was selfish of me." Joseph said, "I have a wife and daughter waiting for me, I shouldn't be acting like this." Joseph said
Xeno planted his shell on Joseph's head, "It's okay Joseph." Xeno said, "I… understand. We all have desires that can be selfish, but that's okay. You lost a lot of people, maybe not as much of the veteran Guardian's but you yourself, have worked and suffered more than me, and probably more than most Guardians." Xeno said, "so you have every right to feel this way, to feel tired, to feel depressed, to feel… suicidal."
"Thanks… X…" Joseph said. "Sorry, I'll stop being a downer." Joseph said. He wipes the tears off his eyes and cheeks and takes a deep breath. "Did I ever tell you that you're the best traveling companion that I could ever ask for?" Joseph said.
"Aw, you flatter me." Xeno said.
"Well, we should get back, I feel better, less depressed. Lets go." Joseph said.
As the duo walks back to Naofumi and the others, they see Fitoria and Naofumi walking to some place, "huh…" Joseph said. "Wonder what they are going to talk about…" Joseph said.
"Should we eavesdrop?" asked Xeno.
"Hmm… nah, best not interrupt their secret conversation. Lets just get some rest for the unknown of tomorrow." Joseph said.
"Alright," Xeno said.
The two continue to walk out of the ruins as they return to the camp. Joseph sees that the girls are about still chatting. They see Joseph and wave as he waves back.
"Joseph! We saw you walking deeping into the ruins with Xeno, what happened?" asked Filo
"Oh nothing. Just reflecting, nothing more." Joseph said.
"We also saw Master Naofumi and Fitoria walk into the ruins as well." said Raphtalia
"Aye me too." Joseph said. "Must be some Legendary Hero business. Best not interfere, I'm gonna get some rest." Joseph said, he leans to the right as he sees the field of filolials laying down with their bellies full, "Heh, looks like they're getting the message." Joseph said.
Melty begins to yawn, "Yes, it is getting late. We should get some rest." she said.
Joseph grabs his cloak and sits on the ground leaning back on stump, he begins to unfold the cloak and uses it as a blanket. "Whelp imma sleep. G'night." Joseph said.
"Good night Joseph." said the girls.
Joseph shuts his eyes, as Xeno begins to speak to him.
"Still no word from Osiris yet…" said Xeno
"He'll call us once that barrier is down. After that, let's hope that we can go back to the World of the Traveler." Joseph said.
"You think we can find the anomaly?" asked Xeno
"... we must…" Joseph said "cause if not, we won't be able to see Lillie and Kristine… and I won't be able to visit and clean those graves… we can't." Joseph said.
"Yeah… we must get back home. Whatever it takes?" asked Xeno.
Joseph pauses and begins to think about it, "no. I'm a morals over duty person. If or when we have no choice, so be it." Joseph said. "We assist Naofumi as much as we can but our main goal is to gtfo here but that doesnt mean we betray or murder innocence." Joseph said.
"Ok." Xeno said. "I'm always with you Joseph." said Xeno.
"Thanks."
Joseph watches the distant Pyramid as he sits on a chair, close to the fire. Joseph sighs, as he looks at his hands as they emit stasis. He turns as he sees the Exo Stranger as she exits her shelter, "Elizabeth, you wanted to talk to me?" asked Joseph.
"Yes," she said. She walks to the fire and sits on a chair. Elizabeth sighs, "this has been bothering me for a while." she said.
Joseph nods, "something to do with me?" he asked.
"Yes…" Elizabeth said. "I told you already about the dark future and how the Darkness won." she said.
Joseph nods, "yeah, I remember. You traveled to many timelines and all was the same. But what does it have to do with me?" Joseph asked.
"You're an unknown piece." Elizabeth said.
Well, there you have it. This chapter is done!
Apologies for the super late post. A small portion was because of school, and the rest was pure laziness. Pretty ashamed of myself for being that lazy. So again, sorry for posting this chapter very late.
So this chapter was fairly chill. Nothing too exciting. The party gets to know that Xenophage is a sentient being, Naofumi getting to learn about the Vanguard Dare cloak and their past users, Joseph making a shocking discovery that his light is fused with The Young Wolf's Howl, Joseph reminiscing the good ol' memories with his squad (even if it was a pain in the ass taking care for them), Joseph talking about the history of Earth and so on. You guys also get to see a bit of Joseph's at his lowest and having Xeno to be his best phycologist.
I do hope you enjoy the music I chose for that one passage. Was trying to hunt down that soundtrack when listening to it when I watched Zavala's cutscene. It's such a sad, beautiful soundtrack and I might use it more in the near future and maybe use other soundtracks but also give credit to the artists.
Elizabeth Bray claims that Joseph is a "unknown piece" to this timeline, any thoughts? It may be obvious cause I ain't good at these kinds of things but I'll do my best. ALSO that small passage of Elsie and Joseph talking isn't a dream, it's just a small story that I'm working on, adding it at the end of each chapter of this story. I hope you don't mind that.
I hope you enjoy your morning, day or night, wherever you live
