Firebrand

AN: This story takes place between chapter 17 and chapter 19 of "A Not So Simple Patrol". It is also a follow-up of sorts to "New Kid on the Block".

Three figures stood in the Tower courtyard, near the opening overlooking the City. Two were women and were dressed in full battle gear, minus their helmets. One was human with long read hair pulled up in two pigtails. The other was an Awoken, green hair pulled messily up on the back of her head. The third figure was a red-haired human male and wore casual clothing. Despite that, he was still noticeably bigger than his armored companions. Hunter Celeste Etain, Warlock Zillah Arvid, and Titan Claney Beamard had been through quite a bit that day, but more stood in store for one of them.

"See ya, kiddo," Claney told Celeste. "If you do end up leaving the Tower, come find me first, okay?"

"You're really going to milk this 'dad' thing for all it's worth, aren't you?" the red-haired women teased. She gave the man a quick hug, then looked at Zillah. She opened her mouth as if she was going to say something, but hesitated. "See ya," she said eventually, then turned and walked away.

After several steps she glanced back, looking at the other two. Zillah and Claney had turned away from her and were facing the Traveler, engaged in conversation. Celeste's brows pulled together and she pursed her lips. Something about the situation did not sit right with her.

Claney she had known for years and was family to her. The only family she had since being revived as a Guardian by her Ghost, Whisper. Sure, due to the nature of her unusual situation, there had been a few other people that had helped watch her when Claney was on missions, but she had never felt a real connection with them. The big man had been there when she had been revived, had protected her, cared for her, and helped train her. Well, as best as a Titan could, anyway.

Zillah, on the other hand, she had only known for a short time. She had met the Warlock while the Awoken woman was on a mission with Claney. Zillah had been nothing but rude to the both of them for most of the time they had known her. There was always a bit of a rivalry between Hunters and Warlocks, and the two groups did not always get along, but it went beyond that. The Warlock had seemed to have an authentic dislike for her and Claney.

Somewhere, though, things had changed. Celeste had noticed differences in the way the other two spoke to each other and their body language. Even now, as they stared at the Traveler hanging over the Last City, they were standing close, each seemingly at ease with the other.

It made the Hunter uncomfortable, and she could not quite place why. Her eyes narrowed, then she shook her head, chasing away the line of thought. She had left the other two to go visit someone else, and need to follow through on that. With a last look, Celeste turned and headed for the residential section of the Tower.

The apartment she was looking for was very familiar to her. She had called it home for a little while herself, and now someone else was having to do the same. Not long ago, another Ghost had made the same error hers had and revived a Guardian that was too young to be allowed in the field. Of course, Astrid was even younger than she had been, and had quite a different personality.

Celeste had bounced around a few homes when she was young, many people not being up to the task of dealing with a teenage with the power of a Guardian. Finally, she'd ended up with Mr. and Mrs. Anusky, and it had mostly worked. Having had some success with Celeste, the couple had agreed to take Astrid under their roof as well. It had not been quite as smooth a transition as everyone hoped, but last time Celeste had stopped by, things seemed to be settling in to some form of equilibrium. She only hoped it had held.

When Celeste reached the apartment, the man and woman greeted her warmly. Celeste may not have bonded with them the same way she had Claney, but she did like them. Each time she saw them now, she was surprised to see how much they seemed to have aged since she first entered their home. In her mind, they always looked like they did when she was brought to their door, the fourth such couple to try to take her in.

After catching up briefly, they told Celeste that Astrid had been invited to sleep over with a friend from school, and that they had reluctantly agreed after much cajoling from the tiny Titan. They pointed her in the right direction, and the Hunter made her way to the friend's home. When she got there, she was in for another bit of news when the mother of the friend said that Astrid had told her daughter that she was sick and was not going to be able to come over after all.

"Oh, I'm sorry. I must have missed the update on that one," Celeste responded with a smile, trying not to let her surprise show. "Sorry to bother you, ma'am."

The door closed, and Celeste spun around on her heels and set off down the hallway. Astrid had the Anusky's convinced she was with a friend, but told the friend that she was home. She wanted to be somewhere with no one the wiser, and the Hunter had a pretty good idea where that might be.

When she first met Astrid, she had shown the younger girl every secret place she had discovered among the Tower. All the ways she had discovered to make living here bearable when everything inside you longed be out doing other things. One place in particular had seemed to catch Astrid's fancy.

After The Battle of Twilight Gap, much of the Wall had been abandoned, along with the towers that guarded it. Some had since seen minimal use, including the Bannerfall Crucible field. As a teen, Celeste had found an old, abandoned tunnel that led to one of the other Towers. These structures were made to be fortifications, so down below the ground, each had a large, very solid bunker built as a last refuge for fleeing civilians. It was in that bunker that Celeste had practiced and honed her Light away from prying eyes and ears. Astrid had taken to the place immediately, relishing the opportunity to unleash her abilities.

Celeste picked her way through the tunnel, climbing over some rubble and wriggling her way through other portions while remembering how much easier it had been to squeeze through a few years back. Whisper flew over her shoulder, illuminating the way and twitching nervously. The Ghost had never liked her coming here, always concerned that it would collapse and keep them pinned with no way out.

Finally she reached the other tower and climbed down the few flights of stairs to the bunker. She had anticipated hearing the pop of gunfire, the small explosion of Light fueled grenades, or small, armored fists smashing things, but she heard nothing. She pushed the door open and found the room empty. Now that was unexpected.

"Whisper, ping Astrid's Ghost," she ordered, double checking the room to make sure the younger Guardian was not just hidden away somewhere.

Whispers shell expanded and rotated around his central ball of Light. Seconds stretched on before he collapsed back into himself.

"Guardian Astrid is not in the Tower."

Thrall spit, Celeste cursed inwardly, whirling out of the room and heading for the surface. No need to cross through the tunnel now, she could exit the current tower and search the vicinity.

Celeste stopped only long enough to fire off a quick message to Claney:

Old man,

Popping out of the Tower to track something down. Should be back soon. No fighting with the Rainbow Death Squad while I'm gone.

Celeste

That taken care of, she set off to try to find Astrid. She just hoped the little munchkin had not gone too far from home on her own. She had Whisper transmat her sparrow down to speed things up.

"Keep scanning for her," she told the Ghost. "I don't care if we set off Fallen sensors, but try not to send anything toward the Tower. Don't want them thinking there's a Guardian in trouble and sending anyone else out."

"Or, maybe we do and someone else deals with the Fallen in the dark?" the Ghost asked hopefully.

"No. We find her on our own and keep it quiet."

They searched for hours. She only had to dodge fire from Fallen snipers three times, which seemed like a strangely low number. She was considering giving up and admitting they might need to contact someone when Whisper finally made contact.

"I've got her. No sign that she has noticed us yet."

"Good. Mark her on the HUD, please," Celeste told the Ghost. She nodded when the white marker appeared. The Hunter dismounted her sparrow and began walking. Behind her, the machine disappeared as the Ghost transmatted it back into whatever pocket dimension hoodoo the machines use to store their Guardian's gear.

Hunters possess unmatched stealth capabilities among the different classes of Guardians. Some more than others. Bladedancers, for example, have cloaking technology that allows them to virtually disappear. Nightstalkers, like Celeste, have a similar ability even if their version is a bit showier in execution. She threw down a small bomb, the resulting smoke covering her and rendering her practically invisible. Thus concealed, she sprinted toward the glowing point on her HUD.

She slowed as she drew near, not wanting the sound of her approach to give her away. Astrid had been moving as well, though at a more leisurely pace. At last, Celeste drew close enough to catch sight of the young girl.

Astrid was clad in the armor her Ghost had manufactured for her at resurrection. She had her scout rifle she had brought with her to the Tower as well, though it was currently slung across her back carelessly. She was walking along the remains of a crumbled wall, placing one foot in front of the other and holding her arms straight out at the side to help maintain her balance. From time to time she came to a missing section and would hop across, landing on one foot. One jump she seemed to misjudge, but managed to use Lift to course correct and continue on.

Astrid reached the end of the wall, then swung her weapon around into firing position. Celeste grabbed her Uzume RR4 and aimed through the sight, trying to see what had caught Astrid's attention. Lined up in a row were several makeshift targets. Buckets rested on top of smooth, straight sticks. Brooms, maybe? Below, other things like sticks, rope, or cloth were attached to simulate armor and two arms on each side of the body. Stick Fallen. Celeste watched Astrid as she aimed and fired, missing with her first shot.

"Thrall spit!" the little Guardian shouted, then fired again.

This time she managed to punch a hole in one of the buckets, which brought a loud whoop. The Titan thrust her fist in the air, which caused her to lose her balance. She steadied herself, then fired off several more shots, hitting more than she missed. She was improving. Celeste was impressed.

Once the last target was down, Astrid slung the gun back over her shoulder and started to make her way back along the wall. She turned back toward Celeste and froze. She stood still for a second, then took a few cautious steps forward. Moving quicker than the Hunter had ever seen her move before, she swung the gun back around and fired right at Celeste.

Celeste dodged just in time, the bullet plowing into the ground right where she had been laying. When she looked back up, Astrid had jumped from the wall and was approaching her position, scout rifle at the ready. The Hunter was baffled. How had Astrid seen that she was there, and why was she attacking her?

"I know you're there." the Titan muttered to herself, the muzzle of her rifle sweeping from side to side. "You picked the wrong target, Vandal."

Celeste accidentally kicked a rock, making a scuffing noise. The young girl swung to her left and fired off a shot in her general direction. As quietly as possible, Celeste scuttled back in the original direction before speaking just in case Astrid reacted to another sound by pulling the trigger again. No need to take a bullet if it was not necessary.

"Not a Fallen," she called out. "I even have the hood back home to prove it."

"Celeste?" Astrid questioned, lowering her gun.

The Hunter stood with her hands raised and the grenade's invisibility wore off. When Astrid saw her, she dropped her gun and sprinted toward Celeste with a laugh, slamming into her mid-section and wrapping her arms fiercely around her. The force of the impact drove them both to the ground. Celeste had the wind knocked out of her, but when she could breathe again, she laughed along with her.

Astrid suddenly stopped laughing and popped up, before crossing her arms over her chest and sitting forcefully on Celeste's stomach, causing the older Guardian to have to catch her breathe again. "Why were you going to shoot me?"

"What do you mean?" Celeste gasped. "You shot at me."

"No," Astrid argued, "I shot at a scope glint. You were aiming at me."

Celeste let out an involuntary laugh of disbelief. Astrid growled and raised a fist as if she was going to punch her.

"I wasn't aiming at you," Celeste got out finally. "I was looking through the scope to see what you were shooting at. I thought you might be in trouble. Nice targets, by the way."

"Oh," the Titan said sheepishly after mulling it over for a second, then hopped up.

"Now it's your turn to answer a question," the Hunter stated as she climbed back to her feet. "What are you doing out here?"

"Duh. Target practice. You saw," the Titan retorted, waving her hand in the general direction of her make-shift Fallen.

"Yes, but why are you out HERE? Why not just use the bunker or one of the other rooms I showed you? And why did you lie to the Anusky's about a sleepover?"

"Ugh," the child moaned, throwing her hands up in the air. "Because it's sooooo boring in there. The same rooms. The same walls. All. The. Time. And I lied to them because they would never have let me come out here alone."

"With good reason," Celeste responded. "You know the Fallen are more active at night."

"I'd come during the day if I could sneak out of the Tower then," Astrid grumbled a reply.

"That's... You would... You know that's not what I meant," Celeste managed stammered out, exasperated. "You think it was easy for me to stay in there all the time? I'm a HUNTER! Everything inside me screams to be out here roaming around and exploring. But I stayed there because I knew it was what I was supposed to do."

"Well, I'm not you."

There it was. Despite Cayde's hope that the two would get along famously since they were both revived so young, that was the ultimate truth. Despite the one similar circumstance behind their revival, Celeste and Astrid were very different.

Celeste had no memory of her life before her resurrection, of course, but nothing had made her think she had any history of being a combatant before she died. She had struggled to learn how to handle firearms. Resisted the idea of her life being war and struggles. Astrid, however, came with some skill with a rifle. She arrived with knuckles scarred from unremembered brawls. She took to combat training faster than a lot of adult Guardians. Whatever life she had lived before her untimely death, it had not been easy and had left a mark on the young girl.

"I know that, Astrid." Celeste dropped to one knee to get down to the smaller Guardian's eye level and placed a hand on her shoulder. "I know you see the world differently than I did. I just don't want anything to happen to you. Plus, imagine how Mr. and Mrs. Anusky would feel if you slipped out when they were supposed to be taking care of you and something did happen?"

"I didn't think about that," the tiny Titan admitted. "Please don't tell them I lied?

"I won't," Celeste replied, then her voice dropped into a conspiratorial whisper. "Tell you what. I've got an idea that we can run by Cayde. It will let you get out of the Tower, let you get the practice you need in honing your skills and abilities, but it will keep you safe at the same time."

"I'm listening," Astrid replied.

…

The next day. A three versus one standoff just outside the Hall of Guardians.

"No absolutely not!" Lord Shaxx objected strenuously. This had to be the worst idea he had heard in years.

"Come on, Shaxx," Cayde-6, Hunter Vanguard, cajoled. "You know it's safe. Mostly. Wild Child here's a Guardian, so we know she has the ability. Plus, imagine the look on some Guardian's face when they run in to her!"

"No," the Crucible Handler stated again, crossing his arms over his massive chest.

Astrid jumped up on the table in front of the big man and mirrored his stance, olive eyes boring a hole through his helmet. The two stood that way for several minutes, seemingly staring each other down, the only change being a narrowing of Astrid's eyes.

"Fine," Lord Shaxx, almost Iron Lord, hero of the Twilight Gap relented, throwing his hands up. "She can go in the Crucible. Once. Just to see how it goes. I make no promises beyond that."

Astrid whooped and jumped up and down, while Celeste and Cayde shared a grin. Shaxx suddenly pointed a meaty finger at the little Titan, which stopped her jumping.

"One thing," he stated firmly. "No crying. There's no crying in my Crucible. I repeat, there's no. Crying. In my Crucible."

"Tell the other Guardians that," Astrid grinned.

…

Later that day. Widow's Court, European Dead Zone.

The Warlock spun nervously, searching for his target. He knew he had seen something move, but was detecting nothing. A laugh from behind sent a chill up his spine, and he whirled around, three rounds leaping from his pulse rifle. Nothing. Suddenly, a blur. Something small dashed around a barricade that was not big enough for anyone to use for cover and clipped his knee. He crashed to the ground hard. Rolling over, he saw the most absurd thing he could recall ever seeing. A Titan about half his size was standing over him, a battered Jigoku SR3-SL held near her hip. Bewildered, he could only watch as she cocked back her fist, unleashing a devastating punch with a laugh.

More Guardians took shots and punches directly to the knee that match than in any previously recorded Crucible match. By the end of the battle, the entire Bravo team was limping and trying desperately to find high ground. After taking yet another blow to the knee, that Warlock let out a little whimper.

"Yes!" Lord Shaxx's voice rang out, "Make them cry!"

…

AN

And here we have the answer to Celeste's "vagueness" in her message to Claney in chapter 18 of "Patrol". She had to chase down a little mini-Titan while keeping the fact that she had disappeared under wraps.

Once again, Astrid is the creation of Daydreamer B.A.

This entry was updated a couple hours after posting to address some errors pointed out in a review.

Order and Chaos – Qui Iudicant – Thanks for catching that. Fixed.

Amberstar of Thunderclan – It's a good distraction. Also, thanks.

Daydreamer B.A – I found it interesting that canon-wise that Shaxx was the voice of dissent. It would seem he would be more of the "Let's get 'em" while Zavala would have been more likely to preach caution, but... maybe Zavala was less restrained in his younger years like Ikora? Yeah, Wei didn't get much time here. There was more I wanted to do, but it wasn't gelling right for me. This entry might see a "chapter 2 of Patrol" level revamp. I almost think I might need to write something with just her as well, do her some justice. Full on punch-you-in-the-face hardcore Titan action. She a very different brand of Titan than Claney.